I would certainly be interested. I know most are not interested in GMing 2nd Ed, but I would be more than willing to play 1e and GM 2e if anyone else would be cool with that.
Thanks for the info so far, everyone. Far as I can tell Bereket is also an active player?
As for looking through the original recruitment, here are my notes on the matter.
Level: The original GM stated that they would like to take the campaign to level 20. The AP is only written for content up to level 18. (Un)Luckily(?) for you, I've actually run RotR up to level 20 before so I have all the appropriate monster adjustments already on hand. I prefer to use experience points as a GM, and with RotR using the fast track I think that'll help us pace in some side-content in a meaningful way.
Ability Scores: 25 point buy is a lot, if I'm being totally honest. I like to run 15 for my home games and I'm stuck with 20 for PFS games. With all of your characters having high power relative to the intended difficulty of the AP I will likely upscale important encounters appropriately.
HP: We can definitely stick with average or roll, your choice. More to be said on this in the downtime section below.
Crafting: Given the in-world time this takes, I have never seen it break a game the way the theory-crafting types seem to pretend it does. All crafting is available as written in Paizo material.
Races: In the case someone has to reroll, all Paizo published races are legal for play.
Classes: All Paizo classes are legal for taking levels, retraining, or in the case someone needs to make a new character. Gunslinger and the occult classes are fun and I will fight this point until the day I die. (people are just mean)
Alignment: Preferably non-evil, though I don't take very strict interpretations of alignment. I care more about Hollie following her paladin code than I do the laws of whatever city she's in, for instance.
Skills: Background skills are cool. That's all I feel needs to be said on this point.
Allowed source material: All Paizo. aonprd is all of our friends. If something you are using is sourced from an obscure splatbook (or if you feel like being nice) please just throw a link in your post. :)
Leadership: Leadership is still allowed. The only options for a cohort are NPCs already established in the AP or your backstory. If you can manage a very compelling argument for a new addition that may also work out. If you have a cohort I will be running it in combat and such as if you had an NPC companion. Regular followers will stay behind at settlements unless you're looking to have your leadership score tanked by having them get killed by high-level foes.
Boon and Bane: Interesting rule, though admittedly I will likely forget to use the mechanical aspect of it.
How I GM, Generally
Posting: I do my best to post in all of my games at least once a day. IF you look at my recent history you'll see that has not been the case for the holidays. I will do my best to communicate if I will be gone for any protracted length of time. I generally do not post on weekends.
Experience: I use this as a pacing tool and it will be in my info bar when I come up with a clever alias for this game. Honestly don't worry about this much. If you miss a story reward somewhere I'll likely just make up the difference by adding another small enemy to your next boss encounter.
Downtime: There are times in this campaign where there are ambiguous gaps of time. I will be giving out downtime days at those points in case you want to use the retraining rules or crafting. You can retrain pretty much anything, including spending time and money on gaining additional hit points. We'll discuss it more the first time we get there.
I might've missed something, though at this point I think that's a good start. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
It's looking like sometime in the not so distant future I'll be taking over and GMing for all of you. I've been around on the forums for all of four months now, but I have a very special passion for this campaign.
That being said, if everyone could give me a description of your characters' personalities and interests that would be very helpful. If you have any questions for me please feel free to ask away! I'll be looking at the way the campaign is currently set up as far as character creation and rules are concerned and may make some slight tweaks depending.
I've been on the forums for a couple months now but I've been playing Pathfinder for the last nine years. In that time I think I've been a player in a face-to-face game for less than twenty sessions total, so I've very much been enjoying getting to play here on the forums. I almost always get in at least a post a day and one post on the weekends, and I try to make sure that every post I make has some sort of hook in it (outside of combat, of course).
Character Information:
I will likely get this together in an alias soon (helps me put everything together), but I'll be submitting a halfling rogue 1/ druid 4. Other than the first level class features from UX rogue and the traits from the APG she'll be core, so nothing too surprising. Combat-wise she'll have a heavy focus on making the most of her four hours of wildshape and out of combat she'll be a mix of sensing motives and picking locks. Working on the backstory now, I'll likely post it with the alias.
Hello! I'm thinking of doing a CN changeling (Brine May) deep shaman of Besmara with all intentions on going into the exalted prestige class. I've only been here on the forums for a few months now but I've been playing Pathfinder since about 2010 with a few years of D&D 3.5 before that. I live in Michigan, so EST/EDT for timezone. Probably my favorite submission that I've put together thus far was Erinara Aurore, though all there is for that is a backstory.
