[Loot] | [Maps] Toilsday the 13th of Pharast, around 11:30 p.m.
Welcome everyone, to the benighted adventure that shall take you deep into the heart of Carrion Hill's mysteries.
There's a setting piece up in the Gameplay tab to set the tone, and I'll be updating the Campaign Info tab frequently to catalog key NPC's. If at any point you forget who's who, just pop on over there for a reminder.
This is a busy week for all of us (well, us US folks, at any rate,) so I'm hoping we can use this time to introduce ourselves, finalize crunch, explore the possibility of there being connections between a few of the PC's, and enjoy some pre-game rp to get everyone in the right mind set.
Toward that end I'll be posting something to get the ball rolling in the Gameplay thread soon. I hope you guys will have the time to engage, but if this week proves too hectic, no worries. Come Monday, Dec 2nd, things will kick off in earnest.
I'll be around till midday (EST) to answer any questions, and then sporadically from then on. My travels end Friday, so I'll be able to line up everything over the weekend to ensure a solid start next week.
Again, welcome! I'm excited to play with you all. Your submissions were top caliber, and I think the group dynamics are going to be great. A pity, alas, that your minds are all destined to be shattered...
[Loot] | [Maps] Toilsday the 13th of Pharast, around 11:30 p.m.
A chill wind rises.
Far out in the fens that surround the Kingfisher River, it blows through the skeletal reeds, rousing an alligator who lifts its head from the corpse its feeding on - a corpse bound hand and foot to a pole which was dumped over the side of a skiff days before. The wind blows over the shifting dunes of mud, sends ripples across rivulets, sets the sparse canopy of the rare tree to whispering, until at last it reaches the broad, pewter-hued expanse of the Kingfisher itself, and slips sweeping around a great, people-infested hill.
Islands, both natural and man-made, cluster around the base, connected by boardwalks and old bridges; the wind causes the homeless to shiver and pull deeper into doorways, causes the miserable within their hovels to moan and bury deeper under their threadbare blankets.
The wind rises, through the tangle of alleyways and crooked streets, around gambrel rooftops and rotting steeples. Claustrophobic houses of wood and stone loom toward each other, so that most of the byways appear to be more tunnel than street. Passes hollow-eyed women waiting on corners, past knots of bright-eyed youths palming their blades, passes by corpses lying face down in gutters and the rats and cockroaches that swarm over them.
Up to the crest of the hill the wind rises, carrying with it now a myriad scents of decay and death, the swamp and the city. Up over bone-bleached white streets, past larger, grander buildings, each moldering in the memories of their former grandeur. The wind disturbs the murders of crows that alight on almost every olive tree, every cornice, every ruptured and sagging gutterpipe.
Till at last the wind circles a fortified castle-like estate, a rambling, rotting edifice of ruin and brutal walls, to slip in through a narrow window and there set the candles to streaming. There, seated behind a broad desk, a sallow-skinned man in stained finery stares in disbelief and horror at the two guards who stand before him.
"This... this cannot be. You must be mistaken. I... I refuse to..." He passes a beringed hand over his sagging features.
"I'm sorry, milord," says one black garbed guard. "I done seen it with my own eyes. The sight of it's right seared into my soul. Gone. All gone, sunken into the earth as if devoured by some ancient beast of yore."
The other guard says nothing. His skin is waxen pale, his eyes glassy with shock, and he stares out into the middle distance as if at horrors of his own conjuring.
The candles stream before the wind, and the fire that palely burns in the fireplace near goes out.
"Close that blasted window!" shouts the man behind the desk, his fury sudden and incandescent. "Close it!"
The first guard rushes to pull the shutters together, but just before he does so, he stares out into the night. Out over the motley madness of the town, at the thousands of clustered homes, the winding streets, the shifting shadows. Stares out over his home in rank horror, and brings the shutters together with a slam.
The wind passes on, swirls up in a vortex, higher and higher into the velvety darkness. Rising, carrying with it scents of death and decay, the moans of despair and fear, the stench of rot and offal. Higher and higher it rises, swirling, turning, a gyre of madness, a thing near alive.
Almost it can remember the standing stones that once decorated the crown of this mound. Almost it can remember the ancient rites of blood and shadow. But then it sheds its mortal burdens, loses the scents, sounds, and memories, to dissipate at last, evanesce beneath the twinkling stars embedded in the midnight firmament, that Dark Tapestry of unhallowed glory that has gazed down upon this land, upon Carrion Hill and its wretched inhabitants, since time immemorial.
Walk, if you will, the claustrophobic alleys of the Tangle, the Middenstone vats of the Filth, and the cobbled white roads at the summit of an ancient hill. Know that this is but the latest of cities to crown this summit, a monument to the decay and grime and waste of civilization. The city was built upon the battlefields of history past for many have sought to control this key feature, this lonely hill in a sea of mud and mire. Only its name has remained constant through the ages - Carrion Hill.
This classic Lovecraftian module was so good James Jacobs brought it over from Dungeon Magazine and implanted Carrion Hill in the dark wastelands of Ustalav. At only 36 pages, I'm hoping to finish this game in under a year, and plan on accepting 4-5 submissions.
The module’s mood is one of gritty horror and madness, the setting is urban, the scope is mostly investigation and dungeon delving.
What kind of adventure is this?:
Think classic Lovecraftian horror. The only module to ever fully embrace cosmic dread and some of the original tropes from H.P.'s tales, it will reward the desperate efforts of flawed heroes. As such, I'm looking a strongly character-driven game, and will put some serious effort into the atmosphere and creating compelling NPCs.
Who am I?:
I'm a professional fantasy author with over twenty years of experience playing RPGs. I began in 8th grade with MERP, moved to AD&D in 10th grade, and have spent the following years since alternating between Pathfinder and World of Darkness.
I'm lucky enough to still play via Google Hangouts with my original high school crew, but find that adult life has slowed our rate of play to the point where I appreciate the constant fix that PbP affords me.
Fair warning: I prefer RAI over RAW. A great story trumps punctilio with the rules, and while I'll always appreciate your pointing out a mistake on my part, there may be times where I rule in favor of drama, atmosphere, or the Rue of Cool.
I'm located on the East Coast, and can post frequently during the day. I'll usually drop a large post first thing in the morning, but will post much less during weekends due to having little ones that don't appreciate my spending time in front of a screen.
What are my player expectations?:
I really want to build up a head of steam and tear through this adventure. One of the reasons I've picked a 36 page module is because I think it's doable, and having folks who can commit to one post a day during the week is key. Of course real life happens, but please give us all a head's up so we can bot you and not stall out.
As I said above, this is a game of classic Lovecraftian horror. As such, eastern themed characters (samurai, ninjas, monks) will have a steeper hurdle to getting in, as will gunslingers. Mount based characters will have difficulties with dungeons and interior scenes.
Most importantly, I'm looking for characters that will contribute to and appreciate the mood of horror. Any class and archetype can work if the concept behind it would fit into a Lovecraftian tale.
What I expect in your application:
I don't require crunch or an alias, but tell me about yourself, your gaming history, and why you'd like to jump into a game of Carrion Crown.
Also give me your character concept and background - preferably in spoilers to void walls of text. Feel free to include dark secrets, regrets, phobias, biases and prejudices, and linking me to a post or posts that you're proud of from another PbP game.
Character creation:
20 point buy, +1 to a stat for fourth level, official Paizo sources only - no 3PP. Unchained where applicable except Summoners.
I'll be honest - I've got a bias against summoners, as it tends to complicate games - but if you think you can sell me on your unchained concept, go for it. Further, being pretty old-school, I have an ingrained preference for CRB characters. Not essential, but what I tend to gravitate toward. No custom races. Monster races can be submitted, but prob won't have a high chance of making the cut.
No variant multiclassing.
We'll be sticking to the published rage powers.
The characters start at 5th level. Max HP at first level, average plus 1 for the remaining four.
We won't be leveling in game, though there's a chance I'll roll over to Pett's other classic module 'The Styes' if this one goes well, which is 9th level.
Starting funds will be average per class, and no pre-crafting gear.
All traits are fine, can take a drawback for a third trait.
We'll being using Background Skills. This is the only Optional stuff I'm including.
