Marek feels his armor calling him to commune with his god. After meditating with his god, he hears her voice softly blessing him in ancient dwarfish. She reminds him that his faith is his protection and springs him back into the material plane. There he sees that his armor is gone and instead he is wearing a amulet with his holy symbol hanging from it, beautifully crafted and adorn. He feels the presence of his god all around him though.
Marek's AC is 18+2=20
Marek forces disadvantage on magic to hit attacks
Marek can cast zone of truth once a long rest
Princess feels the spirit of the ax whisper to him to focus on his dreams and goals. Just as he begins to do so a bright flash of colorful lights emits from the ax. Just then it splits in two, transforming into a battleaxe and shield. Surprised at the transformation Princess ask the ax what happen. It responded " I now represent both the protection you wish to give those you love, and the strength to fight for them."
The battleaxe is a +2 weapon
the shield can be used as a reaction to give disadvantage to an attack against a friendly character 5 feet of you.
Princess gains the ability to cast wrathful smite once a long rest DC based on her Charisma.
The ring morphs a snake head and devours the Rod of pact keeper. But it doesn't stop there, it continues to eat all the way up the arm sinking it's fangs into Szuki's shoulder. He feels white hot pain as the venom seems into his skin. Confused as to why his friend bit him and to how the poison is effecting him, Szuki only had enough time to softly whisper "why" as he blacked out.
When Szuki awakens the pain is gone, but a large snake tattoo is on his right arm now with his head on his shoulder. In Szuki's head he hears the snake's voice " We are one and we will unlock your true ability".
Szuki's body has scales looking like human skin giving him natural armor 13+dex
Szuki gains the benefits of a rod of the pack blade +2
Szuki gains spell resistance: advantage against spell DC
Szuki hears a soft hiss from his ring. Unable to understand for some reason he focuses on it. That is when he realized that the ring was talking in a long dead yaun-ti language, asking for the pact blade.
Cleah hears on the wind a soft spoken message to focus on her quiver. She begins to focus and is transported to a lush forest where she sees Midnight playfully jumping about. In Midnight's jaws is Twitch's Hope. Kleah tries to take the quiver back, but Midnight bites down harder crushing the quiver. As Cleah struggles harder Midnight bites down more right into Cleah's hand. Finally yelping cleah manages to grab the remains of Twitch's Hope, Midnight smiling largely with her blood and pieces of the quiver still in her teeth. Just then Cleah is snapped awake and the quiver has melted into her hands reforming into gloves.
Cleah can store and summon arrows from her gloves as part of a move action. Doing this she imbues the arrow with magic causing it to become a +2 arrow of which ever element she desires. If she has no arrows stored she always has a reserve of 10 on call, magically created every morning at dawn.
Cleah gains the ability speak with animals and dominate animal once a day, recharged after a long rest.
Fedward spending time decides to inventory his bag of holding. There he finds that unexpectedly a dagger of wounding, similar to sword of wounding except its also a +2 weapon.
Twitch's Redemption whispers softly into the mind of Harley, "Focus on me to be awaken".
After focusing one hour on the Twitch's Redemption he is plunged into a dark and cool abyss. Here he meets the silver wolf tearing into the remains of a deep red wolf. Harley can see the bright red blood flow down the silver wolf's maw. Just then Harley hears a head splitting wolf's howl, as he notices dark crimson veins spreading from the silver wolfs mouth to the rest of the the wolf's body. Rushing to it's side Harley pleas if there is anything he can do to assist the wolf. The wolf nods and bites down hard on the neck of Harley transferring the taint from itself to Harley. With a mournful stare it apologies saying "we must find a way of ending this strain and purging it from not only us but the world". The silver wolf's mane turns darker and he begins to melt in Harley's hand. With the wolf's last gasp Harley hears "Strengthen your soul, together we will rend this evil from the world". Weeping Harley sits alone in the empty void covered in the liquid remains of his lost friend.
Awaking from his trance Harley looks down to see the Glaive melting in his claws. In complete shock at both his new hybrid form and the melting of twitch's redemption, Harley stands up and tries to catch every drop in his hand. But it is too late all that is left of the glaive covers his hands and feet. Harley is stuck with searing hot pain as he collapses on the floor and is painfully turned back to his human form.
But as the pain subsides, he is left with a completely tranquil feeling. Glancing down at his form he is completely elven except his hands and feet. They are now replaced with silver wolfish claws and obsidian clawed feet.
Your unarmed attack is now a +2 magical weapon and deal one rank higher on the monk unarmed strike chart.
you can cast spider climb once a day, and regain this ability after a long rest.
you may spend a ki point to rage, but you lose control attacking the nearest person and continue this way until your rage ends, you spend a ki point to calm yourslef, have a spell cast on you to calm you, or you are knocked out.
Fedward turns to the commotion to the east where he hears Kleah. All he can make out is a large brown mass in the haze and dim light. Blindly he fires a fire bolt that illuminates the sky barley striking the Bear in its side, singeing it's furry broad side. Angery it turns it's attention toward Fedward's direction. As dread starts to creep into Fedward Harley burst forth the smoke striking the brown bear three times. With one big swipe of his blade he carves a scare along the bear's back to face. As spittle flies from the enraged beasts mouth, Harley undaunted proceeds to place two savage blows with his feet to the skull of the now lumbering beast. The large brown bear begins to fall down unconscious just as Kleah and Princess cry out to not kill the beast.
Szuki you remember hearing "This shadow network seeks to expand its influence and power base throughout Faerun. Its members coerce,
persuade, or buy their way into every major area of
influence. Rogues and warlocks fill the Zhentarim's
ranks, but the faction recruits any who can conduct its
business without too many moral reservations.
Do you know who the Bregan De'aerthe are? Do you know where to get in contact with them? Do you have a contact to parley with? What means of communication are you going to use? Is your character ok with who the Bregan D'aerthe are?
After a week you hear that you can get one in Thay, the Zents have accesses to one, Bregan D'aerthe can get you one, and the Pasha/Djinn in Calimshan have been known to have one.
Fedward and Szuki you have had found some unsavory contacts. They have mentioned that the Zhentarim want to hire you to better relationships with Mirabar. They desire to expand their Black Network with Mirabar by gaining favor with them with locating the rest of the delegation that was lost. If willing to work for them, not become them, they will share information in exchange for credit for saving the delegation.
Kleah and Harley are approached by a representative of the Emerald Conclave during their stay in Red Larch. The Enclave wants you both to investigate a curious event. Elizar Dryflagon has sent word throughout the Dessarin Valley that an obscure druid circle called the Circle of the Scarlet Moon knows the Rite of the Wicker Giant, a ritual that can restore nature's balance in the troubled region. Several groups have set up camps on the slopes below Scarlet Moon Hall, waiting for Elizar to invite them up to partake in the rite. He has convinced those gathered here that he's a druid of the Circle of the Scarlet Moon and promises to teach others the rite as it's performed. The Enclave is suspicious about this circle, and ritual as well, because the never heard of them. They have lost contact with some of their fellow druids who went to join in the ritual. They are not looking at them hostilely, they just want more information on this new Circle.
A citizen of Red Larch asks the characters to lend a hand with a fire witch dwelling in an Uthgardt barrow and terrorizing the Nettlebees. Locals who visited the ranch confirm the scorched barrow
mound and describe a fire symbol branding the animals. Fearful talk of an evil fire cult operating in the nearby hills fills every taproom
in the vicinity. The gossip includes much pity for the
Nettlebees, who are known for prize livestock.
Upon reaching Red Larch you find the local Mayor and see to the slaves assistance. Grateful for your assistance in the freeing his people he offers you free lodging and food in the local inn the Swinging Sword. He says "As long as you are operating in the interests of Red Larch in Area I will see to your lodging and food." He also ask if you are willing to assist some of the needs of the people in the area. You watch as the slaves are reunited with their families and spend the next week honing your trade craft in town.
You have a week of down time to explore and level up.
Finally after a long three day hike in the woods you make it to Red Larch.
1. AllFaiths Shrine
2. the Swinging Sword
3. The Helm at HighSun
4. Mother Yalantha's
5. Thelorn's Safejourneys
6. Chansyrl's Fine Harness
7. HELVUR TARNLAR
8. LORREN'S BAKERY
9. TANTUR SMITHY
10. DROUTH FINE POULTRY
11. JALESSA ORNRA, BUTCHER
12. DORNEN FINESTONE
13. IRONHEADARMS
14. MHANDYVVER'S POULTRY
15. HAELEEYA'S
16. WAELVUR'S WAGONWORKS
17. GAELKUR'S
18. MELLIKHO STONEWORKS
19. LURUTH'S TANNERY
20. BETHENDUR'S STORAGE
21. THE MARKET
22. VALLIVOE'S SUNDRIES
You realize from here the air is stale and moldy. There seems to be no readily available exists to the surface where you are at. It was much more plausible to exit farther up then it is from here.
this is the realm of Besilmer something rare: a
dwarven kingdom built on the surface, with its strength
measured in fields and pastures. It prospered for a time
but was plagued by trolls and giants. The dwarves were
obliged to build a stronghold underground, carving out
the fortress-city of Tyar-Besil a century after Besilmer's
founding. Unfortunately for the dwarves, the realm
collapsed after its king and founder died in battle.
Most of the surviving dwarves sought safer lands. The
dwarven city beneath the Sumber Hills was abandoned
by -4160 DR and then forgotten.
Tyar-Besil slumbered in darkness for many long
centuries, occasionally discovered and occupied by
monsters or ambitious miners, only to be abandoned
again. It came to light again in 893 DR, when a group
of adventurers who called themselves the Knights of
the Silver Horn discovered the ruins. Over the next
six years they returned again and again, eventually
founding strongholds of their own to safeguard the
hidden entrances to the sprawling dungeon.
The knights had some success in clearing small
domains in the wild Sumber Hills, but only a few years
later the powerful ore realm of Uruth Ukrypt arose
nearby, and the Dessarin Valley became a battlefield.
Trouble followed on trouble: the Orcfastings War,
the First and Second Trollwars, and finally a series
of vicious drow raids. By the year 942 DR, human
settlements in the Dessarin Valley had been all but
wiped out, and the Knights ofthe Silver Horn were no
more. Their strongholds crumbled into ruin and became
known in later years as the Haunted Keeps.
So Harley comes to the realization that the area, M23, that they had Feward squeeze through earlier had fresh air slightly coming through. Knowing that the air here is mostly moldy and stale.
Marek with his stone knowledge realizes now that the color, texture, and formation of the rock near M23 seemed to be from outside.
Harley understands that the underdark is very deep and vast underground from what his vampire friend tells him, but there are junctions from the surface to the underdark that don't go that far down and are just as dangerous.
Marek Now taking a better look at the dwarven crafted tunnels begins to wonder if he does know the lore of this place from his dawrf heritage. Roll History check you get rock bonus.
Princess imagines something to do with genital, rectal, and feet area used in a social taboo manor to "punish" people till the punisher gets what they want. You also suspect bindings and lashing is used as well as this happening in the dark.
Szuki I assume this is for underdark. You remember reading of a dark dangerous place deep under the earth that powerful and deadly beings ruthlessly rule.
Harley You remember hearing a tale of a deadly underground area were few, even creatures as yourself, have ever survived. Worse yet you remember it was a vampire telling you how his minion was brutalized down there in an attempt to locate him. He was forced to cut his link to save himself after a brief battle with a raid group seeking him out.
Princess you believe it is a weird sex position. You also can't figure out where the enemy would be hiding.
On further inspection you now notice they have scratches, bruises, and claw marks on their body. Blood is splatter all over, much of it looking as if not from their wounds. Stammering the one you recently saved replies "We went up to the room just as you instructed and then told them the password like you said. They were kind enough to let us in and feed us. After a while longer we heard someone else say the password, so they opened up for them thinking you freed more of us. Instead there was a slightly injured man in heavy armor that looked like it was made of earth and a morning star. With a evil smile he crushed the skull of the first guy who opened the door. (sobs) He then slowly came forward toward us and a few of us with implements rushed him. Just then two living statue looking monsters came rushing forward past him. These horrific creatures started rending people to shreds. Some tried to attack back but the creatures looked unfazed by there attempts. (whaling in tears) IT WAS A MASSACRE! Many of us took advantage of the chaos of battle and fled the room. We scattered some running to other rooms others followed me to the lower areas. We hide in the tunnels in the lower chambers, blind but hoping they would be also. Then the creature's screeches approached me and four others who followed. I felt their blood spray me and heard their screams. Some how these creatures found us and were slaughtering us again. Stumbling me and him found our way by some miracle to you all now. You have to save us, it is to dangerous to stay here any longer!"
As you all get your bearings, you see two frantic people running your way completely out of breath. You instantly recognize them as two of the slaves you assisted earlier. One looks like a slave your recently freed and sent up to the other freed slaves, and the other slave looks like one from the original group of slaves freed. With ashen white faces they plea to you in between pants "Please ... save us... get us away from here...NOW!"
There a total of seventeen commoners. Most
are human peasants, caravan drivers, merchants,
or tribesfolk. One is the dwarven sage
Bruldenthar, one of the missing members of the
delegation from Mirabar. They are not proficient with any of the weapons and are squish around them. They are completely weaken from working hard, long, and malnutrition for days in the mine, they have no strength or will to defend themselves anymore. They simply wish to be escorted to freedom. M4 holds 8 bunks only 3are comfortably
made up with sheets, pillows, and blankets. M5 contain 10 uncomfortable looking pallets lie on the floor. M6 the refectory/dinning hall contain 4 old wooden tables with bench seats. You have the keys to lock M4 and M5.
A small door, perhaps a servants' entrance, is on the
northwest side ofthe monastery. On the northeast side,
a low wall encloses a good-sized garden with a locked
gate. The eastern portion ofthe monastery is in very poor
repair—the walls there are crumbling, and the windows
have been bricked up with old masonry. A small side
door is near that section, in the southeast portion ofthe
building. Is all you can tell Feward.
After making it to the top a quick you decide on Kleah to give the monastery a quick scouting. She returns with the description "A trail leads into an ever-narrowing defile between bluffs
of wind-sculpted sandstone. Eventually the walls draw in
so closely that you can reach out and touch either side, but
then the narrow space opens into a hidden canyon in the
heart ofthe hills. A sprawling monastery with dark, narrow
windows and red tile rooftops stands in the middle of this
natural amphitheater, ringed by sandstone cliffs all around.
Ahead, a weathered flight of stone steps leads up to the
closed monastery doors. The plain doors are made of heavy
timber with iron studs. A dusty footpath circles the building." You can roll for further inspections for anyone who wants to scout the temple area. Need perception, stealth, and insight for this.
"Oh my friend I is not you Yuan-ti heritage that I speak of. Seeing how you have accepted I will inform you that which has been forgot by your family. You have a troubling lineage, held deep in your bloodline and warped by the Yuan-ti traces of fiendish ancestry exist in your blood. To be more specific your ancestor was a Deva who feel from grace and corrupted into a devil. More then that he had made a pact with Mephistopheles soul binding his bloodline to him. I will break this and all other contracts but need to sunder your mortal soul as payment and summon forth your lineage to reforge and complete the process, binding you to Deneir now instead. This will not be painless and feel eternal." With that Xapham hands you the parchment to sign. As Szuki finishes his mark, completing it with blood, Xapham reaches into his chest and withdraws Szuki's essence. Szuki feels as if he is torn, crushed, burned, frozen, and dissipating for centuries on in. With a voiceless scream he feels his soul sunder in two, then tossed to the nine hells. With a shock he feels divine energies elongating and forging a second half onto him. With a blink of the eyes he awakens back into his humble room but forever changed.
A low melodic hissing he hear's Xapham's fimiliar voice whispering "I am Twitch's Resolve, together we will find our complete potential settling for nothing less then. All will be known and transformed in time".
All of your Eldritch spells now deals radiant damage and not necrotic
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases
by 2 and Charisma by 1.
Fallen Legacy. You know the Guidance cantrip.
Once you reach 3rd level, you can cast the Augury spell once per day as a 2nd-level spell. Once you
reach 5th level, you can also cast the Protection from
Evil and Good spell
once per day. Charisma is your spellcasting ability for
these spells.
This ring stores Spells cast into it, holding them until the attuned wearer uses them. The ring can store up to 5 levels worth of Spells at a time. When found, it contains 1d6 - 1 levels of stored Spells chosen by the DM.
Any creature can Cast a Spell of 1st through 5th level into the ring by touching the ring as the spell is cast. The spell has no effect, other than to be stored in the ring. If the ring can't hold the spell, the spell is expended without effect. The level of the slot used to cast the spell determines how much space it uses.
While wearing this ring, you can cast any spell stored in it. The spell uses the slot level, spell save DC, spell Attack bonus, and spellcasting ability of the original caster, but is otherwise treated as if you cast the spell. The spell cast from the ring is no longer stored in it, freeing up space.
