A Mystery
The country is called Vologna, and it is found in the northwestern parts of Ibalnd (a small island continent off of the West Coast of Emalia). It is a place of windswept mountains, deep mysterious valleys, and treacherous bogs.
The Town is called Connie’s Bright, and it is a coastal town on the Bay of Mericalnd.
The Tavern is called Two Barrels, and it is near the pier, a stone’s throw from the flat, stone wall that extends out into the bay where Connie’s Bright Lighthouse sits.
The Barman is called Nigel. The barmaid is called Holly, and there are three patrons in the bar tonight;
Nathaniel Boote, a Halfling, and a man of the law
Tessrimea Neissomat, a Gymnagaopthian priestess, from the north coast, a land called Drasbia
Paulina Southmiller, a Dwarven woman, from across the sea, a place called Holdandun
These three sit separately, quietly, and each is deep in thought
Four people have been murdered in the last three weeks. Their bodies found just outside of town, to the northwest, near a place known as the Shadow Moor.
The Shire Reeve of Connie’s Bright will not talk about the murders beyond saying, “the people were not locals. They were all travelers. They were all strangled to death, and their bodies defiled.”
Why Not? as Xor so easily reminded me
Would you like to play?
This game will be a short (maybe) adventure set in a cold, coastal village and nearby moor. The original Build requirements went like this
Any Questions?
Please take your time and don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. And most important of all, have fun!
Newbie not fully sure of forum recruiting protocol, but I wanted to save a spot as I'd been speaking about this with GDM on another thread. Making someone as we speak!
Welcome! Take your time. This is a very helpful and generous community. We'll work out all the details, and then work into the game when you are ready.
Apologies for the incredibly newbie question, but as far as the PRDs are concerned, does anything in this table of contents generally count? Things like the Advanced Race or Players Guides? No worries if not, I'm usually prone to pick a classic races anyway. I just wanted to make sure I learn what PRD entails, since I see it mentioned often! I think the word "advanced" is throwing me off.
Certainly! As long as I can get to it on one of the computers I use during the day, and as long as you are willing to teach me when I am not up to speed, everything that is included in the prd is welcome here.
My latent Scottish DNA - and an old character idea - are starting to bubble to the surface when you mention bogs. Would a ranger with a focus on swampy environments be okay to play, or would that make any of your encounters too lopsided? I certainly wouldn't want to rock the boat, I just haven't heard "bog" in awhile. If allowed, would such a character live on Ibalnd?
Ah well the elves of the highlands of Drasbia, the northern third of Ibalnd, are supposed to be somewhat modeled on what you could call "Hollywood" Scottish Highlanders and they are known for their outdoorsy style. These elves are slightly taller than normal humans, have pale, often freckeled skin, and light to sometimes red hair. They do not live extrodinary long lives, as is often rumored, but sometimes live to be 125 years old.
What's the take on dwarves in this setting? He's either going to be a mercenary or a treasure hunter.
Dot.
Dotting my interest.
I'll try to get something made today. Leaning towards a divine caster of some kind at the moment. These highlander elves have me intrigued...
Compass Rose here. Not quite finished yet but I'll post her so far since it sounds like we're starting to form up. What do you think of this direction, GDM? Party peeps, feel free to take a look.
A few questions for you GDM:
1) Are you sure it's okay that I play one of your Drasbia highlanders? If something I jotted down doesn't mesh with your race, just let me know!
2) This was a name from an elf generator. Is there anything you'd prefer to more closely match your race?
3) What favored animal would you suggest for the terrain, particularly as Swamp will be her favored environment? I figured the basic Animal would be a decent call, especially if she has to hunt for her tribe/clan.
4) I wasn't sure if we were using Traits or not. I currently have 3 plus 1 penalty one, the most "Hollywood Scottish" things I could find lol, but just let me know if you like to go traitless.
5) Any particular weapons the Drasbia elves favor? Is it the same as the elven things in fantasy, or more celtic? I'm leaning towards something in the spear realm at the moment...seems to make sense that she could use it to poke around in the foggy bogs to find her way, and spears have long been popular for hunting.
