Dr. Shabad Freebairn's page

Creating the Discussion thread.

The Pathfinder Society sent a group of seasoned adventurers to the dwarven town of Davarn in the Five Kings Mountains between Druma and Andoran. The Pathfinders were recruited to represent the Society in a traditional tournament event called the Spring Muddle. Every spring, small teams of adventurers compete to get to the top of a rock set with various obstacles and a collection of treasure including gold and magic items.

After meeting up in Absalom, the group traveled across the Inner Sea and through Andoran to the festival locatoin. They arrived shortly after the spring equinox, a day before the festival began. The population of Davarn was around 2000 souls, most of them dwarves, but with a few humans and gnomes. Of course, many other races traveled to Davarn to trade and to enjoy the festival.

The Pathfinder Society instructed the Pathfinders to contact a local named Lukher Stinnison, a male dwarf and merchant who had agreed to sponsor the adventurers in the Spring Muddle.

"Welcome Pathfinders!" he exclaimed when he was located. "I'm Lukher. I hope you had a pleasant journey. I've arranged some rooms at The Lucky Imp. I'll let you get settled and then we can go over the competition rules and schedule. Torag's blessing on you all for coming."

The players for this campaign are already set. If an opening occurs down the road, it will be announced here.

The summoning grafts section of Alien Archive, when they describe resistances under Traits, generally say, "resistance equal to creature’s CR to ..."

If the creature CR is 1/3 (which is the case for Summon Level 1 creatures), does this round down so that they don't get any resistances or is there an implied minimum of 1?

This thread will be used for notes on House Rules as well as other meta-gaming decisions used.

The first is that I believe the RAW description of Comm units as lacking cameras is wrong. If our current technology can put sophisticated and easy to use cameras in cell phones, I expect the Starfinder world can manage it as well. I interpret the scanners described are higher quality and used by professional journalists and scientists to take higher resolution pictures and videos than can e achieved by a simple comm unit. They also have dedicated memory and are harder to hack.

Dot.

There is no recruitment for this campaign. I've decided to play through the Fly Free or Die Starfinder AP acting as both GM and player of all the PCs. I enjoy creating characters as well as being a GM, but I don't have a group of regular players and PBP games are tricky to get started with the right group and they go rather slowly. Plus as a player I can only develop one character.

So I've created six characters that I'd like to play and I will create aliases for each and run the game as if for a PBP game. I realize I could just do this in private, but I like the PBP format and the dice roller. I enjoy writing and plan to use this as a writing exercise, so it has the feel of a novel rather than disjointed posts by different writers.

So I will not be recruiting players. You are welcome to follow the posts if you are interested. There will, of course, be spoilers regarding the adventure path.

Feel free to post comments here.

Spoilers below. GM's eyes only.

In book 2, in the top level of the Citadel cleansing, the characters encounter Janemine, who is disguised as Iomedae. My PCs stopped in their tracks when they saw her, and a paladin of Iomedae stepped up to receive a promised blessing. Others were suspicious but as there had been nothing to prove this was not Iomedae, they refrained from anything to stop the paladin.

So a kiss ensued and the paladin received the energy drain effect of one negative level and she failed the will save to resist the suggestion that she continue the kiss. The Energy Drain ability of the succubus specifies the will save DC to resist the suggestion, so it appears the usual rules given with the suggestion spell are voided: "Asking the creature to do some obviously harmful act automatically negates the effect of the spell." Since the drain energy effect is obviously harmful yet the will save is needed to resist, I take this to mean that the character will continue to try to allow another passionate kiss.

Now since that happened, one of the paladin's allies suspected evil hanky panky and ran forward and used the drag CM to pull the paladin away from the succubus in Iomedae's clothing. The succabus, still disguised as Iodmedae stepped up and used Vampiric Touch on the paladine, doing 24 points of damage.

My question: would the Vampiric Touch attack negate the suggestion already in place? The suggestion was not negated by allowing another harmful round of energy drain, so would getting attacked give her another saving throw, or having failed the initial save despite the obvious threat posed, would she continue to present herself for another passionate kiss?

I'm inclined to say that she continues to pursue the kiss, since this is the succubus's main offensive ability, mind control in various forms: charm, dominate person, etc. The party is strong enough to defeat the succubus without the paladin's help, so I think it will add to the drama if the paladin keeps putting herself at risk of another negative level.

