Dispater's Devils by GM SnowHeart (a Hell's Vengeance AP)

Game Master SnowHeart

Vaelor holds her spiked chain close and sobs.
She caresses the broken barbs and and bent links as one would a lover’s wounds.
She rubs it against her cheek leave livid red scratches against her pale blue grey skin.

Karik raises an eyebrow at Vaelor’s tears before turning to the group.
”Does anyone know the Mending cantrip?”

Ingrid shrugged as she waved her hands to get the sting out of them. "Nope. But I'm sure we can buy her a new one." She hoped that it came across as being helpful.

Eris begins to look about the area for a sign of which direction the tracks had gone, but it seems to be a hopeless endeavor, perhaps intentionally. So many tracks seem to converge here and then go off into different directions, it's as though this place is being purposefully used to conceal movement.

Franz casts a quick glance over the area but doesn't turn up much, perhaps still preoccupied by Eris's conversation with the statue's head.

Eris walks back and forth pretending to explain what different tracks belong to, but eventually it's clear she has no idea where the trail she once followed leads.

"Curious," she says in mock-detective mode. " It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. At least, I think I heard someone say that once," she adds.

Turning to the others, she says "But it seems our trail has gone cold. Our options are either to go back to town and interview some more pot-stirers, or we could follow each potential road, trail, or deer track out of this crossroads for as long as it leads."

I, for one, prefer the second. You too, Dad?

Vaelor stamps a foot petulantly.
”I’m not going on any silly wanders in the woods till my chain is fixed! Or I get a new one ...”

Karik sighs
”There’s really no point arguing with her when she gets like this. A new chain and ideally spot of torturing and she’ll be fine.”

”Fair ‘nuff.” Ingrid said. ”Might do a stakeout later. See who comes here. But for now we can leave.”

"Zis Angel Knight is thorough, is she not." The Doctor shakes his head. "Let us return to ze town. As you point out Ingrid, ve can lay a trap later should ve desire."

Question is where in town? Report to everyone's favorite Archbaron? Talk to the Sword Knight and get on her nerves?

Raziya gives Vaelor a soothing smile. "Of course, Vaelor. I would be happy to mend your lovely chain."

"This will take a little while though, so feel free to double check the area."

Mending: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Karik gives Raziya a grateful look and tussles Vaelor’s hair.

”Oh thank you!” Vaelor jumps to her feet and embraces Raziya before handing her the weapon. Without the most spiky of Vaelor’s chains wrapped around her the hug is less painful than usual but still uncomfortable with the other chains and minimal clothing.
She sits at Raziya’s and nuzzles her while Mending is used.

"Zis Angel Knight is thorough, is she not." The Doctor shakes his head. "Let us return to ze town. As you point out Ingrid, ve can lay a trap later should ve desire."

Question is where in town? Report to everyone's favorite Archbaron? Talk to the Sword Knight and get on her nerves?

When Franz discusses going back to town, Eris shrugs.

"Any way the wind blows--doesn't really matter to me," she says. [b]"She starts walking back toward town, with our without anyone else.

"What do we know?" Brogol asks, casting a wary look around the area one last time. "The bard's story checks out. He seems to have been alone and come across the Angel Knight. So we have confirmation that she exists, beyond the helmet. We don't know why the helmet came to Allamar's possession yet, do we?"

"Seems to me that we could go talk to Allamar, but I doubt she's as easy to intimidate as the bard. We should check in with our lout of a barkeep too. See if he knows anything about the Reclamation."

The Doctor nods to each of Brogol's assertions. "Brogol, you are sharper than I initially took you for. Ze helmet's purpose is likely little more than propaganda, a way of advertising ze Angel Knight's presence without exposing her to capture. But it may also serve some other goal."

"This ruin advertises that ze Angel Knight's allies are many. But not so many that they vish to operate openly." He adjusts his glasses "Still easy enough to stamp out with ze right resources."

Allamar first just to give it a try, then barkeep sounds good before we go back to Fex.

Raziya doesn't seem discomfited by Vaelor's chains or scanty attire, and manages to keep her concentration on the spell for the minutes it requires.

"There's really no reason not to interrogate him further, but Caggan's a very public figure without the shield of a church to hide behind. Even if he is a sympathizer, the Angel Knight would be foolish to lend him many secrets.

