Captain Xenon's page

in the advanced race guide, there is a feat for dwarves that gives bonuses to craft(alchemy) and profession(brewer). this is probably where the confusion comes from.

i would try something simplistic- let the fighter move and full attack with weapon specialization. this makes the fighter stronger, without doing anything to hurt the casters. this makes the fighter a mobile damage-dealer, and much more deadly as a result.

next, give fighters all 3 strong saves. this would bring them back in line with 1e fighters, who had good saves all around.

suddenly the fighter isnt so weak- he has better resistance to save or suck spells, and he can charge and full attack. the survival of a wizard depends more on tactics instead of just a quick win. all without nerfing the wizards spell list.

spell research should be possible. the wizard version would likely be higher level than the druid version, but it should work.

the spell description does not say, but i would assume the caster could choose between different types of sounds when casting the spell, similar to choosing the effect for an illusion as it is cast.

from what I've seen so far, this set looks like it will be interesting. the dragon looks very nice as well.

the familiar knows your skills, not your languages. also quill and ink may take too long in an emergency. sign language for 'RUN!' is much faster.

Familiars get the same skills as the master. if you have a monkey familiar and take linguistics to learn sign language, you can then have your monkey report back on what he saw.

munchkinism is a negative social behavior, the specifics of which vary by game and group. it is separate from power-gaming although some people may use the terms interchangeably.

a Munchkin will behave in a childish fashion, and will demonstrate selfish, childish behavior such as demanding more treasure/xp, hogging the spotlight, tantruming if they 'lose', and focusing on juvenile behavior and crude humor in game. they want ale and whores, they want bigger guns and faster cars, and they want it now.

this is a combination of wish-fulfillment fantasy with poor impulse control and a lack of proper social ettiquite. they may use the 'playing my character' excuse, and make very close version to popular characters such as batman or wolverine.

thats my definition, i know others will have their own definitions.

it sounds like the real problem here is that that taxes were an after-the-fact surprise, a bad bait-and-switch that the GM pulled. this is bad storytelling, mainly because the players are being vocally upset.

pathfinder is heavily based on wealth by level. level 4 is 6,000 gp each. your trying to remove 10% of their wealth by level with this tax, and that is simply wrong- especially as much of that wealth is tied up in equipment. an additional 2.5% loss each per week is horrible.

the best way to handle a 'tax' like this, would be a quest to go somewhere and fetch something.

some classes grant immortality- the lv 20 wizard for example.

want to live forever? move to a timeless plane or demiplane. for enough gold you can have your own permanent timeless demiplane to live in forever. you could even build one as a prison....

i just opened two bricks of this set that i got from the local brick and mortar hobby shop, and one booster was missing one of the three small/medium figures. not quite sure who to contact about this.

i did have to rescue one kobold who was stuck on a large figure, the sword going between his arm and spear. the small plastic bags taped to the plastic is an interesting way to package some of the pieces.

opening 2 bricks, i am only missing 8 rares. that and i need more kobolds. because kobolds are awesome.

the large demons and elemental creatures are very nice. i got three toad demons from my 2 bricks, which seems a bit much.

a couple of the minis do have poor paint jobs, specifically that the eagle knight office 's face has too light of a layer of paint over black plastic.

the centerfold map in Varisia has this, listed in miles with a red line to denote where the road is. to get from Magnimar to Korvosa, for example, there are 10 sections of road. the artwork makes this specific map more in-character than i prefer however.

hm. at this point, i would love to see a PDF atlas with an option to turn the hex grid on or off.

in case of a print version, it needs to include a transparent sheet with the hex grid on it. the old 2e forgotten realms box set had two of these of different scale, it was quite useful for quickly figuring out distance traveled.

the real problem with most atlas books imho, is when they focus not on usable maps, but on following the events of a book. dragonlance did this far too much. while some maps for the more famous megadungeons would be a good thing to include, i think what we both want to see are countryside maps in various scales. sort of like the area around sandpoint from rise of the runelords.

heck, there are probably a lot of maps that would be easy to include from existing products as is, just needs a reference to source in some cases.

there is an amulet which adds a ring slot. you could use that with ease.

first of all, be an active player- pay attention, and interact when appropriate. dont be one of those guys playing fruit ninja until asked to roll dice.

know your character- have opinions and motivations. if nothing else is going on and your in town, what do you want to do for fun? in the dungeon, how do you respond to different types of threats? it can sometimes help to write a bit of background to help you think through the characters views.

know your abilities- you should understand the rules enough to quickly roll and find the result for your to-hit, saves, and so on. dont break immersion and slow everything down asking what you need to roll, or what to add.

in you know who your character is, and what he can do, and whats happening in the game, then its easy to figure out what he should do.

the best way to define a character is not how he fights, but how he reacts to everyday stuff in town. most fights have a specific best answer for a characters build, but trying to find lunch in a busy town is a question of personality.

feedback... well, its poorly organized. you need more paragraph breaks really. beyond that, lists of bonuses and bonus types might be useful. do keep in mind which bonuses cannot stack.

it would be best to divide it into sections- race bonuses, class bonuses, trait bonuses, feat bonuses, and equipment bonuses. be sure to include your source so people can use the guide.

part of the core problem with 'economy' in pathfinder, is that all goods have a set price. a pound of saffron is worth the same amount of gold wherever you travel. your profit would be the result of labor via a profession roll.

in PF, you create value through labor. if you use 'profession: merchant', then you still only earn value through labor. UC added the idea of earning value through Capital (such as a field of crops or a shop). Capital needs labor to work properly, but produces value in addition to that labor.

this is not better or worse than other possible rules, it is merely different. having run a traveller game, i find the commerce rules there are easily broken by one character with a good broker skill. so in PF, we use a Labor/Capital/Time investment to earn non-combat resources. you can also earn non-combat XP, but only to 'catch up' to the rest of your team, meaning its not used for actual advancement.

your ability to earn money is based on your level, both for your bonus to the skill roll, and for your WBL to invest in capital. the game is very adventure-level-based in every aspect.

the mindset you want, outside of the rules, is that 'the world is full of danger, and i must adventure to make the world safe/ find treasure/ find lost knowledge'. adventurers have motives, even if its simply the thrill of exploration. getting more gear is a side effect of the WBL assumption.

what i would love to see right now, would be a master index of spells by school, listing which book each is from. its very hard to find school-specific spells from the non-core books right now if you dont already know where to look.

the easiest way to move a lot of goods from location A to location B is to use create demiplane, greater. just use 3 castings of the spell- one to create it, and two more to add portals to the locations you need. then have unskilled laborers haul things down a hallway to your other warehouse, regardless of what plane its on. cost only really goes up if you want to make the demiplane permanent. you just need a wizard willing to spend 8 hours casting a 9th level spell for you, repeatedly.

now, for a proper 'cargo plane', i would suggest designing a new animal from the ground up. perhaps some kind of flying whale? pick the final stats you want, and then describe how it gets there. easy for a GM to do. for a player, talk to your GM- either they will help you build it, or they save you time by simply telling you no.

actually, there are further advantages of the mount spell- you can have the horse 'hustle' for faster land speed, and do so twice, then recast the spell. with 4 spell slots, a caster with mount could travel a fair distance in 8 hours.

on food/water, a 20th level caster would have a 40-hour duration on this spell (80 hours with extend spell). i would say that after 12 hours the mount will need something to keep it going at peak efficiency, and would eventually even need sleep. if you try to keep the summoned mount running for 40+ hours, it will likely die of exhaustion before that point and unsummon.

its a useful spell, even in combat. while its not a combat summons, having a large horse suddenly appear somewhere can be a serious tactical advantage, more so when fighting goblins. goblins HATE horses after all.

back in 1e, reincarnation was a 6th level wizard spell of the necromancy school. material components were cheap (a drop of blood and a small drum), and they had to have died fairly recently. it was also a 7th level druid spell, but the druid spell would restore you as an animal most of the time, while the wizard version always left you as a humanoid.

2e removed the spell from the wizard list entirely. 3e gave druids the old list from the 1e wizard version. and now pathfinder has given wizards limited healing ability with the conjuration school.

so why not bring reincarnation back for necromancers? there is precedent for it in the rules, and its not a balance issue as druids now get it as a 4th level spell. wizards still have clone, so this would simply be a faster way for them to revive the dead with side effects.

golarion already has magical tattoos and implanted ioun stones. you can just use the rules for those and change the flavor to match the game you want.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Elder_Scrolls

lots of good elder scrolls stuff. a far amount depends on when you set your game- by the time of skyrim and the return of dragons, many have fled morrowind because of all the ash. although there is still a lot of time after the events in the game, so you could change all the NPCs with ease.

cliff racers are basically small versions of the pterodactyl. and they are everywhere.

are you using soul gems? keep in mind that black soul gems are possible, despite the mage's guild outlawing them. you will need to figure out some kind of HD to soul conversion, or perhaps base it on CR.

summoning has other issues, such as casting time (full round). this can be a serious issue in combat with a lot of PCs, as some fights may be over too quickly for your spells extended duration to matter.

a Conjurer has a lot of options- things like grease, mount, or even infernal healing (inner sea world guide).

feats basically define what sort of wizard you are. so first lets look at the worst possible day your caster can face: you have lost your spell component pouch, you need to cast defensively to avoid AoO from that ogre with reach, and your going dead last in initiative order (rolled a 1, other side got a 20). do you have spells ready without material components? is your concentration bonus (caster level+int bonus+feats/traits) enough to cast the spell reliably? and will the spell still matter when it is cast?

for level 15, you may want to grab the true name discovery, and be able to summon some kind of outsider(angel, devil, efreet, ect). more useful than staff crafting, and there are a lot of other outsiders to choose from.

at level 7, is improved familiar better than a cohort from leadership? yes its useful to be able to hand your familiar a wand, but a druid cohort could be just as useful for some builds. also, i believe a new familiar will remove that initiative bonus.

for traits, you could get a +2 to initiative or concentration.

wish abuse is easier than that- the true name discovery can give you the true name of an efreet, and at lv 15 it could be a noble efreet. dealing with an LE entity isnt that hard, just offer to use some of his wishes (that he can only cast for a mortal anyway) for his benefit. i get +3 to three stats and so does the efreet, thats 12 days of having the feat.

now, as you can use a feat to learn a true name.... you could have multiple entities granting wishes. and if you run into a problem, you could retrain the feat for a different entity. with two efreet you could get +5 to all stats- this is a WBL issue, not a power issue.

a wish is only as powerful as the GM permits it to be. many uses of the spell are a question of WBL rather than anything else. most times its simply a very versatile, if expensive, spell to let you quickly use any lesser spell, even those not on your spell list, like raise dead. these results can be downright game-breaking at times, if left unchecked. the balance is the GP cost to cast. any way to bypass this is a potentially serious issue.

the best solution, is to have a 'cost' associated with a wish effect above and beyond mere gold. this does not mean 'screw the player'- you should discuss these costs with the player, and let him choose if he wants to take that cost, or try something different. it may be a knowledge: Arcana check to know how to word a wish properly.

well, even if it doesn't stop the spell, you still force a concentration check for casters in the spell radius. by similar logic, hold person is also a counter-spell as it prevents the spell from being cast.

feat options include gaining them via magic item- and there are rules for magic tattoos. so why not a magic tattoo that grants the feat? this may have an increased material component cost however, if the player is casting the wish spell themselves.

if an evil creature is granting the wish, make it a very ugly tattoo somewhere obvious, easily recognized with knowledge-planes as a sign of an evil contract.

there are a lot of different types of spells. each spell is useful some of the time, but not all of the time. you have damage spells, area-control spells, save or suck, and utility spells. heck, i could make an argument for mount being the best spell from 1st level- its a summon monster that lasts for hours and doubles as fast transportation.

