Male Moon Elf Fighter (Arcane Archer of Kyonin) 3; HP: 28/28; AC:14; Initiative: +3; Passive Perception: 12; Second Wind 0/1 (SR or LR); Action Surge 0/1 (SR or L); Arcane Arrow 1/2 (SR or L)
I have been residing on Lakeside for several years. I am from Alodoa. Caorann, I am Dieredon D'atarisian, Lieutenant Groundsman responsible for the territory in and around Woodbridge.
Although we met last night, I'll reintroduce myself as well. I am Sir Calex of Woodbridge. A title less than two weeks old, even though I've lived here like Dieredon for several years now. Both Dieredon and I received our "honors" just recently by way of thanks for stopping the kidnapping and murder of the Baroness of Castletown's daughter. A mixed blessing, since we failed to prevent the Baron's assassination, despite our best efforts. As part of my knighthood, Woodbridge has been given over to me to hold as my demesne for the Alodoan Empire." Calex gives a rather ironic grin at the last part and adds "..a turn of events that has both the village and myself a bit lost, I'm afraid. We are all still trying to adjust to it all."
"You are very much welcome to join Caorann. I would be glad to have another pair of eyes with us."
Poseus turns to Dieredon with a grim look.
"Though we set out today, do you think the two of us can find the tracks again this day? The downpour of yesterday might have washed much away. Of all the plans and ideas I have, the doubt of failing to find any tracks gnaws at me and clouds my mind. Do you believe we can track them down still?"
Poseus looks desperate and convinced at the same time, even if the group wouldn't find tracks he's determined to go out and look for any signs of the Sashi-Anhain and the 'Orcs'.
The group marches swiftly, pressed by the sense of urgency that the trail needs to be found before it is lost.
Dieredon and Poseus lead the group in a lazy formation, keeping some distance between them and the others, who gather close, so that they can whisper quietly to each other if there is a need.
Caoraan stays overhead, flitting from tree to tree, taking advantage of the cover of the leaves above the party’s heads, and always keeping the two scouts in sight. She stays closer to the main group, and often flitters down low to the ground, when it appears as if someone is saying something important.
Alomar and Calex take a few moments to get better acquainted, while Collin seems stoic and prefers to walk near Riku.
In under an hour’s time the party reaches MacNorra house, there are no fires burning bu the rubble still smolders in places.
Moving back to the river, where it is shallow and can be forded easily (though Collin will ask for help) the party crosses the swift river and Dieredon and Poseus stop just on the eastern bank. Here the trail of the attackers of MacNorra House is easily found.
It appears as though the attackers moved in a column, probably four or five individuals wide, with the tell-tale signs of the passing of Sashi-Anhain toward the center of the group, and heavy boots on each side.
The Sashi-Anhain leave a smooth trail, that moves from side to side, while the Gymnaga prisoners, who it appear were following behind the Sashi-Anhain, move by lifting their knee, and lunging forward, when they are moving slowly, and in a undulation’ lowering their torso almost to the ground, when they are moving fast, and it looks as though the Gymnaga prisoners where moving Slowly. Poseus and Dieredon can Make Survival Skill Rolls, and if they can roll a 20+ they can guess the number of the enemy with some degree of accuracy
A little bit away from Dieredon, Poseus begins to examine the tracks himself, hoping to confer with his 'tutor', or at least the one he considers his mentor, about his own findings.
As the rangers pause to examine the ground before them, Calex approaches to try to catch some hint of what has got them so interested.
Aid Other (Survival):1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
but its all just more dirt and forest loam to his eyes. He looks questioningly at the trackers, and asks "We haven't lost them have we?"
Poseus and Dieredon have no trouble finding the trail left by such a large group. Poseus takes a moment to try and remember how many of his people lived in MacNorra House. He knows that his little community did not have very many Gymnagas who knew how to fight, so it could be that the attackers are not large in number, but the evidence of the trail suggest otherwise, and is impossible to count.
Dieredon relies on his training, and tries to separate different strides by the distance between each boot print, but there are too many and he cannot tell how many there are in the attackers group either.
The others, Calex, Caoraan, Alomar and Collin, can do little to help, even when Caoraan flies above the trees, she cannot see any sign of the attackers
The attackers may have moved through the night, which means they could have been marching the captives for as long as twelve or more hours. By a quick count, this means that they could be as much as thirty or more miles away by now, or closer if they stopped to make a camp in the night
Determined to stay on the trail, Poseus and Dieredpon wave the others to follow them, as they set out once again following the tracks.
Male Human Expert 3...HP 18/27 | AC 16 | TCH 13 | FLT 13 | F/R/W 2/4/3
Marcus, stays and watches his friends head off to track the despicable ones to capture the Gymnaga. Once his friends are out of sight, he takes a deep breathe. He looks up to the rising sun, and prays their journey is safe and quick with little bloodshed. He knows it is but a fleeting thought and not very likely to happen...but he was an optimist at heart.
He heads back to his shop, unsure of what to do. Posues, was fitted with his armor, Dieredon had received a a new set of armor to better protect himself so he was taken care of.
Marcus sets down to finish Calex scroll case, he still wished to thank the man for not leaving him back in the bog that one night about a fort night ago to this day.
The party continues onward, following the trail left by the retreating enemy.
The mood is dark. Little is spoken, and as the day wears on those not normally accustomed to wilderness adventures become tired, and doubt begins to enter everyone’s minds.
A few hours after mid day, Dieredon calls for a halt. Something is not right. In a clearing, dominated by a fallen oak tree, there is a sign.
It isn’t a camp, not exactly, but there are definite signs that the large group they are following stopped. The trail, once easy to follow, becomes a cluster of overlapping prints, and there are even a few half chewed pieces of dried fruit leather thrown on the ground, and the most unusual clue of all, an empty water skin is found hanging on a low branch of a large tree.