But I wonder if there is some rule in some different place that would address this in a straightforward way. Suggestions?

The Keen Senses spell's description says:

The target gains a +2 insight bonus to Perception checks and gains low-light vision. Targets that have low-light vision double the distance they can see under the effects of this spell. (P. 363 Core Rulebook).

My technomancer is an android who already has low-light vision, so I've been trying to figure out what the spells means by the last sentence. It sounds like maybe a holdover from Pathfinder rules, which has an identical spell with identical description.

Since Starfinder has simplified the rules for light levels, I'm not sure there is any alteration to the way low-light vision works for a person under the effects of this spell, other than the standard +2 to perception checks. Is this correct?

Death’s End: Some Pahmet come from long lines of guardians who train to defeat any undead that enter the tombs they protect. Dwarves with this racial trait gain a +2 bonus to AC against undead and a +2 bonus on saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities cast by undead.

This replaces defensive training and hatred.

Does the bonus to saving throws against spells and spell-like abilities from this stack with the Hardy trait which gives a +2 racial bonus to all spells and spell-like abilities? By the usual rules for stacking bonuses, they would because the Death's End bonus is untyped while the Hardy bonus is a racial bonus.

For reference:

Hardy: Dwarves receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.

When the campaign begins, this is when it will all happen. Dot for now.

Welcome to the Campaign of the Doctor. The players selected in recruitment should post here and we will begin the process of character creation. Five players have been selected, which may make for a too large group but it could work. Or, we could split the campaign into two with a group of 3 and a group of two. It's also possible someone will drop out early, so let's just discuss characters and see what shakes out.

First step: I recommend you get access to a copy of the core rule book.

I've linked to the Drivethru RPG site which offers PDF versions for about $30. If you are really stretched for cash and don't want to spend that much, you can probably get by with the document I'll post with the basics of character creation and pick up the rest as we play.

There have been a number of editions, each with a picture of a different Doctor or Group of Doctors, but the rules are the same. Only some of the pregenerated characters shift with each edition.

Second Step: Propose your preferred idea for a character you would like to run (not the Doctor, at least not for starting out). I would strongly suggest you develop an idea for a character before going to through the character creation steps. The numbers generated for the character and the other perks of character creation ought to be selected to fit the concept. I'd rather you not start with the character creation rules and seek cool perks and abilities. This is not a system for players who want to min/max a character by diminishing everything as low as possible to allow one thing to be super high.

Suggested ideas for character creation:

*Play a character already in the TV show (preferably the series as it resumed in 2005). Stats are available for most of the companions and some of the other characters who have been involved with the doctor. I might tweak these if they are created with more points than the typical starting PC, but otherwise, this could work just fine. Some characters, like Jack or River, may not be available.

*Play yourself: We've all probably fantasized about being invited to travel with the Doctor. This is your chance. Let your own abilities, skills, and personality guide your character creation choices. Might want to change the name, though.

*Play a never-before-seen character of your own creation: This is what I expect most will want to do.

Whichever you do, think about a character's background, life experiences and career choices leading up to meeting the Doctor, as well as what motivates the character. Consider that some of the companions have come from people of modest means with no advanced education or serious professional calling: Rose, Donna, and Amy, for example. They distinguished themselves more by their grit and spunk and courage than by having any impressive skills or knowledge.

Part of the character creation should be the time from which she/he comes. See the list of time technology levels at the end of the Character Creation document. If from the present, consider what part of the world the character is from. While most of the companions in the series have been from the UK, in one of the comic books, the 10th Doctor has an American young woman from NYC and her friend, who is Asian-Canadian. No need to limit race, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or anything else to fit any stereotypes.

One thing that is essential, however, is that the character has the right motivation and moral view of the universe to fit with the Doctor. No evil characters or characters who are just looking for ways to profit from the Doctor (note the fate of Adam in The Long Game). Sometimes, the companion needs to be the Doctor's moral compass, so they must have a strong moral compass themselves.

Third Step: Choose a link that would cause the Doctor to call you your character in time of need. If you are an established character, this is not necessary, of course, but all other characters must be introduced to the Doctor and drawn into a relationship with him. Some possibilities:

*Standard Companion story: Something draws the Doctor and the future companion together, a chance meeting usually, and after seeing the character can handle herself/himself under pressure and not resort to objectionable actions like shooting first and asking questions later, the Doctor invites the character to travel with him. This will conceivably be a time when the Doctor was between companions or traveling without his usual companion for a while.