if i run into skeletons at level one, i still have my specialist school power, my cantrips, and my quarterstaff. and i should have the rest of my party, which ideally includes a cleric to deal with undead.

in a combat-focused game, color spray will end more fights more quickly. for everything else, we have ranged touch attacks.

color spray.

its an aoe non-lethal vs will save, and against low HD enemies it will disable them for several rounds, long enough to end the combat. even against stronger foes, they lose a round of actions if they fail the save.

keep in mind, crafting feats are expected to increase WBL for that character by 25%. and anyone can take crafting feats these days.

so, logically there should be a bonus or discount to equip self-crafted magic items. this rewards crafters for taking those feats, while preventing abuses.

jedi are samurai, not paladins. they keep their powers when they fall. when used properly, the jedi code should be similar to Bushido- it is the metaphors of duty and honor that keep to the light side of the force.

sadly, dark jedi and sith are most often shown as simply being jerks, despite the 'sith code' having much more depth to it than that. kicking a puppy is not the dark side, yet that is how KOTOR showed the sith. Really, dark jedi are simply evil jedi who use [evil] powers. you can have CG jedi(qui-gon) or LN jedi.

paladins, by comparison, are Knights who serve a god with a specific code of ethics. all their power comes from following that code, and most problems in a game are the result of poor player-GM communication regarding this code.

now, how are they similar? both are martial classes with special powers, who belong to a religious order with a code of conduct. both can 'fall' (with very different mechanics and consequences). their code of conduct is not similar however- the Paladin says 'do no evil, stop evil whenever you can'. the jedi code says 'control your emotions, meditate'. the jedi is happy to use their powers for mind control, cheating at dice, and so on. if a paladin did what we see light-side jedi do in the movies, he would lose his powers. as long as he feels no hate, the jedi can safely kill whoever with his lightsabre. but he must never use the force as an attack.

also, the paladin code is better defined. the jedi code is kind of a philosophical mess in general.

the issue will be weight, rather than volume. i know from experience that a too-heavy backpack can hurt- i once got bruises on both shoulders after carrying an overloaded backpack full of books back to my car from a library book sale.

the rules only say 2 cubic feet. this is 2409 pounds. you can get fewer coins per cubic foot due to shape however. there is no mention of a weight limit, but this may depend on material used.

so lets just round down to a ton of gold, 2000 pounds. at 50 coins per pound, that 100,000 gold coins. you need a strength of 20 just to drag that much weight.

so the practical answer- the backpack holds as much as you can try to carry.

dont nerf the ability. either let him have it, or disallow it. the alternative your thinking of has many unintended consequences.

a wizard has four ways to directly affect the action economy- spells(summoning and haste), familiar, cohort[feat], and the true name discovery[feat]. a good wizard will always have the option of cluttering the board.

your player will be spending 2 of his feats, which could be used for other things, to get better support on the battlefield. if you give the levels to the IMP of all creatures... that would be bad. the imp can be invisible, teleport, and so on all on its own. imagine stacking that with a spellcaster class (like cleric of an evil god). suddenly you have an invisible teleporter who can drop spells and negative channeling. or what if the imp takes levels in rogue, and sneak attacks from invisibility? or levels in wizard- imagine the familiar studying the masters spellbook, and effectively doubling most his spells while still sharing spells. the result would be downright nasty- and he could then dismiss the imp (which remains his cohort), and then summon a NEW imp familiar. which then clutters the field more on top of the issue of an imp with class levels.

also, as an imp is cr2 without levels, you would either be shorting him on cohort level, or else making the imp too powerful by far.

hm. well, for an elf i would suggest dex 16, con 10, int 20, cha 7, str 10, wis 10. you may then buy armor for an additional +1 ac (its in ultimate combat, no penalty or spell failure) for AC 14.

int 20 is very important, as this gives you a 4th first-level spell slot, an extra spell known, as well as increasing the DC of your spells and your concentration bonus. increase int at every opportunity.

familiars have been very seriously nerfed (mainly in equipment slots), but the raven may be your best choice as it can speak.

for starting spells, you will want: infernal healing (ISWG), and color spray. only memorize the infernal healing if your party lacks a main healer, and know that its not very useful in combat. its great for healing between combat. color spray is the best offense you will have for several levels as it shuts enemies down long enough for combat to be effectively over.

i find that 5 or 6 players is best, but the CR system is built for 4 players. make sure to calculate your APL properly. with 9 players you technically could run two games, but be sure to talk to them about the idea before you plan too much.

there are a lot of great city books for the golarion setting, with books for three major cities in Varsia, the great city of Absalom, several other books that detail other cities, and a new cities book due out soonish. the magnimar book could be a good one, as its also near sandpoint and a lot of goblin tribes.

for an urban game, the first thing you really need is a quick set of NPCs to use- city guard, shopkeepers, random townspeople, and some thugs for the bad part of town. second thing you need is an urban bestiary- even if its just ally cats, rats, and angry pigeons, some players will try to fight them.

there is always a lot to do in cities, and the most common enemy will be other humans(often with npc levels). theme-wise, you could have them play detective with a recurring villain group, or deal in political intrigue, or solve various problems like dire rats in the cellar or an old tomb accidently opened by new construction. or even just running errands for a local wizard. some cities have their own mega-dungeons under them as well.

running your own adventures, i find its best to plan a couple of levels worth of encounters ahead, with a few extra side-encouters and wandering monsters prepared in case the players decide to throw you a curveball.

i just opened a brick, and everything was intact. the iconic magus figure has a terrible paintjob however- the skin tone on his chest is too thin(showing some of the color of the black plastic beneath), and on his face extends onto his hair. i don't know if this is a problem with this individual figure, or with the magus figure in general.

in several cases, weapons are bent at odd angles. this is most noticeable with the sea-devil's trident, which is at a 45 degree angle away from the shaft of the weapon. not surprising, but a little disappointing.

the translucent blue plastic held in the hands of two female casters is a nice touch.

i agree that the wings were a little loose. i noticed a major difference between the blue dragon and the skeletal dragon: the blue had a <- shape to the insert, implying that it would hold itself in place once assembled. the skeletal just has a slightly snug fit for the straight wing inserts.

it is a very nice iconic dragon piece, in that it could be a simple skeleton, a draconic skeletal champion, or even a dracolich, depending on what sort of encounter your dealing with. it can also be a nice 'mueseum' piece to place on a platform in the middle of a formal event (right before the necromancer crashes the party?)

dwarf 1: "how did ya not know he was a gorilla?"
dwarf 2: "well, we had a few drinks, and i figured he was just really drunk. i mean, his jokes were hilarious."
gorilla: "barkeep, another round!"

i think that belt should let the ape talk, just because of the jokes. and IRL, the gorilla can use sign language. the Golarion setting has drow sign language. we can solve this problem easily enough.

it costs resources to process a spellbook. how do they know the value? you need spellcraft rolls or read magic to see what the spells are, then you have the possibility of secret page, magical traps, and even non-spell content (like a treasure map).

that QM has his head lodged rather far up his own rear end. you need to sit down and talk to him, preferably out-of-game to avoid the 'playing my character' nonsense some people use. remind him this is a game you play to have fun, not a contest to see who can screw the party over more.

also remind him, that your party has someone stand watch at night, and you have access to a wide range of interesting save-or-suck spells. like bestow curse(at level 5+ anyhow), which can have some simply inspired RP uses.

the groups i played with, simply handed out found gear to who could best use it, and divided the rest. we never worried about things like what a spellbook was worth- it was another tool to keep us alive.

an aggregate demand curve would make some sense- you could even realistically model it, as there is a finite set of class/level/race/build. for each spell that could help, you will see a variable demand by class for that service.

WBL is the upper limit, with this expense falling under the 15% disposable section. level one doesnt have enough gold to matter. at level 2, each member of the group has 150gp max to spend on casting for that level. at level 3, they have 450gp each to spend (or 300 additional gold). if you know encounters per day, then you can find how much gold per day of casting.

now, the basic demand curve increases as price lowers. you want to find the point that aggregate demand meets your supply- but as your supply is larger than demand, thats a bit of a challenge. so, at what price could the commoner afford your services? a level one common with 1 rank of profession and a stat of 10 should have about 18gp per month after living expenses. thats 6 silver per day per person of disposable income that we can expect. so each spell availible needs to be priced on this scale, if you want to sell to commoners. you must sell to adventurers (a higher risk task) if you want to make more profit.

so, if you were to sell casting services for 1gp per spell level(plus material costs), that could work. you would get additional income of several gold per day, but would not sell all of your spells all the time. this is 1% of list price for this caster, and it is what the commoner economy can bear.

the only real reason why list price is so high, is because the typical wizard does not want to be bothered- the high price is how the wizard values his time. also a wizard will typically make more money crafting items on commission.

well, you dont need to be in melee to cast it- you can keep it ready a few rounds as needed. and if you are in melee, you only need to make a concentration check to avoid the AoO.

really, you would just be removing one d20 roll. this would reduce the utility of the defensive casting feat. not too serious, but it has two important issues- enemy casters will have an easier time slapping the fighters with spells (like cause serious wounds from the evil clerics), and PC wizards will avoid potentially wasting a spell to do the same to enemies making them even better than non-casters.

really, this house rule sounds like its equivalent to a feat. not serious, but worth a small amount of finite resources.

there do not appear to be any stats for water fowl, you may want to just use the raven familiar stats but remove the ability to talk. have it give a +3 swim bonus maybe, and use a swim speed(10') when on the water surface.

bonus points if it sits on his head, and he responds 'what duck?'

first of all, the wizard is going to want to trade spells, as they will both likely have different spells in their wizard books.

if she can make potions, offering to buy in bulk for 60% of list may be useful, which would give her a 5gp profit per cure light wounds potion, and haggle from there.

i would put the break point at level 5. once you get to that point, the casting is not as useful, and her capacity as a researcher has much more potential. item creation also becomes more significant at that point.

plan ahead two steps- if you share with the group, you have more swords to defend you when the original owner hunts you down. as in, an entire noble house and what favors they can call in, hunting a thief. a few divinations, and they should be able to make wanted posters.

considering the real nature of the acadamae, it seems likely that there is either a custom spell, or a special magic item. it could even be 'magic chalk' that draws the circle for summoning.

a very real possibility is that the 'ritual' is simply the students accessing a spell already in place. devils want to go to the prime material after all, so calling the right name could summon them without much need for magical power- the real problem is trying to control them.

an index is very useful. because sometimes i need to find a monster by CR, or by terrain type.

to be great, your bestiary must have a good range of creatures, from low cr to high. there should be interaction between some types of monsters, similar to the goblins and their goblin dogs.

the monsters should also be fun. they should be something that takes advantage of the system to provide an entertaining battle. learning more about how they fit into the dungeon should be interesting.

for any template-monsters, it should be clear how to apply that template as needed. for humanoids, it helps to see clearly how to apply a different class than the default warrior 1.

rooms start on page 94. the 'casters tower' is a pre-made building on page 107, but you can build your own from the rooms in the book.

enchantment is a good choice for a second opposed school.

false focus, from inner sea magic, may be a good feat choice. using a holy symbol worth up to 100gp, you can ignore casting costs of up to that much. its a modified version of eschew materials, better in some ways. great for when you need to use 100gp of onyx but dont have any at hand.

caster level is the most important thing you can have, it effects many things including concentration checks. every caster level you miss means your effectively playing one level lower than the rest of your group.

now, if your serious about being a lich, you may want to consider being a sorcerer instead, as they use charisma to cast. necromancer is only better if you want the extra HD of undead control that the specialist wizard gets.

diamond dust, logically, is made every time a jeweler cuts diamonds, every time you mine diamonds from the earth, every time you convert low-quality small stones to dust because they were too small for anything else.

it must be more common than diamonds, especially large diamonds. price is determined by supply and demand, and its still rare enough for a limited supply.

diamond size has a more quadratic effect on value, while volume of diamond dust should be more linear. simply grinding a large diamond would likely result in a lower value of diamond dust. but cut does matter- dust can be more or less fine grain, and finer grain dust is probably much more useful for spells that need it.

there is probably a specific method used to make the finest dust and keep it pure.

