GM Hurley's page

I have been brainstorming various changes to make Pathfinder (and other tactical combat RPGs) more fluid in the PbP format. While a totally custom system might be best poised to take full advantage of the format, a lot of us just like to play Pathfinder. People have been playing games like D&D and Pathfinder this format almost as long as those games have existed, and there's no sign of stopping. So instead of creating a totally different system, I'm hoping to instead adapt various tools from the narrative storygame side of the hobby to hopefully reduce the friction that high latency creates and increase the longevity of a Pathfinder campaign in the PbP.

This will involve a number of somewhat common rules tweaks and a substantial change to the norms and expectations that govern the traditional boundaries between the GM, the players, and the characters. If that intrigues you, read on!

I am looking for players who are familiar (or willing to become familiar) with the main plot of Kingmaker. I want characters that are directly tied into the themes and major story beats of the campaign. If you prefer to experience the story with fresh eyes and total surprise, that’s a wonderful way to play! However, this particular game will be more rewarding for players who enjoy engaging with the plot’s deeper structure.

I am looking for players who are willing to share control over their character with other players in limited ways to help the game flow more smoothly, and who are in turn willing to take control of other characters (including NPCs) in a scene when the opportunity arises.

Pathfinder is a tactical combat game, and we will play out tactical combats. I hope that the altered structure can improve the speed of combat significantly. Adventure Paths tend to be bloated with combats, so I'm going to reduce the number that the written adventure expects, but I'm not cutting out any major story fights.

I am looking for players who enjoy the tactical combat part of the game but who recognize that combat is just another avenue for roleplaying, not an adversarial tactical boardgame with winners and losers.

Tonally, this game of Kingmaker takes inspiration from Celtic myth, Greek myth and dramatic tradition, Shakespearean romance and tragedy, Machiavellian court politics, faerie tales, dragon tales, Arthurian legend, and Game of Thrones. I have a strong vision for Kingmaker's themes, and I want to share the game with people who are drawn to those same themes and want to dig into them. Pathfinder has a huge array of character options, and some of them don't fit my vision for this game. Golarion is a bit gonzo, and I love that about it, I just want to have characters that more closely represent the fantasy themes already mentioned and that fit easily into the Stolen Lands. The allowed races can all be found in and around the Stolen Lands without much issue, but I'm less interested in Vanara from deepest Vudra and Kitsune ninja from Tian Xia. If you want to play a Summoner, I am much more interested in a Kellid who hails from Old Sarkoris and practices their ancestral magic than I am a creepy child from Absalom with a violent imaginary friend, you get me? Think Dracula with Mina Harker, Van Helsing, and a cowboy — not Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter with a samurai and a pirate. Even if Lincoln, cowboys, samurai, and pirates are all technically contemporary and period-accurate.

Stylistically and with regards to format, my version of Kingmaker has a lot of big epic historical events and plots that inform and intersect with the present-day plot. I want to explore those stories with flashback RP scenes with the players controlling the relevant NPCs. In the present-day plot, there will be certain objectives that various scenes need to meet, but once they are met, I will move the game to the next scene. Players are welcome and encouraged to continue playing out any scene even after the next scene begins, so be prepared to have multiple scenes that are taking place at different times concurrently happening in the same posts. We will use some standard formatting in posts to help keep it manageable. I intend for the whole table to have a clear shared understanding of the overarching plot of the game. I will provide clear direction and intent for scenes, as well as NPC motivations, and I want players to feel free to further the scene by controlling NPC action and writing appropriate dialogue. For example, let's say the players are at a ball and intend to strike a deal with a noble. Once the deal is struck, the primary narrative objective of the scene has ben accomplished, so in the next post I would cut to the start of the next scene. However, two of the other characters are still in conversation and another has decided to sneak around the grounds. We will continue to play out that scene concurrently while the next scene is beginning.

Starting level: 1

Classes: All official Paizo PF1 classes, plus Path of War. Other 3pp content may be allowed, ask in the thread.

Races: Core Races plus Aasimar, Tiefling, Android, Dhampir, Drow, Fetchling, Changeling

Alignment: Any alignment, but this is more to inform your character's personality and not an alignment aura. see House Rules

HP: Full at first, subsequent levels roll OR take the average (your choice, choose each level)

Starting Gold: 900 gp equipment budget; buy what you reasonably need for your character. No masterwork equipment unless it is justified by backstory. No Wondrous Items. Remaining gold does not carry over, but each character can start with up to 20 gold "spending money" if they so choose, taken as either hard cash or mundane trade goods. Some of us want to start out rich, some want to start out destitute. Both are fine, this is fantasy. Any additional gold from traits (including Rich Parents or the Brigand campaign trait) must be taken as cash or mundane trade goods and should not be included in the starting gold equipment budget. The sum of additional gold from traits will be your starting cash, you do not get the additional 20gp "spending money" on top of it.

Traits: 3 traits; the regular 2 starting traits and an additional "Campaign Trait" slot that does not strictly have to be a campaign trait (from this campaign or any other) but will ideally be a trait picked because it fits the character and not for powergaming.

