Sample/Recent Post: When his terms are agreed to, Ang Ban Dongar is efficient and cooperative, stowing the documents in a leather pouch tied around his waste that he refers to as "the royal records department". He always keeps a distance between himself and all but Lady Lyra and her only to allow her do the operation. He also follows along carefully in the construction process, being certain the mechanical foot can be detached effectively if he so desires. Still the process takes much of the days and being near such a beast is awe inspiring, a little frightening and a bit just weird (you can feel that he thinks of you as food despite being willing to bargain).
Still, he gives detailed advice on reaching Oomsatta territory, about the organization of the Oomsatta and about ways to navigate the entire area. The Oomsatta, supposedly, have ten villages total, two of which are large (~300-400) and the other smallish(~100 people). He shakes loose a shower of iron feathers from his body, saying these mark one who follows the Compact between man and dragon and you should attach them to your clothing as the Oomsatta do. The compact was made years ago when Oomsatta came down from the hills and he mentions that both dragons and Oomsatta are "children of the earth" (unlike ordinary humans and he knows not of whatever your kind is). The Oomsatta camp/villages is apparently a somewhat cosmopolitan place - traders from the Kind Lands and the Free Lands often pass through and a number stay to escape the kindness or the freedom of their lands. Some of the small peoples such Arlo or Paritosh can be found there, especially in one village (he doesn't know the name).
Ang notes, "As mentioned in the document, my land extends to twenty five miles around the peak Skyorn, where you are now. Unfortunately, interlopers, both bear and dragon, have been violating these valid and established borders and I cannot guarantee your safety or accompany you past fifteen miles from great Skyorn. Move carefully, since it is winter and the dumb beasts are eager for the hunt."
He shows you a buried stone building to sleep in that night and goes someplace to sleep himself after that. In the morning, you head out and Ang indeed accompanies you fifteen miles beyond Skyorn. With Arlo and Paritosh scouting, you move quickly and carefully. However, at the twenty five mile mark, your begin to feel some beasts are stalking you. Deciding to force the matter, you take a rout that would require any following you to come into view. Thus you reach a ridge and behind you two large, dire-sized (ten feet high) white-coated cats emerge 50 feet away. In shape they are like American mountain lions. They were stalking and just beginning to charge. See map.
Description: In a multiverse based on the Planescape setting, using PF1 rules plus custom “caper”/world-building rules, you will be an agent of an ad-hoc group of wizards, priests and occultist aiming to stop plane-destroying effects, unleashed by various mysterious forces. Your employers are sophisticated interdimensional operators who understand many kinds types of magics and technologies operating on a variety of planes (with their own personal agendas too? Of course!). The operation still resembles a group of gentlemen adventurers than a true bureaucracy and you will operate as part of a cell of adventurer, the cell making its own choices on the ground, though guided by your mentors/handlers.
The Party is currently aiming to reach the city of Syranix. Impersonating a group of noble amateur athletes to get close to an old family and steal and destroy a Lich’s phylactery.
Style: This campaign began as an effort to use some ideas from the Blades In The Dark system. I am creating/evolving an approach of investigators who make their choices and add their own narrative. This is still a work in progress. At this point, it mostly involves me outlining a situation and anyone can make a choice for the group (within reason but still). A lot of the initial thread following action involves; narrate what you do, maybe add a little improvised detail about the situation or world, and roll a skill (standard Pathfinder skills). It gets more defined as each character’s threads get more developed. The campaign has gone on for eleven months and nearly 2000 posts, so you can read the approach.
Group: We currently have a pseudodragon rogue, a damphir sorcerer, and dwarf paladin. Given the campaign, every character should sort of expect to be something like a "skill monkey" as well as social character (or be prepared to role play slightly awkward). Sports, Gaming and noble-intrigue are themes for the current world (the last was dragons).
Inspirations: The Black Company series (especially Shadow Linger) by Glen Cooke, Nightwatch/Daywatch Sergie Lukyanenko, The Elder Isle series and other works by Jack Vance, The Dark Tower by Stephen King, The War Hound and The World’s Pain by Michael Moorecook and a number of others. The Earthsea Series by Ursula LeGuin (especially the later books).
Campaign Parameters:
Start 10th Level, standard character wealth for magic item buying. 25 point buy. No dumping wisdom, intelligence or charisma below 9. Don’t maximize for initiative (I’m doing ad-hoc initiative for speed – party-goes, monsters go, repeat). Alignments between lawful-good and neutral. Standard wealth by Core Rule Book. All Paizo books allowed, third party books might be OK but only psionics or hi-tech or other classes/races not duplicating things in Paizo books. Magic users probably shouldn’t lean on teleport/dimension door since it’s hard to handle in play-by-post.
Campaign Traits (choose at least one of these and one standard trait):
Interplanar Travelers(s); knowledge planes is a class skill.
Minor magic awareness; Can cast detect magic once per day as a spell-like ability and spellcraft is class skill.
Minor technological knowledge; Can use knowledge engineering to determine the principles powering a given technological device. If you are trained in knowledge history, you can use it determine the sort of society which would produce such a device. You may make a Wisdom check to determine how to activate a given device (this does not imbue the character with any skills in the use of the device. It doesn’t teach to use firearms or welding machines, etc).
What's the post rate? One post per day on week days (Mon-Friday, roughly), post when you can on weekends. If your character is absent during combat on a week day, I may act for you. If you vanish, your character might become a regular NPC. Bonus points if you tell me your situation.
Posting approach: Most of the time, anyone can start posting after I’ve posted (In melee, anyone can take act first once I give the go-head, just don’t act twice – fair warning, this may initiative-feats less valuable). To a reasonable extent, you can post actions for the entire party takes part (we enter the room). Don’t be shy. Always be thinking about how you can post to move forward the action – and feel free to send me suggestions on that as well (I’ll required saving throw levels, AC the monster hits + potential damage etc. You will too).
Learn the standard narrative style – write in the third person present tense, etc. Don’t just name a game mechanic, don’t just narrate what you are doing, combine the two. Don't ask whether you can roll a skill, just roll it. I encourage everyone to improvise little pieces of plot as we go along (but exactly how much you do that is up to you, since it’s fairly personal, each continuing player has their own style here). Still, we are creating are creating a story together. I hope to find people excited to help shape this world. I like to move actions quickly and give the group suggestions. Feel free to push back if things seem to fast for you, you don’t like a suggestion or for any other reasons. I try to be very open to constructive criticism (obviously there are limits). Did I mention “work in progress”? It is a continuing work, with stuff happening, however.
Applying: Describe your character concept and give an example of something you’d improvise in the process of acting in the world. (see above for allowed classes etc). I’ll answer questions and ask questions and then show me a character sheet. I will decide after three days, longer if there aren’t enough applications. This is a somewhat demanding campaign so if you are busy or already are in many campaigns, think if you can make the added commitment. I try put some effort into my narrative, plot development and world-concept. I'm looking for one more players who that appeals to.