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I'm looking to get back into GM'ing here online, and have an campaign that I'd love to run for people.
There was a crusade against the evil empire. This crusade has failed. Our adventurers begin assigned to the rearguard action covering the crusade's months-long retreat to the narrow mountain passes.
In practice, it is series of what would usually be sidequests in a more traditional campaign, leading to a very episodic feel as the players leave the main rearguard force to accomplish specific objectives then return to resupply. As they progress, they are afforded more flexibility in their assignments, able to harry larger pursuing forces and venture further from their own resupply.
This is not a war that can be won. A coalition army hundreds of years in the making has already failed. At best, you can delay your pursuers enough to spare the main retreating army.
The broad details of the character creation is as follows:
Just as a heads up, I strongly recommend waiting until I open things up to make a character, as having more setting details will help you make decisions about who you want to play. I'm including the crunchy bits here in the interest check because I know from the player side of things that it does effect which games I might apply for.
Starting level of 3.
We will be using the 3rd edition of Elephant in the Room, background skills, and 25 point buy.
Two traits, and a bonus campaign trait (the list will be posted when recruitment opens).
No 3pp beyond that, though the guided weapon quality (+1 that allows you to use wis for hit/damage) is allowed. No races above 20 RP.
Additionally, everyone starts with two 'Spine of the 8th Crusade' which are masterwork daggers that have 1 charge which replenish when you resupply. By using the charge when you hit, you can remove debuffs on allies or remove buffs on enemies. Is your buddy poisoned, cursed, enchanted or possessed? Stab them.
If there is some amount of interest, I'll open up recruitment for a two week period and put up the rough equivalent of a players guide. I'm looking for 3-6 players that are able to post about once per day.
Sounds interesting. I’d play.
Sounds a lot like the concept in Band of Blades, which is very cool in itself.
I’d be interested.
I'm interested and would like to hear more!
Ooh, this could be fun.
I mean who doesn't want to stab their allies from time to time?
Sounds interesting.
Sounds very interesting. I’m game!
“Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?”
Dotting to keep an eye. Sounds interesting!
Might have to give a read at the fluff, but seems nice.
Looks like there is in fact interest.
I will begin converting this into a proper looking campaign post.
Always interested in some homebrew
"Is your buddy poisoned, cursed, enchanted or possessed? Stab them."
Intriguing, could this be set on Scadrial? (I'm probably reading way too much into the stabbing them bit).
First set of campaign traits are up, there will more coming (probably 10 or so in total). A lot of my work on this campaign over the years is scattered in various paper notebooks, so its a bit of finding stuff and a bit of filling in things I'm missing.
I expect the campaign info page to shape up quite nicely in the next few days, after which I'll formally open up recruitment. Feel free to ask questions, I'll be around pretty frequently while I'm putting stuff together.
Interested. I want to get back into gaming online myself.
L
Reviewed the current information on the Campaign Info tab. I'll have to put some thought into what I might like to play.
Perhaps some kind of dagger centric field medic or scout of sorts.
I saw you made mention of figuring out another name the rank and file might use for the Spine of the 8th Crusade daggers. Perhaps something along the line of "leeches" considering their ability to suck away detrimental effects. Doubly so considering leeches have been used for medicinal purposes and the ability to remove debuffs seems to fit in with that.
Read the campaign info, so defiantly not Scadrial :) Actually this is shaping up to really interesting, the Crown of Eyes sounds like a suitably horrific threat. I remember after reading The Black Company and later the Malazan books that it would be cool to run a squad focused homebrew campaign doing special forces style missions.
@Understandably Bland, are there any famous or semi famous battles in the recent past (including ones where the) E.g. in the Witcher universe the Battle of Sodden looms large. Perhaps one or more of the PCs was present in a skirmish and has an interesting back story as a result.
@Understandably Bland, are there any famous or semi famous battles in the recent past (including ones where the) E.g. in the Witcher universe the Battle of Sodden looms large. Perhaps one or more of the PCs was present in a skirmish and has an interesting back story as a result.
There will be two sections on the 8th Crusade going up today, one which covers the events that led us to our current retreat, and one that focuses more on the composition of forces.
Sounds interesting!
In a dark meeting room.
Insects... Spoke a melodic feminine voice.
Yes, most perturbatory Spoke another one, sounding bored.
As it happens, being consumed by insects doesnt exactly make people particularly debauched, degenerate or lustfull, soul influx from this particular material plane to our holdings is slim to nonexistent. mentioned a third, male one.
Unless of course a dashing hero arises from the ashes, striking the vile foes, assassinates the insect leader and opens a new golden age for his people... Spoke the first voice, smug in its inclination.