Also a new player here. Have only played one homebrew campaign before. Would like to try pbp gaming. I was thinking of making a witch but i'm open to suggestions
Sounds interesting :)
I was thinking of playing a cleric of sorts. This brought up some questions :
What deities exist in this world?
Do they have fixed domains?
If not, how do we go about picking domains?
Just to make certain, with an "18 point build", you mean following the general point buy rules, right?
Now some general info/question I think is always nice to know for any PbP :
Do you have a minimum posting requirement? I'm usually ok with approximately 1 post/day.
What is your timezone? Mine is CEST (Central European Summer Time) or UTC/GMT+2. So that means I'm usually not on at the same hours as most people I play with (or so it seems to me at least)
Are there any houserules you work with? For example, do we need to keep track of encumberance? Do we need to keep track of food/water? Rules for hp at lvl 1 and after? ...
That would be all for now. Probably more to follow after you answer the questions :)
Dotting for interest. Not currently set up for this build but would love to play this druid!
Should have a Bard up tomorrow.
Well, I was not expecting so many responses. Let me see if I can answer all the questions.
Redshirt#3302 - Dwarves, in this setting, are from far away, a land called Holdandun. Their culture is loosely based upon “Hollywood” idealizations of Japan in the early 19th century (think “Seven Samurai” or other Kurosawa films). They tend to be between 3’ 10” and 5’ tall, built thick, but not obese, and have thick, silky hair that is often brown to black, but can be red (blond is not natural, but some Dwarves do color their hair). They are taciturn and suspicious, but are often curious about other cultures. They do not live inside of mountains, and they are as likely to know stonework as well as any other craft. They are known throughout the world as experts in pottery and glasswork. Their country is divided up into “States” ruled by clan leaders. In times of national emergency, the clans will come together to elect a single “Head of all clans,” called a Hyin Wo (this will be a powerful and wealthy family, and the head of this family will act as the leader of the countries armies or volunteers, in the case of a natural disaster). Family comes first, and rarely do individuals marry outside of the social class that their family occupies. A Dwarf, in Ibalnd, will have come to this land, most likely, to escape the strict class structure of their homeland, to avoid an arranged marriage, or possibly to act as a spy.
Helio – the Highland Elves worship three Deities. These are two brothers, and a woman who is the object of their pursuits (and in their traditions, both of the brothers have at one time or another, been husband to the woman). Clerics of the Highland Elves are wanderers. Though they may have a “home” in some small village or town, they travel the Highlands doing good deeds and acting as messengers bringing news to remote cottages in exchange for a meal and a bed.
Compass Rose – Your Drasbian Ranger looks great! And don’t worry about taking liberties, nothing about my campaign setting (“Hamth”) is carved in stone (well, except for those two novels you can buy on Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but I don’t bring them up very often and they are set on the other side of the world from this adventure). The logical choice for an animal companion to a Drasbian would be a large hunting dog, such as one of the wolfhound breeds, but other animals would work as well, such as the fox, badger, weasel, owl, falcon, or even a goat, but if you are looking for something exotic, you could choose a river otter, or even something like a capybara (though we would have to do some building of the animal’s statistics).
Lycrosis – a witch in Ibalnd is most likely going to be an Eshian (which is the racial identity of “Halflings” in this setting, and most likely from the Republic of Basconde, the southern third of Ibalnd). But could also be a human or an elf. A witch in this setting would be highly respected.
Theorytyhmus – Yes, the normal point buy rules of the PRD, using an 18 point buy. The religions of this setting are well established, and not too far removed from old school D&D material. Ibalnd has a population of Halflings, Humans, and Elves all with their own religions, and there are representations of other races from the west (humans from the United Kingdoms of Anthandra, dwarves from Holdandun, the neighbor to the UKofA, and Tradians from Tiridth south of the UKofA) as well as the Beauvingians (half-orcs) and Eysturluns from the east, Emalia the largest continent of this world, just 75 miles to the east across the sea from Ibalnd. Now, I don’t need to go mon and on about these things, but if you are interested we’ll work out something simple that you can enjoy playing.