*Enlisted to help: In some stories, the Doctor calls on help from people he has met and whom he trusts and respects. Notable examples include Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and A Good Man Goes to War, as well as the Paternoster Gang and Nardole.

*Thrown together by Circumstances: Time Heist is an example of this, where someone else drew together a team that included the Doctor.

*Friend/relative of a Companion: Rory's father, Rose's mother, Clara's students and the children for whom she is a nanny, and Micky are some examples of people who eventually traveled with the Doctor because of a connection to a companion of the Doctor.

*PCs may have connections before we start. Discuss this as you choose.

Once we have some sense of who will be playing what character, we can discuss the next step. I have not decided on a particular adventure to kick things off. That will depend on the characters. We could split into two campaigns if people want to work in smaller groups.

I would like to recruit 2 to 4 players to start a campaign using the Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space rules (DWATS) published by Cubicle 7. I am not looking for players to submit characters at this stage. Rather, I'm looking for players with PBP experience who are serious Doctor Who fans. For each submission, I will look over characters created, posting reliability, and posts, looking for creativity and a certain amount of writing ability. No need to purchase anything until you are selected as a player.

I would like for each player to eventually purchase a core rulebook for reference, but the system is straightforward and not complicated to use either for creating characters or for determining outcomes through stats and dice rolls. The fun of the game will not be in figuring out how to create a character who can power over opponents but rather characters who are interesting and consistent with characters seen in the series.

So, please post the following (including a little bit about why each is your favorite):

Which Doctor is your favorite? If you pick a Doctor from the pre-2005 series restart, please indicate as well your favorite Doctor of the new series (9th through 12th).

Which companion is your favorite? Same deal if your favorite companion is from the pre-2005 shows, include your favorite companion of the series since 2005 as well).

Which episode is your favorite episode? Ditto, include an episode since 2005 if your first favorite is from pre-2005.

I'm asking these questions to determine your level of interest in the series. It will be important to be familiar with the character of the Doctor and the themes explored over the years. If you are not a big fan of the series, please do not post. I'm looking for dyed-in-the-wool Whovians. See the spoiler below for my favorites if you're interested. I'm most familiar with the more recent seasons Doctor Who, but players familiar with the whole series are certainly welcome.

I would also prefer players who are no longer in school or in situations that may include change of jobs, such as having children, moving, or active military. Please consider carefully if you can commit to a long-term campaign. It can be pretty disruptive when a player has to withdraw, so I'd like to head off some of the more common reasons.

I would like at least two players but could see as many as five if there are a lot of good candidates. For the first segment of the campaign, I'd like players to play characters who travel with the Doctor as opposed to the Doctor himself. The initial campaign will probably be some kind of group effort to locate the Doctor after he goes missing. Or else, I'll play the Doctor as an NPC.

Once we've got the rules figured out and have gotten to know each other as players and GM, I might open up things to allow a player to play the Doctor as a PC. If everyone wants to play the Doctor, we can take turns or perhaps explore a segment with multiple Doctors, such as has occurred in the show (such as The Day of the Doctor.

Be thinking about what type of character you would like to play if selected. No need to say anything about that in your recruitment posts, although you're welcome to post your preferences if you have any. Possibilities include using pregenerated characters based on companions from the series (such as Clara or Rose), established non-companion characters from the series (such as Madame Vastra or Jenny), or companions or friends of the Doctor of your own creation.

If you have questions, please post them. I'm not in a great rush to get things started, so check back once a week to see what the status is. Once I've selected a set of players, we can discuss characters and start working out the game system. I'll send PMs to those selected.

When a spell caster uses a spell such as Slow that affects multiple targets and can be prevented by spell resistance, does the caster make a single caster level roll and compare the result to each target with SR? Or should the caster roll a caster level check for each target with SR?

If there is a specific place in the rules that answers this, please provide the reference. Otherwise, what do other GMs do?

At 4th level, a ranger forms a bond with his hunting companions. This bond can take one of two forms. Once the form is chosen, it cannot be changed. The first is a bond to his companions. This bond allows him to spend a move action to grant half his favored enemy bonus against a single target of the appropriate type to all allies within 30 feet who can see or hear him. This bonus lasts for a number of rounds equal to the ranger’s Wisdom modifier (minimum 1). This bonus does not stack with any favored enemy bonuses possessed by his allies; they use whichever bonus is higher.