"It's possible he knows more than he thinks he does, but he did not take the opportunity to send a message to these traitors when he though it safe."

”I think we may as well let Caggan go. If we go Allamar it’s probably worth have a conversation about how far we take it. If we make even veiled threats and she calls our bluff... well it better not be a bluff... ”
Karik gives a little sigh.
”Any chance we can get away with just killing her now?”

"The Archbaron wished this town suppressed, but not in flames. Her death will give us flames, even if we accomplished it in secret. None would trust that an illness or accident befell her unless we could accomplish it before the town square."

Aye, Brogol agrees, nodding his head as Raziya speaks. "And Fex and Razelago wanted Caggin in the stocks, and his business shuttered. I agree he probably knows nothing, but best to keep him locked up for now. Plus, I need time for thirsty townfolk to find their way to the Arch and Lark."

It's about noon, I think. Where to? :)

The Doctor listens in to the suggestions from the others and says "Very vell. It is time for a perfectly cordial chat wiz no threats, veiled or othervise. Let us find Allamar and see what she is villing to divulge freely."

I think the plan is Allamar -> Jail to make sure Caggin's still locked up -> Fex

About an hour later, you arrive at Church Square. Most of the townsfolk are quietly going about their business, although you did get a few glances; some are respectful, others furtive, and a smattering of scowls and muttered curses.

The doors to the church are open. While it's hard to see inside due to the bright light outside and the darker interior, you do see the silhouettes of a couple of people moving about.

Seeing that the rest of his small (but slightly more competent than he took them for) group is not jumping into action, the Doctor heads on into the church. If the Sword Knight would be anywhere, the church seemed a reasonable place to start. He takes a look around for her, and if she's not immediately available, he spends a moment asking for where she may have gone.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Brogol slides his burlap sack-mask and flips his cloakhood up before entering Longacre. Ignoring the furtive glances and scowls of the townsfolk - a mask makes it suprisingly easy, the driver finds - Brogol follows behind Franz and into the church, the heels of his boots clicking along the tile floor. As Franz approaches one of the people inside, Brogol slips his mask off but otherwise keeps his cloak up, and then spins slowly around to take in his surroundings.

perception, looking for anything that could be amiss, signs of Allamar, etc.: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Maps updated; sorry this one is so cramped.

Inside the sanctuary, the two shadows take form as a townswoman and Loran Allamar, one of the sword knights handsome twin sons. He observes your entry into the church but continues his discussion with the woman.

Eris follows after the others and sizes up the church as she enters.

She clucks her tongue quietly. "Azmodeus would not like us being in here," she says in a sing-song voice. "Something about this place makes me want to burn it down," she says quietly.

sense motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

The Doctor, determined to treat the Sword Knight has her misguided sons with the utmost respect, walks over and listens in to the conversation between Loran and the townswoman. He waits to get the man's attention once the conversation is over, but otherwise pokes his nose into things without any shame.

At Eris' sing-song, he glances her way and almost takes out his notes. However, rather than make a big deal out of it, he just gives the tiniest shake of his head in her direction.

"Kid's not happy we're here," Brogol whispers, "One eye always on us. Smiling and chatting the lady is an act."

"I'm going to look around a bit. Love church architecture. 'Specially the doors."

Brogol glances briefly towards the door to the west, his subtext clear. Spread out. He can't keep eyes on all of us. I'd like to go through the door.

sense motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
bluff, inspiration to pass message: 1d20 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 8 + (5) = 18

”But why? I thought they’re kind says that all are welcome.” She said with a very toothy smile. Her sharp teeth and claws were clearly visible. Of all the types of people, it was his kind that bothered her the most. The handsome knights who considered themselves pure and holy, all the while passing judgement on others. It was why ‘good’ was a farce, and why ‘law’ was paramount. For those who claimed righteousness inevitably construed it in such a way that benefited themselves.

As you begin to spread out, Loran clearly becomes somewhat perturbed and flustered. Franz overhears part of the conversation: the woman seems to be asking for help caring for her husband who was injured in the field, and Loran promises either he or his brother will come help later in the day but assures her it does not sound life-threatening. He pats her reassuringly on the shoulder, intones a blessing of Iomedae upon her and her family, then turns his attention to all of you.

