The Journey of a thousand miles

Game Master Vrog Skyreaver

Okay, as the high level game that I am currently running will be coming to a close shortly, I am currently performing an interest check for a new campaign. I'm still putting together ideas (since I have a bit of time), but I wanted to check and see if people would be interested in making characters using the following guidelines:

Attributes: focus and foible.

Race: any (although incredibly powerful races will probably take a level hit).

Level: 8

Alignment: I will be allowing some evil, but "arggh! I'm a monster!" types need not apply. You should be capable and inclined to work as a group, and if I think that your character is trying to skirt that, I will not pick you. [/rant]

Classes: You must pick a 3rd party class to app your character with (including psionics). The class you pick must be in the SRD (as I'll have to be able to look at it at work), but other than that, go nuts.

campaign background in a nutshell: Each of you is a prisoner on a ship in space. You don't know how you got here, but you are interested in returning home (obviously).

Campaign things of note: there will be no common language, so there might be some communication issues. There will be all sorts of critters floating around the ship, as whatever took you took a bunch of monsters as well. Each of you has come from a different world which has a common or trade tongue, but none of the "common" languages are the same. As part of your submission, I would like a brief synopsis of the world that you come from (to make things simple, no characters from the realms will be taken; this is my personal dislike of the setting for the most part). While I will accept submissions that use existing settings, I would prefer it if you created your own, as they will be easier to work into the story. Additionally, you must be from the prime material plane (to use the older edition vernacular). I will be using things from the technology guide, but they should not be something your character is familiar with (if you're playing a character like a tinker or machinesmith, the things in that book would be more like theory than anything that your world is currently capable of producing).

Gear: I will be assigning people gear as opposed to having them pick their own, as you will have limited access to things at the beginning. As a minor change to how the core pathfinder system works, no character will need tools to use their class features. I will expand on this more as/if I get interest/submissions.

That's about it from me. Recruitment will be open until 1 week after the end of my current high level game (I will make announcements when it becomes an issue). Assuming that I get at least 3 submissions, you can count on me running a game.

I should also add that as a I run a game, your character will most likely undergo some sort of metamorphosis (possibly changing classes, or in one extreme case in a game I ran, changing race and gender). It's not necessarily a given, but I firmly believe that actions have consequences (both good and bad), and if you stick your hand in the mutation goo, you're probably going to get mutated...

as far as posting commitment goes, I expect at least 1 post a day during the weekdays, and weekend posts are good, but not mandatory.

Wait, wait, wait.

Only 3rd party? And it has to be not the pfsrd? We're in space??

I'm in.

no, it has to be in the srd, so I can view it at work lol. but ya, only 3rd party. I feel confident enough in my skills as a GM that I can balance dealing with any wacky 3rd party ness that a group can bring my way (that is not a challenge btw; I would like this to be a serious and at times creepy game).

Argh, that was a typo, sorry.

You know, honestly, a lot of 3rd party isn't all that wacky(except the Severist, who cuts stuffs). I know a lot of people thought Dragonrider was OP, but then, you know, someone actually looked at it. XD

Oh I am so in. But I don't understand the attributes. What is focus and foible?

Focus: 18 in any one stat.
Foible: 8 in any one stat.

Don't remember what you do for the rest though.

good point, I forgot to list that. the attributes will be focus: 18, Foible: 8, for the rest it's 1d10+8 in order, so for example if you rolled a 14,12,16,9, and your focus was str and your foible was cha, your stats would be 18,14,12,16,9,8 (in order).

Also, before it gets asked, HP/level will be maxed.

As far as drawbacks go, I will leave the group with two options: either no one has a drawback, or everyone has to take one (but they will get an additional trait for it as standard).

Those stats are rough. What if you want to play a MAD class, but the rolls kick you in the teeth?

roll: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
roll: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
roll: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
roll: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Now for example, if I wanted to play a Magister, I need a high Wisdom and Cha. But with this set of numbers one of those stats will be 11. Making that class impossible.

okay, fair enough. I'm fine with you placing your rolls as you wish.

1d10 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Focus: Str, Foible: Cha

Looks like 18,18,11,10,12,8

I will be an Aberrant Aegis. Can we build a race? If so whats a good RP 20? That would be cool. I understand you would need to approve the race first. Thanks and let me know.

I'd prefer that people stay away from building their own race, and use one of the ones in the ARG instead. I'm fine with you using the sample races (centaurs, ogres) if you want to. Nice rolls, btw!

Ohh, I'd nearly forgotten the magister! That's an especially fun class when using Words of Power. :)

I'll be looking through the 3rd party stuff in a bit.

Dotting for interest.

Sweet, can a be an Ogre and call it a Minotaur instead. They look so much cooler :), oh and would this be a level hit?

