I am seriously considering setting up a campaign for a small group (2 to 3 players) set in the World of Xoth or Hyboria. I want this to be more story telling and story driven on both my side (GM) and the player side. I am leaning to Xoth but including elements of Hyboria. This will be a dark/dangerous campaign. Magic is dangerous to deal with and has serious consequences for mortals. Madness, disease, and poison all are much more potent as is combat because magical healing will be hard to come by. Great Old Ones, Dark long lost Gods, and demons all play a part in this Ancient world. A thirst for long lost knowledge or dark magic comes with the chance of madness and opening doors to worlds with things that are best left alone. I am working on developing the house rules for the game but I have a few things I am going to do on the front end (player recruitment) to see if it is a better way of putting a group together. No initial character submission but a player submission that simply requires you to fill out a form and add some links to your role playing endeavors on PBP. (see below)
If there is strong interest I will post an official recruitment thread but I have some ideas I want to put in to motion on the recruitment to see if it helps in finding the players that will best fit in the group. So instead of having players submit a character instead I want each player to simply submit a questionnaire which will include the type of player you are and the character you wish to run including race/class along with playing preferences (can be a few ideas). Once I decide on the two (maybe three) players we will then create our characters with a session zero including developing their background. This is nothing elaborate or earth shattering just a way for me to get a fix on what type of player you are so that I can put a small group together that can hit the ground running. I have also found that getting into a discussion about who will play what and how your background works allows us to develop some group chemistry before we start the campaign and that is always nice when you are working on story driven posting.
Xoth Setting
World Map of Xoth
World Of Xoth Information
The other path I am considering is using the gaming structure of Xoth with Hyboria as the setting. Mainly because the world of Hyboria is a bit richer and more "filled out". I am still twirling this all around in my head at the moment.
Hyboria Setting
History of Hyboria
Culture Map of Hyboria
Map of Hybroria
Both worlds are human race driven...so there won't be any demi-human characters but I plan on offering racial & culture differences so you can have some room to design the character you want to play.
Basic Structure of XOTH game world (Player Guide) - note: bear in mind I will probably modify this a bit to my liking.
Xoth Player Guide - Foundation for Campaign
A couple of key notes:
1) Starting off at 2nd level so that the players can develop a deeper background.
2) Will not use XP but milestones decided on both the GM and the group. I like XP/APL to build out encounters but I want to give this a go to see how it works. I don't see us climbing up in levels fast as I am more of a moderate/slow ascension in levels kind of guy.
3) This is a PFE1 with house rules/variant rules. I am still putting this all together but will have it all done in a few weeks.
4) No alignment to speak of for mortals but there is a Cosmic Evil so a Detect Evil becomes Detect Cosmic Evil.
5) For those using spell casters the spell list will be customized with the GM. This is due to limitations on what a spell caster will have access to in the world we will play in.
6) I am being completely honest here I am looking for players with high meaningful post rates... I would like to see this work on 5 to 8 posts a week from each player. I don't expect posting on weekends but if you do I will attempt to match it...sometimes I can't due to traveling with my two boys for sports. I also realize there will be weeks that things will run slow but if on average we pushing 5 to 8 posts a week we will be fine. I am also looking for meaningful posts that are not one sentence that is simply an action description. This is one of the reasons why I want to go with a small group of two or three players. I am leaning heavily on just two players but if three really strong submissions are in the pack I will go with it. Which is also why I want to know that I am getting players that will be in it for the long haul and not bail out.
Let me know who is interested and if there is enough interest I will finish this all up and post an official recruitment thread.
For examples of my GMing -
As you can see I don't run a ton of campaigns and I am pretty picky about what I want to be in as a player. The main reason is my time is precious to me so I like to expend it on things I really enjoy. If I run into issues on my side I will be up front about it and be respectful of your commitments as well.
If you review the house rules for the Saltmarsh Campaign it will give you an idea how I run my games. The HR's will be a bit different from that campaign but we will be using a variant fighter and there will be a reduction in FEAT TAXES (probably use Elephant in the Room with some additional mods). I will use wound thresholds because I find it to be a very good system to speed up combat. I will also be using a Poison/Disease threshold as well for the same reason...again dangerous world...need to weigh the consequences of dealing with the huge viper that is three times your size and has venom dripping from its fangs or running into a swamp with a serious wound that you are trying to recover from. Monsters are monstrous and frightening...otherworldly creatures can cause madness and fear. Animals all have the ability to sense cosmic evil and predators have the "Scent" ability. I am rambling...so I will stop :)
Looks cool! How would you feel about using Auto Bonus Progression, to fit with the whole low-magic theme?
Hi GM, I think it might be interesting, and a good change of pace. I usually like the homebrew settings if they don't involve too much power creep and third party shenanigans.
I am definitely curious about what house rules you might come up with.
I'm in a World of Xoth PF1 campaign at the moment, with house rules including the Xoth peoples.
Looks cool! How would you feel about using Auto Bonus Progression, to fit with the whole low-magic theme?
I will consider it but there are several things I am going to do to account for the low magic setting that will help but not create any power creep.
1) There is a big reduction in feat tax. Using EiTR (Elephant in the Room) as a base but one other quick mod to it is any feat that has a feat ladder of IMPROVED/GREATER are simply added into the feat and all you need to do is meet the prerequisites. This is for any feat not just combat feats.
2) Fighter and Rogues get a variant that will give them a bit more pop.
3) I am considering using a modified version of the PF2E Playtest Crafting to give weapons/armor a bigger bump even if they are not magical.
Expert = Weapons +1 Atk, Armor -1 to ACP/ +1 -/DR
Master = Weapons +2 Atk, Armor -2 to ACP/ +2 -/DR
Legendary = Weapons +3 Atk, Armor -3 to ACP/ +3 -/DR
This works into the whole "Riddle of Steel" and discovering the secrets of weapon/armor crafting that was lost in Antiquity or found in a alien/lost civilization.
These would be in addition to magical bonus as well. So if you did find a +1 masterwork magic weapon it would also have a +2 attack bonus due to being masterwork (+3 Attack/+1 Damage). This is a pretty big benefit in a world that is a low magic environment.
4) skilled Healing gets a significant bump as well to offset the limitations on healing spells.
5) Druids, Witches can make natural concoctions (herbal) that provide limited healing/restoration but with a condition cost for a small amount of time.
6) Wizards, Sorcerers, Magus and Arcanist are NPC classes.
7) Slayers and Hunters are allowed but follow the same rules as their primary classes.
Hi GM, I think it might be interesting, and a good change of pace. I usually like the homebrew settings if they don't involve too much power creep and third party shenanigans.
I am not a fan of power gaming or power creep as well. Especially in this Sword and Sorcery setting. I do like using 3rd party stuff as long as I understand how it will interact with Core rules and House Rules.
Xoth is an awesome setting. I'd be very interested in putting together a submission for a game taking place there.
ALLENDM, Just saw the Interest thread. Put me down for being very interested in a game set in Xoth!
I enjoy the 'low magic' style and 'sword and sorcery' feel of the game. I've played in the 'Xoth' World before and really enjoyed the setting. I would be interested in a similar game set in 'Hyboria' though I've never played in the setting.
Big props for choosing Xoth, Jack.
And as a long time member of one of ALLENDM’s games I can vouch for them being gritty and well-realised.
Time was I would have given my all to play a Xoth game. Now my interest has waned like a Cimmerian’s fury when the foes are all dead. My desire for PF1 is slaked and madly durst I seek PF2.
Fear thy fates brave adventurers!!!
Big props for choosing Xoth, Jack.
And as a long time member of one of ALLENDM’s games I can vouch for them being gritty and well-realised.
Time was I would have given my all to play a Xoth game. Now my interest has waned like a Cimmerian’s fury when the foes are all dead. My desire for PF1 is slaked and madly durst I seek PF2.
Fear thy fates brave adventurers!!!
