... Ou la Mort

Game Master The Wyrm Ouroboros

It was a wonderful rallying cry: "Liberté, Fraternité, Égalité". Liberty, Fraternity, Equality. Everyone forgot what ended the motto: "... ou la Mort", 'or Death'.

For fifty years, the Revolution has laid claim to Galt. For fifty years, councils have risen to power on the whipped-up fury of the mobs of Isarn, or seized it via ruthlessness and betrayal, only to fall to the mob's fury some months, some years down the road. For fifty years, the Gray Gardeners have willingly, even ruthlessly executed those sentenced to death by the mob (whether guilty or not) using the final blades, those terrible soul-seizing guillotines from which none return -- though there are rumors that the highest of the Gardeners know a ritual which can remove a soul from the blades.

Fifty years of 'la mort' ... is enough.

A disgruntled ex-nobleman. A military genius. A reliable statesman. A criminal mastermind. An influential merchant. A distressed prelate. United by their frustration with the constant pandering to the mob, by their disquiet at the methods used by the Gray Gardeners, by their desire for Galt to once again become a place of freedom, wisdom, learning, and beauty, these six have dedicated their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to the cause of extracting Galt from the morass of anarchy, chaos -- and yes, evil -- in which it wallows and returning Isarn to what once it was: a shining city on a hill in the greatest culture in Golarion.

It's time for the Red Revolution to end.

Game Summary:

Combat: 1.5 out of 5
Frankly, I suck at large-scale combat, so the idea of that is going to be pretty much right out. How much other combat -- desperate knife-fights in alleys, magical battles, formal duels between fencers -- will depend strongly on how the players approach their objectives. Make no mistake, there will be combat, because some opponents you have to stand up to directly and accept their challenge, but by and large it will depend on the players. Large-scale maneuvers / battles (which may happen) would likely be glossed over by opposed skill checks, possibly using the Mass Combat systems.

That said, while force may provide an answer to many situations, it will will rarely be the best answer, and the more overt the application of force is, the more likely complications may arise.

Intrigue: 5 out of 5
You are five people looking to put down a perpetual revolution that has been churning for fifty years. You are going to have to be subtle, secretive, inquisitive, deliberate, and build up your organization(s) in order to have a chance at not only ending the Revolution, but also freeing the souls of thousands of innocents locked away within the final blades.

That means everything you do is going to have consequences, and every consequence you wish to have happen is, at a particular time, going to require particular actions in particular ways -- and sometimes you may not be comfortable with those actions, those methods. It will be up to you whether or not you accept the consequences, or delay with the intent (and with the hope) of finding a different way to accomplish that goal.

Murderhobos and psychotics need not apply.

Lethality: 4 out of 5
Death and the oblivion of the soul stalks the streets of Isarn, moving to the baying of the mob. There are powerful players in the city and in the country, and making the wrong decision on where, how, and whether to press an opponent can result in making enemies -- enemies with deep pockets, long arms, and a talent for keeping grudges alive.

Accepting a minor loss in order to not reveal your hand, losing a battle in order not to lose the war, failing at a task in order to not betray your chance at the final fictory, these are things you will have to learn how to do. Not every battle can be won; not every battle should be won. Just learn to minimize your losses.

Roleplay: 5 out of 5
I love roleplay; I love a well-written post. I may well be tempted to linger in an interaction that is entertaining me, but I will do my best to keep the flow of the game moving along. After all, this is play-by-post, and things are slow as it is ... but if the posting is steady, and the players are engaged, I may allow a scene to linger a bit.

However, never be afraid to PM me asking me to move it along.

Recruitment:

Duration: Opening immediately, with an estimated closing date of 12:00 midnight US Eastern time, 12 May 2019. Accepted players to be determined no later than the same time, 19 May 2019.
Background: I have acquired permission from the writers to utilize The Galt Gazette, and so this information will provide the cornerstone of your experience in Isarn in specific and Galt as a whole. However, with the exception of Campaign Traits, do not use the Player's Guide, and please refer instead to the 'Character Creation' and 'Additional Systems' spoilers found below.

