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"A new wind stirs the warp and blows into the Malfian. With it come those destined to be the doom and the salvation of the fools who know only the corpse-god." - Torestus 2:2-3

Kurse. The last place anybody in the galaxy would want to be. A dead end in a place that does not know the yoke of the Imperium, but has little else to offer. Crater scarred and desolate, the seas of Kurse boil, and the pathetic life forms still on the planet's surface live brief and meaningless lives. Predator mutants hunt the wasteland, and cannibalistic tribes of scavenger creatures rise and fall. Of all the places in the Screaming Vortex, Kurse may not be the worst, but it certainly isn't anywhere anyone would want to stay for long.

Luckily for you, you got off that rock - only to find yourself on another rock, or asteroid called Belphagion. When the Dark Magi of Forge Kastir retrofitted some of the asteroids around Kurse for use as observation and reconnaissance posts, they did not anticipate these hab-platforms would become inhabited by outcasts from all over the galaxy, both human and xenos. As long as the proper offering is made to the Dark Magi, they leave well enough alone. So these platforms have become chaotic and ramshackle places, with the rudimentary structure of civilization - you can trade things, you can get a good stiff drink (just don't ask what's in it) in one of the blade-taverns, and you can find a temporary thrill in one of the pleasure-houses or by betting on combatants in the arena.

However, after several weeks aboard Belphagion, all of you are quite past the point of wanting to stay any longer. This hollowed out rock is no place to plot revenge or conquest, and that is certainly on your mind as you meet near a familiar blade-tavern known by the locals as "The Broken Aquila," since a damaged plasteel Imperial aquila hangs over the arched entrance. Various offal and stains unceremoniously decorate it.

Anybody want a drink?

It is the 41st Millennium...

Welcome to the discussion and character creation thread for Black Crusade - Hand of Corruption! Let's get to it.

The major mechanic of the game is making Tests against Skills and Characteristics. These all have a Difficulty that can range from Trivial to Hellish. Essentially, for the purposes of this play-by-post game, you (the player) tell me what you want to do, and I get to tell you if you succeed or fail, whilst describing it in gory detail.

To create a character, you are going to need to choose a "race". You can be a Chaos Space Marine or a Human. Ah, choices. Humans tend to be a little more flexible, but lack the martial prowess and sheer physical might of CSMs.

Something that isn't quite spelled out, but becomes apparent through gameplay - you start out sort of unaligned. Certain aspects of your character steer you towards one of the big four throughout the game play. So, you don't start out as a Thousand Son, Death Guard, Emperor's Children, World Eater, and so on. Those guys are all Heresy-era traitors, and are generally a higher power level than starting characters.

The next step is rolling stats. There IS an allocation system - but this is CHAOS, so we're going to roll. You can assign the rolls in whatever Characteristics you want. Roll 2d10 + 30 for each characteristic if you are a Chaos Marine, 2d10 + 25 for a Human (Nine total: Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness, Agility, Intelligence, Perception, Willpower, Fellowship) and then roll 1d5 + 19 to generate your Infamy.

Because you have been blessed by the Dark Gods, you can re-roll any one result you choose (even Infamy), but you must keep the new result, even if it is worse than the old one.

Once we get Characteristics stats sorted out, we'll move on to Archetypes, and start spending some XP.

I've actually attempted to GM a few play-by-post games in the past, but I'm reluctant to try it again. I have some experience running Pathfinder, but I didn't play or run a lot of 3.5, so sometimes I run into the problem of players knowing the rules better than I do - so I thought play by post would be a perfect way to get some GMing experience that I could use when I actually had an IRL group.

However, I really liked the ability to WRITE dialog and keep the story going that way, versus doing all the improvisational work that tabletop GMs do. I can do that as well, but I have a long way to go before I would consider myself good at it. It's also convenient, and the slower pace allows you to really play it by the book. Which can be good AND bad, I suppose.