Yes the enemy stopped. This is certain. But as Dieredon and Poseus examine the site, finding the trail again as it appears the main group set out again toward the south, an Arrow flies into the area from the east, narrowly missing Calex as it flies over his shoulder to thud into a tree.
I will set up an encounter map tonight. It will be a small clearing and several trees. You can all roll initiative now. Once I have a map posted, I’ll try to get everyone placed in a position that seems logical to the players
Caorann practically disappears, watching and listening intently for signs of the enemy. She'll try to position herself just in the canopy, ready to sling spells.
Riku's crossbow rests easily in his hands as he looks around calmly trying discern where his enemy is. His tattoos seem to gently pulse with his breath.
Initiative:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23 Perception:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Realizing they are under attack, Cal touches the amulet on his chest and casts a protective barrier around himself, while looking about for the location of their foes.
Cal uses his amulet to cast Mage Armor directly from his spell book.
On her turn, Caorann will attempt to put to sleep the largest group of enemies in a 10ft radius she can find (DC 18 will) and try to hide again, moving a few feet into the foliage Stealth:1d20 + 17 ⇒ (11) + 17 = 28 If nothing has really group together further than two, she will target the two to the west.
Suddenly the party finds themselves surrounded by humanoids the likes of which most of them have never seen before.
Until just a moment ago these strange monsters were concealed among the trees and bushes, but now as they step out of hiding to attack the heroes they give themselves away.
There are two different types of creatures. The first, are monsters Poseus and Alomar have encountered before. They are the Sashi-Anhain, large muscled man-like beings with mottled grey-green skin, hideous faces, black oily hair, and lower bodies that resemble snakes. Unlike the Gymnaga folk, whose long reptilian tails begin at what would be their hips, if they were Halflings, these much larger snake-men have snake bodies that begin at their ribs. The other beings are larger than normal men, and have grey to ashen-green skin, huge round heads with large mouths from which two lower teeth protrude like great tusks.
The Sashi-Anhain are armed with longbows, and carry swords, while the other creatures carry long handled axes with large double headed blades.
Round 1…
Immediately realizing the danger of the situation Calex summons a field of protective energy around him
Dieredon rolls to his side and flattens himself against a tree and freezes in place becoming almost impossible to see
One of the Snake Men steps forward a few feet and fires an arrow at Poseus
Missile attack versus Poseus:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14 Damage if >15:1d8 ⇒ 5
Anothe Snake-man steps out from behind a tree and fires at Riku
Missile attack versus Riku:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 Damage if >12:1d8 ⇒ 5
And then another, staying behind a tree for cover, fires an arrow at Collin
Missile attack versus Collin:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Damage if >14:1d8 ⇒ 6
Collin twists out of the path of the arrow and with one smooth motion, draws a concealed dagger and throws it at the creature
Missile Attack versus AC 13:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8-2 range increment penalty
Poseus and Alomar are up now, and then the Orcs (Tafganor) will charge in to attack!
Damage Tracker:
no damage so far
DM Notes:
Sashi-Anhain, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 9 | AC 13, t 12, ff 11 | Ranged +3 (precise Shot), d8, Melee +2, d8+1 | F +3, R +2, W +0 | CMB +3, CMD 15 - Tafganor, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 10 | AC 12, t 10, ff 12 | Melee +3, d12+3 | F +4, R +0, W +1 | CMB +3, CMD 13
Poseus looks to where the arrow came from and sees two enemy faces to his west, to his north he discerns another face of a Tafganor. The young gymnaga is torn between being rashful and vindictive or mindful of the risks and safe.
If Poseus could charge the Tafganor at -E,9, probably not as there's a small tree in the way. Two-handed Charge Attack with Spear:1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 = 131d8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
If he can't charge.
Poseus drops his spear, moves a bit closer (to C,8) and with a good line of sight on the Tafganor north of him, draws the Sashi-Anhain bow and fires an arrow at him.
"You can have your kins bow back! One arrow at a time!" Ranged Attack:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 191d6 ⇒ 1
Alomar has respectable survival skills (+11), anything he noticed while Poseus and Deiredon where showing off their skills? ;-)
Alomar takes a quick look around and then casts a spell to turn the plants on the right flank into a impregnable mass. He tries to catch the three creatures on that side into the effect of the spell.
Entangle, DC14 centered so that no allies are caught into the effect, but -I6, -E9 and -D13 are
Poseus charges toward one of the enemies, his spear strikes hard and deep into the snake-man’s middle.
Poseus:
The monster at –E, 9 is a Sashi-Anhain, the Tafganor are all monsters that use Orc tokens, okay, and I will let you charge through the square with the small tree, but now you are in the area of effect of Alomar’s spell and need to make a reflex save, DC 13
Alomar:
You are certain that Poseus and Dieredon are following a well left trail, and do not notice anything that they would have missed
Alomar spins in place, taking in as many of the surrounding enemies as he can, and then quickly decides to try and pin down those to the east by calling up the growing things to bind his foes, unfortunately as he casts his spell, his friend Poseus madly charges at one of the snake bodied men...
One of the snake bodied men and the large course looking humanoid leap to the side at the last minute and avoid the sudden explosion of growth, while the other snake bodied man is trapped in the area of effect of the spell are bound fast, thorns and sharp edged vines lash at him drawing blood.