Yep. I really like Xoth and I like a lot of how they structured the setting. They did a good job of making it PF friendly but still structure it in a way to keep with the whole Sword and Sorcery genre. I also think they did a good job of mirroring Hyboria but building in some unique differences.
You close to spinning up your PF2E campaign yet?
So it looks like there is enough interest in this that I will get the Campaign page up and work on the details for everyone.
Keep you posted.
I'm interested in participating in this for sure. If I can actually get into a game where everyone posts 5+ times per week I would be thrilled.
I also like the idea of automatic bonus progression.
How do you feel about combat stamina? Free and/or an option?
You didn't mention barbarians, bloodragers, swashbucklers, skalds, shamans and bards in your overview of the classes. I feel like a lot of these fit rather well with the theme of Xoth, though perhaps bards and skalds are too magical?
There are a lot of cool religious-specific options in PF. Are we allowed to adapt those to a fitting religion, or are these barred from use?
So it looks like there is enough interest in this that I will get the Campaign page up and work on the details for everyone.
Keep you posted.
Very cool, looking forward to seeing you 'application' process :)
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I am definitely curious about what house rules you might come up with.
I'm in a World of Xoth PF1 campaign at the moment, with house rules including the Xoth peoples.
The starting list:
Ability Percentage: Adding a % to each ability score at creation. You get a 25 point buy, racial adjustments, as well as the normal gain in ability points but you also roll % for each ability. At each level gain you get 60% to split among your abilities (max 25% in any one ability). When you hit 100% you can bump that ability up 1 point. This is because there are limited magical healing and restoration in this setting so there is a high likelihood of seeing your ability scores take a hit with ability damage and drain. I wanted to offset that a bit so players didn't feel this would stunt their characters as they advance (too much).
Using EiTR Feat Tax rules. Along with the mentioned additions and a few other mods. This is a big boost for martials.
Variant Fighter/Rogue to give them a bit of a bump.
Perception is a class skill for everyone. This is a key skill and in low magic settings skills are really important and those that don't have perception as a class skill are basically crippled.
All classes with 2 skill points are bumped to 4 skill points and all 4 skill point classes are bumped to 5.
Background skills are in play. 2 at creation, 1 for each level there after.
Hero points are in play (only hero points).
Wound Thresholds are in play.
Vitality Thresholds are being used (house rule - like Wound Threshold for poison/disease on ability scores).
Using the PF2E Playtest Expert/Master/Legendary. These bonus are in addition to magical bonus. So they stack. Little more house keeping but in this setting with magic being rare it will be important and place an emphasis on quality weapons, armor, and gear.
Expert - Gear +1 to skill checks, Armor -1 ACP, +1 -/DR, Weapons +1 Atk.
Master - Gear +2 to skill checks, Armor -2 ACP, +2 -/DR, Weapons +2 Atk.
Legendary - Gear +3 to skill checks, Armor -3 ACP, +3 -/DR, Weapons +3 Atk.
Craft (Expert) 4 ranks
Craft (Master) 8 ranks
Craft (Legendary) 12 ranks
Poison does HP damage on initial damage. The damage is (DC-10)/2. So a DC20 poison that you encounter (contact/ingest/wounded) you would immediately take 5 HP of damage. This is prior to you making a save as it happens as your body reacts to the poison. This only happens once in an encounter.
Magical Endurance in being used. More to follow on this but it is part of the limitations on humans using magic. Spell casters generate a life force score
Life Force = the total amount of modifiers that a character has including double the modifier of the primary casting ability.
Formula = STR + CON + DEX + INT + WIS + CHA (prim abilty x2) + Caster Level = Life Force.
At Zero Life Force he has the condition SICKENED until he rests for 8 hours (recovers his life force).
For each spell you cast if they have a level you deduct that from your life force daily. If you reach zero that day any spells you cast with a level cause ability damage to your CON score.
The caster can dip farther into his Life Force but at a cost (albeit temporary). Each time he dips into his life force past 0 he takes CON ability damage in the amount of the spell level he cast. This in turn triggers the Vitality Threshold in conjunction with being SICKENED.
Example - 5th level Sorcerer casts a 3rd level spell. He has a lifeforce score of 12. He deducts 3 from his pool leaving him 9. The next encounter that day he casts a 2nd level spell so he deducts 2 from his life force leaving him 7. In that same encounter the next round he casts a 1st level spell and so he deducts a 1 from his life force score leaving him a 6. Later that day his group runs into yet another encounter requiring him to cast several more spells. In this case a 1st, 2nd, and a 3rd bring him to 0 life force. The sorcerer is now sickened until he gets a full night of rest and recovers. In the night they are attacked and he has to expend a 1st level spell putting him at -1 and he takes 1 CON of ability damage.
Metamagic Feats - These can be used at will. When you desire to use them but at a cost. Instead of costing a spell slot (which I hate and I think it makes metamagic cumbersome/clunky so they go against your life force). Each cost 1 point...so you can add multiple Metamagic feats on the fly but at a cost of 1 point for each from your life force. If you are at zero it would cost you 1 CON point of ability damage.
So you can use magic but there is a price to be paid for using it and in a pinch a caster could expend all of his CON using magic but in the end would destroy himself by draining all of his life force. This also means for a spell caster CON is important along with his primary ability.
I'm interested in participating in this for sure. If I can actually get into a game where everyone posts 5+ times per week I would be thrilled.
I also like the idea of automatic bonus progression.
How do you feel about combat stamina? Free and/or an option?
You didn't mention barbarians, bloodragers, swashbucklers, skalds, shamans and bards in your overview of the classes. I feel like a lot of these fit rather well with the theme of Xoth, though perhaps bards and skalds are too magical?
There are a lot of cool religious-specific options in PF. Are we allowed to adapt those to a fitting religion, or are these barred from use?
I am going to go with World of Xoth as this will make life easier for me and I can adapt many of the D20 Hyborian adventures to the World of Xoth if we want to go down that road. We can discuss what we want to do as we work through character development.
Not to sure about automatic bonus progression but I am taking a hard look at it.
Strongly suggest reviewing the World of Xoth Player Guide:
World of Xoth Player Guide
Here is a complete list of classes that are open for PC's:
Allowed:
Assassin (Freeport Companion) (might keep this as a NPC class only...)
Alchemist (limitations)
Barbarian (UC)
Bard
Bloodrager (very limited blood lines)
Brawler
Cavalier
*Cultist (variant of the Oracle - the Clerics of Xoth)
Druid
Fighter (variant)
Freebooter (Freeport, The City of Adventure)
Hunter
Investigator
Monk (UC)
Noble (Freeport, The City of Adventure)
Ranger
Rogue (UC) (variant)
Skald (Barbaric version of the XOTH bard)
Slayer
Sorcerers (very limited blood lines)
Swashbuckler
Witch
I am of the mind to make the Ranger and its hybrids spell less but still thinking on that.
I will have the Freeport classes on hand in the House Rules.
The key here is I wanted to make sure I gave you some good options for classes. Since the party is going to be small (two to three players) it will probably need to be a little diverse.
The player's guide will help a great deal in getting you started on the Cults of Xoth. Starting at page 40 it covers the Cults. This is an ancient to pre-ancient world so religion is dark and mysterious and shrouded in secrets.
A few restrictions on character race/culture as you dig into the guide.
1) No Djaka, No Ikuna
2) No Picts (Hyborian type - will be in play as well but not in the Xoth Player Guide) (Huge forest filled island to the east in the Eastern Ocean)
3) No Degenerate culture.
Thank you for the info ALLENDM,
I'm reasonably familiar with the Xoth player's guide. Will you keep most of the 'rules' particular to Xoth (Pages 4 - 7: ie. 'Sword and Sorcery' through 'the Tale is It's Own Reward'?)
I think three people is a good number for the Xoth game, It seems like all of Conan's stories (whether by Howard or Jordan) if he's not alone he has a couple of comrades. It also would allow us to cover a lot of the basics.
So are you still going to do a separate recruitment thread for "player to simply submit a questionnaire which will include the type of player you are and the character you wish to run including race/class along with playing preferences." or will you do that here?