A new version of the information will be available as time goes along.
Openings: 5, all of whom have ICly known each other for some time (at least 3 years), and who trust each other with their Lives, their Fortunes, and their Sacred Honor.
. . The Disgruntled Ex-Nobleman: This will be the GM's central NPC host, information source and clearing-house. Obviously not a PC; he has 'Former Noble' for obvious reasons.
. . The Military Genius: You will be an officer in the Army; you must have your PS: Soldier maxed out; the Campaign Trait 'Rising Star' is highly recommended, as are Feats and Traits that enhance that professional skill. Otherwise, build as you like.
. . The Reliable Statesman: This character will be a member of the government, whether a key (but up to now bland) bureaucrat, a member of the Senate, warming a seat on the Revolutionary Council, or what-have-you, and is likely to be (at least at game start) the most high-profile member of the conspiracy. The Campaign Trait 'Affiliated Agent' would prove the most useful for making you a member of one of the three political parties. 'Historian of the Red Revolution', 'Barrister', or 'Passionate Orator' would all do well -- though the last might make you a bit too high-profile ... unless you happened to be a vigilante.
. . The Criminal Mastermind. Building an organization is liable to be very useful -- both Moriarty and Holmes had gofers to do their bidding. Of the campaign traits, Catacomb Dweller' might be the perfect fit, while 'Affiliated Agent' and 'Menacing Mien' have advantages as well -- and don't underestimate being an 'Aspiring Sidekick', so long as your own ideals don't clash too hard with the vigilante's.
. . The Influential Merchant: 'Local Business Owner' is probably the prime Campaign Trait, but depending on what sort of business you wish to have (and how much of your WbL gold you are willing to use), 'Historian of the Red Revolution', 'Affiliated Agent', 'Barrister' -- almost any of the Campaign Traits could be useful.
. . The Distressed Prelate: You must intend to 'go undercover' within the Grey Gardeners in order to learn the secret of releasing the souls within the final blades to their eternal reward; this is a game requirement, and means being ready to take the Gray Gardener prestige class with your next level, and stick with it until Level 10. Feats and Traits that enhance your ability to carry off a long con (e.g. Bluff) are highly recommended; the Campaign Traits 'Secret Practitioner' and 'Menacing Mien' would both prove useful.

Except for the two bolded 'must' requirements, these are only suggestions. Build your character the way you want for the slot you desire to fill. Prospective players may submit as many characters as they desire, for as many slots as they desire.

When constructing your background, be wary of superlatives; be certain your character can cash the checks you're writing for them. Also note all the requirements for feats, abilities, etc. — when you build, make sure you slot them in at places appropriate to those requirements: 1st-level feats at 1st level, prereqs before advanced, etc. Remember that I have to build your character from the notes you put up, so make it so that I can do that.

Character Creation:

Level: 5th, Gestalt.
Attributes: Point buy, 25 points. Standard maximum 18, minimum 8 before racial modifiers. Charisma should not be considered a dump stat in this campaign.
. . Level Ability Score Bonus: Doubled, but must be spent on seperate ability scores.
Races: Core plus tiefling.
. . Tiefling Special: Tiefling heritages are available; as well, tiefling may appear as derivative of any race, not just human, but in all cases ages as half-elf. Variant SLAs:

Spoiler:

For tiefling variant SLAs (spell-like abilities), after you have created your character you may provide me with a list of no less than 5 and no more than 10 SLA choices from the Abilities table; I will choose (deliberately or randomly), one of them for you. As well, for every 3 alternate SLA choices or fraction thereof, you will also provide me with 1 alternate physical feature, whether from the appropriate table or self-created, one of which I will inflict upon you. As an example, even though Androk Jeggare does not have a variant SLA, he does have 'hair' that is more like porcupine quills.

