The oregon trail, how it came to be

Game Master DEWN MOU'TAIN

I am taking a break from my massive Wheel of Time campaign and doing something that has been at the back of my mind for the last year. I created an adventure based off of the game "the oregon trail", but takes place a few years before the big push out west. The role of the group will be the scouts that go out into the wilderness and scout the land and identify possible wagon passes in the mountains.

This will be an adventure that is based closely off of human history. I will be referencing many historical websites to provide a sense of historical-ness to the campaign, but changing it to provide it in a fantasy environment.

please note, those who are from my WOT campaign are automatically in this campaign. so far, 5 have given an indication of interest.

The Year is 1830.
Gentlemen Lewis and Clark both came back from their expedition to the West from 1804 to 1806 and described a land rich with bounty, from mineral wealth to fertile soil, with natives of darker skin and pointed ears (similar to the French and Spanish elves) willing to assist and trade with.
Tales of strange magical rituals, from a rain dance to the ghost dance, these creatures conjure up images and frights that give all but the most courageous man the Fear of God in him. Campfire tales tell of strange creatures, half the size of man but twice as wide, that reside deep within the massive mountains that bridge this great land.

Character creation:
20 pt buy
1st level
Max HPs
Pathfinder Core classes only
Pathfinder core races, but no dwarves. Other exceptions include the dark elf (but you are a slave to someone else), Kagonisti elves, Silvanesti and Qualinesti
no traits
starting gold: roll based on class
a brief background on who you are, if you were born state side or recent immigrant to the country, and why heading west

party size: 6-8

i will keep this recruitment open til friday may 23rd, and will make my choices at noon on may 23rd.

Buy all the bulets we can!

New trait:+2 vs. Dysentary!

Interested.

Can you give an example of how you would handle magic?

Considering an early photographer-type character. I'll have to think more about a race/class.

Magic will be a seamless integration. it has been around since the beginning of time, but it has started to wane, due to the emergence of technology. No longer are people beholden to wizards to perform deeds. Technology has provided everyone with the same level of means to perform deeds, and as such has helped greatly change the socio-economic force of the world.
Years ago, wizards and sorcerers were revered and feared, had some of the grandest castles in the lands, and held the highest of titles "Arch magus". An Arch Magus was beholden to no land, and held the same power as the Kings and queens of the land, and the Pope of the Religion.
The start of the wanning of power occured during the renaissance. Free thinkers were able to utilize math and science to create technology that mimicked the efforts of wizards. At first, the wizards found this cute, but within 50 years, they were hurled on their back foot when Henry the 8th broke away from not only the Catholic church, but also with utilizing wizards at court. Scientists and math-sages were imported from Italy and France and given safe haven, cultivating the technology spirit. From there, and other parts of around europe, did technology flow and spread.

game terms
Wizards and sorcerers suffer no bonus or negative modifier to casting spells. But, they have been targeted by the Roman church, Islamists, and satanics as unnatural beings that should be killed on sight. With the power of the church that much higher over the wizards themselves, there is litte that wizards can do.

Clerics and castings within the world are known miracles to occur. the healing of the sick is a common occurance, but prayer and inflection must occur for the miracle to happen. God will, by actively granting or denying the request, will let the person know where they stand in his grace.
Islam and catholic clerics have an intense hatred of wizards and sorcerers, not trusting them to restrain themselves, or to give themselves over to the church's instruction for proper magical usage.

native druids seek to balance all things in life and nature, and as such strive to be in harmony with it.

translation
if you play a wizard or sorcerer, you have gotten really good at hiding your spell casting ability.

if you play a cleric, there is a possibility that your prayer may not be answered either because you are found wanting in your faith, or the recipient is unworthy. You will not know at the time of prayer.

Druids are shunned at the least, killed at the most due to the hatred from the three parties. tread carefully down this path, as everyone is against you

Interesting. What about bards and their arcane magic?

Also. I assume common racial slurs of the time period (and going too far with RPing like hostilities) will not be tolerated?