Szuki sits down in his room concentrating on Twitch’s resolve and Twitch himself. His focus starts to tunnel into the ring till, the blackness creeps on the side of his consciousness till swallowing his vision whole. In the darkness Szuki stares in the void at a figure looming in the distance next to a pedestal. Cautiously he heads toward the figures direction when he hears a familiar voice saying "Welcome auvrael, it is good to see you again". That is when Szuki's slit eyes blink and focus in to see Twitch standing before him. Szuki with a sly smile greats Twitch, and leans in to see what was sitting on the pedestal. There he sees a contract, but not just any contract but the one that he signed to obtain his eldritch power. In shock he turns to look at Twitch who has changed into the magnificent solar Xapham. With a booming and powerful voice he exclaims "I offer you a choice this day. Unbeknownst to you your true lineage has bound to to this path that you find yourself on. It is true that you are from the Yuan-Ti, but what you don't know is that your ancestors held a even darker heredity. One that has bound you further then this pact you have made. I have the ability to end all of these contract, but only by forging a new one with Deneir and radically changing you in the process. I can not force this dissension on you, you must choose willingly."
Kleah sits down in here room focusing here attention to Twitch's Hope and her friend Twitch. She feels her breath evenly going in and out in a uniformed rhythmic manor, as the atmospheric air itself seem to flow in the same cadence. Her senses start to atone to all around her then narrow down to a fine point of just the quiver itself, all the while time itself seem to stop. Kleah is then plunged into a deep forest staring down at a set of tracks. She leaps down from her perch with relative ease as a gentle hand lands on her shoulder. With a startle Kleah turns to see twitch smiling next to her pointing in the direction of the tracks, saying something in audible in the sound of rushing wind in her ears. On that cue Kleah chases after her prey weaving and bobbing through the terrain with ease. There in a clearing in a attack position glaring at her is Midnight, waiting to pounce on her at any moment. Twitch clearly whispers in her ear "fire now, it is you or her". With tears in her eyes Kleah raises her bow toward her dear friend. It is then that Midnight leaps at her with a swift fury of lightning. Midnight pins Kleah down with it's strong claws, jaw opening and closing near her face. At that moment Twitch tackles the beast wrestling with it on the floor. Back on her feet Kleah points her bow at the fray and is forced to choose her friend Twitch or her beloved partner Midnight. With reckless abandonment she throws herself between the two pleading with both to stop. Twitch backs away at her request, but Midnight coils up ready to pounce yet again. With Tears obscuring her eyes and fear quivering her voice Kleah pleads with Midnight to stand down. With her bow fully drawn pointing at Midnight, the beast with anger flashing in her eyes and savage roar leaps toward Kleah.
Kleah lowers her arms accepting the fate that her long time companion would render her. But was surprised as the panther had landed on Twitch instead. Fearing for Twitches life now Kleah fired her bow at the heart of Midnight knocking the beast off of Twitch. But not before Midnight had ripped the throat out of him. Weeping she ran toward her dying companion Midnight as it took it's last breaths dying in her arms. It gave her a caring look deep into her eyes as it then stared at the corpse of Twitch in the corner. It began to change now into a doppelganger with dagger in hand. That is when it all hit her, Midnight had sensed the threat to her and had acted to save her. Those words she missed earlier was it saying they would eliminate all threats to him. Weeping and apologizing for being unable to understand, Kleah tried to stifle the river of blood gushing out of her inflicted wound. Just then Midnight's form changed in her arms into the Solar Xapham saying "It is ok my child you tried hold onto hope that your friend did not betray you, and in the end did what you thought was right for all. Now allow me strengthen this bond further to leave no doubt ever again".
With that Kleah woke up in her room Twitch's Hope in hand. That is when a savage roar started to gnaw at her thoughts. It was the quiver imparting it's knowledge and linking her bond with Midnight.
You now have a soul binding with your animal companion. You are now proficient with what ever skills it has, can link your senses with it, and can communicate with it as if it where speaking the same language.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases
by 2 and Wisdom by 1.
Twitch's Hope is a quiver that haves three compartments. the first can hold any amount of ammo for any projectile weapons. The second can hold up to five bows, crossbows, or javelins. The third holds 20 arrows that refill after a short or long rest with concentration on it for one hour. After this focus it is refilled with any ammo of your choice its damage type can be any type you deem even elemental based ammo.
After simply a few minutes of focusing on the Half-plate and Twitch, Marek feels his attention immediate snap into pious reverence for Berronar Truesilver. His essence snatched away into the void where he feels his being pulled toward the loud ringing of hammers and the heat of the forge. He hears the echos of the earth and feels the textures of all the minerals graze his skin. Marek's view then focuses in on the vision of his god Berronar Truesilver the Revered Mother unifying the dwarven pantheon. He sees her husband Moradin Soul Forger crafting away on a anvil, with each ring of his hammer Marek feels the history and culture of his people pounded into his spirit. As Moradin lefts the metal to cool in water Marek finds himself in the nursing safe arms of his god.
While in Berronar's arms he sees Twitch standing next to Moradin, being taught the art of blacksmithing. He turns and smiles at Marek as he is then transformed into Xapham the Solar. Moradin exclaims to Xapham "It is the materials you forge with that makes the craft" then Berrornar chimes in "True Faith then would be the best material for the best craft" staring down at you beaming. With that Xapham grabs a blanket out of the forge and walks toward you. He swaddles Marek in it taking him from Berronar. He turns to her and says "Then your faenor must have the greatest armor of all".
With that Marek is back in Summit Hall sweating in his knew armor when he hears the rings of a forge. With each beating his head throbs as knowledge is hammered into his head. Soon the sound is deafening and the pain paralyzing, then he realizes that it is the armor trying to speak to him. "I am Twitch's Faith, none can touch this devotion. Together with our devotion we will protect those we care for".
You now have access to another domain from your god.
Ability Score Increase. Your Constitution score increases
by 2 and Wisdom by 1.
You gain proficiency in artisan smith.
Earth Walk. You can move across difficult
terrain made of earth or stone without expending
extra movement.
You also gain the ability to have any spell with a time limit now last as long as you concentrate on it. If concentration is broken then the spell ends. You can only concentrate on one spell at a time, but you may cast another spell while concentrating on another.
Twitch's Faith is a +1 magical Half-plate with the ability to cast Sanctuary as a bonus action. This ability is recharged after a short or long rest as long as you pray to Berronar.
Deneir responds "Your god will find out eventually, as will all others in time. That I can't keep from them forever, but I can keep it long enough to complete what is needed to be done. Those that are just will understand, as I am sure Berronar will. As for how you would accomplish this, you will have to do the one think that makes you who you are Marek. Have faith."
After a few hours of contemplation and attempts to commune with his god Berronar Truesilver, Marek feels as much as hears a voice echo in his head. It is not Berrronar, as he anticipated, but Denei's calming words. Fear not young priest, while Xapham does serve me and uses my power his gifts are not meant to turn you from your god. I have intervened with your communication with your god, it is of great importance that no other god or servant of one know the fate of Xapham for now. If you were to ask your god what you should do about the gidt he will then gleam what has happened to Xapham. If you accept it though all will believe that you forged it to be closer to your god, that is what Xapham has assured me of. In the end the choice is yours, but please I ask that you keep this to yourself.
Fredward takes his bag and spends one hour attuning to it. He then discovers that it is a bag of holding.
This bag has an interior space considerably larger than its outside dimensions, roughly 2 feet in diameter at the mouth and 4 feet deep. The bag can hold up to 500 pounds, not exceeding a volume of 64 cubic feet. The bag weighs 15 pounds, regardless of its contents. Retrieving an item from the bag requires an action.
If the bag is overloaded, pierced, or torn, it ruptures and is destroyed, and its contents are scattered in the Astral Plane. If the bag is turned inside out, its contents spill forth, unharmed, but the bag must be put right before it can be used again. Breathing creatures inside the bag can survive up to a number of minutes equal to 10 divided by the number of creatures (minimum 1 minute), after which time they begin to suffocate.
Placing a bag of holding inside an extradimensional space created by a Handy Haversack, Portable Hole, or similar item instantly destroys both items and opens a gate to the Astral Plane. The gate originates where the one item was placed inside the other. Any creature within 10 feet of the gate is sucked through it to a random location on the Astral Plane. The gate then closes. The gate is one-way only and can't be reopened.
Princess lays down focusing as best he can on the great ax and his lost friend Twitch. After a while his restlessness starts to take over, but before it can fully take hold he is swallowed whole by red darkness. As he slowly feels the red void threaten to swallow him completely into it's nothingness a soft warm whisper starts tugging at his essence drawing him toward it. Slowly the voice crescendos from a faint murmur to a clear boisterous voice of the great ax, sounding like Twitch but some how stronger. It says "I feel you burning with the same brilliance as me, my fantastic friend". Just as Princess reaches out to grab the ax the red void begins to swirl into a red cloud. Then form is given life as then mist kept shifting into all that have suffered from Princess's fury, only holding one form long enough for him to make out their horrific vengeful demeanor. The specter grabs the ax immediately and swings it at Princess meaning to end him like he did them all. Princess tries to leap back but falls back instead to wall into the weak arms of his lost friend Twitch. With a smile beaming down at Princess he says "Come now friend you are more spectacular and fabulous then this. Let us give it the show it was truly dying to see". With those words Twitch start to burn up into magnificent flames, smoldering into the solar Xapham. With grace and theatrics never before seen by Princess he scopes up the red form. He then precedes to half wrestle half dance with the form into a flying pill driver right on top of Princess. All of Princess's being is smashed together, and right when he feels like he will break into pieces he instead feels himself burst into a glorious flame.
Awaken by the shock of his vision Princess is again startled to realize that his whole being is red like fire and hair made of flames flickering back and forth. He then hears the voice of the ax saying "I am Twitch’s Renown and we are now one glorious spectacle, We will display to this world a performance none can turn away from". Basking in the spender he has become Princess then feels knowledge slowly burn into his mind.
You no longer rage, instead you "Flame on". You have all the benefits of rage but are clearheaded, allowing you to cast spells and concentrate. You also unleash the divine energy within yourself
causing your skin to turn red and hairs become fire. The instant you transform, other creatures within 10 feet of you that can see you must each succeed on a Charisma saving throw against your performance check or be in awe of you until the end of your next turn.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases
by 3.
Darkvision. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of
you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were
dim light. Your ties to the Elemental Plane of Fire make
your darkvision unusual: everything you see in darkness
is in a shade of red.
Fire Resistance. You have resistance to fire damage.
Reach to the Blaze. You know the produce flame
cantrip.
Twitch’s Renown is a Great ax 1d12 slashing 3lb and is two-handed. It is magical +1 weapon which counts as fire with things that has fire vulnerability and as normal when it has fire resistance. Once per day it can cure it's owner as a bonus action for 2d6 plus his charisma modifier.
Harley sits down tuning out the world around him, focusing on the weapon and his friend Twitch. He quiets the restlessness in his soul and soon feels the booming voice of the glaive in the form of his lost friend Twitch. It begins to speak to him washing away the fear, sorrow, pain, and regret. Then he sees it, the beast. A primal spiritual form of his rage reaching out with its claws to render and capture him. That is when Twitch's form appears beside him. Then all time stops right at the point of the claws hovering at Harley's face. Twitch rushes forward before Harley can even register a thought and grapples the fierce spirit. Harley stares in horror then in awe as the image of his friend morphs into a large majestic Solar easily wrestling the ghastly image of the beast to his will. Then Harley feels it as much as sees it, the bright essence that is Xapham begins to burn the creature in hi radiant light. Xapham is also drawing closer to Harley, and before realizes it is also grasped by the Solar.
Harley is instantly snapped out of his meditation, to his own body unleashing the divine energy within itself,causing a searing light to radiate from him, pour out of his eyes and mouth, and threatening to char Harley. His form is that of his hybrid wolf form but angelic and frightening. That is when he hears it. Twitch's Redemption speaks to Harley in his mind saying "You have died and been reborn. I have chard away you old tainted form and now blessed you with a divine one. You must now walk the path of enlightenment tp know the true way of life and death. I will clear away your old teachings to leave you with a new course to find. Never leave me and I will show you great wonders. Together we will know the secretes of life and death". With that all is quit as the knowledge weighs into your thoughts allowing you to recognize what you and Twitch's Redemption are now.
You no longer have the Werewolf template, you lose all that was granted to you by it. You now add the Scourge Aasimar template.
Darkvision. Blessed with a radiant soul, your vision
can easily cut through darkness. You can see in dim
light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in
darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color
in darkness, only shades of gray.
Celestial Resistance. You have resistance to necrotic
damage and radiant damage.
Healing Hands. As an action, you can touch a creature
and cause it to regain a number of hit points equal
to your level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it
again until you finish a long rest.
Light Bearer. You know the light cantrip. Charisma is
your spellcasting ability for it.
Languages. You can speak, read, and write Celestial.
Ability Score Increase. Your Charisma score increases
by 2.
Your Constitution score increases
by 1.
Radiant Consumption. Starting at 3rd level, you can
use your action to unleash the divine energy within yourself,
causing a searing light to radiate from you, pour out
of your eyes and mouth, and threaten to char you.
Your transform into an angelic hybrid wolf form that lasts for 1 minute or until you end
it as a bonus action. During it, you shed bright light in
a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet, and at the end of each of your turns, you and each creature
within 10 feet of you take radiant damage equal to
half your level (rounded up). In addition, once on each
of your turns, you can deal extra radiant damage to one
target when you deal damage to it with an attack or a
spell. The extra radiant damage equals your level.
Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you
finish a long rest.
Proficiency: Glaive
Twitch's Redemption is a double sided Glaive doing 1d8 damage 3lb that is reach and versatile(1d12). It is magical +1 weapon, with one blade being cold iron and the other silver. Once per day it can purify it's owner healing him from all poisons, diseases, and curses.
As you all sail the next couple of days on the river you assist in helping the former slaves, finding out that most of them are from the area. They are people who refused or couldn’t pay the bribery costs, or spoke up about the criminals. There was also a person from the Mirabar delegation, agent of the Emerald Conclave, and friend of Brill. He exclaims that all he remembers was that the delegation was attacked by one group, and then as we were being captured another group fought them for control of the survivors. He was taken to the keep, were a bargain for transport was meet. We were all stored at the keep, and every night a few of us were shipped away to an unknown area. You all also learn that Temerity and friends came from the streets of Almraiven, there they meet over an incident involving slavers. It was this incident that angered all three toward slavers, vowing to stop and kill all slavers they come across. Soon you reach the shore line close to Summit Hall, creating a caravan that will take everyone there.
After a day of traveling you can start to see the Hall, but something seems off by it. Curious you pick up the pace and then begin to fully see it. The old battle worn all was made a new, not just repaired but improved on. With questioning gazes everyone presses on, at which point you are greeted by smiling knights in fresh elegantly crafted armor and weapons. They say they have been expecting you since the scouts have noticed them a day back. There are fresh supplies and quarters for everyone, all will be sorted out if you follow them. Just then a aged Oryx comes rushing down from the main doors toward the group. He quickly embraces and greets his friends Temerity, Aswad, and Ma’an. Then with tears in his eyes he kneels before Aswad and with shaky hands gives him a harness, then speaking barely above a whisper says “I have done it my friend, here is your greatest desire”. Aswad immediately puts on the harness and leaps into the air. As he is at the apex of his jump wings of light spout forth from the harness raising him higher in the sky, Aswad is now flying. With overwhelming Joy Temerity, Ma’an, Oryx, and Aswad cry out “Freedom for all”. Oryx then turns to all of you and says “We must meet Lady Ushien Stormbanner to debrief her of events. And then give you all so answers I am sure you are looking for”. You all are lead deep into the wondrous new keep directly to Stormbanner’s office, as squires and knights begin to assist the refugees. That is when it dawns on all of you; Ted and Sam have not left. They have been there with Brill assisting with helping the poor refuges, and are now back at the one place they meant to escape.
Once in Stormbanner’s office you each start to give account of your escapades, also showing the documents you have acquired from the Keep. Before debrief begins both Harley and Marek ask Stormbanner how is Twitch. Strombanner gives them a puzzled look and say “who”. That is when leans and whispers “that is something I need to talk with you in private about”. After hours of debriefing and explaining Stormbanner says “that is enough for now, we will examine for closely and talk of further actions to take tomorrow. For now get some rest in the keep from your weary adventures, there seems much more to do soon”. At that you are led by knights to a well-furnished room where you can stay, also instructed where you can bath and get nourishment. As they leave and you unburden yourselves, Oryx ask all of you to follow him. He then leads you to the blacksmith’s quarters.
Here Oryx turns around and checks if anyone else is around. He then shuts the door and cast a spells on the door. Then with a somber tone he asks you all to sit, he want to tell you about Twitch. With his usual hurried speech he stated “A day after guys left on your quest, I figured that you might not find any outsiders. Also I had no idea where my friends were at the time and knew that time was slipping from Twitch as his health started to take a turn for the worse. Feeling things were getting desperate I took drastic actions. I was asked to embark on this quest by my god Deneir. He needed someone to find and cure Twitch without any other deity or there servants finding out, as well as any fiend or lower being. Running out of time I did the only thing I thought I could do and summoned a Deva. I told it that it could ask me no questions and seek no knowledge as to the usage I had for its blood, just that I needed it for good purpose. It divined that I was a goodly creature but could not simply just hand me what I requested, a sacrifice for such powerful a gift must be given first. I traded with the Deva 20 years of my life essence for the blood, and it is why I appear to you all in such a state. I then, once I secured that none could find out, began to do the ritual with Twitch near me”. Oryx stopped for a minute and spoke softly and sorrowfully “As I completed the ritual Twitch sprang to life from his miserable state crying out in pain. A bright light slowly began to envelope him, the chamber, the keep, and finally the night sky itself. Burning and cracking with the light spewing forth from him, Twitch with his last words forgave me and wanted me to thank all of you for kindness. Soon thereafter was nothing left of poor Twitch but his ragged cloths” that is when Oryx began to weep uncontrollably. He took a few minutes to compose himself as between sobs he continues “Then a majestic Solar appeared before me saying he was Xapham, Solar of Deneir and Blacksmith for his angels. He apparently was captured by fiends and cursed into a mortal body. They erased his memory so he could not seek help, and the body they cursed him into concealed his presence from all that knew him. Worse the body was curse to live a miserable immortal life of wanting and never able to innovate or create well, the one think that brings meaning to his existence as a Solar of Deneir. He needed someone to awaken him from the curse, even though his mortal self could not handle his true divine state. He must not let the fiends know that he was free now, so that they can be countered correctly. So he was going to erase everyone’s memory but mine at the keep. But he did want to thank everyone for their assistance while he was in his Twitch form, so with one hit of his hammer he repaired and improved everything in the keep including itself.”
