The sleepy town of Karpad in shadow-haunted Nidal has long been overseen by the Boroi family, and until a few weeks ago, the citizens under Baron Stepan Boroi's rule have lived uneventful lives of relative peace. Recently, however, the outbreak of a virulent and fatal disease and a number of mysterious disappearances have left the people of Karpad paranoid and fearful. Even Baron Stepan has been acting strangely, and now the tenuous balance of racial tensions between Karpad's human and fetchling populations stands on the verge of collapsing into total anarchy. Can the PCs uncover the root of Karpad's problems and put an end to the deadly virus, the terrifying disappearances, and the miasma of fear and distrust that threatens to overwhelm the region?
Welcome everyone! I’m looking for three players to run through The Midnight Mirror, with the fourth spot promised to Wandering Wastrel. This module is fairly short and should be finishable within a few months.
Recruitment will be open until midnight GMT on May 24th.
Level: 4
Ability Scores: 20 point buy, nothing below an 8 after racial adjustments.
Alignment: Any so long as they can work with the party.
Classes: Any Paizo except antipaladin, use unchained versions when available.
Races: Core, Standard, and Advanced races are all allowed. If there is another race you want to play, ask and I’ll consider it.
Traits: Two traits; you may take a drawback for a third. No campaign traits.
Wealth: 6,000gp; no single item may cost more than 3,000gp. The party will also receive a free wand of Cure Light Wounds at the start of the game.
Skills: Background Skills are in play. The first half of the module has a lot of investigation so keep that in mind when assigning skill points.
Backgrounds: At the start of the module the PCs are hired as a group by a Nidalese noblewoman. Therefore assume that you and the other PCs have already formed an adventuring party and had at least one adventure together in or around Nidal. A brief summary explaining what you’re doing in Nidal and why you might have joined such a party will be sufficient.
When creating characters, remember that Nidal is a lawful evil theocracy dedicated to the worship of Zon-Kuthon. Karpad is far away from the capital and most people there just want to get by, so no one is going to yell “Burn the witch!” at the mere glimpse of a Sarenite holy symbol. However if you run around screaming “Zon-Kuthon sucks!” there will be some backlash from the villagers. Good-aligned characters should be prepared to roleplay accordingly.
On the flip side, while Nidal is a great place to explore evil character concepts, this is not Hell’s Vengeance. Most of the enemies you fight will be either evil or neutral and the overall goal is for the PCs to save the town. You’ll have non-altruistic justifications for doing so, but it’s something to keep in mind when creating evil characters.
If anyone has questions, either ask them here or send me a PM. Looking forward to gaming with you!
Hi all, I'm on UK time so will generally be posting on a different rhythm from some (most?) of you :)
Thanks to the GM for inviting me into this game, I'm looking forward to it immensely.
In terms of classes, I am wondering whether paladin (tortured crusader) would fit the tone of this game? Nidal is a land of evil so paladins would need to be mostly undercover; by RAW I can find nothing that requires them to brandish their holy symbol either for lay on hands or smite evil... but with that said, I always have my paladin characters carry a holy symbol simply because, well, paladin. The second issue is really that of tone which is hard to define but you know it when you see it (the classic example is not playing a ninja when your DM tells you the campaign is Renaissance Europe-themed courtly intrigue).
If paladin doesn't look like a good fit, I will probably go with a bard.
@JeminiZero: I'm going to go with the latter option. For every item crafting feat you get an additional 1,500gp, with the caveat that this extra gold must be spent on items that could be crafted with that feat. However keep in mind that there will not be any crafting time during the module itself, so those feats may be better spent elsewhere.
@Wandering Wastrel: Paladins are fine so long as they can avoid smiting the local cleric of Zon-Kuthon just because he exists. Tortured crusaders are particularly thematic. As for holy symbols, I'd expect them to be mostly concealed but it's fine to carry one or even to brandish them during fights. Any bystanders who witness you smiting the monster trying to kill them will be inclined to look the other way while whistling innocently.
@Shadow Dragon: I wouldn't worry about your lack of PF experience. I'm not that great at building characters myself and tend to shamelessly rip off builds I find elsewhere.
If you like the concept of an investigator but are having trouble with alchemy, there are a few archetypes that trade it out. I've played a Questioner before and had a lot of fun with it. (A Questioner spontaneously casts Bard spells instead of using alchemy.) You can be a divine investigator with the Jinyiwei archetype, a psychic with Psychic Detective, someone who's just really, really lucky with Sleuth, etc.