I will take some time either this weekend or early next week to make an alias and backstory. I know we don't need a full submission like that, but I find it easier to have a cohesive backstory if I know everything that my character should be able to do.
Hey all, sorry about the delay. I generally am not present on the forums on the weekend, so I suppose that is a detail to be candid about. I think I should be good to run this, though first off I'm going to need to actually sit down and read the first two books and then start preparing for the third. Is there a time-frame in mind for when you would want to start this off?
That is pretty fair. Well, lets take this topic by topic.
Feat Taxes: This is a system that I have seen around quite a bit and it seems to be rather well-liked. I would be curious to run with it.
25 point-buy: This leads to pretty strong characters compared to what an AP is written for, so there might be cases where I would slightly modify encounters to make them more appropriate (throwing an advanced template on something, adding one more weak creature, etc.).
Background Skills: I've used it before, big fan.
Hero Points: I've never used the first edition implementation but I generally like the concept.
Legacy Weapons: I love the concept though I would definitely make treasure adjustments accordingly. Which system are you using for legacy weapons?
Character Tweaks: What sort of tweaks are we talking here?
Additional Notes: I generally only post once per day in my threads and for combat I run a 24 hour combat round. Anyone who does not post by the end of that 24 hours gets botted for that round to keep things moving along. I use experience gains instead of advancement as listed. I find a certain catharsis in it. If you get ahead or behind of the AP I may adjust encounters accordingly to maintain an appropriately difficult environment, though that has never really been an issue for me in the past. I send out an anonymous RPG consent checklist to all of my players for all of my games to set a standard of what kind of topics people should be wary of so that we can avoid any situations that are hard for a social group to recover from in addition to a genuine desire for my players to feel comfortable.
Alright, here is my first character! I think I did everything right here, though please let me know if I missed something. I'll be working on the next one and try to have it in by the deadline.
FAELANA ARVINE
Lantern-bearer aspirant from far-off Kyonin. Prays at night to some god no one has ever heard of. Tends to be a little overzealous when it comes to fighting evil, tends to make rash and reckless decisions.
Level 1 Elf Fighter/Magic-User 1/1
STR: 16, DEX: 15, CON: 14, INT: 16, WIS: 11, CHA 12
Spells: 1 first level/day Armor: None Weapons: bastard sword +1atk[1d8+1 (+2 if two-handed)], longbow +2atk[1d6+1]
Age: 116, HP: 7, AC: 11, SAV: 14, Move: 12, XP Bonus: no bonus
Equipment: 1 gp, arrows(40), backpack, wooden holy symbol of Findeladlara, 6 days trail rations, waterskin, spellbook
Abilities: Darvision 60ft [elf], Find Secret Doors [elf], Cannot be Paralyzed by Ghouls [elf], Multiple Attacks (1) [fighter], Parry (-3) [fighter], Strength Bonuses (+1 atk, +1 dmg) [fighter], Saving Throw Bonus (+2 v. spells) [magic-user]
Spellbook: charm person, detect magic, light, protection from evil, read magic, shield
Background: The last that Faelana recalled it was 4719 AR and she was taking her first delve into the Darklands as a Lantern Bearer in training. Unfoitunately for her, her first encounter with drow went about as poorly as it could. She doesn’t quite understand how she was shunted to a different reality entirely, but she felt pretty lucky when she found out the common tongue really is common. She’s spent a bit of time learning what the elven language in this world is like, though it doesn’t quite resonate with her without the cultural context. Back to a life of adventuring, she hopes to apply her training for dealing with beasts of the Darklands against the evil forces of the Underworld.
Spell Learning:
Charm Person:1d100 ⇒ 60 Y
Detect Magic:1d100 ⇒ 28 Y
Hold Person:1d100 ⇒ 86 N
Light:1d100 ⇒ 12 Y
Magic Missile:1d100 ⇒ 83 N
Protection from Evil:1d100 ⇒ 3 Y
Read Languages:1d100 ⇒ 79 N
Read Magic:1d100 ⇒ 45 Y
Shield:1d100 ⇒ 42 Y
Sleep:1d100 ⇒ 77 N
Going to work on a half-elven cavalier (daring champion) 1/bard (arcane duelist) 4/battle herald 1. Big focus on party buffs. Dotting here to keep track of the thread.
