Canton of the Outer Planes
Astrarium, City of the Custodians
15th of Rova, 4605 AR
The Herald woke as the false dawn of the Boneyard cast the shadow of a nearby tower over his bed, stabbing like the pointed finger of a god at his wardrobe. Another day. How long must an old man wait to die in his sleep these days? The thought was so well worn after these last few hundred years that he no longer tasted the bitterness of it.
With a groan, he rolled over, his reaching hand seeking the three bottles that his servant had laid out with customary clock work precision. The first helped of course, to quite the ache of his head, a pain that he knew had little to do with age, and far more to do with the tonics he took to ensure a dreamless sleep. The second quieted the aches of a body that he knew had lived too long, even if alchemy and magic kept it from knowing that truth. As he had so many days of late, he hesitated with his finger on the stopper of the third. It would taste foul, he knew... in almost five centuries he had yet to find any who could brew it so that it would be otherwise. As always, he finally drank it after a few moments of toying with the bottle, nearly choking on the thick and cloying liquid as he tried to swallow while lying down.
He had almost had his breath back, by the time the magic took hold of him, and he floated up, the sheets falling away from him before he angled his flight towards his changing room. The job, as always, waited.
-----
He stopped on his way down the street by a small cart that was selling kebabs, run by a family of marids. They were new to this portion of the city, he thought, while taking a moment to observe the children playing as small clouds of mist. Travelers, he suspected, rather than anyone who would be residing for any long term. But even so they knew him, greeting him softly by title. He'd had a name, once, he reflected. He was nearly certain of that. But it had been a long time since the last of those to whom he had trusted it had died, and now, even in his own head, he thought of himself as The Herald. He realized now that he missed that familiarity with others... but none of those in the city around him seemed to stay long enough to warrant it.
He had barely finished the kebab when the wind whispered past his ear. He recognized the gentle baritone of Ocuirthos at once, stopping to listen to what was said. And what he heard chilled him.
It took only the smallest focus of will for his flight to propel him high above the canton, as he took a path that would follow the great curve of one of the thirty legs of this canton, to where they clasped the legs of their others. Below him lay the Panopticon where Ocuirthos had sent its message from, and he knew that if he looked closely he might see archons departing from the minarets, clutching their trumpets.
He brought out the prism of his office, holding it up to split the wan light of Groteus that filtered up to him, and gazed deeply into its facet, before looking up to nod to the four others of him that stood equidistant from it now. After so long at his post it no longer shocked him to see them fully formed, but it was still disquieting to watch himself be spun out of nothing but cold and dust and a little bit of light.
Each of the Heralds twisted space about itself as it finished forming, passing over great distances as they sought their own paths. Like him, they would find their destinations unerringly, and deliver their messages. They were The Herald of Astrarium, and that was what the position meant.
-----
Before the dwelling that each of the PCs are inhabiting, an imposing elderly man in a flowing robe appears. It is clear from simply looking at him that he has seen a great deal of hardship in his life... his left eye is missing, and for anyone who looks closely by passing a DC 35 perception check, it is clear that though he presents himself as though he should be close to nine feet tall, there is nothing between his waist and the ground.
They knock, politely but firmly, on the door to your dwellings, topaz eyes shining as they wait for an answer. In the distance, you can hear a hauntingly beautiful dirge being played by trumpet Archons, picked up in rounds and carried towards you as it crosses the city.
Knowledge - The Planes:
DC 38 - This creature appears as though it might be a Solar, but if so it appears as though it doesn't quite have the whole disguise thing down. Solars also usually carry the symbol of their deity somewhere, and this one does not appear to have one present.
DC 48 - You realize that what you're looking at here are battle scars, rather than mistakes in a disguise. The solar has lost its wings, its left eye, and its body below the waist at some point in the past.
Knolwedge - Local: Astrarium:
DC 20: The trumpet archons of the city only play a dirge when a member of the Custodians is killed permanently while on duty for the organization.
DC 30: The figure is The Herald of one of the cantons of Astrarium.
DC 35: In particular the canton which is administered by Ocuirthos, a great wyrm Soverign dragon. Like each canton of Astrarium, it is composed of one of the husks of the world weavers.
DC 40: At the center of each canton is a building called a Panopticon, which is a home to powerful scrying artifacts, without which the Custodians would have a very difficult time doing their jobs.
DC 45: The Herald was once a solar, who was injured severely both in body and mind while serving in a conflict on the side of the Custodians. It is said that he can not be healed of his injuries because the missing portions of his body were trapped, still alive and metaphysically attached, with the enemy that was only barely sealed away.
Welcome, once again, everyone who made it through. I'm looking forward to this game, and hopefully so are you.
