Ganyavesha

Jassminder Shah's page

315 posts. Alias of Wandering Wastrel.




This is an interest check for Court of Blades, a fiction-first RPG based on the Blades in the Dark game system. Ultimately, if you liked the War for the Crown AP but thought it needed more intrigue, more skullduggery, more romance and just generally more, then this may be a game for you! I already have 2 (possibly 3) players interested but I’m looking to build the group out a bit as PbP seems to work best with between 4 and 6 PCs.

Court of Blades takes place in the vibrant, fantasy renaissance city-state of Ilrien, in a world populated by scheming nobles, court magicians, and dashing duelists.

In Court of Blades you take on the role of a talented retainer to a newly-risen House of the Esultare in the great city of Ilrien. The Esultare, composed of the six Houses Major, are considered to be the most powerful families in the Principalities. Amongst them they have their own pecking order, and every citizen of Ilrien is aware of every house’s position within that order. In the service of your House, you will engage in the polite civil warfare of the great families. You will host lavish balls, and manipulate the courts, uncover the plots of your rivals, protect the city from arcane dangers, manage your own intrigues and personal scandals, leverage your reputations, connections, and so much more.

We play to find out if our noble retainers can play the Great Game and win it all, or if they'll fall prey to the machinations of their rivals or their own human failings.

If that (hopefully) caught your interest, I’m looking for players who are prepared to:

*Learn at least some of the rules of the game AND the setting: I’m happy to handle rules queries and describe the setting, but the more you understand them yourself, the more fun you (and, frankly, everyone else) will have. One big difference in this game over d20-based games is that the players get a huge say in how the game world works, and get to take part in the world-building. It therefore helps to know about the game setting so that you can contribute to it. You can get hold of the game here.

*Live daringly: you can be anything in Ilrien, except boring! This is a game where you swing from the chandeliers, run across the rooftops and make that jump from dockside to the gondola, thumbing your nose at the condottieri you leave behind in your wake; where you seek a dance – or perhaps more – from that person you know you absolutely, positively, shouldn’t. It’s not a game about playing it safe.

*Laugh at failure like the imposter that it is: in this game, consequences and miss results on the action roll are what drive things forward as you succeed but cause new problems that add to the DRAMA of the game. Don’t be afraid to roll actions you are not good at, trust that it will all work out in the end. Failure might be an option, but fear of failure is no option at all.

*Lead the dance: this game is NOT an adventure path with a predetermined railroad that the GM pushes you along: your goals and your desires will significantly govern the direction the game takes. As the GM, I’m your partner-in-crime rather than your adversary – be proactive in driving the game forward and trust me to follow your lead in providing you with opportunities to be awesome (which yes, on occasion, you will fail spectacularly).


22 ROVA (IX) 4707 AR

The sawdust (or 'dust in local parlance) is the first thing that visitors to Falcon's Hollow notice: it billows out from the Cutyard 24 hours a day, three shifts to a working day. The 'dust never stops, never settles for long, drawn away by the wind or brushed and swept up by countless mops and dusters, ground underfoot into the mud or billowed into the foam of the river. After a while, you just stop noticing it and learn to accept it, much as the townsfolk have (most of them, anyway) learned to live with and accept the iron-fisted rule of the brutal Kreed clan. A few old-timers might remember when there were three families that kept each other in check, but those days are gone and Thuldrin Kreed is the Lumber Consortium in this part of the world.

But, on this the daybreak of Autumn equinox, a marking-point for the turning of the seasons, when the longer days of the departed Summer will now surrender to the drawing-in of the night, there is perhaps a sense that something more is possible, that changes are afoot...

Although not all changes are for the better; or at least not right away.


21 ROVA (IX) 4707 AR

It is raining, hard, outside – one of those stormy nights that says Autumn is on the way out, and Winter will be arriving soon. Lightning brightens the sky as it stabs down, and the crash of thunder almost drowns out the gentle tapping at the bedroom window. Even in the pure light of day, a climb up the outside of the temple would be ridiculous foolishness – in the pitch dark of night, with the stone slicked by rain, it is suicide. But Siobhan knows from experience that Savram can see in the dark just fine; and can climb so well that maybe there is credence to those myths of vampires that could scale sheer surfaces like a spider does.

Either way, she’s here now, hunched on the windowsill in a waterlogged cloak, her pale cheeks pinched with a cold that she never seems to feel (or maybe it’s just that she’s always cold) as she raps once more on the window pane of the bedroom. She peers in at Siobhan. “You weren’t sleeping, were you?” For Savram, night is the time to be alive, when she can go around unseen by the few unfriendly locals who are still up. Day is when she sleeps. She shows her teeth in a grin “It’s me! You gonna let me in, or what?”

"Come in you silly goose!" Siobhan replies, throwing open the window. "I don't want one of my best friends to fall off the temple!"

Once Savram is safely inside Siobhan grabs a towel and tosses it towards the dhampir. "Dry yourself off before you sit down, I don't need my bed getting soaked through. Again!" She commands with a good natured grin.

Savram climbs through in one sinuous, slightly unnatural-looking movement, draping her sopping wet cloak over a chair and gratefully accepting the towel which she uses to dry her long, black hair. "If I fall off the temple, at least it'd be quick, from this height." She peers out into the darkness only she can see through. "Might be easier, in some ways. Just give in and accept I belong dead, right?" She fiddles with her sleeve, trying to hide the bandage wrapped round her wrist; it's obvious that (despite the previous talk they had) she's been Feeding again, biting at herself to get the blood out. She catches Siobhan's stare and guiltily hides her arm behind her back.

The grin drops into a frown. "Sav, we talked about this." Siobhan says firmly. "Biting yourself isn't going to make anything better. I told you before, if you feel the urge, come and find me." She tugs up the arm of the long woollen shirt that forms her nightwear and shoves her arm in front of the dhampir. "Come on. Drink."

Savram gives an audible gasp at Siobhan’s action, and she scrambles backwards; but she remains staring at the arm, as if transfixed. “Th-that’s not what I came here for.” But she keeps staring, unable to take her eyes away, and takes a step towards her friend, her entire face betraying the longing she feels.

“What if I don’t – stop?” When they first became friends, Savram told Siobhan three things: Never turn your back on me. Never let me in your reach. And never, never forget I can kill you with a bite.

She takes another step, helpless to prevent herself.

“What if – what if I want… more than that?” For many dhampirs, blood-lust and sex-lust are so closely related they can be hard to separate. Throw in a raging mess of hormones, a total lack of self-worth, a desperate need for affection and validation, along with a complete inability to handle same, and you get Savram.

