Submissions:
Grigore Denusu: Human Inquisitor (Royal Accuser)
Asrat: Human Rogue
Ryzel Cain: Half-elf Urban Ranger
Bolkvar Stonebeam: Dwarven Invulnerable Rager Barbarian
Dots/Interested:
Robert Henry
BlackoCatto Interested in a psychic sorcerer
Delmoth
Mythicman19
Dr.Kekyll
@Doublegold I hope you read along as we go and see how well our mathematical formulation works out.
@JenkinsMyMan good catch and thanks for being honest. I typically do a light scan at the crunch while making selections. I focus on the select questions that I asked for in the character creation, and the history of writing.
@Robert Henry The shadow that is shown is non-specific on the trait, I am totally cool with allowing it to combo with Umbral Unmasking’s monstrous shadow. I like the “this is not hard to observe – but uncommon to notice.” Very eerie and something you would see in a movie with a demonically possessed person. I like it.
Mythicman19 Jump on in and let’s see what you’ve got!
I am okay with the Flame Dancer Archetype. I will say that there is a big “The Mist” feel to this AP, and the Song of the Fiery Gaze ability would not cut through that kind of mist.
@Dien Ahh, I see it now. Thank you for pointing it out. I figured I was missing it somewhere.
Always wanted to play through this. I was running a game that unfortunately didn’t get past book one.
With my prior knowledge known, I still think I’m going to give this a shot, as it’s been a while since I read any of it.
As far as actually insane characters, is that a problem, story wise? I think I remember one of the goals being to get your sanity/memories back, is that true? Thinking an insane worshipper of Groetus, having accepted the world will end sooner rather than later. Maybe was connected to the God in a vision, that showed how the world will end and it fractured his mind.
Some divine caster, maybe cleric? Unsure.
Yep, I do plan to read along, cause I'm curios to see how characters with 15 point buy, a drawback, and gold deprived at start will survive with insanity rules added. It's like pitting a bunch of level 5 characters against a CR 8 or 9 monster, I'm curious.
I, for one, love the challenge and feel of these kinds of games. It’s like the old Cthulhu rpg, you don’t expect to die, but you’re most certainly not coming out of this the same person you were before.
I have faith that he can run this in a fun manner, and even if he misses the mark it’s not too hard to just undo something or change some rules. It’ll be fine!
I'm in the process of creating a Halfling Oracle. Would the Shadow Mystery be acceptable? The player's guide recommended Dark Tapestry, but I generally prefer the feel of the Shadow Mystery.
The player's guide also recommended the psychic searcher archetype, which looks promising.
Finally, looking at Oracle Curses, I would be interested to play a Deaf character. I would ideally like to be able to communicate with the rest of the party, albeit with some challenges. If I were to take this, what (if anything would I need to invest) to be able to mechanically do the following:
That is, would I need to invest a rank in Linguistics to be able to do one or both of these? Or could I take one of these as a language known to start? Or would you grant one or the other outright? (Halflings with a sufficiently high intelligence score can natively select from Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, and Goblin, but I would vouch for being able to replace this with some kind of learned linguistic facility.)
All finished up and ready to go. also here is the appearance as well. I've also added some full equipment on the profile that is relevant to the info below.
Yep, I do plan to read along, cause I'm curios to see how characters with 15 point buy, a drawback, and gold deprived at start will survive with insanity rules added. It's like pitting a bunch of level 5 characters against a CR 8 or 9 monster, I'm curious.
Having run books 1-3 with even more restrictive build rules (15 pt, no full casters) I think they'll do fine.
That said (and I'm trying to avoid spoilers here) like many APs some encounters are tougher than others (one in book 2 in particular) and 15pt vs 20pt isn't going to make a big difference there IMO at least.
Yep, I do plan to read along, cause I'm curios to see how characters with 15 point buy, a drawback, and gold deprived at start will survive with insanity rules added. It's like pitting a bunch of level 5 characters against a CR 8 or 9 monster, I'm curious.
(1) 15pt buy is not that big of a deal. Especially if you are SAD. For example...let's take a human unchained rogue.
Str (12) Dex (17) Con (14) Int (8) Wis (14) Cha (8)
That's not bad. Not bad at all. Could it have been Dex18 with a 20pt buy? Sure. But so long as you only need 1 strong stat, then 15pt buy is very doable. The only real issue is when you need every stat to be good, like with monks.