Another issue with play by post games has been keeping the game going without everyone either losing interest or dropping out. I really try to keep it compelling for the players - I've made maps, I've established personal connections to NPCs, etc. - Adventure Paths are great - but doing things by the book, they could actually take YEARS to get to the final volume doing play by post games. So you have to cut corners and hand wave, and there are players who DO NOT like that. The other issue I've had is players who create a character, and then realize that they really don't want to spend a long time playing that character - they get bored with the concept. This happened in one of my tabletop campaigns too.

So, for those of you who have run successful (and more importantly, long-term) play by post campaigns, what was the trick? Or, what was the combination of elements that made it successful?

So I have been working on developing some of the languages of the various regions of the setting to work into my games. I feel like this would give a little flavor - instead of saying, "The ancient wizard says something in Thassilonian", as a GM I could actually say something in...Thassilonian, whatever that may sound like. So far, I've gotten as far as breaking down the runes into letters and/or sounds, based on some of the names and words I do know.

Do any of you have any languages you have developed? I am thinking of doing ancient Osirian and Varisian next. I would probably base these on the actual ancient Egyptian and Roma languages, changing some words and sounds slightly. Skald could be based on Old Norse, Tian languages on Chinese/Japanese/Korean and so on. For languages that do not have an "earth-equivalent" I would have to be more creative. For fantasy races, there are obvious starting points. But for monstrous races...has anyone ever developed a kobold language, for instance? What does the dark folk tongue sound like? Giant?

I don't think I want to develop an entire grammar and dictionary, but a few phrases would be useful. Are there existing resources, or should I just read up on linguistics and start developing my own? A languages of Golarion phrase book would be a great player companion or campaign setting book.

EDIT: I have found some useful inspiration when I searched some older threads, but I'd like to know if anyone else has some different ideas.

Fireday, 15th Pharast 4711
Sandpoint, Varisia – The Lost Coast
The Rusty Dragon

The din of clanking dishes, metal tankards and voices resonates throughout the Rusty Dragon tavern in Sandpoint on a busy Fireday night. All of you have made your way to Ameiko’s establishment, and the rumors have been swirling all night. Merchant caravans and travelers are being ambushed on the Lost Coast Road, and the signs seem to point to an emboldened and aggressive foe – goblins. These goblins have become unusually courageous, and reports of pyrotechnic displays in the night sky seem to hint at why. After the troubles with goblin attacks many years ago during the Swallowtail Festival, and remembering what those events wound up leading to, the authorities are taking the threat seriously. However, the city watch under sheriff Belor Hemlock has always been a lean operation, and the word has gone out that the old ‘goblin bounty’ has been reinstated. It seems that enterprising adventurers are needed to confront the threat of the goblin tribe in Brinestump Marsh. Just three nights ago, a group of adventurers entered Brinestump, but they have not been heard from since. Given the Rusty Dragon's reputation for catering to adventurer types, it's no surprise that all of you have wound up here on a Fireday night, with the intention of finding some like-minded individuals to venture out and aid the town of Sandpoint.

Use this opportunity to introduce your character, and start to interact with the other PCs. It is assumed that you each already know at least one notable inhabitant of the town of Sandpoint, but you may not know each other very well yet.

Welcome to the Jade Regent discussion thread! I'm going to briefly go over how I do these and what I've found works best in this format. If you have any questions, let me know. If you're new to play by post, don't worry, it's fairlyy easy to pick up.

Roleplaying/Dialog/Character Interaction

I use the 'out-of-character' tags a lot for anything that involves dice rolling, skill checks, etc. I use spoilers sparingly, usually when it involves a specific character knowing something the others don't, or when I have to make 'secret' rolls. I use the 'bold' tags for character dialog, and regular text for descriptions and narrative.

Combat

Creating grids and maps for combat and updating them every round is a lot of work and sometimes slows the pace of the game down. I tried doing this for a module game I ran, and while the results were great, it took a lot of my time to update the map positions every round. I still might use these sparingly for times when cover and environment are major factors, but I mostly want to rely on narrative descriptions of combat - I'm going to be fairly lenient with positioning, so if you're able to flank, charge, etc. I can tell you if it's possible to do so. If I use visual aids, maps, player handouts, etc., I usually link to a photo-sharing site directly.