"I can stop you." Siobhan says gently. "You weigh a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet Sav. I've pulled a longbow with more weight than that. Besides, I can fix my arm up with a prayer. I'd do it for you if it wasn't... going to hurt you."

The other question is more awkward. Savram is a friend, a dear friend. Not a romantic partner. "I'm not going to sleep with you though Sav. That would be like kissing my sister. I love you, you know that, but kissing you would be like kissing Vy. You're both my friends, my best friends. That's why I'm offering you my blood, because you're my friend and I care about you. Now stop worrying so much and drink. I'll say 'Abadar' when I want you to stop. OK?"

It’s not clear how much of Siobhan’s speech Savram has consciously taken in or even heard at all, as she grabs the young woman’s arm with surprising strength and bites deep. Vampires of course have true fangs rather than teeth, and they feed as much by draining life as they do the blood; their victims are left looking neat, unless the vampire wishes otherwise. Dhampirs, as a mere imitation of true vampires, don’t have those advantages; Savram literally tears Siobhan’s wrist open with her long, sharp, teeth and probes her tongue into the severed blood vessels, slurping greedily as the blood spurts out over her face and chin.

There’s a pounding in her ears, and someone (probably her) is giving a feral growl of satisfaction and delight as the taste of that wonderful life essence sends her into ecstasy, pushing every button she didn’t know she had.

If Siobhan has said “Abadar” at any point, Savram genuinely hasn’t heard it. If she heard it, she’d stop. She truly, genuinely believes that.


Slightly delayed, but good to go! Couple of points to help shape chargen:

1) I'm still not an expert at PF2, so if you go for anything complicated (spellcasting or one of the newer classes like witch or thaumaturge) you need to be very sure you understand the rules so you can explain them to me as needed. Likewise, please stick to the basics and don't take anything marked "Uncommon" or "Rare" - as I get more confident with the game I will lift this ban but it's in place for now.

2) This module absolutely has a "my very first adventure" feel to it (to my mind at least), a bit like Crypt of the Everflame: you're not seasoned adventurers or veteran warriors, you're stepping in because nobody else can or will. Also, Falcon's Hollow is a bit of a backwater; there's like one dhampir in town and everyone knows who she is. I'd prefer to keep with that theme and not have Leshy or Kitsune; please stick to the core ancestries (although I'm willing to be flexible on the versatile heritages if someone desperately wants that).

Questions/comments/queries - have at it, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with :)


**BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT**

The automated alarm sounding across the whole of the Yann Hall (some long-dead Cadian general, apparently) is not subtle. It goes beyond noise into that place where it's a physical force that actively makes the situation worse.

Not that it could be much worse. As if the blast (origin unknown) that opened a rip in the side of your spaceship - a Sword-class frigate that your Inquisitor commandeered for this mission - wasn't catastrophic all by itself, it happened as you were beginning your descent onto the planet Tarquol VII.

**BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT** **BWOOT**

This insignificant little red rock doesn't have much atmosphere, but when you're travelling that fast, 'not much' is often enough.

WARNING. WARNING. HULL BREACH ACROSS DECKS ZZ PRIME TO ZZ ALPHA. ABORT PLANETARY ENTRY.

That's good advice. But it's already too late. Even if the crew could get the thrusters to fire, and somehow steer the ship around away from the planet, the forces involved would tear the Yann Hall apart and leave you drifting in the void of space.

WARNING. WARNING. CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY AT SEVENTEEN PERCENT AND FALLING. INITIATE PROTOCOL NINE-ONE-ONE.

Everything goes to hell as the Yann Hall slams into the thin atmosphere of Tarquol VII, the entire ship bucking like some primal stallion as the metal superstructure rips itself apart, with a shriek like that of a billion, billion lost souls. The screams of the merely flesh and blood passengers and crew are lost entirely.

WARNING. WARNING. CATASTROPHIC FAILURE. STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY LOST. INITIATE PROTOC

Everything goes black.


OK, first things first: if you’re the sort of player who lurves the grid-based tactical combat system and the thought of rolling to avoid the AoO, moving into a flanking position and then calculating your attack and damage bonuses based on the flank attack, your trait bonus, the cleric’s Bless spell, the wizard’s Haste spell, and so on and on and on... then Fate is really, really not for you. If, on the other hand, you are looking for something with more storytelling and with competent, proactive characters right from the start (and above all, where the rules don’t just allow for roleplay but actually require it) then this might be a game for you. I’ve set out a summary of the rules below and you can find the rules for Fate Condensed in this link.

I realise this is something of a wall-of-text but for comparison purposes do bear in mind that the PF2 rulebook is several hundred pages...

character creation – aspects:

In Fate, character creation is roleplay. You don’t roll dice and you don’t assign point scores. The most important thing your character needs is five Aspects: a High Concept, a Trouble, and three free Aspects.

Your HIGH CONCEPT is about who your character is going to be: the bearer of the One Ring. The heir of Elendil in hiding. A powerful wizard, one of the Istari. A humble gardener at heart.

TROUBLE is about how your character gets drawn into bad situations. It should be more than “the Bad Guys want me dead.” That’s dull and we sort of take it for granted anyway. Your Trouble can be external (the One Ring wants to be found. People distrust me because I’m always bringing bad news) or an internal issue (the curse of Dragon-Sickness. Fool of a Took).

ASPECTS tell us a bit more about who/what your character is. They should therefore be tied in with your High Concept to some degree, or relate to one of the other PCs: a stone doomed to rolling. Seems foul, but feels fair. Don’t you leave him, they said – and I don’t mean to. I promised Boromir I would save his people. In competition with Legolas for who can kill more orcs – I intend to win! Aspects can change or be modified over the course of an adventure, so a reluctant adventurer who was Perpetually Out of His Depth might in time become someone who learns to Never Laugh at Live Dragons.

You use your High Concept/Aspects to gain bonuses in gameplay, by spending a Fate Point (we’ll get to those) and explaining how. You can either add +2 to a dice roll, re-roll the dice (you get to decide once you’ve seen the roll), or declare a story detail (aka world-building).

“Because I am the Heir Of Elendil – spends Fate Point – I am used to fighting the servants of the Enemy. I’m going to add +2 to this roll when I try to drive away the Ringwraiths.”

“Because I am the Bearer Of The One Ring – spends Fate Point – I understand what it does to people. I’m going to re-roll the dice to try and get a better result when I talk to Gollum. Hopefully I can get him on our side.”