Then throw in HP, Skill and racial FCB. That can very easily make up for low-ish stats. Using my submission as an example. Come lvl2+ he'll be a barbarian. With Con14. I would have liked for him to have Con16. But with these rules, he gets +1 HP and +1 rage round per level, which is almost as good as +2 Con. And getting +1 skill point per level is almost as good as +2 Int.
So all in all? Yes, a 20pt buy would have been better. But it's not as tough as you seem to be making it.
(2) Drawback.
This is again, as much of a drawback as you make it. Or the GM makes it. For the most part they are pretty fluffy, especially for a campaign like this. Plus, the campaign traits for this AP are really good. Some of them are worth 2 regular traits. So having a drawback is pretty fair.
(3) Deprived of gold.
And? We were told to spend our gold, down to the lost copper. Not hard for about 100 gold. And very few APs leave you naked for long. Even Skulls and Shackles. Heck, once you reach lvl 2, it won't matter what gold you started with.
(4) Insanity rules
That is just part of the AP. Complaining about that is like complaining that Giantslayer makes you fight giants.
(5) Dude...
It's pretty passive aggressive to come back to a recruitment you bowed out of with the same complaints. You made your point by walking away. Bringing it up again doesn't help.
I keep updating this list as we go. Once there is a character sheet and everything is finalize I bump it from dot/interested to submissions.
Submissions:
Grigore Denusu: Human Inquisitor (Royal Accuser)
Asrat: Human Rogue
Ryzel Cain: Half-elf Urban Ranger
Bolkvar Stonebeam: Dwarven Invulnerable Rager Barbarian
Nercelia Damosil: Elf Psychic Sorcerer
Dots/Interested:
Robert Henry Witch Insanity Patron
Delmoth
Mythicman19
Dr.Kekyll
bigrig107 divine caster maybe cleric
polyfrequencies: Halfing Oracle Shadow Mystery
@polyfrequencies Let me look over Shadow Mystery and I will get back to you on it. Just so I can have an idea of where you are going with it, which revelations were you leaning towards? And I know those can change over time based on character development and need in the game. Just curious which ones drew your attention.
I know sign language isn’t a language listen on the Pathfinder SRD, but I would say that it could be taken as a bonus language or gaining it via a linguistic rank.
Any PC may learn to read lips with a rank in Linguistics as if they had learned a new language. When reading the lips of a speaking creature within 10 feet in normal lighting conditions, the reader need not make any skill checks. In situations of dim lighting, extreme distances, or to read the lips of someone trying to hide their words from the reader, the reader must make Perception checks (DC determined by the GM based on the situation). A lip reader may only understand spoken words in a language it knows.
@Nercelia Damosil Looking at your character sheet I see it says GP:5.3 is that gold pieces? If so, I ask if you spend all of your coinage. Your drawback, Paranoid, how is this going to impact your RP and how Nercelia will interact with the world? Also, your phobia of churches/temples. Where did this start, what happened?
I asked a question with my dot, I can understand how it got mixed up. I haven’t read past the first book, and don’t really even remember the end of the first one.
How detrimental is an almost-insane character, even pre-memory loss? Was thinking that he was probably already close to being insane before he lost his memory and woke up, and the strange visions and dreams of a moon smashing into a planet didn’t help.
That limitation is no problem for me. Are you okay with me stacking the two flame archetypes (Flamesinger/Flame dancer) and going all in on the theme? If not, Flamesinger is actually the one I think I'm more interested in.
I would most likely start with Pierce the Shadows and then progress to Dark Secrets, Shadow Mastery, Winds of Darkness, and Shadow Projection (but not necessarily in that order). I'm not particularly interested in the summoning of Army of Darkness.
I saw the spoilered bit on lip reading on d20pfsrd, but since that isn't Paizo official I figured I would ask for clarification. So presumably if I had a starting 12 Intelligence and took a rank in Linguistics, I could start with Common, Halfling, lip reading, and a sign language common in the area.
Thanks.
I think the author of one of those archetypes (maybe both, I can't remember) stated that they were intended to stack.
Yeah, they stack RAW, but I'm not sure how the GM feels about it given the case by case access to archetypes not in the APG and other restrictions, so I want to be sure. Flamesinger is from Elemental Master's Handbook.
@Mr Clint
I have not figured out what would be good to spend it on yet. She has 5 GP and 3 SP left to buy trinkets and gear.
Str (12) Dex (17) Con (14) Int (8) Wis (14) Cha (8) (that example)
That is 15 point buy and looks good, I just didn't think about stat dropping cause most DMs running an AP don't like it.
