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Hi, I'm registering the results of an event. This is my first (probably last) time doing this.
It's a season 0 scenario. Players succeeded in the primary mission but not the secondary (per the secondary missions downloadable for the early seasons).
It was an online event. 2 players dropped out early on. The 4 remaining completed.
The form asks for missions completed A/B/C/D.
So ...
- missions completed = just A? I'm unclear on how this A/B/C/D thing maps to the primary/secondary (or whether it's the acts in the scenario)
- prestige points = 1 for the players who completed and 0 for those who dropped out (?)
Your journey through the gate is smooth and painless. The portal opens into a wide forest clearing, where you now find yourselves, slightly dizzy and still slow-witted from the effects of - what?. How, really, did you find yourself in this situation.
Though the sky is cloudless, the clearing is heavily shaded by the clusters of trees, so that those beams of light that actually find their way through the forest's canopy seem almost solid against the surrounding darkness.
The memory of the Rotunda - why were you there in the first place? - is fading quickly. You know that there is a quest, something to be found. You've been sent here by the Guild, about which you know next to nothing, but of which you now seem to be a member. Your companions seem to be in the same position, thrust unknowingly into an adventure none of them had been expecting 24 hours ago.
At the edge of the area where you now find yourself, stands a small settlement - about thirty mouldering, thatched cottages. Local children chase pigs and sheep in play, but they all rush toward you. They take your hands and lead you into the dark village, the area around which is watched by hundreds of unsettling scarecrows made from bones and branches wound together.
And so we begin ... part the first, The Raven's Call ...
The group falls through the gate, from the darkness of the Rotundra - why were you there in the first place?, you ask yourself - into the bright light of a Northern day, on a grey stone road across a craggy landscape, fields to their left and a large body of water to the right. Large, thin slabs of ice float on the surface of the water. The horizon is ringed by purple mountains, capped with snow and lined at their feet by great pine forests.
And the cold, dry, cloudless sky is stained with smoke.
The smoke is visible from a great distance, a black smudge against the sky. Something big is burning, a whole field or a huge bonfire. That’s not so unusual, but this smoke is tinged with an odd yellowish cast.
Perception DC20:
Around the smoke, near the ground, there are dozens, maybe hundreds, of crows or ravens.
And so we begin. Part the first - Atop the Warring Blasphemies ...
Please read the Prologues in the Campaign Info section. Per Prologue 4, the gate malfunctioned, you were thrown out into a strange desert and almost immediately captured by a dragon.
You remember the dragon attacking. The moon behind its outstretched, gossamer wings. The impact of its landing.
The horrifying revelation that the black sand wafting across its wasted frame was in fact millions of spiders skittering beneath its translucent scales. You remember its spider eyes locking with yours, and then its jaw unhinging and the black motes of its breath weapon billowing over you, and then burrowing, tunnelling, and cavorting under your skin.
Then blinding pain as the motes erupted from your pores as a spider swarm, and skittered back to the dragon with your life energy. You remember fear, falling, and screams muted by your own heartbeat. Then blackness.
You awoke days ago, paralysed atop the dragon’s stockpile of tangled bodies, where you still lie with humans, goblins, and reptilian beasts in a tangled mass of limbs and wide-eyed faces. Most are conscious. All are paralysed. Each horror-stricken face breathes with a slow asthmatic gasp, sucking air past spiders crawling from its throat. Each day, the dragon’s slave, a gnome with fiery orange hair, force feeds you water and a slurry of horse flesh and dragon bile. Each day, spiders crawl in and out of your open mouth, delivering your lifeblood to the dragon, as you stare helpless.
But something has changed. The dragon has been absent for over a day, and as the sun rose, the spiders climbed out and soon turned to dust. You’ve since shaken off your paralysis. Looking around, you see a great vulture nudging a paralysed goblin and ripping flesh from other victims. Wind whistles through the large single opening of this massive wooden shack. Sand covers a hard, pink, mucous floor, and two large columns of the same material provide support. Seeing you move, the gnome slave fumbles for a horn you’ve heard summon the dragon before.
Note ... you still have the armour you were wearing but otherwise no gear or weapons.
Hi - this is to follow from the PFS scenario list.
Initially this is by invite only. We'll continue playing through the PFS scenarios but using regular rules.
I'm proposing to drop Core, but not sure how far. Regarding XP, I am going to figure out the regular ruleset XP equivalent for Frozen Fingers and we are going to assume the party has played through it, as the starting point for the next adventure.
Proposed limitations (happy to discuss):
Classes
- Paizo - any permitted except oriental (Samurai, Ninja)
- Third Party - I'd be OK with Kobold Press New Paths Compendium. I've thought about Dreamscarred Press, could be persuaded but less keen.
- Similarly would be OK for Kobold Press Deep Magic for Domains, etc.
- Builds must be legal; I will probably check in HeroLab. Also you must have the books if you want to use the material, I don't want to have to explain it or, worse, cut and paste it.
- Note the scenarios are still in Golarion so anything needs to make sense for Golarion. Gearforged, for example, don't.