In a combat round, I roll Initiative for everyone at once. Players can then post in any order, or coordinate their attack strategies if they wish. Once everyone has posted what their action is for the round, I do a summary post for the round with narrative descriptions and dice rolls out in the open. Once you see how I do it, it should be fairly easy to figure out and follow along!

Occasionally I might make skill check rolls for you (things like Perception, Knowledge, etc.) in order to reveal information I think is important to the plot or story. With such a large adventure path like this, I'll try to strike a balance between giving the PCs a chance to explore and keeping the PCs on the right path. I'll try not to railroad too much, but APs tend to have a more rigid structure in terms of plot and story. I'll do my best to give you enough hints and info to keep you on the right track!

Posting Frequency/Time Zones

It's likely that we have at least a few players who are posting in different time zones, which is not a problem. I usually post between 5 PM to 12 AM EST daily, including weekends most of the time. If you are going to be unable to post for an extended period of time (a week or more) let me know in advance - as long as I know how long you'll be away and when you'll be back I won't have to look for a replacement. If someone doesn't post for longer than a week and I don't hear from them, I bring in an alternate player.

Feedback

Periodically, I might ask for some feedback from you guys regarding how well you like the combat, how the pacing is going, how well the story is progressing, etc. Be honest and let me know if there's anything you would like to change or if I've made any mistakes along the way. I'm reasonably well-versed with the rules, but I'm not an expert - sometimes I might miss something obvious. This is a collaborative effort between me and you guys, the players, to have as much fun as possible!

I'm going to go ahead and put an initial post up in the gameplay thread, and I'll take a quick glance at your characters to make sure everything is correct today. Feel free to start posting in the gameplay thread at any time!

The storms come/from five directions/seeking the last/in distant lands
Scions of the blood/revealed through trials/caravan of heroes
Eternal light, eternal cold/Ancestral home/redemption from evil spirits

Minkai prophecy, author unknown

I am looking for players who would like to take part in an online play by post game using the Jade Regent adventure path. Ever since this adventure path was published, I have been looking forward to running it as a GM, but I haven’t had the opportunity to do it with an actual group yet, or found the right schedule to get everyone together at the same time. I have experience both running and playing in play by post games, and they can be a perfect opportunity for new players to become more familiar with the Pathfinder game, as well as for folks who don’t have a lot of free time in their schedules for tabletop gaming! I am always welcoming of new players, and am willing to help anyone who wants to jump in!

I would like to do all six volumes of Jade Regent, hopefully with the same players. So be aware, this may be a long-term game. Hopefully I can demonstrate that I am willing to see this through all the way to the end, but it may take several months to get there. If you have the endurance, then let’s give it a shot!

About Me and My Approach to GMing Play by Post

The format of play by post means there has to be some adjustment when compared to a tabletop session. I tend to emphasize narrative and role-playing over combat – yet I still think combat is a crucial part of the game. My job as a GM is to facilitate the pacing of the adventure and combat, and do it in a way that is exciting for the players involved. I also like to write descriptions of the action and environments the PCs find themselves in, and nurture relationships between PCs and NPCs. In short, I like to do play by post games as interactive fiction with the game mechanics forming the framework in which to tell the story. With all that said, I make great maps and icons for ‘grid’ combat, and put a lot of work into the games I run to make them an enjoyable experience for both me and the players!

Now here’s my standard disclaimer. If you like to create power builds, min/max, or otherwise like to metagame, then I am not the GM for you. There’s nothing wrong with playing the game that way, it’s just not the way I like to approach it. However, if you like creating ‘themes’ or ‘concepts’ for a character first, then building the character and their stats around that initial idea, then this is absolutely the game for you. I want characters and players who want to work together to solve problems and win combats, not folks who want to solo the adventure. Your relationships with the other PCs and NPCs are of greater importance in this adventure path than most, and I would like to see the emphasis placed on how you see your character developing as the story goes on. This doesn't mean you can’t optimize your character build, it’s just less of a priority with me.