Backstory: You don't need to write a novel; sometimes less is more. But I'm looking for effortful quality. I'll take two amazing paragraphs over two pages of slop every time. Dig into the lore of Golarion to ground your character. Give us the highlights, but don't feel like you have to have every inch of them crystallized. You're allowed to be a someone, and you're allowed to be at least kind of a badass. But you need to sell me that, as cool as their roots are, the main thrust of their arc still lies ahead of them in the Stolen Lands.

Additionally, you do not need to be part of the original expedition chartered by the Swordlords. If you have a solid reason for being in the Stolen Lands and are willing to join up with the expeition at Oleg's, that is totally acceptable. Some of the best characters might not have any serious interest in becoming a baron; I have provided many additional plot hooks below. I'm telling you my secrets so that you will use them.

Alignment: Good, Evil, Law, and Chaos are planar energies in much the same way as Fire, Earth, Water, and Air. Unless specified, mortal beings are not strongly aligned to the planes and so all mortal creatures are True Neutral by default. Arcane and Divine magics and any other abilities that provide an alignment aura override this. Paladins/Antipaladins, clerics, necromancers, etc. may show as the relevant alignment for the purposes of the detect alignment spell.

Character death: Player charcters will only die when their principal player agrees that they do. If you're a player who likes the risk of dice rolls killing off your character, you are free to play that way in this game. If that's not fun for you, then it won't happen.

Kingdom Building Rules: Honestly, I don't even know yet. We're definitely not going to be using the base rules. There are a number of improvements that have been made over the years, many of them on these forums. I love the ideas in the Kingmaker Venture Capital thread. We can discuss these further as a group if and when we approach the kingdom building phase of the game.

Feats: We're doing Elephant In The Room Feat Taxes. Also, if anybody has designs on doing an Aldori Swordlord fighter, I'm happy to use the pre-eratta Crane Wing.

Initiative: We're doing block initiative, blocks will be decided based on the highest roll for the players and the enemies. During combat, post when you can or want, we're not worried about strict turn order, that just slows things down. If the enemy needs to roll for any reason during your turn, you will be allowed to roll and act for them as much as necessary to resolve your turn. Relevant stats will be available for your reference at the beginning of combat.

Attacks of Opportunity: Sorry, we're not doing them. They're very slow for PbP, even with everything else we're doing to speed things up. Don't build around them. If your build requires feats or abilities that interact with AoOs then we'll adjust it.

Core Concept
Each player begins with a small number of Narrative Tokens (exact number TBD; assume 3 to start). These tokens can be spent or traded to shape the story, influence scenes, or take limited control of other characters.

The player who submitted a PC is that character’s principal player, maintaining authorial control over:
• Their character’s backstory, goals, and motivations
• Major decisions and dialogue
• Combat
• Any long-term consequences of actions

Spending Tokens
Tokens can be spent in several ways:

• Invoke Story Elements: Introduce or establish something new that wasn’t previously true (like a convenient distraction, a lucky break, or an unexpected ally). Larger effects may cost multiple tokens.

• Take Temporary Control of a PC (Non-Combat): Trade a token to another player to briefly control their character in a scene to move the story forward smoothly.
 – Must be voluntary; assume consent but allow the other player to veto and rewrite if needed (no token is exchanged in that case).
 – Keep it minor and respectful, staying true to that character’s personality and tone.
 – Not allowed in combat scenes.
 – Do not spend another PC’s money, write major dialogue, or reveal personal secrets without permission.

• Take Major Control of an NPC (Non-Combat): Spend a token to take narrative control of an NPC for a full scene, essentially “borrowing” them from the GM. The GM can refuse the token if they feel it’s being misused. If the NPC was introduced by and is being controlled by another player, you trade them the token instead. In this case, you have as much control as if you had introduced them, until control is taken by someone else or assumed by the GM.

Earning Tokens
The GM may grant tokens:
• At the start of major chapters
• As rewards for great posts, collaborative storytelling, or strong roleplay

You can also gain tokens by adding complications or setbacks for your own character. These moments should create drama or tension—not benefits—for your PC, even if others gain from it.

Quick Reference
• Spend → Introduce story elements, coincidences, or NPCs
• Spend → Take control of an NPC (non-combat)
• Spend/Trade → Take minor control of a PC (non-combat, with consent)
• Gain → Excellent writing or teamwork
• Gain → Create personal complications or setbacks
• Gain/Trade → Someone else takes major control of an NPC you introduced

Note: This system is still a work-in-progress and open to adjustment once play begins. Feedback and collaboration are encouraged. I have further ideas for additional systems that are even more underbaked than this one, and I am open to hearing ideas from my players as well.

The Aldori Swordlords of Restov find themselves in a precarious political position within Brevoy. To strengthen their hand, they have chartered groups of adventurers (perhaps including the PCs) to explore the Stolen Lands, eliminate the bandit threat, and establish a new River Kingdom. Naturally, the Swordlords expect to hold influence over this new state — a vassal ally they can call upon when Brevoy’s inevitable civil war begins.