"So," he said loudly, his voice amplified by the sanctuary's acoustics, "what brings the Archbaron's wise and caring emissaries to this humble church? Looking for spiritual guidance? To convert, perhaps?"

The Doctor stiffens at the disregard Loran shows "Hmph. I had come to speak with your mother. But I vould be remiss not to offer aid where you have offered nothing but platitudes." He turns to the woman, drawing himself up and adjusting the position of his glasses. "Miss, I vill provide treatment to your husband. For a common household injury, there is much that can be done without relying on ze aid of-" He pauses to eye Loran up and down. "-zis fellow."

He takes the woman with the injured husband aside and asks her more questions about her husband's condition, the Sword Knight completely forgotten for now.

(In case anyone is interpreting this as a ploy of some kind, Franz is seriously planning to go and help this lady and her husband. Despite his new mission, he takes being a doctor very seriously.)

Ah, sorry, I had envisioned this as the husband still being back at the house, but realize I wasn't all that clear on it. Happy to go with your reading of it. Will follow-up in a bit.

Everyone else is welcome to poke around while the Doctor is being distracting :)

Waiting for a moment where the Allamar boy's attention seems to be on the Doctor, Brogol ducks his head and pushes through the western door, opening the door just a crack and sliding through, his cloak trailing, silent like a wisp, behind him.

perception or sense motive to determine a good time: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
stealth, inspiration: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (20) + 7 + (3) = 30

diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

”Why, Doktor, how kind of you. I am sure that the church here is quite busy these days. What, with so much happening...now, given how we are all here to help, can we go and see your good mother?”

Karik follows the party into the church somewhat reluctantly and keeps his distance from the alter and holy symbols as much as he can.
Once the sword knights son is distracted and Brogol goes for the door he ducks back out of the church and goes to check the other door outside.
I can’t move tokens at the moment, sorry

Once every has spread out investigating Vaelor goes into the church, relishing the the taboo nature of her presence there.

If Loran starts to look around she will sidle up with a smile.
”Any chance of a blessing cutie?”

Eris looks around the chapel nonchalantly. "I need to confess--where do I do that? Sometimes I feel the need to unload, ya know?"

I can’t move tokens at the moment, sorry

I'll see if I can fix that and will send you some PMs later today. Sorry.

Brogol slips through the door to the west and finds himself in the narthex. Inside, the space is airy and open with a number of folksy crafts decorating the walls—mostly carved or woven pieces featuring the holy symbol of Iomedae. The chamber’s most impressive features are its stained-glass windows, the largest of which depicts a giant, golden figure bearing the sunburst and sword symbol of Iomedae floating skyward while small, blue figures below exalt her. A small door leads north. A couple of parishioners are here having a quiet conversation.

Back in the sanctuary, Loran looks rather perturbed at the doctor's reproach and forwardness but it gives way to a slight smirk as he expects the doctor, clearly not a cleric, to fail.

Rolled for expediency Franz's Heal Check: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

She describes how her husband was tilling the field and eventually felt a stabbing pain in his back. There's no obvious injury and he's able to walk, albeit in a stooped posture. It looks like a repetitive strain injury that could be healed with either rest or a lesser restoration.

While he tries to watch the doctor, Loran casts a disapproving eye at Vaelor in her skimpy and "spikey" manner of dress. He doesn't seem to quite understand what she is, but knows she isn't sincere. "No," he replies flatly. When Eris asks about confessional, he just rolls his eyes and mutters.

To Ingrid, he says, "Your desire to 'help' has been manifestly displayed. It seems we just have a disagreement as to who should be helped. Why exactly do you want to see the Sword Knight?"

Finding the narthex occupied, Brogol steps forward, his gait wobbly, as if impaired, his gaze at the ground, cloakhood hanging low over his face. He shambles towards the parishioners, stopping nearby to listen for a few moments to their conversation, back turned to the churchgoers as he pretends to study one of the windows.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

If they seem to be speaking of something important, Brogol will listen in for as long as possible. If they are not saying anything important, or if they show some annoyance at Brogol's presence, Brogol will try to clear the room...