The non snake bodied men attack, one of the strange men charges out of the area of the tangling vegetation searching for the elf he was sure he saw only a moment ago
Perception:1d20 ⇒ 18
He spots the elf cleverly trying to blend in with a tree
Other savages rush toward the party. One of the beastly men comes within striking range of Collin
Collin ducks his head at the last moment and avoids the swing of the huge axe thanks to his small size
As two of the beastly men rush by where Caoraan is hiding she quickly summons a cloud of magic to put these two monsters to sleep
Will Save, Org_TG:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Will Save, Yel_TG:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10
in mid stride the two hulking men fall to the ground, and drop their weapons, while Caoraan moves back into the foliage
Riku is last to go in this round, whew this is complicated, and then Calex and Dieredon are up
Riku points his hand at the monster in front of colin and mutters something under his breath. The black tattoos seem to ripple around his arm before one leaps off and wraps itself around the beasts eyes. Murderous command on the SA in front of Colin. DC 16 will.
Calex sees the creature nearest him attacking Colin and with a quickly whispered word summons and throws an acrid green dart at the beast man.
Ranged Touch attack (Acid Dart):1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 Damage:1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Round 1 wrap up Prp_TG Will Save:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Round 2…
Calex speaks a whisper, and a shaft of acid springs forth from his hand, flies across the glade, and hits one of the beast men in the face, burning him with sticky acid
Dieredon emerges from concealment and charges the savage man-like creature that spotted him. With a lunge at the end of his charge he runs his blade into the creature, and then pulls it free dripping with grey-black blood. The monster is shocked, in pain, and near death, but it raises its weapon over its head and prepares to attack Dieredon...
Meanwhile, as Poseues fights free of the entangling vegetation, the Sashi-Anhain in front of him struggles with the lashing vines, draws a sword and attacks him
Org_SA Melee Attack:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18This opponent's AC is reduced by 2 should he be attacked
Unprepared for the snake-man's attack, Poseus is stabbed by the sword
Damage:1d8 ⇒ 4
Across the Glade, one of the Snake men rushes to get a better view of the party, and when he sees Alomar, he fires an arrow at him
Yel_SA Missile Attack:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
While the last Snake-man struggles free of the vegetation, and fires and Arrow at Riku
Red_SA Missile Attack:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
but both arrows miss their targets
Collin sees another one of the savage men coming his way from the trees to the west, and he draws a knife, lunges at the acid scarred attacker in front of him
Poseus is not Entangled, and can move out of the area of the spell's effect. What he does, and if he attacks an orc, will determine what the orcs remaining will do, so what are you going to do Poseus?
Poseus stabs at the Sashi-Anhain before him, then moves out of the entangled area to A-11 to help Dieredon out with his enemy. Two down, three to the right and then one down.
Poseus struggles against the lashing vines and shrubs that come to life under Alomar’s control. Leaning back he manages to bury his spear into the villain’s chest, and the snake-man dies on Poseus’ weapon. Twisting, and leaping, the young Gymnaga manages to move out of the area of the spell’s effect, and then he charges to Dieredon’s side.
As Poseus approaches his friend the brutish man-creature in front of him attacks Dieredon with a long handled axe, using both hands the monster swings in a wide arc
Melee Attack vs. Dieredon:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 Damage if >16:1d12 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Across the glade, the only still standing monstrous humanoid charges Collin
Melee Attack vs. Collin:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 Damage if >14:1d12 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
The beastial men, though powerful and aggressive, seem clumsy and inexperienced, their attacks missing.
The Orc attacking Collin, is now at a reduce AC, for charging
Alomar, seeing Poseus free of the Entangle Spell, and moving toward Dieredon, quickly speaks a blessing to his allies and moves into a position to assist his friends
Caoraan and Riku are up, two Orcs remain sleeping, one is dead, and one Sashi-Anhain is dead, Dieredon and Calex can post actions for round 3, if they are ready, I will try to update the map tonight. Thanks for hanging in!
Damage Tracker:
Poseus - takes 4 damage
Blu_TG – takes 8 damage
Prp_TG – takes 10 damage and dies
Org_TG - sleep
Yel_TG - sleep
Org_SA – dies
DM Notes:
Sashi-Anhain, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 9 | AC 13, t 12, ff 11 | Ranged +3 (precise Shot), d8, Melee +2, d8+1 | F +3, R +2, W +0 | CMB +3, CMD 15 - Tafganor, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 10 | AC 12, t 10, ff 12 | Melee +3, d12+3 | F +4, R +0, W +1 | CMB +3, CMD 13
Hiding amongst the foliage, Caorann points her finger at Yel SA and fires a mote of electricity. She then flits through the leaves and attempts to hide again.
Round 3, Blessed, Acid Dart ranged touch attack at the target located at F5 Ranged touch +4+1:1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 1 = 24 Damage:1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Seeing Colin fell his attacker, and with Riku's support, Calex turns back towards Alomar. Beyond the Maetaur Calex sees another of the giant malformed Gymnaga in the trees beyond, and launches another acidic dart at the slave-taker.
Despite being at the very farthest edge of his range Calex's magic strikes true.
Carefully taking in the slow and clumsy moves the inexperienced warrior in front of him, Dieredon times his next attack to strike as the man-creature completes his swing, and in a swift blow Dieredon severs the monster's arm at the shoulder killing him as the blade severs critical arteries
Almost as if they planned their attacks, Caorann and Calex simultaneously assault one of the Snake-men with missiles of magical power one of acid and another of electricity. the snake-man stiffens from the jolt and then his chest is struck by the acid, and he falls dead on his face.
When the snake-man felled by Caorann and Calex falls to the ground, his left hand extends out above his head, and something on his wrist glitters in the sunlight
Caorann:
You recognize the “bracelet” this creature is wearing as a ceremonial Druid’s belt worn by the leaders of the Altilyph tribes of the southern hills. It is a wide leather belt (for a lyph) adorned with semi-precious stones (cat’s eye, beryl, and onyx being the most common) and gold studs.