Theorythmus also brings up some good general questions
Posting Requirements
I original launched this game to be something less than completely serious (though I always take playing D&D serious, sometimes my games have a less than serious tone). I usually try to post every day, at least once, but can at times skip a day or two when I am cranky. I try to do my best to keep the game fun for everyone and I will probably bump a Player with a PM if you haven’t been around for a few days.
I am in the north western United States (Idaho)
things to keep track of
You should track things like ammunition, food, and other consumables, and your own experience points. I know it seems antediluvian, but I like players to keep track of their own experience points. We will be using the fast track of experience points and leveling. You would start this game with 100 experience points, thereby justifying some limited knowledge of what it means to be an adventurer.
Hit Points
Max at level 1 through 3, then we start rolling, and we always reroll 1’s
House Rules
I’ve been playing D&D for 38 years, okay we can call it Pathfinder now if you want to, and as far as this edition of the rules is concerned, I love it and I hate it. I have a lot of problems with blanket “Knowledge Checks” and “Perception Checks” being expected to be used to make me simply tell you everything you want to know.
In games I launch that I think will be serious campaigns, I always apply a house rule that modifies Perception (changes it to be an Intelligence based Skill), and change Sense Motive to be a skill called “Intuition”, but I won’t do that here, so if I ask you for an “Intuition” roll just politely remind me that we aren’t using “House Rule #1” and I’ll remember.
I can be expected to house rule a lot of monsters and situations (I make up a lot of rolls to determine how unusual things will work out), but at the same time I love to learn more about the game of Pathfinder and I will gladly listen to any player explain to me how something is supposed to work, so we get it right.
I do not like using material that is only available on websites other than this one (I use a few different computers, and some of them cannot access those third party rules), but that doesn’t mean I will automatically rule against it. If you are excited about something you found on a third party site, just promise to be patient with me if I need to do my home work.
A Little More about the Setting and the Game Tone
Idalnd is located between the 40 degree and 48 degree northern latitudes of the world of Hamth and has a climate similar to England, Wales, and Scotland. However, it has flora and fauna more similar to the Magellanic Subpolar Forests, and Valdivian temperate forests of southern Chile and Argentina.
I was delighted to have players join this game when I suggested it in the open forums, and I would like to keep the tone light, and a bit fantastical (there will be elements of Science Fantasy). I will try to use maps as often as I can, but as most of my maps of this world were drawn by me when I was a teen ager, they are not very good and I would be embarrassed to share them, and really I should just pay someone to redo them with today’s modern map making technology and get over myself.
My first and foremost rule is
Play like you don’t need to win
I hope I answered your questions. Please don’t hesitate to ask more if you have them
A wanderer sounds perfect. I'd wanted to do something along the lines of a cleric of Desna anyway.
Would it be possible to get a little more information on the Drasbian Elves' pantheon? Names and portfolios/domains?
For this adventure, why don't we make "Desna" an Elven Goddes, the female of the three elven Gods, and keep most of her "trappings and rules" the same, it sort of fits in with the theme of her being on the move, and not getting tied down to one of the two brothers. That way you can build the cleric as you like, and if it doesn't work out for you here, the character should fit in to any Golarion setting game easily.
How does that sound?
That sounds great. Thanks for the quick response, should have something finalized soon(ish).
Hey guys I am a player in this game and just wanted to say that it is pretty unique and fun so far. I made a character that is going to focus on throwing rocks. So I would encourage you as you are making characters to lean fun/enjoyable over optimized.
Many apologies, I'd meant to type Favored Enemy! :D Silly Megan. I chose Animals as a safe bet, it's certainly one I can be happy with.
I won't get a true animal companion until level 4 so we can cross that moor when (if) we ever come to it. My first thought actually was hunting dog (some friends have an Irish Wolfhound, it's awesome and BIG!) but I worried it might spend too much time dog paddling, depending on how wet I happen to get. Possibly a heron, or some other long legged "wader bird?" Don't see too many long legged birds as companions. Long beaks for piercing marsh. Plus I could always go with the option to skip an animal buddy, instead granting my favored enemy bonuses to the entire party. But that's really far off heh
I also hate the dumbing down of knowledge and perception. If it's all right with you, I'll redo my skills with the perception / intuition in the back of my mind, in case I ever get to play her in the future. I'll have to keep it in mind, since rangers need perception but mine is a bit unintelligent on purpose!