I would be happy playing a melee, skill or caster character in Xoth, but honestly, I would want to determine the specifics of the characters after we pick the players and get more information, then build a team with a little synergy. Some of the things that would determine Race, Culture and Class would be the location we started in, the events that brought the group together and the description of the other Characters.
Just food for thought.
I got a little confused when you said "No Picts" are you also permitting races from the "Hyborian" game?
Thank you for the info ALLENDM,
I'm reasonably familiar with the Xoth player's guide. Will you keep most of the 'rules' particular to Xoth (Pages 4 - 7: ie. 'Sword and Sorcery' through 'the Tale is It's Own Reward'?)
I think three people is a good number for the Xoth game, It seems like all of Conan's stories (whether by Howard or Jordan) if he's not alone he has a couple of comrades. It also would allow us to cover a lot of the basics.
So are you still going to do a separate recruitment thread for "player to simply submit a questionnaire which will include the type of player you are and the character you wish to run including race/class along with playing preferences." or will you do that here?
I would be happy playing a melee, skill or caster character in Xoth, but honestly, I would want to determine the specifics of the characters after we pick the players and get more information, then build a team with a little synergy. Some of the things that would determine Race, Culture and Class would be the location we started in, the events that brought the group together and the description of the other Characters.
Just food for thought.
I got a little confused when you said "No Picts" are you also permitting races from the "Hyborian" game?
Robert,
I'm reasonably familiar with the Xoth player's guide. Will you keep most of the 'rules' particular to Xoth (Pages 4 - 7: ie. 'Sword and Sorcery' through 'the Tale is It's Own Reward'?)
I am opting to use milestones but one thing I do with my current campaigns is provide a +1 to +2 story bonus to rolls if the description in the post is creative and detailed and not just one or two sentences and dice rolls. So for example:
"Jenna skirts up to the doorway and stoops down and slowly scans the stones near the doorway and the door frame looking for anything unusual or dangerous. She then looks to the stone door frame and then to the ceiling above the door. I have no desire having another sharpened rod falling from the ceiling as I open this damn door! Once she is done doing that she moves her eyes to the door and the latch inspecting both carefully looking for any signs that it is trapped. Once she feels comfortable that it is not she moves up to the door and listens for a moment before putting her ear to the wood of the door right by the key hole. Again listening for anything that might clue her into any surprises lurking behind it."
I would give that description a +2 to the perception check :)
Because of the amount of info I have already posted I will probably just use this as the recruitment thread to keep life simple for us. I will rename it tonight and add the Questionnaire form. This is nothing complex or long winded it just gives me and everyone involved in the process of what type of player each person is. We all have little things we enjoy in a game so I want to make sure I get three players that will gel with each other and have fun.
From there we will figure out a starting point for this little venture. Then as you said we can figure out race/culture and classes of everyone and start to build out their demeanor and backstory.
I agree about the stories of Conan and I would add Kull and Red Sonja as well. The stories all had small groups (2 to 4) and some of those characters would come and go over time.
I am including Picts as I really like that particular race from Hyboria and wanted to include them in Xoth. After reading a lot of the content I decided on placing them on a large island in the Eastern Sea. Full of forests, mountains and such and part of a lost/fallen civilizations. I am going to add one other Culture that seems to be missing (HUNTER)...hunter gatherers. It will be dex based and will be built around the PICT but would include the Azimban, Djaka, Ikuna, Khazrajite, Mazanian, Tharag Thulan, and Zorabi.
I noticed the Hunter Gatherer was really missing from their Cultures and this is pretty important for Picts but it can also be used for the above races as well. Especially since this is pre-ancient/ancient world in make up.
No other races I just wanted to make sure I had Picts in the world...
Hey AllenDM, this is Peran from your Grayhawk campaign. I would love a chance to play in either a Xoth or Conan adventure. I actually have the 2d20 Conan game as well as having played in a short Xoth adventure before.
Anyway, thought I would throw my hat into this recruitment!!
Awesome!
Just opened the Campaign up. Will have the questionnaire posted tonight for everyone.
My current idea is for a zebra-mounted Azimban cavalier. Dashing and noble in the great courts of the land, dashing and mobile on the battlefield.
Two options -
Fill out and post here in the recruitment or you can send it me by private message. Either way works for me. This is simply for me to get to know you as a player. Just so there is transparency I will post mine. Seems only fair :)
Campaign Player Recruitment Questionnaire Form
These are not right or wrong answers but a way for me to get to know you as a player.
If you want to provide a brief explanation feel free to do so.
Background
1) How long have you played in RPG's?
2) How long have you played Pathfinder 1st Edition?
3) How long have you played PBP?
4) How long have you been on the Paizo PBP forums?
5) What is your favorite RPG of all time? (can be more than one)
6) What is your favorite fantasy novel or series? (can be more than one)
7) Who are some of your favorite authors?
8) What are some of your favorite movies or televison series?
9) Have you been a GM of a RPG Game?
10) Have you been a GM of a PF1E Game?
Posting History
1) What was your longest running character in Paizo PBP?
2) What was your favorite Paizo PBP Game you where/are part of?
3) Post three of your favorite Gameplay posts you made on the Paizo Forum?
4) Post your worst Gameplay post you made on the Paizo Forum?
5) How many times have you dropped a game as a player? Why?
I was selected for a second table and after a few posts into the game I realized I was not going to be a good fit in the game
and I was not going to have fun so I decided to give both the GM and the group a heads up that I was going to back out of the game.
This was nothing to do with the other players or the GM persay just my style and what I am looking for as a player. I am a bit picky so
it was all on me.
6) Have you been a GM of an adventure or a campaign on Paizo PBP Forum?
7) Have you had to close a game as a GM?
ruin the game. I let the group know so we could discuss it before I closed it down. This was Old School Greyhawk II - Baltron's Beacon (I7).
I was enjoying the game but it was eating up a lot of my time making sure I fully supported it and both kids travel a great deal for sports.
They still do but we manage the the national travel a lot better now and my work life balance is much better.
Playing Preference
1) Do you enjoy playing in PF1E that use house rules, variant rules, and 3PP Stuff?
2) What are some red flags for you that will cause you to step away or lose interest in the game?
3) Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable as a player?
not my thing so as GM I will work to spin the posting away from it. I like my games gritty and dark and that is the extent of it.
4) What are your favorite types of characters you like to play?
5) What are three classes you would like to play in this game (include archetypes if you want to use them)?
6) What are three races you are interested in playing from the Player's Guide?
7) What are you looking for in this game from a story perspective and a gaming perspective?
8) How much do you know about the World of Xoth?
9) Do you enjoy Sword and Sorcery/Dark Fantasy/Low Magic settings?
Comments
If you have any additional comments that might help me understand you as a player put them in here.
I think I want to build some form of druid, though what kind I'm not sure. Is a druid with the herbalism nature bond ok, or would it not fit in the world?
I'm curious about what spells are removed. Focusing on casting might not work very well if the best options are removed and martials are buffed in turn.
I think I want to build some form of druid, though what kind I'm not sure. Is a druid with the herbalism nature bond ok, or would it not fit in the world?
I'm curious about what spells are removed. Focusing on casting might not work very well if the best options are removed and martials are buffed in turn.
Druid with Herbalism nature bond is fine. I think I mentioned that as well on a previous post so that would work.
If you read the Player's Guide it will get you in the right frame of mind on spells and magic. Starting on page 34 it goes over what is not allowed and what is going to be adjusted.
1) How long have you played in RPG's?
I started playing RPG’s my freshman year of college back in 1980. I played the original red box and AD&D along with a little traveler in the black box. After college, real life started and I didn’t play again until I found the forum here on Paizo.
2) How long have you played Pathfinder 1st Edition?, 3) How long have you played PBP? 4) How long have you been on the Paizo PBP forums?
In 2010 I started working for a treatment facility on the third shift. To keep myself awake I would read. I found a lot of information about RPG’s on line and started reading up. I found the boards here in 2014 and soon after applied to my first game. So the answer to 2.3 & 4: My first game was a PFS game that started on July 27, 2014. so 5 years, 9 month and 8 days.