That is when Oryx turned to a chest hidden in the corner of the shop. He opens it up and begins to pull things out. Oryx then turns to the group and says “Xapham wanted to give something special to you all specifically and left me with some words for you. The items he has created for you will assist you but also radically change you and your lives. If you accept them there is no turning back, so think hard before you accept and connect with them. No, I have no idea how they will affect you all so don’t bother asking. Harley here is the glaive that first introduced you to Twitch, it is called Twitch’s Redemption. May it guide you to a pure path. Marek here is Half-plate, it is called Twitch’s Faith. May it stay strong and keep you safe like your faith. Kleah her is a quiver, it is called Twitch’s Hope. May it keep your shots as true as your heart. Princess here is a great axe, it is called Twitch’s Renown. May it help your splendor shine for all to see. Szuki he warns that the path that you are on is dangerous, don’t let it corrupt you. Here is a ring, it is called Twitch’s resolve. May it keep you true on the bright path. That is all that was left for those who meet and aided Twitch in his time of need. He has created items for my friends and left a strong stock for the keep. You are new to me and unknown to Twitch sir Fredward, but for assisting everyone here is a bag that is special in nature. I will have a secrete burial service tomorrow in the morning for Twitch which I would like you all to join me for. If you decide you don’t want to keep the item just place it in the grave for him, but if you do keep it spend one hour focusing on it and Twitch”.
Congratulations at becoming fifth level at this time you can choose to change characters, unlock your gift, or just keep playing your character without the gift. If you unlock I will report what it does. If you make a new character, bring it up to 5th level and introduce it to the group.
As you all sail away from the burning keep, you hear cries for putting out fires and for the commander. A sly smile crosses the face of Temerity, as he give a approving nod to his three companions. on the bank of the shore where you initially landed is Midnight playing with the corpse of two dead bodies. With further investigation you notice it's two Reavers from the area. On the other shore line to the east you see Brill back in elf form with 5 weary looking people waving you over to her side, she has wounds all around her body. As Mushbottom pours out his loot from the keep, Temerity with a smirk starts talking with Aswad "The fools at the keep can't tell the difference between fakes and real gems". They both start laughing at the direction of the keep. He explains that roughly 10% of those gems are real and the majority are fakes, "It looks like who ever they stole those from tried to trick them by having the top part with real gems and the rest of the load as fakes. It looks like roughly 6,000 gold worth of real gems". Temerity offers to help fence the fakes as real if they like for a cut, just don't tell Oryx.
As you check the ship you have stolen you find 50 slaves at the bottom of the ship, squeezed in tight cells packed together cruelly. The slaves are beaten and malnourished, the scene causes Temerity and friends to jump into action healing, feeding, clothing, and assisting every slave. Temerity, Aswad, and Ma'an each wear angry and remorseful faces. After picking up Midnight, Brill and the remaining slaves on the east bank, Ma'an sets sail for Summit Hall. Ba'an exclaims that it will take them 2 days with both ships to sail close to the hall. Temerity Thanks all of you for helping to free these people and burning down that wicked place, "We may not be the paragons for morality but that kind of evil CAN NOT stand" Temerity says with burning hellfire eyes and nods from his companions. He hands each of you a potion of heal wounds. When we get to the Hall we will look over the papers we stole from the commander and put a stop to this villainy.
You are all Level 5, you can level up your characters or trade out the character at the hall with another. Don't decide yet wait till events at the hall are completed. ;)
Aswad returns early in the morning with his report. There are four sentries on the wall walking back and forth from the four walls. There is one man at the gate's entrance, to the south west, allowing people in or baring entrance. The pier is blocked only by a chain that prevents ships from coming a going, seemingly controlled by a tower to the south east. Aswad has swam under and found three ships docked. Most of the Keep is repaired but much of the keep is still in disrepair. Aswad claims he can climb the walls at night without being seen and take out one of the guards to get to the chain by himself, but Temerity seems to prefer him not to be alone. Brill offers to keep the ship under a fog as to conceal their approach, Ba'an agrees claiming he can navigate it still under such effects. Temerity plans to claim that he is a noble seized upon by bandits looking for refuge for the night while he carries a chest full of his riches with him. This should gain him entry, and with some other tricks he has deceive his way to the leader's chamber. Temerity exclaims "if any object or have a better plan say so now, we leave at night to better disguise ourselves. Also I will assist in disguising all who join me".
After what seemed to be a rapid sail to Rivergard Keep, you all are but a 30 minute sail away from it. Temerity asks Ba'an to shore the ship and help mask it from view. He then requests everyone to come to his cabin for strategic discussion, but stops Aswad and asks him to scout the keep at night for them. HE turns to all of you and says "from what I understand so far I believe our best course of action is a three prong attack. One group will go in through the front either by trickery or strength to distract the main guards so that a second group can infiltrate and raise the water gate for the third group on the ship to enter in for the slaves. Once in Third group must find the slaves while the second group sabotage the ships for pursuit. The first group will look for the commander of the keep and take him out, while getting information about what they are doing here. The people in the third group on the ship should be ranged attack proficient, Ba'an will lead them. The second group will need to be stealth and sabotage proficient, Aswad will lead this group. And finally the first group needs to be good at either deception or stout fight, I will be leading this vanguard allowing the others to do what is needed. If anyone has a better idea, or if Aswad finds another way, please speak up. If not let me know which of the groups best fits your abilities. Oh, one more thing. Your little squires will stay on this ship in the barracks till this is done, they are of little use and more likely to get in the way from what Aswad tells me." Brill speaks up then and volunteers for group three.
Szuki over hears Sir Ryan say " I need y..........calm now..........convince you.......bound......trust me" and Harley " ....Squires......stealing......party....intervene".
Brill speaks up "I am partial to chaining him to the tree with rations. when we come back we will take him to answer for his crimes, and" she turns to the Reaver glaring "if we die saving the slaves then he starves slowly and painfully. So it would behoove him to give us all the advantage he can"
Sir Ryan offers up manacles to bind his feet and hands, also a 30 foot chain, rations, and lock to bind him to a spot. Sir Ryan says "While I agree with Harley to purge the evil from the world, I offer you means for a alternative way of dealing with this."
Brill smiles at Sir Ryan visibly happy to spare the prisoner's life.
Yes, how do you read them?
Do you spend a single afternoon reading your new book in the course of several consecutive hours? Or do you divide your readings in several days?
Do you flip through your book, reading here and there where your interest is grasped, or do you read from cover to cover?
Do you actually read all the books you own?
I personally vary my approach based on the type of book. I usually flip through rulebooks, focusing on the options potentially interesting to the characters I play and on the rules that may be useful in my GMed campaigns. I think I have never read the Core Rulebook cover to cover, but there are some sections I have read several times. Then I check it frequently when any doubt arises after our game session.
As for lorebooks, including Adventure Paths, I like to read them cover to cover in the course of a single day, when I can, or in a few days when I am busier, since I have found that to me, personally, extending the reading time too much undermines my immersion. I love to read those books in their physical version, sitting on my couch while petting my animal companion. That has become kind of a monthly ritual with time.
And no, I never actually managed to read all the Pathfinder books I own, not in their entirety at least.
Hi!
So, lately I have been thinking a lot about all those small, circumstantial bonus characters get (mainly from feats). You know, bonuses such as +1 to Athletics checks made to climb, +2 to resist the negative effects of cold weather, +1 when using Perception to discern when someone is lying to you, and so on.
These bonuses have been bugging me since Pathfinder 1E, for the following reasons:
- Players tend do forget about them, and so do I. Even when the circumstance to use them arises, they are so rarely used that no one remembers.
- Players feel overwhelmed by having to remember them, especially when using higher level characters. As an example, I have been playing Sundered Waves recently, and although we had a really huge blast, my players (who have previous experience with Pathfinder 1 and 5E) felt a bit discouraged by the sheer number of small things they had to take in and keep in mind while we played.
- They can be easily given at GM's discretion. When I know a character is grown in Irrisen, I will give him a +2 bonus to saving throws against the effects of cold weather anyway.
This post is not aimed at criticizing those bonuses, however. Since they are in the system, I would like to know why do you think they are useful, what do they add to the game experience in your view, and, most importantly, if you can share any tips on how to manage them, helping the players to remember them without feeling overwhelmed.
So, while reading PF2E world guide, I noticed that a number of changes happened in the current state of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, such as:
LotLK PF2E changes:
- King Opir attempted to raid New Thassilon, but failed. Now his kingdom is without a leader.
- King Thira took the place of her father, King Svein, who sailed to Valenhall.
- King Nankou, a varki, claimed the title of Linnorm King
Now, my question is whether these changes happened in the course of any Adventure Path, and/or if there is some source where I can learn more on how these changes came to be.
In Lost Omens World Guide, p. 87, under the description of Kibwe the Adayenki is mentioned. In previous PF1 materials, the spelling has sometimes been Adayeniki (https://pathfinderwiki.com/wiki/Kibwe).
Since I am working on the Italian translation: what should I consider as the correct spelling? Thanks!
Hello everyone!
One of my players, who is playing a rogue, has found a crow, made it helpflul and now wants to create some kind of bond with it, making it his familiar or animal companion.
Is there any feat, or chain of feats, that would allow him to do so? He is willing to tap into any archetype, if needed.
Hey everyone,
is the spell skin of thorns from Lost Omens World Guide p. 42, Fey Bargain sidebox, an existing spell in the game?
What was it supposed to stand for?
Hi everyone!
I am curious about how everyone prepares to run an Adventure Path. I usually read all the six volumes in advance, and then reread the relevant information for the next session as we play.
What's your method? And how long does it take for you to read an installment? It usually takes me about 6 to 7 hours, because I usually take notes while I read.
Another curiosity of mine: we all modify APs to better suit our players and encourage our players to create characters thematically suited for the AP to a certain extent. Do you tend more toward the former or the latter? Example: do you prefer your players coming to session 0 with character concepts already in their minds, or would you rather have them form their concept based on the themes of the adventure as detailed, for instance, in the player's guide?
This is a question I always had about Pathfinder's official adventures, which I cherish dearly.
What I mean, in a few examples:
[1] In Gods & Magic we have a few aphorisms for each major faith in the Inner Sea region. I would absolutely love if one of the different NPCs that are encountered in Adventure Paths and modules actually *use* those sayings!
[2] In 1E Campaign Setting books (I'll take Classic Horrors Revisited as an example) you have all manner of juicy lore tidbits about specific monsters, such as vampires, ghosts, etc. I would love some official encounters to be built around that lore!
[3] Also in 2E's Gods & Magic, we have descriptions for boons and curses bestowed by deities. I would love to meet some NPCs who are afflicted by one of those, and, for example, help them out to lift their curses.
[4] In 1E's Varisia, Birthplace of Legends we have common sayings among Varisians and Shoanti people. I would love to see them used!
Now, I would love this to cover also crunchy bits, such as character options, but I know that applying this to stat blocks is kind of a mess, because we do not want to send the message that you need to have *all* of the published book in order to play. So, for example, it is not easy to implement rules from People of the Sands in the statistics for a Mummy's Mask npc, because you would have to write all of the content in the adventure, which in turn would lead to useless expenditure of precious space.
What I am talking about here is pure lore. Something that can be explained with a single sentence or might not be explained at all. Is there anything preventing those cool bits of lore to pass into official adventures? I reckon that perhaps not all the writers have read all the books, but from a fan perspective, I think they should, because it's cool stuff, and it directly feeds into their job.
In general, I would love to see more of the stuff Paizo puts out in their books making their way into the official adventures!
Mornin'! Nice day for fishing, ain't it?
I am trying to figure out how Stealth works in 2E and it is not clear to me whether it is an Exploration activity or it should be part of Encounter mode.
Let's say Merisiel is sneaking into a chelaxian vira trying to avoid being noticed by guards. Should I put a gridded map in front of her and let her take turns using the Hide and Sneak actions? Or should I avoid using a map for now and just consider her as taking the Avoid Notice activity? And if this is the case, would this be a single check for the entire vira, or should I ask her to roll for each new room she enters?
Another exemple: let's say Merisiel is in Citadel Altaerein, the dungeon from the first PF 2E AP. After an encounter in the first room, she decides that she wants to scout ahead for the group and check future rooms before the party enters them. Now, do I describe this scene without using the map (physical or virtual) relying on description, or should I ask her to move square by square and use the Hide and Sneak actions as required? I am quite sure that what Merisiel wants is not covered by the Scout activity. Would this be another Avoid Notice activity? Or should I stay in Encounter mode?
Hey everyone!
Does anyone have tips on the most thematically appropriate characters for this Adventure Path?
My players love to have ties with the themes of the adventure, but since this is the first campaign we play in 2nd edition, I am making some pregens for them to customize at their will.
As far as I know, some big themes in this adventure include:
- Dragons
- Slavery
- Personal freedom and moral choices
- Building a keep
- The six ancestries from the Core Rulebook (one for each module)
So after reading the player's guide, the only option that seemed immediately appropriate to me was a sorcerer with the draconic bloodline. I also think that a druid may be fitting, especially with the warg puppies being in the Citadel.
Hello everyone!
I am looking for advice on the best way to represent combat in Age of Ashes. I am playing in person.
My options:
- Theater of mind
- Roll20
- Fantasy Grounds
- Physical battlemaps
I have always found theater of mind to be a little bit tricky with PF1e, given its tactical complexity. I don't know how much this changed with PF2e.
Roll20 hasn't released official modules for this particular AP. Since it is fairly easy to create custom tokens and import maps from the web, this could be an option, with two PCs at the table (one for me, the other for the players).
Fantasy Grounds has the official modules, as far as I know, but is quite expensive and has the disadvantage of forcing me to put two PCs on the table.
Physical maps would be perfect, since a Pawn Collection for this AP is out already, but I have always struggled to accurately represent the huge dungeons on the gridded map (usually a basic terrain flip-mat). Drawing each room separately forces me to spend a lot of time drawing, thus significantly detracting from the pace of the session (which I consider a top priority). The alternative is to pre-draw the map, but that is not always possible (sometimes the maps won't fit in a single flip-mat) and also gives huge spoilers to players.
Can you help me with this decision?
Of course I am open to suggestion of methods I didn't mention. They are not there simply because I am not aware of their existence.
As per the title: how do you guys use the dialogues in the Adventure Paths?
I am aware it is a sort of tradition for dialogues to be in adventures. I always struggled with finding the best way to convey the contents of the dialogues to the players.
I remember that when I was GMing Rise of the Runelords ages ago (my first campaign) I would steer the players towards the questions in the book and then read them aloud. That was the worst option ever, since it made me feel restricted in the roleplay of the NPC.
Nowadays I usually take notes about the info I absolutely need to convey through that dialogue (key pieces of information for the progression of the adventure, usually) and then just RP my way through the dialogue, using the contents in the adventure as a tool to be able to answer specific questions, basically as information.
Sometimes I wonder what's the point of switching to direct dialogue where an indirect description would probably convey more info in less space, and offer me, the GM, a much clearer overview of the situation. Especially since I am going to paraphase it anyway.
But I also think that seeing how the writer thought that specific NPC would talk (its terminology, its catchphrases, its probably partial comprehension of the situation, its interpretation of the matter at hands) really helps to make the NPC alive and not just a bag of gray information.
“A wider public” – A reflection on Pathfinder 2nd edition
A premise: I love Pathfinder 1st edition, and what I am going to say is driven by that love, the same love that brought me to become a Pathfinder translator for my country (Italy).
I think that a second edition of Pathfinder was unavoidable if we wanted to avoid the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game as a whole to slowly collapse and fade away. Why should you listen to me, now? Because I am going to give you a new perspective, perhaps one you are not very familiar with. I will tell you about Pathfinder in Europe.
RPG games are far less popular in Europe than in the United States. When you like a system, you usually have to endure some pain in order to find a party to play with, even as a GM, unless you are not playing the most popular system around. It used to Pathfinders a few years ago, now it is D&D 5th edition.
I recently moved to Paris for work. I moved from a relatively small city in Italy where I had slowly built my party of friend with whom I have completed several Adventure Paths using Pathfinder Rules. When I left, I said myself. “Do not have fear, Giuseppe, you’re not going to give up your favored hobby! Just imagine how many people you will meet in Paris who will be ready to embark on a campaign with you! Paris is a huge city after all!”