Alignments: I'm open to all alignments minus chaotic evil. If you choose to go LE or NE, I'll want you to explain why the group will be able to trust you, as I don't want PvP rp.
Gaming conventions:
I'll be rolling for everyone's initiative in combat and I'll be using block initiatives. Feel free to post your actions as soon as your block comes up. I'll still resolve them in initiative order, however. I make it pretty clear who's actions are pending and I'll do my best to keep combat moving along. I won't hesitate to bot someone if the game is dragging down waiting for someone to post their action. You've been warned. :)
Speaking of botting, it'll be a big help if you put some general botting instructions in your character's profile.
If you think a knowledge roll, Perception roll, or face-skill roll might be needed for the actions in your post, feel free to roll it. If you don't, I might ask you to roll it or I might roll it for you depending on how the pacing's going. Be aware that if you make a roll in advance, please don't get annoyed because you rolled a 20 and then I post that the roll wasn't needed.
Maps will be through Google Docs.
Submissions deadline will be midnight EST Sunday, November 24th. I'll take a day or two to pick the team, and we can spend Thanksgiving week getting to know each other before starting play on Dec 2nd.
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TROUBLE IN CAERLEON
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Diamond Lake is a dismal mining city smeared around the western edge of its eponymous body of water. Cupped by mountains on all sides, it seems isolated from the rest of the world, cut off but for a few treacherous passes that snake with insidious intent through narrow gorges toward the more generous lowlands. Desperate men looking for work climb those high trails, while heavily guarded caravans make their way down, creaking and easing their way along cliff edge roads and steep declines.
It's as if the very bitterness of the cold and hardship of the toil brings out the garishness of the human soul, for the main strip that follows the water's edge is as raucous and fevered as the rest of the town is dour. Come night the miners turn out in all their haggard splendor to spend their hard earned coin on bad beer, perverse wonders and wonderful perversities.
A sonorous weave of cymbals and seductive pipes emerges from the open windows of The Emporium, a massive pleasure house where miners and the few wealthy citizens of Diamond Lake gather for their nightly pleasures. In the street, gangs of rowdies scream obscenities at each other as they wonder from one bar to the next. Farther down, in a tower-flanked church that is more fortress than place of worship, filthy men with nothing to lose shout hymns to their god, clutching to their idealism and principles like cornered animals.
Few lamps illuminate the muddy streets. Windows are shuttered, doors are bolted, and the shadows grasp jealousy at those who hurry by. On such a night, only those with a wish for desperate revelry are out. On such a night, the wise and the cautious are locked up in their ramshackle homes.
On such a night, you find yourself following directions to the very outskirts of town, to where a large, dilapidated manor house stands, fenced in by sharp iron and guarded at the front by brutish if competent looking guards.
For whatever reason brought you to Diamond Lake and left you stranded on the lake's shore, each of you have received a summons. A neutral faced, slender man with high shoulders and an impressively long nose discovered your whereabouts and handed you a scroll affixed with a genuine wax seal depicting a stag leaping over crossed fiery logs. Questions were evaded with saccharine smiles, and all that the messenger said was a time and a location.
Parrin Manor, eight o'clock.
The contents of the scroll itself were impressively succinct:
Dear Sir,
A matter as delicate as it is urgent has troubled our house, and we find ourselves in need of capable men who are not afraid of a little travel and judicious action. If you are amenable, please present yourself at Parrin Manor tonight at eight o'clock sharp. All questions shall be answered within, as well as an advance on your eventual total payment of two hundred Andoran gold crowns.
Regards,
Lady Luzane Parin.
And here you are. Standing in the drizzle, with the great manor looming before you, the guards eyeing you with professional disinterest, and the laughter, shouts, and moans of Diamond Lake at your back.
I know it should be simple, but I'd welcome a second set of eyes on this one. I'm trying to add the Vampire template to the Con Artist Half-Elf Bard (Level 6) NPC from the NPC Codex (p29).
Hey guys, I've got a thought experiment going on that I thought you might enjoy/be willing to help me with. I'm exploring how the prevalence of magic in these fictional worlds might fundamentally change how societies would operate, and am doing so by looking at different spells and trying to extrapolate how they might warp cultures and economies. I'd love feedback and other ideas, so if you guys are curious you can check it out here: http://10by10room.blogspot.com/
It'll be an ongoing thing, and while I can't make any claims to brilliance or novel insight, I'm hoping this modest exploration will eventually lay the groundwork for a series I plan to write where magic has been fully integrated into society. I'm starting off small with cantrips, but plan to work my way up to more powerful spells in time.
At a perfumed arcade known as the Emporium, Governor-Mayor Lanod Neff rubs shoulders with common laborers awaiting an appointment in the Veiled Corridor. In an adjoining antechamber, snakes and exotic dancers gyre to a sonorous weave of cymbals and seductive pipes. A floor below, a gaggle of grasping miners presses against the windowed door of a darkened cell, impatient for a glimpse of a twoheaded calf.
Out in the street, a gang of rowdies screams obscenities at a crumpled halfling, kicking it as if scrambling for a ball. Their drunken laughter echoes off shuttered windows and bolted doors. In a tower-flanked fortress across the shadowy square, filthy men with nothing to lose shout hymns to St. Cuthbert, clutching to their idealism and principles like cornered animals. Their wild-eyed chief minister smiles as he draws a cat-o-nine tails across his bare back, awash in their adulation and the spirit of his god.
But it’s just another night in Diamond Lake.
----------------------
Originally featured in only a few sections of The Age of Worms Adventure Path, Diamond Lake has always stood out as a gritty and decadent setting par excellance, right up there with Richard Pett's The Styes. As such, I want to run The Whispering Cairn and The Three Faces of Evil, and really take the time to delve into its sordid underbelly.
Here's what kind of game this is going to be:
Diamond Lake is an incredibly rich setting. Here's a player's guide that everybody should at least skim before creating a character.
I'm looking for people who can commit to posting at least once a day. I know everybody says that, but I'm quite serious about this condition: don't sign up if you're more likely to only post once or twice a week. I'll step in and post for you if necessary, but prolonged absences or breaks should be announced ahead of time. If people go dark for an extended period of time with no heads up, they'll be canned and replaced.
I'm going to be shooting for a grittier game for this outing. This will be reflected in a lower point-buy entry and (hopefully) in descriptive text and goings-on in the game itself. Diamond Lake is the last stop for those one step away from a life of crime and despair, where they work back breaking hours in the dank depths of the earth before wasting their meager pay in the brothels and taverns of the city. Few escape it, and clearing away dead bodies from the streets each morning is a fact of life. This lends itself pretty well to a bleak atmosphere, I'd say. Descriptions are going to trend towards gory. If that sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, I'd recommend giving this one a pass.
This is going to be an rp-focused game, and I will be looking for players who are able to greatly expand on posts and give them some meat/heft. Perfunctory descriptions and dialogue are likely to get passed over. The greatest strength of the PbP format is a greater insight into what the players are feeling and thinking. Take advantage!
Leveling will occur at moments I feel necessary, rather than by tracking experience totals. More simply put, I'll keep your group's XP tracked behind the GM Screen and tell you when to level your characters up. Rest assured, you will keep pace with where the adventure assumes/intends you to be.
Sound good? Now let's get into character creation guidelines.
Level: Characters will be starting at 1st Level.
Attributes: Characters have the choice between a 15-Point Buy or Rolling. There's a catch: I will be rolling for characters who choose to do so (4d6 and drop one once, then 3d6 five times). Be cautioned, the Dice Gods giveth and the Dice Gods taketh (but mostly taketh).
Hit Point Generation: Max at 1st level. When characters level, you will be given the choice to take Average+1 or Roll. You will be locked into your choice from start to finish.
Classes: Pretty much anything officially released by Paizo is fine. I will not be accepting any 3PP builds of any sort.
Races: Again, pretty much anything officially released by Paizo is fine. Selecting something outlandish is going to require more legwork to impress me; justify why they are tolerated and explain why they are unlike the rest of their kind.
Alignment: Any, but you should keep in mind that an evil alignment doesn't mean your character should read and play like a 70's cartoon villain.
Starting Wealth: Average starting wealth or let the DM roll for you.
Traits: Two traits. Each player may take a single Drawback to gain a third trait. Traits should inform your backstory and feed into your character's overall narrative.