5) What is your favorite RPG of all time? (can be more than one)
The only one I’ve played with any regularity is PF1 so it would be my favorite. Though I did find Apocalypse World intriguing.
6) What is your favorite fantasy novel or series? (can be more than one) 7) Who are some of your favorite authors?
Junior high:
it was Edgar Rice Burroughs: John Carter of Mars:
High School:
Robert E. Howard: Conan, Soloman Cain and Kull
College:
Michael Moorcock: The eternal champion series, especially Elric
Stephen King: The Dark Tower Series.
College 2.0 to present:
Robert Jordan: Wheel of Time.
S.M. Stirling: “The Change Series”
Joe Abercrombie: I really like the ‘First Law Trilogy” but my favorite book is the stand alone “Best served cold”
Brandon Sanderson: dude finished WoT, but I’ve really been enjoying the “stormlight series”
Jim Butcher: Harry Dresden
8) What are some of your favorite movies or television series?
Movies: The Mummy, Book of Eli, Tombstone, Logan, Lawrence of Arabia, Big Jake, Platoon,
TV: Game of Thrones, Black Sails, Penny Dreadful, Killjoys, Peaky Blinders
9) Have you been a GM of a RPG Game?
Back in college I ran a ‘Traveler’ game for a short period of time.
10) Have you been a GM of a PF1E Game?
No
1) What was your longest running character in Paizo PBP?
Ting
2) What was your favorite Paizo PBP Game you where/are part of?
Reign of Winter Partially because it’s the only AP I’ve finished and partially because of how my character Einer developed.
3) Post three of your favorite Gameplay posts you made on the Paizo Forum?
1. This is a ‘Wheel of Time’ game, Elathras was the son of an Innkeeper who wanted to become a swordsman. This is his first impression of a tavern where he was meeting an Aes Sedai that he had been employed by: Tavern
2. So Einar was my character in "RoW" There was another member of the party Cadence, which was leaving the game. So collectively we wrote her out of the game. She was staying in her home town when the party left. this was their parting. the kiss and the last night
3. I just like Gnasher’s dry sense of humor Low hanging fruit
4) Post your worst Gameplay post you made on the Paizo Forum?
My worst post ever? Due to a double shift at work I had been up thirty six hours: was tired, frustrated and confused, and got pissy with a friend. It caused the end of the game….
5) How many times have you dropped a game as a player? Why?:
Several, I stopped playing twice for a short time, The first one was due to my father in law having terminal cancer (probably eighteen games). The second I left my employer where I worked third shift and did the majority of my posting. (Probably sixteen games) .
I have also left a game due to a discomfort with how a female character was being played by a male (or identified as male) player.
I have also left three games due to differences with GM’s in style.
6) Have you been a GM of an adventure or a campaign on Paizo PBP Forum?
No
7) Have you had to close a game as a GM?
No
1) Do you enjoy playing in PF1E that use house rules, variant rules, and 3PP Stuff?
It depends on the rules and how the GM puts them in place. I like consistency. If we know the rules and the GM’s style up front, it’s great. If things vary constantly, it’s frustrating.
2) What are some red flags for you that will cause you to step away or lose interest in the game?
Losing interest would be due to things like the game slowing down, or the material being one dimensional. Normally those kinds of games die, occasionally you can work with GMs and players to build it back up but normally it’s a deathnale. I tend to hang in there even if things get slow or boring…
I’ve stepped away a couple of times, one was the situation above where I thought a player was handling a character with little consideration for the game and the other characters. I’ve also left a game where the GM’s and main players style and mine diverged greatly.
3) Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable as a player?
Not really, if we know the genre were playing and the expectations then I’m normally good. It’s when the actions are outside of the genre norm or the ‘suspension of disbelief’ then I have difficulty. So for instance, I’ve never played an ‘evil’ character or in an ‘evil’ AP.
In general, other than violence which would be a solid 'R,' I keep everything else at PG 13. I'm not comfortable with writing 'romantic situations' so they would be handled very delicately. I would play characters like 'Conan' but any carousing would be 'off stage.' ie. Fade to black.
4) What are your favorite types of characters you like to play?
Melle and skill. I play a lot of frontline fighter types and rogues. A few clerics a couple of Bards. Never played a sorcerer, wizard, Magnus, witch, summoner or arcanist . But I do love me some bloodrager, man, I really like bloodragers.
5) What are three classes you would like to play in this game
When I think about Xoth and the Conan style references three iconic types of classes come to mind: a Large frontline fighter, a skillful thief/con man and a witch doctor/druid type caster. I would play any of the three.
6) What are three races you are interested in playing from the Player's Guide?
Depends on the place we start and the other character races. If we’re in the north a Nabastissean rogue or a Lamuran barbarian or a Tharagian druid... In the south a Azimban fighter or a Mazanian witch doctor or a Shoma rogue.
7) What are you looking for in this game from a story perspective and a gaming perspective?
In general I’m looking for a game with strong characters both players and NPC’s and a developed setting where we can create a memorable story line together. Because Xoth compares itself to the Adventure stories that remind us of Conan; I would hope for a game that followed that type of trope: Adventure, intrigue, rescue and dark magic that must be overcome.
8) How much do you know about the World of Xoth?
I played a short time in the game that Decimus Observet is in and I keep a copy of the ‘players guide’ on my computer’s Favorites. I was trying to figure out a way to talk someone into running a game when I stumbled on your recruitment.
9) Do you enjoy Sword and Sorcery/Dark Fantasy/Low Magic settings?
Yes. I’m very intrigued with this particular setting. I’m not extremely interested in learning a new game system. So Xoth is a good fit for me. I have two complaint about Pathfinder. The need for the big six to be able to function properly and the ‘magic store around the corner’ mentality. Magic should be rare, it should be special and if Howard is right, it should not be trusted.
If you have any additional comments that might help me understand you as a player put them in here.
I do have some comments. Actually I would have a lot of comments, but If I try to list them all I’ll be up all night.
I would like to play in a game set in Xoth. I like strong written characters whose crunch matches their fluff. I like being part of a team that works together even if they are contrasting character types. I like a story that is illuminated as players and gm’s work together.
I find that written communication is more difficult to understand due to the lack of visual cues, so out of game I tend to ask a lot of questions to make sure I understand. In game: I post regularly, check the board often, and try to use hooks and open ended questions in character to keep the game moving.
If your interested in looking at some of my backstories, I have them listed in my profile
I hope reading my answers to your questions is as enjoyable for you as they were answering for me. Good luck with your selections and I hope we can play together.
Great questions Jack!
As for me, I’m going to play a little 2e first before I run any. But not for too long... ;)
Great questions Jack!
As for me, I’m going to play a little 2e first before I run any. But not for too long... ;)
Thanks.
I totally get that. Have you had luck getting into a 2e game?
I really want to find a better way of getting a solid group of players involved from the get go. Obviously there is going to be attrition in any RPG group but I think the traditional method of having someone create a character and submit it really doesn't allow you to know the player... Which in my mind is far more important so why not know who you are playing with then what they want to submit... It also can be a huge pain for players to create a character and go through the process of spinning up a backstory to only not get accepted. Which can be frustrating so why not just conduct a survey of each player and figure out who you want to play with and then pick and spin up the characters together so everyone is on the same page. Just seems to make more sense to me :)
Jack
AllenDM:
Two options -
Fill out and post here in the recruitment or you can send it me by private message. Either way works for me. This is simply for me to get to know you as a player. Just so there is transparency I will post mine. Seems only fair :)
Campaign Player Recruitment Questionnaire Form
These are not right or wrong answers but a way for me to get to know you as a player.
If you want to provide a brief explanation feel free to do so.
Background
1) How long have you played in RPG's? Since 1979 (I was nine years old and introduced to it in a Gifted Reading Class at school).
2) How long have you played Pathfinder 1st Edition? Since 2010 when I moved over from 3.5.