I've got a player with this ability and the party is fighting a group of demon's (on of the ranger's favored enemies, Evil Outsiders). The player wants to use the Hunter's Bond to give her companions a +2 advantage when fighting one of the demons as her move action, and then use a second move action to give the bonus toward another demon. So all the players would get a +2 favored enemy bonus against two demons. There are four demons total, so that would mean after another turn, everybody gets to treat all the demons as favored enemies (at +2).

Does this violate the rule that grants the bonus to a single target? It is not clear whether the words "single target" limits the ability to only one enemy at a time or just one enemy per move action.

I'm inclined to think it limits the benefit toward just one target, with the next sentence spelling out other requirements, such as the time it is in effect and how long it takes to activate.

I am designing an NPC by applying the Trompe L’oeil Template (Horror Adventures, page 242) to an AP NPC. The AP NPC is a spellcaster with a variety of magic items and a familiar.

The template specifically specifies some enhancement bonuses which apply to any weapons or armor depicted in the painting before it was enchanted. I suspect that no other magic items the NPC might be wearing at the time of the painting would have any effect when the Trompe L’oeil steps out of the painting.

Example: If the NPC has a robe of resistance and the robe was worn by the NPC when the painting was made, would the resistance bonuses granted by the robe also be granted to the Trompe L’oeil? Or would I subtract the bonus that was applied to the NPC stats to which I am applying the template?

The other question concerns spells. Would the Trompe L’oeil have only the prepared spells that were prepared by the model for the painting or would the Trompe L’oeil be able to prepare spells like a living spell caster? Since it is a construct that presumably does not need to rest, it's not clear whether it would regain spell slots later once expended.

In this case the NPC is a witch who stores her spells in a familiar. Would the familiar (assuming it was part of the painting) also come out of the painting and if so would it function as a witch's familiar normally does, providing some bonuses to skills and as a repository of spells that the Trompe L’oeil could use to prepare different spells?

Some of these are not major issues as the monster will likely be destroyed in the battle for which it is being prepared, but I like idea of a painting as an NPC which could be a continuing character in a campaign, so I'm curious to know how others would approach these issues. Thanks in advance.

The rules for what languages a drone knows states: "Your drone speaks all of the languages that you do." (Page 94 of Core rulebook)

I noticed, however, that in the Iconic Mechanic Quig's description of his drone, it lists the drone's languages as Common and Ysoki while Quig himeself has more languages (Akitonian, Brethedan, Common, Kasatha, Shirren, Ysoki).

It looks as if the drone speaks the languages a Ysoki speaks by default but not the languages the mechanic has picked up due to his high intelligence.

So which is correct? Thanks.

I am DMing a situation that has an unusual combination of factors and I'm wondering how others would interpret the outcome.

I have a player who is human (rogue) but he has an item that allows him to use Alter Self a number of times per day. He's taken to adopting the form of a small humanoid such as a goblin or kobold. This character is now in a melee with a ranger who has favored enemy Humanoid (Human), as well as an inquisitor with the favored judgment feat, also choosing Humanoid (human) as the focus.

So when attacking the rogue altered into goblin form, do these enemies gain the benefits of their favored enemy abilities, since the target is human or does the Alter Self transmutation (polymorph) mean they do not.

I'm inclined to rule that they do not since the form is not human and they don't know it is a human behind the polymorph. But I wondered if there is another meta rule about which takes priority that I'm not familiar with.

I guess it depends on how the favored enemy works. If it is a kind of motivational effect that spurs the character on to better performance when facing the favored enemy, then the polymorph would fool them. But if it is some more magical basis, the magic might not be fooled by the polymorph and manifest in better performance.

It has already been significant since on more than one attack, the favored enemy feature would have meant a hit that otherwise missed.

A direct hit deals 1d6 points of fire damage. ... On the round following a direct hit, the target takes an additional 1d6 points of damage. If desired, the target can use a full-round action to attempt to extinguish the flames before taking this additional damage. Extinguishing the flames requires a DC 15 Reflex save. Rolling on the ground provides the target a +2 bonus on the save. Leaping into a lake or magically extinguishing the flames automatically smothers the fire.

