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A dry desert wind courses through the sheltered port city of Sarkeslion, making the ten hundred wind baffles on its eastern edge clatter in syncopation to the ten million rustling leaves of its garden forest. Above the gentle roar of steel-drying ovens, the rattling of cart wheels, and the sandy hiss of a spinehair trader's tail, it brings with it snatches of conversation in a dozen tongues – ”Taste this!” ”-infested with glutton globs” ”Give thanks-” ”-tunnels are collapsed!” The desert's sulfurous breath is mollified slightly by the smells of the city – the raspberry tang of a fumelung's smoke and the warm scent of fresh fish burritos.
From temple-studded Souaan Hill on the outskirts of town, one can see the Island Sea stretching away into the western horizon. If one turns around, one can see the Barrier Wall swallowing up the eastern. Orcish steam-powered paddleships laden with priceless iron from distant Borage, and cirrip ice-draggers bearing whole frozen sea beasts, dock at the crescent-shaped harbor, while wagons full of hotchi adolescents and fresh produce trundle freely in on the dusty planed road through the eastern gate. The city has already woken and begun its morning business, but four Sarkeslians have yet to embark on theirs.
I'm opening recruitment for a travelogue game based in a homebrew setting, using the Pathfinder system. This game will prioritize roleplay over combat, with the ratio being respectively about 60:40. The theme is something like ”Wild West, but without the racism and exploitation,” and the setting takes a lot of aesthetic inspiration from the American Great Basin.
What's a travelogue? For me, it's a story that showcases a number of unique locations and cultures, with more focus on that experience than on villains or catastrophes. It's early Star Trek, or Kill Six Billion Demons, or Louise Erdrich, or even Their Eyes Were Watching God. Kobold Cleaver's "We're Gonna Take a Walk Outside Today" is also a good example of a travelogue story in PBP format, though I'm hoping to spend less time on each specific area.
What's the system? We'll be running Pathfinder with my houserules. I am open to suggestions for new houserules, or criticism about those I currently have in place.
What's the setting? To a large extent, that depends on you! We'll be expanding my base setting information by creating characters and playing – players will be encouraged to improvisationally flesh out towns, cultural artifacts, and even play NPCs as the situation allows. That said, I do have some ground-level facts about the setting and the starting area that I've posted in the spoiler labeled ”What does my character know about the world?”
How long will this last? We'll run one episode – taking a few months in real life, but lasting about one level and encompassing several hundred miles in-game – and then pause, potentially continuing the game into a longer campaign or ending at that point. See ”Things to know for the future” for a little bit more info about, well, the future.
How much do I need to post? You're welcome to post more often than me, but I want at least 3 posts per week from all players (including myself!).
What content are we going to avoid? I want to avoid slavery, rape, and child abuse. I don't want to whitewash the world, but I also don't want to try and tell people what experiencing these really awful things is like as a white man with a fair bit of privilege (and I've seen far too many backstories that begin with ”after his sister was sold into slavery . . .”). There are plenty of very good serious games out there where you can delve into those topics, but I want to keep this game's tone relatively light.
With regards to player behavior: If you've got a problem with anti-imperialist stories, non-binary gender identities, or sensitively representing things like mental illness, you're probably not going to have fun in this game. Just don't punch down!
Okay. How do I apply? Post the following two things:
- A summary of your PBP and writing-based roleplay experience. If you don't have any PBP experience whatsoever, I'm keeping a few slots open for newbies. If you do have PBP experience, I'd really appreciate at least a link to your favorite game (or the one where you did the best roleplay) so I can figure out if our styles will mesh. Information about your experience with PBP will be a primary factor in player selection.
- A character concept, and your ability score rolls (if you want to try rolling, that is - there are no penalties for doing so and then changing to Point Buy). Note that you have to roll ability scores in your first post if you want to use rolls. You don't have to include any statistics to submit a concept, but if you do want to generate a whole character, take a look at the ”How do I make a character?” spoiler below!
Consult the following spoilers for information about me as a GM, the setting, the character creation process, and a few notes for future reference.
What's your experience as a "gamer?" I've been playing TTRPGs since middle school, and I have several years of experience roleplaying online. For example, I am currently running one travelogue-ish game on voice and Roll20, and maintain a journal for it here. I also ran a one-shot PBP with a name I regret, which you can read here, and currently run a small PBP of unknown duration for a game that was originally on roll20 here (not my best GMing work, I think, but a bit more up to date than the AMF game). I have also played in several PBPs on Paizo, with my role in Kobold Cleaver's Age of Worms being the longest-lasting. These links should give you a rough idea of the amount of roleplaying and description I want to provide as a GM.
What's your GMing philosophy? I'm a recovering simulationist working on my ability to tell a good story. That means I still get hung up on boring tracking s$+* sometimes – if you feel like that's happening, or if I'm making your character unable to do something you really care about, I would really like polite feedback saying ”hey this is important to me” or ”hey can we streamline this.”
