So I've noticed a significant lack of evil campaigns. About the only one run is Way of the Wicked, which unfortunately has a lot of restrictions in how to build a character. (I haven't played it though) I mainly bring this up because I have an idea for a Hobgoblin Fell Rider that dreams of the day he can ride a Nightmare.
Now there is always an inherent difficulty in running evil campaigns. Mainly that of, what stops the players from killing each other? They are evil after all. There are other concerns as well, however, as long as the PCs aren't complete douche bags, it really should be able to work out. (If you want more insight into the concerns of running an evil campaign, look here: Evil parties, how they fail and how to fix it)
So here is my proposition. I am looking for a DM, that wants to run an evil campaign, but can work with the PCs to make sure it works out. Maybe the PCs are apart of a Tyrannical empire. It will also require players, that don't play Chaotic stupid (I see someone, kill him!). In certain ways, evil is harder to roleplay than good. It requires plans, trickery and luck. If everyone works together, it should work out just fine.
Now this could be PBP, but preferable to me would be Roll20 with voice chat. PBP is to slow for me, and I lose interest.
So, any takers? (I assume there will be a mass flood of people who want to play PCs)
As everyone takes their seats, King Barnabus Amular III becomes very serious. It is now time for business, and the king almost seems a different man. He has all the air of regality, and there is no doubt now that he is king of his domain. He looks everyone in the eye and then begins.
“You all know why you are here. Relations between Amular and Talfor have broken down. Things were already tense between us, before the tipped lance at Carnagy. Now my son is missing, I can only assume they are to blame, since they blame us for stealing their greatest treasures, which we had nothing to do with. Their forces have all withdrawn, we can only presume for an all-out attack. We have no idea though, as all spies that we send into their kingdom mysteriously vanish. I have to assume a traitor, but that is none of your concern.”
“I need you six to save this continent from war. In a nut shell, you need to go to their king and see if we can settle things peacefully. Now that is the difficult part. They will expect their treasure back, but we do not have it, and I will want my son back, which they of course deny having.”
The king pauses here, pain evident in his eyes, but quickly a steely gaze comes back over them, and he looks at everyone again, impressing upon them the importance of this mission, especially to him.
“And as if that wasn’t hard enough, getting there is going to be a pain. I can only guarantee you safety through my kingdom. Once you cross there border, they may be just as likely to ram you through with a sword as let you in for dinner.”
He chuckles slightly at this, then seriousness returns.
“Now that you know the situation, I want you to rethink your commitment to this. This will not be easy, and despite you all being great diplomats, this will be the most important diplomacy of your lives. The fate of thousands rest on your shoulders, and you may not even make it back to see the difference you made. There is no shame in leaving now, for what I ask is great. I would prefer to not ask this of anyone, but desperate times call for desperate measures. If you are all willing to go forward, then we will begin the details of your trip.”
He looks at you all expectantly, his representative almost looks nervous.
You are lead into the planning room. It is brightly lit with two hanging chandeliers full of burning candles and decorated lanterns around the room. There is a table set with Hors d'œuvre and light wines, which is customary when entertaining high ranking officials. There are a few round tables in the room, covered in lace table cloths, surrounded by high back wooden chairs, detailed with a carving of a lion rearing on its hind legs, the symbol of the kingdom. The tables and chairs rest upon a large, lush, deep red rug, that makes you just want to take your boots off and step in it barefoot. There are a few liveried servants wearing pure white garments, with the lion emblazoned in gold thread upon the shoulders, evenly spaced along the walls, heads down, trying to be invisible. The pure white and the deep red are the nations colors, as can be seen by the nations flag that hangs over the door.
Upon one of the table’s is a map of the kingdom, and into the neighboring kingdom of Talfor, along with some pieces on it that shows deployment of troops. The representative moves quickly to the table and removes the pieces. The representative turns and addresses you.
“Please everyone, come in. This will be the time for you to get to know each other, and plan your strategy of what you want to do. The King will show up later to personally meet you, and to tell you what the current situation is. Feel free to have relax until then. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me, I may be able to answer them. If you have any special needs, one of the servants” He gestures to the servants along the walls “Should be able to help you.” He moves to the side of the room.
Go ahead and compare character stats. No need to overlap spells and such. Decide how you want to split up camping supplies and other mundane items. Remember horses and feed will be provided if you don't have any. I'm thinking we will start the full campaign next Monday, since it is Thanksgiving this week. Until then, we can have fun in here.