Wanna know the results? After 4 months spent searching, posting in Meetup groups, Facebook groups, sending mail after mail to the local PFS coordinator, I gave up. And listen: I was offering to GM, not trying to get in a group as a player. Only a few people wanted to play Pathfinder, and most of them were newbies: and they all would have preferred D&D. You know what? I tried to post on a group offering myself as a D&D GM and you know how many candidates I got? More than you can imagine, my friends, and more than I am willing to admit.
But I endured. I painstakingly put together a group of 5 players: none of them had played Pathfinder before. We met on a Sunday afternoon to create our characters and…that was the moment I realized Pathfinder was going to slowly die, unless an undreamt of new edition came out. The players were confused. Too many options, too many sourcebooks (I even projected the Strategy Guide for them), too many rules. I tried to help them, to guide them, and eventually we did it, but I was left with the unpleasing sensation of having made their characters myself. Before I left, one player asked me: “Why don’t we just play D&D instead?”
This happened on Sunday, the 4th of March. You know the rest of the story.
I was excited, as though one of the Gods of the Inner Sea region had heard my unspoken prayers. Pathfinder 2nd edition was a thing!
***
Now, I want to speak a bit more in general. In the last few years, many friends asked me to GM a game for them. 5 years ago, when I started to play, they were all people in the category that some would define as “nerds” or “geeks”. They were driven by a sincere love of fantasy or RPG, and were willing to try out this new (to them) game named Pathfinder, which promised depth and endless possibilities of customization. They loved it, and they became my party. We achieved many RPG goals together.
It has been 2 years since the last “nerd” person asked me to run a game for him: someone with an interest in videogames, fantasy books, or other similar things. I got a lot of requests, but not from them. "RPGs? Too mainstream!," told me someone. How ironic!, I thought.
Most of the prospective players were girls who had seen Stranger Things and were interested in finding out what a RPG was. Others were people in search for a new pastime. No previous interest in fantasy, no love for RPG, and unsurprisingly…no love for math and complex character building processes. I made Pathfinder players out of them of course, but that was not easy. I had to work hard and many of them asked me to simplify the game, because they didn’t have the time read all the published books.
And now I am left with this feeling that Paizo is doing the right thing at the right moment. Carpe diem. I am not a veteran player by any means, I have not seen previous edition wars in the past, and I was not there when Pathfinder first came into light. But this time I will be. And I will work hard as I ever did in order to promote it. I hope it will be a bit less complex, with a slightly more comfortable learning curve for new players. Because we have to deal with it: RPG games’ public has widened significantly over the last few years, and Pathfinder 1st edition was not in line anymore with the new players. And although we could continue to ignore those “newbies”, I have realized how crucial they are not only for Paizo’s sales and consequently for the quality of its products, but for the diffusion of our game in itself. Annoying as it may seems, we must take them into account, and give them a reason to prefer OUR game to the others on the market. Their exigencies changed, and the game needs to change as well, because as Cicero said “the shifts of fortune test the reliability of friends.”
Just my two cents. I may be wrong on several, or all points of my post. After all, I've never been to the U.S, and I'm sure it is a completely different world over there. But that is what I am feeling, and I needed to share with you guys.
Hi all,
I've just purchased the Syrinscape sound pack for The Dragon's Demand. In my download page, however, I'm not able to download the product. It makes me click on a link reading "Click here to fetch serial number". When I click, however, it just brings me to the top of the page.
What should I do?
It is quite urgent, so please help me solve this problem as soon as possible.
I will get straight to the point. I want to give online gaming platforms a try, since until now I have only used them for PbP purposes. Since I live away from home, and from my real life party, I want to try my hands at GMing on a digital platform such as Roll20.
What I need: A group of 4 to 5 english-speaking players based in Europe. This is not due to continental discrimination (does something like that even exists?), but rather due to timezones.
What I would prefer: Players with a decent amount of experience with Pathfinder rules, since explaining them during the game scares me off a bit. Good knowledge of the lore, and a sincere fan attitude toward Golarion is not needed, but is appreciated.
What we will play: An Adventure Path. Or a module, depending on the feedback of the players. Ruins of Azlant is a strong candidate, for only a few have already played it. But I'm open to input from players on this.
When will we play: Once a week, either on a weekday in the evening, from 8:00 P.M. to 00:00 A.M GMT; or in the weekend.
Disclaimer - More than a real recruitment, this is an interest check. I have not definitely decided whether this will turn into a real thing or not. I guess it largely depends on the interest I get as an answer to this post. So please, go ahead and tell me if you would be willing to join, perhaps with a brief introduction of you as players.
Hey everyone, I've got a question for you experienced PFS GMs. So, I'm running a PbP PFS Core Campaign based on scenarios from Season 1 here on the boards. I'd like to know if there's a specific field in the chronicles for each scenario in which I should enter the amount of gp gained by a character via day job. I can't seem to find an appropriate field for it, and I wonder where other GMs running older scenarios usually put that piece of information.
be welcome! Hopefully, this is the thread where we will be discussing any out ot game issues and topics related to our campaign. Make yourselves at home then, since this will be your home for the few next months, at least!
So, before everyone (including me) gets overexcited, there are several issues to be tackled.
As I mentioned in the Recruitment Thread, I need Dolgarth to update his profile.
Also, I need everyone in the group to put his character's stats below his name. If you don't know how to do it, please check my profile. As an additional note, I'd prefer everyone to have the same format for vital stats: there's a template for it in my profile.
Hey Paizo people,
I recently opened an interest check thread here on the Recruitment sub-forum, and I got the interest I hoped for, so I’m opening an actual recruitment for my original campaign idea. I will summarize my project below.
This is a recruitment for a Pathfinder Society Core Campaign. We will be playing a wide variety of modules selected from PFS Season 1 that will lead your characters from level 1 to at least 9. You will be adventuring from Taldor to Andoran, visiting remote lands such as Qadira and Jalmeray and help the Society solve some problems in Absalom. In the meantime, you will uncover plots and scheming, prevent evil plans from wreaking havoc on Golarion and much, much more. All of this together with the same party and the same GM.
Since I was asked to provide a full list of the scenarios I plan to play, below you will find a Google Sheet with the scenarios I’ve got in my mind. Keep in mind that this plan is susceptible of change in order to adapt to players who have already played a certain scenario for credit in a Core campaign. Of course, if you’ve already played too many scenarios in Season 1, you may want to reconsider your idea to submit an application for this campaign, since we will be playing most of, if not each, scenarios in Season 1.
As I said in the interest check thread, what I’m looking for is a group of 4 players willing to play several scenarios together and with the same GM. Additionally I’m looking for players who are willing to embrace a slightly more roleplaying approach to a PFS game. I’m not going to offer a mere hack-and-slash experience, so I’m asking you to submit an application for this game only if you enjoy roleplaying in all of his dimensions. Interaction with your teammates, willingness to investigate the stories behind the scenarios and so on. So please, if you’re used to post only when strictly required and anyway only if you’re required to roll some dice, this is clearly not the game for you. Also, I need players who can manage to post at least once a day, and preferably twice a day during the week, and at least once in the weekend.
A few details from the Interest Check Thread:
How do I plan to accomplish my goal: My goal is to bring an immersive PFS Core Campaign to life. In order to reach my goal, I’ll try to create story hooks to link each Scenario with the others: the general idea is that you will follow your character from the first steps of his PFS career through his confirmation and then establishment as a famed PFS field agent. On the top of that, you will follow you character progression as he travels to different locations in The Inner Sea region and adventures along with his established party with which he has shared past adventures. In order to ensure you can enjoy this experience, I’m going to try and add some roleplaying and story hooks between the scenarios, so that the different adventure do not seem too unconnected with each other.
My roleplaying approach to the Core PFS Campaign: I want to be honest. There’s one thing in particular that I don’t like at all about PFS PbP games: they almost always end up being a rollplay series of posts with scarce or no roleplaying at all. This I don’t like. I want to change things and create a campaign where players are encouraged to roleplay: interact with each other, write roleplaying posts without any dice rolls for the mere sake of doing it, discover the story behind the different scenarios, and get a distinct idea of the overarching story behind the different scenarios. In order to reach this goal, first of all I need players willing to commit to such a game. In PFS, this is not required; but in my game, it will be. I don’t need players willing to post only in combat situations, because I want to create something that is much more fan than rolling (virtual) dice on a (virtual) table. Of course, combat will be important, but roleplaying will be just as much. If you don’t share this approach and you see this campaign just as an opportunity to gain PFS credit without any roleplaying fun to it, please do not apply.
How do I plan to use factions: Although Season 1 uses older factions and factions’ mission no longer award any type of reward to the character, I like the idea of staying true to the scenario and keep the factions as they are. This means that you will be asked to join one of the factions featured in Season 1 and roleplay accordingly. You will receive your faction missions, and I expect you to try and fulfill them at your character’s best although he/she won’t gain any reward from it.
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This recruitment will work just as any other recruitment selection for Adventure Paths and other games. You are expected to submit an application comprehensive of the following.
BACKGROUND: A backstory detailing your character’s experiences before becoming a Pathfinder. You may want to try and answer to the following questions in your background.
- Where was your character born and how his homeland affects his personality?
- Why did your character decide to become a Pathfinder?
- How did your character actually become a Pathfinder? What lodge was he trained in?
- What faction does your character belong to? Why did he choose that particular faction?
- What does your character like about being a Pathfinder?
- Does your character have a particular goal to fulfill in his career as a Pathfinder?
PERSONALITY: A short overview of your character’s personality. You may want to consider answering the following questions in your personality entry.
- In a team of Pathfinders, how does your character interact with the others?
- What does motivate your character to be a Pathfinder?
- What's your character’s attitude toward his faction?
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CHARACTER CREATION
You will need to build a NEW character for this campaign, since everyone will be starting at 0 EXP.
Character creation rules follow those for a Core Pathfinder Society character.
You must choose a legal faction for your character, but keep in mind that in Season 1 factions are different and as far as roleplaying is concerned, I will keep the original factions.
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I think this is everything for now. If you have any additional question, feel free to ask to me in this thread.
Recruitment will close on Sunday, December the 4th.
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For the new players applying to the game: if you're new to Pathfinder, to PbP or to the Pathfinder Society, please don't be afraid to submit a character. Since this is PFS, you will get plenty of opportunity to play should your character not be selected. Also, I plan to run a few Pathfinder Quests for new players only, and I will be recruiting players for those quests from those who sumbitted a character for this campaign.
Hey Paizo people,
in the past few years of so I’ve been having quite a success in running PbP games on these boards, with my greatest success being the completion of the Price of Immortality campaign arc, featuring three distinct modules (Crypt of the Everflame, Masks of the Living God, and City of Golden Death). You can check my profile if you want to take a look at my previous efforts as a PbP GM, as links to all my previous and current games are provided.
Now, I’ve always wanted to give Pathfinder Society a try. I live in Italy, and here PFS is not as established as it is in the United States: opportunities to participate in one PFS event are very rare, and even then there’s no continuity in the experience. Combining this will on my part with the fact that I really enjoy playing PbP games, I came to the conclusion that I should have tried to join a few PFS games being run here on the Paizo Boards—and that I did. I enjoyed the experience, but there was something in the way PFS games were run that just didn’t seem to fit my tastes. That led me to another idea: running my own PFS game on the Paizo Boards as a GM. And this is precisely what this interest check aims for.
What I need: A group of 4 dedicated players willing to join me in this venture. In more detail, I’m looking for players who are able to post twice/day during the week, and once/day in the weekend. In addition, I need players who are willing to indulge my roleplaying approach to PFS Scenarios (for more details, see below). Finally, I need players who are willing to commit to a long-lasting PFS game with several scenarios being run one after the other.
What I offer: I plan to start small, and I’ve set on the idea of running as much Season 1 PFS Scenarios as possible in order to create a cohesive and immersive PFS Core Campaign where the party members never change. This means that I’d like to play different scenarios with the same group of players using the same characters.
Why Season 1?: For three distinct reasons. (1) I own all of Season 1 PFS Scenarios. (2) Being older scenarios, the chances that a player has already played a scenario from that Season using the Core Campaign rules are considerably less. (3) Season 1’s Scenarios use a small sub-set of rules, making my life much easier.
Why Core?: Because this is my first attempt at PFS Society GMing, and I’d like to keep things as simple as possible for me to manage. Also, because I believe there are more chances that someone has not played a Season 1 Scenario in Core Campaign rather than in Standard.
How do I plan to accomplish my goal: My goal is to bring an immersive PFS Core Campaign to life. In order to reach my goal, I’ll try to create story hooks to link each Scenario with the others: the general idea is that you will follow your character from the first steps of his PFS career through his confirmation and then establishment as a famed PFS field agent. On the top of that, you will follow you character progression as he travels to different locations in The Inner Sea region and adventures along with his established party with which he has shared past adventures. In order to assure you can enjoy this experience, I’m going to try and add some roleplaying and story hooks between the scenarios, so that the different adventure do not seem too unconnected with each other.
My roleplaying approach to the Core PFS Campaign: I want to be honest. There’s one thing in particular that I don’t like at all about PFS PbP games: they almost always end up being a rollplay series of posts with scarce or no roleplaying at all. This I don’t like. I want to change things and create a campaign where players are encouraged to roleplay: interact with each other, write roleplaying posts without any dice rolls for the mere sake of doing it, discover the story behind the different scenarios, and get a distinct idea of the overarching story behind the different scenarios. In order to reach this goal, first of all I need players willing to commit to such a game. In PFS, this is not required; but in my game, it will be. I don’t need players willing to post only in combat situations, because I want to create something that is much more fan than rolling (virtual) dice on a (virtual) table. Of course, combat will be important, but roleplaying will be just as much. If you don’t share this approach and you see this campaign just as an opportunity to gain PFS credit without any roleplaying fun to it, please do not apply.
How do I plan to use factions: Although Season 1 uses older factions and factions’ mission no longer award any type of reward to the character, I like the idea of staying true to the scenario and keep the factions as they are. This means that you will be asked to join one of the factions featured in Season 1 and roleplay accordingly. You will receive your faction missions, and I expect you to try and fulfill them at your character’s best although he/she won’t gain any reward from it.
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As I said above, I’m not that experienced with Pathfinder Society, so please forgive me for any errors or naiveties this post contains. I’m open to any suggestion to improve my starting idea, and willing to listen to any tip if I made any mistake.
Now, this is just an interest check. From what I’ve seen, there are considerably less players on the boards these days if compared to the past, so I’m aware that my idea might never see actual realization if I don’t have enough player interest for it. Let’s just say that I’m trying to test the water here.
Hey Paizo People,
it's been a while since my last recruitment on the boards. The last campaign I started was an invite-only type of game, so I didn't open the recruitment for anyone except those invited. But now my game is in need of a replacemente for a character whose player has decided to step out due to difficulties in keeping the (high) pace my game has. He's a wonderfully talented player and regular poster, but lately he's been having some issues in respecting the deadlines for post so he decided to step out of the game. Now, this introduction is to make clear to everyone willing to apply for this game that I'm looking for a consistent poster, someone who can manage to post at least once/day every day, or more if the need arises. I value pace as the most important part of PbP gaming, and it's absolutely important that whoever applies for this recruitment is well aware that I'm looking for a player whose posting rate can match the one of my game.
Before going into details, I'd like to clarify that I need only one player and that my group needs either a bard or a rogue. I want to keep the party balanced, so you'll have to go with that. Below you'll find some information drawn from the character creation document that was given to my players at the start of this game. Please take the following as simple tips and not as compulsory rules.
BARD:
BARD
The bard is the perfect class for those who wish to play a central role in this Adventure Path from both an adventuring and social point of view. Bards’ focus on social skills will come particularly in handy during certain parts of the adventure, and selecting Perform (act) is a highly recommended choice, since a live performance is included in the adventure. Besides, actors are renowned and respected members of Cheliaxan society, and you could easily use those links in order to aid the party in negotiating with the nobles and the rulers of your country.
Bards are respected and appreciated in all Cheliax, whose people love operas more than anyone else in Golarion.
BACKGROUND TIPS: You may consider the idea to give your bard a particular interest in Cheliax’s true history: despite the government constant work to alter the past, Cheliax has a rich and interesting story, although discovering it could prove quite dangerous. Accessing the tomes containing the original version of the history of your country could create the opportunity for an interesting side-story of intrigue, forbidden knowledge and secrets. Many historians are drawn to Cheliax due to his dark history, and the prestige that awaits those who’ll be able to uncover it - the country holds such a rich and disturbing history, full of tragedy and lost information, that it seems a veritable treasure trove to those interested in the past. Also, bards with a strong knowledge of genealogy and blood histories find much work in tracing family lines, but they must beware of uncovering the wrong information.
Shelyn, as the patron deity of arts, is an especially suitable deity for a Cheliaxan bard, since her faith is largely allowed.
BUILD TIPS: Any build is appropriate for a bard in this adventure, depending on the choices of the other players. You may also consider to take levels in a prestige class such as the arcane trickster, the loremaster and the shadowdancer. Also, you could consider the idea to make your bard sympathize with the Pathfinder Society’s ideals and motivation. During the course of the adventure you’ll have the chance to meet a Pathfinder Society undercover agent and work for her, enter a prohibited Pathfinder Lodge that has been closed for decades and unveil mysterious treasures and secrets of the Pathfinder Society itself. As a result, you may consider to take levels in one of the Pathfinder Society prestige classes such as the Pathfinder Chronicler from the Core Rulebook and the Pathfinder Delver, the Pathfinder Savant and the Student of War from Seekers of Secretes, which is a legal source for our game.
