J.M. Perkins's page

Link

Hey all you finders of Paths;

My name is John and I write as J.M. Perkins. Since 2015, I've been writing and posting about my Campaign Setting 'The City of Salt in Wounds' first on the ennie nominated website Tribality and then at it's own url. In case you missed it, here's a quick taste of what this evil fantasy mega-city fed by a bound Tarrasque is all about

Upon approach to the city of Salt in Wounds, the first thing a traveler will note is the sounds of the Tarrasque –the unkillable, mountain sized monster that terrorized the world in the last age- screaming as it is butchered –again- to feed a hungry city. Its roars echo for dozens of leagues, and the ground occasionally trembles as it thrashes against the immoveable harpoons that hold it in place.

Moving past the massive carved bone gates, the city continues its assault on the senses as merchants bark their wares, gore splattered laborers drunk on blood wine gamble & brawl, and every manner of vice is offered up for sale. Fortunes are made here… as are adventures. The city holds a place for everyone from mercenary warlocks, to scheming Binder-Lords & dour God-Butchers obsessed with their holy mission, to covert paladins & fanatical druids (executed whenever discovered), to mutants & Marrow Miner orcs: all manner of heroes, villains, and all those who fall somewhere in between. But there is perhaps no more dangerous metropolis in the world than this place where the ground water itself can monstrously twist your flesh, where citizen ghouls doff their hats in salute even as they smile with their overlarge, over-sharp teeth, and the Tarrasque still strives to free itself even after two centuries…

Basically, Salt in Wounds is a dark, detail rich fantasy city whose culture, economy, and existence is beholden to the reality of the giant, regenerating Tarrasque which is imprisoned within the city center so it can be butchered over and over again. You can read more on www.SaltinWoundsSetting.com (there's a link on the KS). We launched this morning with an initial goal of $5000 and as of posting we're over 75% funded; we have epic backer levels from $5-$250 dollars and rewards ranging from PDFs to Tarrasque Jerky (and some pretty sweet stretch goals that I'm now fairly confident we'll meet).

Anyway, hope you'll take a moment to check out the project back if you can, and wish me well & share if you like what we're doing. Thanks!

Salt in Wounds on Kickstarter

Hey there you sexy finders of paths;

Wanted to share my campaign setting 'The City of Salt in Wounds' an evil, economic metropolis powered & fed by 200 years of perpetual butchery of the Tarrasque. If you're not familiar, you can start reading the basics here.

http://www.saltinwoundssetting.com/2015/04/salt-in-wounds-overview-origin.h tml

I've been writing about the city for over a year, and I'm shifting gears a bit in the coming months to produce more crunch (5e and Pathfinder) so hopefully you'll find some stuff you can use. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

PS As I explain in the 'what is salt in wounds' page the idea for a settlement butchering a bound Tarrasque was originally suggested by Thomas T. on the rpg.net forum.

And here's me on the DM's Block podcast talking about The Adequate Commoner, low-power & no-power games, and cats for some reason...

Linkified

Home of the One Hundred Saved

Also, here's a mini interview I did about the project. Link

We're 197% funded and the Kickstarter ends on Friday!the Adequate Commoner Kickstarter. If you want to support the project, do it now!

Annndddd we've funded.

Well Hello Again;

Last week I posted about the Kickstarter Campaign for my new sourcebook 'The Adequate Commoner' (now over 70% funded!). In addition to the Kickstarter, I wrote and my publisher also released a separate (but related) supplement You're Gonna Die Screaming.

Whereas The Ultimate Adequate Commoner is a full sourcebook for everything you need to play a commoner game (or even a commoner character in a non-commoner game) complete with a lot of new material; You're Gonna Die Screaming is a 20 page supplement full of the best of the best existing material, tricks, tactics, and gimmicks to keep a commoner alive and kicking in a world that's way above their CR (note, almost all the advice works for other classes since anything a commoner can do even a wizard can do).

Probably the best thing about it is it's pay what you want (even free!) and available right now.

So grab it as our gift to you, tell us what you think, and if you dig what we're doing consider backing the Kickstarter.

As always I'm here to answer questions and trade witty retorts.

-John

aka

J.M. Perkins

Great to hear! Be sure to let me know what you think.

Yeah a couple places that would breed interesting commoners:

Geb Commoner - Might have a strange aspect (template) and would most likely have a shocking morality and a terrifying unsentimentality towards things like life, death, and undeath as well as pain. Might well consider humanity (and herself) no different from cattle.

Cheliax/Nidal Commoner - Surprisingly, I actually see these people's experience being somewhat 'standard'; sure, the 'lords' are devil/shadow worshipping sadomasochists but the feudal system pretty much exists unchanged here (they actually might be slightly better off... having state licensed monsters probably keeps the unlicensed monster population to a minimum).

Mendev (and Possibly Lastwall) Commoner - Would probably be a badass even if they do work as a cobller; would have fought (and possibly even helped slay) horrors commoners elsewhere would never have dreamt of.

Hermea Commoner - I imagine them as a religious home schooled hermoine - they're really smart and annoyingly good at things (their stats are simply *better*), but shockingly naive.

Well hello there;

My name is John and I write as J.M. Perkins. Here's the one paragraph pitch for my Kickstarter:

The Ultimate Adequate Commoner is the first, the only gaming book designed to facilitate playing a commoner or extremely low powered character in Pathfinder; adding more tactical thinking, tension, and encouraging a guerrilla warfare approach to gameplay. The 130+ page supplement provides an overview and unexpected use for existing material in addition to expanded options for nearly any character. Do more with less, never fight fair, and survive and thrive in a world that expects you to fail. Your characters will level, you’ll level as a player, and you’ll never have a better, more challenging time rolling dice.

In addition to my work, we're including a bonus adventure from the guys who did Pure Steam, complimentary books from Misfit Studios, as well as stretch goals for even more from Avalon Games, Christina Styles Presents, and Skortched Urf publishing.

Bump the thread because 'WTF, Commoner Adventurers?!?' click through for the amusing video, and pledge because it's awesome.

The Ultimate Adequate Commoner

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

PS I have credits with Misfit Studios (Bite Me: A Player's Guide to Lycanthropes), Rogue Genius Games (Ultimate Options: Story Feats) and I'm a contract writer for Avalon's upcoming Monster Hunter line. Also, as indicated above, the book is being put out Misfit Studios who are seriously awesome.