Urban Arcana Blues (Inactive)

Game Master EltonJ

Drivethru RPG had the advertisement of trying a new game for the new year. So why not try something different I say.

You will need
Rules System: D20 Modern by Wizards of the Coast
Campaign Setting: Urban Arcana (not really, though it comes with a few perks)
Overall Setting: Salt Lake City (My Hometown)

Character Creation Details
The only thing we are carrying over from Pathfinder is the point buy system for characters. You get twenty-five points in which to determine your stats. If you have Urban Arcana, you may choose any Shadowkind race as long as its not a powerful race like Drow or something like that.

Background Details
You will be a part of Department 7. A section of the Salt Lake Unified Police; except you will be considered undercover. This will allow you to wear street clothes. Department 7 is a special law enforcement arm of the Unified Police that polices the Shadowkind of the Salt Lake Valley. Remember, this is an urban fantasy campaign, things are slightly different than from real life.

What about the Weapons Locker?
I have this book, but it's currently in storage. I can't refer to it as long as it is in storage. I may purchase the pdf later.

Why not Pathfinder it up?
Because paizo didn't do an urban fantasy game like Urban Arcana, they did a space fantasy game. Starfinder. We are using d20 Modern.

Character Background
Give me a basic background for your character. Like did he or she finish high school? Did you go to police academy? Does he or she have a string of lovers? Is he abusing substances? That sort of thing. You may come from Salt Lake City, or from some other place in the nation.

Adventures
Adventures will happen in an Urban Environment. Some will be dungeon crawls (most likely factory crawls), some will be murder mysteries, some will deal with political aims like civil rights (Shadowkind have rights too).

Why Do this?

Research for my BESM d20 Campaign Atlantis. That one involves time travel, so you can choose any BESM class for it. I'm contracted to bring it out, but because of money issues, I haven't been able to work on it. So it's on the back burner.

How overt are shadowkind in your world?

Are non-human PC races a thing?

How overt are shadowkind in your world?

Are non-human PC races a thing?

Non-human PC races are a thing. You can choose a non-human PC race for your character.

Starting level 1?

Hmmmm. A Tough/Charismatic John McClain type could be interesting.

I'll add that there are srds up for d20 modern and Urban Arcana. A question: SLC is a very Mormon environment. What has all this fantasy stuff changed about that?

Sounds interesting..will have to break out my d20 copies!!!

Starting level 1?

Starting level 5.

A question: SLC is a very Mormon environment. What has all this fantasy stuff changed about that?

not very much. Most shadowkind keep their beliefs to themselves. The Prancing Pony(tm) is still popular. There are more acolytes than mages, that's for sure. The church itself is in decline.

Modern SRD available here.

Oh, hell, yes.

Wow, this is a thing I haven't played in a long time. I am, likewise, interested.

So I'm kinda just sitting around the house with nothing to do today and I started looking through the PDFS for d20 modern and urban arcana, and I have some questions:

1) are we allowed to take advanced races like drow or aasimar (assuming we apply the CR penalty to our overall level as normal)?

2) do people know about shadowkind but there aren't that many/no one really sees them, or are they much like the real world: creatures of legend and stories that don't exist?

3) are their any advanced classes that are off limits (like, say, the telepath or the shadow slayer)?

Changed the concept. McClain isn't really part of a party. Now working on a fast/tough driver. Bullitt style.

So I'm kinda just sitting around the house with nothing to do today and I started looking through the PDFS for d20 modern and urban arcana, and I have some questions:

1) are we allowed to take advanced races like drow or aasimar (assuming we apply the CR penalty to our overall level as normal)?

A1. You aren't allowed to take advanced shadowkind races like drow or aasimar.

2) do people know about shadowkind but there aren't that many/no one really sees them, or are they much like the real world: creatures of legend and stories that don't exist?

No, people don't know shadowkind, they just miss shadowkind. The PCs know about shadowkind, they help police them.

3) are their any advanced classes that are off limits (like, say, the telepath or the shadow slayer)?

The telepath and battlemind are off limits.

Okie dokie, that's what I needed to know.

I'm leaning towards a smart hero/mage/field scientist...someone who studies magic as a bit of a hobby/side thing and would act as the group's Crime Scene tech/Resident magical and scientific expert.

Either that or a charismatic hero/glamourist.

It'll honestly depend on what the group ends is trending towards more than anything.

alrighty.

I actually settled on a character: I'm going to play a wizard like Harry Dresden from the Dresden Files: he's going to be a dedicated hero/tough hero/mage.

Getting some rolls out of the way:

Initial Wealth: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7
Tough Hero HP: 2d10 ⇒ (2, 7) = 9
Mage HP: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3

Profession Check for lvl 2 vs. DC 9: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16 Total new wealth 11
Profession Check for lvl 3 vs DC 11: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20 Total New Wealth 13
Profession Check for lvl 4: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 Total New Wealth 14
Profession Check for lvl 5: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14 Total New Wealth 16

I'm not surprised. Although you do know that there is going to be the occasional dungeon crawl, right?

Yup. I am pretty tough for a mage and will have a decent defense. Eventually, I'll have great hp and pretty awesome defense, but that's down the road a ways.

I'm also pretty stellar at punching people in the face.

Okay, I'm still working on his backstory, but I have his mechanics fleshed out:

Okay, I'm still working on his backstory, but I have his mechanics fleshed out:

** spoiler omitted **...

That's neat. Harry Dresden would be proud.

Thanks!

