Arie IJzer's page

Welcome on board the Jenivere, my dear friends! The crew of the Jenivere claim that the ship is so lucky that it has to be cursed. According to Mate Jamesby it is only a matter of time before certain doom claims the trading vessel and all of its crew, but we all know sailors are a superstitious lot, so surely he can't be right. Right? Right!

Starring in this high-octane adventure are:
John Smythe, the dashing gentleman adventurer. Will his good looks survive the horrors to come?
Davy Dagaroth, the unlucky archaeologist who found himself trapped inside a box. Luckily for him, it wasn't an oblong box.
Chimalsy Kybwa'ka, a man chased by the dark clouds of his past. Vengeance is only one port away. Or is it?
Iomestria, a ravaging redhead who is trying to find the pieces for a puzzle she cannot solve. Or is she herself the last piece of said puzzle?
Viorec Rulasti, a con artist so confident he conned a con artist during a confidence con. Will be a pro or a con in the story that is to unfold?
Desionara Veleshi, blessed with a piercing gaze that shows the true nature of those around her. Why then is she all alone onboard a ship to Sargava? Surely her mother isn't hiding a secret from her. Right?

Now that we know who will be starring in this thrilling epos it is time for the actors to take their place on the stage. A beam of sunlight pierces through the clouds overhead and guides the Jenivere ever closer to her destination: Eleder, Sargava.

Welcome on board the Jenivere!

Before we begin, I'll give everyone the chance to make any last-minute changes to their characters. It is very important that you work out your equipment, because you'll only have with you what is on your sheet. I'm not a stickler for weight and carrying capacity, but do try to keep your character roughly in the weight range for what he can carry. You have maximum gold and if you have any crafting skills or feats, you may use them to make/craft any of your starting gear.

I'll open up the in-game thread later today. What I can tell you now is that your characters will be onboard the Jenivere, a Sargavan merchant vessel. She's currently on her way back to the city of Eleder, the capital city of Sargava, having started her return journey all the way up north in Magnimar. Many ports have passed by since and those who boarded up north are longing for the day that they can rest their head on a pillow once more without feeling their whole world sway from one side to the other. You're right now approaching Sargava, having passed by the Shackles and the Sodden Lands without running into too much trouble.

The in-game thread will tell you who else is onboards (PCs and NPCs), what exactly is going on and all that and more. Let's get this show on the road!

Greetings! I'm an experienced player and DM who's wanting to try his hand at running a PbP game. I've selected Serpent's Skull, because I've ran this AP before with a RL group of mine.

What am I looking for?
Most Paizo APs ooze 'pulp', but Serpent's Skull oozes pulp more than any other AP. Characters should reflect this. Dashing gentlemen explorers, reckless archaeologists, cultists, conspiracy theorists, Chelish who have gone native, Mwangi natives and those who are in it for the gold and glory are all concepts that rock for this AP.

I'll select five to six players. Five means that we can play on when one is missing or something happens and if the applications are so good that I have troubles picking five, I'll go with six! ;)

What are the rules of the game?
-Level 1.
-20 point buy.
-Classes that AREN'T allowed: gunslingers, anything eastern and anything that simply doesn't 'fit in'. Examples of that: a frost witch, a hell knight or a Druman oracle of the Prophecies of the Kalistrade. I'll judge ACG classes like the Slayer on a case by case basis. I have no experience playing or DMing those classes.
-Core races and anything that 'makes sense'. A Wayang does not, an Undine is plausible.
-Any non-evil aligned. Morally dubious is fine by me. Necro'ing it up ain't ;)
-2 traits, one being a Serpent Skull trait from the player's guide.
-Maximum starting wealth as per your class.
-Max HP at level one, PFS average after (fighter = 1d10 = 6, cleric = 1d8 = 5, wizard = 1d6 = 4).
-All Paizo material is allowed. I do not encourage players to min-max, I do not mind players optimizing their characters and the reason I allow all material is because it lets a player make the character exactly the way they want him/her to be.

What do I expect from you?
A character with a solid background and a stat line that makes sense. Your character should be fun to play, fun to play with and fun to gamemaster for. Other than that, try to post regularly and when you can't, tell us or PM me. RL always goes first. Be nice, don't be rude and if there are rule disputes, I'm sure we can work it out.

What is Serpent's Skull?
Serpent's Skull is a pulp action adventure that alternates between being a sandbox and a railroaded adventure. The players will have to form a solid unit and eventually allign themselves with one or more factions. While the players start on an island, it is NOT a nautical campaign. Exploration lies at the heart of SK: Indiana Jones movies, Tintin comics and Wilbur Smith books must have formed a great deal of inspiration for the writers.

I repeat, it is NOT a nautical campaign and it mixes traveling & exploring, dungeon-crawling, doing research and using diplomacy.

How do I run the game?
-I use the monster's average initiative so that the game doesn't suffer from staggered posting.
-Maps will be posted whenever possible using Google Docs, but I might skip a map when the encounter doesn't need one.
-I'll use the suggested leveling rate of the AP itself: this means you won't get XP, but will hear me shouting "DING!" whenever you level up.

Here you can find the players guide.

You can post any and all questions here. If you're not sure whether I'll like or approve of a character setup, do ask. I'd hate for you to spend an hour or more writing something up only having to shoot it down! Not that I'm such a harsh DM. Right? Hehe ;)