@GM - thanks, I specifically do not intend to play her as lawful stupid so we should be ok :)
Thanks for the recommend on Kelinahat! I may well go in that direction.
Statting her out now, will post with completed alias later today.
Very interesting! I could see playing a NE elf illusionist who is evil in that she is a firm believer in "the ends justify the means" but considers herself altruistic otherwise. A few questions:
1. Are you ok with animate dead, etc? This seems particularly thematically appropriate for this game and PBP makes it easier to manage all their attacks, etc. But it can still be a bit of a headache. It's not a core part of my concept either way, just curious.
2. PFS-style hit points, aka, max of HD at first level than average rounded up thereafter (d6 -> 4, d8 -> 5, d10 -> 6, d12 -> 12)?
3. What game format are you thinking in terms of maps (Google slides?), posting rate (1x/day?), and anything else you might have in mind.
So @GM do you have your 3 players already -- I ask because it does seem that you do. If not I could put forth a character concept of just about anything perhaps even tie into one of the previous mentioned characters.
Will look forward to your response.
@caster4life: 1: Animate Dead is a 3rd level spell (minimum) so I don't think there's any way for you to access it at 4th level. If I'm wrong let me know and I'll decide how I would handle it.
2: I knew I'd forgotten something! Yes, please use PFS style hitpoints.
3: We'll be using Google Slides for maps.
Regarding pacing, I plan to post at least once a day. I expect players to post often enough to keep up momentum. In combat that will likely mean posting every day so other players aren't waiting on your actions. Out of combat it will be more fluid. If your barbarian doesn't have anything to say while the group is talking to the noble you don't have to post for the sake of posting, (although you're always welcome to write something about your character's reaction to the scene). Just try to keep up momentum and don't leave other players waiting on you.
@DeJoker: This recruitment is open for two weeks and anyone who applies during that time frame will be considered. The only player currently set in stone is Wandering Wastrel, (because he's GMing another game I'm in and I promised him a slot). After May 24th I'll select the rest of the party based on character concepts, backgrounds, and party balance.
Nice to hear @GM, so what do you do with a player that can have fun playing just about anything and pretty much willing to play anything.
A player who likes to, when they can, work with the GM and/or other player(s) to create a character that is designed to fit the needs of the game (work with the GM) or is designed to dovetail into another PC (work with other player(s))?
These kind of characters kind of need a grounding and/or need to know what the game needs or what character one could dovetail into.
Thanks for quick and excellent answers!
Regarding animate dead, I was thinking of both level up plans (probably irrelevant for a short module) and other options like lesser animate dead, command undead, etc.
“Better to light a funeral pyre than curse the darkness.”
Wandering Wastrel's character here. Jassminder's stats, background and description are more or less complete: I’m just finalising her gear.
Backgrounds: At the start of the module the PCs are hired as a group by a Nidalese noblewoman. Therefore assume that you and the other PCs have already formed an adventuring party and had at least one adventure together in or around Nidal. A brief summary explaining what you’re doing in Nidal and why you might have joined such a party will be sufficient.
I like this! Lots of basis for noodle incidents :D
“This is like Riddleport all over again!”
*deadpan* “You and I remember Riddleport very differently.”
...
..
.
Anyway, introducing Jassminder Shah, a somewhat sociopathic take on the paladin class (with a side-helping of snark. OK, maybe it’s more like a main dish.)
Things Jassminder can reliably do:
Shoot enemies dead, even non-evil ones*
Snark intimidatingly
Heal herself in combat
Read the situation and know if you’re lying to her
Spot things
Use the wand of CLW
Hold her own in melee
Smite bad things
Navigate the wilderness
Things Jassminder can't reliably do:
Detect evil (no, really)
Take down a tough opponent in melee, especially a non-evil one*
Lie
Flatter/Diplomacy (see: lying)
Find/disarm traps
Know what she’s fighting and how best to kill it
Speak a dozen other languages
Heal other people in combat
Do skills she’s untrained in
Magic
*Hey, we might encounter some. It could happen.
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Barring any changes requested by GM, here is my submission. My general idea is that he is originally from Nidal and had returned home when contacted for this job.
Ideally, those selected could work together to come up with any ties/previous adventures together.
