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Greetings to all.
A few years back, I attempted to run a Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign on the boards here - due to my inexperience with the PbP style, it went... poorly, to say the least, not helped by the fact that I lost the book itself. However, now that I have a bit more experience, I would like to try and run Rise of the Runelords for a group of players - I was recently gifted the Anniversary Edition, and I hope that this run goes smoother than my previous attempt. Depending on whether I succeed in this campaign or not, I may try to expand on the boards to run further campaigns.
Recruitment will run through the 27th, at which time I'll hopefully select four to six players.
Rules:
25-point buy (I know it's unusually large, but from what I can see, RotRL is a bit of a meat-grinder)
Average starting wealth
Maximum HP at first level
Core Races, Aaismar, Changeling, Ifrit, Oread, Sylph, Tiefling, Undine are allowed. I am amenable to other options on a case-by-case basis.
All base classes are allowed, with the exception of Gunslingers other than the Bolt Ace. Unchained versions of applicable classes (Rogue, Summoner, Barbarian, Monk) are in use, but gun-based archetypes for any class are disallowed.
3 traits, with a relevant drawback available for 4, but one must be a campaign trait from the Rise of the Runelords list at AoN
Elephant in the Room
Background Skills
Automatic Bonus Progression
Milestone Leveling
Characters:
Ideally, I'd like to focus this campaign on role-playing and getting to know the characters. Included below is a short questionnaire from a recruitment I applied for some months ago - since then, I've often found it useful when making up characters of my own. While this is not required, I would at least like something for a background, as well as an RP sample if you would like to provide one - I will be taking it into consideration when making decisions, likely even more so than stat blocks.
Twenty Questions:
What is your character's name?
How old is your character?
What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Where was your character born?
Where were you raised?
By who?
Who are your parents?
Are they alive?
What do they do for a living?
Do you have any other family or friends?
What is your character's marital status?
Kids?
What is your character's alignment?
What is your character's moral code?
Does your character have goals?
Is your character religious?
What are your character's personal beliefs?
Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Why does your character adventure?
How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
How does your character get along with others?
Is there anything that your character hates?
Is there anything that your character fears?
On a more metagame note, if there are any issues you would prefer we steer away from, please mention it or PM me if you don't feel comfortable discussing it out in the open - this is meant to be a form of entertainment and relaxation, after all, not a painful therapy session, and I'd like to make sure that everyone is able to enjoy it.
About Me:
I've been on the boards for close to three years now, and I've participated in a number of campaigns - I certainly hope my skills are up to snuff, though I admit to being an amateur PbP GM. I am a big fan of Pathfinder 1E, though I generally focus on roleplaying and character development over mechanics. I'll be the first to admit that cosmic horror is kind of my 'fallback' writing style, as anyone who glances through my posts in existing campaigns can see, so there's likely to be strong themes of it throughout, intentionally or not. I hope to finish the campaign, but if I leave, I will inform the players first.
I will have Erryll ready for your consideration shortly: Erryll Reyven II, the Shame of Valdemar
Erryll
Half-elf bonded witch 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 65, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide 43)
CG Medium humanoid (elf, human)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +2
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Defense
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AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
hp 7 (1d6+1)
Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +2; -5 vs. emotion effects, +2 racial bonus vs. transmutation spells and spell-like effects
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Special Attacks hex (flight[APG])
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +4)
. . At will—detect magic
. . 1/day—dancing lights, darkness, faerie fire, feather fall, levitate
Witch Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +4)
. . At will—feather fall (self only)
Bonded Witch Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4)
. . 1st—command (DC 14), identify
. . 0 (at will)—light, mending, read magic
. . Patron Ancestors (empath)
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Statistics
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Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 12
Feats Drow Nobility[ARG]
Traits merchant family, natural flier, rich parents
Skills Acrobatics +2 (+3 while flying), Appraise +4, Bluff +3 (+1 for 24 hours when you fail an opposed Charisma based check, +4 vs. humanoids), Diplomacy +3 (+1 for 24 hours when you fail an opposed Charisma based check, +4 vs. humanoids), Disguise +3 (+1 for 24 hours when you fail an opposed Charisma based check), Fly +7, Intimidate +7 (+5 for 24 hours when you fail an opposed Charisma based check), Knowledge (arcana) +7, Lore (SANDPOINT) +7, Perception +2, Spellcraft +7, Swim +4, Use Magic Device +7 (+5 for 24 hours when you fail an opposed Charisma based check); Racial Modifiers +2 Perception
Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnome, Goblin
SQ bonded object, bonded object (ring[ARG]), drow heritage, elf blood, perfect[HA], vain, witch's familiar
Other Gear crown, 80 pp, 100 gp
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Special Abilities
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Bonded Object (Crown, 1/day) Your bonded object grants you one powerful spell per day.
