So, I don’t actually have time to run another game but I had an idea for a great game and I thought I’d throw it out there and see if maybe someone else wanted to run it… and the title pretty much already gave it away- a three musketeers adventure! You could run pretty much any module or AP with 3 gestalt characters that were all half swashbuckler or had a swashbuckling archetype. There’s a bunch of great options for class combos (plus more that would be less great mechanically but still really flavorful) and it would make for a fun, possibly somewhat outrageous game. Anyone interested in running something like that?
just a few great combos off the top of my head:
swashbuckler/sworn of the Eldest inquisitor
swashbuckler/wyrm singer skald
daring champion cavalier/bard
daring champion cavalier/mesmerist
virtuous bravo paladin/bard
and, the eldritch scion magus archetype isn’t great (until 8th level) on its own but might actually pair really well with a swashbuckler (though you’d be a few skill points behind the combos above)?
If you could, I'd appreciate a brief introduction to who you are as a player (only sharing what you're comfortable posting). I've been gaming since D&D had no edition numbers and started playing Pathfinder while it was in Beta. I started playing PbPs about 7 years ago after moving away from my TT group and have pretty much been at it after since. I've run a handful of games during that time, including one that way mythic and gestalt, and I think I should be able to handle any necessary modifications to this AP without too much trouble. I'm usually good for at least 1 post/day on weekdays and at least 1 more over the weekend. My biggest weakness as a GM is probably that I wait too long for players to post actual actions (like, I don't generally advance the scene if someone says "we should check behind the left door" I wait for someone to post 'I open the left door'), but so far you all seem pretty pro-active so hopefully that won't be an issue at all.
Also, if you don't have a description of your character in your profile please add one. It's helpful for me to be able to picture you, but also I may use some of that to influence certain interactions (like I just did in gameplay).
Which brings me to the final bit of bookkeeping (for now): I have opened the new gameplay thread already. Please feel free to dot-and-delete if you just want to add the game to your campaign tab, or go ahead and start posting. You don't have to do anything with this merchant if you don't want to, he's just a device to get the group moving again from the same spot where you stopped in the previous thread. I know that at least one of you is still working on some character tweaks, so for now we're just going to be continuing the RP until everyone is ready to go.
As the unusual group of a dwarf, a gnome, and a human standing looking at the waving banner, a Varisian man approaches with a smile. "My friend," the stranger calls out, "I like your necklace, it's good to meet a fellow follower of the Emypreal Lords. I have all kinds of trinkets and relics at my booth. Why don't you and your friends come over here with me and take a look. If you find something you like, I'll give you a special price, just for friends who worship the Empyreal Lords."
DC 15 knowledge (religion):
The medallion the merchant wears, depicting a jug full of grapes, is the symbol of Halcamora, the Empyreal Lord of gardens and wine.
The sun has barely broken the horizon and already the streets of Sandpoint are abuzz with activity. The Swallowtail Festival always attracts a crowd but with the town’s newly finished cathedral being dedicated as well, this promises to be a festival to remember…
Welcome members of the watch! I have a couple of tweaks I'd like to suggest/request for some of your characters which I'll post (or maybe PM) this afternoon. In the meantime please take a moment to say hi and introduce yourselves, and then go read each other's backgrounds. I know that's not always something that players do before a campaign but in this case in particular, you all know each other from work and to some extent have grown up together so you should know a bit about each other. Also, aside from my suggestions, if you look at each others skills (or abilities) and see something with a big gap or too much overlap feel free to talk about tweaking your choices, if you want to.
I'm heading to work right now but I'll try to get a throw away post up in gameplay soon so that you can all dot and delete.
Since the release of Rise of the Runelords, Sandpoint has been saved thousands of times but somehow it always seems to be the work of outsiders or, at best, a few random, extraordinary, inhabitants. Where are the town’s devoted defenders? Where are her professional security forces? Where is the town watch?
This game will be a full-run through of the RotRL adventure path focused on a group of hometown heroes who grew up in Sandpoint and joined the city watch. Their position in the watch will lead directly to their involvement in the events of the AP and for the first book or so being subject to the chain of command will keep them moving through the plot. If that sounds interesting, this might just be the game for you!
I’ll be recruiting 4-6 players (although I have an RL friend who might be claiming one of those spots), and the unique set up will dictate some of our character creation guidelines. Most notably, as members of the watch, all players will be expected to start off in a martial class, and being trained in and by the watch should be a significant part of your background. Please read all of the information below and if you still have questions afterwards feel free to ask them. I have modified the human stat bonuses (to help explain why they are the dominant race on Golarion; see the “races” spoiler for details), and will be using the fractional bonus progression rules and a couple unchained classes, but we will otherwise be sticking to Pathfinder 1e as written (no elephant in the room rules, and no 3pp content).