“Because I am A Stone Doomed to Rolling – spends Fate Point – it makes sense that I have done a lot of travelling and I would know about Beorn and the best way to approach him.”

“Because I am A Humble Gardener at Heart – spends Fate Point – it makes sense that I would resist the lure of the One Ring’s power. There’s nothing I really want. I’m going to add +2 to the dice roll to defend against the whispers.”

You can “stack” aspects together to gain a higher bonus, by paying a Fate Point for each aspect you use.

“The Balrog is a serious opponent, but I’m not only a Mighty Wizard, One of the Istari… I’m also the Wielder of the Secret Flame of Anor, so – spends two Fate Points – I’m going to add +4 to this dice roll.”

The GM can use your Concept and Aspects – and especially your Trouble – against you, creating drama and giving you Fate Points.

“Because you are Associated With Ill-Tidings, it makes sense that when you get to Edoras the king’s adviser would call you Stormcrow and try to get you thrown out. Sucks to be you, but you gain a Fate Point.”

“Because the One Ring Wants To Be Found, it makes sense that the Black Riders would make a path straight to your door. Sucks to be you, but you gain a Fate Point.”

“Because you have the Curse Of Dragon Sickness, it makes sense that when the men and elves arrive and ask you to share Smaug’s treasure, you would refuse as rudely as possible. Sucks to be you, but you gain a Fate Point. Maybe one of the other PCs can try to fix things.”

“Because you are a Fool Of A Took, it makes sense that while the others are all talking you would decide to amuse yourself by dropping stones down the well. This goes wrong when you start to hear the slow, fateful sound of drums, drums in the deep. Sucks to be you, but you gain a Fate Point. Maybe throw yourself in next time?”

If you really hate what’s just been inflicted on you, you can always discuss it with the GM to try and find an interesting alternative. (By RAW, if you want to refuse it you have to pay a Fate Point but that’s a bit sucky. You are the captain of your soul, after all. You can just say “not today, thank you!” and hope that you don’t end up needing the Fate Point it would have given you.)

Beyond that, aspects are always true. If you have an aspect that says you’re a farmer, you know about growing crops and keeping livestock. If you have an aspect that says you’re a veteran warrior, then you don’t flinch from the prospect of combat and you know how to maintain your weapons. If you have an aspect that says you’re a tenured professor at Miskatonic University then there is a Miskatonic university in this game setting and you have a reasonably senior position there. If during an adventure you gain the situational aspect “Caught in a Web, Soon You’ll be Eaten” then you can’t do much until you’ve freed yourself from that web (situational aspects don’t replace your character’s starting aspects: they are applied and removed as things happen to you over the course of an adventure. “Prone” and “On Fire” are examples of situational aspects). If a cave has the aspect “Blacker Than the Darkest Night” then you won’t be able to see beyond the range of your torches or lanterns; and if it has the aspect “Shrouded in Magical Darkness” then maybe not even your torch will save you.

A digression on the Fate Point economy:

As discussed above, you spend Fate Points to invoke an aspect and get an advantage. Note that it doesn’t have to be one of your aspects! If there’s a situation aspect “Shadows Everywhere” then you can spend a Fate Point to use the shadows to your advantage. If you know that a troll is “Strong but Not Very Bright” you can spend a Fate Point to use that to your advantage.

You gain Fate Points by having aspects used against you. This can be your Trouble, as discussed above, but it can also be other aspects: if there’s a situation aspect “Shadows Everywhere” then the bad guys can use it too! The GM gets a certain number of free Fate Points in each scene but once they are spent the GM can still gain bonuses for NPCs by giving a Fate Point to each PC that’s affected.

So if the building is “On Fire” and the GM uses that to give an NPC +2 on their attack representing them using the smoke to hide their approach, that costs the GM a Fate Point. On the other hand, the GM might declare that because the building is On Fire, the entrance has just collapsed in a shower of sparks. You will have to get out some other way. Every PC in the building would gain a Fate Point because of this new complication.

(this is slightly different than by RAW because we’re playing PbP rather than using physical tokens which are easier to ‘set aside’ and collect once the scene is over. I’ve streamlined it to make it easier to work with for me.)

Because aspects are always true, they don’t always require a Fate Point. So an opponent with Superhuman Strength would need a Fate Point to use that aspect in an attack, but might not need a Fate Point to pull a door off its hinges. Likewise, if an opponent has the aspect Fire-breathing Bat-Winged Dragon then it can breathe fire and fly. And if it has the aspect I’m A Shark then it can swim and breathe underwater.

Skills:

SKILLS do pretty much the same as in Pathfinder – they show how good your character is at something, on a level from “Great” (+4) to “Mediocre” (+0).

There are 17 skills, and you start with one at +4 (Great), two at +3 (Good), three at +2 (Fair), and four at +1 (Average).

APPROVED LORE: This covers knowledge you’re allowed to have. Identifying an alien and the best way to kill it. Knowledge of what the ritual inscribed in blood on that wall will do, not so much (see Heretical Lore below).

ATHLETICS: Running, jumping, kicking in a door, diving out the way of bolter fire.

DECEIVE: Remember that lies are an affront to the Emperor – but a very helpful tool in time of trouble.

FIGHT: close combat with fists, chainswords or whatever you have handy. You use Fight to defend against someone else’s melee attack.

GUNNERY: Use of heavy weapons and starship weapons.

HERETICAL LORE: The interesting but deeply forbidden stuff

INTIMIDATE: Getting stuff done.

LEADERSHIP: Small unit tactics fall under this skill.

PERCEPTION: In a time of deceit, seeing what is under one’s nose is a constant struggle.

PERSUADE: The soft option.

PILOTING: I am a leaf on the wind, wait no wrong genre.

SHOOT: More dakka. Pistols, rifles and other small arms.

STEALTH: Creeping around unseen and unheard.

SURVIVAL: If the environment isn’t trying to kill you, you have failed to understand the situation.

TECH: Making engines, computers and other things do what you want them to do.

TOUGHNESS: Your ability to shrug off cold, starvation and thirst and keep on going. If you have +1 or +2 here you get one extra phyisical stress box for 4 total. If you have +3 or +4 you get three extra stress boxes for 6 total.

ZEAL: Your ability to shrug off fear and attacks that would erode your faith. If you have +1 or +2 you get one additional mental stress box for 4 total. If you have +3 or +4 you get three extra stress boxes for 6 total.