Regardless of my rules predilections, you can expect a lot of descriptive text in this game. Let me know if you need me to put extra effort into making it readable – bold notes, or summaries at the end, or that sort of thing. Now and then I'll also fast-forward, potentially NPCing characters who haven't posted in a while. This will be particularly likely to happen when the party is debating whether to enter or open something: doors kill PBPs. If you think you'll have problems posting frequently enough, you should be ready for NPCing to happen, or designate another player to run your character while you're absent.
There are strange things in the world – invisible fey who ride on the wind, lights that fall down from the sky, rocks buried deep underground that curse the unprotected explorer to die a slow death, and long flat roads that modern technology can't hope to recreate. There are things your character does not think is strange, including the facts that mages and priests can summon fire and healing at a thought, that what're called ”humans” are actually Pathfinder's dwarves, that firearms and steam power exist, and that you can be in downtown Sarkeslion ten minutes and see as many species of sapient creature.
You are from the port city Sarkeslion, which sits between the city-dotted Island Sea to the west and the mountains called the Barrier Wall that rise directly from its shores to the east. On the other side of the Island Sea is the mining and trade metropolis of Borage, which lies on the Southern Rail. To the south along the coast is Hammer Village, which has long since outgrown its original name thanks to its control over the sea connection to the Eastern Rail (a line that crosses the continent's temperate zone). To the north along the coast is the fishing town of Northcity, whose once populous bridge-dwellings were broken by a monster from the sea almost exactly 19 years ago. East beyond the Barrier Wall is the Glassfield, an almost completely flat desert renowned for its deluding mirages and vicious sandstorms powerful enough to flip a wagon. Further than the Glassfield, little is known – other than that eventually, one can reach the eastern edge of the continent and the metropolis called Asadge.
Sarkeslion's greatest asset is its connection to the hotchi farming communities that grow steel (the Orc word for a fibrous plant with rubbery sap that, when heated, acquires the tensile and shear strength of iron) and non-perishable food goods. Though it is a city most populated by humans, some groups of whom claim to have been placed in antique Sarkeslion by the justice deity Huchak, Sarkeslion is majority-minority, with several dozen distinct species and many more ethnicities represented within its sandstone walls. It boasts a single university, which attracts students in culture, natural history, and magic from around the Island Sea's shores. Its markets contain orcish iron, Northern ice and ivory, medicines and firearms from the Lantisles, and artifacts retrieved from caves and ruins all along the sea's eastern shore. It has an opulent Council House, where representatives of the six noble houses and the eleven recognized guilds vote on laws and the expansive bureaucracy goes about its business of investigating crimes, settling disputes, and managing diplomatic relations. Sarkeslion even has an underwater quarter, which is populated by fish-hawking merfolk and several noxious alcohol distilleries, and a swampy forested bay that weakens the ocean's vicious wet season squalls.
Outside the city on its landward side is a wide ring populated by thousands of windmill-like structures, older than any living memory but still working to lessen the intensity of sandstorms that blow down off the Barrier Wall several times a year. A road wends its way through the rattling field and then through several miles of farmland, before clambering up the mountain range that shields the coastline all the way south to Hammer Village. It then zigzags its way up through carob orchards and potato fields, up to the snow level, and then disappears from sight behind a hill. Your character, for one reason or another, is going to go to that place where the road disappears, and then continue well beyond it.
Character Sheets My preference is for Google Drive character sheets, but it's also pretty convenient to have a character sheet on a Paizo profile. This sheet is a good template for a Google Drive version. I don't really care how you organize a Paizo profile sheet, but I would prefer no spoiler usage to make CTRL-F easier to use.
Classes All Paizo classes are legal, but we use the unchained counterparts to barbarian, monk, rogue, and summoner. See the house rules document for more information on specific rulings like fighter stamina, skald inspired song, wizard opposed schools, and so forth. Feel free to request non-Paizo classes to play; I'm clearing the evolver, with a caution that I have some small modifications based on Kobold Cleaver's playtest of it (tell me if you want to play it and I'll get the specifics). I'm also clearing the atomic class made by Naoki00, and the Dreamscarred Press psionic classes, because they're particularly thematic. I've had bad GMing experiences with the Path of War classes, but only at high level, so I could be persuaded into allowing them here.
Races (Species) I'm setting the Race Point limit at 15. The following species do not exist in the Island Sea or its surrounding areas, and aren't suitable for play: elf, gnome, half-elf, and human. The most populous species is now the dwarf, which is actually called ”human” in the trade tongue. Half-orcs are consequently considerably shorter than those in Pathfinder, but otherwise have the same statistics. In addition, all of the species from Parapromo 2016, and from Parapromo 2017 apart from the echidaen and voltaoran, are legal for play. Obviously, we'll need to work together to make sure the flavor fits the world. Also note that Parapromo hasn't had any editing so some of the abilities may also need clarifications.
Regarding sources besides the Core Rulebook and Parapromos . . . just ask me. If something doesn't have RP assigned yet (some of the Parapromo species don't), it's still not hard to estimate its power. Because I've been in the past bombarded by species vetting questions, I only ask that you ask about one species at a time.
Alignment Your starting character can be any non-evil alignment. I don't imagine we'll track alignment much in this game.