The Snake mane at the north end of the glade begins to look as if he is about to panic, his face shows genuine fear, but then, he snarls when he sees Poseus, and draws another arrow this time aiming at Riku
The arrow sails wide, passing close to Poseus, getting his attention and making him turn to see that there is another Sashi-Anhain still standing to the north
Collin ducks the axe of his opponent, still wielding the small knife he lunges at the hulking brute
Melee Attack:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 Damage if >11:1d3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Collin's knife is knocked aside by the handle of the axe as the monster swings it up high over his head ready to bring it crashing down on the halfling
Poseus now stands with Dieredon, the enemy between them dead on the forest floor
Alomar looks left and right, and suddenly it seems as if the ambush has failed miserable, with only two attackers still standing, but Collin looks like he is in over his head, literally.
Damage Tracker:
Poseus - takes 4 damage
Blu_TG – dies
Prp_TG – dies
Org_TG - sleep
Yel_TG - sleep
Org_SA – dies
Yel_SA – dies
DM Notes:
Sashi-Anhain, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 9 | AC 13, t 12, ff 11 | Ranged +3 (precise Shot), d8, Melee +2, d8+1 | F +3, R +2, W +0 | CMB +3, CMD 15 - Tafganor, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 10 | AC 12, t 10, ff 12 | Melee +3, d12+3 | F +4, R +0, W +1 | CMB +3, CMD 13
Day 9, Ambush in the woods
Just now noticed the last post dropped Calex and the first part of the Initiative Order tag, sheesh, be a better poster David!
Alomar has a chance here to stop the Orc from attacking Collin again. I am going to post this, but if Alomar comes up with something that works, I’ll retcon this post immediately!
The last standing Tafganor raises his weapon high and aims to bring it down on Collin.
Melee Attack:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 Damage if > 14:1d12 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Riku, annoyed by the stubborn ignorance that resists his spell, raises his crossbow and fires a bolt into the Melee, aiming for the monster’s head. applying a -4 modifier to Riku’s attack, it still hits!
The missile strikes the monster in the eye. The creature screams in pain and staggers backward
Caorann! I do not asee a post for your Round 3 action, did I make a mistake somewhere?
Calex is up, as Dieredon is spending round 4 running to Collin’s aid. If the Sashi-Anhain survives any attacks made by Caorann, Alomar, or Calex, he will try to avoid Poseus’ charge, and fire an arrow at him as he closes
Damage Tracker:
Poseus - takes 4 damage
Red_TG – takes 8 damage
Blu_TG – dies
Prp_TG – dies
Org_TG - sleep
Yel_TG - sleep
Org_SA – dies
Yel_SA – dies
DM Notes:
Sashi-Anhain, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 9 | AC 13, t 12, ff 11 | Ranged +3 (precise Shot), d8, Melee +2, d8+1 | F +3, R +2, W +0 | CMB +3, CMD 15 - Tafganor, level 1 Warrior (BAB +1), HP 10 | AC 12, t 10, ff 12 | Melee +3, d12+3 | F +4, R +0, W +1 | CMB +3, CMD 13
What if it were smaller? What if your world was nothing more than a simple village, a few hundred people of mixed races, some familiar, some strange? There might be a wizard, but he is not powerful, and there might be a witch, but she is not someone to be afraid of, and there could be a few people who know magic of other types. There is a Village Leader, and she is a veteran of some long ago war, but she doesn’t talk about it much. There is a Priest, and he is friendly, and often more helpful than he should be, but he is well liked. There are farmers, craftsmen, and skilled workers of many kinds, but mostly it is a humble, little, quiet, village.
I would like to suggest a game, the rules of which will be drawn from the entirety of the Pathfinder Rules (including Pathfinder Society), but with a decidedly smaller feel.
This will not be a big city, or a large town even, but a simple village. There will be a limit on the races and classes you can choose from, in the beginning, and there may be other limitations, equipment and such, but this is my idea:
I want to try and create a campaign setting, not all by myself, but with your help.
As the Dungeon Master I will provide opportunities for you characters to explore the world around this small village, discover dangerous things, find adventure, and with your input we will shape a new campaign setting, as we play.
I would like to keep as many of the core idealizations of Pathfinder, intact, but I hope to breathe new life into those frameworks. Goblins will be Pathfinder Goblins, statistically speaking, but how they behave, why they do and what they do, we will develop as the game plays out.
Most importantly I hope to see the discussion thread of this game used as much as if not more than the actual game thread.
Characters will be created by a system that is a consensus of eligible player ideas. I personally prefer rolling ability scores, but am willing to explore options. If there is interest in this game, I will post additional character creation guidelines.
The general idea will be that your character is a regular villager, taking up a new role as an adventurer, and the things you will explore will be created out of ideas we all put forth as well as my history of running games.
So, tell me, exactly, How Big Is Your World? How Big do you want it to be? How big can we make it?
It is an interesting idea. Do you envision as levels go up people stay around the village, or go adventuring, or that this becomes an analogue to "the shire" in "hobbit/lord of the rings"?
I am interested in this idea. It takes a village...makes the interplay with the town more realistic when that's all there is. Somethiing like Hommlett as a starting point and then it grows from there. I like.
Post some creation rules so we can get to rollin' em up. If that's also up for debate:
The idea of ordinary villagers means not really extraordinary abilities, I'd think. Core Races, 15pt buy max (or just 3d6) to set abilities. Not a bunch of superpowered dudes cracking heads but some ordinary joes who stumbled into something.
Average or less starting cash. Backstory pretty limited by environs. Strangers and strange characters would be socially outcast. Weapons would be pretty basic to start out with too.
Ooh, I've always wanted to play a game like this, it sounds like good fun. You have my full interest. I'd also like to agree with Mister Shaft over there: throw up some character creation rules!
Also, I know there's a Genius Guide to Apprentice Level Characters and a few other books with rules for starting out as "0-level" PCs. That sounds like it would be right up the alley of this kind of game.
