A Mythic, World-Spanning Campaign
Setting: Golarion, Inner Sea Region
Campaign Overview: A new god emerges from the Starstone Cathedral, and his following will shake the current order. Old alliances will crumble, and new will be forged. Four heroes will explore the very nature of divinity itself and what they learn will change them forever. Different paths led them to join the crowd waiting outside the Starstone Cathedral that morning, but destiny will now bind them together.
This is a home-brew campaign, incorporating original material and modified published modules. The beginning follows an adventure-path-style of play, while things will become more freeform as the PCs increase in level. The gods and their faiths and followings will play a pivotal role in the game, and opportunities will abound, especially at higher levels, for the PCs to effect change on a massive scale. Relics and artefacts play a role, as does hunting for such treasures.
Character Creation:
This will be a mythic campaign. While the PCs will not start as mythic, their ascension will likely occur within the first 100 posts, so characters should be designed with their first mythic tier and path included. I don’t mind optimizing, but dislike cheese. As cheese is a subjective quality, I’m happy to work with players on character design, so as to help find common ground.
I am eliminating some of the more basic magic items. (Weapons, armor, shield, cloaks of resistance, stat boosting items). Instead you will get bonuses every level to compensate for not getting these items. This will require a spot on your character sheet keeping a log of what you chose and when. The bonuses come from training and experience, and are therefore not magical, and cannot be dispelled or negated.
At every even level, your character will receive a +1 enhancement bonus to an ability score of your choice. You cannot choose to apply this bonus to the same ability score twice in a row. Ability score raises that come every 4 levels are unchanged from core rules, and therefore are not considered enhancement bonuses. This means that a character could raise his Strength at 4th level per the normal rules, and apply a +1 enhancement bonus to Strength at the same level, for example.
Every level (including first) you can choose from one of the following six categories: melee, ranged, armour, shield, spells, and saves. You will get a +1 bonus to that category every time it is chosen. You can choose any one of the six once every block of 4 levels (1-4, 5-8, 9-12, 13-16, 17-20). So you cannot choose +1 to saves at 3rd and 4th level, but can choose them 4th and 5th level.) And yes, this starts at 1st level.
The six bonus types work as follows:
Melee (enhancement): +1 to attack and damage with manufactured melee weapons, natural attacks, and unarmed strikes. +1 to CMB checks and to CMD. +1 to attack (but not damage) to melee touch attacks (but not those used as part of a spell). For purposes of bypassing damage reduction, any weapon you wield counts as a magical weapon with a straight bonus equal to your melee bonus – 1 (e.g, when you reach a +4 melee bonus, your melee weapons count as +3 (magical) and silver for purposes of overcoming damage reduction, damaging incorporeal creatures, etc.).
Ranged (enhancement): +1 to attack and damage with manufactured ranged weapons. +1 to attack (but not damage) with splash weapons. +1 to attack (but not damage) to range touch attacks (but not those used as part of a spell). For purpose of bypassing damage reduction, these bonuses work the same as the melee bonuses indicated above.
Armour (enhancement): +1 bonus to AC (regular AC, touch AC, and flat-footed AC). You do not have to wear or use armour to receive this bonus.
Shield (enhancement): +1 bonus to AC (regular AC only, not touch AC or flat-footed AC), but only if you are wielding or wearing a shield (or a special weapon like a klarr which provides a shield bonus). A shield spell doesn’t count. Not all characters will make use of this bonus.
Spells (enhancement): +1 to attack and damage with spells. For spells that target multiple creatures independently (magic missile, scorching ray) the damage bonus applies once per spell to one target of the caster’s choice. For spells that affect multiple creatures simultaneously (fireball) the damage bonus applies to all. The damage bonus only applies to spells which deal hit point damage, not ability damage, or spells which do not deal damage at all. Cure spells used to heal are not affected by this bonus (though the attack bonus would apply if it were required), but cure spells used to harm undead creatures would be affected.
Saves (resistance): +1 bonus to all saving throws
Monstrous foes will not be using these rules, but any NPCs with character classes will be. The effects of these rules are to make magic items much rarer and more special, and removes the gear-dependency of higher-level play, while still allowing PCs to deal with the dangerous foes typical encountered at those levels. Scrolls, potions, and wands still exist as normal, and can be purchased at normal prices from temples, mage schools, and hedge doctors. Other types of magic items will be found, quested for, or designed and crafted by the PCs. Only Scribe Scroll, Brew Potion, or Craft Wand will be available as item creation feats—other items will require much more involved and role-played creation methods.