Bonded Object (Sp) Your bonded object stores your spells, and allows comunion with your patron.
Drow Heritage Count as a drow for pre-reqs.
Elf Blood Half-elves count as both elves and humans for any effect related to race.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Perfect +1 to bluff and diplomacy vs. humanoids and +2 vs. transmutation spells.
Tongues (1 minutes/day) (Su) Understand any spoken language, as comprehend languages.
Vain -2 to Cha checks for 24h after failing an opposed Cha check
Witch's Familiar (Ex) Gain the services of a special familiar that stores spells.
He needs a few more spells and needs to spend some money, but the background will be delicious, and he misses Magnimar very much.
Moonlighting at the Pixie's Kitten takes his mind off things ...
This sounds like a lot of fun. I’ll be working up a druid for submission.
Will Variant Multiclassing be allowed?
Pinging with Latore Vauquenis. The profile has a Google Sheet that's a WIP.
Age: 31 (Not following the stated 60 maturity age for tieflings, I hope that's okay.)
At a Glance: Favors greens in his clothing, small black horns just under his hairline, a dark prehensile tail, and sickly yellow-green eyes.
Mannerisms: Speaks fluently and eloquently unless angry, then his Riddleport accent comes out and he sounds like a pirate. He holds himself tall unless studying, then he crouches over.
Place of Birth: He was born on the road in a Varisian caravan, somewhere between Riddleport and Magnimar.
Raised: He was raised on the road, then he received schooling in Riddleport.
Guardians: His grandmother - a witch named Calynse - took interest in his magical talents and then sponsored his education under a Cyphermage named
Parents: His parents are Varisians, Mendes and Coriana Vauquenis.
Parental Status: They are both alive, as far as Latore knows. He has not sought out his caravan after fleeing Riddleport.
Parent Occupation: They are guards for their caravan.
Family/Friends: Other than his grandmother, Latore's jealous nature led him to have very few friends. He calls Brodert Quink, Sabyl Sorn, Ilsoari Gandethus, and Chask Haladan associates, but their friendship is dictated by shared and opposed theories on history, magic, and other theories.
Marital Status: He has little interest in romance, especially after the falling outs he had in Riddleport.
Kids?: He knows better than to procreate.
Alignment: He is Lawful Neutral or True Neutral.
Moral Code: He holds intelligence as a measure of worth, the privilege of free will and choices made weighing more than race, gender, or creed.
Goals: Ancient Thassilon fascinates Latore, and he learned of the ancient Runelords binding fiends as magical batteries and sources of knowledge. He desires to uncover the mastery these Runelords held over magic and outsiders.
Religion: Latore has little love for the gods. He cannot ignore their existence but his circumstances lead him to believe they have little love for mortals. He holds that the wicked gods are more willing to offer aid to mortal worshipers, saying "evil is more attentive than good".
Personal Beliefs: See Moral Code and Religion
Quirks: Eager to learn/debate, excellent memory, envious, deal maker, suspicious
Why Adventure?: Knowledge cannot be gained sitting in a pirate haven or a sleepy fishing town. The ruins of Varisia are there, and they hold lore and power that is worth the risks. Nothing risked nothing gained. Besides, Latore has enemies he is not yet powerful enough to face.
Party Role: He sees his abilities as a show of his value and worth. He specializes in counterspelling other mages and preventing damage, dismissing summons, and proving his magic is more potent than his peers. He also sees his knowledge of history and magic as invaluable to those of more martial mindsets.
Physical Characteristics: He is a tiefling, and though his nature manifested during puberty, he now sports small black horns and a prehensile tail. He has a few Varisian tattoos down his left arm, reminders of his heritage.
Get Along with Others: He prefers the company of intelligent and wise characters, is envious of charismatic ones, and thinks physical strength is cheap.
Hates: People ruled by emotions, despite being envious himself. Racial prejudice.
Fears: Calistrians. Not being the smartest one in the group and thus seen as just another "sideshow".
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While I suspect a heated recruitment may erupt, I am dotting as I have a couple of ideas starting to form. We'll see if anything fully coalesces in time.
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Will Variant Multiclassing be allowed?