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Alignment: Any Lawful, any ethically-neutral (NG, TN, NE), Chaotic Good.
Classes: Gestalt; Paizo only. No Spheres.
. . Unchained: Required.
. . Variant Multiclassing (VMC): Not allowed. You're gestalt, act like it.
. . Special: One side of your gestalt must remain constant. If you decide to play, for example, a wizard/fighter, if you wish to add in any other class, it must replace one and only one of those two; at 20th level, therefore, you might be a Wizard 20/Fighter 5/Rogue 5/Arcane Archer 10 -- or a Fighter 20/Wizard 5/Rogue 5/Arcane Archer 10. You could NOT be a Wizard 15/Fighter 15/Arcane Archer 10.
Archetypes: All Paizo. Purple Duck Games archetype replacements for UC Monk. Other 3PP potentially on request -- but make sure you have a 'Plan B' for it.
HP: Roll the higher die of your two Gestalt classes, with a minimum of half-plus-one of that class.
Feats:
. . Feat Tax: World is Square / Elephant in the Room is active. Characters who normally receive the Weapon Finesse feat -- not a version of the feat for a specific sub-set -- for free instead receive Deft Maneuvers.
. . Skill-Based Feat: Players receive 1 free "skill feat" [Acrobatic, Alertness, Animal Affinity, Athletic, Deceitful, Deft Hands, Magical Aptitude, Nature Soul, Persuasive, Prodigy, Scholar, Self-Sufficient, Skill Focus, Stealthy, Street Smarts] at 1st level.
. . Bonus Feats: At level 3 and every 4 levels afterwards, characters will receive 1 additional bonus feat for which they qualify.
. . Disallowed: Leadership and similar feats. See 'Additional Systems' spoiler.
Traits: Two traits, optional +1 drawback for a third trait. One trait must be a campaign trait; an additional campaign trait has been created.
Rising Star

Spoiler:

You're becoming well-known within the current Council not only as a politically reliable individual within the officer corps, but as someone who is capable of getting the troops to get the job done.

Benefit: You have 750 GP to spend on creating a military force (see the Ultimate Campaign rules for building organizations out of teams) using primarily military teams (Archers, Cavalry, Cavalry Archers, Elite Archers, Elite Guards, Elite Soldiers, Guards, and Soldiers). You must have at least 15 military people (3 of the above teams) in your organization, though you may add on any other type of team (a team of bureaucrats would be useful, just as an FYI) in addition to them. You may add GP from your WbL if you wish, but if any GP from the 750 remains it is wasted.

During downtime, 1 of every 7 days will be spent keeping the peace in the city (and cannot therefore be used in any other way, using a variant on the 'Enforce Order' Downtime Activity); however, each time you roll for an event (using the Mercenary Company Events table) during the downtime event phase you may roll twice and choose your result.

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Skills:
. . Type: Unchained. Standard +1 background skill points per level (total of 3/level).
. . Total: Skill point bonus option: higher skills per level of the two classes chosen at any particular level, plus 1/2 the points of the second class, plus bonus points from Intelligence. Even the pairing of low-skill classes will gain a moderately respectable number of skills over time.
. . Notice: See 'Additional Systems' spoiler below. Artistry and Performance skills may be as deadly in this game as any assassin's knife. Ignore them at your peril!!
. . Standard >> Background Points: This is allowed, and is treated as 'lending' skill points, to be paid back at a later time if able. Further information:

Spoiler:

You can always move standard skill points into background skills; as well, should you gain more background skill points than you need, I allow you to return what you first put there back into your 'standard' pool. So while you can never use Background Skill Points as Standard ones, you can borrow against them, so to speak. An example:

At 1st level, Henri the Artiste has 11 standard skill points and 3 background skill points, but needs to have certain artistic skills early on in order to be considered for a position at L'Palais d'Arte; he spends 8 standard skill points on adventuring skills, and puts the other 3 into background skills (for a total of 6) which enables him to buy all of his necessary his artistic and performance skills.

By 5th level, Henri has earned 55 standard skill points and 15 background skill points, but has had to 'borrow' 3 skill points from his standards in order to continue to pump up those 6 background skills to the necessary 5 ranks in each he needs to gain the highest association rank in the group; he currently has 40 (55) standard skill points, and 30 (15) background skill points. At 6th level, since he only needs 5 ranks in most of those skills, he can instead start to 'give back' skill ranks -- 3 if he wants to at this new level -- so that he'll now be at 54 (66) standard skill points, and 30 (18) background skill points, 'paying back' the standard points he'd borrowed.

