The Precipice and The End of an Age

Game Master TheMightyAtom

Some major plot points in this setting
[list]

Reporting in.

Is the Riot Crew in anyway affiliated with any of the three major powers, or directly opposed? It sounds like FACCS probably absoloutely adores a pack of supernaturally gifted vigilantes, and it sounds like we're stepping on the Legion's toes in big, steel-toed boots.

Sweet, I’m excited guys. I wasn’t really looking for a homebrew game but this really grabbed my attention. I’ll get my profile tidied up tomorrow morning.

My impression was that we were pretty small fries in a big pond.

Reporting in.

Is the Riot Crew in anyway affiliated with any of the three major powers, or directly opposed? It sounds like FACCS probably absoloutely adores a pack of supernaturally gifted vigilantes, and it sounds like we're stepping on the Legion's toes in big, steel-toed boots.

Yes and no.

FACCS, as you have already surmised, are no friend to the crew. Expect to be hiding from these guys for the first half of the campaign, as your research locations get raided, your jobs get interrupted, and your communications suddenly go down. That in mind, as long as you keep magic away from public areas, you don't have to worry about these guys too much: they have bigger problems.

The Shield Legion, meanwhile, don't mind your activities in the least. If anything, they might even appreciate it. The legion is far too busy killing ogres, banishing demons, and dealing with the occasional dragon to care about a rag tag group of mercenaries. Once you gain enough fame to be recognizable, they might be willing to spare some time to give you advice or possibly even lend some man power. They could even ask you for help, considering the constant casualties they suffer.

And the Society of Gilded Oak? Not only do they know about you, they help to fund you, at least in a very distant sense. The society has their hands in just about everything that happens in the modern magical world: every magic bullet sold, every potion drank, every gp minted, they have something to do with it. Gain more of a reputation and who knows? They might be willing to make some deals.

Hope that answered your question!

Hi team! Looking forward to this!

Hope that answered your question!

It does indeed. So we have one group who wanna kick us inna fork, one who might be friendly if we don't do anything too stupid, and one whose helping to pay for my suits.

Cheers.

Gameplay post is up! I'm hoping you can post about once a week, but if you can't I can understand.

Also, since this is as good a place to say this as any, I want to note that this campaign is going to be pretty sandbox, and while I have a clear ending in mind, I want your choices to drive things as much as mine will. While this first adventure is well-planned, the rest will be determined by the choices you make.

Happy posting!

I should be able to post once a day minimum, and probably more frequently. (Thanks slow-paced job with no monitoring of internet usage!) I'll try to let you all know if I'm going to be missing for more than a couple days.

I should be able to post most days as well!

Me as well.

Also, in my profile header, I'm putting my werebat form stats because I assumed that would be the most common for combat. My Dex can shift around a whole lot depending on my form so my stats are kinda fluid.

On that note, I've got a couple questions I want to ask about the Bat Shape Feat which functions asBeast Shape II. I've never used that spell line so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Do you get all the standard size modifiers to skills and such + what is stated for your transformation or do you ONLY get the stated bonuses?

Also, the feat says that you take the form of a bat which is Diminutive, but get the bonuses from the Beast Shape II spell which only allows Tiny. I assumed I would stat like it was Tiny but for roleplay would be Diminutive. Just wanted to make sure this was ok.

Sorry to spring that stuff on you now but I just realized I hadn't worked it all out in detail.

Hello all, and thanks for having me, Atom. Will try to finish the profile as soon as possible and looking forward to get started. And yup, I too aim to get at least one post in daily (thought weekends might be iffier).

... every gp minted...

Oh, so actual gold coins are a thing in the setting? Are these used solely in the magical side of the world, or can you walk into a Starbucks and buy some coffee for a silver piece?

And on that note, how much has the mystical bled into the normal world? Does Joe Everyman suspect that something is awry? Do conspiracy nutters on the net talk about dragons instead of the Earth being flat? Or does the average person just lead an ordinary life as we know it?

Just asking for role playing purposes.