3) How long have you played PBP? Since 2008.
4) How long have you been on the Paizo PBP forums? 2018 is when I first start on the PBP forum section. I started posting on the other forums in 2011.
5) What is your favorite RPG of all time? (can be more than one) PF1E is my favorite. 3.5 was my favorite. MERP was a close second.
6) What is your favorite fantasy novel or series? (can be more than one)
Long list.
Dune Series
The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Series
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
All H.P. Lovecraft books and stories
Conan (Robert E Howard and a multitude of authors)
Weird Tales/Savage Sword of Conan (Kull/Solomon Kane)
Dracula (Bram Stoker)
Frankenstein (Mary Shelly)
All Brian Lumley books and stories
Song of Fire and Ice series
Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser
Corum Series (one of my favorites)
7) Who are some of your favorite authors?
Brain Lumley, Stephen R. Donaldson, J.R.R Tolkien, Fritz Leiber, Micheal Moorcock, Robert E. Howard, George R.R. Martin.
8) What are some of your favorite movies or television series?
Game of Thrones. Lord of the Ring series. Hobbit Series. Conan the Barbarian, Battlestar Galactica series (one of the best scifi series I have seen) (2004) (one of my favorites), Band of Brothers, Penny Dreadful series, Outsiders (HBO series), Pacific, Saving Private Ryan, Passion of Christ, Absentia, Longmire, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).
9) Have you been a GM of a RPG Game? Yes. First time was at age 12 AD&D. Have run several long running games...the longest was over 10 years. GM'd AD&D 1E, 2E, 3E, 3.5E, PF1E, Merp, Boothill, Top Secret, Star Frontiers, and a few others I can't remember :)
10) Have you been a GM of a PF1E Game? Yes both table top and PBP.
Posting History
1) What was your longest running character in Paizo PBP? none really. I have had one character - two games first one died out due to the lack of GM posting and the other I decided to drop out. I had a total of 94 posts with him. I have not had a lot of luck finding a good campaign to play in yet. That is probably more my fault :)
2) What was your favorite Paizo PBP Game you where/are part of? Old School Greyhawk - Saltmarsh Campaign PFRPG (570CY - Southern Keoland). I really enjoy GMing that game. The group is great and we are starting to see a lot of good story development.
3) Post three of your favorite Gameplay posts you made on the Paizo Forum?
4) Post your worst Gameplay post you made on the Paizo Forum?
Here is one that I didn't particulary like after I reread it.
5) How many times have you dropped a game as a player? Yes, see spoiler. Why?
I was selected for a second table and after a few posts into the game I realized I was not going to be a good fit in the game
and I was not going to have fun so I decided to give both the GM and the group a heads up that I was going to back out of the game.
This was nothing to do with the other players or the GM persay just my style and what I am looking for as a player. I am a bit picky so
it was all on me.
6) Have you been a GM of an adventure or a campaign on Paizo PBP Forum? Yes.
7) Have you had to close a game as a GM? Yes, see spoiler.
ruin the game. I let the group know so we could discuss it before I closed it down. This was Old School Greyhawk II - Baltron's Beacon (I7).
I was enjoying the game but it was eating up a lot of my time making sure I fully supported it and both kids travel a great deal for sports.
They still do but we manage the the national travel a lot better now and my work life balance is much better.
Playing Preference
1) Do you enjoy playing in PF1E that use house rules, variant rules, and 3PP Stuff? Yes. I find there is some very good 3PP but you have to make sure it fits the setting and is not overpowering.
2) What are some red flags for you that will cause you to step away or lose interest in the game? Really slow posting. DM's or Players that just post a mechanics post and don't put any effort in the story part. Rules Lawyers. Someone trying to always take control of the spotlight at every turn or control the flow of the game. As player that drives me crazy and I want no part of it. I feel the game should be a shared experience.
3) Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable as a player? See Spoiler.
not my thing so as GM I will work to spin the posting away from it. I like my games gritty and dark and that is the extent of it.
4) What are your favorite types of characters you like to play? I enjoy rangers (guides/scouts) and I have a new found interest in divine type players (martial/caster types). I ran a cleric that really enjoyed as a front line type and healer/support in a Rise of the RuneLords AP. I also like Paladins and enjoy playing fighters every once in a while I like wizards (specifically illusionist).
5) What are three classes you would like to play in this game (include archetypes if you want to use them)? I am GM so I will play a bunch of classes :)
6) What are three races you are interested in playing from the Player's Guide? See answer to 5 above.
7) What are you looking for in this game from a story perspective and a gaming perspective? Just a deep gritty story of sword and sorcery.
8) How much do you know about the World of Xoth? A lot now. I have read just about all the material on it over the last two or three months plus I am well read in the Conan story line which is what Xoth is based off of.
9) Do you enjoy Sword and Sorcery/Dark Fantasy/Low Magic settings? Yes I do. One of my favorite genres.
Comments
If you have any additional comments that might help me understand you as a player put them in here.
I am working on getting the house rules up for everyone.
Here some additional information in conjuction with the Player's Guide:
I am going to add a culture:
Hunter Gatherer
Stone Age culture, one of the most primitive of the cultures. They dwell in tribes ruled by the strongest warrior in the game-rich forests and grass plains, are noted as warriors and shamans and are highly feared for their savagery. They are also exceptional trackers and hunters able to track their prey for miles. The more unpleasant features of this culture include such practices as human sacrifice, blood-feud and burning captives alive. They have no agriculture or animal husbandry; their dinners are brought in through their hunting skill alone. They are also nearly invisible in the woods and plains they come from;
Hunter Gatherers have the following cultural traits:
Ability Adjustment:+2 to Dexterity
Nocturnal: Hunters can see twice as far as
normal humans in conditions of dim light.
Predatory Hunter: They are creatures of the wild and hunting their
prey is as much a part of them as breathing is. They have the Scent (ex) ability.
Add one additional race:
Pict
The Picts originated from the Pictish Islands, a chain of islands far to east in the Eastern Ocean. Thousands of years ago they were a thriving civilized island empire but during a great cataclysm a large part of the islands were destroyed and sunk below the great seas.
Their culture is primitive, and only possesses occasional "modern" weapons either taken from sailors or explorers captured or killed while exploring the Pictish Isles or stolen from them in the night. The Pictish tribes are very independent of one another. Each tribe is named for its totem animal: there are thus tribes such as Eagle, Hawk, Turtle, Bear, Wolf, Wildcat and Raven.
The tribe is ruled by a chief, who is usually the biggest and best warrior, with the cooperation and support of the tribal shaman. Pictish life does not provide for those who cannot defend themselves, so rarely is the chief position held by an "elder." The Picts are a ruder, more practical, more prolific race. They are primarily hunter-gatherers going on hunts and fish the sea or rivers. The women gather nuts, berries and tubers around their villages and tend to the village and their families. Pictish women wail their dead.
Pictish weapons are the bow and the cast spear, the war club and the hatchet. They have little use for civilized swords and battle axes, although they prize steel daggers and hatchet heads. They wear no armor. Only one drum in the world makes just that deep, menacing, sullen thunder: the war-drum of the Picts.
Appearance: Picts are a primitive people. The Picts are short, very dark tanned, with black eyes and hair. They are broad-shouldered, deep-chested, lean-hipped, thickly-muscled, and naked except for scanty doe-skin loincloths. Their faces are immobile, but their narrow eyes glitter with the fire that burns in the eyes of a stalking tiger. When a Pict stands motionless, the very beasts pass without noticing.
Religion Pictish gods include the gorilla-god Gullah, ‘The Hairy One Who Lives In The Moon,’ and Jhebbal Sag, along with other pre-Cataclysmic gods and spirits such as the ‘Children of Jhil’ and the ‘Four Brothers of the Night’ who sleep beyond the Mountains of the Dead. We are told that Picts fear snakes, which might be a race memory of the Serpent-People of old. Nonetheless, serpents do appear in their animalistic rites. The Picts believe that the souls of the dead haunt the black Mountains of the Dead in the center of their main isle.