Point buy: 25 points (standard paizo sliding scale), you are heroes after all
Hit points: Max at 1st level, half rounded up after that (even heroes are mortal)
Alignment:
Ideal- Sandpoint’s prevailing alignment is NG, and the watch is (obviously) lawful, so the best alignments would be LG, NG, or LN.
Acceptable- I’ll also allow submissions that are CG, N, or LE, but please address somewhere in your fluff how/why you’ll fit in with the city watch and be a good addition to the party.
Races:
Ideal- Humans make up 1,116 of Sandpoint’s 1,240 residents and account for nearly all of the watch. Chelaxians and Varisians each make up around 40% of the population, and Shoanti account for most of the other 20%. In this game, humans receive +2 to any one physical stat and +2 to any one mental stat instead of their standard stat array; they retain their bonus feat and bonus skill points and can trade them for alternate race traits as normal, but dual talent is not available.
Acceptable- The 37 halflings who call Sandpoint home are the town’s largest (non-human) minority and you can play one of them if you’d like. There are also a handful of humans of other ethnicities who have settled there and you could play one of them. Additionally, there are 13 half-elves and 12 half-orcs if you’d like to play one of them (though you would almost certainly be living with just your human parent).
Classes:
Ideal- You can begin as a brawler, fighter, ranger, slayer, or swashbuckler with no restrictions or extra considerations.
Acceptable-
A barbarian, or even bloodrager, could find their way into the watch if they were supplementing their watch training with instruction from a Shoanti relative or important friend. You will almost certainly have a reputation as a hothead. (I prefer to stick with the standard barbarian instead of unchained.)
A cavalier could potentially be a good fit but your mount may often be unavailable on official assignments, and you would have to explain who’s training you in mounted combat as that is not a normal watch assignment; the best option would be to take an archetype like constable or daring champion that trades the mount away.
Someone who has trained extensively at Sandpoint’s shrine to Irori could start as an unchained monk. You would likely be given a hard time about your inability to wear armor or use shields, but allowed to continue as long as you proved competent in altercations. (You could multiclass after first level as a standard or unchained monk at your preference, as long as you follow the guidance below, but if you start as a monk it should be unchained since that's more martial.)
Paladins are usually too committed to their god and/or religious orders to commit themselves to something else like the watch, but Sandpoint’s faithful worship several gods who can call paladins (Erastil, Sarenrae, Shelyn, Abadar, and Irori) and it’s possible you could find yourself called to both forms of service (especially if you worship Erastil or Abadar). If you do, you should have some direct connection to the Sandpoint Cathedral or Irori’s shrine (and might expect some oversight or requests form them sometimes).
Gunslingers are, technically, a martial class and I will allow them, but guns are very rare in Varisia so you should have some explanations of how/where you learned to use them. Also, the AP doesn't include any magical guns or grit based items or anything, so you might want to consider how you'll adapt to that.
Exceptions- Neither the magus nor the warpriest is truly a martial class, but they’re pretty close. Truthfully, I’d prefer someone wishing to play a melee/caster to multiclass into something like eldritch knight or holy vindicator, but I will let you apply as a magus or warpriest if you really have your heart set on it. Your background must, however, explain how and why you’re being trained by someone else besides the watch and who it is.
Multiclassing- After starting 1st level as a martial class, you will be free to multiclass normally, although I will require you to have a viable in-game explanation for how you learned this new class. Also, although you will eventually outgrow the watch it should always be part of your identity, so just taking a single martial level at 1st and then leveling as a pure caster from there really isn’t the feel we’re going for here. (Rogues and Summoners should plan to use the unchained version of the class; monks could choose either; barbarians should be standard)
Traits: 1 campaign trait and 1 other trait, no drawbacks.
Feats: any paizo should be fine, but I reserve the right to veto if you find one that seems crazy.
Skills: we will be using background skills, including Lore [Sandpoint] if anyone wants to be an expert on the town's notable people and brief history.
Starting wealth: 200 gold, you have a steady paycheck and some gear from the watch (and, since you’re all martial classes, being able to afford a clw potion or two might not hurt).
Background:
Background is important to me and I’d like to see 1-3 decent paragraphs for each submission. Please include mention of any family you might have in Sandpoint (if you’re a human you can just make up some family members without much trouble; if you’re submitting a halfling you can invent a small family (no more than 4 members), and if you’re going with a half-breed it should just be you and your human parent). Please also include why you joined the watch, and at least one goal for the future.
