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Hooray! You’re reading this! That means you’re at least partially interested in playing this game. Kudos. Below, you’ll find all the guidelines and house rules you’ll need to make a character to run in Shogun Maker, the Kingmaker Adventure Path set in the Tian Xia realms of Shenmen and Lingshen. I’m looking for about 4-5 players. I’ll take up to six if there are six that just scream to be played.
I’m new to PbP on the Paizo boards. I’ve GM’d for a few years through PbeM and played for for over 20 years, DnD and then Pathfinder mostly with occasional forays into Rifts, World of Darkness, and Mutants and Masterminds. I prefer Pathfinder and MM to all of the others. Anyway, I’ve got a few successful email-based games going, but a buddy of mine said that the boards are better. From what I’ve seen, that’s true. So, I thought I’d give it a try.
Now, about the game!
It’s set in Tian Xia, and you’re expected to be natives. Being a Taldan from Amanandar doesn’t count. You’re going to be emissaries from Lingshen, so your characters need to be actual citizens of Lingshen. King Huang has decided to make a play for establishing a new empire, and his first thrust is a show of power and goodwill to the people by liberating the people of Shenmen from the clutches of their jorogumo oppressors. Failing that, he hopes to wrest a portion of the realm and establish a vassal kingdom/border state between the monstrous realm and his own upright and proper Tien one. Either way, it’s a political win for King Huang. Enter the PCs and their kingdom building. Point is, you need to commit to Tian Xia. We’re all going to make mistakes, but at least attempt to be in the spirit of the cultures that inspired the Dragon Empires Gazetteer.
Also, I’m doing a pretty big retrofit of the AP. It’s still Kingmaker at its core, but I’m de-emphasizing the fey aspect, and including more shapechangers, kami, oni, and incorporeal undead to reflect the setting change to Shenmen. Fey will be present, but they will not be nearly so common as they are in the original Kingmaker books.
When you submit your characters, I would like a paragraph detailing at least one big character goal you have for the PC. If nothing else happens the entire game, what is the one thing you want your PC to accomplish? You can have more than one goal. In fact, I encourage it, since it gives me more levers to pull and helps invest your character in the events of the game. You don’t have to be married to the idea, after all, plans can change. But, it should be there to start with. Feel free to think as big or small as you want, after all, you’re getting a kingdom out of this, so the sky’s the limit.
Also, the local magistrate of Yan Province (the province immediately abutting southern Shenmen) has given you an imperial charter: go north into the monster-ridden borderlands of Shenmen, pacify or eradicate the hostile creatures, liberate the local human population, and civilize the region under your just rule and the edicts and auspices of the Throne of Lingshen. The lands you claim will be yours and your descendents’ until the end of time, as a vassal realm of Imperial Lingshen. King Huang himself signed the decree! Please work receiving this message into your background as well.
The game will open with a brief introduction with a functionary (Zhou Kui Xing) and the official order to pacify the savage frontier of Shenmen. You don’t need to know each other before, although such connections could be useful (and exploitable) in the game.
I really want to get the kingdom going. It’s what makes this AP so unique and worth doing. If it weren't for the kingdom, Kingmaker would really be just your average frontier exploration story. That’s fine, but it’s not anything new. That said, I would like at least one player who can be responsible for kingdom tracking duties. We’ll be using the updated kingdom building rules in Ultimate Campaign (and on the pfsrd).
1) No 3rd party content.
2) 25 point buy. You can drop scores to 7 (lower with racial modifiers, of course).
3) Max gp for your class. You can use skills like craft to reduce the cost of this gear as per the rules in the PFSRD. All rolls (pre-game) are assumed to be successes. Have fun.
4) Eastern weapons and armor are allowed. If it’s listed as “exotic”, you still need to take the feat to become proficient.
5) Start at 1st level.
6) No chaotic alignments. Lingshen is an incredibly orderly and militaristic realm. Discipline, duty, and loyalty to the King and nation (as the One True Heir to Imperial Lung Wa) is central to the heart of every true citizen of Lingshen. The screening process (most of which the characters aren’t even aware of) would have insured that only the most loyal, trustworthy, and steady of citizens would have been selected for this task. That rules out any “free thinkers” or potential loose cannons: no one with a chaotic bent. They don’t care about morals, so you can take any other alignment you want, just don’t be a jerk.
7) You start off speaking Tien along with your ethnic language (if any). Tien is the Common language of Tian Xia, and the ethnic language of Lingshen. You can learn more languages with a higher intelligence, of course.
8) You can be aasimar, elf, half-elf, human, kitsune, nagaji, samsaran, tengu, tiefling, wayang. Humans must be of a Tian Xia ethnicity (no Taldan). Alternate race powers are allowed.