Mite Aldeas
LN Dhampir Slayer (Ankou’s Shadow) 4
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, darkvision Perception +8;
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Defense
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AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-Footed 16 (+6 armor, +1 dex)
HP 36 (4d10+8)
Fort +6; Ref +6, Will +5, +2 racial bonus vs saves against disease and mind-affecting effects, +2 trait bonus on saving throws against spells and effects with the shadow descriptor
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Offense
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Speed 20 ft. with armor
Melee +1 boarding axe +9 (1d6+5/x3)
... masterwork boarding axe +7 (1d6+5/x3) and masterwork boarding axe +7 (1d6+2/x3)
... masterwork light flail +6 (1d8+8/x2)
... bite +8 (1d4+2/x2)
Ranged composite shortbow +5 (1d6+2/x3)
Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6, shadow double
Slayer Talents Ranger Combat Style (Two-Weapon Combat), Rogue Talent(Combat Trick)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +3)
3/day–comprehend languages
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Statistics
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Str 18, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 8
Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 19
Feats power attack, two-weapon fighting, iron will, ghostslayer
Skills acrobatics [4] +8, heal [2] +6, intimidate [1] +3, dungeoneering [3] +8, local [3] +8, planes [3] +5, perception [4] +8, sense motive [3] +7, stealth [4] +8, survival [2] +6, swim [1] +8
Background Skills geography [4] +9, nobility [4] +9, lore (dhampir) [2] +7
Languages common, elven, necril
Traits:
Race: Acknowledged Scion (Nobility)
Social: Tireless Logic
Region: Shadow Dissident
Drawback: Foul Brand (hand)
SQ negative energy affinity, resist level drain, Vetala-born: alternate weakness - Ajibachanas take a –1 penalty to their caster levels when they're in an area affected by consecrate, hallow, or a similar spell that makes an area holy, alternate skills: +2 racial bonus to escape artist and use magic device
Favored Class +4 HP
Combat Gear 2 alchemist’s fire, 2 holy water, potion of protection from evil (CL 1), wand of inflict wounds (CL 1) 50 charges, 20 arrows
Other Gear +1 boarding axe, masterwork boarding axe, masterwork light flail, composite short bow (2 str rating), masterwork breastplate, cloak of resistance +1, cracked dusty rose ioun stone, explorer’s outfit, masterwork backpack, manacles, mess kit, silk rope, canteen, bedroll, 5 tindertwigs, 5 trail rations, belt pouch containing 28 gp 2 sp
Encumberance 78.5/116
A young Pharasman priest stumbled through the shadows. His hands gripped the backs of the pews as he made his way down the nave to the temple’s altar. “The Church won’t be able to pay you,” he called out.
A few more steps.
“I know you’re here, creature,” he spoke again, struggling to keep his voice from quivering. ”Your devilish tricks won’t work. I-I have The Lady of Graves on my side.”
“Vhat is ze problem?”
The priest spun and came face-to-face with the owner of the voice. The thing wore a tarnished, silver breastplate over dark clothes. Two vicious looking axes hung at either hip. The clergyman forced himself to look up at the face of the creature. Yellow eyes drilled into the priest, daring him to look away.
“You-you don’t scare me, beast,” the priest said.
”Vhy lie to me?” the thing asked. The shadows seemed to shift and flicker around the creature as it took a step forward, forcing the priest to stumble backward down the nave, “Vhen I cen smell ze fear on you?”
The priest crawled backwards until he felt the raised altar behind him. Those yellow eyes tracked him from within the shadows. His feet refused to lift him from the floor. Failing any other salvation, he prayed.
“Lady of Mysteries, Mother of Souls, your humble servant-” he began.
”Begs thet you grant heem ze strength to banish ze creatures ov ze night!” The dark thing finished the prayer as it stalked closer.
The priest clutched at the symbol around his neck and continued in a second language, harsh with clipped consonants.
”For my soul is yet ready to be judged by your hyand!” Again the figure finished the prayer.
And again the cleric switched to a new language, this one nasal with rolling r’s.
“THOUGH IF YOU DEEM MY TIME HAS COME, YOUR VILLING ZERVANT WOULD GLADLY GIVE MY LIFE IN EXCHANGE FOR ZE DESTRUCTION OV THE CURSED UNDEAD!” The monster closed the gap between itself and the priest as it shouted the final lines of the prayer.
”What do you want from me?” The young cleric cried. Fear locked his eyes onto those evil, yellow orbs hidden among the shadows. It knelt to meet the man at eye level and he could see two shining needles reflecting the candlelight.