Submissions: I'm going to close submissions on Jan 10th to give people plenty of time to think up great PC's, but may shorten the deadline if I get a great set of submissions early on. I'm looking to create a 4 person group.
Create a profile with relevant info contained within. I'm looking for profiles that are easy to read. If your profile looks like someone vomited a random block of numbers, words, and letters into a pile, I'm not going to bother reading it. Here is a decent example of what I'm looking for. Your profile does not have to be identical to this layout, but it should be similar.
All submitted characters will require the following: Character Description, Personality, and Background. Put some effort into this. As mentioned before, I'm not looking for perfunctory descriptions. A couple of bland sentences is not going to inspire me to consider an application. Also, remember that if this game had a genre, it would be Grimdark. A shining and perfect paladin might not be the perfect fit, whereas a guilt-ridden paladin striving to maintain her god's favor would work.
In regards to Background, everyone should be considering why their character would be in Diamond Lake to begin with. Are they working in the mines, do they help run one of the shady businesses in town, or have they just stopped in? If so, what brought them there? Work at tying yourself into the setting - the more involved you are, the more fun it will be to play.
Welcome, players, to what I hope will be a swift, brutal, and very enjoyable romp through an exceedingly dangerous dungeon. Selecting you was a difficult task, but I believe you will form a great group, and I have high hopes of your winning through to the very end.
GM Expectations
First let me be clear about my expectations for this game. I want this to be primarily fast. Too many PbP die slow deaths as posting rates drop to three times a week, then once, then nothing at all. So please, make a real effort to post at least once a day, and move the game forward with your post. If you disappear for five days without notice, I'll actively begin recruiting a replacement. Of course, real life takes precedence to gaming, so if you need to take a break and let me know ahead of time, I'll DMPC you as long as the absence is reasonable.
Second, I want this game to be fun. I reward innovative and dramatic posts/ideas, so feel free to deviate from routine hack n' slash. Add color to your posts, take time to react IC to setbacks or successes. Let's keep this from being a dry and slightly dull exploration.
What You can Expect
The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb is an old school and difficult dungeon. What does that mean? It means you can expect dangerous traps, puzzles whose solution - or very nature - won't be apparent from the get go, and brutal combats. While not as random and lethal as the Tomb of Horrors, the MST will present you with numerous opportunities to get yourself killed. If/when you die, I will give you the chance to create a second PC to bring on board. If you choose to bow out, I'll recruit a replacement.
High Level Game
This is, obviously, a high level game. I'm going to go through each of your sheets once you've finalized the details, but I'm not going to keep track once gameplay starts of every power expenditure, potion quaffed, etc. There's a level of trust here that I think we can all agree makes the game more fluid and fun. Further, I don't have every high level power/variation/archetype ability memorized. Feel free to inform me of things I've overlooked, misunderstood, or should take into account. I'm not a hardcore rules lawyer, so I will make the occasional mistake.
Group Formation
Let's go ahead and start finalizing the PC's over the next few days. Feel free to examine each other's sheets and make suggestions, as well as suggesting teamwork feats and the like. Speak up! Be bold! Don't hold back when it comes to asking questions or giving advice.
In turn, I will craft a short backstory explaining how you all came together on this venture, and that will form part of my first gameplay post.
So welcome! Go ahead and introduce your PC's, note their strengths, list any questions/suggestions, and with a little luck we'll be ready to kick the gameplay off by January 1st. Feel free to dot and delete in the gameplay thread so that you'll be notified of new posts to the Discussion thread too.
Centuries ago, the cruel, sadistic mud sorcerers foresaw their cult’s demise and concocted a plan to outlive their adversaries. Retreating beneath the surface, the powerful members of the cult’s ruling council constructed hidden tombs filled with complex traps and immortal guardians. To these crypts they retreated, content to relax in temporal stasis until their enemies had vanished.
One of these ancient resting places has been discovered, intact and unexplored. Do you have what it takes to obtain the fabulous treasures that await you in the mud sorcerer’s tomb?
The Mud Sorcerer’s Tomb is a Pathfinder adventure for four 14th-level characters. This adventure originally appeared in Dungeon 37 and was revised for 3rd edition rules in Dungeon 138. I'm in turn revising it for the Pathfinder system.
What you can expect
This is a classic module. That means puzzles, lethal traps, and very challenging combats. You're going into a very dangerous complex, and foolishness, poor thinking, or bad luck will get you killed. If you die, however, and wish to continue, I'll let you sub in a new character straight away.
Character Creation Guidelines
Submission deadline is Wednesday, Dec 30th at Midnight EST
14th level
25 point buy
Maximized hp at 1st level, then half your HD +1
Core races and classes only
Archetypes allowed
No 3pp material
Two traits, no drawbacks
Due to the nature of the dungeon, no summoners allowed
Average gold for 14th level (185,000 gp)
No magic item can be worth be more than 92,500gp
No evil PC's
What I'm looking for
This is a classic adventure, so I'm looking for classic heroes. I'm not expecting long backgrounds, but I definitely want your submission to have 'character', so an interesting description, a sense of personality, and a reason to enter the Tomb are a must. I'm hoping to have a group vetted and ready to go by Monday, Jan 4th.
Expectations
I'm running this module with an strong desire to move fast and finish it within three or four months. As such, I'm going to expect people to post once a day. If you disappear for more than five days without posting, I will begin recruiting for a new PC to take your place. If you let me know, however, that you will be away, I'm happy to bot you for a short period of time.
Centuries ago, the cruel, sadistic mud sorcerers foresaw their cult’s demise and concocted a plan to outlive their adversaries. Retreating beneath the surface, the powerful members of the cult’s ruling council constructed hidden tombs filled with complex traps and immortal guardians. To these crypts they retreated, content to relax in temporal stasis until their enemies had vanished. One of these ancient resting places has been discovered, intact and unexplored. Do you have what it takes to obtain the fabulous treasures that await you in the mud sorcerer’s tomb?
Voted the best Dungeon Magazine adventure ever, The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb is a lethal, old-school style dungeon crawl filled with puzzles, arbitrary madness, and one of the highest body counts out there.
Being a classic adventure, I'd want to run it for classically built 14th level PC's, thus I'd be accepting submissions for all core races and classes. I'd recruit over the holidays, and hope to kick off come January.
Would people be interested? If so, give me a rough idea as to what you'd play.
How do you guys keep track of when new posts are made? At the moment I'm just endlessly and randomly refreshing my campaigns tab, but there's got to be a better way of being notified when someone posts to a thread.
Philip Tucker
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16
,
Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 9 aka electricjokecascade
I never got round to polishing/formatting it correctly, but with a couple of hours to go till the Final 4 reveal, I thought I might share what I'd come up with so as to help people pass the time.
The Plans of Mice and Incubi
Flip-Mat: Battlefield
==========
Ideas can be more virulent and destructive than even blightburn sickness. When the incubus Rhaesso discovered the intoxicatingly oroboric ideology of Galt’s revolution, he knew that he had found his cause: to unleash Galt’s philosophy on Golarion, and plunge every nation into war. After a decade of fruitlessly sewing chaos in Isarn, however, he decided to take a more direct hand in whetting Galt’s appetite for imperialism: he would prepare the River Kingdoms for invasion.
For three years he explored the patchwork kingdoms, during which time he recruited the services of a doppelganger named Imixx and saved a pair of mist drakes from a predatory black dragon. Finally ready, Rhaesso set out to play Gralton’s hatred of Liberthane’s Lord Parshall to his advantage. Using a cap of diguise to appear like an old man, he insinuated himself into Lord Parshall’s court and soon became a trusted advisor. This allowed him to manipulate Lord Parshall’s eldest son, Sir Hector, into being kidnapped and delivered by Gralton’s Order of Vengeance to the closest Galtian border outpost. A week later his machinations caused a beloved Galtian revolutionary poet to fall into the hands of a Liberthane patrol.