What do you think about elven names and weapons? I found some wooden armor (rustic and buoyant) as well as an entry for kilts. Names and weapons I'm still wavering on, though. If I keep thinking of her as Rydwen, I'll get too attached to it! :D
@Helio, if you're a highlander elf too just let me know if you'd like to dip into the family traits or teamwork feats. Even if you're a wanderer, it might be neat to be part of the same "clan." But no worries if you've already got plans for those precious few purchases haha
@Xor: I hear you.
Don't worry about any modification to how Perception works (according to the rules that is). I don't intend on asking players to rework existing characters because I want to impose a House Rule that I didn't make clear right from the start.
I do hope that interested players are kind enough to read the game thread, up to now, so they have a feel for what has just happened, even if they were not involved. And when you think you are ready we'll work out how we get you into the scene as quickly as possible.
Also, not that it is really all that important, but there are Humans who are native to Vologna, and they are fair skinned, and fair haired (they resemble Northern Europeans, i.e. Scandinavians), while Humans who are from Anthandra (some 6,000 miles to the west, across the sea) are olive to dark skinned and dark haired, they resemble Mediterranean Europeans and Moorish peoples
These comparisons are purely cosmetic, and I hope to not be accused of cultural misappropriation in anyway. These comparisons are given only to help you “visualize” the people of the world of Hamth.
Helio checking back in:
I present Diarmal Illsutra, wanderer and general do-gooder of the Drasbian elves. He's more of a utility caster and otherwise helpful cleric, rather than a direct fighter. I'd like for him to focus more on the magical and fantastic aspects of cleric-dom, though those are a bit limited at 1st level. Let me know if I messed anything up, or if something doesn't jive with the Drasbian elves' style.
@Compass Rose, I'd much rather spend my purchases on flavor and things like that. I hadn't planned on going into any feat-heavy builds, anyway. I'd be good with pretty much anything, so what were you thinking of?
@GDM, I hadn't even realized that the gameplay thread was already linked up to this. I gave it a read through, and very much enjoyed what it looks like. And now I need to know how Mr. Andersen is tied to all of this...
I'm seeing some really great character builds. Thank you guys for being attentive to details!
And it reminds me of something important I overlooked.
I never mentioned Trait restrictions, so let’s get it cleared up
I'm allowing
Three traits, from the PRD documents here at Paizo, and one Drawback (? I’m going to have to do homework on Drawbacks, never used them before, but let’s use them).
If you created a character that has already participated in this game, you might need to adjust accordingly.
I am statting out my character right now. What do you think about my halfling being a simpleton and the familiar(who is actually a polymorphed witch) is the one who calls the shots?
Sounds tricky, but it is a good hook, and a solid trope that I'm familiar with. I will want to see the details, and as long as you don't pull too many "rabbits out of the hat,” I think it could work.
You'll be responsible for two separate aliases, though, will that be alright with you?
Thankfully they're easy; drawbacks are just "bad traits." Instead of taking the standard 2 traits, you can take a 3rd if you compensate with 1 drawback. That being said, from what I've seen the drawbacks all feel way worse to me numbers-wise! I'm not complaining, I wanted to pick one up for the roleplay and the challenge. But if I was making a more hardcore or survivable character, I might just stick with the 2 feats. (I already RP weaknesses with all my characters, and some of those drawbacks are quite severe.) Drawbacks are listed at the very bottom of the traits page.
Well, thanks, I just scanned over them, and there are some good RP hooks built into those.
I think Diamal and Rydwen are about as ready as they could be to join in the game thread. Do you have any more questions? When you are ready, just give me the word and I will throw up a short introduction for you.
Other's please take your time, and don't worry, the rest of the night at Two Barrels will be spent introducing people as they enter the tavern, and find a crowd gathered around an incapacitated barmaid, and the real adventure will begin when everyone is up to speed.