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Wealth: 10,500gp (standard WbL for 5th)
. . Profession/Crafting: Downtime rules apply. Crafting will not be allowed for game-start gear.
. . Magic Items: Automatic Bonus Progression. This has been done in order to boost how much cash is going into building your organizations. Otherwise, please be sensible in your purchases.
. . Firearms: Emerging. Note that gunfire is not only unusual, it's loud, and people (like guards!) will go looking for what caused that strange noise; the base Perception DC for hearing gunfire is set at -10. (This is why oil of silence exists.)
. . Mundane Gear: Get It. There is a crapton of mundane gear that is useful for this campaign, things that exchange a few minutes (or an hour) of time for a skill bonus, usually +2, and often for an extended period of time. Look into them; buy them. Also, buy other stuff. Buy more clothes -- a hat of disguise still means you're wearing something underneath, and having more than just one set of clothes is a good idea. You're a relatively wealthy individual, buy some stuff.
. . Organizations and Buildings: Create them; they are the key to your future wealth and influence. Also, since your starting situation is very very minimal, you might consider including a bedroom and a kitchen in the building(s) you create, just so you can have a better class of bedding and food.
Spellbooks, Formula Books, Etc: Receive +4 free 1st level spells and +4 free 2nd level spells in your book at game start.

Other things as questions are asked.

Additional Systems:

We will be using all sorts of optional rule systems. Skill Unlocks from Unchained are one main one; Verbal Duels, Influence, Affiliations, Personas (standard and Masked), Mysteries and Investigations, Rumors, Research, Contracts, Downtime, Duels, Gambling and Games of Chance, Investments, Building and Organization rules, and all that sort of thing; if it's in Ultimate Intrigue, chances are it'll get used. If it has to do with intrigue and isn't found in UI, chances are it'll get used.

I strongly encourage you to examine the Building and Organization rules, as well as the Persona rules, as the Leadership feat is not so much being replaced as being dramatically enhanced by these two; the better your persona and organization, the better your chances of succeeding at your goals.

I strongly encourage you to examine the specific rules for Verbal Duels; Performance skills are highly useful in them, and

I strongly encourage you to consider the uses of news, art, and propaganda both overt and subtle in history, whether for revolution, war, or political change; the Artistry skills (and to a lesser extent the Craft skills) will enable you to spread your thoughts much farther than your voice can reach.

Though you may not yet have access to them, of note are the rules for Personas and Masked Personas.

Personas

Spoiler:

Personas are a measure of how influential you can be in the world; at the end of the first adventure, we will put these together. For a game like this, these are very useful -- especially so for the more public figures of the Military Genius, the Reliable Statesman, and the Influential Merchant, but useful as well in some ways for the Criminal Mastermind and the Distressed Prelate. Your personas will give you dedicated agents to work for you, admirers, and possibly even friends in high places; your personas will make you the critcial linchpins in ending the Red Revolution.

Masked Personas

Spoiler:

While vigilantes are the most obvious users of masked personas (and can do so with a speed and reliability that is staggering to see), these rules allow otherwise-ordinary people to keep a 'mask' behind the mirror, as it were. The long-time masters of the masked persona are actually the Gray Gardeners; few if any of them are vigilantes, yet their identities remain hidden. Many if not all of the PCs will acquire a masked persona (again, at the end of the first adventure); the primary development of it will have been accomplished prior to the campaign, with its fruits being seen only now.

Persona
Affiliations
Influence (Search “Jockeying”)
Contracts (See AP #101, Hell's Rebels 'The Kintargo Contract', section on Infernal Contracts)
Research (Search “Using a Library”)

Masked Persona
Mysteries and Investigations

Rumors
Bar Fights
Gambling and Games of Chance
Duels
Verbal Duels (and how they work)

Buildings and Organizations
General Downtime
Investments

Contacts

More as I think about it and/or am asked.