With that out of the way, character creation guidelines are as follows:
20 point buy
Races: core, plus aasimar and tiefling.
Good-aligned only (LG, NG, CG). Good-aligned does not have to be a straight jacket, and it doesn’t mean that your characters are perfect and never do anything bad or wrong. Feel free to make your case for LN or TN, but the other four are right out.
Anything from a Paizo source is allowed, except see below. Please no 3pp, as the power level of this game is already going to be high (though I do have a fondness for the Celestial Commander archetype, so if there’s a 3pp archetype you’d really like to try, please make your case).
No psionics, Occult playtest stuff (except kineticists), guns, or eastern-themed classes (samurai, ninja, etc.)
2 traits (3 with a drawback, so long as the chosen drawback makes sense and is something that will actually come up occasionally) or 1 skill-based feat (either Skill Focus, or ones of the feats that gives +2 bonuses to two skills like Alertness or Acrobatic, but not Cosmopolitan).
Background skills
"Elephant in the Room" Feat Tax System
Characters should hail from the Inner Sea region, Varisia, or northern Garund. Most of the events of the game will transpire around those areas, and the PCs should have a stake in what goes on.
Characters should have some connection in their backstory to one or more of the major Golarion gods. That does not mean that the PCs have to divine spell-casters, or even devout followers, but should have strong feelings one way or another about religion.
I will be taking only four characters, and it would be nice if each followed a different mythic path.
Sweet! Appreciate you bringing me in on this one, bud. And I'm loving the houserules. Pretty cool.
Okay, going to go with a human paladin(tempered champion) of Iomedae. I'm thinking I can get it done during the weekend. We'll see.
Sweet! Appreciate you bringing me in on this one, bud. And I'm loving the houserules. Pretty cool.
Okay, going to go with a human paladin(tempered champion) of Iomedae. I'm thinking I can get it done during the weekend. We'll see.
So will that mean guardian or champion mythic path? Plan your first tier at creation because it’ll happen before the first combat.
Going to go with Guardian.
And will definitely have that ready to roll before we get started.
You know, I'm torn between Aasimar and human. I like human for the extra feat and extra skill but I've never played an Aasimar and I've always wanted to.
Man o man. Decisions decisions. Ugh.
The decision will have massive role-playing consequences, too!
Hee, hee!
Lol! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Man that's just super wrong. :P
Okay, what about starting gold? Half? Max? Roll?
Max gold is fine.
There's a gameplay thread, just so that things will show up in our campaign tabs.
A few character thoughts to help folks with building characters.
This game is a relic hunt coupled with a good versus evil exploration of Golarion's religious pantheon. Assume no events of adventure paths or published modules have happened, unless it's a module I'm using (for example, the campaign starts off outside of Absalom with a heavily-modified run through of Master of the Fallen Fortress). It will have more of a National Treasure/Da Vinci Code feel to it than anything. While it's always good in any campaign for somebody to have face skills, it isn't a game killer if you don't have somebody to knock down DC 40 Diplomacy checks. You'll really want a bookworm type, somebody to keep you alive in the wilderness, and somebody to keep you alive in trap-filled tombs and catacombs. And a meat shield to keep all those folks alive never hurts. It's a great campaign to use a classic wizard, a classic rogue, and a classic cleric.
(Speaking of classic rogue, please go unchained if you're thinking any of those four classes). If we have to jig around with an archetype that was written for the original version, fine by me.
I have tried to run this game a couple of times before, and it just loses momentum when folks start disappearing. One reason I'm going with a smaller group of folks who've been around for a long time.
Ah meat shield. I love me some meat shields. :)
That'll be my guy for sure. Not nearly as meat shieldy as Thordak but pretty good. He'll at least be using a shield this time! :P
I'll have Diplomacy down fairly well but that's about it. Paladins skill points are garbage like a few other classes. Although background skills do help and I do have Know(religion and nobility).
Okay, another dilemma. I'm trying to get Survival, via traits, as a class skill - per Nazard mentioning survival skills would be needed - and also perception.
Not sure I can swing both of them that would both make sense for the pc. Traits have to flat out make sense to me for the character for it to work and that's difficult.
Any thoughts on which might be more vital? I love perception - for obvious reasons - but I'm also thinking Survival might be quite the handy. I can still be 'okay' at Perception without it, but I surely would not be that great at Survival. Although there is some mundane gear out there that helps with that for sure.
Going to go with Aasimar by the way. I figure what the hey. Never played one, I always play humans for the most part - when I'm not playing dwarves that is - so why not give it a go.