The Present
16 of Arodus 4713
Two days outside of Kenabres 9:32pm

A cool breeze blows through the hills, momentarily relieving you from the humid temperature common in the summer, and breaking the stillness of the woods that you find yourselves in. Weapons drawn and crouched down, your eyes and ears scan the woods for any dangers and finding none, you relax, if only for a few seconds. You scan your fellow members, whom you have known for no longer than a month, each one of them bearing a unique trait of their ancestry. Your thoughts reflect back…

A month ago…
You remember being recruited for the Mendevian Crusade, each one of you with your own reasons for risking your lives against the demonic forces of the Worldwound. Then oddly, instead of joining the front lines with the majority of soldiers, you were each called to a special meeting and seated in the meeting hall of the Grey Garrison. After a few minutes you heard steps approaching and in entered the aged inquisitor, Lord Hulrun himself, the ruler of Kenabres, clad in shining, resplendent armor. Holrun He was accompanied by a half-orc woman clad in golden colored plate mail adorned with the symbol of Iomedae. Lord Hulrun spoke, eye brows furrowed, in a serious tone, ”Thank you for coming each of you and for joining the war effort. But let me be blunt, the Fourth Crusade has not ended, more like it has petered out. We are in the midst of crippling shortages and record lows in morale among the crusaders, and to be honest, the Mendevian war effort teeters on the brink of collapse. We have heard reports that the demonic occupation of the Worldwound is growing, as is corruption among our ranks. The situation is very dire…but you four may be the spark we need. Your heritages, no secret to anyone with eyes and access to information, may be the solution. I want you four to spark the war effort, boost morale and recruitment efforts, and drive out the corruption. I want you four to be my special military squad, the symbol of Heaven’s Fury on the Worldwound, my Blitzkrieg soldiers, trained and developed to deliver swift victories and terrible losses on our demonic enemies! With heaven at our side, we cannot fail!” The aged human pauses for effect, realizing he was shouting now, and his voice returns to its normal tone, ”Apologies, I think you four can do special things. I plan to announce our new efforts at Armasse, which is fast approaching in a month. Our crusaders need a morale boost. What say ye?”

And you each accepted of course for your own reasons and you were assigned to Irabeth Tirablade, the half-orc paladin, who would be your Master at Arms and who provided you with special missions. Irabeth You four had already escorted a dwarven delegation on its way to Kenabres to negotiate cold iron contracts, a much needed resource, through some dangerous territory. There had been some hiccups in the operation but all in all, it had been a successful mission, with promise for the future.

The present
And so here you were again, in these woods, on the trail of a hobgoblin gang who had been waylaying caravans and crusaders in the region, rumored to be led by a fiendish bugbear named Jozra. They thought attacking at night, where humans could not see without light sources, would prove to be their advantage. They were wrong! You had picked up their trail at the site of a caravan attack a few hours ago and tracked them to these hills. How long had you been waiting? It feels like hours but honestly it was perhaps minutes. You sense movement and a woman with golden hair steps out of the shadows, ”I found their lair…follow and try and be quiet…or as quiet as you can be in your armor.” She eyes the half-orcish looking warrior in scale mail with a mischievous grin. The party follows her for about 5 minutes to an overlook where your scout, Zedna, points to a cave entrance built into the side of a hill, where a lone hobgoblin stands guard some 20 yards away, oblivious to your presence for now. You all feel the rush of adrenaline building, as you plan your attack….

Congratulations on all selected. Let's try to have some fun. Finalize your characters, talk among yourselves, and let me know your thoughts/questions on any topics. Please format your characters in the Race/Class Tabs so that vital information about your character is readily apparent and makes my job easier.

Hello all. First a little about me: I've been a player for years on these boards - finished am Age of Worms campaign here as a 20+ dwarf warrior. My first AP concerning the Legacy of Fire went on for about 5000+ posts before it ended. Since then, to be honest, I've started and dropped a few games as RL got crazy at times. Anyway, I haven't DMed in awhile and I have time now (only involved as a player in one game) so I am ready to dedicate my time and efforts to this game. Any issues, I will advise you right away if I will be absent. I have seen from experience how a DM's sudden disappearance without notice leaves a bad taste in your mouth as a player.

Anyway, if you're still reading and interested, here is my pitch for this game, which seems to make sense to me: an all aasimar party of four fighting the forces of the Worldwound! Just seems like a cool concept to me and hopefully it will be fun for you as well. The beginning of the AP will be different also from those familiar with this AP - no fighting maggots and cave vipers, etc.

Character creation guidelines for 2nd level characters (you have some battles under your belt):

1. Races: Aasimar only - variant heritages in play (variant abilities will be rolled if you are selected)
2. Attributes: 20 point buy
3. Gold: 1000 gp
4. Background skills in place
5. Alignment: Good only
6. HPs: Max for 1st 2 levels
7. Classes: All Paizo sources allowed
8. Traits: 1 trait and 1 Campaign
9. Post your timezone. I am in EST.

Character submission: Physical description with emphasis on your otherworldly nature (images from internet are encouraged)- background dealing with your Aasimar nature and heritage - motivations to adventure? - outlook on life? - what makes you tick? Are you hated or loved or ignored by the populace?

Looking for 4 players - deadline is 3/10/2020 - may be earlier if I get enough submissions before. I will provide notice if there is any change.

Any questions, let me know.

The Worldwound. A tear in the fabric between our world and the realm of demons. The ceaseless onslaught of the Abyss is held back only by the bravery of the crusaders and the strength of the Wardstones, massive objects of immense power that are anathema to the demons. But even with the Wardstones at their backs, four different crusades against the demonic forces have not been able to purge the Worldscar of its corruption or come any closer to sealing the breach. The Fourth Crusade ended six years ago with record low morale and rumors of corruption in the ranks, and as the crusade falters, the demonic forces swell within the Worldscar...

Four days ago:
You were summoned to Eagle Watch headquarters where your commanding Officer, Irabeth Tirablade, a paladin of Iomedae, gave you your orders and a treasure chest with platinum bars: ”You are to meet with Dragan BloodAxe, dwarven ambassador of his clan, with whom we do much business, at this location in 2 days.” Irabeth hands Sabrina the map and the chest to Zarak. ”It’s about a 2 days’ ride east from here. He will entrust to you a shipment of cold iron, obviously necessary for our continued battles with the demon-kind. In exchange, you will give him the treasure chest. Don’t screw this up. We cannot afford to lose this shipment. Morale is already so damn low among our ranks and the Crusaders and our supply of cold iron weapons is not eternal. Thankfully, Armasse is approaching in 4 days and that should lift morale. The jousting tournaments and mock battles and duels, contests of skill and strength, and a chance for the common folk to learn the soldier's arts, if only for a day, will help forget their troubles. Hopefully, the history lessons will inspire more soldiers…we sure need them. Lord Holrun is scheduled to speak. If you hurry, you should be back in time. Please don’t be late. I’ve talked you four up to him, so don’t make me look bad by not being there.” Irabeth smiles at the three women and the half-orc. ”You are my most trusted soldiers. I have confidence in you that you can pull this off. Be back safely with the shipment.” Irabeth’s level of concern and trust in you was genuine.

You set out immediately and reach the meeting point on the day designated, despite being harassed by bandits on the roadside looking for easy prey to extort, which you dispatched without much issue. After confirming your identities, the exchange was made and the ambassador dwarf and his delegation departed, leaving you with a rickety wagon filled with cold iron ore. When you complained about the state of the wagon, the ambassador merely scoffed, ”The journey from our mountain home was long. Deal with it.” With nothing else to do, you headed back to Kenabres. After surviving another ambush, this time by a pack of three chokers, the party was one day away from Kenabres when one of the wagon’s wheels fell off. You scavenged the area for supplies and after a few hours, you were finally able to fix the wheel, but it was almost noon and you knew you would miss the first day of Armasse. As you continued traveling, suddenly a powerful vision overcame each of you!

Armasse officially began at noon, with the blessing of the festival by Lord Hulrun himself, ruler of Kenabres. The crowd gathered in Clydwell Plaza quieted as the aged inquisitor took the stage, clad in shining, resplendent armor. He cleared his throat, but just as he was about to speak, a bright light shone from the west, as if the sun were rising from the wrong direction. Hulrun’s shadow fell huge and distorted across the cathedral’s facade. A moment later, the sound of a thunderous explosion ripped through the air and earth, along with a violent tremor. To the west, the fortress known as the Kite—the location of Kenabres’s wardstone—had vanished. In its place, a brilliant plume of red fire, lightning, and smoke erupted into the heavens. A moment later, a powerful roar accompanied a welcome sight rising from the crowd—Kenabres’s greatest guardian, the ancient silver dragon Terendelev, who had until that moment been attending the opening ceremony disguised as a human. Above, another form appeared, as nightmarish as the dragon was breathtaking. A humanoid shape three times the size of any man, with skin coated in fire and lightning, gripped a flaming sword and whip. The creature’s identity was immediately obvious: Khorramzadeh, the Storm King of the Worldwound, had come to Kenabres, a city of a little over 12,000 souls!

As the ground continued to shake and disgorge demons into the streets, the dragon and the balor lord clashed above. The fight was over in a few harrowing moments, as the balor cut deep into Terendelev’s body, swooping down to strike the dragon and arresting her charge. A few more blows, and the titanic duo spiraled downward toward the crowd. The sight of the dragon smashing into the facade of the Cathedral of St. Clydwell is one you would ever forget. At that moment, a titanic demon erupted at the far end of the plaza, reducing several buildings to ruins as it smashed into this world. You can hear the screams of Kenabres’ citizens as they try to flee the demonic invasion. Meanwhile, the dragon’s battle is going badly for her as she is outnumbered and she takes to the skies. The balor lord follows and attacks her from behind. The last image you see before the vision fades was the Storm King standing before the ancient silver dragon, his sword lashing out and cleaving full through her neck, severing her head! Colorful pic for the image

16th day of Arodus 4713
12:10 pm

Then the world goes black as you find yourself back on the road to Kenabres a day away from your destination.

Welcome all and congratulations to all selected! I know the group is missing arcane magic, but I really like that 3/4 characters can heal so you should be all hard to kill. :) Let's remember it's a game and let's all have fun.

Any questions, please let me know.

Hey all, I was just turned down for WotR AP as a player so it got my creative juices flowing. I'm looking to run a modified version of this AP. In the past, I've tried to run it here on the boards according to the book and I had to abandon it because the creeping through the tunnels until level 3 with the mongrelmen just to give the demons time to wreak their havoc disillusioned me. I want to try this AP again with the players starting at 3rd level coming in to save Kenabres to get that heroic feel, maybe scour for friends and families, or whatever reason you have for rushing into a burning city recently overrun by demons. Also, after reading the numerous posts on how unbalanced the mythic rules are, I am going to try the non-mythic route (with some replacements and the use of Hero Points, when we get there).

I am looking for 4 characters so here are the character creation guidelines:

Starting Level: 3rd level.
Abilities: We'll be using a 20 point buy. No ability may be lower than 7 or higher than 18 after racial modifiers and even so, only ONE ability may be lower than 10 after racial modifiers.
Classes: Anything from Paizo is allowed, with a couple restrictions:
-Barbarians, Rogues and Summoners use the unchained version.
-Gunslinger (only Bolt Ace) is allowed and No Occult/Psychic classes are allowed.
Races: Core and Tiefling and Aasimar only. To balance things, both Tieflings and Aasimars do not get their spell-like abilities.
Alignment: No evil.
Traits: Two traits, one being a Campaign trait.
3PP material: No
Hit Points: Max at all levels.
Starting Gold: 3000 gp

House Rules:
Combat Expertise is for free if you have 13 Intelligence and +1BAB
Power attack only provides -1/+2 damage, even with 2-handed weapons
Dazing spell MM feat is not allowed.
Spell perfection feat is not allowed.
Item creation feats cannot reduce the cost of your starting equipment.

