The Chess Arenas (Inactive)

Game Master adsapiens

As it happens everywhere – it happens with Pathfinders too! A cosmic being of extraplanar powers collects champions from different lineages and origins to battle in his arenas – either for his amusement or for plain survival! In a dimension in the center of hundreds of other pocket ones, this dictator hosts a mortal game to keep his people at bay. Bread and circus, they scream!

The characters are heroes and villains from the regular Pathfinder campaigns, taken from their journeys at a certain path and brought as prisoners to this new, foreign land. Here they have been for months, starving and isolated most of the time, barely seeing other living creatures until they’re fed or, rarely, when some other activity starts. It’s a different type of torture; the one only true and unbearable solitude can provide.

Finally, now, it comes the point where these characters, themselves, become the entertainment. They’re broken and each of them can’t think of anything other than escaping from this place. The proposal is simple – fight. Fight at the arenas. And then, you might have a chance for freedom.

This game is a big PvP sandbox with some PvE elements on the background. There’s a story going on, but the focus is definitely on playing the classes and measuring them against each other in performance combat. Think Mojoverse in the X-Men series or any of these “big sagas” in Marvel or DC which just worked as an excuse to have heroes and villains fighting. That’s what this game is about, a “Planet Hulk” type of place. It will start before the first combats, and there will always be some “campaign elements” going on during and in-between such events.

I will add the rules and other details to the Campaign Tab and keep updated there with questions etc. – please make sure to read it before submitting anything here :) And welcome!

P.S. I was considering hosting a high level gestalt game adapting some AP, but I decided to run this one instead. If anyone wants to host the other one, please go ahead! I'd sure as hell submit a character there too, but for now I simply prefer to commit my GM time to this little sandbox game here, if you guys don't mind ;)

This looks like fun. I'll start working on a char.

Very interesting.

Just curious, will there be any leveling/increase in ability/power at all?

Hi Monkey! I will bring it up to the players once a first "season" of combats end, but my plans right now are to keep it on the same power level.

Dot for interest.

Ideas are simmering in the depths of my core!

.... will look into some classes and archetypes.

Thinking a female Lashunta alchemist who has taken an interest with Vernon and had decided to make herself more like them... going to work on details as I go.

okay, dotting for interest. I'll kick together something shortly and get it posted.

Ooh, interesting.

I am thinking....Kobold Monk. Because why not?

I'd like to give my many armed gunslinger a shot. What's the level of firearms?

- Firearms are extremely rare and early firearms only.

Derp. Ctrl+F doesn't work if you don't open the right spoiler.

Mr. Devious, is HP addressed? Didn't see it.

Hrm, don't think so, except in that we're NOT using wound thresholds.

I updated with HP rules (full for first level then half+1).

Behold, here is Vrog Skyreaver's entry.

Hey, sounds fun. To be sure I understand, we might or might not start out within sight of each other, right?

Also, can you clarify what our intent is in each battle? Just to kill our opponent (with performance combat there to influence the fight and make it more interesting)? Or to win the performance as well?

EDIT: I see the submission above me is gestalt. I know the interest check that proceeded this was for gestalt but the character creation rules don't mention it so I figured this game wasn't. Can you clarify that too?

Thanks!

Hey, sounds fun. To be sure I understand, we might or might not start out within sight of each other, right?

Also, can you clarify what our intent is in each battle? Just to kill our opponent (with performance combat there to influence the fight and make it more interesting)? Or to win the performance as well?

EDIT: I see the submission above me is gestalt. I know the interest check that proceeded this was for gestalt but the character creation rules don't mention it so I figured this game wasn't. Can you clarify that too?

Thanks!

Take a look at the campaign info tab and all your questions shall be answered =)

Vrog, you sound so certain, I just reread the rules in the campaign tab a second time. Where in that tab do you see gestalt mentioned?

(If I'm missing it, I'm stubbornly missing it and would appreciate a quote.)

Thanks,

It's most definitely not Gestalt.