Sanity is part of the AP? Then how would that work if the DM was only running the sanctioned parts of the AP with actual PFS characters, since the adventure can be run that way? I thought Sanity wasn't PFS legal, or is sanity only part of the AP when run in AP form? I'm still not clear on how Sanity damage is cured other than spending time, cause even if you pass all your saves you still take sanity damage. Dedicated Cleric?
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It’s fine if this game isn’t for you, you don’t need to keep talking about how hard or unfun you think it’ll be.
I, for one, am excited about the challenge of a ‘harder’ 15 point buy with the insanity rules. Doesn’t have to appeal to everyone, and in fact probably won’t.
If you’re not interested, just move on.
Not for me, but I do have questions about it, and still tend to follow along. It's also hard for me not to compare it to PFS because it can award PFS credit.
I'm hoping I'll learn something by watching this.
I will say that I didn't go with my original idea for a character (hungry monk) based on the 15pt buy. Monks just really struggle to build with low points, and in general I have a fondness for MAD classes, so if it was totally up to my preferences, I'd probably go 20 pt buy. But hey, that's why I didn't submit the monk. :)
Excited to see a lot of the submissions here!
Um, what are SAD and MAD classes people keep mentioning? It have anything to do with their BAB(Base attack bonus)?
Single ability depenedent and multiple ability dependent. Classes that need fewer ability scores to be high as opposed to those that need several to be high to be optimized,
SAD- Wizards, Sorcerors, Caster clerics.
MAD- Monks, Fighters, etc
Submissions:
Grigore Denusu: Human Inquisitor (Royal Accuser)
Asrat: Human Rogue
Ryzel Cain: Half-elf Urban Ranger
Bolkvar Stonebeam: Dwarven Invulnerable Rager Barbarian
Nercelia Damosil: Elf Psychic Sorcerer
Dots/Interested:
Robert Henry Witch Insanity Patron
Delmoth
Mythicman19
Dr.Kekyll
bigrig107 divine caster maybe cleric
polyfrequencies: Halfing Oracle Shadow Mystery
@Bigrig107: I am sorry about that. The questions was As far as actually insane characters, is that a problem, story wise? To be fully transparent, I have not read through all of the modules of this AP. Yet.
That being said I would be more interested in what caused the insanity. Is it a chemical imbalance in the brain that has caused the PC to be mentally unstable, then I don’t think they would be any different even when they lost their memory.
BUT, the fun character progression could be if they had a mental break with reality due to something that has happened in the past. Say a victim or someone who experienced/witnessed a horrific event. Once they lost their memory, I don’t exactly think those “ghost of the past” would still haunt them per say. And as they regained their memory I think it could be a cool character story progression that they maybe coped with the situation better because they had a better support system with them. AKA the party.
Just spit ballin there.
@Dr. Kekyll: Flamesinger and Flame Dancer aye? Do we have a little firebug on our hands? I actually didn’t see the Flamesinger on the SRD at first that’s why I didn’t say anything about it. That Wildfire speed boost is really cool. Going down the Dodge/Mobility/Spring Attack avenue? I think I would be okay with it. Giving up the mainstay of the bard class, but you get a cool 1d4 fire damage on attacks.
@Polyfrequencies: Correct, you could take the rank or the extra INT for the Sign Language.
@Nercelia Damosil: Spend it on random adventuring gear/trinkets. You never know what you might need when.
@Dein: Oh come on, go bold and make that monk! The think I love about the slower paced PBP is that it is indeed more about the RP. Monks are cool classes.
I am also excited about the number of submissions I have seen here.
If I have overlooked a question or a submission, please give me a friendly reminder and point me in the right direction. I would not intentionally overlook or exclude a question or a PC.
@DoubleGold: I appreciate the interest you have in what is going on. But since you have pulled back from submitting a character, I ask if you would refrain from commenting or having a discussion via the recruitment thread. It bogs down the main point of this thread, and you could always send anyone a PM for any further non-recruitment submission conversations. Thank you!
I have managed to get wealth down to only 5 copper coins, near nothing.
Well if I go through with the dwarf cleric of Groetus idea I have running around, he probably had some sort of vision of the moon when it is prophesized to smash into the Material Plane and end all life on it.
Seeing the end of all life as he knows it as they are obliterated and consumed in preparation for the beginning of a new reality tends to have a small effect on your mental state.
Probably going to include some general connection to the insane mind of Groetus himself, as coming in contact with something so alien and insane would definitely scramble any of our brains. Seeing such a powerful force enact its might has made him revere its awesome power, and worship it as the means to a glorious renewal.
Delmoth here with my submission, sweet Ermengarde.