Our priesthood on this plane may as well not exist, from where shall you find such a leader? asked the second one.
Well, I do listen in to prayers adressed to spoke the first voice as a delicate finger is snipped as a male voice, clearly in pain, spoke, no screamed, as if from a recording.
This mortal can barely kill a Schir of his own, and that crowned eye could give some of your "near peer competitors" a run for their money my Lady
He has potential Spoke the first voice.
Where did the fog come from? And what was that laughter in his head?
Cain Ciaphas (Ill come up with a better name) thoughts raced, the insects are retreating? A tree just randomly dropped on the local hiveleader? What? No matter, he picked up 2 wounded soldiers, slung one over each shoulder and made his getaway.
I guess I live to fight and die another day
Honestly, turning to Demons or devils in order to beat back the insect tide does not sounds that unreasonable, especially if they are reasonable and friendly at first.
Mechanically, charismatic for sure, so out of core classes, Bard, Urban Skald, Bloodrager or Oracle. All of these can be frontline combatants.
Are occult classes allowed, and was is the prefered level of opimization? If Occult is allowed, Fractured Mind could be interesting as well.
Character some flavor of neutral, depending on what type of evil patron (he probably does not know what he made a deal with) I am going with.
Edit: After listening to a bunch of attack on Titan covers, female Urban Skald who mostly fights at range while massively boosting her allies sounds cool. Probably more Eiseth flavored, initially lawful neutral.
Mechanical TLDR: OK but not great ranged combatant (not a full bab, no bonus feats etc., still servicable because Elephant in the room though), that does however hand out +6AB d4+4 negative energy slam attacks to everyone who accepts her +2 Dex inspired rage (that has no drawbacks because of urban Skald), is a face and has reasonable knowledge skills, does not have the survival skills of a normal skald, and does not do much in melee.
Background will be Archipelago, daughter of refugee nobles that fled there from the crown.
Yeap, am super interested!
Couple of questions:
If I read it correctly, the new "Risky strike" is basically power attack with any weapon, and unless I see it wrong, attacks made using risky strike with a 2 handed ranged weapon would get 1.5 times the bonus, ranged power attack sure sounds nice!
What is the stance concernign Devilish pacts?
On a scale from 1 BURN THE DEVIL WORSHIPPER to 10 Oh, yeah, take that up with the Erinye who leads human resources, I think Eiseth pactees get an extra day off per century roughly where are the remaining kingdoms?
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If I read it correctly, the new "Risky strike" is basically power attack with any weapon, and unless I see it wrong, attacks made using risky strike with a 2 handed ranged weapon would get 1.5 times the bonus, ranged power attack sure sounds nice!
What is the stance concernign Devilish pacts?
On a scale from 1 BURN THE DEVIL WORSHIPPER to 10 Oh, yeah, take that up with the Erinye who leads human resources, I think Eiseth pactees get an extra day off per century roughly where are the remaining kingdoms?
The elephant in the room ruleset is primarily designed to eliminate some of the mandatory feats from the game, opening up build options. While I do understand that how it is worded would allow 1.5x ranged power attack, I'll be ruling that for ranged weapons it functions like regular ol' deadly aim. So you are not getting the 1.5x bonus, but you also are not penalized for offhand or secondary natural weapons.
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Diabolism is the most tolerated in the Archipelago, where nearly any kind of magic can be found if one is persistent enough. The Protectorate requires all diabolism in their borders to be performed under careful supervision, which is expensive, invasive, and massively effective at increasing survival rates. It would be best described as a reluctant tolerance there, with unlicensed diabolism being one of the few capital offenses.
There are many factions internal to the forest that actively hunt down Diabolists, particularly within their own borders. While they don't tend to commit murder within the armies of the Crusades, they will make lists to act on later.
The Theocracy's official stance on diabolical contracts is written into the military regulations regarding desertion, treason, and dereliction of duty, which go into the degrees of subordination to interplanar powers which are permitted and which are outlawed. More socially, Theocracy citizenry are likely to treat known diabolists with extreme suspicion and may collectively shun such individuals. Many of the social challenges internal to the army will be complicated by a contract of this nature.
To summarize, Hell is seen less as a force of Evil corrupting good souls to their diabolical cause, and more like an unpredictable but hostile foreign power whose interests occasionally align with the continents. Choosing to in some capacity serve this foreign power during a Crusade will meet with a wide range of strong opinions, with the notable exception of those hailing from the Archipelago.
Yeah, I was rereading the final EITR rules, and was surprised because it was a new change, deadly aim having been just been free deadly aim in previous versions. And its not as if ranged builds needed more damage!
25 point buy and EITR is more then enough free stuff, and Urban Skald isnt exactly an underpowered class, even with the "no sharing of extra rage powers from extra rage power feats" FAQ. :).