@Terquem: Not attempting to derail this by any means; I think this type of game would work perfectly fine in Pathfinder. You should give Dungeon World a quick gander, though. That game is built around more of a "narrative control" model, players included. Not saying you should run a DW campaign, necessarily, but it might be a good source of inspiration or unique subsystem mechanics to draw from.
... a simple village, a few hundred people of mixed races, some familiar, some strange? ... There will be a limit on the races and classes you can choose from, in the beginning, ... but this is my idea:
I want to try and create a campaign setting, not all by myself, but with your help.
Can we start pitching setting ideas now? "Small village" suggests to me that there would be one or two races that make up the majority of the population (and possibly the majority of the adventuring party), with only a handful of outliers (a single individual from this race, a family from that, etc.). Some ideas:
The standard 98% human village.
98% gnome village
98% vanara village (or other non-core race)
wayangs and fetchlings in a village in the Plane of Shadow
A village where the majority of the population are half-elves and half-orcs, with the occasional "throwback" child born mostly human, elf, or orc
This sounds really interesting, something I wanted to try myself as well.
Thought to myself people start as NPC classes, so peasants, warriors or adepts etc..
I'll look forward to creation guidelines and see how it progresses.
My interest is certainly piqued. I'd love to see something like this come to fruition.
What about something like the Warcamp from Goblins? We're all (non-Golarion) goblins/kobolds/mites and have to deal with the way the world views us if we leave the village? Whatever the race, it would be one of those 1st level stepping stones. The guys that would be adventurers track down just to hit level 2.
This sounds interesting to me, as well. I'm also curious about the eventual scope of it all. I wonder how many adventures could occur in a small village.
Some things that might occur:
Standard hunting trip
Travelling to the nearest larger town for supplies
Follow/track a sibling or neighbor to discover a secret affair
Spy on a travelling merchant in town that gives the local witch a bad feeling
Investigate a local kid's goblin sighting, possibly including guard duty during the night
Something like this to me seems really interesting... some starting rules could be extremely limiting because of the fact that we will be exploring/expanding/creating this world. since this is a small village im thinking somewhere around 150 people max live here. the village gold supply would be extremely limited. starting gold should be as well. no1 should be able to start with more than maybe a single martial weapon, and nothing very fancy at that... light armor only (starting out)... no masterworks or magical items save maybe 1-2 CLW potions from the local priest... would you also maybe consider having 2 groups running through this world completely separate from each other except maybe the occasional crossing path? this would give you alot more information for the world and its environs... of course they would use the same discussion board but maybe we post in different boards or mark which group we're in. i would say 15 pt buy max for something like this since were supposed to be average people at first then step up to do something different. and maybe even limit caster classes at the start. idunno i could have alot of fun with this let me know the character creation rules and ill roll one up
@Rassil, the major problem I can see with two groups in the same world is posting frequency. If one group turns out to be really slow or very active, there could wind up being days, weeks, even months difference in their timelines.
Well, thank you, all of you, for the interest, suggestions, and questions. I’m posting this to say that I am writing up a longer post to address these topics:
Character Creation Progression Details of the Setting Posting Conventions
Some things that I am thinking about, these would be my suggestions and do not necessarily constitute final decisions.
I do not like point buy systems
I like core races, but I do not like the half-elf or half-orc (In both of my existing campaign settings, Hamth and Riom, I do not allow half-orcs or Half-elves)
And I hope to open a discussion of the two things I do not understand about Play by Post adventures that trouble me the most. First, that it seems Player Characters do not ask enough questions. Second, that it seems that Player Characters do not easily engage each other with questions or discussions out of character about what they would like to try to do.
I am interested as well. I haven't played Play by Post adventures before, but i am quite familiar with Pathfinder. How big is your group going to be/will you have 2 different groups with so many people interested.
As far as engaging each other out of character you could post everything your character says in bold, and then general questions or comments out of character not bolded.
I think one of the reasons for the scarcity of clarifying questions like you might get at the table (I think that's what your first issue is about) is this.
0600 - DM Posts
1200 - Player 1 asks a few clarifying questions
1800 - DM answers questions
1900 - Player 2 asks a few more questions
2000 - DM answers those
2200 - Player 1 has some more questions
0600 - DM answers final questions
That's 24 hours of clarification and delays, in the eyes of most players. At a table, those questions take a few seconds. When some people only post once or twice a day, clarifying questions can stretch the introduction of a scene by hours or days.
I might have totally misread what you meant about asking questions. If so, sorry about that.
quick response: That is a very good point,twilsemail. My experiences, limited as they are to only two current PbP games, are not like that, and for the most part have practically no questions at all. I blame myself for this, mostly, and am always looking for ways to encourage questions.
I see a couple of questions regarding the size and make up of the “Group” that might be a part of this campaign. Let me tell you what my first thought was in this area, but first let me make a disclaimer, now, that may drive some players away.
I have been thinking about this kind of Play by Post experiment for a long time. I have a few ideas about taking it in directions that might be unorthodox, and most importantly, I never saw this game taking off at the speed of a zephyr, like some PbP games do, and like many hopeful players expect. It has also been my experience that many on line forum participants seem to have an unnatural somewhat unexplainable fear that the internet might suddenly vanish, so therefore things should be addressed with immediacy. I do not expect Paizo to fold any time soon, and baring some change in Internet Accessibility Laws or Paizo’s interest in keeping these kinds of forums active, I don’t expect things to change. So my disclaimer:
This game activity may not move quickly enough for everyone’s satisfaction.