(we’ll get to stress later)

Stunts:

Stunts represent something like feats, a special ability that modifies the rules in some way. Normally this applies a +2 to a skill in some conditions, or allows you to use one skill in place of another. Sometimes it allows you to do something that couldn’t otherwise be done, like see in the dark. These sorts of stunts will generally need a “permission” in the form of your concept or aspect: so if one of your aspects is that your character can use magic, then those stunts are available to you, and if one of your aspects is that you’re a dwarf or half-orc or similar, then you’d be able to take a stunt that a human PC wouldn’t have access to (like darkvision).

The ability a stunt gives you is generally limited to certain conditions: I can do X, provided that... I can do X, but only twice per adventuring phase. Some stunts are powerful enough that you have to pay a Fate point in order to use them.

“Because I’m a sneaking slippery villain, I can use Stealth instead of Fight to attack someone, provided that my opponent isn’t aware of my presence when the combat starts.”

“Because I once knew all the spells of elves and men, I get +2 to my roll when I use Arcana to Overcome an Obstacle, provided that the obstacle is magical in nature.”

“Because I’m wearing my uncle’s mithril shirt, I can pay a Fate Point to avoid all damage from a single attack, provided that the attack is one that could reasonably be stopped by armour.”

“Because elves have incredible coordination, twice per adventuring phase I can use Athletics to attempt some physical feat of agility that borders on the superhuman – run over deep snow, grab hold of a charging horse, run up the top of a Dire Elephant.”

You start with 3 stunts.

I’m sure you have questions!


Scribe of Middle-Earth

Discuss ooc matters (and there will be a lot of them with this new game system) in this thread.


Scribe of Middle-Earth

It is the year 2946 of the Third Age, five years after the death of the great Dragon, Smaug. King Bard of Dale has sent out a Proclamation to all in the North, inviting them to take part in his vision for restoring the land to its former glory. Many of the Free Peoples have gladly accepted this invite, and made their way to the city at the base of the Lonely Mountain to answer the King’s call. This is the tale of one such group.


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𝓑𝓮𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓷 𝓪𝓬𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽 𝓸𝓯 𝓬𝓮𝓻𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓭𝓮𝓮𝓭𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓬𝓱 𝓽𝓸𝓸𝓴 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓜𝓲𝓭𝓭𝓵𝓮-𝓔𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓸𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓻𝓭 𝓐𝓰𝓮, 𝓫𝓮𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓕𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓐𝓻𝓶𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓸𝔀𝓷𝓯𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓛𝓸𝓻𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓡𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼...

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Anyone applying to this thread MUST have a copy of Cubicle 7's 5e Middle-Earth Player’s Guide (available for 1 dollar here).

This is a 5e campaign set in Middle-Earth: it uses a bunch of new rules from the aforementioned Player’s Guide. I don’t think it’s fair to ask anyone to write up an entire character sheet, but I do need to be able to select a good group of heroes. If you’re applying to this game, please post the following information into this thread using the spoiler format below for ease of reading (please also look at the information in the spoilers below before proceeding further):

CHARACTER NAME

Outline of Mechanics/character choices:

Please list the following:

What Culture your character is from (if you want to play a Culture not in the player’s guide, please point me to which sourcebook it’s in and be aware that the answer might be ‘no’).

What Class you intend to play.

If you already know which Specialty/Path/Archetype you want to take (e.g. Agent/Burglar for the Treasure Hunter class), please list that as well.

If you know what Virtue you intend to start with (if applicable), please list that as well.

The Background you have selected (note that you DON’T need to write the background – although see the Description spoiler below – you just need to let me know which one you’re picking); plus the Distinctive Quality, Specialty, Hope and Despair that you are going for. You can either roll dice for these or choose them, I don’t mind.

Description:

This is where you sell me on your character. I don’t need much more than a couple of paragraphs, but you should at least weave together the background, distinctive quality, hope and despair in some coherent fashion.

Tell me why your hero has found themselves in Dale in the year 2946 of the Third Age. Tell me who they are, beyond their bare statistics: their quirks, habits, appearance, mannerisms; bring them to life.

Requirements/Comments/Questions:

This is where you post anything you want me to know about you the player, or any questions you have for me.

I have the following comments, so please read them carefully to avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings later down the line.

* Unfamiliarity breeds error. I have not used the 5e game system nearly as much as the PF1/3.5 game systems. Please be kind to me if/when I make any mistakes with the rules.

* This game won’t play itself. From what I have read it looks like – more than most PbP games – this game requires significant input from the player characters in order to keep going. The Fellowship phase is almost entirely player-driven, and the last thing I as DM want to be doing is chasing you to ask “what now? What now?” What really warms my heart is when I log in from my previous posting and see that the PCs have not been idle in my absence. Conversely, logging in to see that there are no new posts feels like the entire weight of the game is on me to move it forward (if you’re a DM, you’ll understand; if you’re not, you’ll just have to take my word for it). The more work you put in to create and play an interesting character, the more opportunity you have for interaction with the other characters. Which makes me happier and more excited about posting. Which creates more opportunities for you to post. It’s a virtuous cycle.

* Middle-Earth needs heroes. I enjoy fantasy noir, greyscale morality plays and nihilistic treatises (looking at you, Joe Abercrombie) as much as the next person, but Tolkien’s work is based on moral absolutes and the struggle against the Shadow and I intend to be faithful to that spirit. To that end, I want characters with a nobility of purpose - yes, even (or perhaps especially?) those with the Reluctant Adventurer background. Committing misdeeds will bring you Shadow Points. Antiheroes, brigands, murderhobos and ne’er-do-wells: leave now and never come back.

* You cannot do this alone. Imagine if Beorn had turned the dwarves away and refused to help them. Or if Lórien had closed its borders to the Fellowship. Or if Merry and Pippin had alienated Treebeard, rather than befriending him. An investment in social skills (Tradition, Insight, Persuasion etc.) will reap dividends.

* Against the Shadow, there is no ultimate victory. Those who will accomplish the destruction of Sauron have – in most cases – not yet been born by the time our adventure starts. Your accomplishments will be minor by comparison, but you may yet change lives on an individual scale and bring a measure of peace for a brief time. Or not. The Enemy you face is dangerous indeed and your character may fail, and perish; and you need to be OK with that. I’m not one of those DMs who takes personal glee in killing off PCs – but I have limited scope to “fix” an unfortunately-timed critical or an unwise decision. In order to sweeten this slightly bitter pill, if your character dies and you’re a good sport about it and write them an end worthy of song, I’ll let your next character start with Inspiration. On which subject...