Up front, I’m running this AP. However I find that you always run the game you want to play, so here we are.
Sample 1, from the 1st Strange Aeons game she was accepted to
Sample 2, from the Wrath of the Righteous game I’m currently in.
Sample 3, GM post for Planescape game I’m running
I only need to finalize Ethyl's equipment. Likely spending it on crafting materials for some alchemical items.
@Dien: Oh come on, go bold and make that monk! The think I love about the slower paced PBP is that it is indeed more about the RP. Monks are cool classes.
Haha, well now I've already submitted my ranger, though. And I do like my ranger too!
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Does Dr. Ermengarde also like Goosebumps books? ;)
Lol, I must admit I had forgotten about that meme. And that I didn't come up with the name.
I wish more pbp went with 15 point buys.
Nothing major. But I adjusted the hair color in the artwork for Grigore.
What I had and now.
Nothing major. But I adjusted the hair color in the artwork for Grigore.
What I had and now.
Pretty cool. Nice touch
Thank you! The original artwork also has red accents and not blue but I wanted him to match Kelinahat's colors.
So down to gear, a question, will we have access to all of our equipment from the get go, or is some of it in storage to be returned later? If not what sort of stuff would we have access to: Weapons, toys, instruments, supplies, clothing?
Also If I understand the setting, we will start in some kind of sanitarium. Will we be dressed in our regular clothing or will they provide the proper attire?
I picture Lea running around barefoot in clothing one would see in a ward and an untied straightjacket. I just want to know if that will come out of her budget or if it will be supplied by the institution.
Oh, also languages, as an elf with an int of 18 there are several languages available to her. One of which is not yithian, do you mind if she spends a skill in linguistics to know yithian? It would be silly for her to believe she might be yithian if she in fact cannot speak the language.
I have managed to get wealth down to only 5 copper coins, near nothing.
Time to purchase some candles! Or maybe a basic tattoo.
I have managed to get wealth down to only 5 copper coins, near nothing.
Don't underestimate earplugs. 3 cp.
I have managed to get wealth down to only 5 copper coins, near nothing.Don't underestimate earplugs. 3 cp.
Sounds like a good one.
Btw, don't what my bonus language should be yet.
It's crazy to think we have another week before decisions are made!
@Nercelia Damosil You could always hold off and decide after the team had been picked. But that might seem a tad metagamey. So, let’s look at the options, right? Celestial, Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Sylvan. Hokay. Well, as an elf, sylvan and orc are always flavorful. Personally, I love taking gnoll. I just think they’re neat. But with Nercelia’s likes and dislikes wouldn’t celestial be pretty on point? I don’t know how often it would come up in this campaign but still.
Submissions:
Grigore Denusu: Human Inquisitor (Royal Accuser)
Asrat: Human Rogue
Ryzel Cain: Half-elf Urban Ranger
Bolkvar Stonebeam: Dwarven Invulnerable Rager Barbarian
Nercelia Damosil: Elf Psychic Sorcerer
Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde: Half-Elf Vivisectionist Alchemist
Dots/Interested:
Robert Henry Witch Insanity Patron
Delmoth
Mythicman19
Dr.Kekyll
bigrig107 divine caster maybe cleric
polyfrequencies: Halfing Oracle Shadow Mystery
@Nercelia Damosil 5 copper bits you say. I think we could come up with a fun list.
Soap 1 copper
String or Twine 50 FT 1 copper
Candle 1 Copper
Candlestick 1 Copper
Torch 1 copper
Bread 2 copper
Fortune cookie 1 copper
Street Meat 1 copper
Wandermeal Rations (per serving) 1 copper
Chalk (1 piece) 1 copper
Rice Paper (1 sheet) 5 copper
Earplugs 3 copper
Pole 5 copper
Iron Spike 5 copper
Little Starstones (10) 5 copper
Not as much as I’d expect. I pulled this from a “quick” glance through the Pathfinder d20SRD.
Also, languages. What do you think this character would know based on their past? Don’t go the metagame route, pick what she would have.
@Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde I am probably overlooking it and it is located somewhere, but what drawback did you select? Also your likes “the smell of fresh blood. The feel of cutting through leather.” I want to make sure I understand correctly. Do you mean cutting through leather as in a leatherworker, or do you mean she likes the feeling of being cut through leather? Like some kind of fetish?
@Robert Henry Great questions – How do I answer… You could have access to everything you purchased. The sanitarium… no matter if you are a patient or a worker, the uniform would not come out of your starting gold.
It's crazy to think we have another week before decisions are made!
I know right!!!