RACE TIPS: A halfling would make for an excellent choice as a bard’s race, both from a mechanical and a roleplaying point of view. In fact, it would allow the creation of a direct link to the lowest classes, and to halflings in particular, motivating an interest for their freedom and liberation.
SUGGESTED CAMPAIGN TRAITS: Child of Infamy, The Pathfinder’s Exile.
Class-Specific Readings
• “Bard” entry in the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide.
• “History” entry in Cheliax, Empire of Devils.
ROGUE:
ROGUE
Being a rogue in a very lawful country as Cheliax is could be tricky but also rewarding. Noble families and the Asmodean church alike are used to employ rogues as spies and assassins; corruption is somehow considered legal; powerful and renowned thieves guilds thrive in the city of Westcrown. All these elements account for how much a rogue is appropriate in a Council of Thieves’ campaign. Your vast selection of skills will come in handy in several parts of the adventure, which also features deadly traps and opportunities for stealthy infiltration missions.
Since the Council of Thieves Adventure Path is focused on a gritty urban setting, playing a rogue who knows every alley of the city could prove both rewarding and useful for the party as a whole.
BACKGROUND TIPS: You may consider to be descended from a family of actors and invest some of your skill ranks in Perform (act), for the same reasons detailed in the bard entry above.
BUILD TIPS: Any kind of rogue build would be an optimal choice for the Council of Thieves Adventure Path, from two-weapons thugs to archer rogues and skill-monkeys. You may consider taking levels in the shadowdancer prestige class as the “shadow” theme is particularly appropriate for the campaign. Also, you may consider the idea to make your rogue sympathize with the Pathfinder Society’s ideals and motivation. During the course of the adventure you’ll have the chance to meet a Pathfinder Society undercover agent and work for her, enter a prohibited Pathfinder Lodge that has been closed for decades and unveil mysterious treasures and secrets of the Pathfinder Society itself. As a result, you may consider to take levels in one of the Pathfinder Society prestige classes such as the Pathfinder Chronicler from the Core Rulebook and the Pathfinder Delver from Seekers of Secretes, which is a legal source for our game.
SUGGESTED CAMPAIGN TRAITS: Child of Infamy, Shadow Child, The Pathfinder’s Exile.
Class-Specific Readings
• “Rogue” entry in the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide.
• “Combat” section in Cheliax, Empire of Devils, including a list of Cheliaxan combat feats, a combat slang and a new weapon.
Alright, before delving in the details of character creation, an important note. I'm running this game in my format of choice, Pathfinder Vintage (click on the link to find out more about this format). In short, Pathfinder Vintage is a format in which legal sources are limited to the materials which were released when the adventure was published*. You can check this link or my profile for a complete list of legal sources for this campaign.
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* This campaign will be using the standard variant (so no 3.5 materials allowed).
Something about me: My name is Giuseppe Capriati, and I’m a Pathfinder translator for my country, Italy. I’ve played Pathfinder for almost 5 years now, and in my Face-to-Face games I’ve been able to successfully complete four Adventure Paths as a GM (Council of Thieves, Serpen’t Skull (x2) and Carrion Crown). I’m currently GMing a Kingmaker Adventure Path in person. As a guarantee of my consistency, please take a look at the Price of Immortality Campaign Arc I've GMed here on Paizo boards. Thanks to a group of devoted players, we managed to complete the whole arc in approximately six months, with the forts module being completed in the stunning period of 1 month only. Two of those wonderful players are also part of the Council of Thieves game you're applying for.
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CHARACTER CREATION
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Before you start creating your character, please take note of the following suggestions.
First of all, you may want to start by reading instead of writing. As a GM, I value player’s knowledge and tend to prize those players who are able to come up with interesting character ideas which are strongly tied to the campaign setting and to the adventure I’m going to run. This means that if you manage to acquire a good knowledge of this adventure’s setting, your PCs is likely to reflect that, implying a higher chance of being recruited for you. Take your time, read and think about what you’ve read before getting to work on character creation. To better explain what I mean here, I can give you an example: if I had to choose between two equally good and well developed characters, one of them submitting a generic two-handed fighter and the other applying with an aldori-style fighter, I would pick the latter. Why? Because I would feel that the latter is much more suited for the AP. So, to ensure that you can apply with a character who fits the adventure, I’m going to suggest you some compulsory and optional readings below.
Reading Suggestions:
Compulsory Readings — First off, read the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide, available for free on Paizo.com: it contains a lot of useful information about the campaign setting and the AP in general, and will aid you in your character creation, helping you to make choices fitting the Council of Thieves Adventure Path. This is the only compulsory reading I’m recommending: please make sure you read the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide even if you consider that you have a perfect knowledge of the AP or you have had the chance to read the guide before. Sometimes, dusting off your stock of knowledge can prove surprisingly helpful.
Optional Readings — If you want to make some additional readings to further root your character into the Council of Thieves AP, please check the legal sources document. Keep in mind that you’re still allowed to use other sources to gain additional knowledge of the campaign setting, even if you cannot use those sources for player’s options. First off, I would recommend an in-depth reading of Cheliax entry in The Inner Sea World Guide. Then, you can take a look at Cheliax, Empire of Devils for additional information and player's option. There are a number of sources you could look at to improve your character, but what particular source you need depends on who your character is and where he comes from. You may want to consider creating a character who can use the legal sources for this campaign (ie., a dwarf since Dwarves of Golarion is legal, or a Cheliaxian because Cheliax, Empire of Devils is legal, and so on), just so you can add some flavor elements to him and maybe even try to make his build reflect his race, nation, and so on.
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Read the guides – If you haven’t done it yet, please read the excellent guide written by Doomed Hero about PbP gaming: DH's Guide to Play by Post gaming. If you’ve already read this guide, there’s another excellent guide expanding DH’s guide you might want to read: Painlord's Advanced Play by Post Play. Even if you feel like you already know a lot about PbP, these guides are going to help you out for sure if you haven't read them yet, no matter how much good you are at PbP. There's always something to be learned, and these guides are the perfect mentors for any PbP player.
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Alright, now that we I’ve brought these aspects to your attention, we can delve into character creation specifics.
Class – Bard or Rogue.
Origin - Your character must be born or raised in Westcrown and have a genuine interest towards its improvement.
Starting level – 2nd
Starting wealth – Average starting wealth for your class + 1000 gp.
Ability scores – 15 point buy.
Ability scores restriction – No ability score below 8.
Hit point generation system – Maximized hp at 1st level, then half your HD +1 (e.g., 1d6=3+1; 1d8=4+1; 1d10=5+1; 1d12=6+1).
Alignment restrictions – Non-evil characters only. Good alignment recommended but not necessary.
Traits – Two traits, one of which must be selected among those featured in the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide. No Drawbacks.
Race restrictions – Core races reccomended. Races from the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary may be allowed, but make sure to have my permission by sending me a PM with your idea and waiting for my approval before expanding on that concept.
I need your submission to include the following:
Complete character sheet
Background
Personality
Appearance
A quick introduction of yourself as a PbP player
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Additional Information:
Submission Template – Please use this template when introducing your character: this helps me and other players to discern your submission from your other posts in this thread.
Read my profile page – In my profile page a number of important things involving my games are detailed, such as what I expect from my players, how to roll dice in my games, how to add vital stats to your characters, how to format your posts, and so on.
My posting schedule – I live in Italy, and as such all my following posting times will be intended as GMT+2. I usually post once in the morning, about 09:00 A.M.. Then I post one last time at 09:00-11:00 P.M.. If needed, I may post more depending on my current schedule.
RAW vs RAI – I tend to follow RAW as much as I can, unless rules interfere with the story; if it does, I’m likely to change that rule once and for all.
XP and Level Progression – You will level up when I feel like you’re ready to, based on the results you accomplished and where you currently are in the adventure. By the way, I will keep a constantly updated XP counter to have a reference, avoiding me to let you level up too soon or too late.
Like other applications – Please like your fellow applicants’ submissions you like the most by hitting the add to favorites button near the character you like.
Roleplay! – If you think you can benefit from doing a bit of roleplay (especially if you’re a new PbP player and you want to show me your skills) or you just want to practice a bit in the meantime, feel free to use this thread to roleplay with other applicants. This is not compulsory: roleplay only if you want to. I could easily recruit a player who hasn’t roleplayed here in the recruitment thread if I think his submission is good enough and I like that player’s posting style and rate. You may want to use this thread to roleplay if your posting history does not account for your posting rate: sometimes games just don’t allow players to post all that frequently, but still I need to see if you’re able to manage 1 post/day before recruiting you. In this case, you can use this thread to show me that you can meet such a pace. See my next post for further details.
How many recruits? – I’ll be recruiting a single player.
Mapping tools – We’ll be using Google Slides for combat encounters.
Campaign Gallery – I’ll be using Pinterest to show you some pictures which can help you to immerse in the campaign. You’re expected to be able to access the gallery. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you out.
Handouts and reference documents – I’ll be using Googledocs to provide you with additional reference documents. You’re expected to be able to access these documents. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you out.
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SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE
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This recruitment is open and will remain opened for a week. I will close recruitment on Saturday, November the 19th. I will give you 5 days to submit your character. After that, I will stop accepting applications and will give you 2 more days to roleplay in this thread (during this period you can still adjust your character’s sheet, but I need your submission to be complete in all of the entries I’ve specified above before November the 19th. Please make sure your submission is complete by that date).
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If you have any question, please ask directly to me in this thread using the ooc code.
Hello Paizo people,
I'd like to have your opinion on a magic item I've been toying with for a long time. I'm not looking for advices on the item's balance, because I'm going to use it mainly as a story device to enhance our story. What I'm looking for, instead, is to know how would you price it.
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AMULET OF DRACONIC BLOODLINE Aura moderate evocation; CL 7th
Slot neck; Price ??? Weight 0,5 lbs.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ DESCRIPTION ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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This amulet grants the power of dragons' blood. The wearer of an amulet of draconic bloodline gains the draconic bloodline power. Whenever the wearer of this amulet casts a spell with an energy descriptor that matches the amulet's attuned energy type, that spell deals +1 point of damage per die rolled.
Each amulet of draconic power is attuned to one energy type selected upon creation.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ CONSTRUCTION ⁞⁞⁞⁞
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Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, dragon's breath, creator must have a draconic bloodline matching the amulet's energy type; Cost ???
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I was not able to recall any kind of wondrous item replicating a bloodline arcana's effects, but I've not ready any of the newest rulebooks (Ultimate Magic was the last source I read attentively), so maybe I've missed something important.
In 4606 ar, Aroden, god of humanity, innovation, and history, died.
No city in all of Golarion was wracked more fundamentally by this catastrophic event than Westcrown. The capital of Cheliax—an entire country sworn to the god of humanity’s worship at the time—Westcrown was the expected site of Aroden’s return and had spent decades preparing for the event. A massive plaza known as the Arodennama, complete with a towering statue of the god, stood ready to receive the deity, yet after his death, it took only a few short years for the church of Aroden to fall. The Arodennama was abandoned, and the entire country found itself in the grips of a civil war with fierce diabolists.
The rise of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune saw Westcrown’s further descent. After a brutal 30-year civil war, the diabolical House of Thrune seized control of Cheliax. One of their first acts as the nation’s new government was to move the capital and royal court north to the city of Egorian, emptying Westcrown of much of its affluence and prestige. Those nobles who remained behind were largely old families rooted in their traditions and their pride, content to rot in their declining home. While still a vibrant and important port, the splendor that had typified Westcrown for centuries swiftly waned, and without the noble court many commoners and merchants who had previously made a living pandering to the country’s elite were forced to move on, leaving whole blocks abandoned. Westcrown faded to a pale shadow of its former glory and became a playground for vultures eager to pick the royal carcass.
Hey everyone, this is our new home, the place where we should discuss OOC contents. Please feel free to dot the Gameplay Thread in order for this campaign to show in your Campaign Tab. After dottin, please make sure to delete your own post as to not flood the Gameplay Thread with dots.
If you have any last questions on character creation before we start, this is the right place to ask.
As a reminder, I confirm that we're going to start this game on July, the 1st. Posting rate will be 2/day. We'll be using Roll20 for map and such, and I'll make sure to provide a link to the campaign as soon as possibile.
Hey everyone,
this is the space where we can discuss about your characters for the upcoming campaign. If you want, dot in the gameplay thread to make this thread appear in your campaign tab.
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“Enter the Stolen Lands, a wilderness claimed by nobles, bandits, and beasts alike. Into this territory the fractious country of Brevoy sends its emissaries, tasking them with subduing the lawless folk and deadly creatures that have made it a realm of savagery and shame. Beyond the last rugged frontier stretches the home of voracious monsters, capricious fey, wily natives, and bandits who bow to the rule of a merciless lord none dare defy. Can the PCs survive the Stolen Lands, bring their dangers to heel, and lay the foundations of a new kingdom? Or will they just be one more fateful band, lost forever to the ravenous wilds?”
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“Be it so known that the bearer of this charter has been charged by the Swordlords of Restov, acting upon the greater good and authority vested within them by the office of the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, has granted the right of exploration and travel within the wilderness region known as the Greenbelt. Exploration should be limited to an area no further than thirty-six miles east and west and sixty miles south of Oleg’s Trading Post. The carrier of this charter should also strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior to be encountered. The punishment for unrepentant banditry remains, as always, execution by sword or rope.”
— So witnessed on this 24th day of Calistril, under watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Regent of the Dragonscale Throne.
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Hey guys, welcome to our Discussion Thread. It's good to finally get started!
First off, I would like to discuss whether you would prefer to begin playing tomorrow already or you'd rather take some time to work on your PCs while the Christmas holidays pass. I'm personally leaning towards the latter option, since I wouldn't like to lose momentum. We could get started on January the 2nd in this case.
Also, I've got some suggestions to further involve your characters in my game and will post later today or tomorrow in this thread detailing what my thoughts on this matter are.
If you need to start to make plans together, decide leadership roles for the future, get build tips and so on, this is the right place and time to do it.
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“Enter the Stolen Lands, a wilderness claimed by nobles, bandits, and beasts alike. Into this territory the fractious country of Brevoy sends its emissaries, tasking them with subduing the lawless folk and deadly creatures that have made it a realm of savagery and shame. Beyond the last rugged frontier stretches the home of voracious monsters, capricious fey, wily natives, and bandits who bow to the rule of a merciless lord none dare defy. Can the PCs survive the Stolen Lands, bring their dangers to heel, and lay the foundations of a new kingdom? Or will they just be one more fateful band, lost forever to the ravenous wilds?”
---
“Be it so known that the bearer of this charter has been charged by the Swordlords of Restov, acting upon the greater good and authority vested within them by the office of the Regent of the Dragonscale Throne, has granted the right of exploration and travel within the wilderness region known as the Greenbelt. Exploration should be limited to an area no further than thirty-six miles east and west and sixty miles south of Oleg’s Trading Post. The carrier of this charter should also strive against banditry and other unlawful behavior to be encountered. The punishment for unrepentant banditry remains, as always, execution by sword or rope.” — So witnessed on this 24th day of Calistril, under watchful eye of the Lordship of Restov and authority granted by Lord Noleski Surtova, current Regent of the Dragonscale Throne.
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Hello everyone, and welcome to yet another recruitment thread by GM Giuseppe. This is a recruitment for the Kingmaker Adventure Path. I plan on running the AP from the beginning to the end; presumably, this will take us about 2 years to complete. Unlike Wolfspirit’s Kingmaker: Legacies recruitment thread, I plan on running the AP as written, without adding further modules and adventures aside from those featured in the Adventure Path itself (which are plenty already).
I’d like to make clear that I’m searching for 2-3 players only. In fact I have already invited two players to join the game, and I plan on creating a group of about 4-5 characters. The players you’re going to play with if you’re selected are Euan and Fabian Benavante: two great PbP GMs and players I’ve chosen because I like their posting style and frequency.
Before anything else, there’s one thing I’d like to make clear: I need all the applicants to be able to commit to at least 2-3 post per day. While this posting rate is quite fast compared to other PbP games run here on these boards, I firmly believe in what Painlord named the “Prime PbP GM Commandment” in his amazing Guide to PbP GMing: “Don't set out to start a PbP. *SET OUT TO CLOSE A PBP*”, which can also be expressed as: “Finish what you start”. Oh, and just so you know, that Euan guy you’re going to play with has successfully completed an entire AP on these boards (Curse of the Crimson Throne) as a GM. Well, my primary aim is to close the entire Kingmaker AP too, and in order to achieve this goal I’m convinced that a fast-paced game can prove very helpful. The faster we go, the sooner we end; the more frequently we post, less are the chances of real life getting in our way. And, above all, posting frequently helps us to keep momentum, something that I found to be very important for every PbP. It’s a matter of tastes: I think that when you post frequently you are more involved, you can feel the adventure on your own skin, and it’s easier to stay in-character; to the contrary, few posts in my experience mean less involvement and the loss of momentum. So, please, if you already know or if you fear you won’t be able to post 2-3 times/day just do not apply for this recruitment. It’s a big commitment, I know, but it can be extremely rewarding. So, again, apply only if you feel comfortable with this pace and your current lifestyle allows you to afford such a commitment. Of course, there will come a day in which you won’t be able to post at all, and in that case I’m going to ask you not to worry and let us know of your absence so I can bot your character accordingly.