Characters exposed to burning oil, bonfires, and non-instantaneous magic fires might find their clothes, hair, or equipment on fire. Spells with an instantaneous duration don't normally set a character on fire, since the heat and flame from these come and go in a flash.

Characters at risk of catching fire are allowed a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid this fate. If a character's clothes or hair catch fire, he takes 1d6 points of damage immediately. In each subsequent round, the burning character must make another Reflex saving throw. Failure means he takes another 1d6 points of damage that round. Success means that the fire has gone out—that is, once he succeeds on his saving throw, he's no longer on fire.

A character on fire may automatically extinguish the flames by jumping into enough water to douse himself. If no body of water is at hand, rolling on the ground or smothering the fire with cloaks or the like permits the character another save with a +4 bonus.

The rules on alchemist's fire, read literally, do not explicitly state that a target of a direct hit catches on fire, but a reading of the rules on catching on fire suggests to me that it is implied. Again, literally, the rules on catching on fire do not explicitly include alchemist's fire in the list of things that can cause a person to catch on fire, but the list may not be meant to be exhaustive.

So the question is: does alchemist's fire cause the character to catch fire and so take 1d6 on the first round it hits and then every following round that the character does not put the fire out? Or is there some special quality to alchemist's fire that makes it cause damage for 1 or 2 rounds but in those two rounds, the character does not actually catch fire and so does not need to put the fire out for the damage to stop?

Edit: A third possibility: do the rules on catching on fire imply that one only takes 1d6 damage for a maximum of 2 rounds, the first round exposed to the fire and the next round if the fire is not put out?

The first seems more logical to me, but some of my players have argued that it would make alchemist's fire too potent if it could keep on causing damage after 2 rounds. I see the logic of that, but have trouble understanding how AF would not cause a person to catch on fire.

A secondary question is this: the rules on alchemist's fire specifies that putting the fire out is a full-round action requiring a DC 15 Reflex Save. The rules on catching on fire do not state what kind of action the attempt to put out the fire is, although it also requires a DC 15 reflex save. Is the attempt to put out a (non-AF caused) fire on one's person generally full-round action?

Fans of the Amber series of books by Roger Zelazny may know that there is a role-playing system designed for the worlds of Amber. It is a novel design that uses no dice. I created a character for a campaign with this system about 20 years ago, but unfortunately, it folded before we could fully explore the possibilities.

The rule book is still available. Physical copies run around $60 at Amazon and there is a pdf version for $12 from Drive-thru.

This is just a toe-in-the-water post to see if there are enough people interested in a PBP campaign using this system to possibly give it a go. I'm not sure I can moderate but I would certainly like to create a character. If there are lots of people wanting to play but no one who offers to GM, I could give it a shot, but I already am GM of one PF game, so I'm not sure how quickly I could have something to offer.

Who's interested?

The whip mastery feat says "You no longer provoke attacks of opportunity when attacking with a whip. "

The situation came up where my character, who has whip mastery, was 15' away from an enemy with a 15' reach weapon. I interpret the statement above to allow my character to attempt to disarm the enemy without the enemy getting an AOO. My GM thought not.

My argument is simple. In the section on Combat Maneuvers, it says "Combat maneuvers are attack rolls, so you must roll for concealment and take any other penalties that would normally apply to an attack roll." I would suggest that if you have to take the penalties that apply to attack rolls you also get any benefits that apply to attack rolls.

Making a disarm or trip combat maneuver with a whip is an attack with a whip. Whip mastery says you don't provoke attacks of opportunity when attacking with a whip. Therefore, no attack of opportunity when using the whip to disarm or trip.

I would argue that this overrides the normal rule that making a combat maneuver provokes an AOO from the target. You can get around it with the combat expertise and improved disarm or improved trip feat, but when using a whip, you can get around it with whip mastery feat.

A secondary argument is more game balance one. Since one generally needs three feats to get whip mastery [Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Whip), Weapon Focus (Whip), and whip mastery] it should do more than just allow attacks for damage with the whip without provoking AOOs. The whip only does 1d3. If all you want is a reach weapon that does damage, there are less feat intensive ways to get that. The only time the question even comes up is the rare event such as described above, attempting to trip or disarm someone with a reach weapon. I don't think it's game breaking to allow someone with a whip mastery to do that without provoking an AOO, particularly considering how weak the whip is otherwise.