If you’re familiar with any of the established people or places in Sandpoint you can include some connections to them as well, if you want (someone you had a crush on growing up, or a place you especially like or dislike, someone who doesn’t like you because of something foolish you did as a teenager, etc), but try to limit it to pretty normal things. If you’re not familiar with the city, you can find information about it online easily enough but please try to avoid spoilers for the campaign; also, if you have an idea for something but aren’t familiar enough with the people/places you can post it here and I (or some other knowledgeable applicant) can try to suggest suitable local details you can use.
I’m looking for people who will commit to posting 1/day on weekdays and once more over the weekends until we finish the AP. My plan is to leave recruitment open until 11:59pm (EDT) on Friday, July 23rd and then have the weekend for character audits/evaluations and announce the party on Monday the 26th (though, I might shift the deadline one way or another if the response is overwhelmingly quick, or painfully slow). In order for a submission to be complete it should contain basically-finished crunch, at least a basic description of their appearance and personality, and a finished background.
Now, if you’ve finished reading everything, please feel free to ask about whichever things I forgot! I look forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.
In the center of the world there stands a tower, impossibly tall and seemingly untouched by the long millennia which have passed since its creation. An azure sheath of translucent force keeps all would be interlopers at bay.
At the foot of the tower there rests a building carved from the same white stone. The old magic that protects the tower does not reach out around this structure and it bears the scars of age and repair. Its back wall rests against the barrier and its two side walls are plain and windowless. The southern wall is marked by a set of twelve foot tall darkwood doors with a circular cold-iron symbol affixed to them. Inside lies a single room, twenty feet wide and thirty feet deep. In the center of the far wall is a twelve foot tall stone archway, filled with the azure field of force. Above it, a six foot medallion of pure mithril is set into the wall, displaying the same symbol as the outer door: three concentric pentagons circumscribed by a circle.
To the left of the portal is a large bookshelf housing ledgers with the names of hundreds of brave men and women who have undertaken to enter the tower over the centuries. To the right, an identical shelf stands with only a single ledger resting on one shelf; it is rumored to contain only a single name, the only person ever to exit. In the center of the room there is a large wooden desk. Behind it a marble Inevitable gilded in gold silently sits unblinking.
Instructions:
When we're ready to actually begin I will post the Inevitable's greeting. Until then feel free to dot in to add the game to your campaign tab, but please remember to delete your post right away after it goes up (I promise the game will stay in your campaign tab when you delete the post).
I know we have a few things to straighten out, and I don’t want you to feel too rushed, but the PCs you’ll be joining are in the best possible spot they’ll ever be in to meet up with you so I’d like to get to them as soon as we possibly can. To that end, a lot of the background quest we’re going to do sort of more as narration than actual quest. I apologize for that but once you meet up with the others we’ll be right back to a more typical style.
In terms of your crunch, both of your builds seemed solid. I haven’t actually audited them yet, but I will (hopefully today). If you have any questions about purchases or anything please don’t hesitate to let me know.
As for fluff… I’d like you both to be from Estria, a relatively small city-state on the south side of the Ironspine Mountains (the huge mountain range that runs across the continent), near their western edge. My thought is that Gaius’ uncle has/had a school there that trained boys in combat, with a focus on fighting with a sword and shield, and both of you were pupils of his at the same time. You bonded over your training and were friends but lost touch as you got older and Gaius had official duties to tend to and Maximus left for Korryn. The army in Korryn is as much citywatch as it is normal army so ‘Sergeant Benedictus’ was leading a patrol in the Tower district when he spotted his old friend Gaius looking around. I’m imagining that would have been just a day or two before we start. After catching up with each other, you went to see the Bookkeeper together with the plan of undertaking the quest to gain entry together assuming you’re both found worthy. Is that acceptable to both of you?
@Gaius- you said you were flexible about your background… I hope you meant it. I don’t want any huge changes, but there’s two things I’d like to change. First, there aren’t generally any kingdoms that send someone into the Tower every New Tran. People powerful enough to get in are uncommon enough that they’re a valuable commodity, too valuable to routinely send away. Now, a single king, on the other hand, could easily become obsessed with the idea and send someone every time (quite possibly against the counsel of his advisors). That would be the case here, I think; so, it wouldn’t be a centuries old tradition but something this particular king has been doing since he took power (probably starting with your father). Also, I can accommodate one family member that already entered, but not two. So, my thought is that your father entered as you wrote, 18 years ago, but 9 years ago your older sister failed to complete the quest on time and wasn’t able to enter. She hoped to finish the quest and enter the next time (now) instead but the king told her that because she already failed the honor would pass to you. The upside to that (assuming you’re cool with it) is that your sister can pass on some information about the quest before you start.