Culture Picts are primerly Hunters, but can also be Savages and Degenerates.
Languages Pictish, Talking Drum
1) How long have you played in RPG's?
I began playing in RPGs in middle school, so I've been playing in RPGs off and on for 30 years. My first experiences were with AD&D, and though I've dabbled in other systems/genres of RPGs, my heart will probably always belong to fantasy RPGs as a result.
2) How long have you played Pathfinder 1st Edition?
My tabletop group at the time migrated immediately to PF 1E upon release. We all really liked 3.0/3.5 and PF 1E smoothed out some edges, gave a lot more interesting options for most PCs (less dead levels), and although I don't remember exactly how the timeline of events worked out, I didn't care for D&D 4E, nor their canceling of Dragon and Dungeon magazines. I really came to appreciate Paizo's ethos as a company and although I think 5E has some pretty marked improvements as a system, I've stuck with Paizo. Brand loyalty I guess is important to me.
3) How long have you played PBP? My first post in a PBP game was in April 2014, so just over six years now. I was totally hooked. PBP as a medium has a lot to offer that tabletop can't (though TT is great too!). I love the ability to write creatively and reflectively, and have been fortunate to be part of some really good games with some really good GMs and players.
4) How long have you been on the Paizo PBP forums? I've only ever played PBP here on Paizo's boards, so since April 2014.
5) What is your favorite RPG of all time? (can be more than one) PF1E is my favorite and what I've played mostly since its inception. 3.0/3.5 were both great, and I have a fondness for AD&D. 5.0 and PF2E also have some really nice components to them. I enjoyed playing D20 Modern, especially with some of the really cool 3rd party content that was created.
Other systems can be cool too. I love reading the setting books for the White Wolf games, though I've never played in any of them. They're just so evocative. I own Mutants and Masterminds (superheroes!) and have played some one-offs in Tabletop. I've also played some A Song of Fire and Ice, which is a pretty neat system.
6) What is your favorite fantasy novel or series? (can be more than one)
It has been a long time since I read the Dune series, but I loved it. Hobbit/LotR of course. I grew up reading the Gord the Rogue series and revisit them every decade or so - it is like comfort food for me. The Monstrumologist series is probably more horror than fantasy, but it has fantasy elements, and it is fantastic. Clive Barker's Weaveworld was really lovely. Gulliver's Travels is wickedly funny.
7) Who are some of your favorite authors?
In no particular order:
Ted Conover (literary nonfiction - fantastic author that has ridden trains across the country with hobos, worked in fields with migrant laborers, drove with truckers across central Africa, and worked as a prison guard to better understand and write about America's prison system)
Anthony Bourdain (nonfiction/travel - Kitchen Confidential is iconic, his travel writing is really reflective and lovely)
Laurie Halse Anderson (YA - writes many genres within YA, always engaging. Her series on revolutionary war slaves/spies is so neat)
Yancey, Rick (Horror/Fantasy/YA - mentioned above, his Monstrumologist series hits a sweet spot of spine chilling and Victorian-styled. Really fun books)
Alma Guillermoprietro (Journalism/essay - reflections and essays on Latin America that are so wonderfully written and engage in the area in ways that I've rarely read journalists do)
Hemmingway (cause Papa wrote consistently beautiful and nuanced adventure books)
8) What are some of your favorite movies or television series?
Penny Dreadful hits that Victorian itch that I love to scratch.
The Leftovers was just mindbending and fantastic, with almost every episode hitting it out of the park.
Buffy and Angel - groundbreaking for their times, really inventive storytelling
Battlestar Galactica for the same reasons. Also, almost every episode was a cliffhanger. What's not to love about that?
Futureman is funny, profane, and gets really, really interesting/inventive as the series goes on.
Game of Thrones because when it works, it works really well. It was nice to see big-budget fantasy brought to the small screen.
Derry Girls is laugh-out-loud funny, and pretty heartwarming as well.
As for movies, lately, I've been binging modern noir. Hell or High Water, Winter's Bone, No Country for Old Men, that sort of thing.
9) Have you been a GM of a RPG Game? Yes. In most of my tabletop groups over the years, GMs have rotated. I've run mostly PF1E games - either homebrew of the Kingmaker AP. I also ran 3.5 games, including Planescape and Dark Sun games.
10) Have you been a GM of a PF1E Game? Yes, on both tabletop and PBP.
1) What was your longest running character in Paizo PBP?
I've had a few long-running characters both in terms of post count and time. I'm in a slow-moving - but really fun - Carrion Crown game that has been going on for over 5 years. It is tough to say by quantity of posts for a single character because I reuse aliases. My Court Bard, Talia, for a Kingmaker campaign logged 1,100 posts in gameplay, kingdom building, and discussion threads over the three years and 11 months that game lasted. I've have another PC that is probably comparable but the aliases have been reused so it is tough to say for sure.
2) What was your favorite Paizo PBP Game you where/are part of?
Oh, this is a tough question. My first PBP (linked above), a sandbox exploration/settlement game was really, really fun, and is near and dear to my heart. It lasted 2+ years and is the most successful sandbox campaign I've ever been a part of.
The best GM I've ever played with was on these boards. I was in a few Darkness Rises campaigns while they were active, including this rocking Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign. I'd join another of their games again in a heartbeat if they came back.
I've also been fortunate to be part of a great long-running Kingmaker campaign (linked above), a really fun Starfinder Dead Suns game that is in book 5 (though I joined it in book 3), and the Carrion Crown game mentioned above. It is newer, but I'm enjoying being part of a Hell's Vengeance campaign that started in February. The GM is very good and the players are solid as well.
3) Post three of your favorite Gameplay posts you made on the Paizo Forum?
Post 1 is a setup where I worked with the GM of my Carrion Crown game to kill my PC. I love this PC, an apprentice with a missing master, full of self-doubt and with a newfound family (the other PCs) and I think the other players loved him as well (our wizard is currently planning at getting him reincarnated). But I realized it would be really poignant and within the tropes of Victorian horror for the PC to die. Over a period of a week or so, the GM and I worked out how that would happen. This post is me foreshadowing what was coming, and playing off of the other PCs' strengths as viewed by my PC.
Post 2 is a combat post from a very different type of PC than post 1 above. This PC is all braggadocio, intimidation, and pushing her limits. I included this post because combat is possibly the most difficult part of RPGs for me to write. I try to put some thought into posts and make them unusual and different than "PC swings their sword."
Post 3 is really an exchange, with a payoff that I'm really fond of. You can start with the first link and read down three posts for the whole context. Fairhaven's somewhat absorbed and low-wisdom ruler visits with a spy, where the spy needles Talia with an accurate observation that hits Talia where it hurts - the young ruler's own fears that she is weak, and failing her subjects. Sometimes a post doesn't need to be long or beautifully written. Talia's response was perfectly within her character, acknowledging her own fears (out of earshot of anyone that would live to hear them), and at once flippant, cutting, and final.
4) Post your worst Gameplay post you made on the Paizo Forum?
To me, the posts I'm least fond of are ones that are just dice rolls or one line actions/dialog. Some days the time or the creativity just isn't there.
5) How many times have you dropped a game as a player?
I've dropped games as a player four times out of 20 games over the past 6 years. In one instance, I changed jobs, had a new baby, and was overextended. In a couple of instances, I wasn't a good fit for the game. I've realized that it is important to make sure that your play style fits the GM's. Now, I look at prior games run by GMs and see what their style is. I've looked at your games and think I'd be a good fit.
Play styles also need to mesh with other players. This can be tough to do with PBP as you don't know your players until they are selected with you.
6) Have you been a GM of an adventure or a campaign on Paizo PBP Forum? Yep! This game has been ongoing since November 2015 but is currently on hiatus until later this month. With my university going to all-remote operations, I've been working long days (I manage a department of the university library). Things are settling down and with the semester ending I plan on picking up the game again.