Am I in the minority in my interpretation?

The Storyteller walked slowly into the lodge, stepping carefully past many seated children in the open area in front of where the adults sat on benches, finally reaching the ‘speaker’s chair,’ a throne-like seat raised slightly above the floor. He positioned a cushion and sat, rose, adjusted the cushion, sat again, stood a little, fluffed the pillow to shift some of the stuffing, all the while watching out of the corner of his eye the children fidget in anticipation.

Finally comfortable, he spoke: “As you know this is the first night of stories in the new year and it has been seven full years since we last told the great story, the one that must be told lest we forget the sacrifices and the courage of those who, so many years ago, sought to seal the Worldwound, the rift between the Abyss and Golarion that opened at the exact moment the great god Aroden died.”

The storyteller paused for dramatic effect and surveyed the faces of the crowd. “It will take us many nights to properly tell this tale. As you know, storytellers love to embellish stories, to add details, to gloss over some things and makeup things to fill the gaps in our understanding of what went on. Be it known, however, that this is the true telling, as taught to me by the great storyteller of Arkestan, who is the keeper of the archives with the written records of those momentous events. Among these are the letters of Franti the Fool, who had pledged that he would write a thousand letters to his dearest love that she might after that agree to marry him. Others wrote of their parts in these events, of course. My story is as close to what really happened as can be told. Someday, one of you will take my place and it will then be your responsibility to do the telling. So listen well and remember….

"Then, as now, the sages of the community held forth on the lessons history taught about how to defend oneself in wartime and in peace, the warriors of the city taught the common folk how to fight with the weapons they could secure around their house-holds, and many other entertainments were held such as jousting tournaments and demonstrations of fighting techniques. But before any of this could begin, the ruler of Kenabres, Lord Hulrun, had to open the event with a ceremony at high noon in front of the cathedral of Saint Clydwell. The Clydwell plaza was jam packed with crusaders, residents of the city, pilgrims, and tourists. Whether by luck or fate, six particular people found themselves standing near each other as the speech was about to begin…"

PCs: Make an introductory post, outlining briefly the events that led you be standing near the speaker's podium in Clydewell Plaza, including your thoughts about this place and this day.

The place for discussions about the adventure, the rules, real life, out of character table talk, etc. First order of business for the selected characters is to firm up your character's stats and background, connect your background to other players, if desired, and generally prepare for the start of the adventure.

Starting wealth for characters will be the average for the character's class. Residents of Kenabres are encouraged--in some groups like the guards and soldiers, required--to keep fully armed and armored at all times, including having enough provisions to set off on immediate march into the Worldwound, with rations, water, torches (if needed), and anything else needed for survival away from the city.

Since this adventure path was published (2013) dozens of PBP games have recruited characters. Most of those shut down before reaching the end of the first book. Of the handful that remain, none (that I have found) has gotten beyond the 2nd book yet. So an important part of the decision I make about whom to invite will be based on evidence that the player is experienced and a reliable, long-term player of PBP games. Please read all the requirements and preferences before spending time to create a character to submit.
For an overview of the adventure path, see this link: Wrath of the Righteous

I am concerned about the length of time it may take to get through six books of this AP. Of the still active PBP WOTR games, most are taking about a year per book, which strikes me as too slow if the goal is to get through all six books. If I find a group that has the stamina and the interest in playing through the path as written, so much the better, but I will be looking for ways of moving quickly through portions that are not directly concerned with the tasks that drive the adventure onward (such as wandering monster encounters and other encounters which are mostly about combat and experience). I will also make the dice-bot make rolls for the players for things like perception checks, knowledge checks, sense motive checks, and so on, to eliminate the delay that occurs when the GM asks each player to make such a roll. Characters who have an ability that allows a re-roll of any of these rolls will be notified when the roll is made but before the result is revealed.

Player Requirements:
•To be considered, the player must have at least 1 year experience at PBP gaming. If you have played PBP games in other forums than Paizo, please provide links so I can look over your posting history. See further below for player preferences.
•Certain important NPCs in this AP are gay or transgender. This aspect of their characters is not the focus of their role, but if such things will prevent your enjoyment of the role playing or if you can’t role play a character who is tolerant of such lifestyles, please do not submit a character.