I think that’s plenty to start with. Again, welcome, and I’m looking forward to gaming with you. Oh, and if you’re comfortably with giving out a small amount of semi-personal information please feel free to introduce yourselves as well (I’m a long time RPer who’s mostly played D&D and Pathfinder, though I have played in a few other systems over the years including Palladium, WhiteWolf/Storyteller, and Gurps. I started doing PbP a few years ago when I moved away from my TT group and I’ve been pretty active on these boards for a year or so now. Two of the other PCs are actually RL friends from that old TT group, lol.)
edit: I opened the gameplay thread. Please feel free to dot and delete to add the game to your campaigns tab, but please don't start making actual posts yet.
As the title says, I’m looking for 1 (maybe 2, at most) new players for an ongoing, rather high powered (PF1e) PbP campaign. Ideally someone willing to commit to doing their best to post 1/day on weekdays and once more over each weekend.
This recruitment is going to be a little bit unusual, I think, so please bear with me. I’ll try to share enough information right off the top that you can tell whether you have sufficient interest to keep reading through the details. The game is set in a (homebrew) world called Cardriss where the most unique and noteworthy feature is an impossibly tall tower that stands at its center. People can only enter this tower once every 9 years, and only after completing a special quest. Entering and exploring the Tower is the meat of the campaign.
The existent party that you’d be joining up with is:
N Human Wizard [scroll scholar] (divination)- knowledges, perception, utility spells
LG Human Cleric [theologian] (Sarenrae)- diplomacy, healing, item crafting, some blasting
NG Human Vigilante- dex-based melee, some scouting
The party has already entered the Tower but for this recruitment you’d be submitting a character that has not. The chosen player(s) would be run as quickly as we could manage through a (very abridged) version of the quest to enter, and then meet up with the rest of the party on the inside. For the recruitment, you’d be building a fairly typical 9th level character to submit. That may not sound like a high powered game but by the time we finish racing through the background quest your character(s) will have reached 11th level and have gained a number of additional powers/abilities beyond what most characters have. One of the unusual things about this recruitment is that I will not tell you what those extra powers are ahead of time (partly because I want them to be a part of organic character development for you like they were for the current PCs, and partly because your actions/decisions in the background quest will have some impact on exactly what they are); I will say that I think that no matter what character you make those powers will both improve what you’re good at and broaden what you can do.
I’ll give more information about the setting below, but the basic setup to get you started thinking about a character would be that Cardriss is a fairly typical fantasy world, maybe somewhere between Lord of the Rings and the Forgotten Realms. Elves, dwarves, orcs all exist but are clearly less common than humans. Magic isn’t commonplace but most towns have at least one person who can manage a couple spells. It’s more medieval than renaissance- there are no guns, alchemy is almost unheard of, and even swashbucklers are rare.
If you’re still reading after all that, you must be interested enough to start getting into the brass tacks, so here goes…
Starting level: 9th
Point Buy: 25 points (standard Paizo sliding scale, please don’t dump much as it could hurt you more in this game than some others).
Alignment: no evil, and I’d prefer nobody be chaotic-neutral
Races:
The available races are (in order of how common they are)- human*, half-elf, half-orc, half-dwarf*, elf, orc*, dwarf, and halfling*. Marked races vary from their normal Pathfinder versions as explained below.
Humans- instead of gaining +2 to any one stat, gain +2 to any one physical stat and +2 to any one mental stat; cannot choose the dual talent alternative racial feature
Half-dwarf- exists. Half-dwarves are medium-sized humanoids with the human and dwarf subtypes. They have a movement speed of 30’ and darkvision 60’. They get a +2 bonus to any one attribute of their choice. Like their dwarven kin, they are hardy and gain a +2 racial bonus to saves against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities. Their dwarven capacity for carrying a grudge and human adaptability make them adept at fighting those who have wronged them; at 1st level, they receive grudge fighter as a bonus feat, ignoring its prerequisites. Half-dwarves are also gifted tinkerers; they get a +1 racial bonus to disable device, knowledge [engineering], and craft [trapsmith].
Orc- +2 Str, +2 Wis, and -2 Int instead of their standard attribute bonuses; lose the light sensitivity racial trait. (Their societies are historically LE in Cardriss, not CE like most settings.)
Halflings- not a race on their own but a rare variant of humans. Halflings are small-sized humanoids with the human subtype. Their movement speed is 20’. They gain a +2 bonus to Dex and +2 to any one mental attribute, but suffer a -2 penalty to strength. They gain a bonus feat at first level and one additional skill point each level as a standard human, and they can take alternate racial traits from the standard human list (though, dual talent remains unavailable). Because of their child-like appearance, they gain +1 to bluff and diplomacy checks against humanoids with the human subtype.