How much prior knowledge of the campaign would be too much knowledge for a player? I've run the AP to completion but I have always been curious to be on the other side of things.
Really seems that way! I have a copy of the AD&D player's handbook that has been sitting around my apartment for years now that I can't get my Pathfinder players interested in.
So far I think I'll use the first set for an elf fighter/magic-user and the second set for a halfling thief.
I've GMed a good amount of 2e thus far, but I would love the chance to play some!
Name: Findlaine
Ancestry: Elf (seer)
Background: Lost and Alone
Class: Champion (redeemer) of Iomedae
Details:
Findlaine’s early life was spent in Greengold, the only port that allowed outsiders in Kyonin at the time. Growing up looking out at Lake Encarthan, knowing that accross on the other side knights in Lastwall were fighting against the Whispering Way, she began to imagine she could do the same. Her parents did not much like the idea, so she kept her physical training and prayers to Iomedae to herself. Growing up with the influences of elven society and Iomedaen ideals, the path of the redeemer suited her much better than that of a paladin.
Against the wishes of her parents, Findlaine saved money for years to make the trip to Lastwall and begin training. Unfortunately for her, her timing could not have been any worse. Not two months after her arrival did the Whispering Tyrant return and leave his terrible stain on the world once again.
There are few things that Findlaine recalls from her escape from Lastwall, but among them is an assuredness that something is very wrong with her. Brought back from the brink of death, she was told through her delirium that she nearly had succumb to ghoul fever. Elidir behind her, she hopes to strengthen her body and mind, inform her family that she is okay, and join the remaining knights of Lastwall when she is prepared.
Will mostly be a frontline tank sword and shield type character. Planning on taking the undead bloodline sorcerer archetype at 2 for some fun spellcasting opportunity.
Unfortunately I think I will be dropping out as well. I got accepted to an unexpected number of other games and don't know that I'll be able to commit the time. Sorry!
Hello, I’d like to try to get a spot as well. Here is my human ranger, Nerak Allriver.
Stats:
Nerak Allriver
Female human (Kellid) ranger 1
NG medium humanoid(human)
Init +3; Senses Perception +5
DEFENSE AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +3 Dex)
hp 12 (1d10+2)
Fort+3, Ref +5, Will +1; +1 v. arcane spells
OFFENSE Speed 30ft.
Melee greataxe +3 (1d12+2/x3) or kukri +3 (1d4+2/18-20)
Ranged shortbow +4 (1d6/x3)
STATISTICS Str 15, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8
Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Point Blank Shot, Power Attack
Traits Follower of the Stars, Superstitious
Skills Climb +5, Heal +5, Knowledge (geography) +4, Knowledge (nature) +4, Perception +5, Stealth +6, Survival +5 (+9 under clear skies); ACP -1
Languages Taldane, Hallit
Gear 16 gp, arrows (20), chain shirt, greataxe, kukri, shortbow
Special Abilities Favored Enemy (animal) Nerak gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of the animal type. Likewise, she gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. Nerak may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.
Wild Empathy Nerak may improve the inital attitude of an animal (poorly).
Background:
Nerak is a Kellid woman from Sarkoris. Scarred in both mind and body by her cultist parents, she ventured south and never looked back when she was only thirteen. While not very talkative, she is very protective of those in her care. She will share her feelings with those that she trusts, but only lit by the stars in Desna’s light. Nerak is wary of any arcane spellcasters, as her parents used it against her and the Kellid survivalists in Numeria that she trained with told her to stay suspicious. Feeling the wanderlust that followers of Desna often do, she began to travel further south and take jobs adventuring and protecting merchants caravans.
Nerak is 21 years old, 5’7” and lean. She prefers to keep her black hair short, never growing past her jawline. While traditionally she would only wear the hides of what she killed, she purchased a chain shirt after seeing the extra protection it afforded other guards she worked with.
Half-orc Druid 7: Not really applicable for the adventure at hand, but usable for stuff later.
Half-elf Inquisitor of Urgathoa (Sacred Huntsmaster) 3: My true neutral inquisitor who thinks that it is no one's place to deny the undead their eternal pleasures but doesn't have the means/desire to raise corpses himself. Has a bit of a binging problem. Uses a scythe and focuses on flanking with his wolf companion to trip foes together. Started as a joke about alignment stuff but he really turned into a character that I adore (and am very sad could not be made in PF2e thanks to the way deity alignments work).