* Concerning Inspiration. It is my experience that players tend to hold onto consumables such as hero points rather than spend them. To try and remedy this, and make the game slightly less lethal, I am considering whether or not to allow players to accumulate Inspiration – up to a maximum of 3 points, let’s say – in order to encourage them to actually use it, and to allow more opportunities to earn it through fabulous role-play (virtuous cycles, again). Let me know what you think of this and in particular whether or not it’s likely to be too unbalancing to the game.

* Literacy is a thing. I know that not everyone here has English as a first language (and that many of you who don’t still write better than I could ever hope to) and occasional typos are human error; but if you consistently get mixed up between “their,” “they’re” and “there” then I’m going to end up chewing through my fingers when I read your posts. Please don’t make me do that.

If you’re still here after reading all that, then great. Let’s make a saga that the bards will still be singing in the Ages yet to come.


Dot in here


Hi all

Dot in and start the inevitable discussions about chargen and so on here. I will set up a gameplay thread shortly.

Once I have an idea of numbers I will look at whether to include anyone else. I am trying to persuade one of my former tabletop group onto these forums - please be nice to her if she does show up :)

As I said in the other thread, this module comes with 5 new backgrounds which tie in to the start of the game. Ideally you will pick one of these rather than from the CRB, but if none of them appeals then let me know as I'm fairly relaxed about this and I'm sure we can cook something up that will work. Also ideally, you would each pick a different background so there's some variety, but again I am relaxed about this.

Lesser Scion:

You are the youngest child in a noble house (in Cheliax, Isger, or Andoran) and stand to inherit nothing from your family. Although you have a minor title, it affords you no lands or wealth, but it has garnered you a small amount of respect and deference in your travels.

When play begins, you are riding in a caravan bound for Almas, where a cousin has promised to allow you to stay with them for a month.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost. You are trained in the Diplomacy skill and the Heraldry Lore skill. You gain the Hobnobber skill feat.

Lost and Alone:

You were training to become a knight in Lastwall when the Whispering Tyrant escaped his imprisonment and destroyed the nation. It was only by dumb luck that you are alive at all, but the memories of that fateful day haunt your dreams.

When play begins, you have boarded a caravan heading toward a new town, having worn out your welcome at the taverns and inns of Elidir.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost. You are trained in the Intimidate skill and the Warfare Lore skill. You gain the Intimidating Glare skill feat.

Missionary:

You received training from clergy in a faraway temple, who sent you out into the world to spread the faith. Although you are relatively new at this, you are always on the lookout for new places in need of your deity’s teachings and guidance.

When play begins, you are riding along in a caravan making your waythrough sparsely populated regions of Isger, spreading the news of your faith to those who will listen.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost. You are trained in the Diplomacy and Scribing Lore skills. You gain the Group Impression skill feat.

Refugee:

The fighting around the Lake Encarthan region has forced many of the people residing there to flee from the violence. Although your home is gone, you have managed to survive and are making your way south in search of a better life.

When play begins, you are riding along in a caravan taking you to what might be either a new home in Andoran or simply another waypoint in your journey.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Intelligence, and one is a free
ability boost. You are trained in the Survival skill and the Hunting Lore skill. You gain the Forager skill feat.

Teamster:

You left your home a few months back for a life on the road, working for one caravan company and then another, always on the lookout for a new job and a better life. Last week, you were hired by the Bort Bargith’s company in Elidir. You don’t know anyone from the company just yet, but most of its members seem to be honest merchants and traders.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost. You are trained in the Nature skill and the Mercantile Lore skill. You gain the Train Animal skill feat.

I will put more information up in a bit.


Dot.


Hi all

Dot in here so I can close the other thread.

Character generation:

Pathfinder material only, no 3rd party materials.

*20 point buy
*average starting wealth
*2 traits plus campaign trait (NO DRAWBACKS)
*Background skills from PF Unchained
*ALL classes with 2 skill points/level get ‘promoted’ to 4 skill points/level
*Unchained classes are permitted (and in the case of Summoner, required)
*Maximum hit points (for all levels: I don’t want anyone dying unless I’ve actually put some effort into killing you!)

Please give me some background to work with. Some notes on appearance and personality would also be helpful.

Look forward to seeing what you come up with!


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Speaking only for myself, I find the Resonance mechanics, as well as the reasoning behind its introduction, to be deeply problematic.

I'm therefore looking at house rules I could introduce which would allow me to remove it from the games I run. I've come up with the following, and would welcome constructive comments and suggestions for improvement.

1) Resonance will not be used.

2) Wands and Staves have 7 uses/day.

2a) That's 7 uses/day per item, not per user - you can't hand the healing wand to the next player for another 7 uses.

2b) Where a Stave has a cantrip power or similar level ability (e.g. Staff of Fire), this becomes a [[2A]] ability usable at will.

2c) I'm open to arguments in favour of a number other than 7. My first thought was 3, but that seemed overly restrictive.

3) Alchemists will get an "alchemy pool" equal to their Intelligence modifier plus their level with which to construct alchemical items. This replaces all references to Resonance in the alchemist class entry.

3a) If anyone can come up with a more elegant alternative (that doesn't nerf the alchemist) I will gladly hear it.

4) A character capable of Channeling Energy may expend 2 uses of Channel Energy in a Ritual that takes 1 minute and restores 5 hit points per caster level to all allies within 10 feet. The Ritual automatically succeeds.

4a) This Ritual may not be used to cause damage. If used in that way it fails.

4b) I'm toying with the idea of allowing characters who channel negative energy to use this healing Ritual as well. After all, Evil deities need to heal their followers on occasion!

5) Any character may, as a Free Action, spend 1 Hero Point on their turn to recover 10 hit points per level. The character must not have the Unconscious or Dying conditions.

5a) Any character may spend 1 Hero Point and take 1 minute to restore 10 hit points/level to another character.

6) In my view, consumables (magical or alchemical) are already governed by cost and by being 1-shot items, so removing Resonance doesn't require additional house rules to compensate.

7) Trinkets, magic armour and magic weapons are not 1-shot items; but they aren't cheap. In my view any character who wants to spend money to acquire them should be allowed to do so. I therefore don't see any need for a house rule on these items to compensate for the removal of Resonance.

I look forward to any constructive comments to improve on the above.


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I like the change, not including the four types of saves is cleaner on a damage only spell. Still feel it needs to be included on spells which have narrative effects.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Dot


Hey all,

welcome to the discussion thread. You know how this works. Gameplay thread is open, so feel free to dot in.

First things first: I'm running another game on this forum and it will always take precedence - though I imagine that rules queries and so on will probably slow us up a bit anyway. tl;dr - I'm not looking for more than 1 post a day, although if you can manage more than that then great.