Deities The pantheon worshiped or feared in Sisheklion is as follows:
Sunset (CG deity of sunsets, vistas, and rock formations) Chaotic, Good, Healing, Sun, Travel
Aranthera (NG deity of old technology, roads, and stars) Artifice, Good, Rune, Travel, Void
Kiesh (NG deity of luck, beauty, and forests) Charm, Good, Luck, Plant, Scalykind
Huchak (LG deity of righteous anger, justice, and dogs) Animal, Good, Glory, Law, Nobility
Ghis (CN deity of fishing, oceans, and parties) Chaos, Charm, Liberation, Water, Weather
Syplii (N deity of glaciers, wind, and loss) Air, Death, Knowledge, Repose, Water
Cnarony (N deity of home, fruitful soil, and the moon of the same name) Community, Earth, Magic, Plant, Protection
Eddwe (LN deity of perfection, seasons, and cities) Earth, Law, Nobility, Protection, Travel
Burroweater (CE deity of dragons, flame, and the underground) Chaos, Destruction, Evil, Fire, Scalykind
Nosk (NE deity of corpse desecration, hunger, and envy) Death, Evil, Magic, Strength, War
Dergen (LE deity of leadership, imprisonment, and smithing) Earth, Evil, Glory, Law, Repose
Sinholder (LE deity of redemption, truth, and strength) Darkness, Evil, Law, Magic, Trickery
You can choose any Pathfinder deity outside of the Golarion core 20 for your character to worship, as well. Feel free to choose subdomains for those listed above.
Animal Companions All of the core rulebook animal companions are legal. Axe beaks (aka lizardbirds) are added to that list. Also, boars in Sarkeslion are referred to as ”tuskbears” and horses are called ”oversized deer.” Just so we're clear.
Feel free to request animal companions from other books.
Skills We're going to use the Background Skills system from Pathfinder Unchained.
Traits Because this world isn't the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, most of the traits created for that setting are pretty inappropriate. Instead, each character will be able to choose one campaign trait from the list below (don't worry about having the same trait as someone else – the group can have more than one hired driver, for example). Your character can also take a drawback to gain one extra trait from the Paizo lists, as normal.
- Harried Debtor: You have accumulated a lot of debt during your life in Sarkeslion. Perhaps you gambled, or perhaps you simply didn't earn enough to afford food and board. Either way, you've been looking over your shoulder for hostile creditors for many a month now, and you reckon you need to get as far away from them as you can. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Initiative checks.
- Unpopular Performer: You have spent years perfecting your art – whether it's singing, acting, cooking, or painting – but aren't getting the recognition you deserve in industrial Sarkeslion. You've heard legends of the beauty of Asadge, and reason that such a beautiful city must truly prize its artists. Choose one Artistry, Craft, Perform, or Profession skill that involves creating some form of art. You gain a +1 trait bonus on this skill, and it is always a class skill for you. Choose also one of the following: +1 to the DC of all charm spells and effects you use, or +4 to Diplomacy and Intimidate checks to get someone's attention. This choice can not be changed after character creation.
- Offended the Nobility: You've done something to upset one of the six noble houses of Sarkeslion. Whether you were part of the gang that stole a whole crate of reading glasses from the Barisks' lensmaking factory, or got into a street fight with one of the young bravos of House Gulskal, your actions have made the leaders of one of Sarkeslion’s houses blacklist you. You may be unable to buy food at a fair price, or you may even be on the run from the house's private security forces, but either way you need to get out of the city to continue your life in peace. Choose one of the following skills: Bluff, Intimidate, Sleight of Hand, or Stealth. You gain a +2 trait bonus on all checks with that skill. Once per day, after rolling but before the result is revealed, you can choose to reroll one check with this skill. You must take the second result, even if it is worse.
- Hired Driver: You're a skilled driver. Some folks want you to drive them across the continent, and they're giving you your favorite form of compensation for it. You start the game with one of the following: a 2x4 meter wagon with an overhead cover and enough herd animals (of a type of your choice) to pull it, or an ancient car powered by the sun that comfortably seats four. You also gain a +2 bonus on Profession (driver) checks and can take 10 on Profession (driver) checks in combat.
- Naturalist: You are working on a book or collection of some sort of natural phenomenon, and the trip to Asadge, if you survive it, would present an incredible opportunity to make new discoveries. You might be specialized in geology, ornithology, or cartography, but you had a broad education in the natural sciences. You gain a +1 bonus on Knowledge (geography) and Knowledge (nature) checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.
- Historian: You've studied the history of the Island Sea, the Glassfield, and the Barrier Wall. Whether you're focused on the monuments the ancients left, the structure of their society, or the mysterious abandonment of many of their settlements, you long to travel beyond the safety of the Barrier Wall and find the clues that they left. You gain a +1 bonus on Knowledge (engineering) and Knowledge (history) checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.
- Chosen: Your deity has spoken to you through dreams or through portents in your waking life, requesting that you travel to Asadge for a reason they have asked you to keep secret. You feel filled with destiny as you embark on the road westwards, and it will be hard to shake you from your purpose. You gain a +1 bonus on all Will saves to resist charms and compulsions.