The PCs will chart the Stolen Lands, end the Stag Lord’s tyranny, and build a new kingdom of their own. But taming the wilderness will only be the beginning of their troubles.

The Overplot: Nyrissa's Penance: Long ago, Nyrissa, a radiant nymph, became the lover of Count Ranalc, one of the Eldest of the First World. In her pride, she declared herself an Eldest as well. The Lantern King punished her audacity by banishing Ranalc to the Plane of Shadow and stripping Nyrissa of her capacity to love or feel compassion.

To earn forgiveness, she must topple and collect one thousand “worthy” kingdoms. The lost sword Briar — forged from Nyrissa’s own torn-out emotions — lies hidden somewhere in the Stolen Lands. Nyrissa has raised and destroyed kingdoms across millennia in pursuit of it, and now stands on the brink of completing her thousandth conquest.

She is the campaign’s unseen hand — tragic, wrathful, and bound by divine cruelty. Only fragments of her story survive in the whispers of fey, half-remembered songs, and old tales told by campfire. For most, her name is a myth. But to the founders of a new kingdom in the Stolen Lands… she may soon be a reality.

The Distant Plot: Brevoy's Civil War: Two centuries ago, Choral the Conqueror crossed the mountains from Iobaria with two red dragons at his command. In alliance with House Surtova, he united the long-warring lands of Issia and Rostland into a single kingdom — Brevoy — under his new dynasty, House Rogarvia.

After ruling for a decade, Choral vanished into the depths of the Gronzi Forest with his dragons, leaving his vassals and heir behind. The Rogarvias continued to rule for two hundred years — until one night, they vanished completely. Every noble of their line disappeared without a trace.

House Surtova swiftly claimed the vacant Dragonscale Throne. Over a decade later, they appear ready to seize full control and abandon any pretense of waiting for the Rogarvias’ return. As tensions mount between Issia and Rostland, Brevoy teeters on the brink of open civil war — and any new kingdom to the south will find itself entangled in its shadow.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Everything above the divider is canonical or mostly so. Everything below is either heavily altered from other Paizo content or homebrew for this campaign — still canon in-game, but not part of the published Kingmaker adventure. I include this note for players unfamiliar with the source material so you know what’s original to this version.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Secret Plot: The True History of Choral the Conqueror: The rumors were true: Choral the Conqueror was no mortal man. He was Chorazulanthus, a red dragon in human guise. Along with his sister Caelyndraxis, he sought to destroy their draconic rivals in Iobaria. To that end, Choral took on human form, conquered Issia and Rostland, and plundered their wealth to fuel his ambition.

When he vanished into the Gronzi Forest, he and his sister discovered an ancient ruin pulsing with draconic magic. There, they were stricken by the Drakeplague — a wasting curse. Rather than perish, they weaponized it, unleashing it upon Iobaria and slaying six of every ten dragons there.

Desperate to rid themselves of the plague’s lingering corruption, they turned to a forbidden ritual known as Flame’s Purity, a blood magic designed to burn away all weakness — at the cost of one’s own bloodline. On the 200th anniversary of Brevoy’s founding, every member of House Rogarvia gathered in New Stetven… and vanished. The ritual succeeded only partially. Somewhere in Brevoy, a few scattered heirs survived — bastards, forgotten branches, and hidden children.

Until these last embers are extinguished, Chorazulanthus and Caelyndraxis remain incomplete. In the years since, they have hunted their descendants in secret. And still, one lost soul yet carries the legacy of fire and royalty, pursued by unseen forces while the dragons wait in silence.

The Underground Plot: Droskar's Rebellion: In the Golushkin Mountains, the dwarves of Clan Golka suffered their own “vanishing” shortly after the fall of House Rogarvia. Many on the surface assumed the two events were linked. In truth, the Golka dwarves were overrun by a cult devoted to Droskar, the Master of the Dark Furnace. The cult sacked their halls and enslaved the survivors, forcing them to labor endlessly in the black forges of the deep.

To the surface world, the Golka are long gone — but far below, the forges still burn, their light never dimming.

The Shadow Plot: Incursion of the Fellnight: The Stolen Lands stand at a crossroads between worlds. The veil between the Material Plane and the First World is thin here, and the land is steeped in fey magic. But a new corruption seeps through the cracks — strange creatures called Hollowborn. They wear the shapes of beasts, trees, and even people, but inside they are voids — drained of color, warmth, and song. Ordinary steel and common spells falter against them, and the world around them fades into lifeless gray.

Unbeknownst to mortals, the Hollowborn come from a demiplane caught betwixt the Plane of Shadow and the First World — the Fellnight Realm. Its ruler, the dark fey queen who calls herself the Fellnight Queen, is the only child of the banished Count Ranalc and Nyrissa. She wanders the planes in search of her lost father, sending her Hollowborn as heralds of despair.

And in the end, perhaps only a mother’s love — the lost sword Briar — can unmake what her daughter has wrought.