The tension between Galt and Liberthane became excruciating. Rhaesso brokered a hostage exchange with Captain Armien, the leader of the Galtian outpost, and all was proceeding as planned until the PC’s visited Fort Liberthane. That night in his great hall Lord Parshall hired them to escort Rhaesso and his youngest son, Sir Elias, to the Galtian border. The following dawn, however, he stopped them at his fort’s gate and beseeched them to handle the negotiations themselves, charging them with making sure that the hostages were exchanged and war averted. Their reputation and valor, he stated, would prove more convincing than Rhaesso’s honeyed words.
Rhaesso was livid. At his command Imixx had already replaced Sir Elias, who lay bound in Rhaesso’s lair, and the pair would have sabotaged the negotiations with ease, turning a regional dispute into a matter of national concern. Riding behind the PC’s to the Bridge of Hope and Ashes, Rhaesso decided to execute his plan regardless. There was too much at stake for him to back away now.
The Bridge of Hope and Ashes (CR 9)
==========
Read or paraphrase the following upon the arrival of the PCs to the Bridge of Hope and Ashes.
Dawn is breaking when you finally catch sight of the bridge where you are to exchange hostages with Captain Armien. A thick morning mist rises from the East Sellen River, such that its waters and the base of the bridge are hidden. Four men stand at the bridge’s apex, which rises like an island from the fog. One of them is in manacles, his arms held by two others. The fourth stands before them imperiously, hands linked behind his back. In the near distance beyond the bridge stand four more Galtian soldiers, while behind them rises a sharp bluff some thirty feet high.
One square on the flipmap represents 5 feet. North is the top of the map as presented.
The PC’s approach the river from the NW corner of the map. The fog covers the river and the first ten feet of the river bank, including the base of the bridge where it touches land. The fog has been augmented by the mist drake’s fogburst supernatural ability, and thus faintly radiates conjuration magic.
Captain Armien awaits the party on the center of the bridge along with two Galtian soldiers who hold a manacled Sir Hector between them. Four more Galtian soldiers stand fifteen feet from the SE base of the bridge. A single Galtian soldier lies on the edge of the SE bluff, peering through the tall grass at the activity below. The difficulty to spot him is DC 30. A light ballista manned by four Galtian soldiers is set in the bottom SE corner of the map. It has total concealment from those on the ground below.
Svasha and Shasho the mist drakes float under the bridge. They have concealment and +15 Stealth due to the fog. If they are spotted and attacked before negotiations begin, Imixx cries out, “We are betrayed!” and attempts to kill the poet before charging Captain Armien on the bridge and enacting his feigned death plan.
When the party reaches the base of the bridge, read the following.
Haughty beyond his fifteen years, Sir Elias dismounts from his horse and extends the reins for one of you to take. The elderly advisor Rhaesso turns to you coldly. “There has been a change of plans,” he says. “Secret orders from Lord Parshall. You are to stay at the foot of the bridge and not intervene unless summoned. Do not humiliate us by arguing publically with me.” With that, he and Sir Elias turn to mount the bridge.
Rhaesso casts suggestion (Will save DC 18) while speaking on the party’s public face to command him to remain behind. Rhaesso and Imixx ignore all questions and protests and approach Captain Armien.
Encounter Timeline
Upon reaching the captain, Rhaesso and Imixx do the following unless the PCs stop them:
• Round 1: Rhaesso insults the captain, using bluff +16 to appear to be speaking reasonably
• Round 2: Reacts to the captain’s outrage by yelling “We are betrayed!” and bullrushing the poet over the side of the bridge as Imixx attacks Armien
• Round 3: Summons the PC’s to help fight the Galtians
• Round 4: Imixx feigns receiving a mortal wound and falls into the water. Rhaesso dives after in an attempt to save him
• Round 5: Both are ferried away swiftly through the mist by Svasha and Shasho
Creatures:
Rhaesso, Demon Incubus CR 6
XP 2,400
hp 76 (Bestiary 3 p73)
Tactics Rhaesso will call out to the mist drakes and bullrush the poet into the river if the PC’s spoil his plan. He will then use his summon ability to attempt to bring two schir’s into the fight, and then target as many PC’s as possible with crushing despair (DC 19). He then uses suggestion (DC 18) on the party’s fighters to order them to retreat, and seeks to teleport away if reduced to under 20 hp.
Gear cap of disguise
Imixx, Doppelganger CR 3
XP 800
hp 26 (Bestiary 1 p45)
Tactics Imixx feigns being mortally wounded and falls into the river if the PC’s intervene. He then changes shape to resemble the poet, and surfaces and begins calling for help in an attempt to divide the party. Any rescuers are promptly attacked.
Svasha and Shasho, Mist Drake (2) CR 5
XP 1,600
hp 57 (Bestiary 3 p9)
Tactics The mist drakes use their fogburst (DC 16) ability on the party, and then use speed surges and flyby attacks to strafe the party until they can fogburst again.
Captain Armien, Fighter CR 5
XP 800
hp 26 (NPC Codex p45)
Tactics The good captain fully intended to enact treachery of his own before he was attacked. His attitude is unfriendly toward the PC’s at the encounter’s onset. Once melee breaks out, he signals the watcher on the bluff to bring the ballista forward and for his men to begin escorting Sir Hector of the map. The sight of the mist drakes however changes his attitude toward the PC’s to indifferent, and a diplomacy check of DC 18 can shift him to friendly as he realizes the wisdom in banding against a common foe.
Galtian Poet, Aristocrat 1
XP 200
hp 8 (NPC Codex p45)
Tactics The poet seeks to cross the bridge to join the Galtian forces if possible once fighting breaks out. If bullrushed into the water, he begins to drown, his thrashing equal to a standard action each round.
Galtian Soldiers (6), Fighter CR 1
XP 800
hp 8 (NPC Codex p45)
Tactics The soldiers follow Captain Armien’s orders, with two of them seeking to remove Sir Hector from the map each round unless ordered to not do so. Those manning the ballista fire at the PC’s until the mist drakes appear, upon which they concentrate their fire on them.
Ballista, Light: 3d8 (19–20/×2)
Development:
Relations between Galt and Liberthane depend on the fate of the two hostages and whether Rhaesso survives the encounter. Should the poet perish and Rhaesso escape, Galt is outraged and prepares to invade Liberthane. Lord Parshall enlists the PC’s aid in rescuing his remaining son and defusing the war. Should the hostages survive or better yet be exchanged, tensions are abated, and both nations focus their energies on capturing Rhaesso.
Philip Tucker
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16
,
Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 9 aka electricjokecascade
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Three crackling spears of obsidian skewer this cadaverous humanoid through the back, their tips emerging from the tattered remnants of its holy vestments.
Despoiler CR 7 XP 3,200
CE Medium undead
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13
Aura desecrating aura (20 ft.)
----- Defense ----- AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural)
hp 85 (10d8+40)
Fort +7, Ref +7, Will +10
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4; Immune undead traits
----- Offense ----- Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 claws +13 (1d6+6 plus 1d6 negative energy and grab)
Ranged black shard +11 touch (3d6+1 negative energy)
Special Attacks black shards, embrace of darkness, pounce
----- Statistics ----- Str 21, Dex 17, Con —, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk +7; CMB +13; CMD 25
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Mobility, Spring Attack
Skills Climb +16, Intimidate +16, Knowledge (religion) +12, Perception +13, Spellcraft +12, Stealth +14
Languages Common
SQ black shards, ebon altar, flagellate
----- Ecology ----- Environment any land
Organization solitary or pack (4–6)
Treasure standard
----- Special Abilities ----- Black Shards (Ex) A despoiler is impaled by three shards of negative energy. As a standard action that provokes an attack of opportunity, a despoiler may remove and throw a shard as a bolt of negative energy to a maximum range of 20 feet, dealing 3d6+1 points of damage.
Desecrating Aura (Su) A despoiler has a 20-foot radius emanation equivalent to a desecrate spell (the bonuses are included above). This aura can be negated by dispel evil, but a despoiler can reactivate it on its turn as a free action. A desecrating aura suppresses and is suppressed by consecrate or hallow; both effects are negated within any overlapping area of effect.
Ebon Altar (Su) As a full round action that provokes an attack of opportunity, a despoiler can tear two shards from its body and affix them to the ground, converting them into a small altar. This ability functions as the spell desecrate (caster level 10th), centered on the altar. It has hardness 10, 9 hit points, and break DC 24. The altar’s bonuses are doubled when it is within a despoiler’s desecrating aura.