I plan to run this game in my format of choice, Pathfinder Vintage (click on the link to find out more about this format). In short, Pathfinder Vintage is a format in which legal sources are limited to the materials which were released when the adventure was published*. You can check this link or my profile for a complete list of legal sources for this campaign.
* This campaign will be using the standard variant (so no 3.5 materials allowed).
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Something about me: My name is Giuseppe Capriati, and I’m a Pathfinder translator for my country, Italy. I’ve played Pathfinder for almost 4 years now, and in my Face-to-Face games I’ve been able to successfully complete four Adventure Paths as a GM (Council of Thieves, Serpen’t Skull (x2) and Carrion Crown). I’m currently GMing a Skulls and Shackles Adventure Path in person and a Price of Immortality Campaign Arc here on Paizo boards.
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CHARACTER CREATION
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Before you start creating your character, please take note of the following suggestions.
First of all, you may want to start by reading instead of writing. As a GM, I value player’s knowledge and tend to prize those players who are able to come up with interesting character ideas which are strongly tied to the campaign setting and to the adventure I’m going to run. This means that if you manage to acquire a good knowledge of this adventure’s setting, your PCs is likely to reflect that, implying a higher chance of being recruited for you. Take your time, read and think about what you’ve read before getting to work on character creation. To better explain what I mean here, I can give you an example: if I had to choose between two equally good and well developed characters, one of them submitting a generic two-handed fighter and the other applying with an aldori-style fighter, I would pick the latter. Why? Because I would feel that the latter is much more suited for the AP. So, to ensure that you can apply with a character who fits the adventure, I’m going to suggest you some compulsory and optional readings below.
Reading Suggestions:
Compulsory Readings — First off, read the Kingmaker Player’s Guide: it contains a lot of useful information about the campaign setting and the AP in general, and will aid you in your character creation, helping you to make choices fitting the Kingmaker Adventure Path. This is the only compulsory reading I’m recommending: please make sure you read the Kingmaker Player’s Guide even if you consider that you have a perfect knowledge of the AP or you have had the chance to read the guide before. Sometimes, dusting off your stock of knowledge can prove surprisingly helpful.
Optional Readings — If you want to make some additional readings to further root your character into the Kingmaker AP, please check the legal sources document below. Keep in mind that you’re still allowed to use other sources to gain additional knowledge of the campaign setting, even if you cannot use those sources for player’s options. First off, I would recommend an in-depth reading of Brevoy and River Kingdoms entries in The Inner Sea World Guide. Then, if you plan on tying your character to one of the River Kingdoms, you can take a look at Pathfinder Chronicles. Guide to the River Kingdoms. If you instead plan on creating a character coming from somewhere else, you could find it helpful to read Pathfinder Chronicles. Cities of Golarion and tie your character to one of the six cities presented therein. If you’re looking for some additional equipment to differentiate your character from the standard adventurer, consider to flip through Pathfinder Companion. Adventurer’s Armory. If you’re looking for an important NPC to add to your character’s background, you can take a look at Pathfinder Chronicles. NPC Guide and choose among a number of NPCs, each one related to a specific country in the Inner Sea region campaign setting. There are a number of sources you could look at to improve your character, but what particular source you need depends on who your character is and where he comes from. You may want to consider creating a character who can use the legal sources for this campaign (ie., a dwarf since Dwarves of Golarion is legal, or a Cheliaxian because Cheliax, Empire of Devils is legal, and so on), just so you can add some flavor elements to him and maybe even try to make his build reflect his race, nation, and so on.
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Read the guides – If you haven’t done it yet, please read the excellent guide written by Doomed Hero about PbP gaming: DH's Guide to Play by Post gaming. If you’ve already read this guide, there’s another excellent guide expanding DH’s guide you might want to read: Painlord's Advanced Play by Post Play. Even if you feel like you already know a lot about PbP, these guides are going to help you out for sure if you haven't read them yet, no matter how much good you are at PbP. There's always something to be learned, and these guides are the perfect mentors for any PbP player.
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Alright, now that we I’ve brought these aspects to your attention, we can delve into character creation specifics.
Starting level – 1st
Starting wealth – Average starting wealth for your class.
Ability scores – 20 point buy.
Ability scores restriction – No ability score below 8.
Hit point generation system – Maximized hp at 1st level, then half your HD +1 (e.g., 1d6=3+1; 1d8=4+1; 1d10=5+1; 1d12=6+1).
Alignment restrictions – Non-evil characters only. Good alignment recommended but not necessary.
Traits – Two traits, one of which must be selected among those featured in the Kingmaker Player’s Guide. No Drawbacks.
Race restrictions – Core races recommended. Races from the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary may be allowed, but make sure to have my permission by sending me a PM with your idea and waiting for my approval before expanding on that concept.
I need your submission to include the following:
Complete character sheet
Background
Personality
Appearance
Leadership Roles
A quick introduction of yourself as a PbP player
Please do create an alias for your submission. After you have created your alias, please make sure to include his vital statistics under your forum name. If you don’t know how to do it, check my profile.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Additional Information:
Submission Template – Please use this template when introducing your character: this helps me and other players to discern your submission from your roleplaying post.
Read my profile page – In my profile page a number of important things involving my games are detailed, such as what I expect from my players, how to roll dice in my games, how to add vital stats to your characters, how to format your posts, and so on.
My posting schedule – I live in Italy, and as such all my following posting times will be intended as GMT+1. I usually post once in the morning, about 10:00 A.M., then again in the afternoon, about 7:00-8:00 P.M.. Then I post one last time at 11:00-12:00 P.M.. If needed, I could post more depending on my current schedule.
RAW vs RAI – I tend to follow RAW as much as I can, unless rules interfere with the story; if it does, I’m likely to change that rule once and for all.
XP and Level Progression – You will level up when I feel like you’re ready to, based on the results you accomplished and where you currently are in the adventure. By the way, I will keep a constantly updated XP counter to have a reference, avoiding me to let you level up too soon or too late.
Like other applications – Please like your fellow applicants’ submissions by hitting the add to favorites button near the character you like. Of course, this in non-binding at all for me: it’s not a voting system in which the most voted characters get recruited automatically, but it tells me who you would like to play with, which is one of the main criteria for my choice.
Roleplay! – If you think you can benefit from doing a bit of roleplay (especially if you’re a new PbP player and you want to show me your skills) or you just want to practice a bit in the meantime, feel free to use this thread to roleplay with other applicants. This is not compulsory: roleplay only if you want to. I could easily recruit a player who hasn’t roleplayed here in the recruitment thread if I think his submission is good enough and I like that player’s posting style and rate. You may want to use this thread to roleplay if your posting history does not account for your posting rate: sometimes games just don’t allow players to post all that frequently, but still I need to see if you’re able to manage 2-3 posts/day before recruiting you. In this case, you can use this thread to show me that you can meet such a pace (you can roleplay starting on December 17th; before that date I need this thread to stay as clean as possible).
First timers – I’ve recently opened a recruitment for a Price of Immortality campaign arc, giving first timers a chance to put their skills to test. For this game I’m instead looking for experienced and trustable PbPers, so even if I won’t exclude the chance to recruit a first timer for this game, you will have to impress me with your roleplay in this thread to convince me to recruit you and take the risk that recruiting a first timer implies.
Party assortment – I’ll try to recruit the best players, not the characters with the best builds. That said, I will still try to build a solid and mechanically-wise efficient group. You may want to know that Euan is going to play a Marshal Outdoorsy Archer and Fabian a Councilor Citified Divine, so those leadership roles and specializations are already covered for this game.
How many recruits? – I’ll be recruiting a party composed of 4 members, but could end up recruiting one more player. We have 2 players already, so I need 2-3 players only.
Mapping tools – We’ll be using Roll20 for combat encounters. I’m pretty good at it, or so my players have told me. As a consequence, I expect you to have a Roll20 account or to create one after you’ve been recruited. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you to create your own account and teach you how Roll20 works.
Campaign Gallery – I’ll be using Pinterest to show you some pictures which can help you to immerse in the campaign. You’re expected to be able to access the gallery. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you out.
Handouts and reference documents – I’ll be using Googledocs to provide you with additional reference documents. You’re expected to be able to access these documents. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you out.
This recruitment is open and will remain opened for 8 days. I will close recruitment on December the 20th. I will give you 5 days to submit your character. After that, I will stop accepting applications and will give you 3 days to roleplay in this thread (during this period you can still adjust your character’s sheet, but I need your submission to be complete in all of the entries I’ve specified above before December the 17th. Please make sure your submission is complete by that date).
I will try to keep an updated list of applicants, providing you with a link to it in the Campaign Info Tab so you can access the list and check to make sure your submission was included.
I’m planning on starting the adventure as soon as possible, which can also mean to start it in the new year if starting it now would cause us to lose momentum because of the Christmas holiday. I will check the selected players’ availability before deciding when to begin the game.
I plan to close Kingmaker in a 2 to 3 years period, depending on how fast we go.
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If you have any question, please ask directly to me in this thread using the ooc code.
Hey folks, welcome to our Discussion Thread. First of all, I want you to post in the Gameplay Thread and delete your post there right after: in this way you will be added to the list of players but you won't flood the thread with lonely dots.
Before we can start, I need you to make some minor adjustments to you character's sheet.
Merephel:
I need you to remove your Love subdomain. I know it wouldn't impact the game that much and that is a key concept for your character, but it's a matter of keeping things fair to everyone. I cannot allow you to draw on a source different from the Core Rulebook. I'm sure you will be able to play out your character's concept even without the Love subdomain. For the same reason, I need you to remove your enhanced diplomacy spell. I'm considering on expanding the sources list once we close Crypt of the Everflame, so don't worry; I would allow your character to retrain and gain those things I'm now asing you to remove.
Korech:
Your background was very good. There was only one thing that I didn't like about it: the way you justified your undead favored enemy. Sounded me like a bit of metagame. I can't figure Kassen attacked by ghouls to be honest. Maybe they were orcs and you helped the townsfolk to resist their raid. I'm not asking to change your favored enemy of course: I'm just asking for you to give me a better justification of that ability.
Calden:
[smaller]You need to complete your equipment before tomorrow. [smaller]
Shirzon:
[smaller]Nothing to add :D[smaller]
As you can see, you have no arcane caster in your party. I always prefer to choose the best overall characters, not the best character for each role. Sometimes this produces strange combinations, but I think that in general you'll be more than able to face the challenges I'm going to put against you even with this party composition. Consider that you will reach the 5th level when the campaign arc will be over: arcane casters don't really get the chance to shine at low levels, so I think it is no big loss.
If you have any questions before the campaign starts, I'm here for you. I'm going to make my first post tomorrow. Today I'm going to create our campaign page on Roll20 and campaign gallery on Pinterest and give you the related links.
DISCLAIMER: This is not a PFS game and as such won’t give PFS credits.
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“As every Neth 4th, the small town of Kassen celebrates its founding ceremony, commemorating the day in which, in the year 4535, beloved founder Ekat Kassen and his men gave their life in a successful attempt to protect the town Kassen had established 10 years before from the cruel bandit Asar and his mercenaries. Kassen and his men managed to defeat Asar’s forces, but Kassen himself died 2 days later. The townsfolk buried Kassen in the ancient crypt where the final confrontation against Asar had taken place. They placed an eternal flame above Kassen’s final resting place, so that all who visited it might find warmth in the wilderness.
“Every autumn, a few of the townsfolk make a pilgrimage to the crypt to light a lantern from the flame and bring it back to town, where it is preserved all winter, a symbol of the town’s resilience. Most years, the town mayor and a group of dignitaries perform this quest. Every few years, however, a handful of younger townsfolk are given the honor of lighting the lantern. Many see this as a passage into adulthood, a taste of adventure before settling down to work and marriage.
“This year, rumors have been heard that a group of younger townsfolk will be tasked to perform the annual ceremony in honor of Ekat Kassen, traveling to the Crypt of the Everflame and lighting the lantern before coming back in town as adults.
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Hello everyone, and welcome to this recruitment thread for the Price of Immortality campaign arc. This campaign arc features three separate modules, namely Crypt of the Everflame, Masks of the Living God and City of Golden Death. My aim is to run all of these adventures one after the other, but to start small for now I simply commit to closing the Crypt of the Everflame module in a reasonable amount of time. If we’ll be having fun and we manage to create a solid and fun group to play with, we’ll be likely running also the remaining two modules.
Before anything else, there’s one thing I’d like to make clear: I need all the applicants to be able to commit to at least 2-3 post per day. While this posting rate is quite fast compared to other PbP games run here on these boards, I firmly believe in what Painlord named the “Prime PbP GM Commandment” in his amazing guide to PbP GMing: “Don't set out to start a PbP. *SET OUT TO CLOSE A PBP*”, which can also be expressed with: “Finish what you start”. Well, my primary aim is to close at least the Crypt of the Everflame module, and in order to achieve this goal I’m convinced that a fast-paced game can really prove helpful. I mean, we all know life sometimes just happens: people sometimes have to leave campaigns even against their will. But if it the game itself lasts less time, the chance for life to happen in the meantime is much less. The faster we go, the sooner we end; more frequently we post, less are the chance of real life getting in our way. So, please, if you already know or if you fear you won’t be able to post at least 2-3 times/day (but ideally a lot more) just do not apply for this recruitment.
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Something about me: My name is Giuseppe Capriati, and I’m a Pathfinder translator for my country, Italy. I’ve played Pathfinder for almost 4 years now, and in my Face-to-Face games I’ve been able to successfully complete four Adventure Paths as a GM (Council of Thieves, Serpen’t Skull (x2) and Carrion Crown). I’m currently GMing a Skulls and Shackles Adventure Path in person and a Serpent’s Skull Adventure Path here on Paizo boards. I’m starting this recruitment because I want to test my skills in a shorter and faster-paced adventure than the AP I’m currently running; I’m also doing this because I want to give new PbP players a chance to get in a game which can be preparatory for players hoping to join the best games on these boards (which usually involve high posting rate). New players are the lifeblood of our game, and I firmly believe is our duty to work in order to get them involved and transform them into good PbP players. Of course, I’m willing to commit to your same posting rate, even higher if needed, and I expect my players to do the same.
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WHERE ON GOLARION?
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I expect my players to be familiar with Pathfinder Campaign Setting. If you are not, please see the references listed below.
Crypt of the Everflame is set in Nirmathas, a struggling country that only recently freed itself from the grasp of the imperialistic nation of Molthune, which continues to try to reclaim it. The people of Nirmathas are proud of their freedom, liberty, and self-sufficiency. They are continually on guard for incursions by their southern border. For more information about Nirmathas, see The Inner Sea World Guide 138-139 (even if this book isn’t legal in terms of character’s options, its strongly recommended for the setting lore it provides). If you don’t own this book, you can take a brief overlook of Nirmathas on this wiki.
Crypt of the Everflame starts in the Nirmathan town of Kassen. As I’ll further explain below, all of the PCs are going to be from Kassen (or they need to have spent at least 3 or more years in town). As a consequence, I think that a brief overview of the town of Kassen can come in handy. All the applicants should read the following entry to develop a character who’s tightly tied to Kassen. Players are strongly encouraged to forge links between their characters, the town of Kassen and the people living in it.
Kassen Overview:
Kassen is a small town ruled by Mayor Uptal, a fair, but mildly grim man. While most of the “townsfolk” actually live in small homes or camps in the woods and fields surrounding Kassen proper, the town is quite tightknit. As with most of the folk in Nirmathas, they stand up for one another and refuse to be pushed around.
Kassen have a population of about 750 souls. The vast majority of Kassen’s townsfolk are humans (93%), with halflings, half-orcs, half-elves and elves splitting the remaining 7% among them.
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Places in Kassen
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The following are some of the more important buildings in Kassen. If the PCs grew up in this town, they should have a home, located somewhere near the town’s edge.
Arnama’s Home: This is the home of Arnama Lastrid, one of the few rangers who lives in Kassen. Mayor Uptal, who trusts the ranger’s instincts implicitly, frequently calls Arnama to the town council to report and advise.
Braggar’s Shop: This is the workshop and home of Braggar Ironhame, a dwarven blacksmith. Braggar’s works exceed those of Renet’s Steel, but he works much slower and charges a higher price. Braggar can forge nearly any masterwork metal tool, weapon, or armor.
Greathall: Typically used for meetings, weddings, and other celebrations, the Greathall is a tall, three-story wooden structure near the center of town. Inside is one grand space with a number of smaller rooms on each floor. The celebration for the successful heroes occurs here upon their return.
Holgast’s Tower: Holgast’s slightly crooked tower stands at the edge of town.
Ilimara’s Home: This is the home of Ilimara Oniri, the mysterious woman from Qadira.
Mayor Uptal’s Home: This modest building along the water is the home of Mayor Uptal, who can frequently be found in the Greathall holding meetings or on his small boat in the river, fishing.
Renet’s Steel: While Renet’s shop services much of the town’s needs when it comes to metalworks, his quality is nowhere near that of Braggar’s. Most metal items can be found here for the standard prices, but there are no masterwork items to be found at Renet’s Steel.