Character Creation

Races – any of the Core Rulebook races. Races and content from the Advanced Race Guide and other sources may be allowed on a case by case basis.
Classes – classes from the Core Rulebook, Advanced Player Guide, Ultimate Magic, and Ultimate Combat are allowed.
Ability Scores – generated using the Purchase method with 20 points (High Fantasy). Maximum of 16 and minimum of 9 before racial modifiers.
Traits – at least one is required from the Jade Regent Player’s Guide. An additional trait can be selected from the Advanced Player’s Guide, the Pathfinder Player Companion series or the Pathfinder Campaign Setting series, or other sources may be allowed on a case by case basis.

If you would like to submit your character for consideration, please include a summary with the following information:

Character’s Name and a description of what they look like.
A brief paragraph of their history, where they came from, and what their motivation may be.
A brief summary of their class, including ability scores, skills, feats, spells, special abilities.
How often you can post (at least once per day frequency is preferred).

Optional information: Why you would like to play in this campaign!

The recruitment thread will remain open until the 24th of February. Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!

However you came to be in the City of Strangers, Kaer Maga, one thing is certain: there is plenty for a person of your particular persuasion to keep themselves occupied. Built upon the Storval Rise, the fortress city is a huge hexagonal structure, and the denizens who dwell within are some of the strangest you'll ever see in all of Varisia...in fact, all of Avistan.

It has recently come to your attention that the Church of Pharasma is seeking out freelancers to find out why the interred bodies that the clergy has prepared are going missing. Repeated attempts to contact the necromancers who dwell within the city have met with resistance, but the clergy has determined that the lower levels of the Ossuary show signs of recent activity. Unwilling to risk their own in a possibly dangerous unexplored crypt, the Church is seeking out the right kind of people who would willingly descend into a sealed crypt in search of the answer. People like you.

Each of you has received a handwritten letter, addressed and delivered by an acolyte earlier in the day. The letters are identical except for the greeting and read as follows:

It has come to my attention that you may be what we are looking for in regards to our recent difficulties. I will say no more of it in this correspondence, but instruct you to meet me at the Godsmouth Catherdral in the Bottoms district at midnight tonight.

'Not this year, not yet' - V

Feel free to introduce yourselves to each other as you arrive in front of the cathedral.

Welcome to the discussion thread for 'The Godsmouth Heresy', set in the strange fortress city of Kaer Maga.

CHARACTER CREATION

Character creation is 20 point buy for ability scores, maximum 18 minimum 9 (after modifiers). You may also choose a trait, either from the APG or any of the Player Companion or Campaign Setting books. Keep in mind that I have City of Strangers on order at my LGS right now, so while it may not be relevant for this module per se, if we do continue on with a Kaer Maga style campaign, I'll definitely be incorporating those elements. You also will get an additional 'campaign trait' at a later date if we do decide to keep going.

I limited 'monstrous' PCs to two of you, and like I said previously, I haven't picked up the Advanced Race Guide yet, so I'm kind of going off the Bestiary entries for hobgoblins and catfolk. Only in Kaer Maga do adventuring parties contain no humans, I guess! Works for me.

Equipment and Starting Wealth - characters should use the average starting wealth for their class in the Core Rulebook. Equipment is bought with that starting wealth. Anything left over is yours, it doesn't roll into a pool or anything.

Alignment - the only alignments I'm opposed to are chaotic stupid and lawful stupid. Don't let the alignment you choose 'define' your character. Good/evil and lawful/chaotic alignment within the party can still work, as long as everybody agrees on mutual cooperation over the course of the adventure.

Loot and Treasure - most parties usually go with giving items to the characters who they are most useful for, and I would recommend that course of action here as well. In the case of a dispute, whoever rolls highest on a d20 roll recieves the item. Gold and other monetary treasure is split equally, unless the players determine otherwise (vow of poverty, etc.)

XP - I reward XP subjectively, and fairly generously. I usually use the medium/fast advancement track as a guide, and do it mostly in the background with a play by post.

OK, with all of that out of the way, please feel free to ask questions, and I'll do my best to answer them! Also, if there is anyting I forgot, please feel free to bring that to my attention as well. I'll do a summary of how I do play by post combat encounters and how I'll be incorporating a map and grid into the posts once we get characters sorted out.