Marvin
Xor
Sasithorn
Could I get a check in from you in the newly established Discussion Thread?
Let me take a quick look at possible kin connection stats to use with Diarmal (they're things we might both have to get, if we opted to go that direction). I'll shuffle my skill numbers and finish buying gear. I should be ready very very soon, though!
Hey Helio, I wanted to change my last name before I made too many posts and wasn't allowed to anymore lol. However close that kin connection happens to be, though, could be anything.
As for the family features, there's not as many as I thought! I might have been looking at some third party thing somewhere, or just never seen them all together before and thought there were more; as it stands I haven't been able to track much down. We might want to just keep what we already have.
That said, there are three possible traits. Kin Guardian, Kin Bond, Family Ties could all add flavor. The teamwork feats begin to turn more roll over role play. Shielded Caster could help protect your cleric; I don't cast yet but I'm happy to "tank" in this way. Lookout would certainly make sense for elves. I believe these feats just require us to be adjacent, which seems a lot easier in a PBP than trying to figure out specific squares on a map? (Newbie question!) Otherwise I'll pick up something for swampy terrain.
I was wondering, are you still looking for people, and if so, what does the current party look like?
From what I can tell, at the very least you have a ranger, cleric and a stone oracle, right?
You know, I'm not sure, hold on a minute
Okay, there is an Android Gunslinger, a Dwarf Stone Oracle, and a variation on an Eysturlun Shadow Mage-like person, those are the originals
Now we are adding an Elf Ranger, and an Elf Cleric, maybe a bard, and a witch
There are NPC's that helped in the first encounter
A halfling paladin, a Gymnagaopthian Cleric, and a dwarf fighter.
Does that help?
Oh, and I will probably allow anyone who wants to join, to join, until at least the end of Friday.
I'd been wondering which drawback to pick up (if any), and Family Ties seems like a good fit. I'll probably grab Kin Guardian as my 3rd trait, since that'll give another way to contribute to a fight without having to personally dirty my hands! As for our relationship, I suppose it would depend on the size and organization of the elven families - which is GDM's territory. Cousins might be a safe bet regardless, though. Not too close, not too distant.
If the game runs far enough, I'd consider picking up Shielded Caster, but I don't see any reason to blow early feats on it. Lookout's also great, but perhaps not for a first level feat? Ultimate Combat also has a few that might be good - Back to Back and Shake It Off, maybe?
I also noticed that you took the cold resistance racial trait, so I'm going to follow suit. It's perfect, and I overlooked it completely.
I'm interested in joining (if there's still space that is).
Let me know if you have the room, as it looks like a lot of people have already signed up.
Sounds tricky, but it is a good hook, and a solid trope that I'm familiar with. I will want to see the details, and as long as you don't pull too many "rabbits out of the hat,” I think it could work.
You'll be responsible for two separate aliases, though, will that be alright with you?
I'm ok with that. Mechanically the familiar would just be another witch that was baleful poly-morphed but still maintained it's persona. All it would be able to do is be my familiar, give me advice, and criticize me along the way for being a simpleton
Sounds fun!
Riyah – there is room, as long as you do not mind a large cast of characters.
Lycrosis – Help me understand this better, is the Halfling (Eshian/Basconde) doing the casting as a “witch” character (and is officially your PC) or is the familiar doing the casting as a “witch” character? Which witch is the witch which is the PC, gawd I’ve always wanted to say that!
Felicia – is this your druid character? Cause if it is, I’ve got some crazy things to share with you about Gnomes, if you are interested, or if it is too much “Home Brew-ish” we can just play it as is. The desert environment works well, and we can say she is from Kyjzta, to the south east, and might even know something about Marvin’s origin!!!
Riyah – there is room, as long as you do not mind a large cast of characters.
Lycrosis – Help me understand this better, is the Halfling (Eshian/Basconde) doing the casting as a “witch” character (and is officially your PC) or is the familiar doing the casting as a “witch” character? Which witch is the witch which is the PC, gawd I’ve always wanted to say that!