Str: 18 = 18
Dex: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Con: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Int: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Wis: 8 = 8
Cha: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

If we can reorder as desired I'll probably swap con with int

Hmm, considering a Mighty Godling. Is Half-giant ok for race?

yes, using the ogre would cost you two levels, so you'd be a 6th level character.

Think I'm sticking with human. Will be moving my 12 from wis to Con.

Dotting for interest. Tomorrow's my day off, so I'll get some crunch up then.

sounds good whack. You guys still have some time.

1d10 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Strength 11
Constitution 20(18+2)
Dexterity 18(focus)
Intelligence 8(foible)
Wisdom 16(14+2)
Charisma 18(17+1)

Worldthorn, a Briarborn Warlock.

sounds good azten. All of the warlock's abilities are based on CHA, not INT (as there is some confusion in the text). Additionally, you need to select 3 types of DR from the following list which bypass your DR (as electricity, cold, and fire don't care about DR):

Adamantine, Alchemical Silver, Bludgeoning, Cold Iron, Piercing, Slashing. As stated in the text, you can forgo a DR increase to remove one of the 3 DRs you picked, but you must always have one that bypasses your DR.

Also, keep in mind that Briarborn do have a built in ECL adjustment of 1, so you would be starting as a 7th level warlock.

Is Half-giant ok for race?

yes, but you would have a -1 level adjustment, as powerful build is actually much better than just being large.

How would that DR interact with this feat?

1d10 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Dotting for interest. I'm keen on making an occultist.

unless it specifically states otherwise, DR does not stack, even DRs of the same type (i.e. if you have dr 5/magic from one source, and dr 10/magic from another, you would only have DR 10/magic).

But what if it's not magic?

Warlock DR: bypassed by cold iron, bludgeoning, Slashing
Gift of the Darkwood DR: bypassed by adamantine.

How does that work?

As I said before, DR doesn't stack. You can have multiple types of DR, but you always use the best one available. So in your example, if you had DR 3/adamantine and Dr 5/cold iron, bludgeoning, or slashing, you would use the DR 5 unless the attack was one of those three types, in which case you would use the DR 3. If you were hit with (say) an adamantine slashing weapon, you would have no DR at all...

That's what I wanted to know, thanks for clearing it up. :)

Can we use some feats that are not on the SRD as long as we clear them first?

It would depend on whether or not I had access to them (as that is the real reason I want to stick to the SRD; it's easy to access, and I can view it from work).

Any room for a Dragonrider in this game? Or more specifically, any room for a dragon on the ship?

I mostly wanted access to some of the psionics stuff that hasn't made it to the SRD. I could share the sourcebook with you if need be but it is only one feat and maybe some equipment later.

Wondering_Monster here, I present Ameo Wanstell, Magister

for those of you who were looking at crafting, here are the (house) rules that I use to govern crafting in all of my home games:

First off, flavorwise, you get to describe your belongings however you wish. Want to wield a Greatsword that's actually a giant meat cleaver? check. Bikini-mail? sure, why not. This only works with gear that you have taken the time to create. If you buy a greatsword from a merchant, it's a stock greatsword.

Secondly, In theory any character can craft any item (given the time and available materials). Characters that focus on crafting, however, receive benefits well and truly above what the standard character receives. The formula is below (keep in mind that these increases or decreases apply to both crafting time and crafting cost):

* For each skill you have at max ranks that relates to the thing that you're making, you receive a 5% discount. So, for example, a character with max ranks in spellcraft and craft (armor) would have a 10% discount on purchasing +1 full plate. If that same character had max ranks in profession (armorer), they would have a 15% cost reduction.

* For each feat that you have that relates to the thing you're making, you receive a 10% discount on the item you're making. To continue the example above, if you had the craft arms and armor feat plus the 3 skills above, you would receive a 25% reduction. Each additional skill focus that you had in one of the above skills would increase the discount by 10%, so a character with all 4 feats and all 3 skills would have a 55% reduction in the cost of a suit of +1 full plate.

* Under this system, the Mastercraftsman feat changes to the following benefit:

You may add the benefits of a special material to an item that you are crafting by increasing the costs as follows:

Cold Iron/Alchemical Silver/Dark Wood/Normal Crystal: +5%
Elysium Bronze, wyroot, Fire and Frost Forged, living steel: 10%
Virridium, Mithril: 15%
Adamantine: 20%
Additionally, you can modify any of the magical "specific" weapons or armor, adding (different) special materials or increasing the bonuses as per the standard cost.

* Finally, for each prerequisite spell that you have access to (either via your own spellcasting, another person's casting [assuming they're willing to spend their downtime and spells helping you], or access to an item that produces the effect), you receive a 5% discount.

As noted in the above example, these various benefits stack, but you may not reduce the cost lower than 25% (in either time or cost).

EDIT: I forgot to mention it earlier, but you can craft during your rest time, as rest is not just sleeping.