7) Have you had to close a game as a GM? Yes, see above. I've run one other game - not nearly as successfully as the one linked above - on these boards. That was a playtest PF2E module, and I ran it with mostly the same players as my long-running campaign. I shut the playtest down at a particularly difficult time - new job, new baby - in terms of time and energy to devote to roleplaying, as mentioned above.
1) Do you enjoy playing in PF1E that use house rules, variant rules, and 3PP Stuff? Yes. I love PF1E. House rules and 3PP are fine. My long-running campaign uses Pathfinder Unchained rules, P6, and Spheres of Power.
I don't like gestalt - too much micromanaging.
2) What are some red flags for you that will cause you to step away or lose interest in the game?
I think a lot of keeping a game going falls on the GM's shoulders (it is a tough volunteer gig). Formerly good posters posting quick replies is not a good sign for a game's health. Slow posting rates are a red flag, but not universally so - the CC game I'm in moves very slowly, but players are engaged. This has a lot to do with the GM being enthusiastic despite the slow posting rate.
Personally, I'm not a fan of rules lawyers or antagonistic personalities (in character this is fine, but if there's any chance that players may misinterpret IC conflict for something else I think players should talk things over in discussion or via PM so that everyone is understanding).
3) Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable as a player?
Not really. I've played in games with mature themes. That said, a conversation with other players ahead of time to see if there's anything that makes players/GMs uncomfortable, so that expectations can be managed early is always a good idea.
4) What are your favorite types of characters you like to play? I enjoy martials and skill characters. I play the occasional spellcaster. My PCs can vary in temperament (as I tried to display with the linked gameplay posts above), so there's no steady archetype there. My PCs - even martials - usually have a fair number of skill points, and they usually have at least one social skill, as befitting their personality.
5) What are three classes you would like to play in this game (include archetypes if you want to use them)?
To some extent this would depend - if chosen - on what others want to play. Taking into account two or three PCs, I'd pitch these vary broad character concepts:
* An Manzanian bodyguard on the run. Nascent member of an order of protectors, she's outraged at the cruelty of her former master and absconded in the night with her master's newborn newphew and the family's rokspear, and important relic. As such, she's constantly looking over her shoulder for the days her former master's assassins find her. (fighter or Amazonian ranger archetype)
* A barber, likely from Zadj, Yar-Ammon, or of Khazis/Khazistani origin. Fulfilling the niche of storyteller, doctor, and gossip, the barber is the rogue with a begrudging heart of gold. Class would be rogue or bard most likely. The barber couches advice and knowledge in stories, is glibly flattering, and is shamelessly opportunistic (in a way that won't put the PCs in any danger).
* A druid from Khora or Tharag Thulan, he doesn't see nature as something to be revered, but rather feared. This concept is pretty nascent, but he'd be vastly and deeply fearful of nature, seeking to placate it for the benefit of those he holds dear.
6) What are three races you are interested in playing from the Player's Guide? See answer to 5 above. I'm also really drawn to the Azimbans, but nothing concept-wise is jumping out to me at the moment.
7) What are you looking for in this game from a story perspective and a gaming perspective?
From a story perspective, something pretty classic to sword and sorcery tropes would be very wonderful to take part in. Utilizing the rich world and cultures of Xoth would be very important to me. The setting is very visceral to me, and I'd love to help bring it life.
From the gaming side of things, I'd love to play with good roleplayers with interesting character concepts and fun execution.
8) How much do you know about the World of Xoth? I've read the player's guide a couple of times. I have a descent understand of the world at a high level.
9) Do you enjoy Sword and Sorcery/Dark Fantasy/Low Magic settings? Yes! They're fantastic. I love gritty worlds where you can taste the sand in your teeth, so to speak.
Thanks for reading over these ramblings and considering me for your game, ALLENDM!
** spoiler omitted **...
Black Sails and Peaky Blinders are really good series. Gritty...keeps you engaged and great characters with good plots and subplots. Tombstone is a classic western... One of my favorite series is Penny Dreadful and a great Gothic horror series.
So for instance, I’ve never played an ‘evil’ character or in an ‘evil’ AP.
Me neither and I am not really sure why...it just has never appealed to me.
Jack
One quick note after discussing this with Robert via PM
Picts are located on the Isles of the Pict which is far east in the Eastern Oceans. Sailors and explorers who sail into these parts have landed on the isles and encountered them. There a few Picts, whether captured and enslaved or by their own choice have left their homeland to follow their "dream". So they are open to PC as a viable race.
Picts are not a part of Xoth Player Guide but they happen to be one of my favorite races in Hyboria and play a central role in many of Robert Howard's stories...
Loved those shows too.
Great to see the Howard style Picts...
Which one would be Aquilonia?
The one that is probably the nearest to the Aquilonians is the Nabastissean but a distant close.
Wow, Helaman - never realised you were just down the way - I’m in the Blue Mtns.
@Jack - for the hunter/gatherers and Picts, check out the Savage base class.
I tried for a long time to get into WotW, and even participated in a 100+ post recruitment, got accepted, only fir the DM to disappear without a gameplay post. I finally got into a game that was in Book 3, but could never really get into the groove. I think not having been there from the start, and some slow posting rates from the DM and team made it hard to get the feel for it.
But actually, I don’t actually find evil that...enticing. I’m all for bending rules, petty larceny, a bit of bruising and bare knuckled fighting but murder and grand designs of conquering for Asmodeus or whoever don’t really appeal. I had a similar problem playing a nature-type in Kingmaker...
So ALLENDM, are you thinking of starting in the Northern, Southern or middle part of Xoth?
1) How long have you played in RPG's?
I had sampled impromptu roleplaying in my teens. I've been playing RPGs since 1999 in college, with occasional breaks of a few months since. My very first proper RPG was a one-off in a Men in Black-type scenario. My first proper campaigns I played in were AD&D and Cyberpunk 2020.
Have played campaigns including:
AD&D
Cyberpunk 2020
Vampire: the Masquerade
MERP
D&D 3.0
D&D 3.5
40k: Rogue Trader
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying 2e
Savage Worlds
Pathfinder
40k: Deathwatch
40k: Black Crusade
40k: Only War
40k: Dark Heresy 1e
D&D 5e
40k: Dark Heresy 2e
A Song of Ice and Fire
Shadow of the Demon Lord
Labyrinth Lord
Starfinder
The One Ring
Pathfinder 2e
40k: Wrath and Glory
Warhammer Fantasy Roleplaying 4e
Old-School Essentials
Swords and Sorcery
2) How long have you played Pathfinder 1st Edition?
Started in 2010 but was only in the odd campaign until I joined the Paizo forums in 2017.
3) How long have you played PBP?
Occasional games over the years. But the vast majority have been on zetaboards from early 2017 then Paizo in late 2017 when those campaigns were moved over.
4) How long have you been on the Paizo PBP forums?
October 2017
5) What is your favorite RPG of all time? (can be more than one)
Ye gods, a tricky question! I have a deep affection for Cyberpunk 2020 (one of the first games I really got into). D&D/PF in its various iterations accounts for a lot of my gaming too.
In the last decade or so, most of my attention in tabletop games has gone towards various Warhammer 40k rpgs. Most noteably: Rogue Trader (sandbox outlandishness), Deathwatch (transhuman supersoldiers), and Dark Heresy (investigation and horror).
6) What is your favorite fantasy novel or series? (can be more than one)
If legends are included, then"The Táin Bó Cúailnge", centre-piece of the eighth-century Ulster cycle of heroic tales and Ireland's take on a great epic.
If not, then The Lord of the Rings.
The Drenai Saga
Hyperion Cantos
Dune
The Hobbit
A Company of Liars by Karen Maitland
Conan
The High Crusade by Poul Anderson
Ian M. Banks
Stone by Robert Adams
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
H.P. Lovecraft
Song of Fire and Ice (though burned out on it since the last book)
7) Who are some of your favorite authors?
I'll list ones not already mentioned.
Fiction: Umberto Eco, George Orwell, William Gibson, Dan Abnett, Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Natsuo Kirino.