Character Requirements: Failure to follow these instructions will result in the character not being considered.
•Attributes are to be generated using either a 15 point build with no attribute over 18 before racial mods or roll attributes using the following steps: roll 4d6/drop lowest six times, if the results would cost equal to or more than a 15 point buy, those are your attributes to distribute to Strength, Dexterity, etc. If less than 15 point buy, roll one more time and replace the lowest roll with the new roll. Repeat as needed, dropping the lowest result until the six attributes would cost 15 points or more. Rolls must be made in the recruitment board. Preview results and add new rolls as needed, using strike through tags to show results replaced by higher results below. If you start a set of attribute rolls and decide you don’t like the results, you can abandon the attempt and use a 15 point buy.

To submit a character, write a post introducing the character, providing the following:
•Character Race + any alternate racial traits.
•Character class + any archetypes. If you have plans to multi-class or to work toward a particular prestige class, indicate that here.
•If the class has any choices to make from a list of options, such as sorcerer bloodline, oracle mystery and revelations, witch patrons and hexes, etc., list the choices the character will be taking (no need to list spells at this stage).
•Feats and traits selected.
•Physical appearance (height, weight, hair, eyes, etc., including typical armor, weapons, and clothing).
•Personality traits: list whatever aspects are most likely to influence how you will role play the character.
•Short biography, with emphasis on events that had a strong influence on the character’s chosen class, religion, and alignment. Include the campaign trait you have chosen. The more you integrate your character’s background to the character abilities and to the campaign world, the better. (Once characters are chosen for the campaign, players may adjust backgrounds to provide connections to other characters, if desired.)
•Alignment: must be LG, NG, or CG. Provide the religious or philosophical basis for this alignment. This AP is focused on the mythic struggle of good versus evil. While this struggle is objectively represented as fights against evil outsiders such as demons, when dealing with humans who have been corrupted by demonic influence, opportunities exist to help such humans redeem themselves. Characters should be willing to show mercy to such individuals. So have something in mind that your character can draw on to encourage him/her to do this when appropriate.
•Mythic Path: read over the basic mythic paths and indicate which path your character is likely to choose. You can get an overview here: [url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/mythic/mythic-heroes]http://www.d20pfsrd.com/mythic/mythic-heroes[/url. Note that each campaign trait is linked to a particular path. I will likely select one character of each trait/path.

Deadline: Recruitment will last until I feel there is a sufficient pool of potential characters to choose from. At that point, I will announce the final recruitment deadline, allowing at least one full week before it closes. Chosen players will be announced here and players will also be alerted by PM. Happy character creation!

The role playing may begin. Please post as you are able to indicate your availability.

Discussion thread for Murder! Murder! II. Some general description of the setting will be posted here, along with house rules. Once everything is ready, the gameplay thread will be launched. Welcome.

The recruitment for this campaign has already taken place on another thread. The GM solicited new characters and then just as it seemed the game was about to start, the GM disappeared. I created a character for that campaign and was disappointed to not get the chance to play, so I decided to GM the game and invite the other PCs created for the game to play in this one.

Players for the other campaign are encouraged to post here to express their interest and then we'll move to the gameplay and discussion boards. If this fails to draw enough characters then I will post a request for new characters.

The original game details can be found here: Murder, Murder

While I intend to carry forward my own version of the ideas expressed at this site, I will be using my own set of house rules to be spelled out in the discussion board.

This is my first time as GM of a PBP game, although I've been a GM in many other games over many years.

Preliminary Comments: I believe the withdraw action is flawed and a better way of avoiding AOOs (without using acrobatics) is called for. The problem I see is that one can take a 5’ step and then cast a spell or make an attack or any other standard or full-round action. But if you move that same 5’ and then move further, suddenly you provoke an AOO. The only way to avoid this is to use the withdraw action, which limits you to movement. What I don’t get is why after getting clear of the threatened square the rules should limit you so severely for movement but not at all for the 5’ step.

My concern is supported by the fact that the rules allow you to avoid AOOs using the acrobatics check and the only penalty invoked is half-movement through the threatened squares. So what follows is my proposed house rule to provide a more consistent way to avoid AOOs without using acrobatics or withdraw.

As I see it, the withdraw action allows avoiding the AOO for the first square moved out of because the character is choosing his moment to withdraw when the opponent is unable to make an AOO (perhaps because he is busy attacking someone else or dealing with another threat or threatening someone else). I reason this mainly requires time and the way to pay for time is to sacrifice movement. Since withdrawing from a threatened square is movement, it seems reasonable to make it cost movement and after that cost is paid, let the character move further if he has any movement left, just as happens when using acrobatics to avoid an AOO.