”I vant vhat your temple hes promised me,” it said. ”I dealt vith ze undead problem. Now, you are to pay me. Zis is how ze business goes, no?”
”Had we known you were a..a..one of those things, we never would have hired you. The Lady of Graves does not deal with your kind!”
”Lady ov Graves, Mother ov Souls, Ze Survivor. Vhy can’t you just say ‘Pharasma’ and be done vith it? I did ze job. I get ze pay. I leave zis awful country. Zat vas ze deal.”
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A few weeks later, the creature found itself swapping tales in a roadside tavern on the Nidalese border.
”I layed on ze accent thick. Pharasmans are always spooked by ze accent. And eventually he gave me ze coin I was owed. By ze end of it, I think zat I had a big grin on my face!”
@DeJoker: Unfortunately this isn’t the best type of recruitment for such a player. There are GMs that do closed recruitments for a select group of people they know, who can then work together to create their characters. There are also some (usually PFS) recruitments that take the first few players that show interest and build the group from there. Most recruitments however are like this one: people submit characters and the GM chooses a party from among the applicants.
What I’d recommend is waiting a week or so to see what other people come up with. Maybe you really like caster4life’s illusionist and Ms. Bloodrive’s investigator, so you build a frontliner that would work well with those two. Your ideal group may not be chosen of course, but that could help spark some character ideas. Or maybe there will be an obvious skill gap you could build towards; i.e. a full divine caster if no one else has submitted one.
Once the party has been selected, I expect to spend a day or two in discussion hashing out how well they know each other. If you want a close backstory tie with another character, that would be the best time to do it.
@caster4life: You’re correct that leveling will not be happening during this module. Necromancy spells like the ones you mentioned are fine.
@Everyone: In the interest of helping people build characters that actually get to use their abilities, I’ll tell you that the most common enemy types you’ll be facing will be Outsiders, Undead, and Constructs, (in roughly that order). For any rangers out there the best favored terrains will be Urban and/or Planes (Shadow).
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@Everyone: In the interest of helping people build characters that actually get to use their abilities, I’ll tell you that the most common enemy types you’ll be facing will be Outsiders, Undead, and Constructs, (in roughly that order). For any rangers out there the best favored terrains will be Urban and/or Planes (Shadow).
NGL, undead & shadows were my first thought when I saw Nidal.
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DeJoker: People don't mention it in their recruitments because it's pretty standard on this website. That's how I've done basically every recruitment I've ever run on here.
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@DeJoker: For what it’s worth I sincerely apologize if I offended you with my response to your initial question. As I mentioned there are some recruitments on this site that are first-come first-served; since this is not the norm they will usually say so in their initial post. I would recommend simply ignoring every other recruitment thread.
Now I’m going to request that you stop commenting on this particular recruitment and leave us alone. I will be flagging any future posts from you here as “Baiting” and/or “Personal Harassment.”
@Everyone else: This is a recruitment thread, not an arguing over the proper way to GM thread. Please ignore DeJoker and let’s get back to creating characters. I’m really excited by what I’ve seen so far!
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Ok, I drafted the initial character sheet for Shuren.
Here. I haven't chosen my magical loadout yet.
Bruh. What is that layout? I'm digging it.
@Chapel Ty'El: Thanks for the submission! I don't have any questions, just wanted to make sure you knew I saw it :)
@Arrius: Glancing at your character sheet I think you're using a 15 point buy instead of a 20. I know it's a draft but just wanted to remind you there are some extra points available. I look forward to seeing the final product! (Also I concur with Chapel Ty'El's admiration of the layout; it looks both cool and functional.)
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Why, thanks Ty'El!
The layout is built off 5e's monster layout. The more horizontal data flow helps make the character sheet less vertical and more legible.
Also the ACTIONS/REACTIONS distribution makes scanning for combat options easier. I think it would work well for PF2e as well.
I hate people who can do cool stuff like this! :P Although I wouldn't hate them if they made some Google Slides and stuff so I could GM some PFS1...
Hmm...this might be the game to run a Hellknight! Of course, the starting level means I'd be two levels shy, plus the devil killing witnessed by an existing Hellknight.
@GM Ever_Anon: Would a successful transition to Hellknight be a possibility within this game, or should I just plan on going for a different concept?
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Hmm...this might be the game to run a Hellknight! Of course, the starting level means I'd be two levels shy, plus the devil killing witnessed by an existing Hellknight.