Races
- Prefer core, again it needs to make Golarion Inner Sea (so not oriental stuff like Ketsune) sense; I'd be OK with less common races, e.g. Android.
- The scenarios generally cluster around Absalom - oriental content in particular won't work
- I don't propose to allow third party races
Various unchained options
- Now is the time to ask. Gestalt, I really don't like so I can save you bothering on that one :-)
Builds:
- 20 point buy
- L1 with XP applied from first adventure (I don't think it will get you to L2)
- Max HP for level at L1, then roll or HP/2 + 1, whichever is the greater
- Average wealth for class, but you will get additional wealth from the first adventure, and you can spend it Absalom. I need to figure out how much it is, it will be divided between 6 (as will the XP).
Other requirements
- No NSFW content
- No evil alignments
- Expectation that you post at least once daily in joined up sentences
I'm open to a discussion on the above, on here. This will be the new campaign and I'll switch the other one to inactive once I've finished and submitted the paperwork.
Assuming everyone is in (I think including caps and Deko there are 5) I will go and find a 6th player when we have established the various build options.
Hi. I've created a Google Drive folder in which you should be able to drop files. The link should be in the header for this page (and this campaign).
If you used Hero Lab to create your characters, it would be really helpful if you could drop them into this folder, as it will speed up validation. Also if we need to further tweak for Midgard, and you don't have all the plugins, I can take the basic portfolio files and extend them for you.
If you didn't use Hero Lab, next best would be to send me a character sheet. Please PM me and I'll send you an email address.
Note - rules for this discussion:
- it's in place to help with organisation of the 3 campaigns. Each one will get its own campaign board once set up, and when all 3 are up and running I'll retire this board.
- please don't kick off RP in this thread. It's not what this thread is for (see Recruitment thread)
You can however use it to ask questions on the campaign(s) and high level questions about the setting.
This is an open recruitment for a couple of campaigns set in Kobold Press' Midgard Campaign Setting. I will be running two tables of 6 players. Each table may well use different scenarios, generally selected from those published by KP for the setting (see a fair way down this post).
I generally reserve slots for players on my existing campaigns, and have 5 requests, so I think there are 7 available. I've had no submissions as such so no roles are fully reserved. If they do come in I'll update the thread. But, put another way, there should be plenty of room.
I've encapsulated the recruitment requirements in spoilers, because otherwise it would take up the first page of the thread. Please read each part if you're intending to submit.
Basic:
- starting at level 1
- 6 players per table, 20 point buy
- 2 traits, no drawbacks
- 1 paragraph background story
- no evil characters; no NSFW content
- All builds must be legal in Hero Lab
- Where Midgard rules overrule/supersede Paizo, Midgard takes precedence
Character Building Options:
- Only Midgard options allowed for deities and regions - any Golarion-specific traits, feats, prestige classes etc. will not be available
- Retraining is unlikely to be available (I’m not a fan) - please don’t assume it in your builds
- Following Paizo traits are unavailable - Rich Parents, Hedge Magician, and Natural-Born Leader
- Options (including domains, bloodlines, mysteries, archetypes, etc.) are permissible from the list of Midgard publications below
Options will by and large be permissible from any in-print Paizo publication as long as it fits with the background and the other restrictions here
- Everyone must have a deity
Classes & Races:
- Paizo classes - all acceptable except Vigilante, Shaman (we’ll use the Midgard version - see below), Gunslinger, Samurai and Ninja
- Barbarian, Rogue, Monk, Summoner must be Unchained
- Midgard/KP classes - Spell-less Ranger, Shaman, Battle-Scion, White Necromancer, Elven Archer, Theurge (the SRD for all of these is here):
- Races - human, elf, elfmarked (Midgard equivalent of half-elf), dwarf, halfling@, tengu@*, dragonkin*, minotaur*, kobold*, gearforged*, gnoll@*. The SRD for some of these can be found here; if necessary I will fix up submissions to make them rules-legal.
- Those marked * in the above list - max one in the party and must take a Paizo class
- Those marked @ - these are meant to be “minor races” in Midgard so are correspondingly rare. Gnolls are more common in Southlands.
- We’ll use Midgard status rules - everyone starts at status level 4.
Party Composition:
- No more than one of any class, per party
- I would like to see one of each of the following, in each party - healer, melee fighter, ranged fighter, rogue/skills specialist, arcane magic user. Please indicate which role you intend to fulfil. We may need to be flexible on making everyone fit.
Other notes:
I may incorporate material from the Horror Adventures book when it comes out, also; I'm assuming the campaign would start late July/early August.
Valid Midgard/KP Material:
Firstly, I can’t send out copies of the material. You either have it or you don’t. I can check for valid builds in HeroLab. HL supports the following, so that's what I'm accepting, subject to the other restrictions in this post.
- Southlands Campaign Setting
- Southlands Bestiary
- New Paths Compendium
- Deep Magic
- Free City of Zobeck (Alleys of Zobeck, Streets of Zobeck, the Zobeck Gazetteer, and the Player’s Guide to the Crossroads)
- Midgard Bestiary
- Midgard Campaign Setting
Which Scenarios?:
The two tables will use different scenario trees, as described below. I intend to link the scenarios up into a wider campaign, and I would like to explore the setting as much as possible, so will find a way of it ranging far and wide - including into the Southlands and across the Western Ocean. The two groups may cross paths, depending on progress.