Letting go a ragged cough, Brogol stops, his posture stooped, in front of the window depicting Iomedae. "Inheritor, help me!" he wheezes, running his sleeve across his nose and mouth. "Had this damn sickness a week. Got if from my fool nephew, who's now damn near close to meeting Pharasma herself! I'm not ready to go, m'Lady! I still have work to do for ya!"

Stooping even lower, Brogol lets go another series of ragged coughs, a long line of spittle falling to the floor, and followed by another rattling wheeze...

bluff, inspiration: 1d20 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 8 + (6) = 20

EDIT: I enjoyed learning about narthexes. Thanks for the link, GM!

With the worried wife, the Doctor takes on a reassuring tone "By the description you've given me, I can tell with some certainty that this injury is one of repetitive strain. Though magic may alleviate the symptoms, it is best for your husband to remain in bed and allow his muscles to heal naturally. More importantly..." He adjust his glasses, confident in his assessment, and in his element delivering medical wisdom to the plebeians. "The danger of injuries like this is that unless your husband changes the way he works, he will experience the same injuries and pain again - whether the current symptoms are allowed to heal naturally or are healed by magic."

He places a hand on the woman's shoulder "I would be happy to speak with your husband and show him some exercises to help him heal more quickly. If he can explain how he works in the field, perhaps we can also change how he works and avoid this happening again."

Diplomacy to provide that reassuring bedside manner: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

I'm happy to have any such medical aid to happen off screen.

==Narthex==
The conversation between the townsfolk in the narthex is of little consequence, neither rebellious or spiritual, and concerned about the mundanities of daily life. As Brogol begins to cough and wheeze, they pause and look over at him. "Oh... sir! Are you okay? That sounds terrible?" One of them starts to approach Brogol when the other clasps her arm and whispers, "Don't get too close. Could be the fever." The both back away slightly, then one says, "You wait here, sir... we'll go get you some help. Surely the Sword Knight or one of her boys can heal ye!"

With that, they retreat into the sanctuary where Loran is engaged with the others...

==Sanctuary==
The woman seems initially distrustful of the doctor's odd accent and mannerisms, but she and the husband appreciate the gentle advice and interest. "Ah, easier said than done, 'm 'fraid. But maybe you know somethin' we don't." They give the doctor instructions on where to find their farm and start to leave when Loran says after them, "My brother or I will be there by the 'morrow to pray to Iomedae with you." He looks back at Franz and says, "You may be able to offer advice on how to avoid the injury -- and for that I'm sure they will be thankful -- but words are shallow compared to the miracles She can grant."

Will wait a bit longer for others to reply.

Oops, just realized I failed to keep up my writing quirk for Franz last post! Just imagine a few more zs in there :)

The Doctor nods reassuringly to the woman with the injured husband and promises to visit. Once she's gone, he stands stiff-backed next to Loran. His glasses conceal his eyes, but his contempt for Loran's "miracles" is clear enough otherwise. "Yes of course. When people show zey can do vell enough vithout your goddess, zat is when you decide it is time to intervene." He sniffs sharply "Yes, all our mortal efforts are shallow compared to ze miracles She can grant. Should she choose to."

Should that get Loran fired up however, the Doctor lets off. He's in good enough control of his irritation that he's not about to get in a fight with the Sword Knight's son prior to speaking with her.

The ragged coughs from the narthex draw Vaelors attention.

Master come watch this! He’s being so funny.

Reluctantly Karin joins her. An eyebrow raised a Brogol’s performance.

I should have clarified, I can’t edit the slides as I am currently working with a phone and an iPad, neither of which can move tokens on the google slides afaik.

Reluctantly Karin joins her.

In Nature Show Narrator Voice: "And here we see the infamous 'Karin' in her more advanced form, a near-undead abomination of pure evil..." ;)

Eris sighs as Loran says he won't take her confessions.

"If a lady can't confess her wrongs here, how will she ever find the fluttery peace of Iomedae?" she asks.

"So you asked why we wanted to see the Sword Knight--well, there's a lot going on in this town right now. She's just so important, that we wouldn't want to do anything without consulting with her first. To make sure--ya know--that she approves. And stuff."

I have a hard time taking the lead on conversations with Eris. I'm trying to be mad but tempered with moments of lucidity, but sometimes it's hard to take the serious lead given how I've been playing the character.

