Emkrah

GM Embryonic Great One's page

21 posts. Alias of Divinitus.


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Okay, so I have a confession to make. I have been letting the negativity from the messageboards get to me as of late. That's the reason that I have not posted in so long, for which I am sorry. I have felt, quite honestly, like the talk about me has been right, that I have been a failure as a DM/GM.

This continued until, after about 3 or 4 days ago, when Red velvet Tiger, Monkeygod, and one of the players (Arawn Vasska's player, whose screen name I don't quite remember,) who had quit from my campaign finally managed to convince me that the best way to dispel the negativity is to power-through and show people that things are different.

I don't really know why I let the negativity bother me as much as I do, it just does. I can handle criticism to an extent, if it is only said once and sufficient time is allowed for me to fix the problem. Constant criticism, even when I am making efforts to change, just really bothers me. It could be the inborn tendency that I have towards depression and anxiety or it could be a deeper personality flaw. Which it is, I am not sure of.

Thanks to the three individuals I mentioned above, and to those who conveyed their well-wishes through them, I will not be quitting the messageboards permanently, as I was honestly considering. If you all are reading this, thank you for helping me get past this issue.

I will be returning to run my campaigns shortly, but I just wanted to explain what was going on and answer the biggest questions that I'm sure people were wondering.

Now, since you guys have been waiting in a figurative limbo for so long waiting on that information, I want to know if you all still want to play?


Is everyone still ready to play? I have the history, trick weapon rules, and such finished.

Also, sorry about not posting because I was sick after Christmas.


Hello everyone! I will post later today, at some point. Had a nasty holiday illness that I have been getting over. Sorry about not posting before now to let everyone know. I have pictures of my medication, for those who need proof.


Okay, I will be absent until the 26th or 27th! I should have the full equipment rules, plus the history, plus the primer on Yharnam and the surrounding areas. Sound good for you guys?


No, but you may have 'reserve languages' in the event that you encounter a foreigner who has their own language. If you WANT those languages to be listed, just ask.


Ruthless, here are answers to your questions.

1. Yes.

2. Coming soon! It, along with about 4/5 of the history, got accidentally cut. This was before I used Lazarus and I compiled it all from my notes, so it can be quite tedious to put back together.

3. See above.

4. The primary languages in the game are Common (Which is to say, Yharnam's common speech,), Pthumerian, and Ithyll (Language of the Great Ones,).

*You left out number 5*

6. Starting wealth is determined through your lodge.

7. Firearms ARE commonplace.

8. Katherine gave the basic synopsis above.

9. Trick weapons are a bit complex and will be getting rules in 2-3 days.

Your skill LISTS are gestalted, just not your skill points.


Which one?


So, no questions?


Not a problem!

The reason for an Executioner traveling with the group is pretty simple: sometimes, hunters work together in small groups to further their goals. Most of the time, these groups are temporary but, if the groups work well, the Workshop often sanctions them as official 'hunting parties', so to speak. There are several examples of this having occurred, both sanctioned and otherwise, as is evidenced by Henryk and Father Gascoine being clearly noted as teaming up, the groups of bloodmad hunters who oddly enough don't attack one another when lost in their blood haze, and several other, similar cases in the game.


Ah, okay!


Do explain the spellthief bit, as I used to play one back in the old 3.X days.


True enough. Where are the other guys? I sent them links.


That seems fine, depending on the poison in question.


Well, with things like Chikage and the Moonlight Greatsword, having items that have a magical alternate mode are not out of the question. My only caveat is to not have items that grant transformations, such as the Kos Parasite or Beast Claw. Remember that you are a 5th level character, so having that as an idea on the power level is advisable.

I probably should post some guidelines for this sometime later.

Also, all PCs are proficient with all weapons. They are hunters, after all.


See, that's the thing... trick weapons are quite varied in what they do. That's why in the PMs I asked for people to propose ideas to me. Your buddy, for instance, is using a combination of an earthshaker and grenade launcher for his.


That will be posted later when I post it and the rest of the history of Yharnam that, apparently, got cut accidentally.

Also, good catch on armor. That will come later as well.


Does anyone have any questions? Yes, no?


Dot the thread, my delectable, crunchy victims, I mean... honored PCs! :)


"That is not dead which can eternal lie and, in strange eons, even death may die."