Me as well.

Also, in my profile header, I'm putting my werebat form stats because I assumed that would be the most common for combat. My Dex can shift around a whole lot depending on my form so my stats are kinda fluid.

On that note, I've got a couple questions I want to ask about the Bat Shape Feat which functions asBeast Shape II. I've never used that spell line so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Do you get all the standard size modifiers to skills and such + what is stated for your transformation or do you ONLY get the stated bonuses?

Also, the feat says that you take the form of a bat which is Diminutive, but get the bonuses from the Beast Shape II spell which only allows Tiny. I assumed I would stat like it was Tiny but for roleplay would be Diminutive. Just wanted to make sure this was ok.

Sorry to spring that stuff on you now but I just realized I hadn't worked it all out in detail.

I would suggest reading up on the rules for polymorph spells, but yes, you get both the size bonus benefits and the benefits listed under the spell’s effects.

I think how you’ve statted it up will be okay.

Hello all, and thanks for having me, Atom. Will try to finish the profile as soon as possible and looking forward to get started. And yup, I too aim to get at least one post in daily (thought weekends might be iffier).

TheMightyAtom wrote:

... every gp minted...

Oh, so actual gold coins are a thing in the setting? Are these used solely in the magical side of the world, or can you walk into a Starbucks and buy some coffee for a silver piece?

And on that note, how much has the mystical bled into the normal world? Does Joe Everyman suspect that something is awry? Do conspiracy nutters on the net talk about dragons instead of the Earth being flat? Or does the average person just lead an ordinary life as we know it?

Just asking for role playing purposes.

Gp is used solely as magical currency, while you lr average Joe Schmoe uses dollars as normal. To keep things simple, I’m just pretending that the PCs can convert between the two depending on where they’re spending their money (at a rate of $100 to 1 gp).

While your average person doesn’t know about magic (FACCS is far too good at their job for the masquerade to fall completely), more and more people are learning about magic, and even more than that have a guess, making guesses on online forums as to how things really are.

Magic is still solely mythical for your average person, but that line gets thinner everyday.

Father Asher Anderson wrote:

Hello all, and thanks for having me, Atom. Will try to finish the profile as soon as possible and looking forward to get started. And yup, I too aim to get at least one post in daily (thought weekends might be iffier).

TheMightyAtom wrote:

... every gp minted...

Oh, so actual gold coins are a thing in the setting? Are these used solely in the magical side of the world, or can you walk into a Starbucks and buy some coffee for a silver piece?

And on that note, how much has the mystical bled into the normal world? Does Joe Everyman suspect that something is awry? Do conspiracy nutters on the net talk about dragons instead of the Earth being flat? Or does the average person just lead an ordinary life as we know it?

Just asking for role playing purposes.

Gp is used solely as magical currency, while you lr average Joe Schmoe uses dollars as normal. To keep things simple, I’m just pretending that the PCs can convert between the two depending on where they’re spending their money (at a rate of $100 to 1 gp).

While your average person doesn’t know about magic (FACCS is far too good at their job for the masquerade to fall completely), more and more people are learning about magic, and even more than that have a guess, making guesses on online forums as to how things really are.

Magic is still solely mythical for your average person, but that line gets thinner everyday.

So, just to clarify, its common knowledge that magic USED to exist but its relatively rare for an average person to believe it exists now? What about nonhuman races? Same boat as magic?

So, just to clarify, its common knowledge that magic USED to exist but its relatively rare for an average person to believe it exists now? What about nonhuman races? Same boat as magic?

Not the GM obviously, but in the premise he said that "a series of calamities caused magic to not only disappear, but for any evidence of its existence to be destroyed." So I'd assume nothing about magic is common knowledge.

Quote:

So, just to clarify, its common knowledge that magic USED to exist but its relatively rare for an average person to believe it exists now? What about nonhuman races? Same boat as magic?

Not the GM obviously, but in the premise he said that "a series of calamities caused magic to not only disappear, but for any evidence of its existence to be destroyed." So I'd assume nothing about magic is common knowledge.