Feel free to work in story ties between your characters now that you've all been picked. These don't need to be significant, but being members of the custodians, you would all know each other by reputation at the very least, so it would at least be good to know what your character thinks of the others.
I am at work right now, but I hope to get the collected rules from the other thread all condensed down into a single post here for you later this evening, when I get home.
So, as folks from the other thread might know, I had suggested a potential setting and plan for an epic level game. This is the recruitment thread for what was mentioned there, and I'll try to go into a bit more detail on what I'm thinking now.
Setting wise, we're going to be looking at a Golarion-derivative. Somethings that folks are familiar with from Golarion will be present, but the reasons behind them might not be canonical, having instead been reinterpreted to fit the story we're trying to tell.
The Player Characters will all begin play as established members of an order known as the Custodians of the Membrane, an elite force of powerful entities from the various planes who have dedicated themselves to ensuring the planes of the world remain in a state of dynamic equilibrium. As they will readily tell those who listen, without their careful maintenance the Planes and their inhabitants would overwhelm and unbalance each other, merging and falling back into the chaotic nothingness from whence all of Creation sprang.
The Custodians cite their origins as shortly after the Great Beyond arose, when the (then) young gods of the cosmos discovered that there were Beings in the spaces between the planes, powerful and incomprehensible enough to drive even them mad and destroy them. In fear the gods agreed to work together, to create a singular membrane that would keep the Maelstrom at bay. At first, there was no need for custodians, but neglect and inattention took their toll, as the gods turned their minds to conflicts over what the interior of the single realm they had protected should be like. Eventually a breach occured, and a god travelled outside it. What he encountered there would shake his very nature.
When he returned, he fashioned the Worldweavers of the titans to keep the horrors he had experienced at bay. It was they who died in droves seeking to recover the portions of the realm that had been lost, and discovering that to be futile, it was they who conceived a bold and audacious plan by which the rest of the realm might be saved.
And so the three eldest of them, the last to survive walking into the Maelstrom and whatever they encountered there, journeyed to the Membrane the gods had made, where it still remained, and pulled it inwards, twisting and pinching it until they had formed an arrangement where the incursion was contained. It was a change too drastic for the gods to ignore, as new boundaries sprung up, and powers were constricted. When at last the gods came upon the Worldweavers, they were told that if the changes were undone, so they and all they valued would also be. "Look upon the cocoon we weave." said the eldest of the Worldweavers "And know it for what it is... our tomb, woven of our own flesh and souls, to keep you safe. For it, we extract a price... that your realms will be divided, your powers forever more constrained and your influences limited. This is how it must be, if it is to be."
The gods, it is said, did not see the wisdom of this, but did see that the changes were beyond them to undo less they worked as a whole again... and each of them had made enemies they would not trust enough to work with again. The Worldweavers went into their tomb, set at the center of the newly arranged planes, and were forgotten to time with their passing. The gods decided to set up a watch upon the membranes of the planes, so that each might know of any other's attempt to unbalance and pierce them. And so the Custodians were created.
In the modern age, the Custodians as a group aren't associated with the gods directly, having fought hard for the freedom to exercise their will and discretion in the pursuit of their responsibilities. Chosen from among the most powerful entities of the various planes, each is individually a match for all but the most potent servitors of any god, and as a collective whole they are powerful enough to give a god itself pause... for even if the conflict did not prove enough to kill the god, there would be little doubt that it would leave the god weakened sufficiently that one of its own brethren would finish it off.
The Custodians may make their homes wherever in the planes they choose (and can find acceptance), but each is required to maintain a dwelling within Astrarium, the city carved into the dead husks of the Worldweavers that surround Groteus and keeps the entity there at bay, for Groteus is said to be what was created when the Maelstrom's intrusion was cut off and isolated. No one knows who carved the city, and no one works to expand it, for it already covers all of the exoskeletons that remain... but popular belief holds that there is a dwelling already carved for each Custodian who ever has, or ever will, hold the position, and that each Custodian is instinctively drawn to the house that was set aside for them specifically.
The eighth day of Gozran, in the 761st year of the Sixth Dynasty; 3298 Years since the Entrapment.
Early Spring, it is widely held in the traditions of Eastwall Island, is the harshest of times. There is always a great deal of work to be done as Winter releases her vicious hold; The dead fall of the winter must be picked up, the farms planted, the portions of the fleets that went unused removed from dry-dock and checked carefully. Larders are almost always nearly exhausted, and the treacherous winter currents around the item do not usually subside until the middle or end of the season. A thousand tasks await every pair of hands, and island wisdom holds that it is in the early spring when one can most readily identify friends... and enemies.