- Stalked: You were exploring a tunnel below Sarkeslion, and stumbled upon something you weren't meant to see. Ever since, you found that you can't sleep in the same place one night after the other – each time you do so, you see your helpless body being closed in on by the thing you saw in the tunnel. You've got to get out of Sarkeslion to get away from this watcher. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (dungeoneering) checks, and this skill is always a class skill for you. In addition, you gain blindsense to a range of 30 feet while you sleep, and the penalty to Perception checks while sleeping is halved for you.
- Emissary: You're a rising star in the bureaucracy that makes Sarkeslion run, and you've been chosen to bring a diplomatic packet to the leaders of distant, utopian Asadge. You gain a +2 trait bonus on Diplomacy checks, and once per day before the result is revealed can reroll a Diplomacy check. You must take the second result, even if it is worse. In addition, you begin play speaking Asadge, the common tongue of your destination.
- Ethnologist: You are a student of the cultures and languages of the eastern shores of the Island Sea, and unlike your colleagues at the University of Sarkeslion, you strongly believe in the importance of field work. You've finally saved enough supplies to make a trip into the less-documented regions of the east. You gain a +1 trait bonus to Knowledge (local) and Linguistics checks, and one of these skills is a class skill for you; thanks to your study of languages, you can immediately pick up one newly encountered language for free at any point along your travel.
- Merchant: You heard that someone was attempting the potentially deadly journey to Asadge across the Glassfield, and you wanted in – for profit! You begin play with 1000 gp worth of your chosen ware, which could be anything from arrowroot flour to raw zinc ore. You gain a +1 bonus on Sense Motive checks and Profession (merchant) checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.
- Descendant of the Waste: You believe you are descended from peoples who once lived in the Glassfield and the regions beyond, and you want to find any possible remnants – living or dead – of your ancestors. Because of your volatile heritage, you gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (arcana) and Use Magic Device checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is a class skill for you. You can also cast the 0-level spell know direction once per day as a spell-like ability, using your character level as your caster level.
- Search for the Cure: You or someone you care about has fallen prey to a slow-acting disease that resists magical healing. You have heard tales of an alchemist in Asadge who can heal anyone who drinks one of their concoctions, and you believe that this alchemist is your best bet to curing the disease. Because of your study of different methods of healing, you gain a +1 trait bonus on Heal checks and always treat Heal as a class skill. In addition, once per day you can spend 1 hour using everyday ingredients to accomplish one of the following: automatically grant a creature accelerated healing during a rest, move a creature one step backwards on the heat exhaustion track, move a creature one step backwards on the poison track, or remove the sickened condition (if the condition is the result of some other effect that is not removed, such as disease, the condition resurfaces after 4 hours).
- Nemesis: Someone has wronged you or someone you love, and that person fled into the desert rather than facing you. You have trained to hunt them down and make them pay. Choose one humanoid subtype or character class. You gain a +1 trait bonus on damage rolls against characters of this subtype or class. You also gain a +2 trait bonus on Survival checks made to track these characters.
- Opportunity Seeker: You don't have any of the above reasons for travelling to Asadge. Make up another motivation for your character to be travelling with a group of people across the desert. Choose one skill. That skill is always a class skill for you, and you gain a +1 trait bonus to it.
Favored Class Bonuses I think we're gonna stick with just skills and hit points for favored class bonuses, for all races. Too few of the ”common” races in this setting actually have the class-specific FCBs for it to be fair.
Languages Each character starts out knowing the trade language Orc (taking the place of Common) and either a species- or culture-based language. For example, each of the human ethnicities in Sarkeslion has an associated language. The ethnicities (and their associated languages) are: the shawled vegetarian Asters (Aster), the standoffish and temple-focused Northerners (North), the melange of tribes referred to as Latislanders (Latis), which are the majority in all but one of the noble houses, and the semi-nomadic cattle-herding Setters (Setter). Feel free to make up an ethnicity and associated language for your character. If you choose to take the species language listed in the species description, that doesn't necessarily mean that the species in question doesn't speak other languages elsewhere in the world – just that the language your character speaks is common enough that it's referred to by the species name in this region. Orc and Hotchi, for example, are particularly homogeneous in the greater Barrier Wall area.
In addition to the two languages listed above, you gain a number of bonus languages equal to your Intelligence modifier. You can choose these languages from any on your racial list except for Elven or Gnome, or from any cultural language (making up your own if you desire). Ranks in Linguistics grant you full access to the language list as normal.
You can also use Linguistics to understand, and express yourself in, languages you don't already know. For languages related to your species/cultural tongue, the DC is typically about 10. For languages related to any other language you speak, the DC is about 20. And for languages you don't have any relation to, the DC may be 30 or higher.
Equipment Use the average roll for your starting gold piece allowance. The rule that you can't buy anything worth more than half of your allowance for the level still holds, but you can buy magic items at first level.
If you want an unusual item, or one that's not listed in a Paizo book, just bug me and I'll look at it/we'll make some stats for it.
We will be ”using” XP, but I'll track it privately and let y'all know when you level up. I do plan on using a modified version of E6, but it'd probably take at least a year of play to get to the point where that matters.
I use a variation on block initiative. At the start of a combat, I'll roll initiative and divide the characters into 5-point segments, and within those segments there's no attention paid to who got the highest roll. Consult the example below.
