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Looking for brave adventurers to explore the dark corners of Ustalav...
I have been active in the PbP community for a while now; I have previously taken over and run most of a mini-AP (Red Hand of Doom), and I am currently acting as a fill-in GM for another AP (Ruins of Azlant). This will be my first time starting an AP, and I mean to run it to the end, aiming for a relatively quick pace.
GM trade: I have two games that are in need of GMs. One is the aforementioned Ruins of Azlant, where I am a player-GM and wish to go back to just being a player. We are near the end of Book 2, and I am looking to hand it off soon. The other is Skull & Shackles, where we are in Book 4 and just lost our GM. I am hoping to offer two spots in this campaign to GMs who can take over one table or the other. I know there are more willing players than GMs, so if I am going to ask the forums for two GMs, I had better step up to be one myself. Here I go. If you would be willing to GM, say so in your submission. Obviously it would be best if you had some established history of PbP GM'ing, but I would not be averse to taking a leap of faith.
A word on optimization and restraint: Carrion Crown is an older AP, and heavy optimization is likely not necessary based on what I have seen. I wish to run it as written, with no adjustments to increase the difficulty. I'll probably select characters that I think are strong enough to succeed, but not so strong as to remove all challenge from the game. If you later find your PC getting so strong that the challenge has diminished, I'd expect you to dial it back for the sake of keeping the campaign fun. Like, maybe don't take that powerful feat next level. Maybe even retrain out something.
Character Creation
Attributes: 20 point buy, no points for dumping stats. You can certainly have lower attributes if you think it makes your character more interesting, but it offers no mechanical advantage.
Race: Human.
Classes: Alchemist, Arcanist, Barbarian (either version), Bard, Bloodrager, Brawler, Cavalier, Cleric, Fighter, Inquisitor, Investigator, Magus, Medium, Occultist (no Trappings of the Warrior), Paladin, Psychic, Ranger, Rogue (either version), Skald, Sorcerer, Spiritualist (non-Phantom archetypes only), Swashbuckler, Warpriest, Witch, Wizard, Adept.
Special note about casters: I'm not making selections with the assumption that the party needs a 9th-level caster. I am in an all-fighter Ironfang Invasion game that is going quite well. So we'll see what the submissions are.
Alignments: Good or "neutral with good tendencies" as they said in AD&D.
Hit Points: Max at first level, then half your HD+1 for each level afterwards.
Wealth: Average starting gold for your class.
Skills: Background Skills are in use.
Traits: One campaign trait, no drawbacks, no Additional Traits. However, as it is a necessary rules patch, all casters gain the effect of Magical Knack for all casting classes they may have.
Optional Rules: Variant Multiclassing is allowed, but abilities do not stack beyond what a single-classed PC would get.
Variant Magic Item Economy: Automatic Bonus Progression at level +1, but no magic item shops and no crafting (use PFS rules to substitute automatic crafting feats; bonded items can be enchanted, as in PFS). There will be some magic items found, and maybe some that are tailored to things PCs want or need, but they are not fungible - use them or leave them.
Other rules: In general I follow most of the PFS rulings (e.g. no Pageant of the Peacock, no Tears to Wine), but not all (Armor Specialization is just fine). Ask about anything prohibited in PFS. I'm pretty liberal on Take 10, moderately conservative on Aid Another for skills, and very conservative on Masterwork Tools.
Posting expectations: Hopefully 1/day on weekdays.
Party size and selection: I will probably select 5-6 PCs, by February 20.
I know I am showing my BECMI roots (e.g. no magic shops), so this game will not be for everyone. I do think these changes will be suitable for a horror campaign, but most of all I'm hoping to be up-front about my ideas so there are no surprises later on.
No Oracles?
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...Adept? Niiiiiiiiiiiice xD
Well, now I have to ask: how did you decide on which classes were available?
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No Oracles?
Nope. Or Summoner, Hunters or Druids - so no minion mania. Also no Kineticists and no Shifters. Or Omdura.
Awesome! Thanks for running! Unfortunately I cannot take over the GM positions you mentioned. I would if I could. Anyway, I'll re-read the Player's Guide and see what feels good. I might submit a 9th level caster, just because I like them, but I may not do so.
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Really like the premise of the game GM Aldizog - big thumbs up on the race and class restrictions! BECMI references are just gravy :D
I have a character idea in mind which might be a good fit. Tortured soul kinda guy who moved away after some dramatic events in his family, now coming back to Ravengro after hearing the news about Professor Lorrimor. Brooding, morose personality, but a good, strong heart.