I want heroic characters for this. Application should discuss why you would rush into a devastated city (what are your ties? and should weave in your selection of your campaign trait.

Any questions, let me know.

15th day of Sarenith of the current year

A summer breeze blows through the once powerful empire of Taldor, cooling you for a brief second, before it wanes and the rising heat once again oppresses you.

Though nominally ruled by the Grand Prince Stavian III from his home in Oppara, Taldor’s true government takes the form of an incredibly complex bureaucracy consisting of a senate, executive agencies, military agencies, and a web of competing noble houses. At varying points in its history, Taldor has been a scrappy nation of farmers beset by monsters, a bastion of fearful superstition, an expansionist military power, a center of learning and science, a global trade powerhouse, and a defender against foreign hostilities.

Taldor is a former empire surrounded in intrigue. Major geographical features act as natural boundaries between the empire and its neighbors. To the north the Fog Peaks serve to divide Taldor from the nation of Galt. The Sellen River flows through the Verduran Forest, along the boundary of the empire and its western neighbor, Andoran. To the east, the World's Edge Mountains and the Whistling Plains provide a buffer between Taldor and the Empire of Kelesh. Finally, Taldor is separated from its long-time enemy to the south, the nation of Qadira, by the Jalrune River and the Zimar Scrublands.

But when have the political machinations of the nobility ever mattered to the adventuring class of Golarion society, especially such powerful adventurers as you each are in your own respective right? Ye, who are never affected by the crushing burdens that the normal citizens of Taldor undergo, given your enormous power and influence. Ye, whose only contact with the nobility is when the elite class is paying you for some service or rewarding you for a heroic deed. Ye, who never have any direct impact on the future of a country. Perhaps, all of that is about to change....and sooner than you would ever imagine.

Please submit an introductory post as to where you are in Taldor and what you are doing. Do you have a permanent home anywhere or are you just passing through? What is your current mood? Happy? Anxious? Bored?

Welcome to those selected. Please finalize your characters for my review. You don’t have to know each other although you could know of each other, especially if you have ranks in Knowledge (local). Any questions, let me know.

Hey all, just finished an epic PbP game on these boards as a player so I find myself with some time on my hands and high level play has always intrigued me. I wish to run a modified version of The Tomb of the Iron Medusa with the books available at the time the module was released.
Character creation rules:
15 point buy
2 traits
Background skills will be used
Core races only
Core Rulebook and APG content only
13th level (75% of max hit points)
Wealth: 140,000 gp (no more than 40,000gp on one item)
No evil alignment
Submission: interesting character concept and back story, including description of physical appearance, with game stats.

I know high level characters take time so will keep recruitment open for 10 days. Any questions, please let me know.

Map of Osirion
Map of Wati
Pharasma's Needle

Wati…if a foreigner walked up to you on the street and asked you how would you describe Wati, how would you answer?
- The Half city
- The City that Endures
- A southern city in Osirion that sits at the confluence of the Asp and Crook rivers
- A city ravaged by Cult of Lamashtu, who unleased the Plague of Madness in 2499 AR, where more than 60 percent of the city’s population perished in the streets and in their homes, and Wati was virtually abandoned for over 450 years
- A city, a quarter of which was sealed off by clerics of Pharasma in 2953 AR, which is now known as the necropolis
- A city of six districts: Asp, Bargetown, Midwife, Morning Sun, Outer Farms, and the Veins
- A city that attracts not only explorers to the desert nation of Osirion, but also countless scholars, private collectors, and special interest groups
- A city dedicated to the industry of death, where many of its residents continue to serve the city’s funeral industry, either directly as embalmers, undertakers, and clerics of Pharasma, or indirectly by crafting the myriad grave goods all Osirians hope to carry with them into the afterlife
- A city where a lottery was recently ordered by royal decree of Pharaoh Khemet III, the Ruby Prince, opening the necropolis to tomb exploration and scholarly discovery
- A city where the punishment for thieves caught in the Sunburst Market is swift and brutal: the thief’s hand is severed, dried in salt, and then hung from the market’s Pillar of Second Thoughts as a warning to others
- A city home to Pharasma’s Needle, a monument just inside the gates to the Necropolis, where mourners interring their loved ones inside the necropolis still stop on their way to the gravesites to gain the goddess’s blessing for the deceased’s journey to the Boneyard
- Home…

Whatever your answer, the city has been buzzing the past few days after adventuring groups were assigned tombs to explore in the necropolis and the adventurers lucky enough to survive have found numerous relics and items of lore. The Grand Mausoleum of Pharasma has entered into an arrangement with the Canny Jackal, a prestigious auction house and art gallery located at the western edge of the Sunburst Market, to hold an auction where private collectors and other interested parties can bid on items recently brought out of the necropolis.

Welcome to all selected. You may speak among each other and finalize your characters. You can start out as strangers brought together by exceptional circumstances or if you see some common background, characters can know each other. Any questions, let me know.

Hello all...I've been on the boards for a few years now and I have some time on my hands so I would like to run this AP, starting at Book 2. In the past, I have had a history of RL issues ruining my games, but I don't foresee any issues for the near future, so I hope you will take a chance on this game.

I will be running through the Mummy's Mask AP, starting at Book 2. You can look at the free Player's Guide for character ideas, traits, and more information about the setting. I will be picking four characters.

-- Character Creation Rules --

Stats: 25-point Buy (NO stats below 10 or above 16 pre-racial)
Traits: 2 (No Rich Parents) (1 Mummy's Mask Campaign, 1 other)
Classes allowed: No Gunslinger (except Bolt Ace), Occult, Oriental-flavored, or Summoner.
Races Allowed: Core Rulebook only
Alignments: Non-Evil
Feats: No Dazing Metamagic
Starting Level: 5 (I know Book 2 starts at 4th, but will adapt)
Starting Cash: 10,500 gp
Starting HP: Max HD(1st level) +(1/2 die + 1 + Con) per level.

Your application should answer the following questions:
Your timezone and posting habits.
What has your character accomplished in his/her life? Greatest achievement?
Why is he/she in Wati - what is your connection to the city? Native or foreigner?
The Campaign starts as you are invited to attend an auction of Osirion relics recently recovered from a tomb-raiding expedition in the Necropolis. Why is your character at the auction?
Give me a feel for your character's physical appearance and personality.

Recruitment ends on December 2nd at 6:00 pm EST. Any questions, please let me know.

Midday, 1st day of Desnus (Sunday)

You find yourself seated a circular dining table covered with a lace tablecloth in Durangmai, "The Dragon's Nest" Monastery of Master Leng, located 25 miles east of Sandpoint. You remember receiving the summons from Master Leng requesting your appearance on this day. How could you say no? You owed him so much. You remember arriving, knocking on the stone doors of the monastery and being ushered into this room by robe clad monks, who departed almost as immediately and quietly as they appeared, as you await Master Leng's appearance. There is a smell of incense in the air as the room is lit by many candles, making it uncomfortably warm. The room is perhaps 30' long but very sparse of furnishings and decor, as you would expect in a monastery. You think you heard multiple voices chanting when you arrived so it seems most of the occupants of the monastery are at religious services now.

You look across from the table and see two other guests, who seem to be in the same predicament as yourselves.

You can interact with the other players as you wish.

Welcome to those selected! Finalize your characters and let's have fun. Please format your characters so I can see your stats at a glance including saves, perception, and initiative.

Hello all! I am going back into the fold of GMing after a long absence as GM. I have the time and dedication for the responsibility now and look forward to gaming with some of you.

Here is my pitch for the game: A modified opening to the Brinewall Legacy, where Sandpoint and Ameiko play less of a role in the story. Instead play begins at a nearby monastery, where you have been summoned by Master Leng, a man to whom you all owe a debt.

I already have one player:

Human (Tian-Shu) unchained monk (Strength build).

I am looking for 3 other players to kick this story off. Some survival skills, some healing, etc. would be helpful as there is a lot of traveling.

Character creation:
25 point buy (no stat less than 8 after modifiers)
Core and featured races only
2 traits
No evil alignments
Max gold
Max hps at 1st level
Background skills
No VMC
No summoners or 3rd party
No psionics

Character application: I am a visual person, so if your character does not look like your avatar or does not include an avatar, a link to an image would be helpful. Describe your motivations and personality and include the circumstances under which you owe Master Leng a debt. Did he save your life? Influence a decision of yours? Etc. Please include a character crunch (you don't have to create a profile if you do not wish until you are selected) with your application.

I am aiming to make my selections after Memorial Day weekend, unless I see that recruitment has slowed down. I will post any changes to deadline. Any questions, let me know.

You've had some great deal of success in your life. You've had extravagant riches compared to the life common folk have on Golarion. True, most of those riches have been spent on material possessions that now adorn your body, be it armor, weapons, magical trinkets to enhance your physical and mental attributes, and whatever other magics you've discovered on your travels. Because you have chosen the life of an adventurer...sure, there's excitement and glory, but also death and lots of it. You've had companions die yet you have forced on, defeating the forces of evil and tyranny, wondering when your day will come. You've made enemies and friends, saved many, spent lavishly, and repaid most of your debts. Yes, most of them, because there was always one outstanding, that years later, still had never been repaid. And when would the day come? After all, you owed the elves and they live for hundreds of years! The debt might not be called in during your lifetime. You hoped you wouldn't have to pass that debt to your heirs, if you had or recognized any of them, at least officially. But then 10 days ago, there it was a sealed scroll found in your temple, at your monastery/fighting school where you trained, at the local tavern where you work part-time, and brought to you by a local dwarf. You recognize the quality of the paper and beautiful elven script immediately, as it simply read:
"The nation of Kyonin needs your special set of skills
Recent raids by drow in our lands
Remember your promise and your debt
Be in 10 days at the Traveler's Rest on the border of our lands for an escort"
The seal of Kyonin was very recognizable at the bottom of the Scroll.
So you set aside your personal matters, packed your things, and embarked on a journey to Kyonin.

Now, here you are, 10 days later at the Traveler's Rest, a one story-building near a rough road. There is a sign above the door that reads: “Travelers’ Rest—All Are Welcome!"

You walk into the shleter and find three sets of bunk beds sufficient for six travelers to sleep in comfort, fourteen days’ worth of food, twenty days’ worth of animal fodder, a good well out-side in the fenced-off corral area, an enclosed privy, plenty of firewood, and a handaxe in the woodpile. In addition to general furnishings such as cooking utensils, soap, and blankets meant to serve all travelers.

Congratulations to the five that made it! I look forward to a fun and exciting game. Please finish up your characters with equipment, etc., if you have not done so already.

Need your input on whether you are already an adventuring party at start of game or a group of individuals brought together with a common cause (i.e. to help the elves). Which do you prefer? You can develop interlinking backgrounds or you can just come in as loners and meet the others. Let me know what fits your character.

Will put up main rp thread over the weekend. Let me know any questions and please format your characters so I can see your saves, hps, ac, perception, etc in the Race/Class Tabs.

I'm itching for some mid-high level action, but at the rate of my current PbPs, it's going to be awhile so I decided to run a Pathfinder-ized version of this 3.5 module, with my special touch and edits, as I see fit.