Hahahaha
Once invited in a Karin will not leave until sated by the blood of a junior manager

Sorry I've been such a ghost everyone o_o
It's been... a Time recently. Should be able to be back in the swing of things now though.

Disguise: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 Trying to appear as Raziya, so this is more about tucking away the purposefully identifying aspects of her Skull-Masked persona, and going back to her role as a lay member of the community.

After allowing for a few minutes of separation from her cohorts to improve her cover, Raziya strides in with a warm smile, her long reversed cloak covering up the more damning elements of her imposing armor.

Eris and Vaelor were far more distracting than she, so instead of handling the boys, Raziya focused on the other members of their flock. Mutterings about farm life and church gossip rarely unearthed secrets on their own, but there were many other little things worth knowing. 'When the Allamars leave to heal someone, do they travel alone?' 'How often does Caggan attend services?' 'Who does he talk to?' 'When the Sword-Knight wished a crowd like she'd gathered the previous day, who did she use to spread the word? Were the messages all word of mouth, or did she trust some to paper and quill?' It could take many such threads to bring together a tapestry, but Raziya had always been a patient weaver.

Gather Information (Enhanced Diplomacy): 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 2 + 1 = 16 Feh, well at least Gather Information DCs start at a 10...

Submissions due by Sunday, February 16 at 12n (East Coast/New York)
If you're interested in submitting a character for a new Hell's Vengeance (HV) campaign, I am going to try to put all the relevant information in this post. Obviously, if you have any questions or something isn't clear, please ask and I'll answer as soon as I can.

Final Notes
I'm looking for is 5 or 6 players whose characters will provide a good mix of abilities and fit within the theme of this campaign, both respect to the physical setting as well as the overall gestalt. I hope to be able to accept players with a range of experience with PbP, including people who have been unable to get into recent campaigns or who are new to PbP, as well as veterans.

As for me, I've been GMing face-to-face 3.5, Pathfinder and Starfinder games for more than ten years, including a homebrew DragonLance campaign, the DL Age of Mortals campaign, Jade Regent, Way of the Wicked, Skull & Shackles, Dead Suns, and Against the Aeon Throne. I've GM'd a few other PbP campaigns, played in a few more, and was away for the last year. I'm committing to having this as my only GM-PbP campaign, and no more than two PbP campaigns as a player.

Dotting in!
Probably going to aim for a Diabolist build of some form, as I usually aim for with Evil games.

Dotting in as well! I'm still settling in on the character idea however!

Edit: Lied, I'm thinking a Slayer, Butterfly blade archtype.

Dotting in also, I don't remotely have a clue as to what I'd want to play this time. Not the same as last time.

Hi guys. I am extremely keen to play this AP. Though I am new to PbP I am absolutely loving it and find it suits me very well. (I am a stay-at-home dad with kids at school so I get a lot of time to post)
I don't have a character idea yet. I'm flexible so am happy to fill gaps after anyone with something they really want to play has put their ideas forward.

With the Elephant in the Room feat tax changes I am considering a combat maneuver focused melee character.

@GM: How do you feel about an undead PC? Asking for a friend.

Anthorg, probably not a great idea thematically and I'm not currently thinking about templates for late game. If there is something specific you had in mind, I'd be happy to look at it.

I'm very interested in this, I was wondering, since you've played WotW if you'd allow the Lord of Darkness LE anti paladin subclass. I know this goes against the stated no 3rd party rule, but since it specifically deals with Asmodeus worship I was wondering if you'd make an exception?

I admit I suggested it before reading the player's guide (which I'm about to). I just like the concept.

Dot. I’ve been wanting to play this one for a long time. Probably a Martial(-ish) character. Antipaladin/Bloodrager/Barbarian, something like that.

Since others are looking at melee another idea I had was a necromancer. Would that fit in with this campaign?

I'm so excited to see this being offered! I'm definitely submitting something.

Right now I'm thinking Vivisectionist/Chirurgeon Alchemist built around the Local Tough campaign trait.

I'm very interested in this, I was wondering, since you've played WotW if you'd allow the Lord of Darkness LE anti paladin subclass. I know this goes against the stated no 3rd party rule, but since it specifically deals with Asmodeus worship I was wondering if you'd make an exception?