The idea of the “Group Dynamic” in the Woodbridge Campaign setting:
My first thought about establishing a small village, and creating an environment for Players to create characters that will interact with this village, and surrounding areas, did not include the creation of a specific “Adventuring Group”. What I actually envisioned, given the nature of the Play by Post environment, was that players would create characters that were part of the village (not visitors or professional adventures) who generally knew everyone else in the village, including all other Player Characters. As the Dungeon Master I will work hard to create as complete a setting (small setting) as I can that includes challenges that face the village as a whole, and possibly challenges for specific character types, and then it would be up to the Players, however many in number they are, to talk among themselves to establish “who” was going to go off and do “what”. Now this is just my initial idea and I can see the potential for problems with this approach, but I also see potential for establishing adventuring parties in ways that are not normally viable in the conventional, “sit down at the table and we have only a couple of hours to get this game moving” way.
So I envision a game thread where Characters are introduced, and situations are presented, and then Players try to make parties out of available characters to take on different challenges.
One of the rules I was thinking of working out would be a way to manage posting conventions so that no individual Player Character, or group of Player Characters, became disappointed with the progression of Natural (in game time) versus the passing of real world time. But I have some ideas about that as well and will post them in another thread.
This explanation has not diminished my interest, but instead enhanced it somewhat. The everyday life and look and feel strikes me as not being as forced as many canned adventures. Sounds like a lot more work for the DM especially if you have an "open" cast of characters.
But if my PC wants to buy a weapon, for example, and they have to buy it from another PC who is the blacksmith instead of a cliche NPC, that sounds unique.
I would like to see character advance in levels. That being said, I have a question,
Do Play by Post players feel cheated when their characters level and nothing happened that allowed them to use powers or abilities they had selected for the previous level?
One of the things I was going to suggest was a two-part experience point system. The first part would be a participation award, granting characters experience awards for simply being active in both “role-playing” and campaign setting development. The second part would be an experience point award based upon word count of posts, not including dice rolls. And then finally I was seriously considering enforcing level advancement rules that were a distinct part of the village setting itself. For example, a character leveling in a Spell Casting class who is allowed to “automatically” add two new spells to a spell book or familiar, would be required to show, in the setting, how this new ability came to be, or a Martial Class character that wants to add a feat that describes a unique Martial Talent would have to “learn” that talent from someone, or somehow. I realize that this might add a component to the game activity that would seem to slow it down, but again as I’ve stated before, I don’t see that this game will appeal to players who are looking for a fast paced adventure atmosphere.
About Character Creation
I am not a fan of point buy systems. In my opinion they tend to lend themselves too easily to “Dump Stat” situations. Now in my time as a Dungeon Master I have had many Characters in games who had low ability scores, but it has been my experience that most players have a desire, even if small, to role play the character’s limitations, whereas in “dump stat” situations I am seeing in the past few years, the player has no desire to play the lowered ability score, and there is a real significant reason it is called a “dump stat”.
That does not mean I am against using a point buy system exclusively. I see that there are players who prefer both Point buy and Die roll methods. When I used the expression, “a consensus of eligible player ideas,” I meant that. Now, I haven’t, yet, figured out what is going to be the criteria for determining what an “eligible player” is, but I do want to encourage a discussion and eventually a consensus among the players as to what will be the preferred character ability score generation system for this campaign.
As far as other Character Creation factors, I will be working, today, on the village, I am going to take some ideas mentioned above and post suggestions about the Size and Diversity of the village, and that will determine things such as starting equipment, wealth, classes represented, and races available.
To start I need some feedback on some basic assumptions.
Is the village geographically isolated (beyond a mountain range, dense forest or desert) or is it located where travelers often come and go (along a major navigable river, or maybe on the shore of a large lake, or is it a coastal village, though I do want to be cautious about creating another “Sandpoint”.
I feel the village should be part of a bigger unified political entity, but what should we establish at the start? Should we say it is part of a Township (the highest authority being a Knight/Sheriff type individual), or do we need to establish something just a bit larger, County, Parish, Barony, Kingdom?
On Character Creation: A point buy system will work for if dumping is your only concern. All that would be required is to set a floor on how low you can dump an ability, like 8, for instance. A PC does a 20 Point Buy, but no ability score can be lower than 8 after racial adjustments.
Setting Questions: I agree that you need not develop[ any further at this point than a ruling authority in a Township, or mayby a Barony, if you really want to stretch it. So long as there is some level of authority beyond the local elder or mayor from a protection and law enforcement perspective.
I really like where this is going as far as explaining of new abilities or spells. Some might view it as slowing the game down, but i think it increases the role playing factor.
In regards to the ability score generation, i personally prefer randomness (die rolls). Would you do 4d6 drop the lowest, or just 3d6 for each stat?
For the village geography this is your show and i'm up for anything. If i had a suggestion though, i like the idea of being somewhat secluded by a mountain range and dense forest. I feel this enhances the small village feel.
Depending on how secluded we were would obviously change the political structure. We could be part of a county with a Lordship that rules the nearby lands.
I'm not deterred at all. It sounds like a wonderful idea for a game.
PC Creation: I'd love to see people have two options (and stick with them) You can do 4d6(drop Low) or a 10 or 15 pb. High risk, possible high reward. Perhaps you can do either 3d6 or 4d6(dl) in order. Again, there's risk involved.
Geography What about an island in an archipelago kingdom? It's different than the norm and it limits commoner travel about as much as a remote village does.
I'm not deterred at all. It sounds like a wonderful idea for a game...
Geography What about an island in an archipelago kingdom? It's different than the norm and it limits commoner travel about as much as a remote village does.
At first this sounded intriguing, but then I was stumped by the notion that, yes, commoner travel is difficult, but merchant and noble travel, in this situation, is easier.
If our village has regular (monthly?) visits along shipping routes, then there should be a representation of just about every race possible in the campaign setting. So, I’m thinking island would be harder to manage than a remote village.