@GM Ever_Anon: Would a successful transition to Hellknight be a possibility within this game, or should I just plan on going for a different concept?
The GM wrote earlier in the thread that there was no leveling so your PC wouldn't make it to Hellknight.
That means it's not the game for a Hellknight! Lol!
I will dream up a different concept.
@ pinvendor: Sorry, this is actually going to be my first time GMing so I’m sticking to a short module. Like Shadow Dragon said you won’t be leveling. An aspiring hellknight is a good fit thematically though if you want to keep the original concept.
I'm interested.
Haven't seen a nice short PF1E game here in a while.
I'll probably whip up something in a few days.
I generally like leaning toward things with utility and gishes.
I haven't had much of a chance to play Occult classes so I'd probably look into Mesmerist or Medium; with the latter hopefully using spirits as intended instead of just being a dedicated Champion.
@GM: Does the module take place over the course of a single day? Just asking due to the Medium Spirit Channel being a 1 per 24 hour thing.
I'm afraid I haven't got much further with finalising Jassminder's character; in particular I haven't really got into why/how she ended up in Nidal in the first place.
That said, I hope there's enough there for people to see what she contributes and where they might build a character to fill in the gaps and/or tie in your backstory to some extent: the GM said we have had at least one adventure together and given that we're 4th level I think it could be more than that - as I said in my earlier post, there's lots of scope for noodle incidents :)
@ Hubaris: The module will take place over somewhere between two days (bare minimum) and a week. Even at the shorter end there would be some benefit to swapping spirits: the first part is geared more towards investigation with a side of combat while the second part is the other way around.
That being said I just considered a potential complication with classes like Medium, Spiritualist, Summoner, etc that I need to send you and Arrius a PM about. Stay tuned for that.
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That said, I hope there's enough there for people to see what she contributes and where they might build a character to fill in the gaps and/or tie in your backstory to some extent: the GM said we have had at least one adventure together and given that we're 4th level I think it could be more than that - as I said in my earlier post, there's lots of scope for noodle incidents :)
From the looks of it, we all saw Nidal and ran with the dark and spooky character idea.
Quick edit: meaning I like it.
If you're going for the 'theme' of it you can go with whatever class you like and call yourself a Hellknight Armiger (think knight-in-training) like I did with my Paladin in PFS.That means it's not the game for a Hellknight! Lol!
I will dream up a different concept.
There's also a tree of Hellknight related feats. If you're a Hellknight in training, you can still swear Allegiance and grab stuff like Hellknight Obedience and Hellknight Obsession.
I'm afraid I haven't got much further with finalising Jassminder's character; in particular I haven't really got into why/how she ended up in Nidal in the first place.She serves Kelinahat right? According to the wiki: "Her followers use guile, subterfuge, and shadow magic to break into evil bastions and return with valuable information."
So maybe she was assigned to Nidal as part of a long term spying operation? Keep tabs of going ons? Provide a safe house for passing agents? Relay messages? That sort of thing?
That's pretty much what I have gone with, except she requested the assignment to Nidal :)
Equipment still in progress but mostly done.
Pondering a possible Fetchling Brawler.
Decided against the Medium and Mesmerist, I've always wanted to play a White-Haired Witch and 4th level is the perfect level before they become... basically unplayable.
Ussaile Nyoxia is a white-haired witch who hunts for her patron, an unknown entity who speaks to her through an alien ioun stone embedded into the back of her neck.
Willing to take any job if her patron requires it, she does not care about getting her hands (or hair) dirty to get the job done. While she is cruel, she is dedicated to her craft and finishing the mission; and has no qualms with working with people as long as her patron has no qualms with it either. Wholly dedicated to the being she only knows as the Black Stained Seed, she is relentless and more than happy to reap the rewards it grants her. For her, service and servitude to something more powerful than you shows a lot about yourself and is a route to enlightenment.
She can be in Nidal for any reason, however she has worked for the Umbral Court before (or least had the appearance of it) and has no issues with Zon-Kuthon (as she finds that her philosophy aligns somewhat with theirs).
Mechanically, she is an Intelligence based class (which seems to be a bit missing here), with a handful of knowledges (planes, arcana, nature, history), as well as Stealth, Perception and Intimidate. I've left her actual Patron slot empty currently, a few spells in her spellbook, her languages (8 or so!) as well as a few hundred gold in case we get selected and need some specific holes filled.