Mechanically a melee oriented Bard. But not Dex based, I prefer Str. Would probably add some Fighter or Ranger levels to the mix, just to shore him up as a bruiser 'with options'. Skills guy, versatile with spells and skills, harsh personality. Very down to earth and pragmatic.
Questions from me if that is ok:
- I know about Automatic Bonus Progression, but what does 'at level +1' mean?
- Are you planning on drilling down and sifting through submission backgrounds, motivations, so on and so forth? Or will you find people interested in your premise, take them in, and then work on characters? I ask because I much prefer the second option, and will shy away from the first;
Unfortunately I cannot DM any more games, but would gladly accept you in the one I am running here on the Paizo Forums. As old-school as they come - D&D BX Keep on the Borderlands.
Oh wow. I hadn’t noticed the available…race. Almost makes we want to apply (and come back to PF1) just by that alone. I admit I don’t know much about Carrion Crown, and can in no way reciprocate by DMing anything…
Ha! Dot. My usual submission for CC is a gnome oracle. So I'll have to come up with something. I do have a human bloodrager laying around tho.
- I know about Automatic Bonus Progression, but what does 'at level +1' mean?
Pretty sure they mean you count as 1 level higher for your ABP bonuses. I know that Aldizog hates loot processing from the games I've run for them, lol.
No shifters? That's a shame. I may have to get my "abomination in the eyes of man" fix through another class then, haha.
Isn’t there an Alchemist body horror option/tumor familiar or something?
Dot!
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I'm willing to step up to GM Ruins of Azlant. But my only PBP GM experience was a moderately brief stint in a shared world over a decade or so ago so you can definitely do better
I do have some questions.
You're not allowing monks, what about monk adjacent characters such as a Sacred Fist war priest?
Also, do you want a complete character for a submission or just a fleshed out concept?
No monks either? Interesting. Anyway, you had me at ABP, I'll look at putting something together. I like ABP.
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No Oracles?
I could be convinced. I have always thought the curses were incredibly poorly designed - really, Clouded Vision is comparable to Legalistic? So Oracle is a "maybe." If you really want one, make one with a Curse that seems the right level of impactful to you. No Dual-Cursed Wolf-Scarred/Deaf, nor Lame Barbarians. The oracle class seemed to feature in an unusual number of cheesy combos, but perhaps I was hasty to dismiss the class entirely. It seemed like the class had a lot of interactions that were not well-considered.
...Adept? Niiiiiiiiiiiice xD
Well, now I have to ask: how did you decide on which classes were available?
I started with Fighter, Cleric, Magic-User, and Thief and added the ones I thought were suitable. I avoided some that I have an irrational dislike of, some that I had too little experience with to judge, and some that I thought just didn't fit the AP for one reason or another. I could be persuaded in some cases. Oracle was definitely on the edge. Maybe Bolt Ace gunslinger, possibly Samurai. Spiritualists with Phantoms are out because the disposable pet represents the majority of the class's combat power, but Ghost Rider cavalier is in because the phantom mount mostly just provides mobility. Lot of edge cases.
Questions from me if that is ok:
- I know about Automatic Bonus Progression, but what does 'at level +1' mean?
- Are you planning on drilling down and sifting through submission backgrounds, motivations, so on and so forth? Or will you find people interested in your premise, take them in, and then work on characters? I ask because I much prefer the second option, and will shy away from the first;
- As if you were one level higher. Standard ABP has your other half of WBL being fully fungible; ABP at level +2 has basically no magic items. So found but non-fungible magic items were, I thought, suited to level +1.
- Could go either way, but I will lean towards the second. Somebody who wants to give this a shot, has a good history as a reliable and considerate player, but doesn't have a thick backstory is more likely to be selected than somebody with a detailed backstory but a history of being spotty with their posts. I am also fine with the players working together on backgrounds or mechanics after being selected.Pretty sure they mean you count as 1 level higher for your ABP bonuses. I know that Aldizog hates loot processing from the games I've run for them, lol.
This is true. But it's not just the tracking, it's the story that it tells. My least favorite part of LotR is when the hobbits strip the Moria goblins of all their armor so they can sell it to Galadriel to buy magic items. Oh wait, they don't do that. Maybe I'm thinking of that scene in the Expendables when they collect the sidearms from every mook they kill so they can fence them and buy a rocket launcher. Nope, they don't do that either. Obviously my approach is not the default these days, but I am asking players to trust me on this. I may do some of the old-school GM'ing of "drop the right item for the guy who needs a boost".