Should be interesting.
Perception is more useful than Survival. You’ll spend more time in structures and cities than wilderness in the beginning.
Cool. I was leaning that way more so anyway. That'll work.
Okay, this is the guy I'm going to roll with: Edward
Just fyi, I actually applied with this guy for another game about a couple months ago. The backstory pretty much fit rather well. Just had to tweak a couple of things to get it straight.
And I've still got like 45 gold left so I might spend it on something but not real sure.
His mechanics may not be spot on either but will definitely get it all squared away before we start. I think they are but I always tend to miss something. Or figure I "like something better and go with that" type thing.
No worries Dax. Take care.
Oh yeah, still around. Sorry you can't make this one, bud. That stinks. Would've been cool.
Who else you got for this one, Nazard?
Aebliss (Isabella) is considering it and I put out an email to one of the players who played this game a few years back before it died from player disappearances. I also reached out to one of the players of the other game I’ve been GMing but I don’t think he’s seen the PM. I hate how the newer layout doesn’t automatically show you PMs on the mobile version of the site anymore.
I was thinking Aebliss would be one of them. Here's hoping "Lym" is able to swing it. :)
A crossblooded and Tattooed sorcerer is really tempting. I have always wanted to build towards a Dragon Disciple.
If I were to use the cross blooded archetype could I use the Eldritch Heritage feat to get bloodline abilities beyond when I could get them with the archetype?
My other thought is a druid of some kind. Cause animals are cool.
I am brainstorming ideas
A crossblooded and Tattooed sorcerer is really tempting. I have always wanted to build towards a Dragon Disciple.
If I were to use the cross blooded archetype could I use the Eldritch Heritage feat to get bloodline abilities beyond when I could get them with the archetype?
My other thought is a druid of some kind. Cause animals are cool.
I am brainstorming ideas
Unfortunately, the Eldritch Heritage feat specifically calls out that it can’t be used on a bloodline you already have.
You didn’t ask, but if you want to go with a sorcerer archetype of some kind, feel free to make use of wild blooded alternate bloodlines if they work thematically. I know it breaks the rules, but I don’t see the point in forbidding wildblooded and other archetypes mixing.
Druids and animals are both cool. There will be a lot of indoorness in the game to consider.
Ooooooo a dragon disciple. I've played one of those before. Man he was absolutely cool and fun to play. It was a 17th level game. Unfortunately it didn't last very long but it was fun while it lasted. The funny thing is, I pretty much flat out hate running spellcasters. Now... I have, mind you, but that doesn't mean I like them. But I DO love me some Dragon Disciples. Just a great prestige class. If I do run a spellcaster it's typically a cleric. I tolerate those(because I prefer divine over arcane ultimately) but wizards are just an outright beating.
And animals are also quite cool. I tend to build those guys up more than the pc because I don't want them to die. But what about the pc, you ask? Meh. ;)
And hello, Deaths Adorable Apprentice! I know I've see the name around but that's about it.
Javell, I had a look through Edward’s stats: there are two typos (Fort save and Diplomacy lines), but no miscalculations that I could find.
In addition to backstories, everybody will need to have a reason to be in the plaza outside the Starstone Cathedral at dawn. Everybody in the city knows that somebody went into the Cathedral a week ago to take the Starstone test, and an almost constant vigil has been going on, mostly by citizens who are curious, or who think they’ll see something historic if the new god emerges. Of course others are there to profit from the crowds through means fair and foul. Many of the local churches have sent delegations to be on hand also.
|
I am thinking of playing either the classic cleric or rogue - depending on other party member preferences. I really need to know which before I can flush out the details.
If cleric, I am also thinking of playing an aasimar with Sarenrae as my diety using the Archon-Blooded heritage and building a justice flavored type background.
If rogue, I am thinking of playing a tiefling. Have to figure out a complicated backstory to fit with a good alignment.
Any suggestions/ideas/comments are welcome at this point.
I've NO idea how I got the Fort mistake wrong. Just a flat out typo I guess. *shrugs*
But on the Diplomacy I initially chose Skill focus before changing my mind and just forgot to erase it.
Man those are some good catches. Thanks!
Death’s Apprentice is deciding between a sorcerer and a druid, so that might inform your choice. Still not sure if Aebliss is joining us or not.
You won’t need too complicated of a backstory for a good-aligned tiefling. The infernal/abyssal taint can be several generations back.