I have an idea of which scenarios I would like to run, but may mix it up. So basically, let me know your preference for starting scenario, and I will try to make it fit.
Table 1 opening scenario: the Raven’s Call, set in the Northlands (basically a dark ages Scandinavian setting) - “The trollkin and their shaman have come to a village by the sea, stormed its walls, and taken all the villagers as slaves and property. They have eaten their way through the saltfish, devoured the herd of sheep, and might be planning to eat the people next. Then, one escaped villager begs strangers on the road for help ... and gives them the chance to shine as true heroes striking down raiders of pure evil.”
Table 2 opening scenario: the Hollow (from Tales of Old Margreve), a fantasy horror story set at the edge of the dark and mysterious Margreve forest - the PCs face a powerful, ancient spirit that haunts a village. Or perhaps the village haunts the spirit. If you’re British and of a certain age, a reminder of the nightmare-inducing, zero budget, monochrome fantasy TV the BBC used to import from the Warsaw Pact and peddle to kids under the generic title of Tales from Europe (Singing Ringing Tree, I’m looking at you).
A question that seems to be coming up a fair bit:
Q: Could you please send me copies of the relevant Midgard books, otherwise I can’t build a character.
A: Again, no. Some SRD stuff is available openly, and it should also be perfectly possible to build a regular Pathfinder character. Also, sharing documents in this way is a bad thing. If necessary I will help on backstory, but that is it.
Any questions/clarifications please feel free to ask. Look forward to seeing the submissions.
Recruitment will close midnight, British Summer Time (GMT+1), 31 July.
Hi, I'm thinking of kicking off a campaign set in Kobold Press' Midgard campaign setting. The idea would be to run a combination of KP's own modules/scenarios and, where nothing interesting fits for a particular level, either adaptations of other modules or some self-generated stuff that fits the look and feel. The background would stick closely to the Midgard Campaign Setting book (and associated volumes).
General thoughts:
- starting at level 1
- 6 players, 20 point buy
- no evil characters; no NSFW content
- all KP material allowed, with the proviso that it's currently supported by Hero Lab. I'm hoping the Advanced Races Compendium will get its HL files soon*. Also see next point.
- probably some race limits - I don't think all Paizo/KP races will be allowed; I haven't figured out which ones will work, but it's likely to be core + some subset of NRC. No more than one of any non-core race allowed (so only one player gets to be Gearforged, for example)
- classes - any existing Paizo except Ultimate Intrigue (and also no Oriental classes - ninja, samurai, etc); Paizo classes should take Unchained option where available; any KP class allowed that fits the campaign (KP Shaman class rather than Paizo Shaman). Players may need to be flexible to get to a party mix that works (I'm thinking those who take KP unique races should use Paizo classes, and those who take KP advanced classes should use Paizo races, to make it fair).
- builds must be HL-legal (I'm finding this is increasingly the easiest firm answer to "can I do x")
- where Midgard rules overrule/supersede Paizo, Midgard takes precedence
- I may incorporate material from the Horror book when it comes out, also; I'm assuming the campaign would start late July/early August.
Just an interest check at this point - don't submit characters. Opinions welcome. If it goes ahead, I will probably offer slots to players on my existing campaigns also.
(EDIT: * spoke to KP and it looks like ARC won't get HL files till the autumn/fall earliest, so that would be off the agenda. HL does support Midgard races via the campaign setting though).
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Maps, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Following the player disappearance (and non-replacement) mentioned here, the remainder of the party experienced, effectively, TPK.
I'm trying to figure out what next. The group still wants to persist with PFS (I have to say, I have my own doubts after this and if there's one more negative experience I will personally give up PFS on PbP). I'd like some advice on cleaning up the scenario:
- those players who disappeared - I should register/hand out sheets such that they played the scenario, exp gained, etc.
- characters killed - also register/hand out sheets, mark the characters as dead
- 2 characters were actually killed, the remaining 2 were trapped in a situation from which they couldn't escape - treat all as dead?
- Restart with newly created characters? But none of the players can replay this particular scenario, despite not completing it?
For future reference - I can't add new players mid-scenario? Have them rush in and join the fray?
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Hi - I have a scenario I'm playing on the board, and - as per usual - a couple of players have disappeared. The first, I had the PC just vanish as the scenario had barely started (this happens so often that I'm convinced some people here just play a win/lose game on getting through a recruitment and aren't interested in actually gaming); the second PC disappeared a few weeks in, having posted very sporadically.
So I'm now down to 4 real players and one zombie PC.
For the sake of the feel of the campaign, I'm inclined to bot the 5th player and then to lose & replace him at the end of the scenario (I'm playing a campaign of linked PFS scenarios); is botting PCs in this way OK under PFS? Any limits on what the character, as a GM NPC, can do?
