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"Do not let the lush islands of my homeland fool you, traveler. These lands are full of more danger than you can ever know. From this seeming paradise was born the medusae and the minotaurs, the harpies and the scylla, all of which have wreaked untold havoc across Golarion. Ancient, crumbling temples and long-forgotten cities hold treasures beyond imagining that lure the weak and foolhardy to their doom and the mighty waves of the Obari Ocean have swallowed a thousand ships, a watery graveyard filled with wooden tombs. And yet, despite all the dangers, there is nowhere I would rather live. Iblydos is a land of wonder as well. The bustling trade city of Aelyosos is a place of knowledge and philosophy and it's people are well-known for both their hospitality and honor. The Koloran, or cyclops as you call them, read the fraying strands of fate and guide our nation through their cryptic prophecies. Our gods walk among us, ancient heroes blessed with immortal power who bestow their generous bounty upon us. And from the depths, our merfolk friends bring us the treasures of civilizations long since thought lost to Golarion. In Iblydos, there is no meter by which a man is judged but that which he makes for himself. Be one human, elf, or beast-kin, all are welcome. When you step from this ship onto the marble docks of Aelyosos, breathe in the air and know that there is a place for you here." -Kalleiope of Aelyosos, to the exiled Jalmerayan merchant-prince Reymuul as they sailed through the archipelago of Iblydos Hello and welcome one and all to 'Heroes of Iblydos: A Tale of Men and Gods'. In this campaign, you will play as heroes based in the city of Aelyosos. As a member of the Pharossi, or Guiding Lights, your character will be part of a loose coalition of soldiers, mages, and others who wish to protect the nation of Iblydos from threats. From humble beginnings, PCs will grow into mighty heroes as they combat ever-growing threats and uncover the trail of a dark conspiracy that threatens not only the archipelago, but all of Golarion. Along the way, they will clash with monsters spoken of only in legends, explore forgotten ruins lost to man for eons, interact with Hero-Gods, and undertake a quest to transcend their mortal beginnings. If you are unfamiliar with Iblydos or Aelyosos, here are a few links that will help you get an idea of the area. I plan on adding more information on the area in the campaign information tab later tonight or early tomorrow. I plan on keeping recruitment open for roughly three weeks. That should give people ample time to get everything squared away with their characters and should account for any emergencies that may occur that would cause people to lose a few days of work. I will close the recruitment on October 9th and post the finalized character roster for the game. Character Creation Guidelines:
-Level- 8th gestalt. For clarity, prestige classes are allowed in gestalt.
-Ability Scores- 30 points. The usual floors and ceilings after racial modifiers for ability scores apply (07 and 20). In addition to this, your normal level-up ability score bonuses are doubled, giving you a +2 to a single ability score every four levels. There are no age-related bonuses or penalties apart from dying of old age or magical aging effects that carry penalties. -HP- Treat your HP as if you rolled the maximum for your class each level. -Races- All Paizo races, the Satyxis race by Purple Duck Games, Dreamscarred Press's Elan race, and the Jotun, Medusa, and Minotaur races from Rite Publishing are allowed. Anyone playing as a Jotun must flavor their character as a Cyclops. -Classes- All Paizo classes are allowed, as well as DSP's Akhashic, Path of War, and Psionics classes; Rite Publishing's Jotun, Medusa, and Minotaur paragon classes for members of those races; and the Spheres of Combat and Spheres of Magic classes. I will allow requests for other classes but promise nothing. -Variant Multiclassing- You may Variant Multiclass. -Traits- You gain two Traits. You can take a Drawback for a third. -Background Skills- PCs have background skills. -Feats- Instead of the normal feat progression from leveling up, you gain a feat per level. Leadership is not allowed. -Starting Gold- 33,000 GP. You may not pre-game craft. -Alignment- Any non-evil. Lawful Evil might be permissible for people who can roleplay it well, but I will need to vet the character beforehand with a battery of sample roleplays to see how well they would fit into the game. -Improved Familiars- Those with access to a Familiar instead gain an Improved Familiar of their choice. -Animal Companions- Animal Companions get maximum HP per HD and gain a bonus of +6 to one ability score, +4 to another ability score, and +2 to a final ability score. These may even apply to mental scores. The Hero-Gods:
Kelksiomedes
Alignment: Neutral Good Title: The Greenwarden Domains: Community, Good, Healing, Plant Favored Weapon: Sickle Symbol: A terraced building overflowing with greenery and grape vines Kelksiomedes was once a simple farmer and vintner before bandits burned his home to ashes. After he rounded them up, he forswore vengeance, opting instead for forgiveness and healing. From his family's burnt home grew a tree that produced a single golden apple that would serve as his passage to godhood. He is one of the two Hero-Gods who rule over Aelyosos and is the voice of reason and peace among the gods. Psomeira
Spalkis
Diaphorae
Aelyake
Thonis of Thirty Columns
Zdokirae
Mythic: Mythic isn't coming until later in the story but, when it does, expect a modified gestalt system where you pick two Mythic Paths and can select abilities from either, as opposed to just one. You will also get two free Mythic talents that I will tell you about later.
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. |