Perched atop one of the highest parts of the Storval Rise in the land of Varisia, overlooking the verdant lands to the south, is the city of Kaer Maga. It is built inot the ruins of an immense, mysterious fotress that predates Thassilon, and its denizens enjoy anarchy in its purest form. All manner of strange factions hold court in Kaer Maga's halls, from the blood thirsty bloatmages to the militant monks of the Borthers of the Seal and the grisly augurs - troll soothsayers who use their own entrails to prohesize with questionable accuracy.

How you wound up in this notorious city is of little concern. For an adventurer like you, Kaer Maga is a sprawling web of intrigue, ancient relics and forbidden magic, as well as shrines and tombs to forgotten gods and ancient rulers. Whatever your motivation, there is treasure and glory to be found here, as well as unspeakable horrors and torments. Will you emerge from the City of Strangers with the reputation of a mighty hero. or will you merely escape with your life? Or worse, be forgotten in the sands of time as just another foolish mortal who found their end disturbing things best left alone?

In Kaer Maga, you make your own destiny.

This is a recruitment thread for the Pathfinder module The Godsmouth Heresy, an adventure for level 1 characters. If you have little experience with Pathfinder, please don't hesitate to come up with a character you would like to play, as new players are always welcome in my games!

PLAYER SELECTION

I will be selecting 5 players for this play by post game who post in this thread no later than 12 AM, July 7th 2012. The selection criteria will be based on the following:

- an interesting and creative character background
- achieving a multifaceted party (divine/arcane spellcasters, martial strength, skills)
- GM discretion...I pick the ones I like the best!

In order to be considered, post your character's name, sex and race; as well as a short paragraph about them and their background. No need to get too detailed, but feel free to talk about the character's motivations, where they come from, and what is important to them.

When determining character classes and races, the following books are allowed: Core Rulebook, Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Magic, and Ultimate Combat. Player Companions and Campaign Setting material is probably OK as well. If it's not too crazy, I'll probably allow it. I'm much more likely to consider characters that are interesting as characters rather than a collection of statistics. If you're big into character optimization and min maxing, this might not be the game for you. Don't worry about ability scores and mechanics right now, if you get selected, we'll do all that in the discussion thread.

ABOUT THE GAMEPLAY/POSTING

This may be the beginning to further adventures in Kaer Maga or even beyond, but it mostly depends on how the game progresses. I've run and participated in a few games via play by post now, and have just a few caveats.

-Don't post in this thread if you are going to drop out a week into the game. These games usually take a few months or so with everyone's schedules being different, and dropping out early after I've picked you means I have to go through this process again. Please don't do this. Either let me know early before we start, or give me some lead time so I can find a replacement. Don't leave me and the other players hanging.

-The more often you can post, the better. I can usually post in the evenings, EST 6PM-12AM, and I try to do so daily once a game gets going. Nothing kills the momentum of a game faster than waiting a week or two for somebody to post. I'm very reasonable if you're out of town, or you are working late, or whatever. Just let me know in advance, so I can let the other players know as well, and can plan accordingly.

Other than that, I'm all about having as much fun as possible, and I think the job of a DM is to create a fun, descriptive experience for the PCs, who are the 'heroes' of the adventure after all! I like campaigns with both a lot of role-playing and combat, and tend to be more narrative with a play by post. However, this adventure may require some visual aids as well, so I might provide a combat grid and maps as we go.

Good luck! I hope to see you in the City of Strangers!

You are goblins of the Licktoad tribe, who live deep in Brinestump Marsh, south of the hated man-town called Sandpoint. Once, other goblins tried to burn Sandpoint down, and they would have been legends if they had succeeded. But they didn't bring enough fire, and got themselves killed as a result.

Yesterday, your tribe discovered that one of your own had been using forbidden arts and was engaged in one of the greatest of taboos - writing things down. In fact, rumor holds that what he was writing was a history of your tribe! There's no swifter way to bring about bad luck than stealing words out of your mind by writing them down, and so your tribe had no choice. You branded the goblin's face with letters to punish him, which is why everybody calls him Scribbleface now, and then you ran him out of town, took all his stuff, and burned down his hut.