Embrace of Darkness (Su) If a despoiler begins its turn with an opponent grappled, it can attempt a new combat maneuver check (as though attempting to pin the opponent). If it succeeds, it impales its opponent upon its shards, dealing 3d6+1 negative energy damage per remaining shard, destroying the shards in the process. The opponent can make a Will save for half damage (DC 18). The save DC is Charisma-based.
Flagellate (Ex) A despoiler may generate a shard as a swift action by flagellating itself and taking 1d6 damage. It may never possess more than three shards at once.
Despoilers are undead created from the remains of righteous clerics. Their previous affinity to positive energy provides the requisite balance so that they may house black shards, their bodies acting as reservoirs from which new shards may be drawn.
Despoilers excel in leading lesser undead into battle, planting ebon altars in strategic locations to bolster ranged attack troops before charging the enemy. Occasionally packs of despoilers are sent to desecrate sacred sites or assassinate powerful holy figures.
The knowledge of their creation is rumored to have been a gift from the devourer Sairianthrine to the Whispering Tyrant. They were first encountered mere months before the Tyrant was defeated in 3827, and disappeared when Gallowspire was sealed. Their recent resurgence in Virlych and beyond is seen as a dire omen of greater evils to come.
Philip Tucker
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16
,
Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 9 aka electricjokecascade
5 people marked this as a favorite.
Scattertracks Aura faint conjuration; CL 3rd
Slot -; Price 1080 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
This handsome walking stick culminates in a small, iron halfling foot.
When the Scattertracks is tapped against a foot, hoof, wheel, or other means of locomotion, it captures that specific set of prints. When the owner thinks on the direction he wishes to go and gives the command word, seven unseen servants immediately head out at 15 ft/round in all directions but the owner's intended route, laying down the imprinted tracks in a convincing manner as long as the surface can be impressed upon with up to 20 pounds of force. The servants continue in a straight line as best they can for one mile before dissipating.
The staff can only be used once per day, and the prints can only be captured from creatures or objects up to Large size.
Construction Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, invisible servant; Cost 540 gp
I'm running a rather crazy one-off adventure for a weekend-long game with some old friends, and would appreciate some input.
The PC's are all 5th level, but right off the bat they're going to run into a downed Solar who equips them with Major Artifacts so that they can pursue his quest. I want to them drop a handful of enemies on them that should normally be outside their power level but which the artifacts will let them defeat, even as the solar casts spells each round like mass stoneskin and mass fly to help them out.
How would you guys go about picking challenging enemies for artifact equipped PC's? I'm thinking of giving them the Thorncrown of Blasting, the Branch of Life, a staff of the magi, St. Cuthbert's Mace, the Shield of the Sun, and letting one of them grab the solar's +5 composite longbow of slaying.
Do you think three CR 8 Erinyes would be too tough, if the solar's buffing them and healing them each round?
I know it's perhaps the worst idea in the world, but if you had the right motivation, do you think the Mists would allow people to purposefully planeshift into Ravenloft? I know you can summon creatures from within the plane, but how about when you're starting from outside?
Almas, the Heart of Liberty, capital of Andoran, a thriving city bifurcated by the Andoshen River and home to over seventy six thousand souls. Verdant, yellow stoned, with a skyline rich with towers, spires, obelisks and steeples. Its great glittering bay plays host to almost a hundred ships from a dozen different nations, and everywhere hope lifts the hearts of its citizens. Hope that their grand experiment in democracy and equality is succeeding. Hope that their dream is becoming a reality.
Yet of late a pall has fallen over the populace. The war with Taldor has now stretched out to three improbable years. What had begun as a border skirmish has deepened due to posturing and Taldan effrontery, and now blossomed into a full scale engagement. It happened subtly, by slow degrees, but this year the people of Andoran can no longer deny it: they are at war, and grown accustomed to watching their regiments and armies being pulled from the north, south, and west of the country to be flung into the eastern conflict.
Still, the eastern border is far away, and word on the street is that Andoran has the upper hand. Confidence rides high that this winter offensive will see the war won, and the soldiers returned to their home cities for celebrations and parades.
Cawmirth Ravenheart:
Depending on how one views the Department of Linguistics, it is either a dreary hole in the subbasement of the Harrows Building, or it is a burgeoning font of knowledge, enlightenment, and potential. The walls are honeycombed with pigeonholes in which neatly ordered scrolls and manuscripts are cataloged according to a complex system known only to the tengu, and the smell of dust, papyrus, wood glue, candle wax and damp stone all mingle to form one unique and idiosyncratic smell: home.
It is here that the messenger finds Cawmirth, his royal cobalt blue livery indicating his association with the People's Council. A cadaverous youth with eyes that gleam as some disease eats him from within, he nevertheless maintains a cool demeanor and coughs politely to get Cawmirth's attention - a cough that quickly degenerates into a pained hacking.
Wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve, he steps forward, chagrin writ large on his face, and extends a tightly rolled scroll sealed with the Supreme Elect's own sigil. This delivered, he clicks his heels, nods sharply, and quickly departs.
Cracking the seal reveals the following missive, written in a skilled and elegant hand:
Prof. Ravenheart,
It has come to our attention that you wish to place your skills at the disposal of the People's Council as a chronicler of notable events. Having reviewed your references and your work, we are pleased to offer you an occasion to place your talents in our service. Please report to the People's Council at your earliest convenience, and meet me in the Hall of Reliquaries. There I await you.
Yours in the People's name,
Thanasia Eregina
Undersecretary to the Supreme Elect of Andoran
Sebi Moncrief:
The Moncrief villa in Almas is a beautiful affair, stately and elegant. If the wysteria has been allowed to creep high along the tall walls that ring the estate, if cracks have appeared around certain windows and wild cats allowed to ply their trade in the deeper tussocks at the foot of the garden, than this desuetude serves only to emphasize the melancholy beauty of the villa, and speak perhaps of more prosperous years now long gone.
Sebi is visting Almas in the company of her two aunts, Dolin and Yalda Moncrief. The past three days have been tiresome, replete with formal dinners, carriage rides around the Field of Concord, and visits to a number of churches, museums, and galleries. Sebi cannot help but feel chagrined that it has taken her two full days to catch on to her aunts' machinations and realize that they are attempting to match her with one of three young lords, and a confrontation over tea has just now seen both aunts leave in a huff, giving Sebi a moment of peace in which to enjoy the late afternoon sun, the pastries, and her own private thoughts.
Which are interrupted by the arrival of a Moncrief servant leading a messenger of the People's Council. Dressed in immaculate cobalt blue with gold trim, the messenger is a young man with broad shoulders and quick eyes, and he bows low all the while drinking Sebi in before handing her a tightly rolled scroll. The seal, she sees, is that of the Supreme Elect.
When the messenger departs, she cracks the scroll and reads the following:
Lady Moncrief,
A matter of pressing national need has come to our attention, and it is imperative that we act in all haste. We ask that you lend the nation of Andoran your talents as a skilled envoy and diplomat, and come to the Palace of the People's Council as soon as you may. I await you in the Hall of Reliquaries.
Yours in the People's name,
Thanasia Eregina
Undersecretary to the Supreme Elect of Andoran
Callista Jeggare:
Callista's office is located on the second floor of a modest building set on the third most prosperous street of the commercial quarter. To her left lies the cul-de-sac where the goldsmiths ply their trade, and most of the street to her right is known as The Way of Tin, though in truth as many silversmiths and iron workers are know to have shops there as any others.
Large windows face toward the west, allowing great shafts of honey colored sunlight to pour obliquely into her office. Motes of dust slowly spin, incandescing in the sunlight, making the rest of the open plan office appear dark by contrast. Still, the elevation allows her to catch the occasional wisp of an ocean breeze which helps stir the air, and for once the ringing of hammers from the street below have ceased. With all three of her employees out on business, Callista has a rare moment of peace, a time in which to consider the three trading propositions that have recently come across her desk.
The details, however, are tiresome, and when a knock rings out assertively at her office door, it proves a welcome respite. Opening the door reveals an official People's Council messenger, her blue uniform rich and of expensive cloth, the gold trim sharp and recently pressed. With a snap she extends a rolled scroll, aparently recognizing Callista on sight, and then clicks her heels and turns to jog quickly back down to the ground floor.