As for character generation: feel free to playtest any class, but PLEASE no goblin ancestry (I'm prejudiced, I know).

The playtest AP contains backgrounds to use, instead of those from the rulebook, and I list them below for ease of reference.

Background options:

BUDDING OSIRIONOLOGIST

The secrets buried in the seemingly endless sands of the nation
of Osirion have long intrigued you, even though you’ve never
actually visited the nation. Some day, you hope to correct that.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or
Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You gain the Terrain Stalker (rubble) feat, and you’re trained in
the Ancient Osirion Lore skill.

ESOTERIC SCION

One of your family members belongs to a semisecret society
called the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. You’ve long held an
interest in perhaps some day joining the order and have studied
strange topics in preparation for that day.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Intelligence or
Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.

You gain the Quick Identification feat, and you’re trained in the
Esoteric Order Lore skill.

FAMILY FRIEND

Your family has been friends with the Deverins of Magnimar
for a generation, and you’ve grown accustomed to hobnobbing
with the aristocracy even if you have little or no interest in
such matters.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Charisma or
Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You gain the Hobnobber feat, and you’re trained in the Nobility
Lore skill.

MIND QUAKE SURVIVOR

As a child, you once woke from a particularly harrowing
nightmare, and this nightmare has plagued you ever since.
You’ve had strange thoughts and knowledge that you always felt
weren’t truly your own.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or
Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.

You gain the Dubious Knowledge feat, and you’re trained in
the Dominion of the Black Lore skill.

PATHFINDER HOPEFUL

You’ve long wanted to join the adventurous Pathfinder Society,
a world-spanning organization of relic hunters. This aspiration
has led you to take up the dangerous life of an adventurer
eager to make a name for yourself and gain the attention of the
Pathfinder Society.

Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or
Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.

You gain the Additional Lore feat, and you’re trained in the
Pathfinder Society Lore skill.

========================

The first part of this AP starts in Magnimar, and you start as an ally of Keleri Deverin, an aristocrat and scholar living in Magnimar, who has a problem.

Keleri's problem:
Just a week ago, she received an invitation from her cousin Kendra, mayor of the nearby town of Sandpoint, to attend that town’s upcoming Swallowtail Festival. With the festival’s focus on the consecration of Sandpoint’s new cathedral, Keleri hoped to bring a family heirloom, the Star of Desna, to receive a blessing, but as she prepared for her trip, an unexpected complication arose.

When Keleri entered the old vault beneath the family estate to retrieve the star from storage, she found the chamber in total disarray. Chests lay smashed about the room, shelves were knocked over, and worst of all, the steel lockbox containing the Star of Desna was missing. The source of the robbery was made evident by a gaping hole in the center of the floor, leading down into the sewers, and sewage stains in the shape of goblin footprints leading out of it.

Enraged, Keleri lashed out at the now-empty shelves and ruined containers, only to find that she was not alone. A quiet whimpering came from behind a partially collapsed armoire. Investigating, she found a lone goblin, wounded and wretched. Keleri demanded answers about her stolen heirlooms, but the goblin only began howling in greater terror and begged for mercy. Keleri’s rage subsided, and she asked the goblin what had frightened her so.

The goblin introduced herself as Talga and explained that her tribe, the Mudchewer tribe, had been enslaved by a brutish hobgoblin named Drakus the Taker, who was forcing members of her tribe to dig into vaults and basements all around town to rob longshanks of loot and treasure. Those who refused were taken away, only to have their blood-drained bodies put on display as a warning to the other goblins. Immediately after the robbery on the Deverin basement, Talga and a few other desperate goblins rebelled, but they were cut down and slaughtered. Only Talga survived by retreating up to the Deverin vault and hiding.

Now with no home and nearly paralyzed with fear over the fate of her fellow goblins under Drakus’s increasingly violent rule, Talga became desperate. She begged Keleri to send adventurers to her old lair, a complex called the Ashen Ossuary that was accessible via the Magnimar sewers. She promised to sketch a map of the lair and to lead Keleri and anyone who might help to the entrance, and vowed that in return she would work to spread the word among other goblin tribes in the sewers that longshanks are friendly.

While Keleri was sympathetic to the tale, she is a scholar, not an adventurer. However, she does have contacts, and knows of at least one eager new nominee for the task. Ever the forward thinker, she hopes that by calling upon allies — that's you lot — she can not only recover her stolen heirloom, but perhaps even start a new diplomatic alliance between Magnimar and one of its most notorious antagonists.

========================

Doomsday Dawn assumes that you all have ties of some sort to Keleri Deverin and dispenses with much of the preamble of setting things up in order to jump right into the action of dungeon crawling — and playtesting!

I envisage this playtest to be as much about roll-play than roleplay. Still, it might not be a bad idea to describe your characters and decide whether you have established relationships or connections to each other. Your characters may all know Keleri, but that doesn’t mean they know each other.

Other than that, does anyone have any questions? It would be good to let the other players know what you're thinking of in terms of build so that we get a good mix.


MID-WINTER, 4718

It has been several weeks since you applied as one of the hopefuls vying to be awarded a charter to explore and map the Stolen Lands. Whatever your motivation, and whether you see this as a potential meal ticket or simply a way of escaping your current situation, today you were summoned for a final interview with the Mayor and some of the more senior Sword-Lords of Restov. On its completion, you were given the happy news that you have been accepted. Immediately afterwards, you were each given a stipend of 50 gold pieces, an invitation to the Mayor’s New Year Ball, and the opportunity to meet the fellow members of your group, who have also been awarded the charter. These will be your companions for the next however-many-months, so it pays to get to know them now…

Dot! I will leave the exact nature of those interactions to you - this is an opportunity to establish your character and develop a group dynamic

You also have some money to go on a last-minute shopping expedition for anything you forgot/couldn’t afford in your character generation


Welcome to all, and well done for putting together such compelling characters!

I have sent you some questions via PM so that I can get a better idea of what you are looking for from the game. In the meantime, some quick house-keeping

1. Please put your stat-line into your alias (and create an alias if you haven’t already!)

2. I’m hoping for 30+ posts a week (as a group) in order to keep things moving. If that’s likely to be a problem, please say so. Also, please don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good here – I love words, as you can probably tell, and I’m all for long posts that show your character agonising over their cruel fates and railing against an unjust world (it tells me I’m doing my job properly as GM), but sometimes a quick “Thrun swings his axe at the nearest orc [dice]” or “Astrid moves forward with her companions, her expression wary, looking for trouble” is all that’s needed to keep things moving on and prevent me from waiting for you.