War is imminent, a war that will rock the nation. The Kingdom of Amular has always had poor relations with the Talfor Regime but recent events have only magnified the problems. A tipped lance at the last multi-national tournament. The son of the king of Amular missing. A break-in at the Talfor treasury. Both kingdoms are blaming each other, and it’s about to break out in full scale conflict. The king of Amular has one last hope. He doesn’t want war, no one does, so he is sending a diplomatic mission to Talfor to see if things can be resolved peacefully. However, he doesn’t have much hope. You each represent a part of the Kingdom, the military, the church, and the mages college. The King has also asked for the help of one body guard, and an… “Insurance Policy”, if it is needed. Prepare yourselves, because the fate of Amular rests on your shoulders.
This is a homebrew adventure. It is set in the world of Golarian, however the two kingdoms are on a new continent, with their own culture and history (There will be a map when it starts). A lot of this will be worked out during the adventure, so if there is something particular you want in your backstory, feel free to add it (just don’t go crazy with it please). Generally speaking, Amular is neutral good, and Talfor is Lawful neutral. However recent events show that things may be changing.
What I am looking for:
I want to focus more on roleplaying and less on combat, however there will still be combat so don't dump all combat stats. I can tailor encounters to the strength of the party, so don’t feel like you need to optimize one way or another in your character build. That being said, builds that focus more on interaction and less on combat will probably help more in this campaign. I’m looking for strong character backgrounds and a well thought out personality. Presentation is everything here, as I want to see you have a good writing style that is fun and enjoyable. I will also check your history to see if you have other PBPs you been in, and see if you do well at roleplaying. If you have no prior experience, I will not hold that against you, so those that are new don’t be afraid to apply.
Creation Rules:
All classes, races, books ect. will be allowed. I use d20pfsrd.com as my reference book, so if it’s on there, I’m willing to use it. The two exceptions to this rule is: NO GUNS ALLOWED AND NO PSIONICS. They are not something I want to deal with. Also, I am open to 3rd party materials, however most 3rd party races are really weird, so you better have a good explanation. No evil alignments, unless you can explain why you would want to try and prevent war, and why you would be chosen.
Since this is a diplomatic mission, and to make class choices easier, Diplomacy and Sense motive will be class skills for everyone, along with an extra 2 skill points per level.
This is what I’m looking for in classes:
One body guard His focus will be more on combat, and making sure to keep others alive He could also be the one to focus on intimidate, for those time when reasoning just doesn’t work.
One ambassador from the military If possible, a combat focus class that has high charisma and interaction skills. Cavalier works pretty well, paladin would also be fine, and the third party Warlord would be excellent to fill this role. However, since everyone will have diplomacy and sense motive, almost any combat role could fill this.
One ambassador from the church This ambassador represents the national church. You can choose the deity (use standard pathfinder deities), but they must be Lawful Neutral, Lawful Good, or Neutral Good. Divine caster is what I’m looking for here. Specializing into healing is not needed as much, so don’t feel like you have to be a cleric. Paladin would work here though he fills more the combat role. Inquisitor may also work here. I could also work with ambassadors from two different churches; say if a paladin wanted to fill the role of the military ambassador, but also wants to be an ambassador from a different church than the national one.
One ambassador from the mages college. The nation hosts its own mages college, similar to the Acanamirium. Need an arcane caster for this spot. A sorcerer will work well with their high charisma. Wizard that focuses on knowledge would be an excellent fill. Bards definitely work great as diplomats.
One “Insurance Policy” Things don’t always go right, and sometimes the non-legal way can save lives in the end. This is the role where “The end justifies the means”. I’m looking for skills in this role. A rogue spy, a ninja that focuses on infiltration, feel free to break the norm of the party. Just remember, the point of this mission is to stop war. If you end up causing it, you will definitely fail.
You each represent a leading member in your respective area, except maybe the “insurance policy”. You were chosen by your respective area to represent the nation in this mission. The start of the adventure will be everyone meeting at the capital of the Kingdom of Amular, Auga Ignis (Eye of Fire), to meet the other members of the party and be given final details.
That is 5 spots to fill. This isn’t all set in stone, and good backstory and writing can cause me to break from this. I will try and give feedback on everyone that submits.
Breakdown for Crunch:
25 pt buy (So that you don’t have to make as many compromises by choosing high mental scores, but try to avoid an 18 before racial modifiers)
Level 5 (So that you can have more of your build fleshed out)
Max hit points at first level, pathfinder society’s rules for leveling (Half max hp + 1)
Max starting gold + 10500 for being at level 5. (Don’t spend more than half your money on a single magic item)
2 traits
If there is a trait or feat that is specific to a region or such, it can be assumed there is a comparable way to include it in this new nation, figure out how to work it in.
Submission is open until Wednesday 11/15 at midnight Pacific Standard Time, or until I get 20 submissions, whichever comes first.