Human Cleric of Sarenrae (Divine Paragon) 1: Exists to set things on fire and heal her friends. She has 1 xp, so she's at least got masterwork gear.
Human Fighter (Aldori Defender) 3: Working her way up to the relevant PrC. High dex fighter with some slight social capability. She has a bunch of Rise of the Runelords chronicle sheets assigned to her that will level her up a bit later.
And, as it stands, that is all I've got. I'd be more than willing to start a few new characters if none of these fit.
I can play my alchemist / wizard, Siobhan (73957-2001). I can send you my chronicle sheets when I get home later, she's level 2 with 8 xp between the playtest boon and me GMing 1-00 and 1-03 at GenCon.
Hello! New to play by post, have yet to do a game in this fashion. Hope you like Davor! I’ve had about ten sessions since PF2e came out, so I’m feeling rather comfortable with the rules.
Name: Davor Halenbor
ABC: Human (half-orc), Local Scion, NG Cleric of Erastil
Abilities: Str 8, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 14
Reason for adventuring: Davor was raised by a very devout follower of Erastil, his halfling “grandmother” Gilly Halenbor. He is unsure of how he ended up in her care so young, but he has never let it bring him down. Growing up learning the teachings of Erastil, Davor is very devoted to the people of Breachill and their safety; the Call to Heroes is an event he has aspired to participate in since he was a child. He is rather short and stocky for a half-orc, and his reading skills could certainly use some work, but Davor is a friendly and perceptive lad who is good with his hands.
Party Contribution: Large focus on healing, both in and out of combat. Spellcasting would be used on mostly healing and crowd control, probably would take Druid dedication for some more nature-focused spells as time goes on (also I just like the aesthetic). Might occasionally use a longbow if enemies are far enough away.
Writing Sample:
(cw: mentions of violence against children)
In her younger years Gilly Halenbor’s idea of retiring from the Pathfinder Society came in two forms: running a temple of Erastil in a hinterland village of her own or dead. That was, of course, while escaping from an expedition into the Hold of Belkzen she witnessed a ritual that shook her to her core. An infant, laying atop an altar, had an eye plucked from his head by a shaman of the Dead Eye tribe. Despairing for the child, Gilly and her companions fought those that took part and stole the child from his tribe.
This was the last straw for Gilly, and she decided she was going to retire early. Being a devout follower of Erastil, she looked for a small town that could use some help and settled on Breachill. It has been nineteen years since then, and though she expected a struggle raising her half-orc ward it turned out to be a pleasant retirement.
He should have been home by now, Gilly thought as she wandered around town. There’s only a few places he could be, assuming he’s alright.
Passing by the Pickled Ear, looking into every building’s windows for signs of her adoptive son, she saw the young man that she’s looking for through the front window of Lamond’s Lament. As she made her way to the door to talk to the young lad about calling it a night, a loud belch echoes from the bar accross the street. Who in all the Hells thought it was a good idea to put a soup kitchen across the street from that horrid place?
Entering the front room, Gilly saw a sight that only seemed possible in a close community like Breachill. Davor, his one green eye intent on the scrap of wood in his hand, wiped his other hand through his sweaty close-cropped black hair. I make one more, he said, picking the small whittling knife up from the floor on which he sat. Then you all go to bed. Davor very tired.
The children in the small circle around him nodded their heads and admired their prizes—small wooden figurines of stags. Gilly could not help but smile and as she approached she could see Davor’s ears twitch while he focused on his craft. Sorry gram, he mumbled. Almost done for the night.
Gilly shook her head and sat in a circle with the children. It’s quite alright, dear. Now, let me tell you all a story about a brave hooded champion and all the little towns he watches over...
I'll throw my hat into the recruitment ring, this is one adventure I have managed to not spoil for myself. Her name is Sinésiel Arvine, a half-elven woman obsessed with becoming as great a Sarenite priestess as her late mother without any of the wisdom required.
Background, appearance, personality and role:
Background: Having never met her father, Siné was obsessed with her mother, a Sarenite priestess. Though not too great at the honesty component, the required wisdom or the saintly patience, she tried right up until she was fifteen to become a cleric. It was then, ten years past now, that tradgedy struck and her mother was murdered. Many realities had to set in at once for Siné, the greatest of which being that if she could not be the priestess that her mother was, at least she could pretend to be.