I'm willing to step up to GM Ruins of Azlant. But my only PBP GM experience was a moderately brief stint in a shared world over a decade or so ago so you can definitely do better
Thank you for offering! I may take you up on that.
You're not allowing monks, what about monk adjacent characters such as a Sacred Fist war priest?Also, do you want a complete character for a submission or just a fleshed out concept?
I do have Brawler on the list which is monk-adjacent. Sacred Fist is fine.
And either is fine - complete character or fleshed out concept.
Looks interesting but I'm currently waiting for the decision on another Carrion Crown game. Wouldn't want to start two of the same game even though I've never gotten past the first part of this one....
All humans!?! Interesting!
What about plans for higher levels, Prestige Classes? None allowed? Ask in advance?
Hello All!
A few memories proceeded to manifest while reading your OP.
I started with Fighter, Cleric, Magic-User, and Thief and added the ones I thought were suitable...
Red Book, Blue Book, Purple Book! Fun times!
And...
This is true. But it's not just the tracking, it's the story that it tells. My least favorite part of LotR is when the hobbits strip the Moria goblins of all their armor so they can sell it to Galadriel to buy magic items. Oh wait, they don't do that. Maybe I'm thinking of that scene in the Expendables when they collect the sidearms from every mook they kill so they can fence them and buy a rocket launcher. Nope, they don't do that either. Obviously my approach is not the default these days, but I am asking players to trust me on this. I may do some of the old-school GM'ing of "drop the right item for the guy who needs a boost".
This really brings me back to the old days of the only gear you got was what you found. I really didn't start with the Store Purchases until I started playing PFS. This sounds like good old self-reliance (with hopefully spot on team work) to get through the dirt and grime, the blood and gore, the cotton candy and turkey legs!
I wish to definitely submit a sucker for the pending carnage!
Researching.....
Thank you for running!
Looks interesting but I'm currently waiting for the decision on another Carrion Crown game. Wouldn't want to start two of the same game even though I've never gotten past the first part of this one....
All humans!?! Interesting!
What about plans for higher levels, Prestige Classes? None allowed? Ask in advance?
Prestige classes are allowed if you wish. Even some that are disallowed in PFS would be just fine with me (e.g. Mortal Usher, Heritor Knight, probably some others - like Brewkeeper with Brew Potion requirement modified). Feel free to ask if you have an idea.
A note on traits in response to a PM question - there is just the one Campaign trait, no other selection.
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I'm looking at probably a bonded investigator eventually getting a Nosoi Psychopomp , possibly a swash dip, and possibly later going Mortal Usher.
Looks like alchy/investigator is a popular idea too though, unsurprisingly. And you mention ghost rider cavalier...I may look into this as a backup. Having a random cowboy in the monster-hunting party is a grand tradition, after all.
Given the race restriction, would you allow PCs to take race-specific archetypes for non-human races? For example, the Inquisitor’s Kinslayer archetype, which is Dhampir only.
Alternate human traits ok? Looking at dual talent since I don't need an extra feat at level 1 and one of my score increases will be int so it will be a wash for skills.
@Aldizog: Nice of you to offer the possibility of Samurai. I played in a Cradle of Night game here on the boards where Neil Spicer was the GM (one of the authors) and he let me play a reskinned Samurai (Yojimbo) as an outcast Kellid Horselord. Was fun while it lasted.
Kinslayer is fine, would just rename it - I see no reason to limit that to Dhampir.
Dual Talent and other alternate human traits are fine.
This really brings me back to the old days of the only gear you got was what you found.
Huh. To me ABP is the opposite of that oldskool approach. When you found a +1 spear, +2 vs puddings or a +2 trident and nobody in the party up until then used a reach weapon, and the lone Fighter loves his battleaxe. Or a weird ioun stone that nobody knew what it did. All those wacky miscellaneous magic items found in the DMG and Unearthed Arcana? You didn’t sell them, because there was no-one to buy them. You used them any way you could, because they were what you found.
But those mundane swords and other assorted equipment left lying on the fallen foes? Well, at low levels you can be damn sure we picked and chose and looted through those up to what was sensible to put in our sacks to a limit of our Encumbrance because we would definitely sell them to buy better rations, ropes, lanterns not to mention armor etc. The vendors were gougers, but we needed coin!
And ABP does away with weird magic weapons and items you might just have to rely on, does away with interesting treasure and really, to me, is the antithesis of oldskool.