Expectations, Both Positive and Negative:

Posting: How and When

Spoiler:

-- If you aren't sure if you should post, post. While my original expectations were to post 5-6 times per week, I confess that putting out quality posts for everyone that many times is ... taxing, which is why I am now aiming for 3; I acknowledge that life happens, and I may post only 2 times some weeks, but more in some other weeks. I expect the same from my players. If life does happen, I intend on giving an apology and notice on likely resumption on the third day of not posting; I expect the same from my players. I don't care if your characters have nothing to do in their part of the game, they're sitting back and watching the opera or the murderfest or whatever it is that's going on; post and let the rest of us know you're not only alive, you're paying attention to the game. I know that sometimes Paizo.com doesn't let you know that something's active and bump it to the top of the list; check every day or two or three anyhow, and when you do, post to indicate 'hey, still in the game!!' Even if it's a ten-word sentence, yawning, scratching your side, and rolling over in your sleep.
-- If it's not IC, put it in either the discussion thread or in spoilers. My ideal is for a thread to read like a novel, or a chapter out of one. Naked dice rolls, OOC conversation, all that jazz breaks that flow up. Put it in a spoiler tag, or if it isn't a question for clarification for the GM, take it to the discussion thread; that's what that thread is for. Try to avoid using OOC tags to aside something; definitely do not do it in the middle of a paragraph or sentence; that's breaking the fourth wall as well, and either belongs in a spoiler, or doesn't belong at all.
-- Post your die roll builds. If you have a half-dozen feats adding and taking dice away, let me know what's happening. "+4 BAB + 3 Dex + 1 Point-Blank - 1 Deadly Aim + 1 Weapon Focus = +8". Until you change things you can just use the +8, but if you decide not to take Deadly Aim, then 'rebuild' it for me. This helps to keep everyone honest - including me.
-- I won't always show my work. I have built, with my 'GMSR' spoilers (that stands for 'GM Seecrit Rolls', FYI), a set of rolls that I can use to build a post. Most often those rolls will be used for NPCs, such as the guard who managed to spot Jerome hiding in the shadow of a pillar; on occasion, in order to put a post together, I will use those rolls with your bonuses so that I can do what we in the MUSHing community call 'power-posing' -- informing you what your character sees, feels, or thinks about something. If I do this, I will a) do my best to note in a spoiler that that was a 'pre-roll' with your skill applied, and b) NEVER say how you actually feel -- 'feels' is 'gut reaction' kind of thing, e.g. Sense Motive, 'thinks' is likely a knowledge skill of some sort (whether an actual KS or a skill used for knowledge of things in its domain, such as Disable Device to judge the quality of a lock with a long look), and of course 'sees' is liable to be a Perception test. Whatever the cause, however, remember that if I'm giving you that information via feel/see/know/whatever, it's because your character has been able to make that level of judgement. I do still have to put together a Perception/Initiative spoiler, but again, I will always have rolled your Perception scores (with circumstantial bonuses), potentially against a Stealth score; I just don't want you to see the fact that hey, I rolled a stealth roll!! This too helps to keep everyone honest. Well, all of you, anyhow, but it means it helps me fudge the game from time to time.

How to Play Like A Star:

Spoiler:

-- Personality: Give your characters this one, and not a two-dimensional cardboard ones. Take a moment while writing your post to come up with adverbs or adjectives that describe what she's doing. Lively; bubbly; disgruntled; thoughtful; irascible; tender-hearted. Whatever they are, come up with them, and then infuse them through your post.
-- Equippage: You have stuff. People fidget. Unless you're playing a strictly-disciplined monk (and there aren't many who do), consider medieval standards of cleanliness. Dirt is everywhere; you live an active life. Brush off dirt, straighten your tunic, fiddle with the flap to your pouch, hook a thumb in your belt
-- Background: Overcomplex is overcomplicated is bad. Simple is beautiful. Most people are just people; most heroes are just the right people in the right place at the wrong damn time. Have one twist that turns you from 'ordinary guy' into 'person with a mission in life'; one twist is really all you need.
-- Location: You're in Galt; don't come from the far side of the world without a Very Good Reason. If you ARE from the far side of the world, infuse your posts with that 'out of place' vibe - Galt is not Vudra, or Absalom, or where-ever you're from.
-- Description: What's that 12+ Charisma mean? Are you a stunning 20 Cha elf with legs that go all the way up? Or a 16 CHA half-orc who might have a certain rough attractiveness, but whose power of personality lights peoples' spirits on fire?
-- Movement: People are rarely still. Some people gesture when they speak; people rarely keep their eyes fixed on the same part of the same thing for more than a few seconds, and even if they do, they're likely to blink -- or shift their body. Scratch; rub your chin, or eye, or behind your ear. Play with your hair. If you find yourself making a post that is entirely spoken word, start breaking up sentences with physical gestures.