Basic premise: Your band of adventurers is summoned by an elven emissary in Kyonin, whom you each owe a personal favor to, who has informed you that there have been a slew of increased drow activity in their lands. With Treerazer's cult and his threat occupying Kyonin's defenses, outside help is needed and he asks you to repay the favor and assist the elven people.

Character creation:
9th level
20 point buy - no stat lower than 8 or higher than 18 at creation
All core and featured races allowed except drow
No gunslingers or summoners
Wealth: 46000 gp - can't spend more than 1/2 on one item (no 1/2 price crafting allowed for starting equipment)
Looking for 5 person party - hopefully at least one elf
2 Traits - 1 drawback (optional) allowed

Application:
Appearance + personality + brief history + what is the favor you owe and the circumstances under which you came to owe it

Deadline is 1 week.

Any other questions, let me know.

The bustling desert city of Wati is near bursting with excitement. Adventurers from every corner of the Inner Sea region, such as yourselves, have assembled here beneath the hot Osirian sun to explore the tombs of the city’s necropolis, waiting only to be assigned their first sites for exploration in the upcoming lottery. Surrounding the participants, the public has gathered to observe the ceremony as well. There is a festival-like quality in the air, and numerous street vendors are hawking goods and refreshments to participants and spectators alike. Some merchants have even brought what can only be considered adventuring gear to sell as last minute convenience items to explorers, while others advertise that they’ll buy recovered treasures and antiquities from those who visit their establishments.

Amid the heat and the sand, you find yourself crammed in the corner of the Sunburst Market in the center of the city, between the Grand Mausoleum and Abadar’s Sanctum of Silver and Gold. Around you, 23 other "explorers" of different races (dwarf, humans, gnomes, elves, and even a halfling), stand waiting to be called. "The Unaffiliated" is what you and them were called, if you remember correctly what the clerk who took your name down, said. Those explorers who did not have an official charter or adventuring company name. According to the clerk, only one band of five unaffiliated explorers was allowed to enter the lottery but first, there would be a lottery of the 24 or so adventurers. So you basically had to enter and win two lotteries today. No big deal, right? And what did you win a chance at anyway? Unclaimed lost treasures or the right to die violently and painfully in a dark dirty and probably haunted tomb? Hell, the only who can even see in the dark is the sole dwarf standing 20 feet away from you with a sour look on his face.

After a few minutes, a young clerk of no more than 20 years of age, unfurls a Scroll and reads it aloud!

"Anka Sarraf"
"Rhade Poshment"
"Kakra"
"Alzaar Na' Keth"
"Jalal Hammada"
"Congratulations, you five have been selected to participate in today's lottery as a team. The rest of you have been excused and we kindly ask that you leave the area."

The other 19 adventurers leave, some with looks of disappointment, others with congratulations for the five of you, and others with dirty looks for you and the process. Hell, the dwarf, the only one who could see in the dark, was not selected!

A young priest, dressed in Pharasman garb, with a quill in his hand and papyrus in his other, approaches the five of you. "I know you've all just met, but I'm going to need a name for your band to enter into the lottery records before it begins. Please mull it over and I'll be back in a few minutes. Welcome to Wati!"

So as you stare at your companions, you hope each of them is competent enough to keep you alive long enough to enjoy the fruits of your lucky selection!

Congrats to all selected. Please complete your back story, crunch, etc. for my review.

The ancient lands of Osirion are blanketed by the sands of time, and eldritch secrets and vast riches lay just beneath the sun-blistered surface. As modern Osirion opens its vaults and tombs to outsiders for the first time in centuries, many of these lost treasures and secrets are now emerging and explorers are needed to recover them! The Ruby Prince Khemet III has ordered the government of Wati and the church of Pharasma to open the city of Wati’s necropolis to exploration. The lottery is random and impartial and has attracted a number of adventurers and scholars and merchants to the area. What wonders will you find?

Welcome all to my recruitment thread. The last time I GMed a desert AP (Legacy of Fire) on these boards, it went 5000+ posts strong before going on indefinite hiatus, so I thought I'd try my hand at another desert AP.

First, take a look at the free player's guide to familiarize yourself with the city of Wati. Link

Second of all, there is a lot of dungeon delving, at least early on, in this AP, which I know tends not to translate well to PbP. The players tend to let the rogue take over and just watch. That leads to a boring game. I want characters with personalities who can rp and be intrigued/motivated to explore old ruins and not just disappear from the boards and let the rogue do all the work. I am looking for creativity and consistency.

Character creation guidelines:
15 point buy
No evil
Classes: All allowed except summoner
Races: Core preferred; others better come with great backgrounds to justify their presence
Average gold for class
2 traits - 1 must be campaign; 1 drawback allowed (if desired)

No need to submit a complete character sheet but I am looking at minimum for the following:
1. Visual description of character (feel free to post link to images if you have something specific in mind)
2. Why do you care about tomb exploring? Why risk death at the hands of ancient traps or untold horrors buried away? Isn't there an easier way for your character to make a living? Is it just greed for gold or something else?
3. Brief history as to how you heard about lottery and came to be in Wati

Any questions, let me know and thanks for considering this PbP.

he cold air whips past you, as you wrap your cloak tighter around your neck, the pale moonlight glistening off the sea. As you look around, you wish you had time to admire the beauty of the scene…but you don’t! The smell of fish reminds you that you stand in front of the Dunham Fishery warehouse on the North docks, fast approaching midnight. It will be soon now or at least that’s what the message said. Your eyes scan your surroundings, especially the three other strangers not further than 30 feet from you, all waiting for the same thing you imagine. Your hand does not stray from the grip of your weapon or spell, watching out for the agents of Mitra or evidence of a set-up, though the docks are abandoned at this time of night, except for you and the three strangers. Perfect meeting place then for what you need...more like, desperately need! The law is after you and closing in quick. By the gods, how did your crime go so wrong? You were supposed to be miles away by the time they discovered your crime. How did you miscalculate so badly? It doesn’t matter now. The roads out of the city are cut off, the Knights of Alerion dispatching patrols desperately looking for you, not to mention the numerous bounty hunters looking to make some coin off your capture. Your residence has been ransacked and your so called friends/acquaintances have forsaken you, seeking to save their neck at your expense. This is really your last resort, being smuggled out of the city by ship by the Night Masks, the only underground thieves’ guild in Talingarde. But as you palm your coin purse, you can tell it’s quite light. How will you ever negotiate passage with such few coins for what must be a costly trip? It does not matter, you managed to arrange a meeting and you can only hope for the best. Screw Mitra! You are a survivor and you will find a way! A cornered animal is at its most dangerous. Asmodeus will see you through! And for this reason, you still do not take your eyes off the strangers near you….

Welcome all! You can refine your characters, change skills/feats/etc. Feel free to discuss if you want to know each other or be complete strangers in front of the fishery when the game starts. Either way works fine for me.

Any questions, let me know.

The cold air whips past you, as you wrap your cloak tighter around your neck, the pale moonlight glistening off the sea. As you look around, you wish you had time to admire the beauty of the scene…but you don’t! The smell of fish reminds you that you stand in front of the Dunham Fishery warehouse on the North docks, fast approaching midnight. It will be soon now or at least that’s what the message said. Your eyes scan your surroundings, especially the three other strangers not further than 30 feet from you, all waiting for the same thing you imagine. Your hand does not stray from the grip of your weapon or spell, watching out for the agents of Mitra or evidence of a set-up, though the docks are abandoned at this time of night, except for you and the three strangers. Perfect meeting place then for what you need...more like, desperately need! The law is after you and closing in quick. By the gods, how did your crime go so wrong? You were supposed to be miles away by the time they discovered your crime. How did you miscalculate so badly? It doesn’t matter now. The roads out of the city are cut off, the Knights of Alerion dispatching patrols desperately looking for you, not to mention the numerous bounty hunters looking to make some coin off your capture. Your residence has been ransacked and your so called friends/acquaintances have forsaken you, seeking to save their neck at your expense. This is really your last resort, being smuggled out of the city by ship by the Night Masks, the only underground thieves’ guild in Talingarde. But as you palm your coin purse, you can tell it’s quite light. How will you ever negotiate passage with such few coins for what must be a costly trip? It does not matter, you managed to arrange a meeting and you can only hope for the best. Screw Mitra! You are a survivor and you will find a way! A cornered animal is at its most dangerous. Asmodeus will see you through! And for this reason, you still do not take your eyes off the strangers near you….

Welcome to my Recruitment for a Way of the Wicked (KoT) evil Campaign. If any of you know my style, I like to change things around with APs and modules. So I was thinking, why start in prison? How cliché! (No disrespect to author of fine module!) So this is my alternate beginning (different twist). You’ve committed the crime but have not been captured and you’re looking to escape the city. I like the sense of urgency it instills and how it gives the players more control. Hope you agree.

Please read: Player's Guide

Character creation rules:
1st level
25-point buy
Alignment: LE (must be able to play well with others)
2 traits (one must be from Player’s guide (crime committed) and again, you have not been apprehended)
Classes: All except paladin and summoner. Anti-paladins allowed.
Races: Core and Featured Races (except Drow) only
Gold: Average starting gold per class

What I’m looking for: 4-5 player group. Concept (statblock optional) with ties to Asmodeus and your reason for committing the crime (what went wrong? How do you feel about having nowhere to turn? Your immediate and long term plans if you got away?) Also list your posting frequency. Looking for creativity and flavor! Any questions, let me know.

Recruitment will close 1/16/14 at noon EST though I reserve the right to change the date, depending on how many applications I receive. Hope to hear from you!

3rd day of Lamashan 4711AR

The death of Professor Lorrimor! That was the impetus for your journey to the Ustalavan settlement of Ravengro (population 300+ souls), known for its proximity to Lake Lias. Whether it was out of respect, loyalty, love, gratitude, admiration, or just simply politeness, you undertook a rather long journey to this small farming/fishing community to pay your respects to the late Professor upon receiving the news. You remember your arrival in this town only briefly, as you and other travelers, some familiar to you, were quickly ushered into stagecoaches that delivered you to the Restlands, the local cemetery and soon to be last resting place of the Professor, where you were quickly chosen to be a pallbearer without much say in it. A harsh wind blows in your face, as you struggle a little with the coffin on your shoulders. It is only early fall, but the weather has only worsened since your trip began, with temperatures dropping into the 30s, and a strong sense of chill and dread fills your bones. A creeping fog can be seen in the distance encircling the grounds and the skies are cloudy and dense, allowing no sunlight to shine through, despite the fact that it is only about 3:00 pm. You hear the constant crunching of the autumn leaves under your boots, as you follow Kendra Lorrimor, the Professor’s only child, at the head of the somber procession down the Dreamwake. A small handful of villagers and locals follow but for the most part remain quiet, only heightening the sound of the wind and the crunching of the leaves.

Hey all, congratulations to all those chosen! Please finish your profiles, if not done so already, so I can review them and you can talk to each other to see if your characters know each other or not prior to the introduction. Any questions, let me know.

Hello all, I'm back from a long hiatus and I've picked up GMing my Savage Tide PbP and I find myself with time on my hands so I'd like to give this AP a shot. After all, it's Halloween and I think a horror-filled campaign would be quite fun to play. At least that's how I'll be playing Ustalav: dark (shadowy during the day) and ominous. Looking for 4-5 souls to sacrifice...uh, I mean have some fun rping with. :-)

1st level, 15 point build (want to get gritty) (20 points only if you want to be a monk or paladin), all races from RG are open (your back story just has to make sense). No summoners, ninjas, or samurai. Average gold and 2 traits (1 has to be chosen from Player's Guide).

Familiarize yourself with the Player's Guide and come up with a connection to the Professor and why/how your character is in Ustalav, this Gods-forsaken land. Look forward to reading your concepts (I enjoy interesting backgrounds that I can possibly weave into the storyline later). Also list your posting frequency. Will close recruitment on 11/10 although, if I receive enough applicants, I reserve right to close earlier.