This really brings me back to the old days of the only gear you got was what you found.Huh. To me ABP is the opposite of that oldskool approach. When you found a +1 spear, +2 vs puddings or a +2 trident and nobody in the party up until then used a reach weapon, and the lone Fighter loves his battleaxe. Or a weird ioun stone that nobody knew what it did. All those wacky miscellaneous magic items found in the DMG and Unearthed Arcana? You didn’t sell them, because there was no-one to buy them. You used them any way you could, because they were what you found.
But those mundane swords and other assorted equipment left lying on the fallen foes? Well, at low levels you can be damn sure we picked and chose and looted through those up to what was sensible to put in our sacks to a limit of our Encumbrance because we would definitely sell them to buy better rations, ropes, lanterns not to mention armor etc. The vendors were gougers, but we needed coin!
And ABP does away with weird magic weapons and items you might just have to rely on, does away with interesting treasure and really, to me, is the antithesis of oldskool.
My old-school experience was not like that at all, and I feel ABP reflects my own experience well. Typically found enough actual coin to get the mundane gear you needed, and then were theoretically saving up for a ship or a stronghold or something so expensive that tracking a bunch of little things seemed not worth it.
As to weird items that might come in useful, and random interesting items, those will absolutely occur. And not be immediately turned around and sold. So I think the "not fungible" aspect that I am adding is perhaps doing more of the work in getting the feel I am looking for. At least that is the hope.
I always ran Planescape in my 2nd ed days and there was a magic item shop in Sigil in the lore so I just made things up for buying/selling.
Also you can still get weird magic weapons with ABP just no enhancement bonuses. So that ransuer of the gargoyle, fine its just not a +1 weapon in addition to its other properties.
A Carrion Crown recruitment! I love this AP this so much and I had at least five attempts at playing through it, but sadly the GM was lost on four of those and the fifth was play-by-email and the pace was too slow for me.
At first I didn't love the humans-only restriction, but I've warmed up to it now and rebuilt my former dhampir monk as a human brawler. I really like the idea of the limitations in the OP, they give the story a gritty survival quality that I enjoy. I also played with ABP rules before and I find that it makes space for the more situationally interesting items rather than everyone chasing that ring of protection +2 or that +1 mithril breastplate.
Sadly I don't have the bandwidth to GM a third game right now, but I hope you find takers for those two campaigns!
Why human only if I may ask?
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I think that I found my Muse...
If approved, I will sketch him out this weekend.
Definitely allowed and thematic.
Why human only if I may ask?
I may explain it once I have made selections. There are several reasons why this restriction increases my comfort level with running this particular AP, but none that I wish to get into a debate about at this time.
This really brings me back to the old days of the only gear you got was what you found.Huh. To me ABP is the opposite of that oldskool approach. When you found a +1 spear, +2 vs puddings or a +2 trident and nobody in the party up until then used a reach weapon, and the lone Fighter loves his battleaxe. Or a weird ioun stone that nobody knew what it did. All those wacky miscellaneous magic items found in the DMG and Unearthed Arcana? You didn’t sell them, because there was no-one to buy them. You used them any way you could, because they were what you found.
But those mundane swords and other assorted equipment left lying on the fallen foes? Well, at low levels you can be damn sure we picked and chose and looted through those up to what was sensible to put in our sacks to a limit of our Encumbrance because we would definitely sell them to buy better rations, ropes, lanterns not to mention armor etc. The vendors were gougers, but we needed coin!
And ABP does away with weird magic weapons and items you might just have to rely on, does away with interesting treasure and really, to me, is the antithesis of oldskool.
My old-school experience was not like that at all, and I feel ABP reflects my own experience well. Typically found enough actual coin to get the mundane gear you needed, and then were theoretically saving up for a ship or a stronghold or something so expensive that tracking a bunch of little things seemed not worth it.
As to weird items that might come in useful, and random interesting items, those will absolutely occur. And not be immediately turned around and sold. So I think the "not fungible" aspect that I am adding is perhaps doing more of the work in getting the feel I am looking for. At least that is the hope.
Hmm. I guess after low levels, and given that in those games there was a lot of coin because treasure = XP you are right. I don’t really understand the rest but I do hope ABP works for your game GM Aldizog.
Also, I don’t think you need to “debate” anything here - it’s your game and you should damn well run it how you want and be confident and proud in your decisions! Humans-only at least gets rid of all the annoying halflings, gnomes and dwarves…;)
Have fun all, let me know if anyone wants to run this in PF2e…and I also echo others in hoping you fund some GMs to reciprocate!!!
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Hey hey GM Aldizog, are the PrC's Eldritch Knight, Esoteric Knight, and/or Holy Vindicator allowed?