How to Waste Your Time and Mine:

Spoiler:

--

Repeatedly ask to use your own race / class / 3rd-party product/item/spell/whatever and expect an immediate answer. Yes, the GM can introduce variants; yes, you can combine items and the like, making unique magic items. If you do this, however, show your work. If you don't show your work, don't expect it to be accepted.
-- Take three years to make a combat post. If two or three days go by with you doing nothing, then congrats - you did nothing.
-- Ignore what's been going on, and not read what I've written in posts and spoilers -- including these. Ignoring the NPCs or the universe around you may force me to repeat myself, which I hate. Far more likely, you will receive some penalty for your IC inattention, from a one-time skill roll penalty up to and including the infliction massive damage on you, which may well result in your character's death. I hate hate hate this sort of crap. If you can't manage to be involved in the game, the game will not continue to include you.
-- Be incoherent, writing posts that make no sense. If the 'making sense' isn't part of the bolded verbal explanation by your character, at the very least make it part of the italicised internal dialogue.
-- Dictate the actions and reactions of the world and people around you. While I allow this to a limited extent, that extent ends just a couple steps before reasonableness does. Posting that a classless, mundane NPC takes a step or two backwards (i.e. out of your reach) when you draw your sword, or runs for cover when (having drawn your sword) you tell them to hide? That's cool. Having them run from you terrified out of their wits when you show a couple inches of steel? That's not cool. In fact, it's stupid -- and I'll turn this on its head and to your detriment by having them go to get someone they trust and who is going to be a complication for you.

About Myself:

I am an assh0le.

Let me say that again, just so that you and I are on the same fvcking page:

I am an assh0le. Before I get to how much of an assh0le I can be, let me say this: I am not an enthusiastic, gleeful assh0le; I do not go out of my way to look for reasons to be one. I do not start conversations in order to mousetrap people into failing; I do not go off just because I woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. In short, if I am being an assh0le, there is a reason. I am in regards to the campaign exceedingly time-limited when it comes to responding to a specific person about a specific item. You know already how well I can write; you have probably also realized by now that I am not innately a courteous person. This is the entire reason for my emphasis here: because I do want my players to understand me, but I do not want my players to take how I say what I say personally. I need to say what I have to say quickly, concisely, and quite basically with a minimum of bullsh!t - which means that the politesse I normally use as a player takes a back seat to the clarity I need to possess as a GM. So now let's take a look at how I can be an assh0le, and why.

I will not coddle you. I will not automatically be careful not to insult your tender-wender feelings. I will kick your ass when you're being a schmuck, I will kick your head when you're being a pedant, and I will kick you out of the game if you deliberately wind me up. If you don't need any of those things done to you, you will find that I generally like people, that I'm a laugh riot, that I don't take myself too seriously, and that I can take an insult like a champ. But make sure you're wearing your big-boy/girl pants if you want to play here, dammit.

I run with an eye towards realism. That doesn't make my game a slavish image of reality, and that won't make this a simulation instead of a game, but someone who uses ass-backwards logic in the vein of 'well, the X here could be anything, it's a fantasy X with magic' is going to get Gibbs-slapped the first time they say it, and b!tch-slapped the second, and kicked out the third - because fantasy games like this one have their core roots in what we as humans know. Isarn is practically Paris. Galt is revolutionary France turned up to 11. Leaders have a vested interest in remaining leaders, which means making sure that someone who offends them gets put in their place. Anarchy does not even begin to describe the insanity that's been Galt for the past half-century.

I do not play your character - only the rest of the world. This means that you control what your character does, I do not. What I do control and dictate is how the rest of the world reacts to your charater. If you diss the high priestess, the organization heads around her take affront on her behalf -- not that she can't take care of herself, but there are still certain proprieties to be observed. As a consequence, you might get repeatedly challenged to duels. You might be seized by the house guards for being a classless idiot, sent to a kangaroo court that's made up its mind before you even get there, and have a night with Madame Margaery because you pissed in the wrong cornflakes. I don't dictate what you do; I only dictate what the rest of the world does in reaction to what you do. Heal a person? Defend a town? Slay a marauding dragon? They love you, your reputation grows. Start throwing fireballs around the tavern - or the town? Well, they don't love you, but your reputation DOES grow; just not the sort of reputation you might want.