Whoops, my bad. I'm loosing track of details. Also, I'm going to have to be on the ball about aliases.

Ever_Anon (Alex) has it right. Most people view the supernatural as little more than myths, stories, and urban legends.

If it helps, look at the last post on the Recruitment page, where I listed each player and their alias.

Sorry, I meant my own. I'm shuffling between Campaigns a little more than I'm used to and I'll have to get into a better habit of double checking I have the right alias.

Once we post in Gameplay it'll be a bit easier, since it'll be the second alias down after your primary for this game from then on.

Hi all! I should be able to post more or less every day.
Looking forward to playing with you all! :)

I don't think it should matter since we just started, but I've switched around a couple of Alex's skills since the original concept. (I got rid of bluff/intimidate in exchange for knowl. (dungeoneering) and the human FCB for slayers, plus I added her background skills.) Just wanted to give you all a heads up.

I don't think it should matter since we just started, but I've switched around a couple of Alex's skills since the original concept. (I got rid of bluff/intimidate in exchange for knowl. (dungeoneering) and the human FCB for slayers, plus I added her background skills.) Just wanted to give you all a heads up.

While I’m totally cool with you changing up your character, remember that you don’t get a FCB until level 2, as it only applies when you gain a level, not when you start with one.

While I’m totally cool with you changing up your character, remember that you don’t get a FCB until level 2, as it only applies when you gain a level, not when you start with one.

Really? In section four of the d20pfsrd's character creation outline it said that the FCB applies "each time a character gains a level (including his first level)." [emphasis mine]

Not trying to be argumentative, I'm just a little confused.

TheMightyAtom wrote:

While I’m totally cool with you changing up your character, remember that you don’t get a FCB until level 2, as it only applies when you gain a level, not when you start with one.

Really? In section four of the d20pfsrd's character creation outline it said that the FCB applies "each time a character gains a level (including his first level)." [emphasis mine]

Not trying to be argumentative, I'm just a little confused.

Ah, so it does. I guess I missed that part when I first read the core rule book. Nice catch!

Yeah, I didn’t realize until after I’d made Julian that he really should be called Batman...and then that’s all I could think of so I decided to outsource

I have a question about the trait Hunter's Blood. (This is what I get for picking a complicated trait, but it was so dang perfect.)

It says: "You earn a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy when used to gather information, Knowledge (religion), and Survival when used for tracking when related to an undead quarry."

The way I'm reading it is: I get a +1 bonus to Diplomacy (anytime I'm gathering information), +1 to Knowledge Religion (anytime I use the skill) and +1 to Survival (only when tracking an undead quarry).

Is that right? Or should all three bonuses only apply when it's related to the undead?

Related, how should we handle it if I don't know the quarry is undead? If I'm following a zombie's tracks but I don't know it's a zombie, how would that work?

Sorry for the sudden barrage of questions. After rolling Diplomacy in my latest post I got to thinking about whether or not the +1 bonus would apply, and realized I didn't actually know.

I have a question about the trait Hunter's Blood. (This is what I get for picking a complicated trait, but it was so dang perfect.)

It says: "You earn a +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy when used to gather information, Knowledge (religion), and Survival when used for tracking when related to an undead quarry."

The way I'm reading it is: I get a +1 bonus to Diplomacy (anytime I'm gathering information), +1 to Knowledge Religion (anytime I use the skill) and +1 to Survival (only when tracking an undead quarry).

Is that right? Or should all three bonuses only apply when it's related to the undead?

Related, how should we handle it if I don't know the quarry is undead? If I'm following a zombie's tracks but I don't know it's a zombie, how would that work?

Sorry for the sudden barrage of questions. After rolling Diplomacy in my latest post I got to thinking about whether or not the +1 bonus would apply, and realized I didn't actually know.

Looking at the way the trait is worded, I’ll take the more open interpretation and say that it applies as written: diplomacy and knowledge (religion) are flat trait bonuses, and survival for tracking applies only to the undead.