In regards to the Holy Vindicator if it's allowed, would you consider allowing Channel Smite to fulfill the feat requirments for entrance into the PrC, instead of the listed Alignment Channel or Elemental Channel? Alignment Channel and Elemental Channel are... awful feats, but Channel Smite is on flavor for both the PrC and the AP and is a feat that might actually, ya know, be used at some point in the game.
Hey hey GM Aldizog, are the PrC's Eldritch Knight, Esoteric Knight, and/or Holy Vindicator allowed?
In regards to the Holy Vindicator if it's allowed, would you consider allowing Channel Smite to fulfill the feat requirments for entrance into the PrC, instead of the listed Alignment Channel or Elemental Channel? Alignment Channel and Elemental Channel are... awful feats, but Channel Smite is on flavor for both the PrC and the AP and is a feat that might actually, ya know, be used at some point in the game.
Those PrCs are allowed. Note that I will allow Favored Prestige Class and Prestigious Spellcaster.
Holy Vindicator gets Channel Smite as a bonus feat at 5th; if you already have Channel Smite, I will say you can get any other feat of your choice at that point. But I'm going to say no to changing the entry requirements.
Given that Oracle is disallowed, what about the Inquisitor archetype Ravener Hunter which (among other things) replaces the Inquisitor's Domain with one of a limited selection of Mysteries?
Given that Oracle is disallowed, what about the Inquisitor archetype Ravener Hunter which (among other things) replaces the Inquisitor's Domain with one of a limited selection of Mysteries?
As I said above, Oracle is a "maybe". It's on the edge. If you really want one, make one with a Curse that seems the right level of impactful to you.
Ravener Hunter does not seem appropriate. Even if there were a few exceptionally rare non-Catfolk Ravener Hunters, I would still expect them to be in the Mwangi Expanse. There are no servants of Angazhan in this AP, so a Ravener Hunter would be neglecting their sacred duty to instead be dealing with the problems of Ustalav. It would really be a stretch.
GM Aldizog - is there anything mechanically inappropriate about Ravener Hunter - it seems to me that the only difference between reskinning Kinslayer and reskinning Ravener Hunter is that Kinslayer isn’t exactly explicit about what makes it Dhampir specific, where one could easily reflavor both the reasons for and race to which Ravener Hunter applies…It’s almost as if the fact that there was something explicit in the flavor made by Paizo that is impacting the mechanical chassis…
I see several investigators, so I think an inspired blade swashbuckler might do. ?? Possibly going with Rose Warden PrC at level 6?
I've decided that I'll submit a witch. Archetype pending.
Given the issues with pet classes would a Promethean Alchemist be acceptable?
Given the issues with pet classes would a Promethean Alchemist be acceptable?
Yes.
I was curious about how your no crafting rule would affect an Alchemist's extract and/or potion creation? Thanks
I was curious about how your no crafting rule would affect an Alchemist's extract and/or potion creation? Thanks
Extracts are just fine, as are infusions or draughts. Those are just spell slots.
Alchemist replaces Brew Potion with Extra Bombs (as in PFS). Archetypes that lose bombs, we'd figure something out.
Much appreciated, GM Aldizog! Agreed about the theme of the Archetype.
Considering either Pharasma or Nethys as his deity. His older twin siblings are a Witch and a Wizard, so him being of Nethys seems warranted.
Pharasma obviously fits the theme overtly.
I like both angles, so it will come down to more research....hehe.
Theodore Samuel Walden Glitterfounder Human Cleric (Roaming Exorcist) has been literally wandering the dirty pathways of The Hunt in his home land of Ustalav for years. His twin older siblings have abandoned him to his delirium, disillusions, dirty (possibly mad) rantings about routing out the Evil bit by dirty bit....
Alright, based on the other concepts, I think I'll drop investigator and lock in on something tankier. It might be the ghost rider cavalier, or I might just go straight up Fighter, but I'll make sure to have some brawn.
No Oracles?Nope. Or Summoner, Hunters or Druids - so no minion mania. Also no Kineticists and no Shifters. Or Omdura.
Heh, guess them Vampire Hunters base class got left out too. ;p
Swashbuckler input for AGM Lemming. Still need history. Let me know if there are any errors. I'm only human!
Edit: I won't compete with Dorian Grey for the cleric slot. I dunno, maybe a Ranger Divine Tracker/Corpse Hunter. I've played this AP before, but it's been a long time. I recall there being an appropriate dearth of treasure, given the mood of the story.