Any questions, let me know.

10th day of Calistril 4711(Year of the Faithless)

A cold chill hits your face, as the freezing wind whips around the cast snow on the ground. You wrap your cloak and furs around yourself tighter in a vain effort to keep warm on this 23 degree day. As you look around at the travelers at your side, you see they are also frustrated and depressed. Gavin, the herbalist from Sandpoint, is futilely wrapping his arms around his wife and their two children ages 10 and 12 (the kids asked you to carry them or perform tricks to keep them entertained throughout the trip); there's Anna and Anton, Varisian gypsy brother and sister spice merchants, trying to stay as far apart as possible to avoid any implications of an incestuous relationship, whispers of which were heard early in the trip; there's Joshua, the rug merchant from Magnimar, with his three sons, their heads all down, as it was their wagon that broke down half a day ago and forced you in your current predicament of walking the rest of the way to Korvosa. And then yesterday, a snowstorm hit, leaving three inches of snow on the ground. Combined with the wind chill coming off the coast, you are not in a good mood.

You stop to eat and rest and unload the bundles of wares the merchants are carrying. As they stretch their shoulders and crack their backs, Gavin begins the conversation, "So, it's been years since I've been to Korvosa, at least ten I would say. Is it true that King Eodred II, that old horndog, married a woman 1/3 his age? That lucky bastard!" His wife, Audrey, scowls. Joshua laughs upon seeing the wife's look and speaks, "Yes, it's true, Queen Ileosa is barely 21 summers old and I hear from my brother Devon that she is quite beautiful, almost nymph-like. But a lot of the nobility is not too happy, given the King's advancing age and with no male heirs, they think it would be a scandal to have the throne in a trophy wife's hands, especially one from Cheliax. That and she's emptying the kingdom's coffers on beautification projects all over the city, like statues and gardens. My brother works in the Treasury so he knows all about it." Anton, who has kept quiet till now, speaks passionately, "Yes, King Eodred II, the Stirge King, as my fellow gypsies call him, is bleeding the city dry and the downtrodden and poor are suffering. Of course, the nobility don't care about them. Who needs more statues of themselves when our children are dying of hunger? Who is speaking for them? First the gods abandon us and now this! While your brother Devon, I am sure, enjoys his privileged position." As the political passion spikes, you see Joshua and Anton about ready to come to blows, over their class and sociological differences.

Anna and Joshua's children look to you for help.

Congratulations to those selected! Let's try and have some fun. Please create a profile and complete your character, if you have not already done so, so I may review them. Any questions, let me know.

Gameplay Thread

It is said in the annals of history that the gods are fickle beings and as such, are sometimes controlled by their impulses and their insecurities. Some like to challenge the faith of their mortal worshipers; some like to teach and educate them; some like to punish them for their frailty; some like to weed out the weak among their flock; and others just mess with them for the fun of it out of sheer boredom. Whatever the reason for it, the gods of Golarion select one year out of every century and decide, for the most part, to not bless their most ardent worshipers (priests) with their magic and divine guidance. The gods call it the Year of the Faithful, where they can divine by their actions, whose faith is unshakeable despite their absence and who is the most worthy of their gifts.

Yes, the gods are fickle indeed!

Hello all, I am back from hiatus and have decided to pick up on a campaign I had proposed and particularly enjoyed a year ago but fell through after 500+ posts. To those familiar or unfamiliar with my DM-ing style, I hardly stick to the AP (Curse of Crimson Throne) as written and make major modifications to fit the plot (as evident by the global event mentioned above), playing style of the players, and just my particular tastes. What I look for in characters rp-wise: energetic, vibrant, creative and detailed personalities that allow for the development of the story; in combat, I love cinematic and dramatic battles as well as good tactics and teamwork.

I bring: creativity, enthusiasm, and good grasp of the rules to the game. You bring: committed characters (available to post at least 1x day, the more the better), colorful personalities, and good rping. As I always say, the players’ great rping inspires me to tell a good story.

Mechanically: 1st level, 15 point buy (want to make this as gritty as possible), max hp and gold at 1st level, 2 traits, all classes open, all core races allowed (any from ARG need prior approval from me). For those familiar with the CotCT Campaign Guide, those campaign traits will not apply, as there is no Gaedren Lamm hook (like I said in the 1st paragraph, I change things!), and I don’t particularly like the old man “beating and molesting” the adventurers when they were kids to inspire vengeance storyline. The players’ home should be in Korvosa (campaign doesn’t work if players don’t care about their home city) and the story begins during the Year of the Faithless, as they are traveling in a caravan back to Korvosa from a trip abroad when a harsh storm forces them to seek refuge in a coastal village about 3 days’ journey from home. News of King Eodred’s severe illness has reached your ears and there are rumors of panic in the city. Include in your concept where you went and why you left Korvosa, albeit temporarily.

I will be accepting 4-5 characters so post your concepts with your time zone (I am in EST, GMT -5), character's appearance, your posting frequency, concept, stat array, and background, which should include your motivations in this politically charged climate. If you choose a cleric, how do you feel about being a member of the 1% who still has their divine gifts? Is it a blessing or a curse for you? Are you open with your gifts or do you hide them? I do not need a complete character sheet with equipment and feats, etc. I will make a decision on the players selected by 3/10 by noon. I reserve the right to change the deadline if I feel I have enough concepts. Thank you in advance for your submission.

Any questions, let me know!

Hey all! I recently took a brief hiatus from PbP due to RL work issues, but now I'm back. My PF Savage Tide PbP (set in Eleder) lost one of its players in the interim, so I'm looking for one player to complement the group, which currently consists of:

Half-elf Barbarian 1/Sorcerer 1
Human inquisitor 2
Half-orc monk 2
Elven Oracle 2

The player would be 2nd level, 20 pt build, 1 trait, average gold. Post a character description with motivations as to why he/she would be in Eleder. Any questions, let me know.

Link to previous Recruitment Thread: Recruitment
Link to Game thread: Thread

Baron Darkstrom lifts his arms and says, "It is time." He pulls from his pocket a mirror that magically grows to 10' in height. He admires himself for a second in the mirror before invoking some arcane magic and now reflected in it is a scene of a crowd of about 1000 people gathered at an Arena, chanting, "We want blood, we want blood!" The Baron spins the mirror so you call can see it and you see among the crowd, the wardens who have tormented you for the past five years.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you shall have your blood...in due time! Now, let me introduce you to the men and women who be spilling said blood for you:" As he does the introductions, he walks by each of your cells, the mirror following him, so the crowd gets a good look at you.
"Salu Minghi, charming warrior and killer"
"Menas Kriger, human berserker"
"Emilian, blood gladiator"
"Othrik, half-orc wild warrior and consumer of the dead"
"Kwin, halfling knife wielding assassin"
"Bug, goblin archer and shadowmaster"
"Kazmuk, dwarven stormlord"
"Morgthar the Ravenous, half-elven assassin and spirit drinker"
"Varos, human priest of the Chain Lord"
"Kor Tiger-Spirit, half-Orc bone-crushing monk of Four Winds"
"Catelyn, tiefling assassin"
"Filsgerit, dwarven berserker"
"Justified, human warrior and master of the glaive"
"Cirnos Duval, unholy human tyrant and the embodiment of evil"
"Gaza, tiefling priestess of knowledge and magic"
"Quain, Oread ranger, messenger of death"
"Hollander, Cannibalistic human forest dweller"

The crowd cheers at the roll call, immediately shouting out names for their wagers.

The Baron continues: "What is clear to all is that whatever these men and women are, they are killers, plain and simple. Now, usually society condemns them to death or banishment from society in our prisons, but these are desperate times that require desperate measures. Five of these prisoners will survive the trials that await them to embark on a mission many have attempted and none have succeeded. Let us wish them luck!" More crowd cheers as the mirror goes blank.

"Now to the rules. As stated before, once your cells open, this territory is fair ground for all the battle and blood-letting you desire. To the west, where the dirt floor becomes stone tiles, are the Tournament grounds and fighting is prohibited. Any violation will result in your immediate death. There are five trials, the last being physical combat with a single opponent, who will be chosen in reference to the number of prisoners still alive at that time. The other four trials will test your various skill sets. You can work together or you can work alone. As I stated before, you are all killers, so be careful in whom you put your trust. The fourth trial you must solve alone. Know this about the trials and this is very important. Each one has been created specifically to have two possible solutions, perhaps more, depending on your creativity. Remember this as you grapple with your decision how to tackle each problem, as your life literally depends on it. Patience may be a virtue in these trials but know also, that the first who completes each trial will receive a reward, be it a better weapon, healing, etc., that may better prepare you for future trials or the Arena. So high risk, high reward! Your choice to risk it or not. Once the fifth trial is completed, there shall be no combat between prisoners until you are brought up to the crowd to fight in the Arena, where you will fight until there are 5 survivors. As a wizard of considerable power, I will have arcane eyes monitoring your progress, in case you decide to violate any rules. Ah, last thing. Once you step on tournament grounds, you will have 15 minutes to complete the trials. Should be plenty of time. Know that if you dawdle and fail to complete the trials within the time allotted you will also die. Any questions before I leave?"

There may be 2 late entries who PMed asking me for a little more time.

At the start, up to you whether you wish to post here, as you may not survive long enough to make the Final Five. :)

Your aching bones awaken you... or was it the nightmare you were having. What time is it? What day is it? Maybe if you had a window, you would know. Your eyes adjust to the torchlight coming from the sconce in the wall, as you survey your surroundings. Yeah, you're still in the same place. The hay on the floor that serves as your bed, the bucket in the corner for your biological needs. All is in the same place where you remember. You try to stand but your bones creak from the pain, courtesy of the daily beatings, and you fall to the floor, your leg jerking from the manacle attached to it. You stay on the floor for a few seconds, praying for death, but it does not come. You sit up, your lips chapped and dry, your body covered by only a loincloth, caked in dirt and grime. No, whatever nightmare you just had, it certainly couldn't compare to the hell you've faced here for the past five years. Suddenly, movement from multiple figures coming from outside the door. "Move back degenerate! Door opening!" The reinforced wooden door opens and you see your normal jailer, the one responsible for the beatings, always out of your reach. This time something is different, he's not alone. He's accompanied by two men in robes. The jailer smiles at you, showing you the gap in his front teeth. "Relax, it's your lucky day!" Both men start casting magic and seconds later, sand falls on you, closing your eyes little by little. The last thing you hear before you doze off is the jailer's laughing voice, "Luck! You're gonna need it!" Ahhh.....more dreaming! For the elves, if applicable...You see a barrage of colorful lights knocking you unconscious. You awaken again, but this time not from pain. Your memory of the past few days is hazy. You remember the spell then waking and being bound and stuffed on a wagon with guards and then more magical sleep. This kept on for days, as you heard the rolling wagon on the road. This time, however, as you awaken, there is no wagon. You are lying on a bench, covered by the same loincloth. Your bruises and wounds have been completely mended, though you feel a burning pain on your neck. However, as you look forward, there are still iron bars and you are still in a cell. You walk up to them and see numerous other cells arranged in a circle. You hear other prisoners awaking in their cells too. What the hell is going on?

Welcome all to my homebrew campaign, inspired by numerous movies and literature, including Hunger Games, Age of Worms, Challenge of Champions, Escape from New York, Way of the Wicked, and some Japanimation flick that I saw years ago whose name I can't remember. Whatever you may think of it, the beginning will be definitely be different than any other PbP you may have applied for/played. And no, this is not my version of Way of the Wicked.

The good:
If you follow the instructions for the submission of the application, depending on the number of applicants, the acceptance rate of this PbP will be high, as I plan to accept between 10-20 applicants.