I’m also narrowing down some ideas about race choices. I think there should be no more than 6, and the ones I’m thinking of should be; Human, Halfing, Dwarf, Elf, and one monster race, and then two more selected from a collection of existing Pathfinder races and a couple of races I’ve created in the past that never got to be in the spotlight.
Two that are possible in that list will be:
Maetaur: A Medium sized centaur, the human looking part is about the size of a Halfling, and the horse part is more like a small pony.
Gymnagaophthian (Naga): A human-lizard hybrid (the name is derived from the Family, Gymnophthalmidae, of the Order Squamata). The torso is again similar in size to a halfling, while the lower body is a long tail, including a structure below the hips that resembles the fusion of two limbs at the knee, but with no lower leg bones. This body structure gives these Naga-people the ability to “stand” after a fashion making them almost as tall as a short human, but they normally prefer to move with their waist nearly touching the ground. Unlike Snake-people, who have long bodies and short tails (something the Naga-people are usually quick to point out) Naga-people have short bodies and long tails. They are semi-aquatic and biologically related to Skinks.
@Terquem: Can we have a final ruling on the ability score generation?Ii am just asking because based upon the races that you have suggested and what has been decided so far, I think we can start to generate characters for your review once this decision has been made.
Well, thank you for the enthusiasm, Filios. Yes I do want to start bringing some of these ideas together, but as I've already said, it might be slower than you are comfortable with.
Now I can post thousands of words every day (writing made up things has never been difficult for me), but I do not want to rush down the road of , “A wagon is overturned, and there are goblins” just yet.
But I will get some things solidified, soon.
Also, I am all for having players in this campaign having to deal with each other for things they want or need. It will be a small village, and each Player Character will be an important part of that village, in some way.
That's fine. I completely understand the notion of reaching consensus before progressing. I certainly had no intention of pushing anyone to a hasty conclusion. It just seems to me that you have had several different options presented for ability score generation. This is your game, and you will eventually have to make a ruling. We can talk about it until we are blue in the face, but I do not think we will ever agree totally on one way because everyone has different preferences.
In appearance, yes, but perhaps with a slightly shorter overall length
The Naga-people I have been working on (yes they have an established culture), would take offense to being referred to as “Yaun-Ti” or Snake-people. Though for most people in the campaign setting it is difficult to distinguish the differences, but primarily, Naga are smaller. They have smaller human-looking torsos and smaller (shorter) lengths. A typical Naga is not usually over twelve feet long, and again they are quick to point out that the lower part of their body is, in fact, a tail, and they will explain, at length, that snake-people, have shorter tails (though they are longer overall) and long bodies. Also, Yaun-Ti, in this campaign setting, cannot remain upright, without support, for very long, whereas Naga-people can stand for long periods, balancing on the bone structure of their lower legs (which are completely within the lower “lizard looking” part of their body).
I would also be interested. I've never played a PBP, but have a lot of experience playing PF and editions of the game before PF existed.
Regarding the setting, what about something like late 18th/early 19th century Saint Louis (now Missouri, then part of the Louisiana Territory)? It was a small town situated near enough to three rivers that people would come and go, mostly fur traders heading up the Missouri and Upper Mississippi Rivers, into Indian country. It existence as a trading outpost allowed for some interaction with the outside world (and its goods), but the city's remoteness from the cities of Louisiana in the south (New Orleans, smaller trading posts and missions) meant both overland and riverine travel was a long, dangerous journey, replete with natural hazards, hostile Indians, and bandrity/river piracy. Still, the money was worth it, and folks, mostly mountain men, naturalists, artists and explorers who were good at navigating different cultures and comfortable in the wilds would head to the Northwest, and then back through St. Louis to New Orleans in a repeating cycle, hoping to acquire wealth, fame and power along the way.
Is this a society composed of all of these races living together? How long has this village been around? Is it normal to see humans with maetaurs and the monstrous race all hanging out together?
Good question. I've been thinking of how that could work. I usually change some basic features of some races (Elves and Dwarves do not live hundreds of years in my other campaign settings, but typically live well over 120, so this creates the myth among humans that they live much longer).
I'm thinking a Human village, or primarily a village that is on the frontier of a Human region, on a navigable, but not large, river. The river source is unknown to the people of the village, but upriver, just a short distance is a Naga settlement (less than five families, and they inhabit a fort like settlement that may not be of Naga origin – we’ll see how that could develop).
There are also two other settlements within a short walk from the village proper. These additional settlements (part of the village economics but separated from the main village enough to create a comfortable distance) will be for a small Maetaur community (a couple of families) and any other race that would not normally live immediately with other humanoid races, if we want to have one or two other races.
The regular village community is not unaccustomed to seeing Maetaur or Naga (or other races) and some trade and skills are needed between these groups, but the reason for the diversity can be established as the game takes shape.
Downriver a few miles from the village, going toward the mouth of the river, is a town, Castletown. It can be reached in a couple of days, by foot.
I would like to know if there are suggestions for the races for this setting.
I'd love to see something less human. Kobolds or Ratfolk perhaps. If we aren't sticking with the PF races, then something even more alien or bizarre. Perhaps a plant race or a construct race with ties to the builders of the fort?
Are the maetaur and Naga natives or transplants? We are on the frontier, neh? Is that the human frontier or just the frontier of civilization? Are the Naga or Maetaur (or whoever might be the natives) being displaced?
Re:guns- I'm happier with a gunless fantasy and support your decision with all of the power vested in me as a potential player.
I would like to know if there are suggestions for the races for this setting.
I'm finding the current list to look alright. If you do want a Monstrous race, as listed upthread though, how monstrous are we talking? On the more humanoid setting, I could picture Tengu, Catfolk, or Kitsune in here. A bit farther out there I could see Hobgoblins, Kobolds, or Nagaji (these are all just suggestions straight from the ARG that feel like they might fit without being too obstrusive.)