Unfortunately, after doing a bit of digging, I'm disinclined to use it - I like the theory behind it, but I think its implementation in PF1E leaves something to be desired.
Not following the stated 60 maturity age for tieflings, I hope that's okay.
No problems at all - Paizo seemed to ignore the APG lifespans in most cases, and as far as I'm aware, both the later ARG and Blood of Fiends errata'd it to a human-parallel lifespan with maturity at 20.
Interesting. Dot for sure.
Would like to apply with Cricket here, a former viking turned into a fencer who venerates Desna. Mechanically he is a fighter with the eldritch guardian archetype and has butterfly familiar. Took a couple of flavor choices for now and while he is not outstanding now in terms of power, he has the potential to become very effective later.
Fredrik Oskarson, but almost no one knows it. Everyone calls him Cricket.
How old is your character?
23.
What would somebody see at first glance (i.e. height, weight, skin color, eye color, hair color, physique, race, and visible equipment)?
Cricket is a lanky Ulfen with long blond hair and scraggly facial hair. He has an easy smile and seems to be both dim-witted and lazy. He wears an old chain shirt, has a couple daggers in his belt and carries a rapier by his side. Strangely, he is followed by a large butterfly.
What additional attributes would be noticed upon meeting the character (i.e. Speech, mannerisms)?
Cricket is very optimistic and hopeful, is always smiling and always trying to see the positive side on everything. He isn't dim-witted at all, being quite smart, but because of his self-doubt and some wounds from the past, he rather prefer others to underestimate him. Better to surprise than disappoint.
Where was your character born? Where were you raised? By who?
Cricket was born and raised in Bildt, on the Broken Bay kingdom of the Land of the Linnorm Kings. He was raised by his mom and a large amount of "aunties".
Who are your parents? Are they alive? What do they do for a living?
His mother is called Edda Istriddottir, and is still alive. His father he never met, but her mother says his name was Oskar. His mother is a prostitute and his father was a warrior.
Do you have any other family or friends?
Cricket has no other family aside from his mother, but he considers many of his mother's friends as his aunties. He had very few friends in Bildt, but has a couple in Sandpoint, mostly patrons of The Hagfish. His best friend is, by far, Jargie Quinn himself, the owner of the place.
What is your character's marital status? Kids?
Cricket is unmarried, single and have no kids... not that he knows about at least.
What is your character's alignment?
Chaotic Good, even if the 'good' part had been repressed a lot when he lived in Bildt.
What is your character's moral code?
Be loyal to your friends.
Does your character have goals?
To be admired.
Is your character religious?
While this is a recent thing, he is devoted to Desna.
What are your character's personal beliefs?
Enjoy life and live in the moment. There is no fate.
Does your character have any personality quirks (i.e. anti-social, arrogant, optimistic, paranoid)?
Cricket is very optimistic and a reasonable singer. He pretends to not care about what others think and can be quite obnoxious from time to time, specially with bullies. His voice cracks constantly and while he tries to sound as confident, he doubts of himself.
Why does your character adventure?
To get filthy rich. He craves admiration from others and due to his Ulfen upbringing, he believes it is linked to him getting rich.
How does your character view his/her role as an adventurer?
Cricket is a fighter. He gets into the thick of it and is a devil with his rapier... quite the opposite from when he used to fight with an axe and a heavy shield.
Does your character have any distinguishing marks (birth-marks, scars, deformities)?
A good amount of scars. He doesn't know how he got most of them.
How does your character get along with others?
Pretty well, as long as they do not try to change his ways.
Is there anything that your character hates?
Cricket hates other Ulfens and bullies. The moment they'd left him behind in Sandpoint was the best thing to happen to him.
Is there anything that your character fears?
Cricket fears that his new friends in Sandpoint discover he is a failure.
Interest dot. I'll do some cooking and see what I come up with.
Bonus question: Since you are using elephant, how would you treat classes that provide weapon finesse in their base kit?
I'm a sucker for dex when it comes to martials, so just wondering how to proceed if I go for such a class.
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Interest dot. I'll do some cooking and see what I come up with.
Bonus question: Since you are using elephant, how would you treat classes that provide weapon finesse in their base kit?
I'm a sucker for dex when it comes to martials, so just wondering how to proceed if I go for such a class.
In the end of the Elephant in the Room document, it gives an errata of the core and unchained classes. For the unchained rogue it gives you Deft Maneuvers instead of Weapon Finesse. For the sorcerer, however, if the bloodlines that had Weapon Finesse now have Agile Combatant.