Individuals who took the Soldier Trait:
Two days ago, each of you was pulled from an early morning work detail by the first mate of your usual ship, and taken to the captain's cabin. The captain and first mate study you for a few moments, and then inform you that their crew is being thinned by order of the Satrap, to furnish experienced junior officers for the crew of a newly finished vessel, the Ardhanya. Built over the winter, Ardhanya is to be launched in three days time from the capital of Einjeru. They have picked your name by drawing lots on the behalf of the crew, and so to you they entrust a sealed set of orders and travelling papers, telling you to make your way overland to the capital with all haste.
The overland journey to Einjeru has been swift, without any great difficulty encountered on the roads, for the previous winter has been uncommonly mild. It is mid-afternoon by the time you approach the city.
Individuals who took the Guard Trait:
You were breaking your fast at your domiciles within Einjeru this morning, when one of the Satrap's messengers knocked upon your door. He bore sealed orders that instructed each of you to report to the Ardhanya at dusk that day, as you had been recommended for duty aboard the ship. The captain of the vessel would brief you further.
Kanoko:
You were pulled from your responsibilities in the court yesterday by your mother, and told that she had secured a chance for you to make a name for yourself. A new ship was nearly complete, and would be departing the next day, with an envoy aboard. While details of the envoy's purpose and ship's mission are not being discussed in court, she has pulled some strings and your name had been attached to the envoy's staff as an aide. You mustn't miss the ship's departure this night's high tide.
Einjeru is a city set close by the shore, bisected by a wide river that descends from the mountainous spine of the island. Life in the city is broken up by the tiered layout of it... at the lowest tier are the fisherman and farmers, while the highest are occupied by the Satrap's palace, looking down from the hillside at the shallow harbor below. With the exception of the palace, which stands six stories tall, no other structure rises higher than three. There is little visible poverty in the city at first glance, for Shi Gongxi understands enough to not tax his peasants beyond their need to pay.
The Ardhanya is a double masted gleaming and pristine as she sits in the lowest lock of the river, waiting for the night's high tide to be able to depart the harbor. Among the aged fishing vessels that make up most of the city's fleet at this point in the year, she is easy to spot; twice as long as most other ships there, she is nearly the only double-masted ship currently in the city.
So, to recap the chosen group, we're hoping to hear from:
Me'Mori (Kanoko)
Enaris (Tophan Stormwalker)
Belle Mythis (Araki)
Jelani (Gui Lang)
Kobold Cleaver (Karval)
drawesome (Tong Kai)
dezhem (Rasamoro)
If everyone can work on getting their profiles set up and everything, that'll be good. Mechanical questions and similar such matters can be brought up, and I'll look at sheets as everyone gets them put in. A few things I've noticed or just generally been thinking on.
Enaris:
If you do decide to go the storm druid option, I'm willing to alter the Rage Prophet Prestige class to let it work with the archetype and your concept. As I see it, opposed to requiring the Oracle's curse class feature, it would require the Storm Druid's nature bond feature, and some of the prestige class features would change slightly:
-Savage Seer would have your rage prophet stack with barbarian levels for the purposes of rage powers, and druid levels for the purposes of your domain powers and spell access.
-Rage Prophet Mystery would instead expand your domain spell list (and spontaneous casting), by allowing you to add an additional spell to your domain spells. You would still only add one every 2 levels, and they would need to be drawn from the spell lists of the domain and sub-domains available to the Storm Druid archetype).
We can rename the prestige class and abilities to be more in keeping with the storm theme when you meet the other prerequisites to enter it. (ie, BAB +5, etc)
dezhem:
The last set of mechanics you put up in the recruitment thread was still missing your campaign trait and your Talent, just to make sure you're aware. If you don't feel like digging back through the recruitment thread, the campaign traits are up on the campaign info page.
Belle Mythix:
I like Araki and Larika both, so you can choose between them. I do have a slight preference for Araki, since he would give the party a reasonable potential to deal with dastardly defenses when they come across them. But it is not a deal breaker for you to chose to use Larika instead, if you want.
So, I'm looking to run a game set a homebrew kingdom in Tian-Xia. Ideally I'm hoping for four to six characters, with a spectrum of abilities which will allow them to move between courtly intrigue and more stereotypical adventuring.
Setting Info:
The Islands of Lost Virtue make up a moderately sized kingdom off the coast of Tian-Xia, comprised of an extensive archipelago of nearly 200 discrete landmasses. Isolated from the mainland continent by treacherous ocean currents, dense fog, and freak storms, the people of the Islands have little regular contact with the outside world.