Players and characters so far:
Javell (confirmed) playing an Aasimar paladin of Iomedae, a sword and board meat shield, Guardian mythic path
Corwyn42 (confirmed) playing either an aasimar cleric of Saranrae or tiefling rogue
Death's Adorable Apprentice (confirmed) playing either a tattooed crossblooded sorcerer or a druid with pet. Since you responded before Corwyn, I think we're waiting on your choice of character before Corwyn decides.
Aebliss (not yet confirmed as playing)
As this is a restart of a previously-written game (third time's the charm?) I'm ready to go as soon as we have characters.
Here’s the gameplay thread. Nothing there yet, but if you don’t it, the campaign appears in your campaign tab.
I will be going with a Sorcerer. I have always wanted to play a Dragon Disciple and see no reason to pass up the opportunity
I am thinking an orphan and raisied in one of Cayden's orphanages. The three deities that are gonna matter to my little mage are Cayden Cailean, Shelyn, and Pharasma.
I am wanting them to have be at the Cathedral in hopes that they can awaken their clerical abilities. So my little mage does not know they are a arcane magic user and is hoping for some sort of inspiration. But something else awakens
Nazard I have a request. I get a familiar as a Tattooed Sorcerer and I was wondering if I could reflavor some as a cayhound pup? Like a cat sized cayhound and use those stats. I am wanting the cayhound for fluff reasons. Cayden Cailean has a soft spot for cayhounds. I might take improved familiar later on to
I am thinking an Aasimar, and likely the Peri blooded cause I love me some angst. Though they might not know it yet
I will probably have them be from Andoran.
No problem with the cayhound pup familiar at all. You could go with a reflavoured fox (bonus to Reflex save) until you hit level 7.
So it looks like we have an aasimar paladin, an aasimar sorcerer, and an aasimar Druid. I’m detecting a theme here. Now we just need an aasimar rogue or bard to complete the ensemble.
Sorry, I had that a bit backwards. Corwyn is planning an aasimar cleric of Saranrae, not a Druid.
so a few questions for GM and other players. I ask these in any game now.
How do you feel about romance popping up between players or with NPCs? And by that I mean the social stuff. Anything else would be a fade to black kind of thing.
Is there a preference on sexuality or gender? Not all GMs want to deal with such subjects. Preferring that simply stay out of the game. Is it a bigotry that happens in game?
Is bigotry a thing that is likely to happen in game? I have no issue with it as overcoming racism, sexisim, ect can be a fun story element.
Sexuality isn’t a theme of the campaign, so anything along those lines would be peripheral. There’s going to be enough baggage about slavery, race, and religious tolerance to provide a good amount of drama. Racism s a huge element of the campaign and religious tensions will be so high that, if the game goes to completion, the PCs will likely be responsible for the death of at least one god
One of the biggest challenges with PBP, if not the biggest, is keeping momentum and the storyline going, and dramatic detours can put that at risk. That being said, romance between PCs or with an NPC can be fun (with a certain amount of fade to black of course).
In short, I personally don’t care if you want to have a PC who is gay and I can take it into account with NPC interactions when appropriate, but it isn’t a theme I’d expect to explore in the game.
I did not want to make a character who had facets of their personality ignored because that was not an element of play that was wanted. Thus far any games I have played that have flirtatious or romantic elements in them made the game deeper. It can give tethers to people. Strings that can be tugged. And it can ground a character in this world. Relationships are a very real thing in life and I have always preferred having them in games.
And I did not want to pick an orientation a and only face hatred for it. I get enough of that in real life. A little is ok in game but every encounter is grating and I want to avoid that.
I can say I can do the long haul for a good PbP game. One of the games I am in is about 4 years old. And the other is my third module with the game group and I think all of that has been about 4 years.
The only reassurance I can give is that I would do my best to be organic with it. I would be leery of just slapping homophobia into the story for the sake of having it.
I’m having trouble parsing your post (I blame toneless communication of online text) to figure out if you were okay with my response or if you were looking for something more.
Your good. My brain is kind of all over the place today. Sorry if I was confusing.
Other question.
I assume you meant the broken feat and that the Cosmopolitan trait is ok? Cause I would love to pick up Linguistics as a class skill so I can be social with as many peoples in as many languages as possible!
Your good. My brain is kind of all over the place today. Sorry if I was confusing.
Other question.
I assume you meant the broken feat and that the Cosmopolitan trait is ok? Cause I would love to pick up Linguistics as a class skill so I can be social with as many peoples in as many languages as possible!
I give players the option of taking two traits like normal, or 1 skill feat like skill focus or one of the ones that gives +2/4 to two skills. Then I say that that free feat can’t be Cosmopolitan because Cosmopolitan is a skill feat but is more powerful than the others. You can still take Cosmopolitan as your regular level 1 feat.
