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My current character in our Rise of the Runelords campaign is a halfling jester, so naturally I think this item is totally where it's at! I had no idea that thing I was waving about was called a marotte, that's probably why it was frowning at me so often :( Clearly I am going to have start charging more for people to see my puppet shows so I can afford it, or perhaps sell my very expensive sheep. Good luck in the next round!!
An account of the battle of Thistletop by Zerrin Stormtide. Where did Argus and Tino get to we wondered as we closed in on the goblin forces gathering amidst the palisades above. Our dwarven inquisitor advanced with his firearm poised to blast as many of the cowering creatures as possible. Their warchief cast vehement threats in our direction, rallying his followers from atop his reptilian mount, the force of his words greatly troubling me. To drown out his warcry I caused a sphere of flame to erupt around him, scorching him mercilessly. Lehhi roared judgment at the goblin crowd as the survivors of his initial blast leapt bodily upon him, dragging him down by weight of numbers. I could hear Tessara cast her baleful hexes against the warchief as he struggled to escape the wrath of my flames, and Ricgold our party 'accountant' seemed beset by a wave of ill fortune in his attempts to keep the goblin forces at bay. Wex hurled his star-knife into the fray with Desna's blessing upon it as Shalelu fired arrow after arrow at the snarling mob. Manoeuvring out of the fire and around the battlefield their leader appeared at the top of the palisade above me upon his steed, attempting to flank us from above. I felt a storm of vengeance stir within me as though lightning coursed in my veins, lancing a deadly strike with my longspear that stole the life from the warchief. As their leader fell lifeless to the ground the tide of battle turned, the party cutting down goblin after goblin with grim determination. Tessara strangled goblins with her animated hair and Ric's fortunes lifted as his short blade began to savour goblin blood. The goblin I suspected was a nature shaman wisely sought to flee, but such short legs could not escape the fleet-footed priest of Desna and was brought down in the end. As thoughts of setting Thistletop ablaze began to form in our minds we turned to explore the remaining depths of the fortress in search of any last remaining secrets, as well as our errant companions...
Early Pathfinder Experiences Initially I tried running Pathfinder as a natural progression from custom D&D 3.8 house rules firstly in the Outsea setting and then briefly in the city of Absalom. When I run games I really enjoy designing my own campaigns and rarely use premade material, so when I hadn't been feeling inspired for some time after being the one who was usually the GM one of the other guys in our group offered to run one of the Pathfinder Adventure Paths. As far as I'm concerned this is something I'd never have wanted to do myself, no matter how good the material, simply because the creative outlet of campaign design is far more enjoyable to me personally given the amount of time one ends up investing in these games. Obviously though we were never going to get a true feeling for Pathfinder without actually playing an Adventure Path, as this seems to be the defining characteristic of the game. Indeed conformity into this common culture appears to be a driving force in general and why the setting of Outsea appeals to me so much as a place that challenges norms and really tries to find something unique, a key trait of China Mieville's. Anyway, so the idea of being a player for a while nevertheless appealed, and as an amusing echo of the Outsea Campaign I had been infrequently running I created an aquatic elf character for Rise of the Runelords. RISE OF THE RUNELORDS
Characters in our Campaign; Zerrin Stormtide - Aquatic Elf Druid Lady Tessara - Elf Witch Argus Peabody - Human Magus Ricgold Dryadson - Human Rogue Wex - Human cleric of Desna Lehhi Greyanvil - Dwarven Inquisitor Tino Scarletti - Human Fighter CAMPAIGN BEGINNINGS
KEY FEATURES
AT PRESENT
Hi, thanks for your contribution to my journal! China seems to like breaking molds and categorisation, so it makes sense that he would present something that doesn't necessarily seem to fit in at first. Actually I'd be very keen to find out if China has run any roleplaying games in Outsea and what else if anything he has designed for the setting. I think on this topic China may be as elusive as Danglosa himself! Overall what has been presented feels mostly like a seed for others to 'water' (aquatic puns and references are also good in this setting) however without the support information (like a map for example) it makes using the setting in a way that feels shared with the greater Pathfinder community very difficult... unless people develop it in a campaign journal eh? ;) In order to allow the possibility of a shared vision of Outsea to develop I will attempt to remain somewhat vague in certain areas, while continuing to draw upon the many interesting ideas that China has given us as starting points. I definitely feel like Outsea presents a great opportunity to stretch myself to create games that are structured differently. In this way I am treating it as an experimental setting, and seeing if I can generate something genuinely