Character 1 rolls a 21, Character 2 rolls a 7, Character 3 rolls a 16, and Character 4 rolls a 15. NPC A rolls a 18 and NPC B rolls a 14.
The combat is divided into the following blocks: [C1] 20 [NPC A] [C3] [C4] 15 [NPC B] 10 [C2]. After Character 1 has acted, NPC A, Character 3, and Character 4 can act in any order. Then NPC B gets to act, and once I have posted for them, Character 2's actions happen.
You'll also be welcome to post ”if ___ then ___” actions ahead of time – this system is just to determine whose actions actually happen first. Not that it'll be that important, because combat shouldn't take up too much time in the game. I'll explain this again at the start of combats.
Am interested, was wondering if you would be open to using Spheres of Power/Might?
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I'm open to them. I would like to avoid having both SoP and Pathfinder casting classes in the same party, though. Or implement some balancing changes to low-level spherecasters.
I don't know anything about Spheres of Might, but after some hasty googling it seems like it could mend some of the problems with playing martials at higher levels.
Could you name a specific class or two that I should look at, as a starting point?
I think the Sentinel shows how to make a tank that actually works, and the Blacksmith is a mundane crafter/support martial which is pretty interesting.
My personal favourite class is the Technician, which is almost a novel to itself but is a truly amazing class about inventing stuff.
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Hmmmm. Not bad! Now to pin down a concept. Love the theme, episodic exploration and creation is just what I'm needing now. My info later when I'm not just on my phone.
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I forgot to note that if you roll, you have to keep abilities in the same order as they were rolled in. So if you roll an 11 first, you have an 11 in Strength. If you roll a 15 last, you have a 15 Charisma. This is to balance with characters who are made with 15 Point Buy, as you will likely be getting better raw numbers than you would with PB.
Digger, because I didn't make that clear earlier (sorry), you have leeway to rearrange those stats as you like. However, I'd like anyone posting after this post to keep the order of rolling. Remember that you can switch to PB at any time during character creation. Thanks!
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Dotting for when I'm caught up. :D
Very interested, but I do have minor problem being that I do have past experience but all being on an older paizo account I had that I was to lazy to fix the password. Could I leave a link to the old account for past PBP experience? Also, Dot
Whoops, that'll teach me to post without reading the rules. :D Is it too late to roll? I haven't gotten a clear character idea yet, so I was thinking I'd roll and see if I got some interesting stats to start from.
...Yeah, I'm taking the point buy. XD
I'm thinking a snake-type person... Kobold Quarterly published a Pathfinder race a while ago that would work for what I'm thinking with some lore changes. I'll see if I can dig them up. Or maybe I'll just propose a race build.
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Very interested, but I do have minor problem being that I do have past experience but all being on an older paizo account I had that I was to lazy to fix the password. Could I leave a link to the old account for past PBP experience? Also, Dot
Absolutely. Just point out some of the campaigns/games that were your favorite or showcase your strong points as a player.
Sadly it is too late, Almonihah, but those are pretty boring stats anyways :V
Let me know when you figure out the race!
Okay, I'm thinking something like this:
Snakefolk (11 RP)
The snakefolk, as their name suggests, resemble nothing more than particularly thick snakes with arms near their heads. Their legends say that they once thrived in the lands that are now the Glassfield. They have a reputation for being imminently practical, and for being able to traverse hot sand as comfortably as the ancient roads. This second fact, combined with a tradition of desert lore, has made them popular guides for expeditions into the Glassfield.
Monstrous Humanoid (Reptilian) (3 RP)
Slow Speed (-1 RP) (Snake bodies don't slither as fast as feet can run)
Standard Stats (+2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Cha) (0 RP)
Standard language (0 RP)
Stability (1 RP) (Hard to trip a snake...)
Natural Armor (2 RP) (Scales)
Terrain Stride (Desert) (1 RP) (Sidewinding!)
Camouflage (Desert) (1 RP)
Bite x2 (2 RP) (Fangs in their serpentine heads)
Prehensile Tail (2 RP) (Not usable while moving quickly, but they use the tips of their tails to hold things or pick them up while stationary)
What do you think?
Very interested, but I do have minor problem being that I do have past experience but all being on an older paizo account I had that I was to lazy to fix the password. Could I leave a link to the old account for past PBP experience? Also, Dot
Absolutely. Just point out some of the campaigns/games that were your favorite or showcase your strong points as a player.
Sadly it is too late, Almonihah, but those are pretty boring stats anyways :V
Let me know when you figure out the race!
Ok thanks, here is the link for my old account and here for my favorite campaign, i played Coetis Reorum.
Also here are my rolls on statsStill trying to figure out race though.
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Okay, I'm thinking something like this:
Snakefolk (11 RP)
The snakefolk, as their name suggests, resemble nothing more than particularly thick snakes with arms near their heads. Their legends say that they once thrived in the lands that are now the Glassfield. They have a reputation for being imminently practical, and for being able to traverse hot sand as comfortably as the ancient roads. This second fact, combined with a tradition of desert lore, has made them popular guides for expeditions into the Glassfield.