Felicia – is this your druid character? Cause if it is, I’ve got some crazy things to share with you about Gnomes, if you are interested, or if it is too much “Home Brew-ish” we can just play it as is. The desert environment works well, and we can say she is from Kyjzta, to the south east, and might even know something about Marvin’s origin!!!
The witch is the halfling. The familiar gives out advice and snarkiness.
I don't know if a Grippli is going to work, so let me do some homework before you get too far along, okay. Thanks!
Any chance I could try a Psion? If not I'll keep working on my bard.
The Psion does not appear (at least to my searches) in the PRD here, so I am going to have to say no to that.
sarpadian - Looks like the Grippli is a go, so if that is what you want to try, go ahead.
Looks like I might need to ask for a halt to new request. let's see how many of these "ideas" are followed through on. Will be a big crowd, if that isn't your style, please let me know.
Finally finished. ^_^ Read through the previous turns too! This sheet's officially finalized. I purposefully just ran out of trail rations, and have meager funds; it's her hope to buy or barter for some more when she reaches Connie's Bright, or wherever the next chapter begins.
Riyah – there is room, as long as you do not mind a large cast of characters.
Thanks, how do I add myself to the characters/playing part of this thread?
I'll upload a character/background in the next day or so.
Riyah - I see you are new here, so take a minute to get aquainted with the way things work. There are a lot of people who will help. I'm going to ask you to create an "Alias" if you don't know how, we'll walk you through it. Once you have an Alias constructed, with all the information I need to spy on so I can be a sinisted DM, I'll ask you to post, as your alias, in the Discussion thread, to introduce yourself. Then we will introduce your character to the Game Thread, when you are sure you are ready to get on this ride
*no refunds*
I will be giving new players to this game one of two options
Option A: You are guest of The Blue Roof Inn, and you were soundly sleeping when the “event” occurred. You woke, met with other guests, and learned that “something” happened in the alleyway between The Blue Roof and Two Barrels Tavern, and people are now gathering at Two Barrels, will you go?
Option B: A Ship, in the harbor (the coast here near Connie’s Bright is too shallow for large ships to tie at the pier), called the Tertian Rose, is having a birthday party for the first mate, Polly ‘Green Shirt’ Lassin, and the crew is getting rowdy, drunk, and having a real good time. You paid for passage on the Tertian Rose to take you all the way to Cutter’s Island, in the south, part of the Republic of Basconde, but the party is keeping you awake. The Captain of the Tertian Rose has agreed to send a small boat ashore, with his paid passengers, and make them comfortable in a local Inn. Your boat has just arrived. A crowd is gathering at a local tavern, with two small casks suspended above the door.
Dang it! It looks like i am just a little late to get in on this :(
Pity as i have a really neat idea i would like to run with.
On the off chance that i am allowed, he will be a human rogue (charlatain) "priest" who has never managed to convince himself to believe in the divine yet realized that a cushy job as a priest/pastor would give him both an easy life and prestige, as well as mindless followers to boost the ego from time to time. He dosent believe at all what he preaches but is content to mislead the masses when he unexpectedly finds himself in the midst of trouble. Can he lie his way out of this one?
He will have skill focus: bluff and catch off guard. He has no belief of his own so he needs to lie to "preach the good word" an he dosent use weapons. Instead he has a holy book he could bash you over the head with or perhaps a pulpit? Candlesticks?
He will have the godless healing and the rough and ready traits (+drawback +1 trait?).
I will flesh it out more :)
I assume this is a homebrew? If so I want to sign up, most of my homebrews got cancelled. I'm in 3 APs and 1 homebrew, and that 1 homebrew is starting to go inactive.
Also you said any race? Is any race going to be discriminated against or some attacked on sight?
Oh, this is deeply Home Brewed.
I suppose you got me in a tough spot now, because, originally I set this game up as something very much not to e taken too seriously and invited any race, but that might not work now. Can I ask that we exclude monster races, for now? If you have something in mind, go ahead and ask.
How is everyone coming along?
This isn't my alias for this game, I'm not using the gargoyle in doublegolds alias.
I'm looking at either suli, Lasahunta, or assimar.
Also, lashunta says females look almost human, but males do not, though I'm asking for romance roleplay purposes that males look almost human or almost elf.