Toxic, great question. I don’t have my WotW materials in front of me (getting ready for bed) but is that the archetype from the WotW books or is it a different source? If it is the same, yes, that’s fine. If not, can you give me a link and I’ll take a look?

There is a Paizo LE Antipaladin, the Tyrant

GM, do you allow tieflings to roll on the variant ability chart? If so, can we take the Fiendish Heritage feat to roll three times and choose the best result?

SnowHeart is a great GM. And evil is one campaign I’ve never tried. So will need to put something together for this.

I’m thinking a fiend flesh shifter as when else could one be used?

Since others are looking at melee another idea I had was a necromancer. Would that fit in with this campaign?

Fox, I almost missed this. I’ll follow-up tomorrow after some more reading and looking ahead to the later books.

What's starting gold? I didn't see it.

SnowHeart is a great GM. And evil is one campaign I’ve never tried. So will need to put something together for this.

Aw! Thanks!!! (Your check is in the mail!)

What's starting gold? I didn't see it.

Damn! I always forget something.

Please go with average for your class.

Jerax Hellfire, tiefling antipaladin, has been my go-to character submission for all Hell's Vengeance pbp games here on the forums. He's done, I just need to edit him to GM Snowheart's specifications and remove a level. He's never made a pbp game all the way through, but I have faith in The Dark Lord this time will stick.

There is a Paizo LE Antipaladin, the Tyrant

GM, do you allow tieflings to roll on the variant ability chart? If so, can we take the Fiendish Heritage feat to roll three times and choose the best result?

The Tyrant is what was confusing me with Lord of Darkness, but I’ll allow both. Thanks for pointing that out.

On the heritage/ability, yes and yes. I think if someone wants to do that, I’ll need them to post here to declare they’re going with a tiefling, taking that feat, and rolling. They can then incorporate that into their final submission and stat block.

And with that, good night all. Great questions but I gotta get some sleep! I’ll follow-up more tomorrow.

Ouachitonian wrote:

GM, do you allow tieflings to roll on the variant ability chart? If so, can we take the Fiendish Heritage feat to roll three times and choose the best result?

On the heritage/ability, yes and yes. I think if someone wants to do that, I’ll need them to post here to declare they’re going with a tiefling, taking that feat, and rolling. They can then incorporate that into their final submission and stat block.

Done, done, and done. Here are my rolls:

1d100 ⇒ 9 You gain an additional +2 racial bonus to your Charisma score.
1d100 ⇒ 81 Once per day, you can use rage on yourself as a spell-like ability.
1d100 ⇒ 77 You can speak to insects.

Ok. Definitely not the last one. I'm leaning toward Bloodrager, so the extra Charisma or extra Rage rounds would both be helpful. Probably the Charisma, but I'll decide later.

I'm thinking I'll go with a summoner (Unchained of course) with a Kyton Eidolon

So just to help me keep track at this stage we have (In order of dot):
-Dαedαlus with ??
-Timeskeeper with Slayer, Butterfly blade archtype
-ScorchedOne with ??
-Fox--Pantom with Unchained Summoner
-ToxicStar with Antipaladin
-Ouachitonian with Martial(-ish) Antipaladin/Bloodrager/Barbarian
-rdknight with Vivisectionist/Chirurgeon Alchemist
-Grumbaki with Fiend Flesh Shifter
-TheWaskally with Jerax Hellfire, tiefling antipaladin

I can confirm, Snowheart is an awesome GM, and for a while, the Way of the Wicked campaign I was in with him as GM was my favorite game on the boards.
As it stands, I think I'm going to actually dust off/adapt a backup character I had from that game, a Void School/Worldseeker wizard, which actually pair awesomely with Diabolist, as both of their coolest abilities (Worldseeker's reduction on Planar Ally costs, and Void School's Reveal Weakness) scale with Caster Level, not Wizard level. Plus, you know, they both fit thematically in.

EDIT: Fox--Pantom- It seems great minds think alike

This is going to be fun. And thanks for feat tax, it’s very important for natural attack builds

Profile being built. Was going to go for Fiendish Heritage, but realize now that I need the feat

EDIT: Fox--Pantom- It seems great minds think alike

I made some additions

Dotting! I’ve got an Asmodean advocate cleric who just needs to be statted up.