Classes: *Paizo Only* we will not be using any 3pp materials. As mentioned above, your context is basically a medieval fantasy setting so no guns (though a bolt ace gunslinger might be alright), and anyone using alchemy should be more herbalist than alchemist. Monks are allowed but should be flavored (and built, really) to reflect their culture (there is no Asian equivalent culture in Cardriss). I’d prefer to stay away from the occult classes for the most part but if you have an idea for one that you just can’t get away from you can submit it and I might make an exception if I like it enough. Classes that rely on companions (like the summoner or hunter) should be avoided (because pets don’t scale well in high power games, plus you’re going to be inside a tower so space may be an issue).
Feats: normal, with a couple exceptions. First, you don’t need a feat for weapon finesse and anyone with +1 BAB qualifies for feats as if they had weapon finesse. Second, all the slashing grace/fencing grace/dervish dance/etc feats are replaced with one feat called “Graceful Strike” which functions similarly to slashing grace (you can ask for details if you’re bold enough to pitch another dex-based melee character). Finally, there may be some campaign specific (homebrew) feats introduced down the road.
Skills: standard, plus background skills
Traits: pick 2, no campaign traits, no drawbacks. If you want a regional trait or something with a specific connection to Golarion ask and I’ll let you know how you can take it (or something similar) in Cardriss.
Hit Points: max every level (so I can really throw some challenges at you)
Other Rules (including starting wealth):
We’re using fractional bonus progression… If you’re not planning on multiclassing then this rule will have literally zero effect on you. If you are thinking about multiclassing let me know and I’ll go over it with you, but basically instead of gaining whole number bonuses to things like BAB and saves at some levels and nothing at others you gain a set fraction at every level and always round down. The result of this is that your BAB doesn’t get completely wrecked if you’re multiclassing between low or medum BAB classes but you can’t stack saves for a monster bonus.
We’re also using automatic bonus progression. If you’re unfamiliar with this system please read up on it here at this link, but the nutshell version is that everyone automatically gets the bonuses from the ‘big 6’ magic items as sort of innate bonuses. This helps keep the party a little more in balance with each other and also opens up those item slots for more fun/interesting items. To account for all the free bonuses, though, you only get half of the standard wealth. That means everyone will be starting with 23,000 gold. I’m not going to fool around with people having crafted specific items before we started but if you take any magic item crafting feats you get 2,000g extra per feat (8k max) to represent crafting work you’ve done before (you still have to pay full price for everything you start with though).
Very Basic Overview of Cardriss:
Cardriss is a continent roughly the size of North America (each square on the map is 100 miles by 100 miles). It's shape vaguely resembles Australia, or a kidney bean. There are around a dozen major kingdoms (depending on how you define major) and they have unclaimed lands or smaller nations in between them. These lands and nations are spread among seven distinct regions.
* Northreach- the northern coast of the continent has long harsh winters and a basically viking people/culture, the Svenik.
* Westfall- the western region is mostly plains and forests (though a mountain range cuts through its northern side). The culture and people (the Tengwar) here are the most stereo-typically (European) medieval.
* Eastwatch- the eastern region is also mostly plains and forests. The Atlaeans here have similar skin-tones to those in the west but nearly universally have a notable amount of freckles and blue or purple eyes. They are the most insular humans and their culture claims to be the remnant of a forgotten ancient human empire.
* Vinland- the western side of the southern coast has plains and rolling hills, which eventually give way to the rocky foothills of a mountain range that extends across the continent. Its culture and people--Vitolians--are vaguely Roman/Byzanthine.
* Suderan- the east side of the southern coast has a relatively narrow band of fertile lands surrounding a big desert; the Mbala people who live there are dark skinned and their largely tribal culture includes elements of a mishmash of Meso-American and southern African influences.
* The Southern Isles- islands, some of considerable size, dot the waters around the mainland, especially the southern half of the continent. Some of these (especially in the north) are part of mainland civilizations, but Kono’ana are a seafaring people that populates many of the islands in the south. These people, and their culture, are basically polynesian.
* Korryn- The Tower of Ages (also sometimes called the Axis of the World, or the Godspire) sits at the center of the world (and roughly the center of the continent); Korryn, the city at the center of the world, sprawls out around it. Some of the cities on the coast can be quite urbane or advanced, but none can match Korryn in it’s diversity or grandiosity. As a general rule, the farther inland you go the more of a melting-pot of peoples and cultures you find, and the more advanced the magic becomes (the main cities of Eastwatch being a notable exception to the last part). People from all over (and elements of their culture) can be found throughout Korryn and its region, and the city is marveled at for its integration of magic. Nice neighborhoods have magical streetlights and (low-level) municipal wizards directing unseen servants to clean and garden, and throughout the city complex underground sewers carry waste to otyugh dens.