For the past ten years, Siné has studied long and hard to become her best approximation of a holy warrior. With her mother’s holy symbol and broken wand of cure light wounds, Siné evokes the soul of the person she loved most to live the life of a false-priestess. While she would never pass for a real clergy member were she to try in a temple, the poor that she trys to tend to in the city cannot tell the difference when she pulls out a holy symbol and heals them from when a local cleric does the same.
Appearance: At 5’9” and usually armored, Sinésiel does not quite have the lithe frame of her elven side. Were it not for her pointed ears and black eyes, one might even mistake her for human. She keeps her black hair rather short, stopping at jaw length just before she gets it cut. Her facial features and skin tone are closest to her mother (who was Kelishite).
Personality: While genuinely compassionate and empathetic, most of the time Siné is lying about something. She wishes that she could be more honest, but the years of putting up the facade have made it more natural for her to adopt an identity and run with it. She tends to be rather protective, though not very open about her feelings. This has led to difficulty in her romantic life, as she wants to bear the burden of her partners’ woes but is not candid about her own.
Role: Siné would most likely function best as a melee support, trying to flank with lightly armored party members and occasionally summoning a servitor should the need arise for more engagement targets.
Stats:
Sinésiel Arvine
Female half-elf occultist 1
CG medium humanoid(elf, human)
Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5
DEFENSE AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +1 shield)
hp 12 (1d8+4)
Fort+3, Ref +2, Will +1; +2 v. enchantment
OFFENSE Speed 30ft.
Melee scimitar +2 (1d6+2/18-20)
Occultist Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +5)
1st (2/day)—burning hands (DC 15), cure light wounds
Knacks—create water, telekinetic projectile Implement Schools conjuration, evocation
STATISTICS Str 14, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 10
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Skill Focus (bluff), Toughness
Traits fast talker, flame of the Dawnflower
Skills Appraise +8, Bluff +8, Disguise +4, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (planes) +8, Knowledge (religion) +8, Perception +5, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic Device +4
Languages Taldane, elven, celestial, halfling, Kelish, Osiriani
SQ elven immunities
Gear 82 gp, backpack, belt pouch, broken wand, buckler, disguise kit, explorer’s outfit, scale mail, scimitar, silver holy symbol (Sarenrae), spell component pouch, tabard (Sarenrae)
Special Abilities Implements Conjuration (figurine*), Evocation (wand)
Mental Focus 5 points. (Conjuration 2, Evocation 3)
Focus Powers (DC 14)
Energy Ray (evocation) Expend 1 mental focus to make a ray attack (range 30ft) that deals 1d6 energy damage chosen at the time of use.
Servitor (conjuration) Expend 1 mental focus to summon a single creature (as summon monster I) for 1 minute.
Shape Mastery (evocation) As part of casting an evocation spell with an area of effect, you can expend a number of points of mental focus up to your Intelligence modifier to exclude an equal number of squares from the area.
Resonant Powers
Casting Focus (conjuration) The implement empowers the bearer’s ties to the worlds beyond, allowing his spells to maintain their power for a longer period of time. The bearer can add the implement as an additional focus component to any conjuration spell he casts that has a duration measured in rounds per level. If he does so, he adds 1 to his caster level for every 2 points of mental focus stored in the implement (to a maximum bonus equal to your occultist level). This increase applies only when determining the duration of the spell. Apply this increase after other effects that adjust a spell’s duration, such as Extend Spell. (Currently 1 round)
Intense Focus (evocation) The implement channels and enhances the effects of damaging evocations. A spellcaster who bears the implement can add the implement as an additional focus component for any of his damaging evocation spells that have an instantaneous duration or focus powers with an instantaneous duration. If he does so, the spell or focus power deals 1 additional point of damage of the same type to each creature for every 2 points of mental focus invested in the implement, to a maximum of 1 + 1 for every 2 occultist levels you possess. (Currently +1 damage)
About Me:
I have never played a PbP game, but I have been playing/GMing Pathfinder with great frequency since 2010. I live in the Detroit area, so my timezone is EST. I have done forum/chat roleplay in the past, and my dayjob is spent working at a computer so I should be able to post rather frequently.