What are the stats for the dark elves and other variant elves? I could be very interested in a native druid. Or bard. Or sorcerer. :)

kagonesti elves: +2 dex, -2 int, -2 cha
(low light vision, wpn prof short sword, longspear, shortspear, short bow, longbow)
+1 racial bonus on knowl nature and survival

qualinesti: per pathfinder rule book
(low light vision, wpn prof rapier,short bow, longbow)
+1 to any knowl skill to represent easy access to libraries and universities.

silvanesti: +2 dex, +2 int, -2 con, -2 cha

dark elf (aka drow)
Ability Score Racial Traits: Drow are nimble and manipulative. They gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, and –2 Constitution.
Weapon Familiarity: Drow are proficient with the hand crossbow, rapier, and shortsword.
+2 perception checks
darkvision
unless specified, they do not suffer from light-blindness

What's the situation vis-à-vis guns?

bards are lumped in the same category as wizards and sorcerers. wizards and sorcerers refuse to call the bards "magical" and clerics have declared bards to be heretical. only in places where these two forces dont have a large presence are they allowed. most often found within the tieflings, but they have a presence. the bard is best at hiding their magical abilities.

as for racial slurs and hostilities: i will leave that up to the final group. i prefer to play pg-13 and R rated rpgs, which will allow for some adult conversations.

Also curious as to how you're handling firearms. Am torn between a native american character of some sort or a 'Natty Bumppo" type, only roughly 70 or so years later. :)

Got room for one more? Perhaps a former cavalry scout? If Gunslinger is not allowed, perhaps a Ranger with the mounted style?

Any chance of allowing gunslinger, as it seems quite setting appropriate?

I would be interested in playing a Dark Elf ranger serving one of the others. Has anyone seen Brotherhood of the Wolf? The official status would be slave, but the true relationship would be more akin to the way the two from that movie relate.

P.S. MisterLurch is AKA Keelix, just for the record.

guns are everywhere.
the costs listed within the table found here show that firearms that are advanced but not prolific to the point where everyone owns one. Back then, owning a gun was neccessary for survival, and since they were mass produced, they became cheaper to buy. therefore the early firearms are available for purchase at 10% of their value. The firearm is still considered an exotic weapon, therefore you must use a EWP firearm to properly utilize one.

i will sleep on the gunslinger. ill let you know tomorrow by noon cst

EDIT: NVM, Australia was still part of the British Empire in 1830.

I'm interested, consider this a placeholder.

Finnegan Breckenridge - Human Rogue
The son of a Scottish immigrant and city slicker through and through, Finnegan was sent by The Commercial Advertiser to tell New Yorkers about the West. It's his job to tell the story of the expedition and to convince New York and the other states to GO WEST!

Now, Finnegan doesn't know how to hunt, or shoot, or even ride a horse. All he knows is that this is his big break - the chance to get a name for himself and maybe, just maybe, start the first paper in Oregon.

Are archetypes of the core classes allowed? How about racial trait substitutions?

no and no. I just want to keep it simple for me.

i saw brotherhood of the wolf a long long time ago... i dont remember much about it, sad to say. i do know it was a good movie, but that about it.

no and no. I just want to keep it simple for me.

i saw brotherhood of the wolf a long long time ago... i dont remember much about it, sad to say. i do know it was a good movie, but that about it.

Fair enough. What about a thematically altered version of the dervish Dervish Dance feat?

Also, how are you going to handle languages? Are there any special rules for learning Native American languages during the adventure?

Is there some special way of hiding spellcasting?
I believe by RAW even a stilled silent component-less spell can be detected.

I am so interested! There was an Oregon Trail campaign put together on GitP a few months ago. That wouldn't have been you by any chance?

Is there some special way of hiding spellcasting?

I believe by RAW even a stilled silent component-less spell can be detected.