Will the SRD provide enough rules, or are the books needed? I like the idea but wanted to see.

This is a character I developed for an old defunct game that might fit very well into this. He is an older catholic priest, whose faith has recently manifested in access to divine magics.

Will the SRD provide enough rules, or are the books needed? I like the idea but wanted to see.

The srd will provide a lot of rules for what you want to do. However, the books provide the backstory.

First part of the week is busiest. Still percolating.

Alrighty.

hp 5th level tough hero plus Con Plus Robust: 13 + 4d10 + 12 ⇒ 13 + (10, 6, 2, 9) + 12 = 52

Neat. Any more?

Nice rolls Digger!

Got it down on a bar napkin, haha. Hanging with an old friend a while then will make an alias.

This is damn hard to do on a phone and other friends showed up. Kassiah wanted to be the first black female Nascar driver and spent that time beating the s*+& out of racist a*!#+$$s. She wants shadowkind to fare better culturally out of solidarity.

(This is Digger's submission.)

This is damn hard to do on a phone and other friends showed up. Kassiah wanted to be the first black female Nascar driver and spent that time beating the s#$% out of racist a!&%~*!s. She wants shadowkind to fare better culturally out of solidarity.

(This is Digger's submission.)

Looks good. Is she shadowkind as well?

This is a character I developed for an old defunct game that might fit very well into this. He is an older catholic priest, whose faith has recently manifested in access to divine magics.

I got a good look at Father Paidraig and I think he would be good for the group. I approve of him.

Here's Vrog's character with backstory added in. I'll change his picture once Paizo gets that fixed.

Here's Vrog's character with backstory added in. I'll change his picture once Paizo gets that fixed.

Good. I've been watching a lot of mysteries lately, and your guy would fit right in. There is almost two million people living here, you can't tell if one is a Shadowkind or not.

Kassiah is straight up human.

Kassiah is straight up human.

And tougher than anyone of them, right?

Hey EltonJ, love D20 Modern, I've been following your recruitment. I took a little time to make sure I can work in another game.

What would you think of a Shadow Hunter that is half-elf?

At least mechanically half elf, his family (either in Scotland or from Scotland) would have had "Fey Bloodline" some centuries ago that every now and then shows up in one of the children

That would be okay. Had to review the campaign model class myself. A shadow hunter would be a monster fighting class. Remember, Department-7 is about serving and protecting the shadowkind community. But there are things from Shadow that cause all sorts of problems.

Displacer beasts, changlings, skinhuskers, and other monsters would certainly be the problem. I was going to start with a murder mystery for the group though (I have been watching a lot of murder mysteries lately). Perhaps a shadow hunter can provide an unique insight into certain murders. Yes, I'll allow a half-elf Shadow Hunter in the game.

I did not realize Department 7 was about serving and protecting the shadow kind. Shouldn't change the character. What I was thinking was someone who shared shadow blood but wanted to eliminate those types who did evil, to humans or shadowkind. Sort of the "were the ones who bump back"

A 'build' question, does the half elf get the + 2 to one stat. like Pathfinder, or just the 25 point buy?

Species Traits
Size: Medium. Half-elves have no special bonuses or penalties
due to their size.
Ability Modifiers: +2 to one ability score.
Base Speed: 30 feet.
Elven Blood: For all effects related to species, a half-elf is
considered an elf. Half-elves, for example, are just as susceptible
to special effects that affect elves as their elven ancestors
are, and they can use magic items that are only usable by elves.
Spell Immunities: Half-elves are immune to sleep spells
and effects, and they gain a +2 species bonus on saves
against Enchantment spells or effects.
Low-Light Vision: Half-elves can see twice as far as a
human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions
of poor illumination. They retain the ability to distinguish
color and detail under these conditions.
Skill Bonuses: Half-elves gain a +1 species bonus on
Listen, Search, and Spot checks. They gain a +2 species bonus
on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks.
Bonus Feat: Half-elves gain the bonus feat Archaic
Weapons Proficiency.
Free Language Skills: Read/Write Common (or local language),
Read/Write Elven, Speak Common (or local language),
Speak Elven.
Other Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Gnome, Halfling,
Sylvan.

To move him from what he was into your campaign, I'll need to work on the d20 Modern crunch as he is currently Pathfinder.

From a story standpoint, I think it would be cool to keep his backstory exactly the same, but the Mists in his old campaign equate to the Shadow in this campaign and he ended up falling through time. He is now dissociated with the Church that is nothing like the church he knew in Ireland of long ago.

Not having a home, but understanding more of the Shadow and magic than many, and still having a link to the Divine, I think that the old priest could have been moonlighting as a Private Detective type, performing exorcisms and assisting with supernatural problems until he established enough of a reputation to be recruited by Department 7.

Alright. Definitely the Church has changed for him. He can still attend Mass, maybe he's a C&E Catholic.

So it looks like we have a Irish priest, an African American Nascar driver, and a mixed American Private Detective/Wizard. We just need a super pretty rich boy and we'll be a Detective drama cast.

We may get that dandy boy yet.

So, just when I thought my plate had cleared a little. More projects have arisen. I was hoping I would get to play the 'dandy boy' for you, but due to some unexpected things I must remove my applicant. I hope you all have a good game, take care.

Alright then. Have fun.

Still here. Just haven't had time at a real computer to fill in my alias.

I believe you. I can't wait to see it though, I suspect it's amazing.

Oooooh, guess who finally made her profile!

Kassiah is a hard-drivin, hard-drinkin, hard-hittin badass lady.