Monstrous Humanoid (Reptilian) (3 RP)
Slow Speed (-1 RP) (Snake bodies don't slither as fast as feet can run)
Standard Stats (+2 Dex, +2 Wis, -2 Cha) (0 RP)
Standard language (0 RP)
Stability (1 RP) (Hard to trip a snake...)
Natural Armor (2 RP) (Scales)
Terrain Stride (Desert) (1 RP) (Sidewinding!)
Camouflage (Desert) (1 RP)
Bite x2 (2 RP) (Fangs in their serpentine heads)
Prehensile Tail (2 RP) (Not usable while moving quickly, but they use the tips of their tails to hold things or pick them up while stationary)What do you think?
Sounds good!
Though honestly, if they don't have any legs, it should be impossible to trip them. I'd say you could give them full immunity to tripping and drop the +4 vs. bull rush, for the same cost. And they're Medium and have darkvision 60 ft. (from Type), right?
Also, I like that particular appearance - the yuan-ti approach is so much better than these, for example.
@TerrorOfDeath, I'm reading this as we speak. Also, it's unfortunately too late to roll ability scores after your first post. Sorry about that.
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I think the Sentinel shows how to make a tank that actually works, and the Blacksmith is a mundane crafter/support martial which is pretty interesting.
My personal favourite class is the Technician, which is almost a novel to itself but is a truly amazing class about inventing stuff.
Okay, I thiiink I can tentatively allow Spheres of Might. Sentinel and the guardian sphere look decently balanced - against a 4-level casting class like the paladin, at least - and if the other spheres are anything like guardian they won't be anything game-breaking. I particularly like how the spheres can actually give out-of-combat utility, which is super relevant for this game. But because I'm not familiar with the system and don't have time to read it in entirety before selecting players, I gotta reserve the right to ask you to tone it down if your character ends up being distinctly more powerful than those of the other selected players.
As an aside, I don't have any objections to the legendary talents, not that it looks like you can qualify for many of them at this level. We can get all wuxia up in here.
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Its fine, in the meantime I've looked over the races and classes and I've decided to go with a Painterlily Evolver.
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Sounds good!
Though honestly, if they don't have any legs, it should be impossible to trip them. I'd say you could give them full immunity to tripping and drop the +4 vs. bull rush, for the same cost. And they're Medium and have darkvision 60 ft. (from Type), right?
Also, I like that particular appearance - the yuan-ti approach is so much better than these, for example.
Yes, I much prefer the more serpentine kind of snake-people... though I don't anticipate this character ending up as a six-winged deity like my last serpentfolk character. :D (That game got kind of crazy...) Anyway, the immune to trip idea sounds good to me!
I'm debating right now... part of me wants to do a grapple build (a constrictor snakefolk!), but at the same time I kind of want to do some kind of ranger who doesn't wear armor (I just can't see armor on a snake-person). I'll have to look over some options and see if I can settle on an idea.
In terms of previous experience, here's a short campaign I ran, a solo game I'm the PC in, and a game where I'm playing a pseudodragon. And of course I am in Kobold Cleaver's game you linked as Nakano Isamu.
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Its fine, in the meantime I've looked over the races and classes and I've decided to go with a Painterlily Evolver.
Alright, I'll try and get the evolver fixes to you within another day.
Thanks for the links Almonihah! And yes, haha, I just realized you are in a lot of games I sort of follow (Six Heads of Mayhem, Uncoiled Ambition, AND We're Gonna Take a Walk Outside Today). Though I don't read every post, I find them pretty interesting (and funny, on occasion).
As a question to y'all thinking about applying who haven't yet posted or PMed me about your PBP experience, is a rough deadline of Friday too early?
It depends on how many complete submissions you want. :D The sooner you close, the fewer people you'll have to pick between.
Hello, my character concept so far is a light blue, impish, as small as possible, Brawler Anthrozoan girl with cute horns. I have PM'd Gark with character motivation stuff but a loose idea is that my character would be a Brawler who is trained by a Saguaran brawling master, and sent on a quest across the world with no weapons in order to learn something about passivity. I think either the Naturalist trait or the Opportunity Seeker trait would be the best for this character.
I'm gonna roll for stats and if they suck (which they probably will,) I'm going to do point buy.
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As far as PBP experience, as mentioned in the previous thread, I have none, and this would be my first Pathfinder game, but I do have experience playing and DMing DND 5e for whatever that's worth. I'm very excited for this campaign setting!
Would a Buffalo as a Horse exchanging the bite and hooves for a gore attack be acceptable as a Mount as per the Mount class feature? I have a character that I am constructing and riding on a buffalo instead of a horse would really just make it.
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Its fine, in the meantime I've looked over the races and classes and I've decided to go with a Painterlily Evolver.
OK, Kobold Cleaver's fixes were a little more thorough than I thought, but here's an evolver that should be playable and relatively balanced for first level. Let me know if you have any questions/requests/advice in relation to it, and understand that the 2nd-level and higher progression is not fully baked yet (if there's a direction you want the class to go or an option you feel is lacking, you can point it out at any time before level up). I'm excited to see a shapeshifting painterlily!