Alright, that’s probably enough fluff for now. Please feel free to ask questions, and I can try to fill in some gaps for your backgrounds and what not. As previously mentioned, there is not an Asian culture in Cardriss. Most of the cultures/regions have unique fighting styles that focus on discipline and harnessing inner-strength to accomplish supernatural feats, and monks that use them. If you really want to build a ninja or samurai you could do so and basically be a rogue or cavalier influenced by that style. If you want to use “eastern armor” that’s fine; the Mbala people make elaborate armor with a lot of leather, bone, and treated wood… pretty much any eastern armor could be from there with only a small change to the description (different colors, and the masks would be animal heads instead of Oni faces). Atlaeans have retained ancient smithing techniques and any “eastern weapons” could be from there. Okay, now feel free to ask questions.
Application Window: I know 9th level characters take some time (especially in an unfamiliar world) but the party is currently in an ideal spot for adding new members and I’d like to move quickly to do so… sooo, I’m not going to set a hard deadline (sorry). I’ll plan on running recruitment for up to 2 weeks (until March 21st), but I’m going to reserve the right to end it early if I find an application that really seems like a perfect fit. If that does happen, though, I’ll give at least 12 (maybe 24) hours notice that we’re ending early so that people have a chance to change my mind (or grab the potential 2nd spot).
Application Requirements: Fully completed characters would be ideal, but I know that can be a big ask for higher level characters. The more finished the better but here’s what you need to be considered: a skeleton of your crunch (your stats, class levels, and the majority of your feats and even skills should be sorted out), what role the character would expect to play in the party, a description of their personality and outlook, and at least a little bit of general background (I can help fill in specifics during recruitment for those who want, or we can flesh that out after selection); either the personality or background should also give some insight into why they want to enter the Tower.
I hope I’ve still got the attention of at least a few of you; I look forward to answering your questions and addressing whatever things I missed.
HP 136/136 | AC 26 (t18, ff20) | CMD 24 | Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +15 | perception (lowlight-vision) +19, sense motive +6 | initiative +6 | spell pool: 18 | internal buffer: 1 | current burn: 2 (16 non-lethal damage) | active effects: --
Waves peacefully lap against the ship's hull as the morning sun peeks above the horizon. A warm breeze blows gently out of the east. It seems another fine day for pirating is about to begin...
HP 136/136 | AC 26 (t18, ff20) | CMD 24 | Fort +15, Ref +15, Will +15 | perception (lowlight-vision) +19, sense motive +6 | initiative +6 | spell pool: 18 | internal buffer: 1 | current burn: 2 (16 non-lethal damage) | active effects: --
I’ll be posting some more information on character creation after I get some sleep but I just wanted to open up this thread so everyone can check in and, if you want, mention what kind of character you think you might want to make. I’m assuming the one Polli made was probably 5th level, so I was thinking of going with that as our starting level, although I’m open to other ideas if anyone has a different preference?
As far as connection to our regular Skulls and Shackles game, this game won’t likely have any direct impact on it at all but will occur in the same world. You may occasionally run into NPCs who had appeared in that game, or hear rumors about the Siren’s exploits (and Itzi might include the occasional allusion if he has time to read the thread at all).
In the center of the world there stands a tower, impossibly tall and seemingly untouched by the long millennia which have passed since its creation. An azure sheath of translucent force keeps all would be interlopers at bay.
At the foot of the tower there rests a building carved from the same white stone. The olde magick that protects the tower does not reach out around this structure and it bears the scars of age and repair. Its back wall rests against the barrier and its two side walls are plain and windowless. The southern wall is marked by a set of twelve foot tall darkwood doors with a circular cold-iron symbol affixed to them. Inside lies a single room, twenty feet wide and thirty feet deep. In the center of the far wall is a twelve foot tall stone archway, filled with the azure field of force. Above it, a six foot medallion of pure mithril is set into the wall, displaying the same symbol as the outer door: three concentric pentagons circumscribed by a circle.
To the left of the portal is a large bookshelf housing ledgers with the names of thousands of brave men and women who have who have undertaken to enter the tower over the centuries. To the right, an identical shelf stands with only a single ledger resting on one shelf; it is rumored to contain only a single name, the only person ever to exit. In the center of the room there is a large wooden desk. Behind it a marble Inevitable gilded in gold silently sits unblinking.