The Cosmopolitan trait is totally fine. If you want to do stuff with languages, most player guides offer suggestions, so good ones for this game are Celestial, Infernal, Azlanti, Varisian, and Elvish.
As for the previous topic, I was going to pick my daughter up and had a “Well, duh” moment on how I can use that aspect of your character for a good story element after all.
Oh and you mentioned the whole crafting thing not being something that is normal. So like the commonly selected Craft Wounderous Items feat. So are the mythic crafting abilites to be avoided? Simply curious as I am working on my character sheet. And I recall from the Mythic games I have run those are pretty awesome and very cheesy abilites.
And do you have any issue with the Legendary Item universal path ability?
Legendary item is extremely fine and very thematic.
Crafting can still happen in this alternate Golarion but it’s different. Crafting scrolls, potions/oils, and wands is like normal, but all other items the crafting becomes part of the story. There aren’t warehouses of third level wizards churning out piles of +1 swords because there aren’t +1 swords. Crafting a shocking sword isn’t a matter of going down into the basement, spending some gold for undisclosed components and walking out with a shocking sword, it will involve reforging the sword in a furnace with burning blue dragon scales that you quested for then strapping the sword to the mast of a ship you have sail directly into a storm while you chant ancient rotes as lightning strikes the blade three times, or something to that effect. As such, you don’t need to take feats for crafting because it will be a side quest. I will of course drop treasure and I try not to be a jerk and drop magical rapiers for a party without rapier wielders, except in the world, magic items can be traded and bartered, so if you get a flaming rapier and really want a flaming longbow, you use Diplomacy or Knowledge Local to get a line on somebody with a flaming longbow, and propose a trade, but then he agrees to it if you can also help out his cousin who needs a restoration spell and his niece who really wants a necklace of firedrops that you can trade those gaudy topaz earrings for...
I haven’t checked out the mythic crafting rules but if you say they’re cheesy, I trust that.
Also, look above since I edited my previous post while you were posting.
Universal ability
Mythic Craft (Ex)
When you use the Craft skill to create an item, you double the progress each check provides. In addition, you can make an item masterwork simply by paying for the cost, and don’t need to increase the time to create the item or attempt additional checks. Add your tier to any skill checks associated with making magic items.
I love the combining items aspect but the double works and that aspect, while I love it, feel very cheesey to me.
Most of the mythic crafting stuff is all about reducing time in one way or the other.
And the Legendary item is probably my favorite and I just have to figure out an item.
---
My i ask which aspect of the character you are talking about for the fun story element?
O am planning to have them be pansexual and flirt with most people. Not necessarily to always have a fun evening with someone in a faded out instance but as a way to socialize and make people smile.
The goal is to be charming but I am awkward and they will likely be rather awkward. So I am going to try to lean into the high charisma as an awkward kind of charming.
I am very much wanting to make a kind hearted marshmallow to start off with. What happens from there is in the air.
As with basic crafting, the combining magic items is something we can deal with on a case by case basis, and won’t need a special feat or mythic ability to use. Just know that crafting will be rare and special and will only happen a handful of times, so I don’t want PCs to have to give up fun abilities just so they can make a cool amulet twice. If your PC wants to craft a cool item for themselves or another PC, we can figure it out side-quest style and ways to involve the other characters, too.
A pansexual flirt with everybody wasn’t where I thought you were going at all: that will create zero problems. I thought you were planning to make a homosexual character and I I realized that there are several recurring NPCs I could use to explore that aspect of your character. After all, unless your guy was planning on seducing the head Elk of the local Erastil temple, Golarion is a fairly open-minded planet sexually. Arshea: need I say more?
Still could use whatever you were planning as all genders are a possible option for my little mage. Explore away!
So I have a mechanical question, more like a request. I do not particularly care for my racial spell like ability. And the Aasimar have a lovely chart that lets you roll for random other abilities. Can I roll on that random chart to see if I get something fun?
Still could use whatever you were planning as all genders are a possible option for my little mage. Explore away!
So I have a mechanical question, more like a request. I do not particularly care for my racial spell like ability. And the Aasimar have a lovely chart that lets you roll for random other abilities. Can I roll on that random chart to see if I get something fun?
Roll twice and choose. If you don’t like those you can gamble on my roll.
You gain fire resistance 5.
You feel sick to your stomach and take a –1 penalty on ability checks when within 30 feet of an evil outsider.
I will take the fire resistance
That will come in handy.