GM Rat Sass's Carrion Crown

Game Master Governayle

Note to Self
Note to Players
Good Guide to Advanced PbP

Carrion Crown Players' Guide

Ravengro Legend:

A- Town Square
B- Posting Poles
C- The Laughing Demon
D- Town Hall
E- The Temple of Pharasma
F- General Store
G- Forge
H- Jominda's Apothecary
I- Jail
J- The Silk Purse
K- The Outward Inn
L- The Unfurling Scroll
N- The Lorrimor Place

RAI v RAW:

As a rule, I play the rules as intended rather than strictly as written. There will be exceptions of course and we can’t always tell what RAI is supposed to be. More importantly I may change a rule now and again for the story. The story is what is important - the story the players and I are writing together. If that story conflicts with a rule now and then I’m likely to ignore or modify the rule for that instance. However, the rules are there so we all know what to expect out of the environment so it will not happen with any frequency.

Character Creation Guidelines:

You will start at first level and will gain levels at appropriate intervals throughout the AP. Please create your character following the standard Pathfinder point buy system, using a 20 point buy. Hit Points shall be determined in Pathfinder Society style - maximum at first level, average +1 for all subsequent levels (so Fighters start with 10, and gain 6 at each level for example). We are also using Background Skills.

You’ll start with 200gp and three traits (link), one of which must be chosen from the campaign list. Remember, you may only have one trait per category. You may also have a Drawback if you wish, but it does not give you an additional trait, so I don’t expect any but the most adventurous to choose one.

We’re not using Mythic, variant multi-classing rules, or any third party rules such as Gestalt or Spheres of Power. No characters of Evil Alignment, please. No Gunslingers or other ‘tech’ themes. Please, no Summoners or very unbalanced builds. You should build well, but someone who’s only good at one thing, will spend a lot of time waiting as the others play. Also, try to limit your Race to the Core Book. If you make a good case for Race outside of the Core Book, I'll consider it.

Write a description of your outward appearance. Also write a detailed background that tells me something about yourself. Speak about your recent past, future goals you may have, one or two people you may know, and a memory of something in your past that is important to you. The detailed background need not be long. 4-5 short paragraphs are sufficient in most cases.

You are beginning in Ravengro, in the land of Ustalav. Depending on your character choices, you can be as ignorant or knowledgeable of this land as you'd like to be.

For more information please see the Campaign tab. There is a lot of useful stuff in there on what I’m planning in terms of tone, some discussion of die rolling, etiquette, crafting, and more. It might help to answer some questions you may have and is an important read for the campaign.

Also, let's try and keep our storytelling reader-friendly, in case we have folks outside the campaign visit our storytelling endeavor.

Game Master and Player Commitment:

As the GM I will post at least twice a day (likely a lot more). I also expect players to post at least daily. If you are going to use abilities that interrupt the action (i.e. the feat Step Up), be prepared to post even more often. Those players who do post more often (within reason now, let's not get carried away) will likely be more prominent in the campaign.

There will of course be exceptions caused by real life, but I will not hesitate to let your character get “left behind” or “lost” and “found” later if necessary - what occurs in the meantime will vary depending on the player’s attitude and consideration for others. If you know you are going to be gone, just let me know and we'll work around it.

If your character is absent during combat and you're holding us up, I will Delay your action, or chose an appropriate action for you - whatever seems to make the most sense. I will always try to leave plenty of time for folks to catch up - I know we all have other responsibilities.

Combat and Dice Rolling:

Initiative
When combat begins I will roll initiative for all combatants including PC's. Actions will be resolved in order. Players are encouraged to post ahead of time (including options if you'd like). If a player has posted before their initiative and things change before their actual initiative comes up, they are free to change their action with a new post.

Attack modifiers
PC's should modify their die rolls as appropriate for cover, shooting into melee, flanking, attacking from prone, etc. While being prone is technically an AC modifier, feel free to calculate it in as long as you advise me. Make sure you note the modifications please.