That's where things got interesting, because before you all burned down his hut, Chief Gutwad found a weird box within the building. Inside was a map and a lot of fireworks - fireworks that immediately came to use in burning the hut down. Then, this morning, Gutwad announced that tonight there would be a feast in order to drive out any lingering bad luck from Scribbleface's poor decisions. But perhaps even more exciting, all of you have been secretly invited to meet at Chief Gutwad's Moot House. Why would the chief want to speak to you? It can only mean that he's got an important mission for you all...one that the other goblins of the tribe couldn't pull off. This could be your chance to go down in Licktoad history!

Gutwad's duly appointed advisor Slorb has rounded you up from whatever you were doing in the Licktoad village, and you now stand before the Moot House, impatiently awaiting Slorb's invitation that you are allowed to enter.

Use this opportunity to introduce yourselves to your fellow Licktoads, brag about how great you are, or pick that stuff out from between your toes that's been bugging you for the last week.

This thread is where we can talk about rules, mechanics, out-of-character, and so on. Before we get started, if you have any questions or concerns, I'll do my best to address them.

If you've done a play-by-post before, you're probably familiar with formatting. Generally I use "bold" type for character dialogue, italics for inner monologue, emphasis, etc.

Actions and dice descriptors usually look like this:

Swim 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 for skill checks.
Attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11 for to hit rolls.
Damage 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 for damage rolls.

And so on. Use spoiler tags

Remember, this is a pretty light and fun module. Have some fun role-playing these goblin characters, and everything should work out pretty well (hopefully)!

"We need strong, smart goblins to get fireworks! Find me bestest goblins of Licktoad tribe, bring before ME, Gutwad! Bring to teeter chair room, have an important mission! Go now! Gutwad hungry now, bring some meat too!

-His Mighty Girthness Chief Rendwattle Gutwad, overheard speaking to Slorb

I'd like to run the We Be Goblins! module with the intention of transitioning into running a Jade Regent play-by-post. I like the way this one-shot ties into that adventure path, and I'd like to give some of you a shot at playing who otherwise can't get a group or haven't played in an online game before. If this goes well, players who roleplay well will be on the short list for inclusion in the Jade Regent play-by-post I'm hoping to do in the near future.

I'd like to emphasize role-playing and creative descriptions over mechanics, but I'll be keeping everything pretty close to the book as well. The most important thing is that everybody has some fun with this, and playing online removes the barrier from feeling foolish by acting like a goblin in public!

Rules/Guidelines:
Character Creation: You can either use the pre-generated characters included in the We Be Goblins! module (available as a free download from Paizo), create your own using the rules on p. 156 of the Bestiary, and/or use material from the Goblins of Golarion player companion. Be aware that I don't have a copy of that at the moment, but will pick one up if you want to use stuff from that book. Created characters will be subject to approval or modification by the GM.

If you do want to create your own little evil goblin, you are required to write a simple four line "goblin battle chant" (see the sample characters for examples) and a descriptive blurb detailing physical appearance, etc. Also, just use your best judgment when creating a character - this is a light and fun module, so don't worry so much about optimization and min maxing. It really isn't necessary in this module.

Posting: Try to post at least once within a 24 hour period. The more frequent the posts, the better the game flows, IMO. I'm also not going to be too stringent about spoilers, if you have the module for the pre-gen characters or traits, you'll probably have a good idea of what happens in it anyways. Just remember - your poor goblin characters may not have such prescience!

Maps/Visual Aids: I'm going to rely mostly on narrative text, and forgo the use of a combat grid/visual aids for this adventure, unless it proves difficult, in which case I'll provide some rudimentary sketches to give you an idea of where you're at.

Go ahead and post the details here if you have a character you'd like to play. If you'd just like to use a pre-generated character, feel free to embellish some other details as well.

I'll pick four players who I deem the most worthy - I mean, I'll pretty much be picking at random by throwing some dice around on my desk! Recruitment ends February 26. Good luck!