As for if you don’t know what you’re tracking, I would think that part of tracking involves figuring out what you’re tracking. Maybe a Knowledge check to determine if you can tell the difference, which then determines if you get the bonus.

Looking at the way the trait is worded, I’ll take the more open interpretation and say that it applies as written: diplomacy and knowledge (religion) are flat trait bonuses, and survival for tracking applies only to the undead.

As for if you don’t know what you’re tracking, I would think that part of tracking involves figuring out what you’re tracking. Maybe a Knowledge check to determine if you can tell the difference, which then determines if you get the bonus.

Thanks for the quick response. That's what I thought made the most sense, but I figured it would be a good idea to get an official ruling.

So, how are you all doing? I found out today I’ve been fighting an ear and throat infection for about a week.

Punch it! In the throat! Wait...

I'm doing OK. A little tired due to an injury that's taken weeks to heal and has been making me paranoid (a small backache, which was the first sympton of bowel cancer in my brother. And step dad. And mother. F*** cancer in the face with a chainsaw) but other than that...

Sorry to hear that, ear/throat infections suck. As do symptoms which are almost certainly not cancer but make you panic anyway. I hope both of you start feeling better soon!

As for myself, I’m doing okay. It’s been a pretty shitty week though, so I’ve been really looking forward to the weekend.

^The 'its almost certainly not cancer but...' symptoms are a kicker.

That's one thing I love about Australia's healthcare system. You don't get kicked in the balls with fees if you go see the doctor early and often about those possibly serious but probably fine things.

I hope you both feel better soon!

Yeah, thankfully I'm in the UK so I can go bug the doctors too. And thankfully the twinge has finally healed almost completely, so I've calmed down...but I've scheduled my annual exam.

I've been a little sick, but nothing serious, and apart from that the week's been going pretty well.

Well, are we down a DM? That would be sad.

Sorry about this week. I've been a tad bit busy helping family. Expect a post by the hour.

No worries, glad to have you back!

Happy you're back, hope everything is ok with the family!

It's cool, dude. Family comes first.

Sorry about this week, been very busy. I’ll post a reply by tonight. Is Kaleo going to post or is he waiting for me?

Oops, thought I had posted and I was a bit busy study for my Calculus final, so I didn't double check.

Gp is used solely as magical currency, while you lr average Joe Schmoe uses dollars as normal. To keep things simple, I’m just pretending that the PCs can convert between the two depending on where they’re spending their money (at a rate of $100 to 1 gp).

I was just going off of this conversion.

Ah, I was going off the Modern Path, where 1gp = $10. I missed that our GM had specified otherwise. I guess Alex is just bad at math. Feel free to mock her in character :)

Ah, I was going off the Modern Path, where 1gp = $10. I missed that our GM had specified otherwise. I guess Alex is just bad at math. Feel free to mock her in character :)

Hmm, well, it’s possible it was just a typo, let’s wait for DM confirmation before any mocking happens.

Not a typo. 2500 gp = $250,000. That said, a large portion of that will go to gear, so Julian isn't exactly set for life.

I'm getting started on the map, and I need to ask: what would be the best way for all you to simulate combat? A virtual tabletop like Roll20, doing it in chat, powerpoints? I'm open to ideas.

The way I do it is to use the Google knock off excel, turn it into a grid, colour the squares to make a map and have people simply move the letter representing there name around. It's cheap and cheerful.

But there are plenty of better ways to do it, I'm just naff with art. Roll20 seems to be the easiest nowadays.

I’ve only ever used google sheets so I don’t have experience with Roll20, but I’m game to try what ever.

On an unrelated note, does Berto accompany us in missions or is he just mission control for us?

In the past, I've simply used google slides. Slapped on a map, made some tokens with this, and given people the option to move stuff themselves - done. Do whatever works best for you though, dude. GMing can be difficult enough as is.

I'm fine with whatever is most comfortable for you. I've never used Roll20, but it wouldn't be a problem to make an account.