The bad:
Throughout the course of the tournament that follows, all but five of you will die, either at the hands of the challenges you will face or ultimately, at the hands of your fellow players. Hence, only the fittest will survive. And I feel less guiltier rejecting players, as your survival is in your hands.

Broad Concept:
Set in Golarion, your character has been in prison for the past five years with no contact with the outside world, serving a life sentence, whether justly or wrongfully convicted. You have been brought to this tournament to undergo a series of challenges, which you must survive in order to prove your mettle and be recruited for a dangerous mission.

Application:
No arcane casters/alchemists/gunslingers will be picked for this PbP and you will eventually learn why in the course of the game. That leaves the following classes available: antipaladin (yes, that's right!), barbarian, cavalier, cleric, druid, fighter, inquisitor, monk, ninja, oracle, ranger, rogue, and samurai. All alignments allowed except no LG and no CE (no rapists/child molesters, etc.). If you are good aligned, I will assume you were wrongfully convicted. Antipaladins are Lawful Evil not CE. 1st level, max hps, 15 point buy, 2 traits. No equipment to start. Your application must consist of a character sheet (or link to it), alias, and background (what crime did you commit and why are you in prison) and personality and physical description, as well as a pick for a weapon 10 gp or under (monks do not get to pick). It pays to be creative as the top three creative backgrounds will receive bonus equipment at the start. Core races allowed but open to other races on case by case basis This is kill or be killed so you cannot have a problem putting another player down, if it comes to that. Survival is the number one goal.

Last comments:
1. All the challenges in the tournament will force you to use your brains as well as your brawn, stats, skills, and the die roller. And this game will reward creativity, guts, and passion.
2. This game is gritty and there is no denying all but five of you will die, so be prepared for that possibility.
3. Frequent posters will be rewarded as their characters will move ahead through the tournament faster (may die faster also) so if you're a slow poster, know that I will not NPC your character and you will be left behind.
4. Though you may think the start is like WWF/WWE battle royale, I am looking for good role players also, not just meat shields. There is a story and campaign after the tournament after all.

Really last comments!
I run a few games on these boards so do not doubt the deadliness of my games, but the majority of the players in them also have lots of fun. I am really excited to see who survives and how this concept works. I know I'm asking a lot: to spend time on a concept and a character sheet for a character you may grow to like only to have him die shortly thereafter. But imagine how much you will love him/her if you survive! High risk, high reward! This will also be my first non-Pathfinder/Dungeon AP game, so there's the element of the unknown for players where this game will go.

Any questions, let me know and let the dying begin. Hope there's some interest in this.

Hey all! Players just finished prequel and we're ready to start the Council of Thieves AP in full when one of our players disappeared. Link to Thread.

Current group consists of: 2 rogues, cleric, and inquisitor so some type of melee specialty is preferred but all concepts will be considered.

Submission: I am looking for a player who can post multiple times per day. Not looking for a number crunch unless that is your style, but a feel for the character's appearance, personality, and background (ties to Westcrown). I want the characters to be from Westcrown or have significant ties to it, as the campaign only works if you care about this place.

Mechanics: 1st level, max hps, 20 pt build, 2 traits (1 must be Campaign), average gold. No gunslinger, samurai, summoner, or ninja. Please post your timezone in your application. I am in the EST. Since I am only looking for one player, recruitment will close fairly quickly so don't wait till last minute. Any questions, let me know. Thanks!

Hello all! I am running a Pathfinder-ized version of the Savage Tide set in Sargava, with the city of Eleder replacing Sasserine. For those not familiar, it is an AP filled with pirates, demons, and thieves on the high seas, though there is plenty of urban adventure as well. PbP is young, only 500+ posts: Link to Thread

The party, currently 2nd level, consists of:
barbarian 1/sorcerer 1
2nd level fighter
2nd level oracle
2nd level monk

A divine caster may help, but open to other roles as well. I want a dedicated and creative player, who can post multiple times per day on weekdays.

Please post your timezone in your application. I am in the EST.

Mechanics: 2nd level, 20 pt build, max gold.

Any questions, let me know. I will try and pick a player very soon so don't wait too long to post your application.

Hi guys, I DM a few PbPs on this site and I've got a problem: one of the players just quit, as he was too busy to keep up with the thread. We're still in the Prequel intro scene (less than 100 posts) of my second Council of Thieves PbP. Link to Main thread

Current groups consists of:
Human cleric
Human fighter
Tiefling sorceress
Human bard

There is good chemistry among the group and the rping posts have been coming fast and quick, so if you're the type to post once in a 24 hour period at around 3am EST, this is not the game for you. Looking for a good rper and frequent poster. Recruiting ends tomorrow 6 pm EST since just looking for one player.

Rules: Core races, 20 pt buy, 1st level, avg gold, 2 traits (1 of which must be campaign). Submit background concept with traits and time zone.

4697 AR
14th day of Neth
6:15 pm

The air in the place was hazy, as you strain your eyes to look around...must be from the cigar smoke, you thought. You counted eight oaken tables with mahogany chairs, with stools at the counter. People huddled together, whispering, and looking around to see who was listening. Like if you didn't know what they were talking about. It wasn't exactly a news flash that Westcrown was heading to hell in a hand basket, given the number of disappearances, the escalating murder rate, and the monsters that prowled the night. Yeah, you knew all too well the troubles Westcrown faced, as you took another sip of your drink and finished it.

The place was still pretty crowded (after all, the Crossed Swords tavern was one of the cheapest around in the Rego Scripa or Scribe Sector of the city) but a few of the regulars had left by now, hurrying home before the curfew. Curfew?! Bah! The hell with it, you thought, let the shadow beasts come for me! Nothing left, anyways...nothing to do but wait and die. And have another drink, of course! Besides, you still had 45 minutes to kill.

As you raise your hand to call the serving girl, four armed dottari (city guards) burst into the establishment. All of the patrons froze, accustomed to these entrances. Their leader, a man named Lars Tannerson, spoke, "By Order of the Lord Mayor Aberian Arvanxi, the following people are required to attend the funeral procession of Armin Velbottis." The guard captain then signaled to six of the tavern's customers, seemingly at random, his finger, thankfully for you, falling on a person next to or near you. He then continued, "You six, your appearance is mandatory tomorrow at noon at the Qatada Nessudidia. Failure to appear will have severe consequences, including but not limited to fines, appropriation of any properties and/or business, and/or exile to the Rego Cader ("Dead Sector")." The people present in the tavern gasped in horror at the reference to the fancy term given to the Northern ruins of Westcrown, mostly abandoned by the dottari and now home to cutthroats, barbaric humanoids, goblins, tieflings, and horrific monsters from nightmares. The guard captain finally directed his comments to his men, "Check their papers and get their information." Turning back to the crowd, he said, "Have a good evening" and walked out, crossing a name off a list. You hear curses under their breath, as the six people reluctantly show their papers and then leave, worried looks on their faces, a pretty red-haired halfling girl among them.

A thunderclap! Seems like rain is coming. Good! Hope the dottari catch a cold this evening, drafting mourners! Well, that was someone else's problem, right? You were lucky today to have missed the draft..now where was that serving girl? You only had 30 minutes of drinking left!

Ok, this is going to be an interesting experiment, taking 2 parties through CoT. Well, as far as I can tell, the party consists of:
Gnome paladin
Human fighter
Human alchemist (willing to switch to divine, if needed)
Tiefling sorcerer

Introduce yourselves and start throwing out ideas.

4697 AR
15th day of Neth
12:45 pm

Click clack! The monotony of the horses' hooves on the wet cobbled stone road...what an odd thing to focus on, you thought. You lift your eyes from the stone, a light drizzle falling on your hooded cloak, on this overcast and chilly autumn afternoon. You look to your sides and see Wiscrani folk, mostly merchants and lower class, all walking in front, along side and behind you, wearing dark garments and hoods. Maybe 400 people in total, all quiet, with grim looks on their faces, be it out of fear or sadness, following the procession of two hearse carriages, leading to the cemetery. You think hard to remember who the deceased in the wooden coffins are, and then your mind wanders to last night...

It was as joyous as the evenings in Westcrown can get at the Crossed Swords tavern in the Rego Scripa or Scribe Sector of the city, which means it wasn't joyous at all. There was much hushed talk of city politics, the escalating murder rate, the evening curfew in effect for more than 30 years now, and the shadow beasts that controlled the night (hence, the reason for the curfew!), when four armed dottari (city guards) burst into the establishment. Their leader, a man named Lars Tannerson, spoke, "By Order of the Lord Mayor Aberian Arvanxi, the following people are required to attend the funeral procession of Armin Velbottis." The guard captain then signaled to six of the tavern's customers, seemingly at random, his finger falling on you last. He then continued, "You six, your appearance is mandatory tomorrow at noon at the Qatada Nessudidia. Failure to appear will have severe consequences, including but not limited to fines, appropriation of any properties and/or business, and/or exile to the Rego Cader ("Dead Sector")." The people present in the tavern gasped in horror at the reference to the fancy term given to the Northern ruins of Westcrown, mostly abandoned by the dottari and now home to cutthroats, barbaric humanoids, goblins, tieflings, and horrific monsters from nightmares. The guard captain finally directed his comments to his men, "Check their papers and get their information." Turning back to the crowd, he said, "Have a good evening" and walked out, crossing a name off a list. The five others selected quickly showed their papers, verifying their biographic information. You hesitated, thought about going for your weapon, but in the end, discretion overcame valor. So you appeared, at the largest temple to Asmodeus in Westcrown, and followed the procession out of the city.

Armin Velbottis, that was the name of the deceased in the wooden coffin in the first horse drawn carriage. After the dottari's "draft" for the funeral procession, rumors spread as to the decedent's identity. He was a minor nobleman, a mage of some renown, who had been killed the night before in a dottari raid, for allegedly consorting with demons! And in the former capital of Cheliax, a country devoted to Asmodeus and the devil-worshiping clergy, consorting with demons was the gravest crime possible! The second hearse carried the body of a guard killed in the raid. So, this "funeral" was not to mourn the the Velbottis nobleman but to make an example of him, even his corpse, and show the public what it meant to consort with demons!

Lost in your thoughts, you do not immediately notice that the procession arrives at the cemetery and the first horse-drawn hearse stops near a stack of oil-soaked wood. A heavy gray fog blankets the graveyard and obscures all but the nearest gravestones. You can hear some faint cries from up front. You assume from the deceased dottari's family. The assembled crowd falls silent, as a priest of Asmodeus begins to address the crowd, as to the evils of the Abyss and demons.

I've set the stage, you are currently in the cemetery. You were "recruited" the night before to be present at random, whether at home, business, tavern, or market square. There is a crowd of 400 people present. Make your character introductions, thoughts, and give me an idea where you are in the crowd...in front, in the middle, back, on the edges?

Congratulations to all who made it...now, let's try and have some fun! Please introduce yourselves, discuss your concepts if you wish, and do any last minute tweaks. Any questions, let me know.

Thrown into chaos after the death of the god Aroden, Cheliax found a new spiritual guide to help tame the resulting lawlessness and destruction—Asmodeus. Dominated today by the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune, Cheliax is a land of inflexible order, like a rigid steel blade tempered in the fires of Hell. It is a land where nobility and virtue take second place to a ruthlessly imposed harmony. It is a place where talks of past glories are only whispered in the dark, where heroic ambitions are kept to oneself, and where normal people strive to blend into the safe anonymity of the crowd. Like the fading warmth of twilight, Westcrown, the country's former capital, remains but a specter of its former glory, its ancient and eclectic architecture dominated by a crumbling northern quarter filled with an unseen menaces and its nights haunted by a twilit plague of deadly shadows. Paizo.