A simplified version of this has been play-tested and works well. Some of the players had previously complained about the rules for AOOs, and this rule helped them cope by giving them an option to avoid the AOO when they did not have high acrobatics skill and did not want to forfeit a standard action to make the move using the withdraw action or when they wanted to move through a threatened square part-way through a move action.

House Rule: Cautious Movement (replaces Withdraw)

A Cautious Move action mirrors a normal move action in that it can be done as the move action of the round and it can also be done in place of a standard action (a double move). When using the Cautious Move action, however, a character may not do any of the things that a move action allows one to do while moving, such as draw or sheath a weapon, make an attack using the Spring Attack feat, etc.

When making a Cautious Move, any movement that would provoke an AOO for moving out of a threatened square can be made without provoking the AOO by using up a set amount of movement related to the CMD of the opponent who threatens the square you are moving out of. You are watching the opponent and moving at an opportune moment when he is temporarily committed to other activities. If you don’t have enough movement left you may either end your movement in the threatened square or extend the Cautious Move action to a Double Cautious Move to get more movement. [Note: unlike Withdraw, the threatened square you move out of need not be the first square and you can move through multiple threatened squares in the same Cautious Move provided you have enough movement.]

The cost of avoiding the AOO is always at least 10’ of movement. This means the movement out of the threatened square uses a minimum of 15’ of movement. The cost of avoiding the AOO increases to 15’ if the CMD of the opponent is 20-29 and 20’ if the CMD is 30 or more. If the square you move into is not threatened, you may continue moving up to the normal limit of your movement available. There is no limit to the number of threatened squares you can move through in this way except your movement allotment. [So moving through threatened squares becomes like moving through difficult terrain.]

If the square you are moving out of is threatened by two or more opponents, the movement cost from each opponent stacks.

As with the acrobatics option, once you have paid the movement cost to avoid one AOO from a particular opponent, you may move through other squares threatened by the same opponent without provoking an AOO or paying the movement cost or making an acrobatics check.

You may avoid an AOO with an acrobatics check during the same round that you use the Cautious Move rules to avoid a different AOO, if you have the movement. If two or more opponents threaten the same square, you must either use acrobatics to avoid AOOs from both or pay the movement cost to avoid both; you cannot combine acrobatics and paying movement costs to avoid different AOOs associated with moving out of the same square.

If there are also penalties for movement such as difficult terrain, these must be paid as well. The penalties for double or triple movement costs are applied to the actual distance moved before adding the cost for avoiding the AOO(s). If a character does not have enough movement to pay all costs associated with the move, he may not use Cautious Move.

There is no way to use the mechanics of the Cautious Move to move through an opponent’s square. You could use acrobatics to make such a move and use the Cautious Move rules to move out of other threatened squares if you have the movement.

A character can use the Cautious Move to crawl from a threatened square without provoking an AOO but only as a full round action.

A Cautious Move may be made during a surprise round or when staggered, in which case the option to double move is not available.

The campaign started a few months ago with four players, 3 brand new to d20 systems and one semi-experienced. The game is being played over the d20Pro on-line system. At present we are not seeking new players.

All the characters are from a region on the other side of the world from the Inner Sea region, an isolated place called the Commonwealth. The entire world has been recovering from a disaster brought about by wars between very powerful factions (or at least that is what all the legends claim). It has been about a thousand years during which most regions had to slowly rebuild civilization on the ruins of old or in new places. The Commonwealth was well protected and has developed in isolation from the other civilizations found in the Pathfinder Campaign world of Golorian. Life is good in the Commonwealth, but there was not much for an adventurer to do, until a gate was discovered deep in a ruin of a dungeon in the capital city.

After initial armed forays through the gate, it was discovered to open into a wild region in an unknown part of the world. A fort was built to protect the other end of the gate, also situated in a ruin, and a company was formed to recruit adventurers to explore the new world, dubbed Arkada, for possible colonization.

Characters are now 4th level and they find themselves stranded in the new world after a disaster at the base destroyed the gate and scattered the adventurers. The adventurers are now in the company of one of the native of the region who is serving as a guide while they decide what to do next.