Please read the sections Prologue and the Golden Heroes in the Campaign Resources.
It is January 1985. The group has been deployed to Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire. An aircraft hangar has been reserved for their use. There has at this point been no mission briefing, all that you know is the Golden Heroes reserve has been activated. You know of one another but have not worked together before, nor do you actually know each other well.
As the game starts, you're in the hangar. It has been fitted with basic living facilities and each of you has been provided with a simple prefabricated living space, about the size of a small caravan (this is the British Army, not the American one!), again located within the hangar.
I'll leave it a day to allow the team to get to know one another, before moving on.
Firstly, everyone, Prologue 2 is now up in the campaign resources; it introduces the new party and the current situation. Please read it!
===
This summarises Prologue 2.
It's 3 days since the original party left Kassen.
Goldi is wandering in the forest, as she has been doing every day, going further and further away from the town, trying to come to terms with having missed out on the quest. She finds Jaer, badly wounded, having escaped some kind of battle in the crypt.
Jaer, wounded and confused, sees Goldi loom into view and screams.
The rest of the group, along with a drunken priest, Gram, is heading to Kassen from Fort Trefon, another small town, a week's travel to the east, hoping to join the party usually held at the end of the quest. They hear screams from the forest and - hopefully - go to investigate.
===
Goldi - assume you know Jaer already, at least to speak to, and she knows you. You'll know Ka'narg (current whereabouts unknown, assumed dead) but not any of the other new characters.
Everyone else except Ka'narg - you know one another, but not Goldi or Ka'narg. You've been travelling together for four days now. If you want to build it out further back than that, be my guest.
Hi, this is the discussion thread. Feel free to post here if you were selected for the campaign. I have to do a couple more days' prep but hope to be up and running by the weekend.
Hi - this is open to those people invited to the campaign.
I'm going to open this up while people build out their characters. It will take me a few days to pull over material from the previous campaign to this one and to get going. We can use that to firm up the characters in question and to line up how the new party is going to enter.
Hi, following the interest check thread here, I'm opening recruitment to this game, using Mutants and Masterminds 3rd Ed.
The first scenario is based on the Golden Heroes scenario "Legacy of EAGLES", set in Britain in 1985:
"Dateline 1965 - a strange meteor plunging to earth signals the end for a legendary team of superheroes... And still the only known survivor of the team won't talk... Twenty years on; their secrets are in danger of being unearthed by an arch-villain - can the Golden heroes foil his plans? Will they inherit... The Legacy Of EAGLES?"
Basic requirements:
- I'm looking for 6 players
- power level 10
- I would look for people to post at least once a day
- To submit please post an alias with a stat block in the profile. Reskinned heroes from elsewhere are OK (see the interest check thread for some references to lists of builds) and you can also re-use the archetypes in the rule books. But you can't play existing, published superheroes, to be clear.
- As well as the stat block I'll need a 1 paragraph origin story
- The scenario takes place, to repeat, in Britain in 1985 with a newly-minted, British-based set of superheroes. So if a PC's not British, he/she will need a reason to be there.
I'll leave recruitment open till midnight BST May 9.
Hi. I'm thinking of running M&M3E through, initially, the ancient Golden Heroes scenario, Legacy of Eagles.
Have to say I haven't run M&M in this edition before so as a caveat this may be a learning experience. Second caveat: I ran the actual scenario for Golden Heroes when it first came out (which is a hint as to how old I am) and achieved TPK, something I'm not keen to revisit.
From the back of the box: "Dateline 1965 - a strange meteor plunging to earth signals the end for a legendary team of superheroes... And still the only known survivor of the team won't talk... Twenty years on; their secrets are in danger of being unearthed by an arch-villain - can the Golden heroes foil his plans? Will they inherit... The Legacy Of Eagles?"
I propose to retain the same setting - the UK in 1985, with a newly arrived set of heroes trying to figure out what happened. General feel is Grant Morrison's Zenith, if you're familiar with that.
I'd be looking for enough interested players that we have a recruitment, rather than just managing to get the minimum; in my experience if the interest check just barely makes it, it won't work.
Final caveat - it will take me a few weeks to convert the content, which is why I'm trying to figure out the interest level before launching out on it.
Hi, I have a couple of campaigns needing replacement characters. Rather than run through an extended recruitment process, and having enough campaigns that this is an ongoing issue, I thought it easier to open a thread here. PM me if interested.
The campaigns are:
- Iron Gods, one slot, L1. Still on book 1. Current characters are: barbarian, bloodrager, shaman, summoner. Two players have disappeared, I'm botting their characters till the next replacement opportunity; I have a player joining as a gunslinger. Recruitment thread is here.
- PFS Core campaign, one slot, L1. Campaign has just started (it's surprisingly and distressingly common on these boards that players disappear straight after being selected for a campaign). Characters should be at 0-1 XP, they'll run one scenario behind the rest and at some point if necessary we will sync everyone by running on a slow XP track. Recruitment thread is here.
For non-PFS, new players will join at the same XP as current players, and join the campaign at the first opportunity they can be written into the story.