In most cases you won't have line of sight of your opponent, but some maps you do - then again with invisibility and stealth, what if, right?

There's no victory with performance only, but this is detailed on the campaign tab. Performance combat, however, strongly increases your chances of success. In most builds at least.

Would you be willing to hand-waive issues with paladin codes to support the use of a paladin here? It seems like it would be hard to justify fighting to the death within the normal paladin framework, but I enjoy paladins mechanically so thought I'd ask.

Edited to say that I wasn't considering the fact that you can only smite evil things, and there is no guarantee the other players will be evil, so maybe not...

Hmm... I'm tempted. I was just thinking about arena games recently. Wouldn't necessarily want to run one, but playing sounds fun. I'll take a gander at the rules and see if something clicks.

If while in the arena, if we are always in initiative order and count rounds, how do we track when we are officially "in combat" or not? Specifically in regards to the Inquisitor's judgment ability, when can a judgment start and when does it end?

Can we not do ammunition in increments of 100? 100 silver bullets is 2500. Same for cold Iron. 6000 for adamantine. I usually kept 75 normal, 15 adamantine, 30 silver and 30 cold iron. That's 3450 instead of 12200.

I wrote that down on the Campaign Info. You don't count as "in-combat" until you actually engage the enemy/interact with him. If the characters clearly disengage and don't interact with each other for some rounds, you'll drop out of combat. Observe you might "enter" and "leave" combat also against the NPCs on the arena.

This is Zayne. Had this guy for a while on the boards. Never got picked up so always had to update. I think I am done.

hrmm....I will need to remove my medium stuff then.

and I have it fixed.

I just realized that posting our characters here is going got make it very hard not to think about counter measures since this is going to be a PVP arena.

This does seem like fun!

I stab people in the face with a sword. I suppose you could countermeasure that by not having face, but I'm now sure how well that would work out for you.

Sorry, one more question - would a Circlet of Persuasion give a +3 competence bonus on performance combat checks, since that is a Charisma-based check? I thought it would, but Hero Lab isn't reflecting that, so I got confused.

Interesting... but I'm not that great of an optimizer, so I think I'll just watch.

Interesting... but I'm not that great of an optimizer, so I think I'll just watch.

I am going to be decidedly NOT optimized, and Chess mentioned 'winning' was not a pre-req for being brought back for further rounds as long as you're playing a realistic character well and in an entertaining way. Just in case you really wanted to play but were afraid of being pushed out by the min-max squad.

Oh, I know exactly what I'll be submitting to this, it may take a moment to put my submission together, though.

Dotting.

I wanna make a character who uses the performance rules. Thinking some sort of Aldori Fighter (without the actual aldori swordlord archetype).

Question: Since all Consumables are banned does that mean spells with expensive material components are also out? And if they are indeed allowed how many 'doses' should we purchase?

I'm thinking of making a psychic with maybe a slight Eldritch Knight flavour (though not the actual class!) and Stone Skin is godsend for squishies!

Almonihah wrote:

Interesting... but I'm not that great of an optimizer, so I think I'll just watch.

I am going to be decidedly NOT optimized, and Chess mentioned 'winning' was not a pre-req for being brought back for further rounds as long as you're playing a realistic character well and in an entertaining way. Just in case you really wanted to play but were afraid of being pushed out by the min-max squad.

The other reason being that I should probably stop applying for more PbP's, since I really have too many already. XD

Still... my Kitsune Swordsfox seems like he'd be fun to play in an arena setting, though hardly that effective...

I just realized that posting our characters here is going got make it very hard not to think about counter measures since this is going to be a PVP arena.

Not a big deal... I'd recommend trying to have multiple tricks on your sleeve anyway. Plus, you never know who you'll be drawn against. :)

Sorry, one more question - would a Circlet of Persuasion give a +3 competence bonus on performance combat checks, since that is a Charisma-based check? I thought it would, but Hero Lab isn't reflecting that, so I got confused.