9) All core, base, alternate, and hybrid classes are allowed except for antipaladin.
10) Pious characters must choose a faith that is common to Tian Xia. Only the gods in the Dragon Empires are allowed.
11) A character starts with 4 traits. One trait must be a campaign trait selected from the traits listed in the Player’s Guide (or the King Maker section of the d20pfsrd. Please change the language in the traits to reflect Lingshen and Tian Xia as a whole when appropriate. The second trait must be a social trait, to reflect your status in Lingshen at the start of the game. The remaining traits (such as those given by feats or drawbacks) may be selected from any combination of other traits.
12) Hit points: First level = maximum for hit die + constitution modifier. Every level thereafter, PCs get ½ hit die + constitution modifier.
13) Include on your sheet the top three roles you see your character fulfilling in the kingdom. Please read the player's guide for suggestions.
14) Crafting feats are allowed.
15) Leadership feats are allowed.
1) I’ll roll initiative and saves, you can handle everything else.
2) If you want an immediate action to go off, you need to tell me when you want that to occur, either during your turn as a condition that I’ll look for the subsequent round (yes you will need to keep stating the condition for the immediate action each turn). I will not, slog through 3 actions to get the immediate action in play. So, if you don’t immediately tell me when you want your immediate action to occur (or the condition that triggers it), it’s not gonna happen.
3) Please keep track of your own statuses and what not. List essential stats (race, class level, alignment, hp, initiative, and perception) in the alias bar, spoiler everything else.
4) I’m new to PbP. I’m going to make mistakes. Please be gentle when I do :) I’ll try to fix what I borked.
Recruitment will end on March 21st.
Dotting interest in a martial sort of class, I'm thinking at the moment of going with a Swashbuckler which looks pretty interesting as a form of charismatic warrior.
I'll come back with a further reply after I've given a character concept some more thought, your idea is just too awesome to do anything less!
Hmmm my wife and I are interested working on something as soon as I get home. She has already shown interest in a kitsune though.
Oh wow, this does sound interesting. I'm very interested in playing a tengu of some sort. Or a ninja. I've got my irl game today, but I'll definitely look into this during the week.
There was a tengu cavalier mounted on a axe beak in one of the PFS modules that I always thought was a really cool concept. But playing a ninja in kingmaker with all the opportunity for espionage and intrigue might be too good to pass up.
I must ask you Mr. GM, sir, are you sure you're dedicated enough to put in the substantial amount of work it will require to run kingmaker in a vastly different setting? No offense to you personally, of course, I've just been burned quite a few times by GMs new to pbp who show up promising the world and then failing to deliver or vanishing off the face of the earth.
I'd love to join this game, a huge fan of Kingmaker-like structures and the options of Tian Xia.
Basic idea would be for a Cleric, Warpriest, Inquisitor or maybe a Hunter devoted to Yamatsumi. I'd be a Hungerseed (Oni-kin) Tiefling who always sought to subdue his urges through solitude and meditation but has now decided that to truly test his mettle he has to move out of his comfort zone. After all, it's easy to control your hedonistic urges if there is no temptation.
A placing of a marker of nascent intent...
Definitely interested.
What do you think of a Tian La character? Too outlander?
I'm thinking a slayer or something like that. Though the setting really screams for me to make a monk....Hmmm decisions decisions.
Havoc's wife here, I'm going to create a kitsune shaman.
dotting, wow, is anyone else thinking Ronin orphan who wants to prove his fathers innocence (committed ritual suicide), regaining family honor, acquiring family heirlooms and freeing mother and sisters from servitude... or is that just me.
A quick question Dragonofashandflame, what kind of posting rate are you looking for?
Interested for sure.
I must ask you Mr. GM, sir, are you sure you're dedicated enough to put in the substantial amount of work it will require to run kingmaker in a vastly different setting? No offense to you personally, of course, I've just been burned quite a few times by GMs new to pbp who show up promising the world and then failing to deliver or vanishing off the face of the earth.
@Sixteenbitcon, I understand the trepidation, but ya, I think I can do it. I may struggle at times, but I promise to do my best and give you all a great ride. I've converted most of the first book already, and plan to do more this week. I'm a teacher In another life, so I can do an insane amount of paperwork in a very short amount of time.
Definitely interested.
What do you think of a Tian La character? Too outlander?
@ Snake Charmer, Tian La is fine. There are tons of reasons that a Tian La family lives in lingshen
dotting, wow, is anyone else thinking Ronin orphan who wants to prove his fathers innocence (committed ritual suicide), regaining family honor, acquiring family heirlooms and freeing mother and sisters from servitude... or is that just me.
A quick question Dragonofashandflame, what kind of posting rate are you looking for?