For the low key beginning, what's the stance on magic? Rare, fairly common, or somewhere in between? I don't think I've seen it mentioned particularly.
1) the idea of frontier town on the edge of the creeping advance of civilization (like St Louis a little) appeals to me. The nearby town might be a larger outpost of human expansion into an area where the monstrous (and to some extent, fantasy) races existed before. Also, the nearest seat of power. This expansion creates friction similar to frontier vs indigneous people. War-like kobolds or goblins etc make travel to this area risky, friendly races help support and trade together, but friction is still there as cultures collide and the crush of civlization creeps inevitably closer.
2)Magic-I envision a low magick area, but not non-existent. The quality and depth of magical ability would increase as the characters/story developed, but would be limited at outset.
Re: races: I like the idea of different cultures having to interact, with all the growing pains that it entails. A more monstrous race would bring the contrast into place nicely. I think Maetaur and Naga cover this ground as designed by Terquem, but the chance to play a ratfolk, kobold or tengu is appealing to me.
Re: guns: I don't mind them, but don't need them - good with whatever.
Re: magic: I think Twilsemail's thoughts are pretty cool, and that in general, as Shaft states, it would be rare on the frontier - at least learned magic. I imagine witches could serve in some areas as the divine, oracles would pop up in the most unexpected of places, and clerics would make their way to the frontier with dreams of bringing the locals into the fold of their respective religions.
Alchemists could be re-skinned to be herbalists using native fauna and flora for their extracts and mutagens. Or the one doctor in town could be an alchemist from a far away big city, a wealthy gent or lady who is always a little too pleased to see patients...
Players will have the choice of either rolling their ability scores using the following method
Roll 4d6, a total of 4 times, dropping the lowest rolled number from each roll to generate four ability scores. Roll 5d6, a total of three times, dropping the two lowest rolled numbers from each roll and then selecting from the three rolls the two best scores to generate two ability scores. Characters that choose this method receive a bonus of +10% starting wealth.
Or arranging their scores using a point buy system with the following restrictions
Your characters ability scores begin at 10 and you have 20 points to purchase ability score increases per the standard Pathfinder rules. No ability score can be lowered to less than 7 AFTER the application of racial modifiers. No ability score can be raised to greater than 17 BEFORE the application of racial modifiers. Characters that choose this method will be given one BONUS trait selected from the Basic Traits list.
All Characters begin at first level
All Characters begin with Maximum Hit Points
All Characters begin with One (1) trait selected from the Basic traits list
The following Races are available to Players for creating characters
Human
Elf
Halfling
Maetaur
Gymnaga
The following Classes are available to Players creating characters (of any race)
Bard
Cleric
Fighter
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer
Wizard
The following Classes are available with Race restrictions
Alchemist: a Character that is an Elf or Halfling may be an Alchemist
Cavalier: a Character that is an Elf or Maetaur may be a Cavalier. Maetaur Cavaliers may only belong to the Order of the Lion (in this setting known as the Companions of Haeur) – they begin the game with an animal companion that is a Bobcat or Fox instead of a mount. Any Cavalier ability related to the use of a “Mount” is always available to the Maetaur Cavalier. Elven Cavaliers may belong to the Orders of; Shield, Sword, Seal, or Blue Rose
Druid: a Character that is an Elf or Halfling may not be a Druid
Inquisitor: a Character that is an Elf or Gymnaga may be an Inquisitor
Magus: a Character that is an Elf or Halfling may be a Magus
Oracle: a Character that is a Halfling may not be an Oracle
Paladin: a Character that is an Elf may be a Paladin
Summoner: a Character that is a Halfling may be a Summoner
Witch: a Character that is a Human, Maetaur, or Gymnaga may be a Witch
I am writing up details of the various Races and their relationships to each other. Basically the campaign setting involves Humans, Maetaur and Gymnaga who are indigenous populations, and Humans, Elves and Halflings who constitute “Invaders”. However, the indigenous population is not antagonistic to the “Invaders” as it will be shown that the invader groups have recently overthrown a third population of indigenous Humans and Snake-people who have had a tyrannical and unstable government for several generations.
Magic There are high levels of both Arcane and Divine Magic present in this setting. Local populations have limited access to powerful Arcane Magic, and have a small Divine representation as far as organized religion is concerned, but have strong representation in the Divine as Druids and Witches (with some Oracles). The Invader populations have very high levels of Arcane and Divine magic but these are under strict controls. It is rumored that there is a movement among the Elves that is in opposition to the authority of their Divine casters. A very strange relationship exists between the Elves and the Halflings regarding Arcane Magic.
On Character Creation: Just a thought on class levels. How would you feel about letting us start out as an NPC class and working into a PC class? Maybe even trading out the NPC class levels as we progress in NPC classes. I imagine that a small village might have a handful of PC classes available but the majority of residence would be assumed to have NPC classes tied into a specific job or role in the community.
On Experience Rewards: I like the 2 tier XP system idea. After all, why should a person not progress in levels because of real world experiences? The PF XP system assumes you can only learn and grow by killing (mostly) but (generally) offers no reward for social interaction or other experiences.
I’m okay with a player wanting to begin with an NPC class, but let me have some time to work out which classes (and which races) are compatible in this setting.
I am opening the discussion thread with two separate posts each one detailing enough information to create a Gymnaga or Maetaur. I will follow those up with some important information about the setting and some things about the existing (common) races that may be unique to this campaign.
To help me manage things I am not opening the game thread just yet, but over the next few days seems likely.
Please feel free to use the discussion thread for character development.
I've got a while before I'll actually have a concept, but I'd like to express my interest in playing a Gymnaga. I don't know if you plan on capping out the ammount of PCs in any of the races. But that's me tossing in my claim.
I'm itching to read more about the custom races and how the Natives and "invaders" get along.