Instructions:
When we're ready to actually begin I will post the Inevitable's greeting. Until then feel free to dot in to add the game to your campaign tab, but please remember to delete your post right away after it goes up (I promise the game will stay in your campaign tab when you delete the post).
Character Creation Guidelines
I haven’t posted any real setting info yet, so I know this might be putting the cart before the horse for some of you, but for those chomping at the bit to start looking at build specifics here are the basics. We’ll be starting at 9th level.
Paizo only (for the most part). We’re not going to use any 3pp materials at all, but I’ve done some design work in the past and am willing to look at making an archetype (or prestige class) for you if you have an idea that you just can’t quite pull off with the official options.
Alignment- no evil, and I’d prefer nobody be chaotic-neutral
Point Buy- 25 points, standard Paizo sliding scale. I discourage dumping; one stat at 8-9 you might get away with but any more than that and you may find you’ve shot yourself in the foot.
Hit Points- I’m not completely decided on this yet but I’m leaning towards max every level (so I can really throw some challenges at you). If not that we may just do half rounded up after max at first.
Races:
Humans make up more than ⅔ of the population, and nearly all the rest are half-breeds. Half-breeds are not all truly half and half; in fact, the races of old have grown so rare that very few half-breeds have a parent that is actually an elf, dwarf, or orc. Those ancient bloodlines are strong, however, and half-breeds often parent half-breed children even when mating with humans. When half-breeds of different stock mate with each other their children can be humans, half-breeds of either of the parents’ lines, or mims, in that order of likelihood. Mims make up less than 1% of the population and are sometimes met with prejudice or superstition. Elves, dwarves, and orcs together account for less than 1% of the population in human lands, although each still has one or more isolated enclaves where hundreds or thousands of them dwell.
* Humans follow the normal printed rules except as follows: they gain +2 to any one physical attribute and +2 to any one mental attribute instead of their standard attribute bonuses; they cannot select the dual talent racial option.
* Halflings are not a race on their own but a rare variant of humans. They are small-sized humanoids with the human subtype. Their movement speed is 20’. They gain a +2 bonus to Dex and any one mental attribute, but suffer a -2 penalty to strength. They gain a bonus feat at first level and one additional skill point each level as a standard human, and they can take alternate racial traits from the standard human list (though, dual talent remains unavailable). Because of their child-like appearance, they gain +1 to bluff and diplomacy checks against humanoids with the human subtype.
* Half-elves, as printed
* Half-orcs, as printed
* Half-dwarves are medium-sized humanoids with the human and dwarf subtypes. They have a movement speed of 30’ and darkvision 60’. They get a +2 bonus to any one attribute of their choice. Like their dwarven kin, they are hardy and gain a +2 racial bonus to saves against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities. Their dwarven capacity for carrying a grudge and human adaptability make them adept at fighting those who have wronged them; at 1st level, they receive grudge fighter as a bonus feat, ignoring its prerequisites. Half-dwarves are also gifted tinkerers; they get a +1 racial bonus to disable device, knowledge [engineering], and craft [clockwork].
* Mims diverse racial heritage attune them to planar energies in a way scholars and sages do not yet understand. They each function as an aasimar, ifrit, oread, sylph, tiefling, or undine with the scion of humanity, mostly human, or pass for human alternate racial trait.
* Elves, as printed; elves from a racial enclave know how to find and enter that enclave but do not receive Common as a starting language.
* Dwarves, as printed; dwarves from a racial enclave know how to find and enter that enclave but do not receive Common as a starting language.
* Orcs follow the normal printed rules except as follows: they get +2 Str, +2 Wis, and -2 Int instead of their standard attribute bonuses, and they lose the light sensitivity racial trait. Orcs from a racial enclave know how to find and enter that enclave but do not receive Common as a starting language.
* Gnomes in this world are fey creatures, not a playable race.
Classes:
Pretty much any published Paizo class should probably be fine, except for the vampire hunter (which is apparently from a Vampire Hunter D splatbook they put out). I’m not crazy about most of the occult classes (mostly because I’m far less familiar with them) but if you really have your heart set on one we’ll make it work. Summoners and rogues should use the unchained version of the class, monks can use unchained or original, and barbarians I would prefer use the original version.
* In most places, arcane magic functions normally, but there are some areas of high and low magic. In low magic areas the eschew materials feat does not function and excessive use of arcane magic may even cause fatigue or non-lethal damage to the caster. In high magic areas all arcane casters can ignore the need for material components worth less than 1 gold. Sorcerers and bloodragers may take spell focus as a bonus feat in place of eschew materials if they wish. Alchemy functions normally in all three areas and alchemists are more common in and near low magic areas.