I write the way I want myself, my character, or the world to be viewed. I write so that both you and I can enjoy reading what I wrote. It is a statement of fact that I still return to scenes I have written in years (and, at this point, decades) past to enjoy the story and the writing there. I also write very, very well for an amateur, and I've been trying to break into the pro scene (if I can get at least one of my ten different projects done), but it means that I write well. And I check my writing before posting it. And I tend to use word selection specifically for its implications and impact. (Subtlety is my friend, though it may not be yours.) The more you write, the more you learn to write; the better you write, the more people want to play with you. It is my hope that you write well for this campaign, and if you don't write well, that you will Learn To Write Well - and then do so.

I want you to have fun. Being a player means wanting your character to do Cool Sh!t(TM). That means Spotlight Time - you know, the moment in the game where you do Cool Sh!t(TM)? That's when the spotlight is on you and your character, and you do your Cool Sh!t(TM). That spotlight can move fast - there's a lot of characters that are going to be here - but if you want to try some wild-ass stunt, then by all means, try your wild-ass stunt. I am, in fact, here to facilitate your wild-ass stunts. I am also here to provide you with Object Lessons on why wild-ass stunts are wild-ass, because when you fail, you look like a wild ass. (And if it's a wild-ass stunt, then I think there should be a reasonable chance of you failing - but I'm pretty sure we'll figure out together what 'reason' in such a case means.) But I'm also here to cheer when your wild-ass stunt succeeds, and reward you appropriately for managing to pull it off, you crazy kid.

I will be flexible - within reason. If I have a set-piece I need to run you through, then you will encounter that set-piece no matter where you go - Mivon, Daggermark, or Absalom. However, if you try to hie yourself all the way to Absalom or some other place that is clearly well out of the campaign expectations (e.g. Isarn in specific and Galt in general), then I reserve the right to be a bit cross about it, and Gibbs-slap you for making me twist reality not only into a pretzel, but into a Moebius strip in order to make everything work because of your ludicrous craptastic journey to Absalom just because your oats are up and you want to have a go at the Starstone.

I want to have fun too. I am not going to get involved in huge arguments about politics, an off-the-wall interpretation of a rule that depends on how you define one word, or whatever. I am open-minded, and I know what I don't know - to wit, much of the system. However, I've been playing and running pen-and-paper RPGs for over thirty years, and so I can smell a bullsh!t attempt at sixty paces. You have one (1) chance - that means two (2) posts max, and maybe one (1) post - to convince me of a rule interpretation. If I say no, roll with it, and try again the next time, because the next time I may agree with you for a myriad of reasons. Like I said above about realism and playing the rest of the world, though, it means that for the most part, 'usual consequences' will be usual. What I said above about you having fun means that I WILL adapt the game to the wild stunts you crazy kids try to pull off - either through consequences due to your failures, or amazement due to your successes. But if I start approaching this game with trepidation, if the moment I see '3 new messages' I get a sour feeling in my gut, I will locate the cause of my upset and I will make it not be a cause of upset any more, either through telling the offender to get their act together, or removing them from the game for not having done so. Because I want to have fun too.

And because I am an assh0le. I reserve lots of rights - the right to Gibbs-slap you, to tell you you're being a schmuck or a pedant, to ask you what drugs you're smoking if you think you can use two lances at once during a charge, to take a phone book to you if you think your special snowflake deserves special treatment. I especially reserve the right to kick your butt out if you not only go out into left field, but stay out there and scream and whine and cry and tell me I'm being unfair for doing all of the things I've already warned you right above this very statement that I was going to do. I also reserve the right to run a howling good game, to write like a poet (and to write entirely new poetry appropriate to the game), to make pugnacious NPCs, to make you fear for your character's life, to run you ragged, and to try to make this the best game ever played on Paizo.com.

And I'm setting out to finish this game, not just start it.

Now, you got all that? You did? And you're still here? Smokin'. Go put together a character, and let's go make fvckin' magic.