Queen Ileosa Arabasti

Isora of Solaria's page

5 posts (12 including aliases). No reviews. No lists. No wishlists. 1 alias.


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Is there anywhere official to go on Paizo to request games? Or should I just make post a 'Looking for GM' under recruitment? I have several ideas for games I would like to play in, both for Pathfinder and Starfinder.


I gave it some thought and decided to put off this campaign until I get a better feel for Paizo. Thanks to everyone who showed interest though!


@Zeladaris-ad-Pellipardus: Age modifications will not be in place. I find them too penalizing for my own characters, both PC and NPC alike, so I cut the penalties and bonuses in my games.

@Jereru: What would you like to know more about? The setting? The story? Character creation rules? Khajit has answers, if you have the questions.

@Phntm888: It will probably be a few days before I even get the recruitment up and considering how long it takes to build gestalt characters, especially when GMs allow such a wide range of options, I will probably leave it open for two weeks when I do post it, if not three or, at maximum, four.

@Slyness: You mean the Mana system? It was originally in a third-party supplement. I altered it heavily to reduce PCs abusing Dazing, Empowered, Heightened, Maximized spells since, as is, it blew the top off of magic power levels and made spellcasters able to hit damage ranges that only mythic characters should be able to hit in addition to dazing every enemy hit for several rounds. And, since Metamagics are built into the chassis of spellcasting instead of requiring a glut of feats, you're not really losing anything from the increased cost. I can post it for you if you want to give the mana system a look-over.


What I would be looking for in applicants:
- Decent post rates (1-2/day+)
- Dedication to see the game through
- Creativity
- The ability to immerse oneself in a fantasy setting
- Those who like a balance of roleplay and mechanics
- An appreciation of the old JRPG tropes for what they are
- An open mind for houserules
- An accepting attitude towards third-party content
- A respect for the unwritten rules of tabletop RPG gaming (GM has the final word, no PvP, good behavior with other players, et cetera)
- A willingness to use Google Drive, or something else if you have a better alternative, for map-based purposes

Potential rules:
- Level 5 regular or gestalt (not sure how open people are to the latter here)
- 25 point buy if regular or 30 if gestalt
- Normal WBL
- All of the listed homebrew rules with some clarification
- Background Skills
- Almost any non-tech related content from Paizo and a laundry list of third-party content allowed (tech being anything above blackpowder guns, such as power armor and lasers); material from Dreamscarred Press and all Spheres content is pretty much guaranteed to be allowed
- 2 Traits
- Story Feat serving as part of your character's arc that will be played out later in the campaign
- National Background that makes certain skills easier to perform in the nation you are most familiar with, such as Knowledge: Local and Survival


Disclaimer: This is in no way related to the Dragon's Gate novels, which are apparently a thing based on some Google-fu. I wanted a name that brought back the feeling of old-school JRPGs and Dragon's Gate accomplished that quite nicely.

First off, let me say how great it is to be here on Paizo. I have heard a lot about the quality of the play-by-post playerbase from my friends and family who game here. I look forward to gaming with you all at some point in the near future!

The world of Arrune is a homebrew creation of mine in which several games have been set. Each game played in the setting took place within a certain 'Age' and the events of each Age were altered by PCs, creating a very unique world history. Arrune is a place of high fantasy and all of the classic JRPG tropes reside within, several of which are flipped on their heads.

I have done my best to incorporate as much Pathfinder content as possible into the world to allow for players to create the PC they want to play. From the Singing Woods where the Maenads dwell among trees of psionically-resonant crystal to the frozen lands of Karstheim where the honorable Jotun Dragonriders tame High Drakes to use in their wars against the Malignant King of the trolls and his army of fleshwarped creatures, the world of Arrune has a place for most widely-known, and quite a few lesser-known, rules supplements. In the name of preserving the classical fantasy feel, I have opted to disallow any content that relies on a technology above blackpowder.

I plan on the campaign itself being mostly set on the continent of Issia, the largest continent in the world with an array of diverse nations and peoples. The game itself will start in the ancient human kingdom of Akhosen, home to the largest capital city in the world, as PCs accept a contract to procure an ancient heirloom for the King. As you may be able to guess, procuring the heirloom is only the beginning of the PC's story and, in true JRPG fashion, the campaign will grow far beyond such humble beginnings.

Ask as many or as few questions as you like about the setting. If what I have presented so far intrigues you, don't be shy, let me know you are interested.

Setting House Rules:
There are some unique rules that come with the world of Arrune, which I will list here for convenience's sake.