Background wise, maybe she was a Urban Skald and regular member of the crusade.
Something I could think off is that her "contract" was not preplanned, her company was about to get wiped out by the crown, she prayed to anyone who would listen offering anything that was hers to offer.
For whatever reason, Eiseth answered and send several Erinyes to bail her company out, a rather uncharacteristic intervention, as Eiseth is not known for her generosity.
She got court martialed and was penal-companied to cover the retreat for having an unsanctioned infernal contract, although with her intention to save her company as a mediating factor. With her judges probably hoping that she has some charges of "summon Erinyes" left, spoiler, she does not.
Infernal contract terms are imho GM territory. But hers maybe surprisingly "benign", assuming Hell sees here as more of a possible PR agent then a soul to be joinked.
If you consider from the perspective of various evil planes, if a certain "Bigger bad" is there, its a great way to get a foot in the door. I wouldnt be surprised if Demonic/Daemonic etc. pacts are also more widespread, with a side serving of messing around with undead things.
Here's a fun (actually kinda scary) idea, suppose you decided there was no way to win and decided to planar travel somewhere nicer. Cool, but is the Crown of Eyes going to be content with just one world? I don't think so!
As an enemy Crown of Eyes reminds me a little of Morning Light Mountain from PF Hamilton's books.
Hmm, Urban Skald of Desna seems really tempting too, wont do much damage prior to getting a blinkback belt, its of course a question of how much optimization the GM wants, as CHA to everyhing is pretty strong.
Ill come up with something, give me a bit.
Would a program to produce bloodragers (either through occult rituals magical experimentation or breeding programs) be most likely to take place in the Archipelago, or in one of the other surviving nations? Leaning towards a (nonevil) abyssal bloodrager tiefling.
I'm intrigued. Gives me some "Band of Blades" feelings.
Would a program to produce bloodragers (either through occult rituals magical experimentation or breeding programs) be most likely to take place in the Archipelago, or in one of the other surviving nations? Leaning towards a (nonevil) abyssal bloodrager tiefling.
Yes. Most likely to happen out in the mixture of cultures and backgrounds that is the Archipelago. Though if you want other options, there are cultists in the forest, and while Laurelai the Dawn Star wouldn't be exactly thrilled, the research would probably be approved in her protectorate if it passed the feasibility review. She takes a very 'let them make their mistakes' approach to her nation.
I've still got some reading to do, but I'm thinking about a half orc Zen Archer from the Edenlark Clans, with Blessed by the Fey campaign trait. Switching to Ankou's Shadow Sniper (Slayer) at 4th level. He'll have to carry tools for arrow making and/or use durable arrows since that will be his only weapon.... He honors Erastil but doesn't actively worship the deity. Decided I prefer LN instead of LG!
Still have a lot of work to do before I could put an alias together though. Really like what I'm seeing so far. Lots of details already in the Campaign Info!
Might run an aasimar or tiefling, thought I'd go ahead and throw in a roll for the ability table in case I do.
Dotting in, I'll read through what others are thinking then put someone together!
Also, I saw that someone asked about occult classes but I don't think I saw an answer, are they okay or no?
I'm thinking of building a "squad-mage", going to wait for some more lore before working on a background though.
I'm curious to hear about the racial demographics of the four main factions, that's likely to influence what I build :)
Would a program to produce bloodragers (either through occult rituals magical experimentation or breeding programs) be most likely to take place in the Archipelago, or in one of the other surviving nations? Leaning towards a (nonevil) abyssal bloodrager tiefling.
Cool question!
If I go back to "Ciaphas Cain" concept, he would probably be a swashbuckler of a sort, and well, if human fencing grace or slashing grace could both work from level 1.
And I would maybe play him "straight" without any infernal or demonic shanangian Yet
Couple of questions for GM:
1) Are the "Spines" all identical? How are they made/found/summoned? What do they look like? Can they be upgraded in the long run?
2) Are the standard Golarion deities in play, anything more we should know here?
I have a couple of concepts I'm mulling over, not looking for feedback specifically, just getting my thoughts down for later reference
I have an initial concept and a rough stat sketch of someone I think would be an interesting fit, but of course the player's guide isn't finished yet, so I'm holding some of this in abeyance.
This character would be a garuda-blooded dwarven aasimar from the Theocracy of the Hearth, raised to be a devoted follower of Torag. They are a Warpriest whose combat style revolves around the Thunder and Fang line, swinging around the battlefield in full plate while one-handing an earth breaker and demolishing enemies around them with the righteous might of the very Father of Creation Himself!
*ahem*
Or at least that's how this person sees themselves.