Seven Silvers: Most visitors to Kassen end up at this comfortable two-story inn and tavern. Run by Trelvar Silvers, this inn features modest prices (4 sp/night), decent food (3 sp/day), and a lively taproom. Trelvar is assisted by his daughter, Asina, and the overly friendly Jimes “Short Change” Iggins, who is known for giving himself generous tips.
Sir Dramott’s Home: This is the home of Sir Dramott, a knight from Lastwall who keeps watch on the town.
Temple of Erastil: The only stone building in town is home to Kassen’s only temple. While the church is officially dedicated to Erastil, there are a number of faiths practiced here, including Gozreh, Gorum, Shelyn, and Torag. Father Prasst is the only priest, but most in town refer to him as the “High Priest.”
Town Watch Headquarters: Guard Captain Wisslo spends most of his time in this building or patrolling the streets of Kassen. While the guardsmen are mostly relaxed in their duties, they become an effective force if there is trouble in town.
Vargidan Estate: This is the home of the eccentric Vargidan family, and has a bit of a spooky reputation in town.
Woodcutter’s Guildhall: Kassen’s primary export is lumber taken from the surrounding Fangwood. While many of these logs are taken right down the Tourondel River to Lake Encarthan, the woodcutters require that all logs bear the stamp of the guildhall, which of course requires a small fee. As a result, the woodcutter’s guild is one of the more powerful groups in town, under the firm hand of the ever-opportunistic Colbin Vetnar.
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People of Kassen
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The following list of individuals and families encompasses many of the notable people who live in Kassen. This list also includes an appropriate mentor or teacher for each of the 11 base classes. Starting characters are encouraged to have a connection to one of these individuals.
Cygar Anravis (CN male human rogue/fighter): The folk of Kassen are naturally wary of outsiders, and Cygar does nothing to allay their fears. He dresses in dark colors and keeps to himself, having rented a room in the Seven Silvers for the past 4 months. He can sometimes be seen wandering around town, watching the townsfolk, but otherwise he keeps mostly to his room and the taproom at the Silvers.
Sir Dramott (LG male human paladin, paladin mentor): The people of Lastwall, the militaristic nation to the north, take it as their responsibility to keep the orcs of Belkzen in check. Unfortunately, their forces are spread thin, so they rely on a number of scouts close to the border of Belkzen to keep watch. Sir Dramott is one such scout. Although he has no authority here in town, he regularly reports to his commanders in Lastwall, informing them of any orc activity. Mayor Uptal is grateful for Sir Dramott’s assistance whenever trouble is brewing, but he is concerned about a military officer from a foreign land stationed in his town. The people of Kassen respect Sir Dramott, but they would rather he go home and leave them to their own devices. As a mentor, Sir Dramott is capable and wise, if a bit harsh. Unfortunately, all of his lessons deal with service to Lastwall, and his pupils are taught to think of such service as a high honor.
Jocyn Elmaran (CG male half-elf bard, bard mentor): Jocyn is the only real entertainer in the town, having settled here 4 years ago after a fight with orcs up near the Belkzen border left him with a crippled leg. Despite his injury, Jocyn is a capable performer, working with a variety of instruments and performance styles. He lives in one of the rooms above the Seven Silvers Tavern, where he performs nightly. Jocyn is a perfect mentor for bard characters. His loose style and relatively carefree nature make him a rather lax teacher, however, and his occasional drunken ramblings hint of a terror in his past that he refuses to speak of any other time.
Grimscar (NE male half-orc expert/warrior): The forestry guild employs a wide variety of workers to help fell trees in the surrounding woods; some of them are far from polite and caring toward the people of Kassen. Grimscar is one such worker. This half-orc would have been fired long ago if he was not so skilled at tree cutting. When he is in town, the locals keep their distance and the militia keeps a patrol nearby. Grimscar is known for picking fights, getting drunk, and pawing at barmaids. Fortunately, he has an allergic reaction to a local vintage of whiskey (which causes him to pass out shortly after drinking it), a weakness that is often exploited by the local tavern owners.
Holgast (N male human wizard, wizard mentor): On the eastern edge of town is a single tower, leaning slightly to the south, made of bricks and timber. This is the home of Holgast, the town’s local sage and mystic. Although Holgast is very knowledgeable, he is old and quite forgetful, meaning that the townsfolk (the mayor in particular) only consult him if the need is truly great. Holgast spends most of his days wandering about his tower, reading books, smoking his pipe, and taking naps. Once a week, he wanders into town to purchase supplies and provisions with his seemingly inexhaustible reserve of perfect golden coins, which he claims came from an immense hoard some years ago. Holgast makes for a frustrating mentor. His lessons are erratic and old fashioned. His apprentices are required to do all manner of chores for the privilege of learning from him, while he sleeps the day away and teaches very little. Those who have learned anything from him have done so by sneaking into the wizard’s spellbooks while he is napping.
Jimes “Short Change” Iggins (CN male halfling rogue, rogue mentor): Those who frequent the Seven Silvers tavern know to count their coins before they leave the table, especially if they have been served by “Short Change,” the halfling waiter who has a propensity for giving less change than is due (although he insists the name is due to his short stature). Although Jimes is genuinely kind and helpful to all the locals, he just can’t help but end up with some of their possessions at the end of the night, be it a few coins or a loose dagger. Most of the townsfolk are quite aware of this and do not take too much offense if something goes missing. After all, they know where the missing goods went. Anyone who works with Jimes at the Seven Silvers is sure to get a host of tips and tricks from this good-natured thief, who thinks that a little petty theft is all in good fun.
Braggar Ironhame (CN male dwarf expert/barbarian, barbarian mentor): Braggar is one of the two blacksmiths that service Kassen. This dour dwarf runs a small business on the south side of town. Although he is outpaced by his competitor (Renet’s Steel, near the town square), Braggar’s goods are of higher quality. Braggar is a surly mentor, capable of incredible fits of anger if one of his pieces is not turning out as planned. As such, he often has to spend time repairing his workshop, which only further slows down his work. Braggar’s teaching style focuses on craft and artifice, but he can also teach pupils about controlling their anger and unleashing it when the time is right.
Guardsman Golfond Kir (LG male human warrior): Although a bit simple, Golfond Kir is a dedicated guardsman, manning the town’s only watchtower every day. When he is not on duty, he can often be found running errands around town for his elderly mother, or playing with the local children. When Kir was young, a horse kicked him in the head and knocked the sense out of him. Since then, he has been the victim of cruel pranks and japes, all of which he takes with a smile and a simple laugh. Kir can be counted on to tell the truth, regardless of whether or not doing so might land him in trouble. Kir respects Captain Wisslo to a fault and (unlike the other guards) refuses to make fun of him. The captain, in return, treats Kir like any other soldier, despite his many mistakes.
Arnama Lastrid (NG female human ranger, ranger mentor): Nirmathas is known for its rangers, valiant woodsmen who have spent years carving out a nation and protecting it from foreign and domestic threats. Arnama is one such ranger. She is tough, quiet, and more than willing to risk her life to protect the people of Kassen and the country she has grown to love. Arnama was orphaned during the early wars with Molthune, growing up in a band of adopted parents. These rangers taught her everything she knows. When Arnama came of age, she left the band to find out where her parents came from. That trek led her to Kassen, where she has remained ever since, living in their old house just outside town. Arnama is a skilled ranger but not the best teacher. Those who have tried to learn from her find her impatient and without discipline. She does, however, excel at teaching by example, leading her charges on far-ranging patrols and hunts.
Ilimara Oniri (LN female human monk, monk mentor): While most of the people in Kassen were born and raised within 10 miles of town, Ilimara was born in Qadira in a town with a name most of the humble folk of Kassen could not even pronounce. Not surprisingly, this beautiful and exotic woman keeps to herself. She has lived on the outskirts of town for almost 8 years now, claiming that she is trying to find peace in her heart. Ilimara has had a number of acolytes over the years, each hoping to learn the secrets of Irori that Ilimara claims to practice, but so far, all have abandoned her tutelage for a simpler road. Anyone who learns from her, however, quickly uncovers that there is a darkness hiding in Ilimara, and only those with an iron will can bear to be around it.
Father Rantal Prasst (NG male human cleric of Erastil, cleric mentor): The small town of Kassen has only one temple and it is devoted primarily to Erastil, but Father Prasst allows those who worship other friendly gods to pray at the temple as well. While Father Prasst does not offer services in the names of these deities, there are small shrines to other gods set up in some of the alcoves, including Gozreh, Gorum, Shelyn, and Torag. Father Prasst is a kind and understanding man, but he is hard when it comes to the defense of the community. He is quite young, only 24, and many in the community do not put too much faith in his council, except in spiritual matters. He was trained as a soldier in Tamran, but he left after his first battle to become a priest, and refuses to say why.
Asina Silvers (CG female human commoner): Asina looks almost identical to her beautiful mother, a fact that causes her father Trelvar some pain since his wife’s unfortunate passing a year ago. This young girl helps her father run the Seven Silvers inn and tavern near the center of town. Asina is only 13 years old, but she is already known as the preeminent town gossip, collecting all sorts of rumors and tales to spread to those who stop by the inn for a pint. Asina works hard and has a pleasant smile, but she is secretly worried for her father. She wants to make him proud by taking over the inn, but this gets in the way of her true dream to move to the city (Tamran) and make a life for herself there.
Trelvar Silvers (NG male human commoner): Trelvar, along with his daughter, Asina, run the only tavern and inn located in Kassen, the Seven Silvers. Trelvar is middleaged and inherited the bar from his father over 10 years ago. Although Trelvar is a good man and honest with his customers (even if Jimes is not), he has fallen into a deep depression over the past year. His wife died giving birth to his only son, and the son did not last the winter. As a result, Trelvar is left without a wife or heir. While Asina has tried to brighten his mood and insists that she will take over the bar, Trelvar is unsure and would be just as likely to give the place over to a respectable employee after seeing to it that Asina was properly married. It seems like the only time Trelvar seems to cheer up is when a wealthy or affluent stranger rolls into town.
Olmira Treesong (N female human druid, druid mentor): Druids are not an uncommon sight in Nirmathas, but Olmira draws stares even in the streets of Kassen. This middle-aged woman only wears clothing made from natural materials (such as bark, leaves, and grass) and is always accompanied by a host of small woodland creatures. She talks to herself and her retinue constantly, having full conversations despite the fact that no one seems to answer her. Over the years, Olmira has had a number of apprentices who have gone on to become successful druids. Those who learn from her are sent on all manner of esoteric missions, such as listening to the wind for a week, planting new seeds throughout town, and mimicking local animals.
Mayor Jonark Uptal (NG male human aristocrat): Every 4 years the town of Kassen holds an election to decide the next mayor, a position that Uptal has held for over 11 years. With another election coming up in just a few months, Uptal wants to ensure that this year’s Quest for the Everflame happens without a problem. Mayor Uptal is a fair man when it comes to his office, settling land disputes and other quibbles among the townsfolk on a regular basis. When it comes to outsiders, he is a bit more cautious, siding with the locals unless faced with irrefutable evidence.
Moltus Vargidan (?, sorcerer mentor): If you ask a dozen folk in Kassen who the strangest family in town is, you would get the same answer 12 times: the Vargidans. This old family has a touch of magic in its blood, with each one of the children showing some sorcerous talent. Where this magic comes from is a mystery, and the family refuses to speak of such things in mixed company. Lording over the family is the wealthy and eccentric patriarch, Moltus Vargidan. This aging man has white hair that trails down to his knees, and he can often be found wandering the halls of the estate, muttering to himself. Living with him are almost a dozen children (each from a different wife) and a pair of lifelong servants. Sorcerers who come from this house have been forced to learn things for themselves, because the old man shares few of his secrets, and many of the children are starting to believe that his grip on reality is slowly slipping.
Colbin Vetnar (LN male human expert/rogue): As the guildmaster for the woodcutter’s guild, Colbin Vetnar holds a fair amount of power in the city of Kassen, second only to Mayor Uptal. Unfortunately, where the mayor uses his power to help the people of Kassen, Colbin is only interested in lining his own pockets. Colbin makes it a habit to follow the rules to the letter, but where there is any uncertainty, Colbin makes sure that the interpretation favors himself and the woodcutter’s guild. When the weapon makers in town protested about the guild making wooden weapons, Colbin relented, but only if the weapon makers agreed to purchase any wooden components from the guild (leading many in the town to make jokes about the quality of “Colbin’s arrows” and “Colbin’s staves”).
Guard Captain Gregor Wisslo (LG male human fighter, fighter mentor): The town of Kassen has never truly known the horrors of the war with Molthune, but occasional raiding parties from Belkzen do sometimes pose a threat. As such, the town has been watched over for many years by Wisslo, who serves as guard captain. Gregor is a staunch man who believes in schedules and regiment over ingenuity and spontaneity, much to the chagrin of the town’s residents. As an aging fighter, Gregor is a qualified teacher, but his lessons are rigid and his discipline harsh. The guards he has trained are quite skilled, but they secretly detest the old man, calling him names behind his back (Captain Is-Slow is the current favorite).
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CHARACTER CREATION
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Before you start creating your character, please take note of the following suggestions.
First of all, you may want to start from reading instead of writing. As a GM, I value player’s knowledge and tend to prize those players who are able to come up with interesting character ideas which are tied to the campaign setting and to the adventure I’m going to run. This means that if you manage to acquire a good knowledge of the setting of this adventure, your PCs is likely to reflect that, implying a higher chance of being recruited for you. Take your time, read and think about what you’ve read before getting to work on character creation.
Read the guides - If you’re a PbP beginner or you just haven’t done it yet, please read the excellent guide written by Doomed Hero about PbP gaming: DH's Guide to Play by Post gaming. If you’ve already read this guide, there’s another excellent guide expanding DH’s guide you might want to read: Painlord's Advanced Play by Post Play. Even if you feel you already know a lot about PbP, these guides are going to help you out for sure if you haven't read them yet, no matter how much good you are at PbP. There's always something to be learned, and these guides are the perfect mentors for any PbP player.
I plan to run this game in my format of choice, Pathfinder Vintage (click on the link if you wish to find out more about this format). In short, Pathfinder Vintage is a format in which legal sources are limited to the materials which were released when the adventure was published. In our case, Crypt of the Everflame was the very first Pathfinder Module released after Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook came out, so this means that our campaign will be a Core only game*. You can use only Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook for character creation, and turn to other sourcebooks only as a source of lore about the setting and about anything else you might need**. This should also help new PbP players to focus more on RP than on their builds.
* If you’ve read my guide to Pathfinder Vintage, you might want to know that this campaign will be using the standard variant (so no 3.5 materials allowed). ** If we manage to close the first module in a reasonable amount of time, I will consider to allow the use of additional material which had been published when the subsequent Price of Immortality’s modules were released.
Alright, now that we I’ve brought these aspects to your attention, we can delve into character creation specifics.
Starting level – 1st
Starting wealth – Average starting wealth for your class.
Ability scores – 20 point buy.
Ability scores restriction – No ability score below 8.
Hit point generation system – Maximized hp at 1st level, then half your HD +1 (e.g., 1d6=3+1; 1d8=4+1; 1d10=5+1; 1d12=6+1).
Alignment restrictions – Non-evil characters only. Good alignment recommended but not necessary.
Origin – All characters must be from Kassen (see above) or must have spent at least 3 years in town.
Age – All characters must have an age compatible with participating in a coming-of-age ceremony, depending on their races.
Mentor – Each character will have a mentor depending on his class. Be sure to read Kassen overview presented above in order to properly determine your character’s mentor.
Lifestyle – Crypt of the Everflame supposes that your characters are neither heroes nor adventurers when the campaign begins. Please try to reflect this in your background.
I need your submission to include what follows:
Complete character sheet
Background
Personality
Appearance
Please do create an alias for your submission. After you have created your alias, please make sure to include his vital statistics under your forum name. If you don’t know how to do it, check my profile.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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Submission Format – Please use this format when introducing your character: this helps me and other players to discern your submission from you roleplaying post.
Read my profile page – In my profile page a number of important things involving my games are detailed, such as what I expect from my players, how to roll dice in my games, how to add vital stats to your characters, how to format your posts, and so on.
RAW vs RAI – I tend to follow RAW as much as I can, unless rules interfere with the story; if it does, I’m likely to change that rule once and for all.
Like other applications – Please like your fellow applicants’ submissions by hitting the add to favorites button near the character you like. Of course, this in non-binding at all for me: it’s not a voting system in which the most voted characters get recruited automatically, but it tells me who you would like to play with, which is one of the main criteria for my choice.
Roleplay! – If you think you can benefit from doing a bit of roleplay (especially if you’re a new PbP player and you want to show me your skills) or you just want to practice a bit in the meantime, feel free to use this thread to roleplay with other applicants. This is not compulsory: roleplay only if you want to. I could easily recruit a player who hasn’t roleplayed here in the recruitment thread if I think his submission is good enough and I like that player’s posting style and rate. See my next post for further details.