Extrapolating these changes a bit, I believe a Swashbuckler would also get Deft Maneuver. IMO, letting the player choose from any feat instead is too powerful.
Bonus question: Since you are using elephant, how would you treat classes that provide weapon finesse in their base kit?
I'm a sucker for dex when it comes to martials, so just wondering how to proceed if I go for such a class.
Sir Longears has it right - URogue and Swashbuckler get Deft Maneuver, Sorcerer gets Agile Combatant.
Alright. Thank you for that. I'm looking at either a frontline pally or a hydrokineticist for artillery support.
Toying with backstories to see which I fancy more. I should have something ready throughout the weekend.
I’m thinking about a Warpriest, possibly a Magus. Gishes are fun.
I'm very interested in this but probably will not bring my poor wizard who slogged through four years to get half of Book 1 done.
Thinking a rogue-type, but still not sure which class or archetype, and that in turn will influence personality.
I do see from NotEspi's post above a mention of a hydrokineticist; are Occult classes in use?
Oh. I assumed it was included in base classes. Did I misinterpret?
If that is the case, pally it is.
Occult classes are in use, but bear in mind that the AP was written with divine/arcane casters in mind - you're unlikely to get a kineticist's diadem without specifically looking for/crafting one, for instance.
I apologize, I probably should have been more clear. For the record, hybrid classes like Bloodrager and non-core base classes like Alchemist are also allowed.
Latore is finished. Let me know if there are any discrepancies. Best of luck to all.
:
“I’m telling you, old man, Old Light was not a lighthouse, it was a weapon!”
The ‘old man’ shook his head. “You youths think you know everything. Old Light is clearly a scrying tower by old Thassilon to spy on the Runelord of Greed’s neighbor.”
The Curious Goblin was once again roused by the furious debates of Latore Vauquenis and Brodert Quink, observed by the three others who learned better than to intervene when the two got like this.
Latore opened a sketchbook, showing the tiefling’s vision of what Old Light would have looked like before Earthfall. “Look, the runes on the ruins show no signs of divination, rather transmutation and evocation. Based on findings in other Thassilonian ruins, and the rivalry between Runelords, my theory is the only one that makes any sense.”
“It is the nature of the greedy to be watchful of thieves. Divination was not a recognized school of magic in the Empire of Sin, so of course it wouldn’t feature in what runes remained.”
“Alaznist was aggressive, and Karzoug would have wanted what was hers. Warfare between the two was inevitable, but Earthfall brought them low before they could come to blows.”
“How much you want to wager they last like this?” Chask Haladan asked the two sitting with him, watching the debate.
“Five more minutes.” Sabyl Sorn mused. “I’ll wager five gold coins.”
“I match that, but I think only three minutes.” Ilsoari sipped at a cup of tea. “They’ve not gotten this heated so quickly before, so they couldn’t last much longer.”
“I’ll say seven.” Chask reshelved a scroll. “Their lungs have gotten good exercise of late.”
Latore and Brodert when on for six minutes, arguing finite details and hypothesis till both had to sit down, panting. The three member audience began to debate about whether Chask or Sabyl won the pot. Latore chuckled darkly as he and his rival watched, catching their breath.
"Do we sound like that?"
"Worse, my boy. Worse."
"I hear Amaya's got in a cask of Old Erebus from Magnimar. First round's on me."
"I'll agree to that."
I'm going to throw my investigator who has tried this AP a few times in the ring. I need to back him down to first level but hopefully will be posted by the end of the weekend.
Sounds fun, currently I'm leaning towards an Aasimar Arcanist(Magaambyan Initiate or White Mage) with the Scholar of the Ancients trait.
Oh a classic! Very much interested in participating in a Runelords game again. Still running though ideas but I think an Ulfen Cleric of Erastil is what I'll be submitting unless something else captures my imagination.
Addressing Cashmerez's question, but also directed at the group as a whole, I'm largely okay with you altering the flavor/fluff of a class so long as you can articulate your idea with the existing rules - your medium's spirits could be the lingering souls of his childhood friends, facets of a once-great mage's shattered mind, alternate/future selves, or even abstract Jungian hero-archetypes. A summoner's eidolon might be the spirit of a long-dead hero, an embodiment of the summoner's memories of a lost loved one, or a fiend masquerading as an obscure deity.
I've always held that a character is a concept first and foremost and a stat block second - if your concept requires a slightly unorthodox flavoring of the stat block, I say go for it. The goal is to have fun, after all.