I want to use Descendant of the Waste as one of my traits, but my character has no interest in Knowledge (Arcana) nor Use Magic Device...
Eh, it's a trait. Not a big loss, and know direction would be useful for a desert traveler.
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Would a Buffalo as a "Horse" exchanging the bite and hooves for a gore attack be acceptable as a Mount as per the Mount class feature? I have a character that I am constructing and riding on a buffalo instead of a "horse" would really just make it.
I don't know what you're talking about . . . we call them "oversized deer" around here, bub.
But yes, having just compared the abysmal bison animal companion stats (unequivocally worse than horse), that's fine with me.
@Almonihah, you could always take Opportunity Seeker and flavor your reason for traveling as something slightly different. If there are any skills you're missing the in-class flavor for.
OK, Kobold Cleaver's fixes were a little more thorough than I thought, but here's an evolver that should be playable and relatively balanced for first level. Let me know if you have any questions/requests/advice in relation to it, and understand that the 2nd-level and higher progression is not fully baked yet (if there's a direction you want the class to go or an option you feel is lacking, you can point it out at any time before level up). I'm excited to see a shapeshifting painterlily!
Was building the character and went to buy gear then I realized nether verisons of the evolver has a list staring wealth amount that could be rolled.
@Almonihah, you could always take Opportunity Seeker and flavor your reason for traveling as something slightly different. If there are any skills you're missing the in-class flavor for.
I may go ahead and do that.
The other debate is that I've decided I want do go for a Brawler (Strangler)/Ranger (Guide) multiclass... but I'm not sure which class to take first. XD Probably Ranger... it's more generally useful than the rather specialized Brawler archetype.
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OK, Kobold Cleaver's fixes were a little more thorough than I thought, but here's an evolver that should be playable and relatively balanced for first level. Let me know if you have any questions/requests/advice in relation to it, and understand that the 2nd-level and higher progression is not fully baked yet (if there's a direction you want the class to go or an option you feel is lacking, you can point it out at any time before level up). I'm excited to see a shapeshifting painterlily!Was building the character and went to buy gear then I realized nether verisons of the evolver has a list staring wealth amount that could be rolled.
Oh, whoops. That definitely got missed. Does 70 gp sound good?
@Almonihah, I will say that having Survival as a class skill is a definite advantage ;)
I'll choose players by next Tuesday.
Well that was an error. XD
Has Babaji found a new way to make his voice heard?
One question--can I take Improved Grapple without Improved Unarmed Strike? IUS doesn't make much sense for a character with a natural attack built-in...
Other than the feat question, I believe Ler'Zet the snakefolk ranger is ready.
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Sup, I'm like, already playing in one of your games and in KC's game. So...not much for introductions but I suppose I'd better let everyone else know, you know? (Hi Almonihah)
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I'm probs going to go point-buy, even though a 20 Dex would be incredible, the other stats are simply too low.
So I'll go with: 13, 14, 12, 14, 12, 8
So, are androids, as a 16 point race, okay for choosing? It's only a point above the limit and there isn't anything in the racial abilities that would necessarily make it more ridiculously powerful than a 15 point race. I'm not sure what to take out that would bring them more in line. Maybe the +2 Perception bonus?
I'm more interested in flavoring them as partially organic golems than as scifi synthetic humanoids. Not as wholly constructed as wyrwoods but maybe with an organic humanoid core kept alive via magic and constructed organs. Creepy but sorta like a walking magical life support system and prosthetic body frame combined. So that explains why they are still susceptible to poison and Fortitude saves, need to eat, and don't immediately die at 0 hit points. What humanoid they once were is...probably whatever creature you stuck in the frame.
As for what trait, I was thinking this character would make a good driver with the Hired Driver trait.
I'm thinking rogue, with the Eldritch Scoundrel archetype. Damage is going to be a bit of a problem until 3rd, but Arcane Strike is available to this character so at least they have that to help them out.
Ok, color me interested. I'll get a submission up by the end of tomorrow, but first....
I'm kinda new to PbP (one month), but I'm loving it and don't plan on stopping anytime soon!
Here's a link to my current favorite game, under the character Alyssa Mirai.
I'm really hesitant to put an idea down before rolling ability scores (because it would be rather unfortunate, if, say, I pitched my Strongest-Kobold-Ever and rolled a 7 STR). I will say, I've got a few ideas, and will pick one or two after this.
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Ok, those scores were really low (that's a 7 point buy!). Sadly, won't be keeping them, though I had hoped to make a more random character. May I take Garbage- Tier Waifu's rolls from above, if he's not using them?
I'd like to ask about the Houri from Dreamscarred Press. Basically, it's a half-Nymph that lives with it's mother until it decides to go adventuring. I'm thinking an Houri Feyspeaker that's traveling just to get out and see the world without her mother might be fun to play.
Maybe the Naturalist, as she'd definetly be interested in seeing all the natural world has to offer.
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Just wanted to drop in quick: I ask that everyone check people's profiles (or ask) before assuming pronouns. For PCs too, but especially for players. It's part of showing respect. Thanks!
Also, YES, my computer WAS possessed by the ghost of those old google urls that were way too f!%~ing long. It's better now, I hope.