Non-fiction: John Gray, Tom Holland, Jared Diamond, Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
8) What are some of your favorite movies or televison series?
Full Metal Jacket, The Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian (the first one), Stargate: SG-1, Battlestar Galactica (the newer one), The Outer Limits, Planet of the Apes, Millennium, Red Dwarf, Blackadder, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Prisoner, The Expanse, Fringe.
9) Have you been a GM of a RPG Game?
Oh yes. Since 2000, with breaks of only a few months since. The first one I ran was a set of Fallout Pen-and-paper rules. These days, I mostly GM 40k rpgs, with some Pathfinder 1e and D&D 5e.
10) Have you been a GM of a PF1E Game?
Yes. But it's a surprisingly recent development. I started running War for the Crown as a tabletop game when I visit friends. I started running D&D in the 3.5 era, skipped 4e, and in the last year ran a session of 5e.
I've run:
Fallout PnP
Cyberpunk 2020
D&D 3.5
40k: Dark Heresy 1e
40k: Rogue Trader
40k: Deathwatch
40k: Dark Heresy 2e
Vampire: the Masquerade (set in CP 2020's Night City)
Pathfinder 1e
D&D 5e
40k: Only War
1) What was your longest running character in Paizo PBP?
Queen Amadeen Irian, Queen of Thorneholme and elf witch, in a Kingmaker campaign. She's still active!
2) What was your favorite Paizo PBP Game you where/are part of?
A very tough call.
I'm loving the Kingmaker campaign and am very fond of Amadeen as a character. Pushes things on, if somewhat reckless and occasionally greedy.
Joy Summers had fantastic character development in a Shadow of the Demon Lord game. A scared changeling teen in hiding slowly came out of her skill and took action against evil forces.
I thoroughly enjoyed playing Garm Dariyal with his Conan-esque background. A deathworld savage taken by Dark Eldar slavers and made to fight in the pits. Campaign started not long after breaking free from the idiot who bought him afterwards.
My sole Xoth character has been a great experience. A scholar from The Kingdom, Patenemheb Sitayet mulls over all sorts of matters, great and small. He would return to Yar-Ammon and change it for the better, once he works out the means and the exact critieria.
3) Post three of your favorite Gameplay posts you made on the Paizo Forum?
1. Wamble Firenze's first gameplay post. He is returning to his home village for his estranged father's funeral, after several years away training in a monastary.
2. Miron Vladimerscu's [url=https://paizo.com/campaigns/RiseOfTheRunelords6qcet/gameplay&page=2#54]first battle in Sandpoint. It demonstrates his calculating yet ethical approach to both speech and combat.
3. Talther Augenlos taking the initiative to help put out a house fire, while his worse-than-useless sergeant watches.
4) Post your worst Gameplay post you made on the Paizo Forum?
My worst posts have either been the ones I didn't make or made very short and description-poor because I was tired and/or distracted.
The post that annoys me the post is this one. It was part of a split party sequence where two groups were making their way through their crippled starship. I forgot to put that post in spoilers and only realised that after the window to edit it went. To this day, it still remains unspoilered despite me asking on Paizo support about it.
5) How many times have you dropped a game as a player? Why?
Technically, none. I have dropped out of recruitments. However, I have come close to dropping out due to frustrating lack of communicaiton or cooperation, then found myself relieved when said games collapsed anyway. In future, I aim to be more pro-active and leave before those points.
6) Have you been a GM of an adventure or a campaign on Paizo PBP Forum?
I briefly took a stint as a GM for the Doomsday Dawn PF2e playtest, which could have gone a lot better. Unfamiliar ruleset and a lot going on in life meant that I posted far too irregularly.
I've recently started a Dark Heresy 2e game which is so far going much more smoothly. It's a system and setting that I'm very familiar with.
7) Have you had to close a game as a GM?
No. I managed to finish my section of Doomsday Dawn but myself the group jointly decided not to carry on after.
1) Do you enjoy playing in PF1E that use house rules, variant rules, and 3PP Stuff?
Yes, though the rules have to make sense to me.
2) What are some red flags for you that will cause you to step away or lose interest in the game?
Pedantry on the part of GM and players, which can be a debateable matter. It tends to indicate more interest to adhering to a mythical "correct" way of playing as opposed to emphasis on creating an enjoyable experience for all involved.
Egotism run rampant. Some GMs and players do not want to hear criticism or differing opinions, and take them as personal attacks.
3) Anything that makes you feel uncomfortable as a player?
I am not keen on explicit sexual intimacy in rpgs. It's not a red line but it's not something I will post myself. Fade to black is fine though.
I have no problem with graphic violence in games so long as it makes sense in context.
Gritty and desperate settings are fine by me.
4) What are your favorite types of characters you like to play?
I like variety in motives and styles. That said, I tend towards very competent characters. I don't generally enjoy playing bumbling fools outside of one-offs. Even my dumb characters tend to be very skilled at *something*, if only bashing someone's head in with an enchanted tree made into a club (actual character).
5) What are three classes you would like to play in this game (include archetypes if you want to use them)?
1. Whichever fits the concept of a nature-linked "shaman" the best: Druid (menhir savant) or Cultist (no idea if archetypes will be relevant)
2. Fighter (Lore Warden (PFSFG version), Martial Master) for a martial savant.
3. Investigator (Empiricist, Natural Philosopher) for a would-be explorer of this strange world.
6) What are three races you are interested in playing from the Player's Guide?
1. Bhangari
2. Susrahnite
3. Taraamite
I am also interested in the Picts.
7) What are you looking for in this game from a story perspective and a gaming perspective?
I am looking for interesting and evocative interactions between party members and with the groups they deal with. That and a sense that a driven and talented group can effect their goals.
8) How much do you know about the World of Xoth?
Quite a lot! I have played in a campaign for a few years. I have purposefully avoided reading the adventures to not spoil myself.
9) Do you enjoy Sword and Sorcery/Dark Fantasy/Low Magic settings?
Yes, yes I do. Not exclusively but it is a refreshing change from more standard fantasy campaigns.
If you have any additional comments that might help me understand you as a player put them in here.
I think that I am quite flexible as a player. I make a point of being open to comments and criticism. I enjoy understanding game mechanics as well as creating character concepts that both speak to me and fit well into their campaigns. Ideally, I get to mesh a compelling character concept with solid mechanics that support their approach, in a campaign where they get to contribute and pursue their goals.
I can be slow to finalise a character for a pbp game. I find creating a character is more time and energy investment than playing them. That said, once created, things flow much more smoothly.
A pet peeve is players consciously or unconsciously being disruptive and then protesting "But I'm only playing my character!". That excuse really annoys me, as both they and the GM should have put in more effort to ensure that the character will fit the campaign.
Life can get in the way and I may not have heads up to post about delays. That said, I usually post daily, and I try to contribute suggestions to other players in discussion where it occurs to me. The idea in my view is for all to enjoy themselves.
How would you stat Aquilonia? I'm curious...The one that is probably the nearest to the Aquilonians is the Nabastissean but a distant close.Loved those shows too.
Great to see the Howard style Picts...
Which one would be Aquilonia?
Lol...I have not thought about that but let me think about it :)
So ALLENDM, are you thinking of starting in the Northern, Southern or middle part of Xoth?
Intentionally I have not thought about as I want us to figure that out as a group in our "session zero" when we develop characters so that it all fits and we can get off to a quick start.
I will have the house rules up and posted by Tuesday night so all interested parties can review them and post questions if they need to.
I have a few more items I need to clean up on it to make it customized to the World of Xoth.
Once the two to three members are selected we can discuss the HR's and if needed make adjustments so it fits our groups gaming needs. I am a big believer in it is "Our" game and not mine.
If anyone is interested in submitting please do so as I am reviewing submissions this week. I realize the HR's are probably one item that a few people will want to review my intent is to get them posted.
Jack
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Thanks for the heads up Jack, If you need any more information from me, Please don't be afraid to ask.
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** spoiler omitted **...
Thanks!