Elemental Affinity: Most beings of power in Arrune are attuned to one of the six Elements of the setting: Air (Represented by Electricity), Earth (Represented by Acid), Fire, Water (Represented by Cold), Light, and Shadow. At the most basic level, these grant you a scaling resistance to the element in question, leading up to total immunity at 20th level (With class abilities that grant Immunity to the element in question turning into a minor healing effect when subjected to that element), and a flat 25% extra damage taken from the opposing element.

Alignment: There is no alignment system in the world of Arrune. People make their decisions and are more than the sum of their general attitudes in life. As such, there are no alignment restrictions on any mechanics. In this setting, Paladins have been heroes and tyrants alike. The only real 'Alignment' requirements, if you want to call them that, are that Paladins must take the Light Affinity and Antipaladins must take the Shadow Affinity. In addition to these core differences, there are no more alignment descriptors on spells and spells with the Good or Evil descriptor that deal their respective types of damage (Holy or Unholy) now deal Light or Shadow damage. Abilities like Smite Evil no longer rely on alignment.

Light and Shadow Spells: All spells with the Light or Shadow descriptor that deal damage, such as Sunburst or Shadow Evocation, deal Light or Shadow damage instead of their normal damage types. Holy and Unholy damage are also converted into Light and Shadow damage respectively.

Mana: As a long-time lover of Psionics, I fell in love with an alternate ruleset I saw that takes Vancian casting and turns it into an MP-based casting system. There were a few tweaks that had to be made, but the end result is a casting system that makes magic feel, well... magical again, where casters are real channelers of arcane energies with freedom of choice. There are balances that take into account the built-in Metamagics (you no longer need feats for them, as they're built into the chassis of the casting system) that can be applied on the fly.

Feat Tax: One core part of Pathfinder, and the d20 system as a whole, that I hate is how martials have been more or less screwed over by making so many feats 'must-takes' in order for them to be any sort of viable. When I found Michael Torno's Feat Tax rules that fixed a lot of those problems, I found that players built much more interesting non-casters and they functioned much smoother.

Resurrection: In my setting, not every character with a divine spell list has the ability to revive those who have passed on from this world. Those who have passed on and journeyed beyond the Final Horizon into the Realms Beyond cannot be easily brought back, as the Goddess of Death will not allow mortals to interrupt her judgements or deny souls their awaited paradise or torment. Only those who go on special journeys to secure the blessing of the gods can resurrect the dead and those individuals are few and far between. This is the reason why some lost souls bereaved of loved ones turn to necromancy in an attempt to force a soul back past the Shroud and why kings and queens alike who die to assassin's blades are not simply revived by their loyal followers.

Whispers of the Divine: Divine casters, as well as Witches, can be contacted by their patrons under extreme circumstances. It is fleetingly rare, but it can happen. For Druids and others who worship the natural world, this aid comes in the form of feeling, intuition, and portents. For Clerics and others who worship the gods or otherworldly patrons, this could take almost any form imaginable. It's up to me when, where, and how you gain these "Whispers", but they exist to keep the plot moving along in the event of PCs getting stumped and ensure that divine characters and witches feel connected to the beings who grant them power. I will also allow for those who are worried about violating their patron's statutes to receive a 'feeling' that their course of action is something their patron would frown on so that no one is blindsided and can retract their transgression.

Sin: Tied into the above rule, those who commit transgressing acts against their patron, in spite of getting that gut feeling that they are screwing up, gain a number of 'Sin' points equal to their divine patron's displeasure at the event (Determined by me based on circumstances and their patron). Each point of Sin locks away the divine caster's highest level of spellcasting and is cumulative. 1 point of Sin on a 20th level caster would lock away all 9th level spells, while 3 points would lock away all spells of 7th-9th level. Those who reach an amount of Sin equal to their highest level spellcasting plus one are considered to have lost their patron's favor and are considered an ex-member of their class until they undergo a quest for penance. Sin can be absolved by doing penance based on the patron's portfolio.

Alchemy: Alchemy is not magic and is unaffected by effects that impede magic despite using the new Mana system (which is used only for uniform casting standards).

Bards: Bards gain Versatile Performance at 1st level as opposed to 2nd level.

Racial Archetypes: Unless a Racial Archetype for a class requires a racial ability, PCs of any race can take it.

Necromancy: Spells that animate the dead as mindless automatons, while possessing the Shadow descriptor, are not considered transgressions against the gods, who care nothing for the empty vessels left behind by their children. Necromancy that animates the intelligent dead transgresses divine law, as it draws the soul back from the Realms Beyond.

Cloth Armor: Clothing can be enchanted just like armor to provide enhancement bonuses or abilities. These will be available in the campaign world.