There is the Razmiran priest archetype from Inner Sea Magic. It allows a sorcerer to masquerade as a priest granting the False Casting and Falsee Focus feats. Perhaps RIZZENMAGNUS would allow it for use to pretend to be a priest of one of the acceptable religions?

I am interested. Maybe something totally different, maybe a thief or bard.

Alright, rolling starting wealth for my character, Isabella Nigrelli: 5d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 1, 4, 3) = 17 x 10 = 170 gp. Hmmm...

Alrighty, here is Ryvin's character: Isabella Nigrelli!

DM Rizzen, you can see most of the crunch and the background story in my profile. ^^ As profession, I'd like to have 'animal trainer'. Unless there's a class skill for that, I'll take the extra money... ;)

I'd like to go for a sword cane with inbuilt sword cane pistol. Will you allow this?

Fair enough. What about a thematically altered version of the dervish Dervish Dance feat?

Also, how are you going to handle languages? Are there any special rules for learning Native American languages during the adventure?

1) how do you mean?

2) for learning a new language, when you level up, you can declare to learn a new language, should someone be proficient in it, and when you next level up, you can make a knowledge linguistics check DC 20 to see if you learn the new one.

Is there some special way of hiding spellcasting?

I believe by RAW even a stilled silent component-less spell can be detected.

i did some research on this, and there are the standard metamagic feats that help hide/obscure the prsense of casting, like silent spell, still spell, and eschew materials.

But, those are all feats that take time to develop and achieve. so i have thought of a more interesting way.

what a wizard/sorcerer/bard can do is make a spellcraft check, dc equal to 10 + level of spell. Think of this as a focus check to see if you can pull off a subtle spell. Make this check, you can, as a free action, attempt to make a stealth check to hide your spell casting ability. For every 5 you roll above your spellcraft check, you can add a +5 to the stealth total.

i have decided to make all the classes except wizard, monk, cleric proficient with firearms. Firearms were a common sight in America at that time; virtually everyone owned one. The idiotic idea of restricting the 2nd amendment had not occurred yet, so guns were everywhere. only priests and indians didnt have them, with the rare exception.

so i think it would be uncommon for a wizard, monk, and cleric in this world to know how to utilize a firearm.

now, about the gunslinger. I will allow this, since there is a plethora of guns in the world, it is only natural for those to enahnce their shooting ability to a greater degree than the common fighter.

alrighty, i am going to modify concept to be simply a ranger. would you allow full blooded orc?

no.

So... How's my character, boss? ^_^ Good to go, apart from swapping out that exotic weapon proficiency feat?

Hmm, think I'll go with a gunslinger then. Mostly because I've never played one. :)

Ive changed my mind. I will allow the full orc, since i am allowing the dark elf.

isabella, need to have a profession or craft. at least 1 rank in something. even if it is profession animal trainer.

Character for submission: Finnegan Brackenridge - the New York newsman on the run. Taking the extra cash.

Starting Gold: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 6, 2) = 18 x10 +2d10 ⇒ (10, 2) = 12

I should also mention that I have played lots of Pathfinder but am new to PbP games. So, my first few posts may have one or two errors until I figure out the online mechanics of PbP play. I apologize in advance.

Finnegan, wow! i am impressed. It looks like you did your homework and then some.

Finnegan, wow! i am impressed. It looks like you did your homework and then some.

Thanks! I did do my research.

I tried to have my background mimic the blatantly bias journalism of the day - it wasn't until the 1850-70s where newspapers started to become something more than just the mouthpieces of a political agenda. Have you read anything by Thomas Payne? I tried to give my background the same sort of flair. Hope I succeeded.

Also, any good recommendations for a PbP guide?

I'd like to read up on it before we begin the campaign.

Fighter type, trench fighter. Will be a scout type.

What skill would work for "drawing a map"?

Linguistics? Perform (Art)? Survival?

That might be something someone should have...just saying...

Rizzen's call there, but I would think some variation of Craft: Cartography or Profession Cartographer.

Speaking of, how do you envision us using the crafts and professions in game Rizzen? In your typical campaign they're for 'downtime' (at least in my experience). However I get the feeling they'll be popping up more often here.