Format for Posts 
You should post the round, your initiative, and your location as well as any movement during the round. Please also post your current status near the top of your post. Your status should include your current/max HP, any equipped weapons, current conditions, and any other pertinent topical information (like the spells you have memorized for instance). Please use spoilers for things that would scroll long (like your current status). Example

Dice rolling
Dice rolling is done via the message board dice roller (see BBCode tags below the text box when you post). Feel free to roll dice for a skill, attack, etc, anytime you think is appropriate. I appreciate it if you explain any situational modifiers that alter what the roll would be from your profile. Including at least situational modifiers keeps things like cover from being counted twice or not at all. If there are any questions, my rulings are binding so please be clear.

End of turn
Once you post and your initiative passes, your turn is done. A friend of mine says, "I play the villians perfectly and I expect you to play your characters perfectly." You have one chance to be perfect, please be careful. There is no going back - things are slow enough with Play by Post, I will not slow it further by covering the same ground twice.

Etiquette:

Please be active
Please plan on posting at least once a day if not more. If you have abilities that interrupt combat (like Step-up) plan on posting even more often.

Play your character
Have fun! Enjoy your creation. Listen to the advice of others, but do what you want. However, be sure to play your character as built. The 8 Intelligence fighter should probably not be figuring out the puzzles. The 7 Charisma dwarf should not be the lead diplomat. Feel free to assist (especially out of character), but remember who your PC is.

Play your own character
It's fine to make general requests, ask for a flank, suggest a tactic, beg for healing, but refrain from "Next turn you should cast bless, pull out your mace, and take a 5' step to the north to give me a flank." Just because the PC is an ignorant clueless snob doesn't mean the player is. Their motivations might not be the same as yours. They might not care at all about the law and/or the greater good.

Don't play NPC's or other characters
You control only your own actions. You might think your diplomacy roll of 20 will make the lady swoon, but maybe it won't. There are things going on behind the scenes and I will not reveal all of it. NPC's lie. I know this might be a shocker, but it's true. I will be honest with you as the GM, but NPC's might actually deceive you.

Try to advance the action
PbP is slower than desktop gaming and as such you should be active with nearly every post. Before pressing submit, consider whether or not your character is actually doing anything in your post. If not, you may want to reconsider. Naturally role play is doing something as surely as any action.

Cheating
There are no real world rewards or prizes for winning. I'd much prefer to stab you in the heart with my sharp wit then kill you with a dragon. If your character dies, then they have more character. They'll make it back to the world somehow if you want them to, or we can try something new. If you're not having fun, don't cheat to fix it. Talk to me.

Experience and Leveling:

I am not tracking Experience Points. The AP gives clear enough indications of where you should be, level-wise, and I'll adjust the pacing accordingly. I'll announce when you've Leveled on the Gameplay Thread, and you'll Level Up your stats on the Discussion Thread, where I'll review your choices.

Magic and Mundane Crafting:

To encourage Crafting we will speed up the time it takes to accomplish basic tasks. Where it says 'week' substitute 'day' so all mundane crafting is done 7x faster than the standard rules.

When Scribing Scrolls or Brewing Potions there is text that requires that the creator must have prepared the spell and that the spell is used when the creation process is finished. I will not enforce those rules in this campaign. You still need to use the spell components as normal, but you do not need to memorize the spell and you do not lose the slot when the item is made. This is to encourage the manufacture of these minor magics with as little inconvenience as possible.

As for crafting more complex magics the usual rules apply. I do allow for fast crafting as per the standard rules. That means an item can be made twice as fast by making it more difficult to craft (+5 DC for 2,000gp/day total).

Hero Point Rules:

We will be using Hero Points with the following details/changes:

There are no Group Service Hero Points to be gained. You may not use Hero Points for Special Attempts. There are no Hero Points for GMs and no Antiheroes.