Okay. Updating Jerax took a lot less time than I thought. I was thinking, since Longacre is such a small town, and other races are so rare; if other tiefling characters are submitted, I'd like to assume we all know each other, maybe even be friends by necessity.

The towering tiefling clops hard against Longacre's cobblestone streets, and enters the main guard house.
"Jerax Hellfire, reporting for duty, sir", spoke the antipaladin in his deep growl of a voice.

Has anyone else spotted the issue that we have 9 signups?

How do you make a new Alias?
All my other PbP has been PFS so I have just made a new organised play character

My Account > sign into your account > scroll down to Aliases on left side of screen > under your aliases, click button that says Create New Alias.

Okay Alias made.
I can't seem to add a picture though...

Yeah, that part of the site is down.

Hi, I am just getting back into gaming after six years away and this seems like an awesome adventure path for my first submission. I did a little play-by-post back in the day on a different website, but this would be my first go around here. I gamed from the mid 90's until the mid 2010's (2nd ed AD&D through to Pathfinder, along with some other systems as well), when my career moved me away from my gaming group. After that, between the job and starting a family I had little time to find and connect with a new gaming community. So on hiatus I went. Things are much more level now, and my wife has actually been encouraging me to do the things I enjoy, including gaming (crazy, right?)! So, here I am.

There are quite a few proposals for martial characters and at least one cleric of Asmodeus is in the works, so I was thinking maybe a skilled character would be good. My two ideas so far are as follows:

Human Bard (archetype: Brazen Deceiver) played as a newly trained operative of the church/government originally intended for subversive activity in other nations, but repurposed for propaganda/political work within Cheliax in light of the Iomedaens' recent efforts.

Halfling Unchained Rogue (trait: Good Slip) played as a right hand / lackey dispatched to assist a more powerful and classic Chelaxian character (hellknight, cleric of asmodeus, etc). Would be a totally loyal halfling bought into his role in Cheliax, but useful for playing the weak fool to gather info and the like. I would definitely want to tie his story in with another PC.

I am going to sleep on the concepts and see which sounds better to stat out in the morning.

Hey Oblivion's Scion
Nice to meet you.
While I don't know how GM SnowHeart will go about cutting the list down to 5/6 I'd be extremely keen to work on some history between characters with you, even if you don't go with the Halfling I still love some shared backstory.
Actually that goes for anyone who's keen for some shared backstory..
Send me a PM

dotting for interest... thinking of doing an alchemist (just finished watching Breaking Bad, so thinking a Heisenberg type character)

I'm so excited to see this being offered! I'm definitely submitting something.

Right now I'm thinking Vivisectionist/Chirurgeon Alchemist built around the Local Tough campaign trait.

Vivisectionist is what I was thinking too. I have a lawful character concept that fits this, I think. How about we're academic correspondents? We could build to fill different party roles, but we know each other and exchange notes.

I'm jumping in over here from the interest check.

I'm working on my character now.

Here's my submission.

What does the rest of the group know about Alaric?

Alaric is a pretty boy noble. He's pretty ameniable and likable, despite the fact that he's a Jeggare. He never talks down to anyone, regardless of rank or station.

Hey Oblivion's Scion

Nice to meet you.
While I don't know how GM SnowHeart will go about cutting the list down to 5/6 I'd be extremely keen to work on some history between characters with you, even if you don't go with the Halfling I still love some shared backstory.
Actually that goes for anyone who's keen for some shared backstory..
Send me a PM

Fox, once submissions close, I’ll go over the what everyone presented and try to look for characters that best fit the AP and have interesting concepts that will give material for RP. If someone has a history of other PbP campaigns here, I’ll look through some of their posts to get a sense of the frequency and quality of posting. (I also try to reserve at one place for folks new to PbP.) If I have any questions, I’ll reach out via PM and, given the nature of this AP, I will probably PM final candidates to confirm some items and make sure we’re on the same page. (

Once that’s done, I’ll announce the final selection here. Unfortunately it does mean not everyone will have a place (and it’s the part of starting an AP that I really dislike because I hate saying “no”) but I think it’s the fairest way to give everyone a chance instead of just folks who happen to be online at the right time to dot in or who dot in but don’t really understand what I’m looking for or what fits the AP. Hope that helps and sorry if that wasn’t clear. It’s how I’ve always done recruitments for my campaigns and how many (though certainly not all) of the recruitment threads function, though I have definitely seen some “first come, first offered” games.