The scroll reads as follows:
Miss Jeggare,
Your skills in matters diplomatic have come to my ears, and several highly respected associates of mine within your church have also sung your praises. Our great nation of Andoran is in great need of servants who are willing to do whatever it takes to safeguard her freedom, and thus I ask that you come to the People's Council with all haste, and attend me within the Hall of Reliquaries. I await you there.
Yours in the People's name,
Thanasia Eregina
Undersecretary to the Supreme Elect of Andoran
Alysandra de l'Escalina:
The People's Council is housed within a former Chelaxian fortress, and despite Andoran's every attempt to scour the walls and floors free of all its former decadent ornamentation, subtle signs yet linger for those with an eye to see. Hints at its previous owners' identity can be detected in obscure corners, making of the very fortress a palimpsest that speaks volumes as to Andoran's abiding relationship with Cheliax.
Lavinia Corvallis has just come off patrol duty with her four guards, her third day of working with them, and already she has begun to develop a quiet appreciation for their professionalism. They're aware of their elite status, but like true professionals have not allowed this to inflate their egos. Rather, they are quiet, prone to gallow's humor, and keenly observant. Working on the first of her armor straps, she looks to each in turn as they also stretch and prepare to go off shift: Rahgnall Stafford, Edvard Rinholn, Nyle Burlingame, and Seberg Ward.
In their helms and half plate it's almost impossible to tell them apart. Rahgnall is a hand taller than the others, while Seberg might be broader of shoulder. All carry themselves with a confidence and ease that speak of years of martial training. While their armor is clearly court issued, their longswords are a different matter; each is clearly a very fine blade, functional, and without unnecessary adornment.
They speak quietly amongst themselves, at one point Edvard chuckles, but goes silent as a People's Council messenger appears at the guard room door. Without hesitating the messenger steps up to Lavinia, and extends a scroll tube. Then, with a click of her heels, the messenger turns and strides away.
It speaks volumes to her guard's discretion and tact that they don't stare as she cracks the scroll that's marked with the sigil of the People's Council.
Captain Corvallis,
The summons have been issued, and I expect the presence of the delegation shortly within the Hall of the Reliquaries. Please be so kind as to gather your men and attend me there at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Thanasia
While the four men don't watch her read the scroll, they're perceptive enough to read her body language, and pause in the process of disarming.
"We back on shift, Captain?" It's Rahgnall who asks, his voice polite, perhaps even curious, and without any hint of frustration.
Congratulations to all who made the cut. I’m going to be reviewing each of your character sheets in depth today by recreating them in Hero Lab, and will PM you by Monday if I find any issues. You were all chosen due in large part to your facility with language and innovative character concepts; I look forward to reading your posts and seeing how your PC’s will react to the challenges ahead.
First and foremost, I’m very excited by the potential of the game we’re about to play. For the past two years I’ve participated in a Google Chat/Roll20 Carrion Crown game, and have grown frustrated by the railroading that an AP depends on in order to drive the PC’s through each ordained scenario. In response to this, I’ve purposefully created a sandbox where I know how everything begins, but have no idea how events will play out. As such, please know that my sole expectation is that you remain true to your character’s goals and values. I have no expectations in terms of outcome, and thus you need not worry about whether your actions and decisions are in accordance with my desires.
Second, this is as stated a game of high and low diplomacy. Pathfinder’s social mechanics are a bit heavy handed, and as such I want to clarify how I intend to handle diplomacy, bluff, and intimidation checks. While I am not changing the actual rules, I want to finesse our understanding of what successful rolls accomplish. I’ll spoiler this rather lengthy discussion below.
Social Skills:
In general, rolls will not solve role playing challenges. Instead, they will buttress or detract from your IC arguments. Further, I will add or detract bonuses to rolls based on the quality of IC arguments and the actions you take. A perfunctory and disdainful demand might result in a -5, while stirring oratory might award you a +5 or more.
Diplomacy - Influence Attitude: This works as stated, but I want to be clear that simply making an NPC Friendly or even Helpful will not cause them to automatically change their positions on important matters. A Friendly NPC will become more receptive to your arguments, but usually will still need their concerns to be addressed. As such, improving an NPC’s attitude will make it easier to persuade them, but does not replace the actual need for persuasion. This also applies to Charm Person.
Diplomacy - Make Request: I want to highlight that requests that violate an NPC’s nature, go against its values or puts it in serious peril will fail automatically as per the rules. This means that you cannot use Make Request as a bludgeoning device with which to coerce cooperation. Further, know that the NPC’s you will be meeting might have covert agendas that do not align with their public stances. As such, sometimes what might seem like a reasonable Make Request attempt will fail for factors that you do not yet understand. This is not my being capricious, but rather your running afoul of goals you are not yet aware of.
Bluff/Diplomacy - Suggest Course of Action: This follows the same guidelines set forth in Make Request above, but given the more oblique approach and greater difficulty, I’ll generally be more lenient in having NPC’s consider options and courses of actions that they might have dismissed out of hand otherwise. This will still, of course, depend on the IC rp.
Intimidate - Influence Opponent’s Attitude: Again, dependent on well-written rp to function as desired. Further, I may award NPC’s ad hoc bonuses if they are of sufficient social or military station. It’s harder to intimidate a general before his troops than it is to cow a shopkeeper alone in his store.
This game is set in the world of Golarion, and hues closely to all published material. It is, however, a homebrew game, and as such I will be taking certain liberties with the canon in order to enhance the tale. This will range from populating previously blank areas of published maps to putting my own spin on the efficacy and attitudes of governments and organizations. I plan nothing egregious, but be prepared for subtle nuancing of your current understanding of how politics and events are handled in the Andoran/Cheliax region.
A word of caution: Pathfinder modules and AP’s are carefully designed so that each encounter is delicately scaled to the party’s power level, resulting in the slightly surreal ooc assumption that the group, if well rested, can defeat any group of enemies. Not so in this game. You will be operating on a national level, and as such may encounter both allies and enemies that are well beyond your ability to grind down in toe-to-toe combat. This doesn’t mean that I’ll be throwing balors against you, but rather that circumspection and caution will often be of great value.
Finally, I will be adding locations and NPC’s to the Campaign Info tab so as to provide you with a handy quick-reference guide. As the game progresses you will be meeting many people, and this should help you keep straight who is who. When appropriate, I’ll also link to portraits or artwork that illustrate their appearance.
A few technical details:
Please populate your Alias status bar in a manner similar to this PC.
Should combat break out, I will generally seek to maintain momentum by GMPCing your PC if you don’t post after 24 hours. I don’t want high level combat to slow the game to a crawl.
Initiative: I will roll everybody’s initiative and post their order at the beginning of combat.
If you plan to take a leave of absence, please let me know beforehand. Simply disappearing for an extended period of time will result in your being replaced.
As I said, I’m very excited about this game, and most especially for being able to run it for such quality players as yourselves. Please post any questions or comments that you may have in this thread, and I’ll kick things off tomorrow in the Gameplay thread with the first post. Welcome!
Long has the House of Thrune coveted the lands of Andoran, seeking to bring the wayward nation back into the folds of the Chelaxian Empire. As portents and events align themselves most favorably, a full-scale invasion at long last seems imminent.
With the bulk of the Andoran army engaged on the Taldan front, it is to you that the Supreme Elect of Andoran has turned, seeking your expertise in diplomacy and leadership in the hopes that you can buy him enough time to mobilize an army with which to stem the tide of devils and Hell Knights. The lands of western Andoran are fractious, neglected, and in need of unification if the nation is to have any hopes of surviving the coming storm.
Will you heed the Supreme Elect's call?
Welcome! This is to be an rp-intense game based on the world of Golarion but encompassing a homebrew turn of events that stand to change the political structures of the Inner Sea to their core. Here are some notes as to what kind of game this will be:
I am looking to run this for a group of four PC's.
The pace of this game is meant to be neither breakneck nor lethargic. I'd like players to commit to a post a day. Prolonged absences or breaks should be announced ahead of time. If people go dark for an extended period of time with no heads up, they'll be canned and replaced.