* Guns are rare. We’ll technically be using the “emerging guns” category but we are definitely on the early side of that. Gunslingers are very uncommon and mostly from low magic areas where alchemists have been experimenting with blackpowder. Archetypes that add gun-based abilities to other classes may only be used if they grant the gunsmithing feat.
* Divine magic falls into two broad categories: planar and primal. Primal magic (used by druids, shamans, hunters, and rangers) is rooted in the divine power inherent in the natural world and is affected by areas of high or low magic in the same ways as arcane magic. Planar magic (used by clerics, oracles, inquisitors, warpriests, and paladins) originates from outside the natural world and functions normally in all three areas. Basically any good or neutral god is fine. The general consensus among scholars of the day is that there are a reasonable number of gods (respected theories range from 8 to 45) and that the vast number that appear to be, or have been, worshipped is simply a case of people giving different names to the same gods, though every divine caster worth their salt knows that they’re worshipping the true version of their god.
* Vigilantes are designed for a specific type of campaign and may have trouble making good use of their abilities in this one. If you want to play one, archetypes that add spellcasting will be affected by magic zones as above (zealots are planar casters).
* Occult magic is probably affected by high and low magic zones too. If someone wants to make an occult caster I’ll read up on it and tell you what the effect will be.
Traits, Feats, and Skills:
Pretty much all paizo stuff should be fine, but we’ll tend to favor RAI over RAW whenever combinations of rules (or poorly worded rules) would allow for something unreasonable. Everyone gets 2 traits, following the normal rules. No campaign traits, and no drawbacks. If a trait you want requires a specific location or faction let me know and we’ll talk about how you might be able to take it (or something very similar) in this game. Everyone gets 2 extra skill points per level to spend on background skills, but we’re not going to use lore or artistry. If you’re unsure which skills count as background skills please ask, and please note on your character sheet where you spent those points (when you get that far). Normal rules for feats, with the following exceptions.
* Weapon finesse is no longer a feat; anyone wielding a light weapon or one with the finesse quality can choose to use their Dex instead of Str on attack rolls. Like the feat, if they use a shield its ACP applies to attack rolls while fighting this way. Swashbucklers, and archetypes that mimic them, treat any other weapons called out in their finesse class feature as though they had the finesse quality. Anyone with a +1 BAB or higher counts as having weapon finesse for the purpose of qualifying for other feats.
* Fencing grace, slashing grace, and dervish dance are all replaced by the following feat.
New Feat wrote:
Graceful Strike
You have been trained to nimbly strike at vulnerable areas rather than relying on brute force.
Prerequisites: Dexterity 13, BAB +1
Benefit: When attacking with a single light or finesse weapon you may add your Dex bonus instead of your Str bonus to the damage dealt. If your Str is below 10 you can only use this feat with light weapons as one-handed and two-handed weapons are too heavy for you to wield so gracefully. This technique requires focus and cannot be used when raging, or when attacking with a second weapon or using similar abilities (such as flurry of blows or spell combat).
Other Rules (including starting wealth):
We’ll be using fractional bonus progression… If you’re not planning on multiclassing than this rule will have literally zero effect on you. If you are thinking about multiclassing let me know and I’ll go over it with you, but basically instead of gaining whole number bonuses to things like BAB and saves at some levels and nothing at others you gain a set fraction at every level and always round down. The result of this is that your BAB doesn’t get completely wrecked if you’re multiclassing between low or medum BAB classes but you can’t stack saves for a monster bonus.
We’re also going to be using automatic bonus progression. If you’re unfamiliar with this system please read up on it here at this link, but the nutshell version is that everyone automatically gets the bonuses from the ‘big 6’ magic items as sort of innate bonuses. This helps keep the party a little more in balance with each other and also opens up those item slots for more fun/interesting items. To account for all the free bonuses, though, you only get half of the standard wealth. That means everyone will be starting with 23,000 gold. I’m not going to fool around with people having crafted stuff before we started (except gunslingers having powder and cartridges ready) but if you take any magic item crafting feats I’ll give you some bonus gold to spend to represent crafting work you’ve done before.
I'm sure that I've forgotten stuff so please feel free to ask questions. I'll start writing up some setting info and post it as soon as possible, but tomorrow looks busy so it might be a few days. In the meantime, please check in and say hi and let each other know what kind of characters you're thinking about playing. As I believe all of you have heard, the power level will ramp up between when we start and 11th level (when we should be actually entering the tower) so if it seems like there are some weak spots in the party starting off it may not really be too much to worry about.