Also, I think a necromancer could be plausible. By the time you’re able to cast lesser animate dead, you’ll be heading out of the city. But, in general, walking around civilized places (which is a large part of the AP) generally doesn’t lend itself towards a horde of undead minions in your wake as a more rural or dungeon-focused adventure would.

Okay Alias made.

I can't seem to add a picture though...

yeah, avatars have been borked for a couple weeks. It’s been reported on the Website Feedback forum and Paizo is working on it. They said something like it’s slated for a “near term” fix, so should be fixed soon.

Also, thanks for the submission! I’ll let you know if inhale *I have* (stupid iPhone autocorrect) any questions. Feel free to tweak and update between now and Sunday if you like; I’m not locking anyone in to anything until then.

And with that she is complete. 4x primary natural attacks when shifting, 3x without it. A level plan on how to stay relevant in damage with natural attacks. A good range of face and support skills. Just lacking any kind of magic, and sadly couldn’t find a way to get Intimidate. But for that, I rationalize it as Ingrid believing that intimidation is for the foolish. If you Bluff someone or use Diplomacy, then they will *want* to help you. And thus they will continue to do so when you aren’t looking. But intimidating them only goes so far, and they will turn on you when able. So it is thus better to just rip their throat out with your teeth if someone needs scaring. It’s just more effective that way.

Dotting in from the Interest check. This got a lot of interest really fast. I'm leaning towards a skills-based character, but I'll see what speaks to me.

Since we're using Feat Tax rules, will Unchained Rogues get a replacement for the 1st level Finesse Training, which gives Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat? Same question for Swashbucklers and Swashbuckler Finesse.

Dotting in with Lily as my character. I need to adjust her for the build rules, modify her back story, and of course make her evil.

Dotting in from the Interest check. This got a lot of interest really fast. I'm leaning towards a skills-based character, but I'll see what speaks to me.

Since we're using Feat Tax rules, will Unchained Rogues get a replacement for the 1st level Finesse Training, which gives Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat? Same question for Swashbucklers and Swashbuckler Finesse.

You get Deft Maneuvers now.

Phntm888 wrote:

Dotting in from the Interest check. This got a lot of interest really fast. I'm leaning towards a skills-based character, but I'll see what speaks to me.

Since we're using Feat Tax rules, will Unchained Rogues get a replacement for the 1st level Finesse Training, which gives Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat? Same question for Swashbucklers and Swashbuckler Finesse.

You get Deft Maneuvers now.

I do not see that anywhere in either the GM's posts or the link to the Feat Taxes, so I'd like confirmation from the GM that that is the case.

Much more interest than I anticipated, which is pretty exciting. Guess there really was an itch for this.

Anthorg and Phntm888, confirmed on unchained rogues getting Deft Maneuvers as replacement for Weapon Finesse. Details in spoiler box.

With that, I think we're current on all the questions so far, but if I missed anyone, please just give a holler.

To summarize questions/answers so far:

* Starting Wealth is average for your class
* On tiefling variant abilities, they are allowed; just declare you will be using tiefling as your race, that you will be taking the tiefling heritage feat, and then roll 1d100 three times in this thread. You can then incorporate the results and your choice into your submission later.
* Using the archetypes for LE antipaladins (from Paizo or Way of the Wicked) is fine.

As a reminder, submissions will close on Sunday the 16 at 12n (New York/GMT-5 time). I will aim to pick 5 to 6 players.

One additional item I would like to ask, but I can follow-up separately by PM after submissions close, is if you are in a lot of PbP campaigns, please confirm you'll be able to post once a day during the week. I find this is really critical for a successful campaign to help sustain interest and give other players material to RP with.

Thank you, GM Snowheart. I am still mulling over my options, but am leaning towards either an Unchained Rogue, Inquisitor, or Mesmerist.

EDIT: Will we be using Skill Unlocks/Occult Skill Unlocks?