For PFS, new players will join with the next scenario (which will be Mists of Mwangi).
In both cases, check out the recruitment thread's first post. The expectation is that players will post at least daily, and post more than a one liner when they do so - I don't need a back-story at this point but please point out where you are or have already been in a campaign.
If we can sort something out it's likely to be pretty much first come first served, but if you don't make it and another slot comes up here or somewhere else I may well contact you - I tend to offer places to people on existing campaigns before opening up more generally.
Otherwise I'll update this thread if other slots fall open.
And so we begin. Part the first: The Frozen Fingers of Midnight.
You have been called to the Grand Lodge of Absalom for a briefing. Seated in a small chamber around a darkwood table, various trophies gathered from across the face of Golarion hang from the walls. A monkey-shaped mask with a serpent’s tongue glares out from the center of one wall, a strange halberd with gold rings piercing its thick blade and dragons carved along its haft hangs opposite the monkey mask. You are alone save your fellow Pathfinders, who apparently have been called here for the same purpose.
I will leave you to introduce yourselves while waiting for the Society's venture officer to arrive.
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Hi, I'm new to GM'ing PFS but not to GM'ing PbP.
I am setting up a Core campaign as a series of linked PFS scenarios from Season 0/1, playable via PbP.
To clarify on the process for player/event registration ... I think:
- I use event registration to register an event and mark it as online
- Do I have to point to these forums somewhere?
- I mark the scenario in question as PFC
That's it?
When I move to the next scenario in the campaign, I assume I just create a new event (?) and go through the same process, even if the PbP is in the same gameplay thread (?).
... and do the relevant paperwork at the end of each scenario in terms of handing out Chronicle Sheets.
Please correct me if I have any of the above wrong. Thanks.
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Hi, this has probably been asked before ... I'm new to GM'ing PFS btw.
The PFS guide says:
"All Tier 1 scenarios and Tier 1–2 sanctioned modules are available for unlimited replay with a 1st-level character for credit. The sanctioned modules may also be played with a 2nd-level character once for credit in each mode. GMs may receive another Chronicle sheet each time they run one of the Tier 1 scenarios or Tier 1–2 sanctioned modules, but may only apply a Chronicle sheet to one 2nd-level character per adventure."
Does this mean that a player who has played a tier 1 module before can do so again for full credit, so long as they use a 1st level character? I'm just kicking off a run through a series of scenarios, and some players have played the first few scenarios before. I'm assuming I can say, on the basis of the above, that as long as they have a character on level 1 it's fine.
I'm proposing to run the "Early Society" campaign from this post as a PbP campaign. Note, I haven't GM'd PFS before so this is a bit of a leap in the dark.
I'm looking for six players to start with.
I will initially run as CORE. If it goes well I will also kick off a standard run and may also run other campaigns from the aforementioned thread if there's interest.
To summarise, it's a campaign made up of PFS season 0/1 scenarios.
Regarding submissions and general practice (it's easier than usual as PFS does most of this for me):
- Expect to post at least once a day, preferably more often. I'd prefer to select players who have a solid posting record.
- PFS CORE creation rules
- Yes I do intend to hand out Chronicle sheets
- All characters begin at level one.
- Standard advancement track - given this is meant to be a campaign I expect the characters to move up together as possible.
- Content & tone: strictly no NSFW
- No third party content.
- Brief (1-2 para) back-story for your character, just so I can see how you write. Alternatively just reference a campaign you're already involved in and I'll check there.
It's probably less likely with CORE but there may be scenarios in the list (see below) you can't play. I'll try to work on some flexible mechanism to allow characters to drop out and come back in (it may involve dropping to slow advancement to try and keep everyone in sync). My preference is for people who can play most of the scenarios (obviously).
Here's the list of scenarios in the campaign. I'll initially leave recruitment open for 2 weeks from today, to provide a chance of getting a party with sufficient balance.
Scenario List:
1st Level:
4 The Frozen Fingers of Midnight
5 Mists of Mwangi
1 Silent Tide
2nd Level:
2 The Hydra's Fang Incident
13 The Prince of Augustana
3 Murder on the Silken Caravan
3rd Level
35 Voice in the Void
29 The Devil We Know, Part 1 - Shipyard Rats
30 The Devil We Know, Part 2 - Cassomir's Locker
4th Level:
41 The Devil We Know, Part 3 - Crypt of Fools
48 The Devil We Know, Part 4 - Rules of the Swift
39 The Citadel of Flame
5th Level:
33 Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossible
16 To Scale the Dragon
47 The Darkest Vengeance
6th Level:
37 The Beggar's Pearl
43 The Pallid Plague
50 Fortune's Blight
7th Level:
17 Perils of the Pirate Pact
38 No Plunder, No Pay
22 Fingerprints of the Fiend
8th Level:
26 Lost at Bitter End
32 Drow of the Darkland's Pyramid
34 Encounter at the Drowning Stones
9th Level:
31 Sniper in the Deep
56 The Jester's Fraud
27 Our Lady of Silver
10th Level:
36 Echoes of the Everwar, Part 1 - Prisoner of Skull Hill
42 Echoes of the Everwar, Part 2 - Watcher of Ages
44 Echoes of the Everwar, Part 3 - Terror at Whistledown
11th Level:
53 Echoes of the Everwar, Part 4 - The Faithless Dead
40 Hall of Drunken Heroes
20 King Xeros of Old Azlant
Hi - I'm thinking of running the "Early Society" campaign from this post as a PbP campaign. I haven't GM'd PFS before so this is a bit of a leap in the dark.