Despite not being a dwarf per se, I'd love for this fellow to take the Friends in High Places trait. They'll also be a Truespeaker and will be picking up Infernal as a sort of representation of the Godclaw (if that exists in this universe). I'm saving most other language choices until I know more clearly what languages are spoken. I'm most likely taking the Good and Protection blessings, and I'm kicking around a few other choices.
Personality-wise, I envision a cynical but earnest, cigar-chomping, proselytizing type, quoting timely passages from Torag's holy book and offering grimly optimistic spiritual counsel to fellow soldiers. They handle a weapon as easily as a shield as easily as a scalpel depending on which is needed in the moment. A little Friar Tuck, a little Gurney Halleck, a little Bob "Rat" Kiley (from The Things They Carried) with some quirky twinges of Father Mulcahy.
Really the last things I need to do are go shopping and develop a clearer backstory (once the rest of the player's guide is up). But before I launch too far into all that, I wanted to see what the GM thinks about the overall concept.
So, condensed concepts:
A LN half Elfen Urban Skald, that frankly never wanted to be on the frontlines, and who randomly ended up being a much sought after morale booster and small unit leader. Figures that keep faking it is better then court martial. Does not actually have any dark secrets, yet, other then thinking herself an imposter.
Mechanically: Face, a bit of utility, Lesser Spirit totem, attacks with an elfen leaf spear or an elfen curved blade.
CN Oracle of shadows. Stealth, reconnaissance and illusion specialist. Reasonable ranged combatant. Possessed by an unusually helpful entity of unknown nature, that acts more akin to a copilot, adds some healing.
The oracle assumes the entity is demonic, but considers the demons to be less dire adversaries then the swarm.
Somewhat cold, highly professional personality, starts swearing in Abyssal when things go south. Is fiercely protective of allies she deems competent.
Shadow is the most flexible oracle due to partial wizard/sorc access, actually hits reasonably hard for a non full bab because divine favor is a good spell to boost ranged damage.
The aforementioned Urban Skald with an emergency infernal pact twist, is penal legioned and will seek redemption through battle in essence.
I see some questions. I'll try to answer what I can here real quick.
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Occult classes are allowed. I'm only truly familiar with the medium and the mesmerist, so other if you're playing something else from that material, be sure to have a really solid grasp of all the mechanics so as not to slow things down. I think a lot of the utility in the occult rules would come in handy in this campaign.
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The spines are near-identical. They're an unadorned combat knife designed for durability. They only register as magical to most indicators when the charge is present, at which point they are unmistakably containing universal divine magic.
The details of their creation are a closely guarded state secret of the Theocracy, though most speculate it involves either their buddies the archons or the clergy and their smithies.
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The Golorion deities are the deities, though if folks want to stretch at the edges of that and include other things, you're welcome to bring that up on a case-by-case basis.
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There is not a map I'm happy with sharing yet. Maps are something I wish I were better at. It is unlikely one will be up in the immediate future.
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The long-range outgoing teleportation embargo makes the continent of Tor-Duhn particularly extra-planar in nature. Lots of attempts means lots of mistakes. And well, lots of doors that may have been better off staying closed.
A couple of questions, GM:
1) What is the Crown, anyway? A lot of the description sounds like insectoids of some description, but there’s also a lot of necromancy mentioned. Are we talking actual swarms, vermin, undead? The sort of thing we’d know of them IC from fighting them. What Favored enemy would a Ranger take, that sort of thing.
2) How high a level do you plan for this to run to?
A couple of questions, GM:
1) What is the Crown, anyway? A lot of the description sounds like insectoids of some description, but there’s also a lot of necromancy mentioned. Are we talking actual swarms, vermin, undead? The sort of thing we’d know of them IC from fighting them. What Favored enemy would a Ranger take, that sort of thing.
2) How high a level do you plan for this to run to?
1:
I'm finalizing the overview of both forces. Should be up tomorrow. The Crown's army is surprisingly conventional, though there are a lot of monsters mixed in.
Favored enemy tierlist would probably be something along the lines of: Undead > Kobold > Vermin > Magical beast > Troll > Daemon.
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2:
The whole campaign is designed to be rather episodic, so it can be run for nearly any length. My intention is to run that format through to 10-13 depending on the party choices, where things will then naturally hit an ingame lull. After that if people are still raring to go, I have some stuff sketched out to take us to the 17-20 range.
I've always had a thing for occultists and the Archipelago instantly gave me a ton of inspiration for them!
I think I'm gonna have a try at a Magus, since there was someone who wanted to go bloodrager.
Can we make up some local folklore? Like "in this region of the Theocracy lands, people pay special attention to the local festivities of Samhain and have some peculiar beliefs and offerings during that might".