3. I will be keeping track of time in-game, but I can never remember the Golarion months or days. I will therefore be using seasons, which seem to be more appropriate for the Frozen North anyway. They are:

New Year (late Winter)
Early Spring
Mid Spring
Late Spring
Early Summer
Mid Summer
Late Summer
Early Fall
Mid Fall
Late Fall
Early Winter
Mid Winter

This doesn’t fully align with Earth-type months (February is nobody’s idea of Early Spring) but it gives you an idea of what point of the year it is.

If I have to use days of the week I will use the German ones (Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag, Sonntag) so as to try and avoid breaking suspension of disbelief.

4. Kingdom roles. In the end, these didn't play as big a part in selection as I originally thought they would - I was looking for good characters with a good story to tell, and boy did I find them. But it does mean that we're going to need a Ruler - hopefully this will emerge naturally from the roleplay, since it's going to be quite some time before it becomes an issue! Essentially: forget the kingdom roles for now, they're a red herring.

If you have any questions or comments, have at it!


If the answer you’ve come up with to that question is positive, then this recruitment thread is for you!

As I said in the interest check, I tried a Kingmaker/Ultimate Intrigue mashup with my tabletop group, which worked fine until some of the players got bored with the kingdom-building bit of the AP. So, my first requirement is that you must be interested – excited, even – about the prospect of building your own kingdom!

Incidentally, it doesn’t matter if you have played/run/are playing/running Kingmaker already. Hopefully that means you’re interested in the kingdom-building rules and less likely to get bored and wander off. I will be changing huge parts of this AP, so any prior knowledge you may have is of minimal value.

The Kingmaker AP is a great start to a grand campaign. Throw in the Ultimate Intrigue rules and there’s everything you could hope for: politics, danger, tension. Over the course of the campaign, the PCs will face bandits, monsters, bad weather, and an over-arching powerful threat. Their characters will spend years in-game, with all the opportunities that provides for personal growth, long story arcs, and relationships. They will rise from chartered adventurers of possibly humble (even dubious!) origins to become significant power players in the northernmost reaches of Golarion. Therefore, in addition to the wilderness exploration and kingdom-building themes of this AP, I will add my second requirement, which is that you must be interested – excited, even – about the prospect of using the Ultimate Intrigue rules!

Without spoiling too much, mechanically I will be using the influence rules. If you want someone to help you, you'll have to form a connection with them: a scholar of antiquities might be influenced using knowledge (history) or Appraise; an aristocrat might be influenced using knowledge (nobility), or maybe Ride if they're a horsey, outdoors type; a huntsman might be influenced using Survival or Craft (traps)… you get the idea. You can always try to 'brute force' it using Diplomacy, but the DC will be higher because most people are more interested in making a connection than being schmoozed. Of course there will be times when Diplomacy is the right skill for the task - you might want to bribe/charm/flatter/seduce someone. But there's a lot more 'what does this person/group want' than 'I roll Diplomacy until they agree to my demands'.

I'm also using the rules for verbal duels. Those of you familiar with Kingmaker will have at least one idea where a verbal duel is required!

Flavor-wise, there's a LOT more politics. Brevoy is divided and unstable, and the forces that send you into the Stolen Lands want different things from you. Managing the various sides is going to be critical as the game develops. Everyone other than your fellow players has their own agenda, which might align with yours but also might conflict. Within the Stolen Lands themselves, the fey are factionalized and you will have to tread carefully to avoid antagonising the wrong faction.

I imagine you have some questions. I’ve tried to answer some in advance below.

How do I get picked?:
An excellent question! You will get picked based on how well your character fits into the setting. You will get picked based on the plot hooks that you leave in your background for me, your GM, to use – as well as for your fellow players to pick up on (this is, above all, a cooperative game). You will get picked based on how well you match your crunch with the fluff – if you use a weird or unusual weapon, where did you come by it? If you pick a particular feat or trait, where did you learn/develop that characteristic (e.g. who bullied you for your reactionary trait)? If you’re a cleric/paladin, how did you encounter your deity? Above all, you will get picked if you convince me that your character has an awesome story to tell about how they ended up ruling (or co-ruling) a mighty northern realm.

Can you tell me a bit about the campaign setting so I can immerse my character into it?:
Sure thing! But I hope you like text.

Although the southerners (Chels, Taldans, usw) might dismissively refer to the whole of Brevoy and the River Kingdoms as “The Frozen North” they are really quite distinct.

The River Kingdoms themselves are a collection of barely-stable fiefdoms, with almost nothing in the way of centralised rule: each parcel of land is at the mercy of the individual who rules it, who may style themselves Baron, or Graf, or even Duke or King, but who has little to no power beyond their own few acres.

The sole exception is Pitax, which has stood as long as Brevoy itself – a vast and vital city-state, it is rivalled only by the city of New Stetven (capital of Brevoy): these two great towers of the north glare at one another across the leagues. Pitax grows rich on trade, and by owning the best farmland outside Taldor – in a fair summer, it can grow its own grapes, and a good Pitax vintage is regarded as respectable even in the southern realms. It is based at the conflux of several key rivers, so the barges that ply their trade inevitably dock at Pitax. Flush with wealth, it has historically been a major patron of the arts, and its streets and buildings are rife with monuments and sculpture, generally commemorating the glorious leaders of the day. Its bardic college is a rival even for Cheliax’s own.

As for Brevoy itself, it is more properly understood as two separate nations: dignified Issia to the north and proud Rostland to the south, which were forged into a single country some 200 years ago by Choral the Conqueror. He founded House Rogarvia and all went well… until 10 years ago, when the entirety of House Rogarvia disappeared overnight (literally, overnight). This caused some consternation and uproar, as you can probably imagine, but nobody was ready to immediately resume the old hostilities: the nobility might have grumbled under the rule of House Rogarvia, but everyone had got so used to it that they were comfortable. So six months later, hardly anyone really complained too much when House Surtova took the regency, by right of blood (Noleski Surtova had a direct line of descent through the line of Nikos Surtova and Myrna Rogarvia, daughter of Choral the Conqueror). Of course, some people did complain too much but nothing was ever heard from them again, so they must have eventually decided that they weren’t that upset, after all. Or something.