As mentioned, I'm shooting for an rp focused game where the PC's will be tasked with challenges that most often cannot be resolved by the blade. This is a game of high (and probably low) politics, where combat will occasionally break out, but the focus will be on diplomacy, persuasion, and coercion rather than brutal blows.
Given that, I am looking for players who enjoy language, who enjoy crafting well written posts, and who are looking for an in-depth rp experience where motivations, subtleties, and cunning stratagems are the focus. Perfunctory descriptions and dialogue are likely to get passed over. The greatest strength of the PbP format is a greater insight into what the players are feeling and thinking. Take advantage!
This will have the scope of a 32 page Paizo module. There may be room for leveling toward the end, but the focus will not be on power progression. I will keep track of xp behind the DM's screen, and will notify you when it's time to level up.
The submission deadline is midnight EST on May 18
Before we get directly into character creation, I feel it only fair to state that I will show a certain amount of preference to certain persons I have gamed with in the past. Fair or not, their caliber is already proven, and I wish to be as transparent about that upfront as possible.
I will also be making limited use of Roll20. It will mostly just be a place to host maps.
Now let's get into character creation guidelines:
Level: Characters will be starting at 7th Level.
Attributes: Characters will be created from a 20-Point Buy.
Hit Point Generation: Max at 1st level, then Average+1.
Classes: Pretty much anything officially released by Paizo is fine. Since this game is Skills heavy (think diplomacy, intimidation, bluff, knowledges), classes that lend themselves toward those activities will tend to be favored. I will not be accepting any 3PP builds of any sort.
Races: Again, pretty much anything officially released by Paizo is fine. However, please note that selecting something esoteric is going to place an onus on you to explain why you are being chosen by the Supreme Elect for this mission.
Alignment: Any, but you should keep in mind this game revolves around unifying fractious cities and leaders.
Starting Wealth: 23,500, of which no more than half can be spent on any one item.
Traits: Two traits of your choice. Each player may take a single Drawback to gain a third trait. Traits should inform your backstory and feed into your character's overall narrative.
Submissions: Create a profile with relevant info contained within. I'm looking for profiles that are easy to read. If your profile looks like someone vomited a random block of numbers, words, and letters into a pile, I'm not going to bother reading it. Here is a decent example of what I'm looking for. Your profile does not have to be identical to this layout, but it should be similar.
All submitted characters will require the following: Character Description, Personality, and Background. Put some effort into this. As mentioned before, I'm not looking for perfunctory descriptions. A couple of bland sentences is not going to inspire me to consider an application.
In regards to Background, everyone should be considering why their character would be chosen by the Supreme Elect for this diplomatic mission. Did they perform a similar service in the recent past? Are they connected to a distinguished family? Have they served bravely in the ongoing war with Taldor?
As a final piece of advice, I'm looking for exceptional applications here. One of the slots is more than likely already spoken for, so competition will be tight. I'm not interested in the usual barrage of I built this character for another game, but he/she got rejected, so I'm going to alter their point-buy and submit them for the 7th time. If you're particularly wed to a character like that, at least go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to make them more interesting. I don't mean to be a grumpus about this, but I see it happen in so many recruitment threads, and they seldom get accepted.
So, a good friend of mine is on the cast of this up and coming web series where the battle sequences are apparently going to be turned into stop-motion animated scenes.
Pretty cool!
They've already shot the first season, and are now in post-production. They're raising a little extra cash to fine tune things, and you can see their Indie-gogo campaign here.
From their page:
wrote:
WHAT IS DUNGEONS & DICKERY?
Dungeons & Dickery is a live action role playing web series with stop motion animated battles. Each episode is about 30 minutes where we play the roleplaying game Pathfinder. The four players role play their characters through a world that is out to kill them, controlled and conceived by the dungeon master. Whenever our heroes have a combat encounter we will see their characters fight in their stop motion form. For 18 episodes the heroes will fight to survive as they try to solve a dangerous mystery. When we release this series it will all be free on YouTube!
So, take a look? Be pretty cool if the Pathfinder community could get behind this.
Almas, the Heart of Liberty, capital of Andoran, a thriving city bifurcated by the Andoshen River and home to over 76,000 souls. Verdant, yellow stoned, with a skyline rich with towers, spires, obelisks and steeples. Its great glittering bay plays host almost a hundred ships from a dozen different nations, and everywhere hope lifts the heart of its citizens. Hope that their grand experiment in democracy and equality is succeeding. Hope that their dream is becoming a reality.
It's late afternoon when you receive the summons. A messenger clad in the royal cobalt blue comes to your abode, and delivers in person an elegant scroll tube in which is housed this simple message:
Dear sir,
A matter of pressing national need has come to our attention, and it is imperative that we act in all haste. Please report to the People's Council as soon as you may, and meet me in the Hall of Reliquaries. There I await you.
Yours in the People's name,
Thanasia Eregina
Undersecretary to the Supreme Elect of Andoran
It takes but ten minutes to traverse your quarter, take the Avenue of Freedom to the Field of Concord, and there walk up the steps to the palace. Formerly a Chelaxian fortress, the palace is now famous for housing the Council that determines the fate of all of Andoran, a vast building of subtle architecture and imposing mien.
The message from the Undersecretary opens doors. You are ushered through the grand entrance, then through a side door and into a long series of halls that lead ever deeper into the grandness of the palace. No matter that all Chelaxian ornamentation was stripped from its walls, that the alcoves now stand empty, and the mosaics white washed over; the palace is yet an forbidding and massive building, where your footfalls echo and a mortal can not but feel small and insignificant beneath the vast and vaulted ceilings.
The Hall of Reliquaries is empty. Blue light streams in through the large windows that adorn the long wall to the left, leading down to the altar at the far end where talismans, relics, and symbols of Andoran's fallen heroes are venerated. The floor of is of a marble so polished it appears slick as if covered by a thin layer of water, while hundreds of candles burn along the wall to the right, contrasting with the pale light of evening.
A closer look reveals that no, the Hall is not in fact empty; a single, slender figure kneels before the distant altar, staring contemplatively at painted figures that adorn the reredos: humble peasants, lean merchants, strong warriors. These are the icons of worship in Andoran: the people themselves.
My PC's are heading through light rain toward two guards and two dogs who are chilling by a campfire. I ran with the following in trying to determine who notices who first.
I arbitrarily figured that at 60 feet everybody could make perception checks.
For the PC's, I went with a base DC of 5 (spotting a fire up ahead), +6 to the DC for the 60 feet, +2 for the rain for a total DC of 13.
For the guards, I went with a base DC of 10 (hearing someone walking), +6 for the distance, +2 for the rain for a total DC of 18
The dogs are asleep, adding 10 to their DC, for a total of 28.
Victory in the Ruby Phoenix Tournament earned the Pathfinder Society a pick of the legendary treasures of the Tian sorceress Hao Jin, and the Decemvirate knew just what item to select: a frayed and dirty tapestry hidden deep in Hao Jin’s vault. This unassuming tapestry acts as a doorway to another dimension in which Hao Jin stored her most massive items, including entire buildings, battlefields, and the ruins of ancient civilizations. The Pathfinder Society is now methodically exploring and cataloging the diverse locales tucked within this extra-dimensional space.
Deep beneath Absalom’s Grand Lodge, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Spells, Aram Zey, gestures at the tapestry hung on the wall, surrounded by ladders and scaffolds. Scholars and diviners scurry around the tapestry, analyzing its abstract patterns and comparing insights.
Zey snaps his finger to quiet the room and speaks rapidly. “The aasimar nation of Tianjing contains a handful of temples to Korada, Empyreal Lord of forgiveness and foresight. The Pathfinder Society is interested in exploring these holy sites, but the aasimar disciples in Tianjing are reluctant to grant the Pathfinder Society full access to their faith’s secrets. Fortunately, the custodian council of Tianjing gifted one such temple to Hao Jin centuries ago. This temple — the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment — now sits vacant within the museum demi-plane of the Hao Jin Tapestry. We need well-trained explorers to survey the isolated and abandoned site.
“We will transport you to the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment within the Hao Jin Tapestry and provide you with a small cache of supplies. We need a complete report on the temple with a focus on four key locations.