That's what I wanted to know, thanks for clearing it up. :)

Of course, that's what I'm here for =)

Any room for a Dragonrider in this game? Or more specifically, any room for a dragon on the ship?

Certainly, but you would be at a disadvantage initially, as you would be separated from your dragon (although it would certainly be on the ship, and would make for an easy motivation for your character).

I mostly wanted access to some of the psionics stuff that hasn't made it to the SRD. I could share the sourcebook with you if need be but it is only one feat and maybe some equipment later.

Let me know what you wanna take and i'll take a look at it and give you a yea nor nay.

Dotting for interest. I'm keen on making an occultist.

I look forward to it =)

Now I want to play an Artisan, for the sheer amount of discounted crafting prices... O.o

It's also tempting to make a Brairborn that uses the Expansion Psionic power(I AM GROOT).

That reminds me, before people get too far into building their characters, I am going to be handling languages a bit differently here (as you may have guessed based on my first post):

the linguistics skills works pretty much exactly the same way as it does now, but instead of giving you bonus language slots, having max ranks will allow you to learn languages in half the standard time (as learning languages is something you can do during downtime). Players instead have a maximum number of languages equal to their intelligence SCORE (and still gain the bonus language slots for having a high int as standard pathfinder).

Most of the racial languages are directly transferrable (and sound the same, or maybe have a weird accent), but common is planet specific, and not all planets have a trade language. As part of creating/picking your setting, I want each of you to identify 5 languages are are really common to your world.

Here is my updated Character with language changes.

Sorry Posted with Wrong Alias there. Wondering_Monster = Ameo Wanstell

Also I am very excited for this setting. This sounds awesome.

I think it should be a blast (pardon the lazer puns =D )

Oh my god, I am so down for this. I played a psionic maneuver unarmed fighter (soulknife) a while back, and it was one of my favorite characters ever in the brief time the game lasted. Level 8 is the perfect level for this, too, and the character would be decent at fighting with improvised weapons, as well as dealing with low gravity.

Two questions:

1. If I'm really excited, can I make a character now, or should I wait until the actual recruitment starts (since this is an interest check).

2. Speaking of "I AM GROOT," plant people are the best people, but the only Paizo playable plant race is the Ghoran, at 19 RP. Could I play as something like that with some abilities removed (or a 10 RP custom-built race) to be more balanced, while still being covered in bark and photosynthesizing?

3. What is your position on feats—3pp, no 3pp, or 3pp preferred over core?

Okay, I lied. That was three questions. And I've got another one, because apparently I'm really excited about this.

4. Could I potentially take a level or two of a standard class, in addition to the 3pp ones? (For instance, if I wanted a level of monk, could I take that, or even just a 3pp archetype of it?)

Also, because why not,

1d10 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
1d10 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

oh that is not at all the order I wanted those in, excellent.

Oh my god, I am so down for this. I played a psionic maneuver unarmed fighter (soulknife) a while back, and it was one of my favorite characters ever in the brief time the game lasted. Level 8 is the perfect level for this, too, and the character would be decent at fighting with improvised weapons, as well as dealing with low gravity.

Two questions:

1. If I'm really excited, can I make a character now, or should I wait until the actual recruitment starts (since this is an interest check).

You can certainly make a character now, if you feel so inclined, because as a general rule I don't do separate threads for recruitment and interest (mainly because there seems to be a plethora of players and a derth of GMs).

2. Speaking of "I AM GROOT," plant people are the best people, but the only Paizo playable plant race is the Ghoran, at 19 RP. Could I play as something like that with some abilities removed (or a 10 RP custom-built race) to be more balanced, while still being covered in bark and photosynthesizing?

Take a look at the third party races. Azten found one, and you could play a Oaking without a level adjustment.

3. What is your position on feats—3pp, no 3pp, or 3pp preferred over core?

I'm open to anything in the SRD, but don't have a preference either way. Initially I toyed with not allowing any feats from the PHB, but then I realized I would have to preclude quite a few of the 3rd party feats as well, since many of them have pre-req feats from the core rulebook.

4. Could I potentially take a level or two of a standard class, in addition to the 3pp ones? (For instance, if I wanted a level of monk, could I take that, or even just a 3pp archetype of it?)

Alas no. I want to give the 3rd party classes a chance to shine, and I'd like to maybe convince people to step a bit outta their comfort zone. At this stage of the game, most types of characters that you might wanna play can be represented using only 3rd party classes.

Ah, wasn't sure that 3pp races were allowed. Seedling and Oaking both look great, and I hope I'm not stepping on Azten's Groot idea too much.

And yeah, I can do it with only 3pp classes—it'll just get wackier, and I'll need to drop in some levels in gladiator (I had a preference for monk first because it's less overpowered, but here goes nothing).

I look forward to it =)

The kindest of dots, much to Ptolmaeus' chagrin. ;)

Okay, will have crunch/story up later. Should I assume no starting items that I have any control over?