Speaking of, I was considering possibly being a surveyor, but I"m not welded to that idea and it might be a good idea if we coordinated a bit so we have a wide range of crafts and experience on the expedition. Thoughts, ideas?

Is this still open and do you have an Irish Character yet?

Is this still open and do you have an Irish Character yet?

My proposed character is Scottish...Don't think that Matters though.

Here is my character. I hope you don't mind my overuse of historical characters. Saul is my own fictional creation, but his family and the events of his backstory are more or less real from history (and might read more like history than a backstory, I'm afraid, lol). I don't mind inventing another background if something more 'original' is preferred, though I don't think any of it as is should conflict much with the campaign.

I think everything is in order except I haven't made purchases and I might switch a skill point around to better reflect background craft / professions. Speaking of purchases... 5d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 6, 1, 3) = 16x10 = 160 gold

Oh, and this is Fia. :)

Oh, and Finnegan, as to mechanics of pbp, pretty much everything you need to know can be found in the "How to format your text" hidden tab below where you input your text.

You could also check out Guide to PbP It might give you a few ideas too.

btw, I liked your background story. :)

Thanks. And thanks for the link. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Rizzen's call there, but I would think some variation of Craft: Cartography or Profession Cartographer.

Speaking of, how do you envision us using the crafts and professions in game Rizzen? In your typical campaign they're for 'downtime' (at least in my experience). However I get the feeling they'll be popping up more often here.

Speaking of, I was considering possibly being a surveyor, but I"m not welded to that idea and it might be a good idea if we coordinated a bit so we have a wide range of crafts and experience on the expedition. Thoughts, ideas?

that would be Craft Cartographer. or you could even take craft surveyor. the cartographer tools would be ink, sheets of paper, large carrying case.

Yes, crafting and profession skills will be in high demand. You are a group of adventurers heading west to help plot a course to oregon. At this time, there are no roads, no trails, no paths, just land barren of demihuman settlements.
Being a cartographer will be huge. The first map of the missouri river north of Independence Mi that goes beyond 10 days travel north is a huge asset, and will make the maker rich.
Being a miner and finding an iron mine in the rockies, another boon. Being a reporter to that can read and write and provide a detailed journal of what you see and experience, huge.
A smith on the trail, broken axle or chain, fix it on the spot. The list goes on.

Your lively hood will dictate whether you succeed at this, or die.

The heal skill will help you determine if water is healthy to drink. Survival skill will help you find game, but as you progress west, it will become harder as the environment changes.
perception will help you in the foreign land.

Rizzen - I'm trying to work out my equipment list. Would the "dagger" portion of a Pistol Dagger (double weapon, d4 dmg) be finesse-able? AKA, work with the Weapon Finesse feat?

Also, what would be the tools associated with a reporter/newsman - maybe a journal, pens, candle (to write by night) and a water proof case?

i think that would be reasonable. id say a journal with 50 pages, 4 ink vials, 10 quills, dozen small candles, no to the water proof case

those so far

completed characters:
Saul Becknell: surveyor (from WOT)
Finnegan Breckenridge: newsman
Isabella Nigrelli: animal trainer (from WOT)

expressed interest
Ryland: fighter (from WOT)
misterlurch: orc something (from WOT)
darkestheart: irish
Drayden: nothing confirmed

i think that would be reasonable. id say a journal with 50 pages, 4 ink vials, 10 quills, dozen small candles, no to the water proof case

Sounds good to me. All of that costs more than what I rolled, so, if it is all right by you, I'd like to forgo the extra cash and choose the "Profession Tools" option instead.

Hey, I like this idea. Quick question...would you allow a half-elf from somewhere other than England and Ireland? I was thinking a kagonesti/human that was raised by Indians. Gonna be a ranger(guide).
If not, human will do...I'll work on both though...I got nothing else to do.

gp: 5d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 4, 5, 1) = 15 x10