@Robert Henry, ya I realized last night That I forgot to mention that. I live in Hawaii, so my 1/24 hour period will be slightly off from most everyone else's. So let's go with 1 per 48 hours.
Alright so here's my basic set up. A kami/Ono hunter in training. His first job was to clear out a wicked spirit that was in the forest. Upon entering he finds a beautiful woman and instantly falls in love. This woman's name is Jade Moon and she is a kitsune the very creature they wanted him to destroy. She was just trying to protect the spirits remaining in the forest. realizing his mistake he apologizes to her when he goes to leave she joins him. They now instead protect others that can't protect themselves.
This is of course a very basic idea but it's a start. Cyra is out but we'll both really strt on our submissions tonight.
At first blush, the concepts all have me very intrigued.
It's to bad monks can't flurry with a longsword(jian) I could make a cool sword wielding monk. Kata master/Qinggong monk just seems to be so much awesome.
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I'd like to submit the idea of my Nagaji Dual-Cursed Oracle with the Lunar Mystery. This time I won't create an alias for him unless he's accepted. Fluff, crunch, personality coming soon.
EDIT: Actually, I might make him an Aasimar instead. I've done the Nagaji before, and I didn't like the Int penalty anyway.
Dotting for interest. Thinking something martial.
I have an idea for a white haired witch/brawler grapple specialist I've been hoping to play that should fit in well for this type of campaign. I'll get something up here soon.
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For Aasimar variant abilities: First, are they allowed, and second, do you prefer a roll or for us to pick? (I generally assume rolls, but it's always best to check first!)
I'm heavily leaning towards a human, but I have yet to play an Aasimar, and I have a somewhat interesting (at least to me) idea bouncing around in my head.
Male Aasimar Oracle (Dual-Cursed) 1
Neutral Good Medium Outsider (Native)/Humanoid (Human)
Initiative +4, Senses: Darkvision 60 ft, Perception +1
Defense
AC 18, Touch 14, Flatfooted 14 (+4 Dex, +4 Armor)
HP 11 (1d8+3)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +3
Resist: Acid 5, Cold 5, Electricity 5.
Offense
Speed 30 ft. (20 in medium/heavy armor)
Longspear +4 (1d8+6/x3)
Morningstar +4 (1d8+4 or 6/x2)
Dagger +4 (1d4+4/19-20)
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 7, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 18
BAB +0, CMB +4, CMD 12
Feats: Noble Scion (Scion of War).
Traits: Reactionary, River Lander, Planar Savant, Extremely Fashionable.
Skills: Diplomacy +8 (9 with EF), Intimidate +8 (9 EF), Knowledge (planes) +10, Spellcraft +5, Knowledge (religion) +5. (Other skills with bonuses: +1 Bluff with EF, Heal +3.)
Spells:
0th: Create Water, Guidance, Detect Magic, Light.
1st: (4/day) Cure Light Wounds, Bless, Divine Favor.
Special Abilities (racial): Scion of Humanity, Alter Self 1/day, Skilled, Celestial Resistance.
Special Abilities (class/other): Prophetic Armor, Tongues (Celestial), Haunted.
While I'm here, how do you feel about Divine Protection from the ACG? I totally understand if you don't like it.
As for Kingdom roles, I'd make a good Ruler with my Charisma, but I'd prefer not to be one, it would go against my character's values. My top choices are Councilor, General, or High Priest.
It was soon determined that he had been cursed from birth by the gods and spirits of the moon, but as such had been given powerful divine gifts in return. He became more feared, and people began to grow suspicious of him, only a few sticking to his side. The samurai who occasionally came to the settlement to check on it heard and questioned Illamin. Illamin disliked these samurai, for though he was as honorable as the next man if not slightly more so, he found the samurai a bit too focused on their honor, over looking the other things. Namely: Life, and sometimes respect for other living things. Instead of being strung up or punished, Illamin was given a charter detailing Lord Huang's will, and five years later, at age twenty-two, Illamin found himself in Huang's court awaiting his departure for the unknown lands.
Illamin's personal goal is, when he attempts to bring civilization to the unknown, to make a system reform. In these lands, he would have honor among all classes and he would have nobility, and it would not be as feudal a system as his old home. He would also like every member of the new society to be trained in a useful practice, be it mundane or magical, and have their skills implemented within the community. He would also prefer to convert whatever evils he may find instead of killing them, if possible (excluding inherently evil creatures such as fiends and evil undead).
For Aasimar variant abilities: First, are they allowed, and second, do you prefer a roll or for us to pick? (I generally assume rolls, but it's always best to check first!)
You can pick. You can be any of the variants, too.