outside of my regular style that still works well. For example, so far I have not been awarding experience points but have been giving the characters honour instead, with which they may purchase extra feats (which include custom feats). This creates a different feel for player development and the power level of the setting is very steady e.g. monsters don't need to keep getting tougher to match increasing character levels. Our first group of characters started at level 5, however this makes them very powerful in the community and are considered 'honoured citizens'. They are so powerful that they might have a position of leadership, however as PC characters they act with more independence and less direct responsibility as they contribute to the well-being of the community. I am also allowing players the chance to change characters at the start of each module if they wish, as a greater story arc will not necessarily be centered around a specific character. So far my players have been happy to continue developing their initial character designs, which I also like as it allows them to create more depth and personalization. Below are the basic details I am using for the Cindarian, Karkanak & Selkie races; CINDARIANS A race of lion-fish people related to merfolk but smaller in stature. They are covered in beautiful patterns and deadly envenomed spines. Cinbdarians are generally very friendly but are fierce indeed if they or those they care for are threatened. They also have a close bond with coral reef environments. Typical alignment is neutral good. +2 Constitution, +2 Charisma, -2 Strength Small size: +1 AC, +1 size bonus to attack rolls, -1 CMB & CMD & +4 stealth bonus. Base swim speed 30' Special Abilities CORAL LINK
VENOMOUS SPINES
VENOM RESISTANCE
Weaknesses FRESHWATER SENSITIVITY (see above) SALTWATER DEPENDENCY (see above) KARKANAKS Karkanaks are medium-sized crab-folk that walk upright on two legs and have four arms. Their upper arms end in large pincer claws, while their lower arms end in small dextrous pincers for fine manipulation. Regarding the primary pincers, males have one small and one large whereas females have two of matching medium size. The crab-folk are gifted artisans, crafting various wares such as nets, tools, weapons and armour. They often live in caves and burrows. Typical alignment is neutral. +2 Constitution, +2 Strength, -2 Dexterity Base swim speed 20 feet Special Abilities INNATE CRAFT
NATURAL ARMOUR
NATURAL WEAPONS
Weaknesses FRESHWATER SENSITIVITY (see above) SALTWATER DEPENDENCY (see above) SELKIE A changeling race who shape-shift between a normal seal form and that of an aquatic elf. Selkie are especially attractive when taking on an elven appearance. As they are both naturally free spirited and move between land and water readily they frequently cause heartbreak for those human and elven folk who cannot help but fall in love with them. Selkie are despairingly impulsive and live in the moment with a child-like innocence. Typical alignment is chaotic good. +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom Base swim speed 60 feet in seal form, 30 feet as an aquatic elf. Special Abilities CHANGELING
CALL OF HOME
Due to their Fey origins Selkie may exist comfortably in either fresh or salt water environments.
Hi, thanks for your great questions! Regarding water tolerances, what we're talking about here are the differences between the D&D 3.5 Monster Manual, the Pathfinder Bestiaries, the Rivers Run Red module & the Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting... The Amphibious SQ was ported from D&D 3.5 but not Freshwater Sensitivity or Water Dependency. Alluria Publishing made use of all these special qualities in their Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting, however in Pathfinder the Rivers Run Red module contains a well designed variation of Water Dependency called Primitive Amphibian. Given Outsea's unusual ecology I think they are all very valuable traits to include and consider. SQ FRESHWATER SENSITIVITY (weakness)
The Ceratiodi have been given a weakness called 'Primitive Amphibian'. I have renamed it for general use as follows; SQ SALTWATER DEPENDENCY (weakness)
To remain consistent with the basic premise of Outsea's creation I'd suggest that Sahuagin have Freshwater Sensitivity and also Saltwater Dependency, while Merfolk simply have Saltwater Dependency. Cecaelia, Cindarians, Karkanak & Saltwater Merrow might have both Freshwater Sensitivity and Saltwater Dependency like Sahuagin. Merrow come in both fresh-water and salt-water varieties, so those that are native to the sea would have Freshwater Sensitivity, whereas those who are native to fresh water might have Saltwater Sensitivity. Perhaps Locathah could be similar to Merrow in this regard, although they haven't been officially diversified and didn't have any such weaknesses in D&D 3.5 Races that exist comfortably in either type of water are Cetaceals, Chuul, Nereid, Nixies, Selkies, Skum, Tritons, Undines, Water Naga & Zoverai. In regards to the size of the Outsea region I am deliberately non-specific. It is large enough to contain a population of 6,700 and has enough area to feature a variety of outlying villages, reefs & small kelp forests. In order to accommodate a role-playing campaign I've felt like I'd rather make it feel as expansive as possible, enough to include a city region & also some countryside.