Anyway, this perilous situation has endured for just over nine years now, and the edges are fraying slightly. There are some in the south who might have been willing to give fealty to House Rogarvia, but who chafe bitterly at having to kneel before a “damned Issian.” There are some in the north who feel that their rustic Rostlandic ‘cousins’ need a reminder about who’s really in charge, now. And so, little by little, there are rumours of arms caches, of foundries that for generations have made ploughs and scythes now being pressed into military use, of the movement of mercenary captains here and there, of poisoned blades and the dark-cloaked assassins who wield them…

Strategically speaking, Rostland is in the worse position. Its land is rough, but fertile; there is little stone, and even less in the way of metal. Most Rostlandic forts are made of wood – stone has to be imported from the mountains on the Issian border, or even further afield, at high prices. Added to that, Issia has the Lake of Mists and Veils at its back, while Rostland’s southern border is a mess: the borderland between Brevoy and the rest of the River Kingdoms is a lawless hive of bandits, monsters, and worse, referred to as the Stolen Lands – although who they were stolen from, and who they now belong to, is never clear. If civil war is to come, Rostland cannot afford to keep one eye on its back. Measures must be taken to bring order to the Stolen Lands.

Which is where our PCs come in...

What about character generation?:

You’ll need the Kingmaker Player’s Guide.

We will be using Pathfinder material only, no 3rd party materials. All core races are allowed – you can go more exotic than that, but you will need an amazing backstory (I give you fair warning).

*20 point buy
*average starting wealth
*2 traits plus campaign trait (NO DRAWBACKS)
*Background skills from PF Unchained
*ALL classes with 2 skill points/level get ‘promoted’ to 4 skill points/level
*Unchained classes are permitted (and in the case of Summoner, required)
*Maximum hit points (for all levels: I don’t want anyone dying unless I’ve actually put some effort into killing you!)

Aside from that, I will need:

  • completed character sheet
  • completed background (origins/occupation/reason for applying for the charter)
  • completed description (appearance/clothes/accessories/personality/quirks/likes/dislikes/morality)
  • an indication of what Kingdom role you want to go for (ideally this would be tied to your background somehow)


You don’t need to submit everything in one go: if you want to put together an initial concept and discuss it with me first, that’s absolutely fine.

Recruitment will run until it doesn’t - probably around 2 weeks, possibly longer if people need the time. I will announce any deadline well in advance.

I’m sure I haven’t covered everything, so if you have any other questions, have at it!


I ran a tabletop Kingmaker/Ultimate Intrigue combination campaign a while back, and it was a blast – right up until about the end of book 2, when half my players decided they weren’t into the whole kingdom-building thing any more, while the other half were really into it. It kind of fell apart after that.

I would really like to give it another shot, going all the way through the AP as I had it planned out. I’m therefore wondering whether there’s any interest on these boards in doing a more ‘political intrigue’ version of Kingmaker.

I think the Kingmaker AP as written is a great start, but in my view it misses the mark slightly. Let’s be blunt: you have an entire kingdom where the ruling line ended and a new noble family claims the throne as regent, with the kingdom roughly split in two between north and south, with all the politicking that suggests – and the players spend all their time on the border of that country and essentially don't interact with the power politics. Therefore, in addition to the wilderness exploration and kingdom-building themes of this AP, I would be looking to introduce some elements from Ultimate Intrigue. In particular, I would be looking to use the Game of Nobles (which incorporates Relationships and Loyalty, The Importance of Appearances, Bargains and Compromise, and The Power of Secrets elements); and also Verbal Duels.

If that’s of interest, then this thread is for you! If I get enough posters then I will put up a recruitment thread.


The small town of Falcon’s Hollow is a wild place. Nestled in the shadow of Droskar’s Crag, the people of Falcon’s Hollow are hearty and stern. Theirs is a life of hardships, broken only occasionally by a handful of festivals and the infrequent merchant caravan.

They face constant adversity from both the wilderness and the wiles of man. Wolves nip at their heels and cutpurses ply at their pockets. It is a testament to their strength that they even manage to survive at all.

Falcon’s Hollow has always had to rely on itself to solve its problems. Meanwhile, the uncaring lumber barons squeeze the common folk for every last copper, deaf to their pleas. Now the hacking coughs of the sick are heard throughout town. The plague has come to Falcon’s Hollow and the town’s leaders can’t be bothered to stop it.


Welcome to the game.

For those of you that haven’t played PbP before, this discussion thread is for all the out-of-character talk that we do: comments or queries on rule interpretations, random stuff about life, letting people know if you’re going out of town so you might be posting a bit more slowly for the next few days, that sort of thing.

Gameplay thread is where the action happens – where we make the story about your characters and how they save the world. We generally use third-person past tense, like

Thring smiled as he saw his enemies approach. Drawing his sword, he charged toward them, screaming the war-cry of his ancestors.

Speech is marked in bold:

“This is how you have your character talk out loud,” he explained carefully.

Anything your character thinks but doesn’t say out loud goes in italics:

I really hope they don’t find this too patronising, he thought to himself.

Like I said earlier, rule-queries should go in this discussion thread, but if you need to ‘break character’ for any reason in the gameplay thread, there’s an out-of-character font: for example

If that sword attack is enough to put this orc down, then Thring will move on to the next enemy, preferably the one menacing the squishy wizard if he can get there.

Hope that helps – any questions, let me know.

I’ll put a gameplay post up Monday.

In the meantime it might be worth have a talk about whether your characters know each other already, whether you live in the town or just outside it, that sort of thing.


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The remote town of Falcon's Hollow has endured much suffering in its time, from inside and out. Now it faces a new peril: a strange sickness is spreading among the population. No outside help is coming - the inhabitants are on their own. Can they survive?

Welcome to the recruitment for Hollow's Last Hope, an old module but one of my favourites. Just to get this out the way: I've been away from these boards for a long time due to personal reasons. I'm now back, and looking to run games again. I'm running this module first, with the aim of starting up an AP if all goes well.

If that hasn't put you off, I'm looking for 4 or 5 players to run through the module. I would love for at least one of them to be new, either to Pathfinder or to the whole Play-By-Post thing. More experienced players are welcome too, of course

Character creation

1st level
20 point buy
Maximum hit points
Average starting gold
2 traits, no drawbacks
Background skills: yes
Unchained classes: yes
Race: any, but exotic types need a REALLY good reason for being in Falcon's Hollow
No 3rd party materials

Background: I don't need pages, just something that distinguish you from all the other fighters/clerics/wizards usw out there. It should tell me how you ended up in this place (family always been here? Passing through? Settled recently? Other?). It should also explain why you didn't run away when the plague arrived. Some description of your character's appearance and mannerisms also helps.

If you need inspiration, here is a link to the page on Falcon's Hollow (beware spoilers).

Let me know if you have any questions. Recruitment will run until it doesn't, but I'll let you know 48 hours before I close it.