According to the history the Islanders tell themselves, they are the remnants of the last rightful rulers of all of Tian-Xia and their most loyal supporters, driven into exile by treachery on the mainland many thousands of years ago, as a race of dragons attempted to supplant them. The official stories hold that the rightful rulers had retreated to the islands (which had once been a vacation estate) to recover weapons that had frightened the dragons so extensively that the dragons used the sea and skies themselves to trap the ruling family and their loyal supporters away from Tian-Xia for all time.
Functionally, the modern day islands are a Confucian autocracy. Each island is ruled by a satrap, who claims descent from the original ruling family, and nominally owes loyalty to the current head of the family (who, upon ascending to this position, forgoes his personal name in favor of the title of Emperor).
Society on the islands is strongly organized around the concepts of service to one's lord and community, because life on the islands is simply too harsh for each individual to go their own way. Virtue is prized because it is believed that a virtuous society will be a harmonious one.
Everyday magic is relatively common among the islanders (see character creation), a fact which they claim comes from their virtuous nature. Because they stood by their lords when power was usurped, the spirits of their lords and ancestors favor them even now, granting them the minor talents most individuals demonstrate. At birth, each Islander goes through a divination ritual which is used to determine what their talent will be, and by the time they become an adult they are expected to use that talent for the sake of their community. It is widely held among the islands' populace that the more powerful the talent you are born with, the greater the services your ancestors performed for the royal family.
Your PCs should be in the service of a minor Satrap named Shi Gongxi, who is in charge of an island on the eastern edge of the archipelago.
Character Creation:
Attributes will be generated using a 25 point buy.
All Races from Core and the Dragon Empire setting will be available.
Alignments Because the behavior of Neutral Evil, Chaotic Evil, and Chaotic Neutral characters are disruptive of society as a whole, with little or no redeeming value, they will not be allowed in this campaign: the inhabitants of the Islands rely upon a close knit and cohesive society for their survival, and individuals with these alignments would be jailed, ostracised, or outright killed by the authorities. Any PC who moves to one of these three alignments will become an NPC under the control of the DM.
All Classes and class options which do NOT involve firearms and were published by Paizo are allowed. 3rd party material will be approved on a case by case basis (3rd party requests must be readily accessible to someone who does not own the actual publication they came from.)
All characters begin at level 1.
All characters begin play with two traits. One must be chosen from a list of campaign traits (not yet finalized, but the campaign traits will relate to what sort of service you perform for your lord).
All Characters begin play with one extra non-combat feat.
All characters begin play with a Talent, which is a spell-like ability they possess. Talents may be chosen from the spell list of any full spell casting class (ie, level 0-9 spells). 0-level talents are usable once per day, 1st level 1/week, 2nd 1/month, 3rd 1/year, 4th 1/decade, higher once per lifetime (using the talent kills you). PCs are encouraged (but not required) to keep their talents at or below the 2nd level mark so they can be a functional portion of your character.
All characters begin play with average starting gold for their class.
A few words of warning on my DM style, because I don't like to risk there being misunderstandings that have to be hashed out after the game has started about what I expect of my players and what they expect of me.
I favor challenging my players over taking it easy on them, and I do not protect PCs from the consequences of their own actions. I won't ever put you in a situation where the only way out is my way, or there isn't a way out at all, but I expect players and characters to be able to judge encounters and think about the consequences of their actions before performing them. Traipsing through a monsoon with an unprotected spell book will result in it being destroyed, and since you were the one who failed to protect it, I will not feel guilty in the least.
The more intelligent and dangerous an enemy you face, the more likely it is that they will seek to use your class and character weaknesses against you. Paladins and Cavaliers will sometimes face enemies that will seek to manipulate them using their codes, or trick them into outright breakage of the codes. Casters who store their spell knowledge externally will sometimes face enemies who try to deprive them of that resource. Similar situations apply across the board: a summoner will find that rivals want to attack him when he is without his eidolon, a cleric will find that an enemy necromancer wants to destroy his holy symbol to prevent channeling. Plan accordingly when you're making your character.
Anyways, let's see what we get for interest. I'll give at least 48 hours notice before I close submissions and accept a group, which will not come before I get up the list of campaign traits (those will probably be up within the next two to three days).
So, this is something I've been curious about and not been able to find a response to:
If a sorcerer is creating a magic item, can they apply their bloodline arcana to it?
For instance, someone with the orc bloodline creating a necklace of fireballs: Would it function as a standard necklace, or could they, because of their bloodline arcana, make it so the fireballs created would cause additional damage?
I can see arguments going either way, but I'm curious what others think.
Edit- I suppose a corrolary to this would be whether or not alternate racial traits (for instance, an orc's bonus to damage, or a pyromanic gnomes) can be applied as well.