The Guide to the River Kingdoms indicates that the population of Outsea is some 6,700 individuals, of which 36% are Sahuagin , 34% are Merfolk , 20% are Humans, 5% are Elves and the remaining 5% covers everyone else. The ruling body of the city, known as the Council of Inhuman Generals, consists of leaders who are Ceratiodi, Merfolk, Naga, Sahuagin, Sea Hags, Skum & Tritons. Players are first encouraged to consider playing one of these mentioned races and will require extra work & flexibility to accommodate or adapt. The advantage here is that your players are going to be doing something hopefully quite different to what they have tried before, even if they have been role-playing for many years. Something I find a little inconsistent is that one would expect the ratio of unusual races to be much higher for a setting conceived by China Mieville. I have included below a more extensive list of races that might be offered or included in Outsea as either PCs or NPCs; Aquatic Elves - Inner Sea World Guide p.25
If this isn't enough choice, try allowing your players the opportunity to create their own unique race with a suitable back-story for why they are present in Outsea. Of course there is no point re-inventing the wheel so if one of the above races seems appealing then it might be easier to use whatever information that race already has as a springboard. With races such as Ceratiodi, Chuul, Merrow & Nereid and perhaps others care must be taken to avoid imbalance with other characters. Adapting such races to workable PC ones may be quite challenging, but also has the potential to be very rewarding, especially if done well. Other types of aquatic creatures might be encountered as monsters or may be specifically excluded. Races I am specifically excluding as available PC races are; Aboleth - Bestiary p.8
The ancient rivalry between the Ceratiodi and the Aboleth is the reason that no Aboleth or Gillmen are to be found in Outsea. Unlike the Gillmen however the Skum here are no longer slaves to the Aboleth. Other races such as those found in the Cerulean Seas Campaign Guide have not been included as I felt they did not necessarily blend in as well with the overall feel of Outsea. Naturally, personal tastes vary in regards to such matters. I am using my campaign as an opportunity to collaboratively develop these races with my players for an organic and more personalized feel. This is something I hope will make the game taste more like a China Mieville story. I highly encourage anyone else using Outsea to try this approach, hopefully your players enjoy it! CHARACTERS THAT HAVE SO FAR APPEARED IN MY CAMPAIGN INCLUDE; Kelp of the Black Ice Clan - Sahuagin Summoner
The idea of Outsea is curious indeed. An isolated salt-water environment of significant size in a fresh-water river at first seems far fetched, and perhaps even off-putting for GM's who are looking for settings that more easily suspend disbelief. Outsea however is an exotic setting and should stretch the imagination instead of being easy to understand. Is it merely the result of a desperate Sahuagin strategy and the subsequent magical disaster, or was there something more? China Mieville has certainly thrown down the gauntlet here, however he has also given Golarion a great gift insofar as he has provided a place to avoid badly re-hashed fantasy stereotypes and maybe even occasionally forget the rules and create something more unique. Despite their savage ways no doubt the Sahuagin were just as much beloved by the neutral ocean deity Gozreh as all the other undersea races. With the Merfolk gradually gaining the upper hand in their war did the mysterious god secretly contrive events to turn out precisely in the way they did? Perhaps such a god foresaw the doom of the Sahuagin chose to avert such an outcome, guiding the respective parties towards the unusual events that took place, with rich rewards for all involved? The idea of Outsea would be at the very least a chance to preserve the Sahuagin, who in Gozreh's eyes must surely be no less beloved than any other and one who's presence contributes in it's own way to the balance of the underwater world. Those who wished to survive would need to learn each other's value, revealing profound insights into the symbiotic nature of all oceanic life. Such notions might seem to have some validity given the uncanny benefits and flourishing culture to be found there... Playing a direct role in this divine vision is the living deity Danglosa. Enigmatic and powerful, did Danglosa seek solitude or a hiding place from enemies in the open ocean? Perhaps Danglosa himself had visions of a utopian community and with the aid of the influential Ceratiodi set about the enactment of a plan as bizarre as his own existence? The origins of Outsea are probably an interesting topic of conversation for some of Outsea's inhabitants, in particular the academic types. Others may simply prefer ripping the head off a Boggard...
Hi, welcome to the first entry of my gaming group's Pathfinder Campaign Journal! This campaign has actually been our play-test of the Pathfinder RPG system, as up until not long ago we have been running with our own customized version of D&D 3.5 (I was actually calling it D&D 3.8). We began blending in elements of Pathfinder to our D&D game, in particular the expanded options from the Advanced Players Guide which is a fantastic accessory. The artwork of Wayne Reynolds and other highly gifted artists also made Pathfinder very appealing. Another aspect that caught our attention was the cameo contribution of speculative fiction author China Mieville in the Guide to the River Kingdoms. Endeavoring to extrapolate upon his unique style is both inspiring & challenging. I have been running roleplaying games since 1991 & have found that China's bold vision of non-conformity and the avoidance of fantasy stereotypes is an excellent imperative for creating a fresh creative experience. China's contribution with his curious Outsea ideas gave us a very interesting place to explore and personalize in the world of Golarion. Thanks to everyone in the RPG world for upholding the realms of interactive imagination! Best regards, Heroslayer.
In cases like this maybe the GM could have an NPC issue a cautionary tale to the party prior to the encounter? Such a tale might describe what happened to the last poor fools who acted without due care, losing all their valuables and barely escaping with their lives? At least then the players might have a clue that the scenario could be slightly more challenging, and would only have themselves to blame for a particularly poor outcome... Reckless behavior definitely needs to have consequences, but if a player is still learning the system I would expect the GM to be more forgiving.
Yeah the 'strong webs' special ability of the giant black widow definitely sounds appropriate for the caveweaver. I might use a custom variation too like an extra feat or something just to keep my players guessing... I like that Paizo is producing minis to support the adventure paths! It's great that Pathfinder has it's own line of pre-painted miniatures now, especially when they're based on the excellent artwork in the publications. Quite a cool sculpt on this mini, I think springing an encounter with a few of these nasty critters would make any adventuring party think twice! |