Oooooh there’s a potential to be a patient? That could make my idea tie together nicely. “Local dwarf won’t stop talking about the end times and this weird moon.”
I’ll look into it.
@Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde I am probably overlooking it and it is located somewhere, but what drawback did you select? Also your likes “the smell of fresh blood. The feel of cutting through leather.” I want to make sure I understand correctly. Do you mean cutting through leather as in a leatherworker, or do you mean she likes the feeling of being cut through leather? Like some kind of fetish?...
Dang it I knew I forgot something. I'll get back to you on the drawback.
I'll probably pick up a candle, a candlestick, and earplugs. For language I was thinking celestial or maybe even some other thing.
@Dr. Ethyl Ermengarde Take the plunge and go evil.
@Peachbottom. She really is shaking up to be LE, lol. But I think the struggle to fight against those tendencies and inevitably fail is more interesting. If it's ok with the GM I'd rather start not evil and see where the game takes me.
@GM I think the cruelty drawback is most appropriate. But this could be a drawback that's not a drawback if you're the kind of GM that assumes enemies die at 0 hp. If not I assume a heal check would need to be made to determine living status.
Condescending would be my back up drawback.
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Here's Vano Martoff, my proposed addition to your campaign, a human druid who couldn't possibly be insane...right? His crunch is in his profile, as well as the RP info below.
Vano is a tall and somber middle-aged man whose thick black hair and beard are shot with silver. His skin is light for a Varisian, and totemic serpent tattoos cover his body. The sight of one of these, a skeletal ouroboros inked on his throat, makes Vano feel unsettled and ashamed, though he cannot remember why.
In his worn but well-mended traveling clothes, Vano could be taken for an ordinary caravan tinker or trader. But when he dons his ceremonial mantle of hardened bear hide, he is unmistakably a druid of the oldest ways. Wearing the hide gives him a sense of comfort and belonging, though he flinches a little from its old stains of charcoal, woad, and blood.
Vano speaks hesitantly, and walks with his head cast down. There is little confidence in the way he carries his large frame.
Vano Martoff believes he is cursed. Nothing else makes sense. Why should he remember the names of stars and the constellations they form, but not where he learned them, or who taught him? Why should he feel such warm familiarity and fierce loyalty to his constrictor companion Luneca, but have no idea how they met, or why the patterns of scales on her back are tattooed on his hands? It must be a curse. He must have angered a, a...someone. Something. Something is angry at him, that much he can remember. Can't he?
He has a few jumbled memories that he thinks are more than dreams--the memories of a child. An angry man, shouting at him about the stones, the stones. He's written on the standing stones with chalk. What of it? There are old words carved all over the stones. The angry man's eyes are wide, his face red, spittle flies from his shouting mouth and spatters Vano's face just before his hand slaps it.
A naked woman, her hairy parts startling. She's rising from the river, dripping wet. She's covered with black butterflies and violet flowers. She laughs when she sees Vano in the bushes, and he runs, ashamed.
A rabbit in a snare. A valley wreathed in mist. Wrapping ribbons around a pole. Shivering as snow falls by a campfire. Slipping down a rocky slope, blood on his palms. Stripping the silk from an ear of corn, finding beetles writhing inside. Each memory fragment is fraught with old emotion, but none of them tell him who he is.
Since his memories have failed him, Vano grasps at any hint of his identity. He speaks Varisian with a slight Hallit accent that other Ustalavics say is peculiar to the palatinate of Vieland, far to the northwest of Versex. His tattoos are all in the same style, perhaps the work of a single artist. His hair and beard and nails are long, but recently groomed. He has calloused feet from much walking, calloused hands from much manual labor. He knows how to set bones and brew tea to ease a fever. He knows exactly how and when to feed Luneca, how to keep her warm, how to save her shed skin for...something.
In a place deeper than memory, the old magic coils inside him, primal, instinctual. He can call animals, raise plants, produce water and flame. He is a druid, a druid to his bones. He can feel the life of the world flowing in ley lines near and far. But nearer still, he feels things not meant to be in the world--unnatural things, cruel things, things that could drive a man mad.
Vano Martoff believes he is cursed. Not mad. Please, let him not be mad.
I like Vano. Nice writing.
Hmmm. I simply get missed, or my question about the Harrow not worth answering?
Without a profile pic it's hard to see your post if you're just scrolling through. It blends with the prior post.
I like Vano. Nice writing.
Oh, how kind! Thanks.
Oh snap. Not that I know Vano's past but, I wonder if Vano was ever responsible for things that were attributed to The Best of Lepidstadt.