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Ok, now to rewrite what the google demon ate.
Was building the character and went to buy gear then I realized nether verisons of the evolver has a list staring wealth amount that could be rolled.I missed this because the playtest was above 1st level, oops. I think 70 gp is a decent starting gold allowance for a class focused on taking other forms (and that gets Wis to AC).
One question--can I take Improved Grapple without Improved Unarmed Strike? IUS doesn't make much sense for a character with a natural attack built-in...Sure, if you don't want to wait until level 2.
Other than the feat question, I believe Ler'Zet the snakefolk ranger is ready.
Looks good! A couple quibbles, which I realize I could have headed off earlier if I'd been reading more carefully, sorry:
You only get one trait - the campaign trait - if you don't want to take a drawback of some sort. You could get Weathered Emissary if you take a drawback, though.
I would also prefer to avoid having characters who are experienced with the Glassfield desert. Your character may have made forays into the colder steppe further south or the dune-filled deserts across the Island Sea, or may be part of a family of guides, but I want this to be their first time doing more than a short foray into the Glassfield. Would you be willing to adjust the backstory a bit to make that work?
So, are androids, as a 16 point race, okay for choosing? It's only a point above the limit and there isn't anything in the racial abilities that would necessarily make it more ridiculously powerful than a 15 point race. I'm not sure what to take out that would bring them more in line. Maybe the +2 Perception bonus?Flavor of the race sounds good! And I think dropping the Perception bonus is enough.
I'd like to ask about the Houri from Dreamscarred Press. Basically, it's a half-Nymph that lives with it's mother until it decides to go adventuring. I'm thinking an Houri Feyspeaker that's traveling just to get out and see the world without her mother might be fun to play.
Thanks for the info about your current game!
I am a little unsure about Houri . . . those innate spell-like abilities and natural aptitude are pretty dang powerful. What about a changeling?
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If you haven't gotten your PBP experience and a character concept to me by the end of the day today, AND you didn't post on the interest check thread that spawned this, you won't be considered for this game! A character concept can be a sentence, a race and a stat line, or even just a musing about a type of character you've never gotten to make. A description of your PBP experience can be just a link, or a statement that "no I don't have any." You can PM these two pieces of information to me, or post them here.
Most everyone has already either posted on the original thread (and thereby gotten an exemption) or given me the information I need already - but if you haven't, now's the time to do so!
If you don't make it in before the deadline, there's a chance we'll need backup players anyways, but I wouldn't count on it.
Ah, yes, I misunderstood that about traits. I didn't have my heart set on Weathered Emissary, so I can drop it. And yes, I could change his background a bit.
I am a little unsure about Houri . . . those innate spell-like abilities and natural aptitude are pretty dang powerful. What about a changeling?
Changeling was the back- up plan, and will fit perfectly! Thank you!
I'm going to be real close to the deadline, but I'll make it!
There, tweaks made. Let me know if everything looks good now.
Another question here, I was looking at traits and I was wondering what the merchant traits means by "1000 gold worth of wares"? Does it mean I can pick items to start with who's told value from any section that totaled adds up to 1000g or am I missing something? (Ie: mainly asking can my character start with bracers of armor +1)
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Background looks good now, Almonihah! Also I noticed you put Setter as one of your languages, but then dropped Weathered Emissary and the ?Linguistics rank? So just remember to delete that line eventually, if you're not getting another language bonus somehow.
I'm going to be real close to the deadline, but I'll make it!You've actually already met the deadline! All I needed was a concept and your PBP experience. Character creation can be finished after the players are chosen.
Another question here, I was looking at traits and I was wondering what the merchant traits means by "1000 gold worth of wares"? Does it mean I can pick items to start with who's told value from any section that totaled adds up to 1000g or am I missing something? (Ie: mainly asking can my character start with bracers of armor +1)
"Ware" implies something you're planning to sell - not necessarily useless, but probably not quite as useful as a single pair of bracers of armor. It could be 16 adamantine arrows, or 5 breastplates of different sizes, or a huge herd of cattle. My impression with the evolver class (before all the changes in that doc were implemented, at least) is that it's pretty sturdy thanks to the Con reliance, so I'm not sure I see the need for an always-on armor bonus, I guess? You could grab leather armor if you're worried about what happens when you're not shapeshifted.
The intention was for it to be trade goods - which you could use to trade for items along the way, or save until Asadge, as desired - but if your character is just a magic item merchant with one item in stock that they want to take to Asadge to try and make a fortune, that would certainly be an interesting story. Would you want to roleplay that?
Whoops, forgot that. Fixed now.
H E L L O
:D
Khaan is my completed character for this venture!
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I'm waiting on a reply from TerrorOfDeath, but VioletN, Chwoka, Almonihah, ivylangley, and Garbage-Tier Waifu have confirmed seats in this game. They can proceed to the discussion thread over here.
Thanks to everyone else who applied - I found everyone's concepts intriguing, and have made a list of players who I may invite in at a later date. If you have any questions about the process of selection, feel free to send me a PM.
If you don't want to be later asked to play in my game, just let me know you're not interested.
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Please do not ask me. I am not interested.