** spoiler omitted **
While I'm here, how do you feel about Divine Protection from the ACG? I totally understand if you don't like it.As for Kingdom roles, I'd make a good Ruler with my Charisma, but I'd prefer not to be one, it would go against my character's values. My top choices are Councilor, General, or High Priest.
You can take Divine Protection. And thanks for the kingdom roles.
Oops, I didn't notice I needed a social trait. It's too late to change the crunch post, but I'll take Friends in High Places and Umbral Unmasking (drawback) so I can keep the other traits. And I'll change it in my profile. Both are nice and flavorful for a charming servant of the moon god.
Oops, I didn't notice I needed a social trait. It's too late to change the crunch post, but I'll take Friends in High Places and Umbral Unmasking (drawback) so I can keep the other traits. And I'll change it in my profile.
Good plan
Very interested. Thinking of a Samurai-Magus or a Swashbuckler-Ninja.
Does anyone have a good link to a map of that part of Golarion?
cheers
Interesting. Lots of ideas brewing; a Naginata-based Paladin, Bladebound Kensai Magus, something ninja-ey, perhaps a trickster Kitsune. Dotting, but gonna take a bit to narrow down my ideas a little.
No matter my final class I'm thinking:
Royal Assassin
Marshal
General
Would any of the classes from the Occult playtest be viable? If so I'd really like to try a Kineticist, love me some Avatar type stuff. :)
Would any of the classes from the Occult playtest be viable? If so I'd really like to try a Kineticist, love me some Avatar type stuff. :)
I haven't read the Occult material, so I'm going to say no to that.
If we've played or GM'd the standard Kingmaker campaign before, would it be a safe bet that this will be too similar to make it fair/worthwhile to play.
Hmm.. i'm changing most of the classes and races around, and pretty much just making up new encounters. So, it's about a 50/50. You're welcome to submit, but keep any OOC knowledge to yourself.
Feilong Wu Jian is my Aasimar Bard submission. He's from a small poor offshoot family of the House of Feilong and interested in making a name for himself in Shenmen after a few failed attempts elsewhere.
He's Lawful Evil, but not even a little bit of a jerk. He's loyal, honest, and dedicated to the cause. He's just also quite ruthless. He likes to think of himself as someone who solves problems with strength, but he often finds himself talking his way out of a problem even when he didn't mean to.
Kingdom Roles:
Wu Jian is best suited as a Ruler or General, though he could also end up being a Grand Diplomat. (He certainly wouldn't see that as a long term goal *now*, but in the future he could grow into it.)
Long term goals:
He'd like to reform the reputation of his family among other Lingshen royalty. At least that's *his* goal. My goal, ultimately, is that he won't. Not that he'll shy away from conflict, that's really not his style either. Just that as he grows older, he'll become more adept at avoiding conflict through more social means. Which will be effective, but less respected by the other royalty of Lingshen. Eventually he should come to accept that, but it will take a while, and quite a bit of soul searching.
Interested! Possibly a roguish/advisor type person, or maybe a caster of some sort, not really sure. Will post soon.
Wow, I was thinking Aasimar (angelkin) and there are lots of Aasimar already, Dragonofashandflame are you looking for any particular party make-up or would an all Aasimar or all Tengu or all non-human party be alright?
Is the god Apsu worshiped in these lands?
No. Apsu's a draconic god, but he's also more of a god of Western dragons. The Imperial Dragons see themselves at best as servants (maintainers) of cosmic balance, not the slaves of beings more powerful than themselves. They would find the idea quite laughable, actually.
Wow, I was thinking Aasimar (angelkin) and there are lots of Aasimar already, Dragonofashandflame are you looking for any particular party make-up or would an all Aasimar or all Tengu or all non-human party be alright?
I'm good with whatevers. I like themes--I'm playing in this really sweet Carrion Crown game in which everyone is a Hellknight (with or w/out the prestige class) it's quite fun. But, I don't have one in mind for this game. If one develops through discussion and whatnot, that's just gravy on my end.
This is looking great. What climates will be be adventuring in, by the way?
Also, I've never done Kingmaker before, but it seems a lot like a country-sized/shaped dungeon crawl/kingdom building campaign. Will there be opportunities to return to Lingshen (to buy stuff, for example)?
I'd like to be a ninja as I said, possibly a Tiefling or Half-Drow if that could fit at all. Tiefling Ninja does sound pretty cool imo actually. Does that work? Dotting for interest but not sure how to do that exactly lol.
I'd like to be a ninja as I said, possibly a Tiefling or Half-Drow if that could fit at all. Tiefling Ninja does sound pretty cool imo actually. Does that work? Dotting for interest but not sure how to do that exactly lol.
no drow half-elves. sorry. they don't exist in Tian Xia. drow, either, actually.