To summarise, it's a campaign made up of PFS season 0/1 scenarios.
Looking to check interest at this point. Could do Core or Regular (or even both at separate tables, depending on interest level).
The gate swings open, and five armoured humans emerge, leading six horses. The one at the front marches up to Silas, then unties and unrolls a scroll, which he hands to the bewildered merchant.
”Silas Gribb, I am Sir Pelle Benhovy, Sheriff of Belhaim. This here is a warrant for your arrest, issued by the High Judiciar at Cassomir. You’re to accompany us to our lord Judiciar for arraignment.”
Silas’ mouth opens and shuts a few times, without actually uttering words. Finally he manages: ”But … arrested for what?”
The sheriff eyes him squarely. ”According to this warrant, which you might care to read, you’re arrested for smuggling.”
Silas remains bewildered ”But … I don’t … for smuggling what?”
”It doesn’t say. We’ll find out in Cassomir, I suppose.”
Silas frowns. ”But what about my caravan? My goods, my passengers?”
”They’ll have to remain here, I’m afraid, while we sort out whether the court exercises its right of confiscation. I’m sure this will be worked out fairly quickly. A few weeks at most, for them at least.” The sheriff pauses, just long enough for any rules of decency to be satisfied. ”Time to go, I’m afraid.”
He beckons over his deputies, who set about tying the hands of the unfortunate merchant. Silas looks back at Lensing, who has already nocked an arrow and is furtively gauging the range between her wagon and the sheriff. Sadly, Silas shakes his head - nothing to be done here. Lensing will know what to do; they had after all discussed, several times, the possibility that their mysterious antagonists might somehow manage to impede them at various points along their route. Though, to be fair, they’d discussed nothing quite this serious.
And so, Silas is tied up and placed on the sixth horse. With relatively little fuss, the group of horsemen set off back down the road along which the caravan had previously travelled.
===
It’s evening now, and the party members - including the caravan’s passengers - are sat around a long table, having a not particularly nourishing meal, washed down with watered mead, at the Wise Piper Inn. After Silas’ abrupt departure, Lensing organised the caravan through the gates and into the town, and managed to call in some favours from the tavern’s young proprietor, Talia Orem. The caravan’s passengers, including Avogadro, each have their own rooms. The guards are billeted together in the cellar. Lensing sent the caravan’s drivers forward to Faldamont to arrange for alternative transport to allow the paying passengers to continue their journey - the effective delay however will be at least a week. Finally, she managed to borrow a horse and has set off after the sheriff, and in pursuit of her boss, to help in Cassomir as best she can.
Welcome to the game. You're having dinner in the Wise Piper Inn, and at something of a loose end.
Hi. Opening up the discussion thread. Please feel free to post here if you have been selected for this game.
I'll post up background material over the next few days, and check the character sheets over the weekend with a view to kicking off the campaign next week.
I suggest using the intervening time to figure out how you fit into the opening, either as a caravan guard or as a passenger. If you can quickly state which - Avogadro for example was a passenger - then I will write up the others to provide further hooks. I note we have two half-orcs as well, who might have been associating at the tavern when Silas arrived and asked for help.
Thanks for the submissions and really looking forward to getting this kicked off!
Founded by a famous dragonslayer, the small town of Belhaim has become a sleepy rural community just off the beaten path, a settlement where everyone knows everyone and strangers are the talk of the town. But when Belhaim’s peace and quiet is shattered by the sudden collapse of the last standing tower of its founder’s castle, things quickly bloom out of control ...
OK, I'm planning to add The Dragon's Demand to my portfolio of campaigns (2 current, planning to run one further beyond this). I'm looking for six players.
If things work out, I may then tack on further level-appropriate modules or scenarios (this one should get you to level 6 or 7) as we go.
If you're not familiar with it, the module starts at level 1. There's no player guide as such, the characters will have just rolled into town with a caravan (see below on Background).
Requirements/constraints
- Expect to post at least once a day, preferably more often; if there is an extended break I may run your character (or ask another player to do so) to move things along.
- All characters begin at level one.
- 20-point ability buy.
- No evil alignments.
- Content & tone: strictly no NSFW
- Races: Core races preferred. Check on anything else, I will be flexible if I think it can meet the background, but the more incongruous it is, the less the chance of selection. If I think the chance is absolutely nil, I'll say so.
- Archetypes fine as long as they can be justified within the background
- Classes: Core/Base/Hybrid. No Alternate or Occult. Where Unchained variants exist, I expect them to be taken.
- No third party content.
- Two traits, one of which must be a campaign trait (see the campaign guide). No drawbacks.