Feel free to make questions! That's fine. Yes, the Circlet does affect performance combat checks.

Since all Consumables are banned does that mean spells with expensive material components are also out? And if they are indeed allowed how many 'doses' should we purchase?

Good question. I might have to update there on the campaign tab but yes, spells with expensive material components are also out. Basically, other than things like ammunition, you shouldn't put gold in anything that is permanently destroyed or consumed and that doesn't recharge with ease. Staffs, for example, can be recharged - so if the character is capable of recharging his own staff fully, I think they'd be fair game.

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About optimization: you'll probably see most players fairly optimized. That's fine. Some people won't be, but if we're all having fun, that's what matters at the end. If someone is simply optimizing but not actually doing the RP part doing the events, I don't think I'd bring this person to a second event. Does it make sense? This is still not "video-game" if you guys catch my analogy :)

And optimization has taken my character concept from "Performing Aldori Duelist" to "Orphan who was approached by a magical cat that is actually the reincarnation of her sister to give her a holy quest to become a magical girl in her stead."

Honestly, I think optimization has added significant flavor to this character.

And optimization has taken my character concept from "Performing Aldori Duelist" to "Orphan who was approached by a magical cat that is actually the reincarnation of her sister to give her a holy quest to become a magical girl in her stead."

Honestly, I think optimization has added significant flavor to this character.

And of course my first thought is, "Hey! I've played a magical cat!" XD

Hey, Chess, would you rule that a Familiar uses it's Master's Base Saving throws for qualifying for feats?

Hi Illia, the familiars use their own stats for qualifying for feats.

May I assume that their base saving throws go up according to hit die type then? Because the base game assumes +2/2/0 regardless of hit dice or type of creature.

If not, alas, I will have to figure out some other method of see invis.

Would we be able to use consumables (aka like wands) if we bought 100 uses of them? (Seeing that's what you did for Ammo)

For example, if we buy 2 full 50-use wands of Shield for our personal use, it's probably pretty fair to say that you'd probably be set for the entire rest of a AP with that stock.

This no consumables thing is killing me. No potions, alchemical items, oils. And the "No items with less than 3 uses per day are allowed" is surprisingly difficult to account for too.

Also:

Can we not do ammunition in increments of 100? 100 silver bullets is 2500. Same for cold Iron. 6000 for adamantine. I usually kept 75 normal, 15 adamantine, 30 silver and 30 cold iron. That's 3450 instead of 12200.

For familiars: we're using the official rules/base game, as terrible as they might seen.

For consumables: sorry, we will keep the rules as stated. Yes, this means basically no wands or oils or potions. The ammunition is an exception, and even then it's a very expensive exception mostly to not completely invalidate certain classes.

So I guess this also responds the question about ammunition. Sorry, guys, but I think you get the exact idea as to why we're doing it.

Eh, well, as long as people keep doing what they've been doing and playing fightery types, it's no problem. But the moment there's a full caster on the field, they'll have so many ways to completely prevent fighters from being able to engage that the fighters can't get around all of them without limited use items.

Hell, with the three a day limitation, a martial has to drop a fourth of his budget just to be able to fly.

But so far, people seem to be going Martial types, so this should be fun.

So I guess this also responds the question about ammunition. Sorry, guys, but I think you get the exact idea as to why we're doing it.

Mostly. Only admantine would be a problem. Silver and cold iron don't have any effect on most PC's. But there are other things in the dungeon. That's why I asked.

You are absolutely correct, Zayne! There are other things in the dungeon, which probably are much more mortal to casters than martial characters. Or not! Maybe I'm wrong.

Okay, I went ahead and started a new build of Kit for this, even though I was just saying I had too many PbP's already. XD

This is still a rough draft, with a lot of things missing (like checking if I have enough gold for what I bought, and a background and...). Still, this should give the impression of what Kit's like. He's actually my Reign of Winter character, but he seemed like he'd be fun to throw into an arena.

is this game still recruiting?