First timers (Part I) – One of the primary aims leading me to start this recruitment is to give new PbP players a chance to join a consistent game. As a consequence, I plan on recruiting at least 2 PbP first timers. This doesn’t mean I won’t be recruiting experienced players (they are going to be necessary to give the new players an example to emulate), nor that I’m going to recruit newbies if there aren’t good submissions on their part. Take note of this simple observation: I can easily assess the value of an experienced PbP player by reading its previous posts, checking if he has been consistent in the game he played and judging if I like his posting style or not; I can’t do the same with newbie players. You have to strike me with something good to impress me. It’s like when you have a job interview and you have no curriculum: I need you to work hard to prove me that you’re worth the risk I’m taking recruiting you. So, as a tip, heavily invest in your character: make sure it is a great character with a correct character sheet, has a good story, an amazing personality and a well-detailed appearance. This will be your main reference. Then roleplay him/her in this thread if you wish, to show me your posting style, your writing skills and how you interact with others.
First timers (Part II) – I know this recruitment post could prove a little bit overwhelming for you. But trust me, it was designed to be this way. If a player isn’t able to read this post and conform to it, probably he won’t be able to follow my instruction when we get into play. So following this recruitment is for all intents and purposes your first trial. Show me that you can follow my instructions. Show me that you will be a focused player.
Party assortment – I’ll try to recruit the best players, not the characters with the best builds. That said, Crypt of the Everflame is very focused on a traditional party composition (arcane caster, divine caster, skill monkey, tank/damage dealer) and I will try to recruit a balanced party in order to let you enjoy the game. This doesn’t mean I will be recruiting a wizard, a cleric, a rogue and a fighter at all. As I said, I believe first of all we need people who can have fun together. Builds and character’s option come after, even though they still retain their importance.
How many recruits? – I’ll be recruiting a party composed of 4 members, if there are enough good submissions of course.
Mapping tools – We’ll be using Roll20 for combat encounters. I’m pretty good at it, or so my players have told me. As a consequence, I expect you to have a Roll20 account or to create one after you’ve been recruited. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you to create your own account and teach you how Roll20 works.
Campaign Gallery – I’ll be using Pinterest to show you some pictures which can help you to immerse in the campaign. You’re expected to be able to access the gallery. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you out.
Handouts and reference documents – I’ll be using Googledocs to provide you with additional reference documents. You’re expected to be able to access these documents. If you don’t know how to do it, I will be there to help you out.
This recruitment is open and will remain opened for 10 days. I will close recruitment on November 19th. Please make sure your submission is complete by that date.
I will try to keep an updated list of applicants, providing you with a link to it in the Campaign Info Tab to access the list and check if your submission is regularly included.
I plan to close Crypt of the Everflame in a 3 to 6 months period, depending on how fast we go.
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If you have any question, please ask directly to me in this thread using the ooc code.
This thread's aim is to check if there's enough interest around my project, so don't read too much in it. I can't ensure I will run the campaign even if I get enough interest. I'm just checking for interest, at least for now.
The idea beyond this campaign would be to give those Pathfinder players who want to play in PbP format a chance to play. I know it's hard to get selected in an AP recruitment, usually for the heavy competition involved and the high number of applicants. First of all, as a consequence, I want to address to new PbP players, by which I mean people who already know how to play Pathfinder but haven't had the chance to play in a PbP game yet or have had only limited experience. Of course, recruitment would be open also to more experienced PbP players, to balance the group and give to new players some examples to follow.
As a consequence, I'd wish to keep the campaign CORE, that is, limited to the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook: this is both to help new players and to stay true to the campaign, which was conceived at the very beginnings of the Pathfinder RPG history.
Another thing to note is the posting rate: my aim is to help the players to become good PbP players. And as a matter of fact, the best games on these boards usually require a frequent posting rate. So I would need for everyone who applies to commit to at least 2-3 posts/day, and possibly a lot more when RL do not get in the way. I know this posting rate will scare off many potential applicants, but I want a fast-paced game which can be truly preparatory for the best campaigns run here on the boards. Besides, the preparation period would last for years if we don't keep this tempo.
I don't need you to submit a character. I don't even need you to present a brief character concept. I just need to know how many players are able to commit to such a high posting rate and are willing to play this sort of campaign (with all its limitations). Please do not dot for interest if you already know you won't be able to post at least 2-3 times/day.
Hello everyone and welcome to our gameplay thread. In your first post I'm going to ask you to describe how your characters had spent their days since they boarded the Jenivere and with whom and how they've interacted during the journey. If you need information about NPCs aboard the Jenivere you can take a look at the Player's Guide or ask directly to me in our discussion thread for more in-depth info. Feel free to describe your routine and your attitude towards any NPC aboard the ship in the detail level you prefer.
Alright, so welcome in our discussion thread! In the next months (hopefully!) we’ll have a lot to discuss in here, but for now simply use this thread as a place where to post everything that is not actual gameplay.
So, first of all, as I had announced, before we start we need to improve your characters and ensure that there’s nothing out of place in your back stories or statistics. Take what follows not as a critique of your work, but as a way to make sure that you as players and your characters as PC can enjoy the game the most.
Alexite:
Alexite is already tied to the AP, and I don’t need you to further expand your story. Alexite is already good as it is. Can I ask you to put a “traditional” character’s sheet in your profile? It’s more for my convenience than anything else, working as a Pathfinder translator I’m used to look at the traditional format. One last thing: which god does Alexite worship? I would say Abadar or Erastil, but I want you to choose. Faith in itself is a great RP option, and I’d prefer Alexite to have a well defined faith. Try to make the choice that appeals the most to you and include it in your PC’s personality.
Hakeem:
Your story is very good, but I have something for you that maybe could tie it more to the AP. First of all I’d suggest you to expand Hakeem’s relationship with his homeland, especially in regards to history: if you can, add something that justifies some sort of interest in regard to the ancient history of the Mwangi Expanse and the people that once inhabited it. This could be a great hook for the 2nd and 3rd chapters of the AP, if we’ll get that far.
The only other thing I have to discuss about is the motivation that lead you to Eleder: is never easy to find a strong justification when tailoring a PC to a specific AP, but I feel yours is especially weak and I fear that could cause you troubles, so we’d better discuss it now. Just to be on the sea and to follow Ishirou is not enough, in my opinion: try to find something stronger. Maybe you want to reach Eleder to join one the expeditions that ventures into your homeland and discover more about it; or maybe you just want to see a great city for the first time (perhaps Hakeem didn’t like Senghor). I’m sure you will find something ;)
Jesari:
Everything is fine, nothing to add. Your character will be deeply involved in the plot, especially if we continue after Souls for Smuggler’s Shiv (the first AP’s chapter). My suggestion regarding how to spend those money from your “boarded in Cheliax” trait is the following: do again all the calculations and restore your starting wealth along with the 200 additional gp. Then buy again your equipment subtracting its cost not from your starting wealth but from your “trait” wealth. The reason is that the starting wealth is not restricted with respect to mundane items. So you can buy all the mundane items you have already purchased and have your 70 gp available for buying magic items such as a 1st level potion or a couple of magic scrolls. With the remaining gold I suggest you to think this way: what would Jesari have bought knowing that she’s going to reach Sargava and probably undertake a long journey to reach her grandfather homeland? I’m sure that at least some ideas will spark into your mind. You can always check the Adventurer’s Armory for additional equipment (some of the items detailed in this handbook are also found in the Advanced Player’s Guide). You can keep the rest of your money, but be wise and convert them into pp, since they’re far more easy to carry than gp.
Kali’da:
Your background is simply amazing so I won’t say anything about it except: well done! For the sake of improvement, though, I may suggest you to add something that further ties Kali’da to the AP itself. Maybe some of your captors carried the Aspis Consortium’s badgers: even though Kali’da wasn’t able to recognize its meaning at the time, maybe later in the campaign she will and this will lead to some great RP scenes. Other than this I don’t have anything to add, since I’m sure your efforts in character’s creation process will largely reward you.
Sizara:
Your back story fits really well with the AP, so I don’t need you to improve it. Instead, what I need you to do is to switch your Feral Heart feat with something else. I know that feat is very appropriate for Sizara, but I hope you understand that I need to keep things fair and so I can’t afford to allow a feat drawn from Ultimate Campaign, which is not legal in our game.
Let’s change completely perspective and let me suggest you to raise your Con score to 12. Due to the party composition you’ll end up being a front-line warrior, so maybe you will need some extra HP when not raging (especially after you had to change your feat). This is a mere suggestion though, feel completely free to ignore it.
Lastly, faith is not really a thing in Sizara’s story and personality: I suggest you to add this aspect, since it provides some great RP options. In particular, I’d suggest you to attain to the elven tendency to worship a pantheon, maybe substituting Gozreh and Desna (both of which are great for your character, due to their ties to storms and travel respectively) with Shimye-Magalla to gain a touch of originality. Ketephys, also, is very appropriate for Sizara.
Well, I said all that I had to. Now, apart from working on your characters’ refinement, I would ask you to link me a full picture of your characters: if your avatar is just the way you imagine your PC, just let me know in which source it’s contained so I can work on it. I plan to create some beautiful tokens for you, so I need a full picture of your PCs.
I also would like to know if you have some contacts which I can use to show you pictures for our game: they can be maps, NPC portraits, and so on. I use Pinterest, and if you’re willing to make the effort to register on that site I could invite you to my private gallery where only the campaign’s pictures will be shown. Otherwise we can create a group on facebook, if you all have a profile. As a last resort, I can upload pictures here on the campaign thread.
I’ll soon send you a PM with the link needed to access our campaign on Roll20. Please forgive me if I’ll make some mistakes initially, but this is my first PbP campaign as a GM. I promise I’ll improve myself constantly during our adventure. And please be patient if I’ll make some mistakes while writing since I’m Italian and even if I’m a Pathfinder translator, English is still not my native language.
Let me know when your PCs are ready, so we can start off. Brace yourselves for a long first post, because you are going to describe a lot of things, but don’t worry, this will be the case only for the very first post ;)
Hey everyone! So it seems like we have enough players to start the recruitment for this campaign. Please take a look at the interest check thread for additional info about this campaign and how I'll handle it. Here I just want to make sure that the character's creation process is clear enough to everyone, so let's start:
CHARACTER'S CREATION:
Ability Scores: 20 points buy
Ability Scores Restrictions: No dump stats below 8
Starting wealth: Average starting wealth
Legal Sources: Only what was available when SS was being published (check the complete list here)
NO GENERIC PCs: All PCs must be originally conceived for the Serpent'S Skull Adventure Path.
Character Traits: 1 Serpent's Skull's campaign trait and 1 character trait chosen from the legal sources.
Necessary Readings: Serpent's Skull Player's Guide (available for free here on paizo.com)
Suggested Readings: Ethnic or Racial entry of your character's ethnicity or race in The Inner Sea World Guide; Mwangi Expanse and Sargava entries in The Inner Sea World Guide; Sargava, The Lost Colony; city and/or nation-specific books concerning your character's origin nation and/or city (ask to me if you don't know where to look)
Suggested Deities: Gozreh, Nethys
Suggested Alignments: All (no in-party kills will be allowed, though)
Other Suggestions: Existing relationships with one or more of the NPCs detailed in the Player's Guide are encouraged; mind affinity with one or more of these factions: Pathfinder Society, Aspis Consortium, Red Mantis Assassins, Sargavan Government, Hellknights, Free Captains of the Shackles; see the Player's Guide for other suggestions.
Party Assortment: We'll try to have all specializations covered, but the particular way by which we reach this balance can vary and will be flexible.
The next thing I'd like to talk about is my evaluation criteria:
EVALUATION CRITERIA:
N° of Characters : 4
Posting Rate : Minimum 1/day
Background and Personality : This will be the first criterion for my choice. I'll prefer characters who have rich stories and personalities, and above all those whose stories and personalities are strongly tied to their hailing place and to the campaign flavor.
Character's Motivations : My preference will go to those characters whose motivations are in line with the AP as described in the Player's Guide.
In-Game Statistics Flavor : My preference will got to those characters whose game statistics are inspired by a theme fitting the AP and reflect this inspiration in terms of game mechanics (when it's possibile, of course)
Previous PbPs : I'll attentively look at player's previous posts in PBP games as a sort of "quality certificate". If you're a new player I suggest you to heavily invest in your character so I can take that work as quality certificate: I'm open to recruiting 1 or 2 new PbP players, so there's no need to worry for new players.
Party Assortment : I'll try to form a party with compatible aligment, motivations and affiliations, so if everyone is proposing Good characters you'd better think twice about proposing an irredeemable Evil character.
Now I'm going to focus on the submissions' modalities and deadline:
SUBMISSIONS' MODALITIES AND DEADLINE:
Deadline: September 7th 2015
Requirements: I plan to work together with the players who get selected to adjust and improve their characters' backgrounds, motivations and so on. Incomplete submissions could be accepted, especially if the character is so deep and detailed that needs some extra efforts and time to complete.
Questions: You can ask whatever you might need directly to me in this thread. I'll try to follow up and answer as soon as I can.
This said, good work to everyone and let's hope that some excellent characters may make their way to the untamable wilds of the jungle!
**I'll edit this post regularly to show the existing applications so everyone can see them and think about them if necessary.**
So, after a long time spent seriously considering all the facets of the thing, seems like I'm inclined to start a new experience as PbP GM.
I really love APs, so I'm choosing the one I've GMed more than others for my first attempt: Serpent's Skull.
This post is intended to check users' interest about my project, interest which must take into consideration the list of things detailed below:
English is not my mother language. I'm Italian, and even if I have the honor to be one the official translator for Pathfinder's products in my country, I could well make some linguistical mistakes in my posts.
I would require a character's creation process that's slightly different and more time consuming (but also more rewarding) if compared to what I see is the standard with PbP campaigns: with this I mean in-depth additional reading to make sure that the character does fit perfectly to both the campaign and the campaign setting; a stronger focus on background info of all sorts; creation of a character SPECIFIC to the Serpent's Skull AP.
I intend to consider "legal" for the campaign in terms of characters' creations and development only those sources that were available when the Serpent's Skull AP came out: I would post a detailed list of legal sources to which players must conform to. The reason beyond this choice is that I really love every single handbook published by Paizo, and restricting the options gives me the chance to see some sources thoroughly exploited, without considering the fact that this choice allows grater mastery of the game for me.
I'd like to have at least one experienced PbP player that could help me in the harsh beginnings, helping solving problems that may occur.
The starting idea is to run the first module of the AP, "Souls for Smuggler's Shiv", as a standalone adventure: if we like it, we can follow with the rest of the AP; if we don't, we would have played nonetheless one of the most exciting first modules in the history of Adventure Paths (IMO).
The campaign would start in September, giving the applicants time to conceive their characters.
Looking forward to know if are there enough people who intend to applicate and if I can get any suggestions that the extraordinary people here has got for a fresh new PbP GM.
Wondering about future Pathfinder RPG Player's Companions, I came to think of what would be next, when "Blood of X", "X hunter handbook", "X of Golarion" will have covered all existing races and enemies. I accidentaly came up with two ideas that I would like to discuss with everyone willing to read. Even though chances that these proposals could actually turn into reality are scarce, this could be simply viewed as my personal wishlist: not monters for the next bestiary, nor a specific archetype to play with; just a whole product line XD
1. "Classes of Golarion": The basic idea is that each volume provides setting-specific infos on each class. For example, "Paladins of Golarion" could feature a section in which most plausible paladin's faiths are analyzed region by region, a general overview of how each region sees paladins, region-specific paladin archetypes, mount choices, spells, magic items, equipment; but also presenting famous paladins of Golarion, notorious paladin-esque organizations around the Inner Sea, rules for joining them and so on. "Fighters of Golarion" could focus on region-specific archetypes and combat styles or feats, fighters NPC to add to home-campaigns based on those feats and styles or on the region in which the adventure takes place, fighting schools, renowned fighters, and so on; "Rogues of Golarion" could instead focus on Golarion thieves' guilds, description of archetypes more suitable for each region, an overview of how each region sees crime, how it's punished, what type of crime is overlooked, and why, where, etc.; "Clerics of Golarion" could finally focus on religions and how their priests are seen region by region, with specific archetypes for each faith, a list of temples and religious organization for each country, etc. This way, all of the classes would get some love, and none of them would be neglected, with each volume providing specific informations and ideas to anyone willing to play a character of that class or creating NPCs who are part of that class.
2. "Organizations of Golarion": This would function identically to Seekers of Secrets and Pathfinder Society Field Guide. Well, this would maybe function better as Campaign Setting than Player's Companion, but the sense of the proposal remains the same: give some love to Golarion's organizations other than PFS. Red Mantis Assassins, Hellknights, Aspis Consortium, etc. all are in need of a sourcebook providing additional lore, player options and setting specific informations about how and where they operate throughout Golarion. Usually those informations (where present, such as for hellknights) are scattered around APs, Campaign Settings boxes and so on, but are lacking of a unified and systematic analysis that could add some great in-depth into Golarion. Just imagine how good would be to have 3-4 new archetypes for Hellknights, specific feats for each order, specific spells that only Hellknights are teached to use, new hellknight armors (maybe light and medium?), new weapons (maybe an hellknight flail is different from the standard one?), new alchemical items, new animal companions or mounts best suited to hellknights, new materials for armors and weapons, a specific code of conduct for each order, a list of renowned hellknights complete of stat blocks, an overview of how each class could better fullfill his duties as a hellknight enforcer. That would be great!
I ask mercy for my probably awful english, but this is the first time I embark on a long post here on the messageboard; but the will to share my ideas was too strong. Maybe just because I will love to get my hands on books like those I've proposed!