- Builds must be strictly rules legal (I will check and adjust if necessary)
- Average gold for your class.
- Maximum HP at level one, roll or 1/2 HD + 1 thereafter.
- Brief (1-2 para) back-story to link your character to the scenario background (see below)
Background
There's no "player's guide" for this campaign, but the idea is that your character comes to it cold. You just need to know you're in Northern Taldor.
Belhaim is a sleepy town on the northern border of Taldor. You'll be new to town, and will have rolled in on a caravan led by a merchant named Silas Gribb. The PCs may have been passengers or else hired as guards. They'll likely know one another (we'll sort this out at the start of the campaign) but will not know Belhaim.
From a background story point of view, I'd suggest just playing with the idea of how you found your way onto the caravan, and where you were before. We may have to do some synchronisation of stories but can work that out.
Selection
There are no guarantees, but my preference is for core classes/races so moving further out from there has a negative effect (but doesn't by any means rule you out). I'm OK with (and sympathetic to) new players but would like a balance of experience in there also. You need to be willing to commit: to post frequently enough, to be around for the duration of the campaign, to put effort into writing posts and to being an all round nice person. Apart from that, no big deal ...
I plan to hold recruitment open till March 1. If that changes, I'll post here.
Welcome to the game. This being Part the First: The Fires of Creation.
Introduction:
Torch isn’t a big town, but it shouldn’t be difficult to fill a town meeting.
Dolga Freddert - former adventurer, entrepreneur and smith, once present at the town’s founding, now its oldest councillor - peers through the slit in the office wall, trying to calculate the number of takers for the recruitment event.
"Six! Only six of them." says the old dwarf. "That’s what it’s come to now. This will be the last expedition - this is the slag from the bottom of the forge. Mere shrapnel, all that’s left. No ingots for the town to call upon, just shrapnel, that wouldn’t be enough to forge a paper-knife! Six, only six."
Kol Vestly - Dolga’s eldest, longest-serving assistant - observes his friend sadly. The pressure, he should admit, has been getting to her - he can see it clearly now. First, and without warning, the flame on the Black Hill goes out: the flame that has been the town’s fortune this last century or more. Then, the expeditions fail: Dolga’s friend, advisor and fellow councillor, the brave, brilliant wizard Khonnir Bain enters the Black Hill Caves, believing he will find the cause of the flame’s dowsing. At first, promising results - Khonnir found some strange artefacts, which he took back to his foundry to investigate. But his second expedition never returned. Others tried to follow, and they have in their own turn disappeared.
Now, the consequences. Refuse, which would once have been simply dumped into the flame’s mouth, is piling up in the streets. Some of it has found its way into Weeping Pond, contaminating the town’s water supply, and putting pressure on the water refinery constructed only a short time ago by Khonnir Bain and his friends from the Temple of Brigh. The town’s citizens have begun to complain of early-day fatigue, and strange headaches. Torch’s famous forges lie idle: the guild stores are empty, and trade is dying. Worst of all, the tribute demanded by the Technic League, up in Starfall, continues to make its relentless monthly call on Torch’s dwindling reserves.
All this has fallen on Dolga’s aging shoulders. She’s not the only councillor, or shouldn’t be. But of the remainder, two - the guildmistress Bazlundi Otterbie and Father Joram Kyte, of the Temple of Brigh - now have a full time job trying to solve the stubbornly unsolvable refuse problem. Tavern keeper Soceal Murgrave - normally so reliable - is laid up in her bed at The Evercandle Inn nursing a splitting headache (the third in as many days). And Khonnir Baine, of course, is missing.
Hence it’s left to Dolga to administer this last - very last - throw of the dice. Come one, come all, for what may well be the last expedition. With four thousand gold pieces, the odd magic item and the town’s undying gratitude as reward, for finding the secret, for re-igniting the flame, for rescuing Khonnir and for saving Torch itself before it falls back beneath the blackened earth on which it first grew.
"What do you see?" whispers Dolga. "Tell me what you see?"
Kol tries to smile whatever passes for a reassuring smile, for a crippled old half-elven, face covered in forging scars, lungs and head weakened over the years by the poor air, brackish water and the sheer metallic sting of having spent one’s entire adult life in grimy old Torch. He warily scans the room beyond. "I see five, um, humans, I suppose", he replies. "Of sorts, anyway. And a dwarf. The dwarf must be good, mustn’t it? An omen, of sorts?".
Dolga frowns. "The good omens left this town, long ago. They rode out on a caravan for better climes, cleaner air and kinder luck. All that’s left to us are discouraging, inexperienced portents of worse times to come. They’ve come today wearing armour and hopeful faces. Would you wager a town on them? Gods, but I wish I were young enough to go myself!"
"But we’re not," says Kol. "Our own flames are long since quenched. This is probably the only choice we have left. Go and wish them on their way, before they think better of it."
The formidable old dwarf sighs, hefts up her beloved, old warhammer, straightens her clothing and opens the door to the main chamber. The six hopefuls are sitting patiently, waiting to speak with her. She grimaces first, but then remembers herself. She smiles a terrifying, terrified smile.