Aaaaaaaand apparently 4/5 of the history got cut out last night. I will post later after I finish some stuff.


Okay so here is the long-awaited 'Fear the Old Blood' recruitment! I am almost done with the primer on Yharnam and the surrounding areas, but will likely have something for you in a few days regarding that. In this first post in recruitment, I will be giving you the run-down on how character creation works and some basic information on Yharnam and the surrounding areas.

Character Creation

Level: 5 Gestalt. Unlike normal gestalt, you do not mix and match 'statistics', only abilities. Your statistics, such as HD, saves, BAB, ect., are calculated based on one class. This preserves the diversity of hunters while making it impossible for players to make each fight a cakewalk.

HP: Max per HD, until you reach level 8, then only 1/2. Once you reach level 10, you stop gaining hit points from level entirely.

Classes: All are open from the SRD, so far as I have figured out. If you have a specific question regarding one, please let me know.

Ability Scores: You start from a baseline of 10 in all scores and have 20 points to spend on a point-for-point basis. You may also reduce certain scores by up to 2 in order to redistribute those. No ability scores may be above 18 or below 7 after doing this and applying racial modifiers.

Races: There are two races in this campaign, Human and Vileblood. Humans are as noted, but with FOUR extra skill points per level. Vilebloods are Dhampirs and have their choice of any two Dhampir-exclusive feats, due to the Vilebloods being vampiric. In addition, Vilebloods gain neither benefits, nor penalties, for aging and effectively have indefinite lifespans.

Feats: You gain a feat every level. This does not mean that you gain a bonus feat on those levels where one is automatically accorded to you by level.

Skills: You gain an extra skill point each level.

Traits: You gain two traits. You may reflavor most traits on the SRD.

Notes (READ!): The world of Bloodborne operates differently than a standard campaign world and, thus, several things need mentioning.

There are several things that do not exist in Bloodborne, at least usable by the PCs: healing magic, 'control' effects (Charm, dominate, hostile polymorph effects, petrify, paralysis, sleep, instant death effects,), effects that grant flight, negative levels, and anything else that I may later deem as being lore-breaking.

Fear effects exist in Bloodborne, but they carry a few special caveats: aberrations are immune, madmen are immune, and they can only inflict panicked condition on foes of lesser CR than the PC's level. If a condition would otherwise reduce a creature that isn't immune to fear effects to panicked state, but they are equal or greater than the PC's level, the effect instead inflicts another -1 penalty that stacks on top of what they already had. There is evidence to support this ruling, if anyone wants me to elaborate.

The Campaign Setting: While the campaign, quite obviously, takes place in the city of Yharnam, I think some things need to be elaborated on. I have thus constructed a VERY condensed timeline of events so that you get an idea of the history of Yharnam.

Antediluvian Era ( Date: ?-?):
The Pthumerians had a thriving civilization and communed with the Great Ones regularly. The people of Pthumeria had great power bestowed upon them freely by their alien gods, as the Great Ones are sympathetic in spirit to the plight of lesser creatures.

There are few records remaining of Pthumeria, but it has been speculated by the scholars at Byrgenweth that the Old Blood was what brought low the millenia-old Pthumerian civilization.

The Cainhurst Dynasty (Date: 679-1371):
In the year 679, Lord Strahdivan Cainhurst came from a foreign land to fight his nation's enemies in the land now known as Yharnam. During the long, bloody war, Cainhurst disappeared into the wilderness, following a voice in his head from an entity that he called Oedon. After being gone for three months, he returned wielding a sword whose blade was said to be made out of pure moonlight and a mind full of eldritch secrets.

He led his troops to victory against their foe soon after in the year 713. During the bitter cold winter of that year, a great battle took place under an ominous blood-red moon. Not much remains in history of this battle other than the fact that it was a bloodbath, with Cainhurst and his soldiers decimating the enemy. They impaled their foes and left the corpses to rot, forming the infamous Field of Spears where the thousands of spears and enemy skeletons still linger.

Cainhurst began building his grand castle in 714 and ruled fairly and justly, although he was known to be an eccentric king. He died a few years after the castle's completion in 732 and his son, Prince Mareus, took the throne.

Over the intervening years, the city of Yharnam and it's various satellite communities arose around Cainhurst Castle. The line of Cainhurst ruled fairly over the centuries... until Byrgenwerth.

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