"First, locate the temple’s meditation room, find evidence of any meditative techniques described there, and record any effects of performing those techniques. Second, prepare a comprehensive catalog of all works in the temple library. Third, find the temple gardens and draft a detailed plan of the garden’s layout. Finally, enter the temple’s crypt and take rubbings of the carvings on each sarcophagus.
“You will enter the tapestry within the hour. Any questions?”
I'm making a back-up 4th level PC to loosely match the picture of Balgron the Fat from ShadowFell. Hence he's to be a Gobbo, and wield a crossbow. Here's what I'm thinking:
Level 1 Inq, Level 1 Fighter, Level 2 Rogue
The level in Inquisitor nets me the Repeating Heavy Crossbow, the level in Fighter nets me an extra feat, and then I plan to just run with the Rogue levels going forward to get ever larger sneak attacks.
Starting Feat would be Improved Init, Fighter Feat would be Point Blank Shot, 3rd level Feat would be Precise Shot, and Rogue Talent would be a Rapid Shot.
Gobbo's get +4 to dex, which means I can hit Dex 20 without much difficulty, and end up with an Init of 10 (+2 init for CC starting talent-thing).
End up with +6/+6 dealing 1d10/1d10 per round, with an extra 1d6 damage for sneak attacks.
So I'm looking to trick out my 6th level Gray Elf diviner. We're playing in Eberron, system is 3.5 (obviously), and we're being asked to stick to the core books or Eberron source books for material only.
Here's a quick summary of the PC thus far:
Stats: These are as much for IC reasons as tricking out, as I'm going for a Raistlin style mage.
Str:5
Dex:12
Con:8
Int:24 (+2 gray elf, +1 age, +1 stat bump, +2 circlet of Int)
Wis:18
Cha:10
As such, when in combat I'm thinking of always having him flying and raining death from above.
So my question: I have 13,000 gold to spend on items (max of 6,500 on any one item). What spells would you deem essential, and what items would you buy to give my guy? What advice would you have in general?
I'm looking to start frequenting some top quality gaming blogs, but don't know where to start. Do you blog? Do you visit any quality blogs that you just love? If so, help me out and tell me where to go!
I in turn have just started a gaming blog of my own, and it's at 10 by 10 Room . Come by and say hi!
Question about the iron ball trap. It states that when anybody 'crosses the 15-foot span at the center of the beam' that iron balls make a +6 ranged attack on all targets upon the balance beam.
Does that mean that it shoots out one set of iron balls against everybody and then stops, or does it keep shooting iron balls each round until nobody is standing past the 15 foot mark?
And with the grick, since it's able to swim up from under the iron balls, do you guys think it fair to allow it to swim down and away from combat, only to reappear elsewhere? Would burrowing down and out of sight cause it to suffer an attack of opportunity, or do you think it fair to rule it a five foot step straight down, and thus not provoking?
[Side note: the map indicates that the iron balls are about ten feet deep. Iron weighs about 450 lbs/cubic foot (say 375 lbs due to being tightly packed spheres with gaps), so how does a Str 14 grick move about under all that? Wouldn't it be crushed? That's about 3,500 lbs of weight on it if it starts the encounter at ground level!]
Well, after years of owning the Dungeon magazines and yearning to run this campaign, I've finally gathered my old gaming group and we're off. We've played three sessions thus far (only 4 hours each, so slow going), and are about half way through the Whispering Cairn.
The first session actually ended in a TPK. It was inadvertently hilarious. Having figured out the sarcophagus mechanism, the PC's spun it around once, letting it rest on the collapsing elevator for two rounds before getting spooked by the grinding sound and moving it on. The half orc barbarian then descended into the Architect's Lair, and being a trickster he filled a bladder with goat blood and burst it in the elevator, then sent it back up. The other PC's at first reacted with dismay, and then the druid did a Heal check and realized it was old blood. They figured out the half orc's joke, and in retribution the Mystic spun the sarcophagus again, trapping him down there.
And triggering the collapsing elevator's third round.
Cue the acid beetle swarm, the mad slasher, and my howls of laughter. The druid and his wolf went down before they realized how much danger they were in, while the mage and mystic fought for a few rounds more before also being dropped.
The half orc finally rolled a basic search check to find the elevator button, ascended and was totally shocked to find everybody butchered. He raged, killed the mad slasher, and then managed to revive the mystic. Together they returned the other two bodies to town, but the players decided to create a completely new group since they were totally demoralized by their death and everybody blamed the half orc!
So they've returned to the Whispering Cairn. They're now playing a Pelorian paladin and cleric who came to Diamond Lake as part of a mission, along with a rogue and mage who have been enjoying the decadent lifestyle of gamblers and louches in the Emporium. They were nearly dropped by the brown mold when the rogue foolishly plunged his torch into it AFTER the paladin had made the same mistake, but avoided touching the earth elemental, much to my dismay.
The Laborer's Lair proved no challenge for them; Uluvant botched his attack on the cleric, the only one to swim into his room, and was then turned, allowing the paladin to dispatch him with ease.
The group now has all the torches, and in the next session will light them all and encounter Alastor Land. I hope to have them make it all the way through Kullen and right to Bilge, but who knows?
One thing is for sure, I wish I'd read these boards before running the game. As such, I have a weak motivation for their exploring the Whispering Cairn - the Pelorian cleric who has brought the mission to town needs funds to build a chapel, and as such cleaning out the Whispering Cairn following the massacre of the previous party provided both financial and moral motivation for the group to go in. Thus far they've had very little interaction with the citizens of Diamond Lake, and I hope that their return to town to find Alastor's grave and then Kullen will provide me with a chance to introduce them to Smenk's perfidy and perhaps sow seeds for further devilry.
Either way! I will keep things updated here, or you can keep track of my campaign by visiting http://www.ageofworms.com, the site I've created to keep track of my game. I'm going to be writing up the last session tomorrow or the day after, in case you're curious about the lag :)
OK, so I know this question is naive. But I thought this was the place to ask it.
How does one go about getting into the gaming industry? I bet the market is glutted with wannabe rpg writers, but does anybody know how the writers at Wizards, Paizo, White Wolf or whatever got where they are today?
As the title says, I'm looking to put together a group of players to start running a Pathfinder/D&D 3.5 game here in Miami. I've got a friend in West Palm who's willing to drive down on occasion, but other than that I'm looking to start fresh.
I've got 10+ years of experience playing, and am eager to DM an Adventure Path such as Age of Worms.
I'd be excited to meet players who prefer role playing to combat. Not so much hack n' slash as smart thinking, tactics, and plenty of interaction with the world beyond combat (though who doesn't love the occasional drag out fight?).
If you're interested, drop me a line at pwtucker@gmail.com and let me know what sort of schedule might work for you, where in Miami (or West Palm) you're located, and what style of game you like to play in.
Looking forward to getting a kick ass group together!
Hey guys, recently relocated from NYC, looking to meet up with some fun gamers who'd be interested in starting a new group. If anybody's interested, drop me a line at pwtucker at gmail dot com!
I was examining old Veldimar Krund in preparation for this weekend's session, when I noticed some puzzling numbers in his stat block: Diplomacy +8, Charisma 15, Wisdom 17. (Wisdom 17!!) Huh, I thought, and sat back to think.
See, I'd simply planned to have nasty-boots Veldimar lead the main zombie attack on the PC's, appearing out of the darkness, casting a few spells and then digging in to deliver some tasty Huecuva Blight. Pretty straight forward. But... Wisdom 17? Diplomacy +8? Is it not possible to do more with Krund, as a result?
What do you guys think? How could a cunning DM combine these strange stats to generate a more interesting and memorable encounter?
At what point did your parties move up to level 2? Do you think Parrot Island would be too tough for a rather brash group of lvl 1's composed of a ranger, monk, sorcerer, rogue, and cleric?
I'm relocating to New York at the end of this month, and would love to either help start a group or jump into an ongoing campaign. I've been playing off and on for more than a decade, and have DM'd and adventured in Planescape, Ravenloft, Dark Sun and a handful of home brewed campaign worlds. I'm in my late 20's, laid back, and increasingly enjoy intrigue and inter-PC rp over old school hack n' slash (but a great fight can still get my heart beat up!)
If anybody has an empty seat available at their table, or if you're a player that's currently flying solo and would like to help set up a game, drop me a line at pwtucker (at) gmail (dot) com!