Don't know about you, but that place sounds like it needs heroes really badly! Hello all, again. I find myself with much time on my hands and my two current PbPs are progressing at a slow rate (one is new and the other is down to 3/5 players due to character death/incapacity - combat is challenging in my games!), so I decided to start a new one and I chose CoT for its obvious need for heroic deeds. As I want and hope for a solid pace, I'm going to request the all applicants be able to post multiple times per day on average (at least twice). I feel that livens the game's energy as well as my energy as a DM/GM. One post per day slows things down to a crawl, especially in combat. Hope that's not too unreasonable.

As before: With regards to my DM-ing style, I tend to modify/alter/and sometimes completely replace parts of an AP, as it fits my style and the story (and that may happen with Part 2, if we get that far - not really into the whole play/drama thing, we'll see). As I said before, combat is challenging and dramatic and I root for the players to succeed!

Submission: Not looking for a number crunch unless that is your style, but a feel for the character's appearance, personality, and background (ties to Westcrown). Please download the free Campaign Player's Guide. Link

I want the characters to be from Westcrown or have significant ties to it, as the campaign only works if you care about this place.

Mechanics: 1st level, max hps, 20 pt build, 2 traits (1 must be Campaign), average gold, and classes and races from PFRPG and APG. Tiefling will be allowed but most likely, only 1 will be selected for the party and they are considered second class citizens. Magus allowed as well but no gunslinger, samurai, or ninja. Archetypes/concepts/spells from UM and UC ruled on case by case basis but most will likely be allowed. Please post your timezone in your application. I am in the EST.

I will be accepting 4 applications (5 if they're really good) and the deadline to submit is Monday March 5th, by 12 noon EST. I reserve the right to advance this deadline if a sufficient number of applications come in. I have been pleasantly surprised by the interest in my games before and I hope that continues.

Any questions, let me know.

16th day of Desnus 4712
3:00 pm

What a voyage, he thought, glad it's almost over. Hmmm...with the gold he was going to earn, maybe one of the fine ladies on board would accompany him to celebrate! One can only dream, thought Captain Barron, as he turned his eyes to the horizon..

I know it's a weekend but I got inspired to write the intro to this PbP...no obligation to post till Monday, unless you get inspired too! You've informally seen each other during the past 2 days but now the stifling heat has forced you all to be in the same place at the same time, so you may want to formally introduce yourselves. Besides the Captain, his crew of 14, and Frick and Frack (they have kept to themselves so you have not formally met them), there's just you. Any questions, let me know.

Visual aids to help:
Captain Barron
Frick and Frack uniforms

Congratulations and welcome to those selected! Hope you're looking forward to this as I am. Please post character sheets in your profile or provide a link so I may review them. Any questions, let me know!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness. Charles Dickens

On the distant shores of an unexplored tropical continent, brave colonists strive to break with their devil-haunted past and make new lives for themselves in a land of plenty. Yet in fleeing tyranny, these colonists have also imposed their own, and the land’s indigenous peoples have greeted the imperialistic settlers with open arms and leveled spears. This is Sargava: a nation on the brink of disaster, surrounded on all sides by pirates, hostile natives, and trackless jungles full of howling beasts and ancient ruins. Through its ports flood ancient treasures beyond imagination, brought forth from the wilderness by the blood and sweat of intrepid explorers. But can the colonists maintain their delicate balance, or will greed and their own deals with the devil see them swept into the sea? Paizo

Hello all! My first foray into PbP went great, as my LoF PbP is well and running, with over 5000 posts with a core group of great players. Since I find myself with time on my hand and with the recent articles in the Pathfinder AP books, I have decided to run a Pathfinder-ized version of the Savage Tide set in Sargava, with the city of Eleder replacing Sasserine. For those not familiar, it is an AP filled with pirates, demons, and thieves on the high seas, though there is plenty of urban adventure as well.

Now with regards to my DM-ing style, I tend to modify/alter/and sometimes completely replace parts of an AP, as it fits my style and the story. I place an equal emphasis on role-play and roll-play, as I challenge my players in combat situations, upping the drama factor. I want dedicated and creative players, who can post at least once a day on weekdays (if more, even better).

Application: Not looking for a number crunch unless that is your style, but a feel for the character's appearance, personality, and background. I am a very visual person and tend to put such aids in my PbP for monsters, npcs, etc. The AP will start with the party aboard the Velvet Rose merchant vessel two days out from returning to Eleder from the port city of Senghor. Why is your character aboard the ship, in this part of the world? Why is he/she an adventurer? If human, are you a colonial? Mwangi native? Etc.. Do not feel the need to pigeon hole yourselves into the 4 main roles of tank, healer, arcane, and rogue. I will be selecting the most intriguing and interesting concepts. Please post your timezone in your application. I am in the EST.

Mechanics: 1st level, max hps, 20 pt build, 1 trait, average gold, and only classes and races from PFRPG and APG (no UM or UC).

I will be accepting 4 applications (5 if they're really good) and the deadline to submit is February 25th, by 12 noon EST. I reserve the right to advance this deadline if sufficient applications have come in.

Any questions, let me know. Later! Here is some information on the setting.

Info on Eleder

On my campaign tab appears a game that I was involved in that ended about 3 months ago, yet it still appears. What do I do to stop tracking it and off my current campaigns tab? Sorry for the newbie question but I am not too PC-savvy. Thanks!

Korvosa, jewel of Varisia….Oh, how time has passed and things changed since you last had been in its shadow? Probably not since the winter, in late Kuthona, when King Eodred fell ill and his young beautiful wife, Queen Illeosa, began ruling in his place with his blessing. Many of the populace of Korvosa begrudgingly accepted the fact that the King had to remarry after the suicide of his saintly first wife, Cassandra, three years ago if he wanted a male heir to the throne. Yet, Queen Illeosa, a foreigner, had yet to conceive and deliver the child so promised, despite the enormous expense spent on witch doctors, prophets, and any other type of healer the Queen had brought in, from as far as Tian. This fact alone did not put her in good graces with the people of Korvosa. As you make your way home, you have heard disturbing rumors about the current state of affairs in your home city. There is much unrest and protest. King Eodred is never seen in public now and given the Year of the Faithless, it is rumored his health is deteriorating without remedy, as the clergy of Abadar, Sarenrae, and even Asmodeus have proven unable to cure his ailment. Queen Illeosa’s extravagant use of the treasury to build statues in her honor and throw lavish parties, while the King lies ill, also has not endeared her to the masses. Rumors of critics of the royal family and protesters disappearing in the night also run rampant, as the situation is said to grow more volatile with each passing day of this cursed year. Still….this is the only home you’ve ever known and what you need most of all is its comfort and embrace…if you can survive this storm!

As you walk in through the main double doors, the wooden floors creak under your weight, but the establishment looks sturdy. You see a common room filled with 5 circular tables, a bar, a door which you assume leads to a kitchen, and stairs heading upstairs, to the rooms you assume. Dried stains of blood on the floor and holes in the wall suggest this place has seen its fair share of violence. Above the bar are several parchments of paper in a row, held in the wall by a knife. The top sheet of parchment reads 320 in big red letters. As you stare at the number, you are suddenly interrupted by the bartender, whom you failed to notice standing behind the bar, In case, you’re wondering, that’s the number of god forsaken days left in this year! By the way, welcome to the Sleeping Mackerel. Wipe yer boots or feet on the mat or else you be cleanin’ the floor afterwards. Seems Abadar be blessin’ me establishment tonight with yer business. I sure need the coin. Rain, rain harder! Hahaha! The man’s boisterous laughter almost drowns out the lightning and thunder. He is human, stands 6’ tall with a portly belly, placing his weight at almost 250, you believe. He looks to be about 40 years old and has a tattoo of an anchor on his right forearm. He points to the tables. Please, please sit. I am Harwell. Jenna, put some more fish on the skillet, we got customers!

Ok, Todor and Tristain are already inside seated. You don't have to be together or friends. Up to you. Just describe and introduce yourselves to the game.

Congrats again to all selected, your creativity impressed me so let's have a fun time.

First of all, I am throwing a wrinkle in the game world (it is my world now, after all!) that will help explain later events in the campaign world and this AP, if you're not familiar with it. As you finish your character sheets, take a second to modify your background with how your character feels about this global event:

It is said in the annals of history that the gods are fickle beings and as such, are sometimes controlled by their impulses and their insecurities. Some like to challenge the faith of their mortal worshipers who live beneath them; some like to teach and educate them; some like to punish them; some like to weed out the weak among their flock; and others just mess with them for the fun of it out of sheer boredom. Whatever the reason for it, the gods of Golarion select one year out of every century and decide, for the most part, to not bless their most ardent worshipers (priests) with their magic and divine guidance. The gods call it the Year of the Faithful, where they can divine by their actions, who is the most worthy of their powers and whose belief is unshakeable.

Yes, the gods are fickle indeed!

And of course, as the campaign starts, it is the 15th day of Calistril (equivalent to February), Year of the Faithless. This event only applies to clerical and paladin magic (congrats Todor, you are the lucky 1%!). Oracles, druids, and all arcane casters are unaffected.

Any questions, let me know!

Hello all! As I struck gold with my Legacy of Fire PbP players, 4600+ posts and going strong, I have decided to give another AP a shot: Curse of the Crimson Throne. To those familiar or unfamiliar with my DM-ing style, I hardly stick to the AP as written and make major modifications to fit the plot, playing style of the players, and just my particular tastes. What I look for in characters rp-wise: energetic, vibrant, creative and detailed personalities that allow for the development of the story; in combat: I love cinematic dramatic battles and good tactics and teamwork.
I bring: creativity, enthusiasm, and good grasp of the rules to the game. You bring: committed characters (available to post at least 1x day, the more the better), colorful personalities, and good rping. As I always say, the players’ great rping inspires me to tell a good story.

Mechanically: 1st level, 4d6 (drop lowest die)(8 rolls, drop lowest 2), 2 traits, classes and races from Core and AP Player's Guide (no UM), except Summoner. For those familiar with the CotCT Campaign Guide, those campaign traits will not apply, as there is no Gaedren Lamm hook (like I said in the 1st paragraph, I change things!), and I don’t particularly like the old man “beating and molesting” the adventurers when they were kids to inspire vengeance storyline. The players’ home should be in Korvosa and the story begins as they are traveling back to Korvosa from a trip abroad when a harsh storm forces them to seek refuge in a coastal village about 3 days’ journey from home. Include in your concept where you went and why you left Korvosa. albeit temporarily.

I will be accepting 4-5 characters so post your concepts with your time zone (I am in EST, GMT -5), character's appearance, your posting frequency, concept, stat array, and background, which should include your motivations/politics in this politically charged climate. I do not need a complete character sheet with equipment and feats, etc. I will make a decision on the players selected by Friday by noon. Thank you in advance for your submission.

Any questions, let me know!

1st day of Desnus 1471
City of Kalendor

You find yourself seated at a long and lovely banquet table in the capital city of Kalendor. You are dressed in your most luxurious clothes, in honor of the occation. Many other famous dignitaries are present, including nobles, aristocrats, ambassadors, merchants, and special guests of the Realm. The inauguration of the palace has been a rousing success! King Kalendor gave a spirited speech, thanking his subjects for their support during his five-year rule, especially his Cabinet of advisers, financial supporters, and allies. After the King spoke, Lady Carrigan, familiar to all of you as all interest in the King goes through her, gave a beautiful inspiring speech that left most of the crowd in awe and some in tears, as she wished for many more prosperous years for the new Kingdom. King Kalen excuses himself, as Lady Carrigan advises the guests that the business of running a kingdom never takes a break and to enjoy yourselves for the rest of the night, as she leaves with the King.

The appetizers are served and soon enough, dinner is served along with exhibits of acrobats, jugglers, and fireworks to entertain the guests. As coincidences tend to happen, the five of you are all sitting near each other, while you enjoy your meal of exquisite roasted pheasant and other fruity delights.

You may RP and get to know each other.