"I assume you’ve come about the expedition?", she says. "Ask away!"
The party is sitting in the main chamber at the Town Hall. An old, female dwarf, Dolga Freddert, and her equally ancient half-elven retainer have entered the room, and stand on a platform facing the group. She looks expectantly at the group.
I've set this up to continue the process of character and background creation, away from the conventional recruitment process.
To repeat and expand from my original posts:
Setting:
It's 2320AD. Mankind has spread to the stars, first in starships using the stutterwarp drive, then, in the last hundred years, by connecting the settled worlds together via the stuttergate instantaneous transport gateways.
Earth is nominally united, and governed from its virtual reality based, physically distributed capital of Olympia. In fact, it's too soon to have pulled together and merged all the national and ethnic interest groups, which continue to fight for prominence and recognition. Building the stuttergates, and terraforming new worlds, demands a substantial part of an existing entity's GDP, and only the richest groups are capable of making such an investment. Those worlds that originally settled by colony ships but not able to acquire a stuttergate link have been largely abandoned. But the worlds connected into the new interstellar network are booming.
What happens when a gate fails? It happens, sometimes. The technology is only a century old, after all. Starships continue to maintain communications. A maintenance crew is sent out from Earth, by the Terran Government's Interstellar Communications Agency, to help with the re-establishment of communications. Recently, however, the link to the world of Nova Roma has collapsed, and no subsequent communications have been received. The maintenance team is to be sent, literally, into the unknown. Alongside it is an investigation team from the ICA's Special Cases Group, who've been tasked with getting to the bottom of the situation. That investigation team, dear players, is you.
Other Points:
Stutterwarp works in the same way as in 2300AD, roughly. I'll probably use their ship designs.
AI - AI does exist but there are no super-smart ship "minds" as in Iain M Banks - those AI's that super-develop - at least as far as everyone knows - tend to accelerate towards a position of either transcendence or catatonia - difficult to tell from the outside
Anti-gravity - doesn't exist. Ships need to have rotating sections to generate artificial gravity. Space to planet communication is still via relatively primitive rockets/shuttle type tech.
Anagathics - fairly advanced - most people who can afford it are effectively immortal, though the technology was only developed in the last century and so has had limited social impact thus far
Magic and psionics - will be introduced during the campaign - not known to the players or to the wider public at this point.
Virtual reality - used for distributed communications, including limited AI "bots". Between worlds and between stars, it's more limited - if it doesn't travel by the stuttergates (and the network does exist) it's limited by the speed of light.
Near-earth - there are gates on the moon, Mars and some of the outer moons. These worlds were used for experimental implementations of the gates and - in Mars' case - for experimental terraforming. Most of the lunar systems are now mining colonies.
Genetic engineering - not widespread, but the experimental Moreau system has thrown up human/animal hybrids, which after a long "abhuman rights" controversy were given full rights within the interstellar polity 50 years ago
Corporations - numerous. I'll produce a list later. Human civilisation is effectively capitalist
Aliens - life has been found on numerous other planets, but no sentient life has been found. Evidence of previous civilisations, tens of thousands of years old, has been found on a handful of worlds. But it's unclear how advanced those civilisations were.
Worlds - worlds have typically been settled by national interest groups rich enough to fund a gate. So there is for example a Texan world, a French world, a British world, an Arab world, etc. On some of these worlds there's still a debate going on about human versus ethnoreligious rights. We'll stay away from 21st century politics though.
Tone - no NSFW. Note there's also a horror element to the campaign and I will probably also include a sanity mechanic. I plan to keep it relatively non-linear and players will be invited to contribute ideas for the background.
Posting - I'd look for at least once a day, although slower at weekends.
Background - level 5, 20 point buy initially (see below, all human, no advanced or prestige classes at the start of the campaign, but tell me what you intend to use at the start of the story. Come up with a background, you can make up the world background for yourself, in terms of nationality, culture, etc.
Players - up to 6
Start - some time in probably late February. I'm running one other campaign and have a further one (Iron Gods) starting before this, so this is next in the queue. I'll look at the initial interest and then decide how long to open recruitment.
Some Questions That Have Come Up
- Q: can we start at level 3 instead, to leave room for advanced classes - yes. Please let me know what advanced class you intend to take (at least at first) so we can incorporate that into the story. It doesn't have to be secret from the other players, just keep it ooc.
- Q: can we use PF style mechanics for Perception, Stealth, etc. - yes
- Q: do you have to pay for starting gear? - no but it will be specified by the game (i.e. issued by your organisation). After the first scenario things will be a lot free-er
- Q: is arcane permitted? Yes, as an advanced class concept. Think Alien + Cthulhu + world of darkness, in terms of where I want to run the campaign
- tech level - looking at the gear I want to get to something not too space opera so am tempted to run gear at PL6 in D20 Future terms
- combat - I want to ensure the game isn't taken over by combat, and is heavy on investigation, RP, etc. There will be combat however and I would probably try to run it in Roll20.
Additional Background
- I think it's worth expanding on the organisation. ICA is an agency of the Terran government, which is a loose federation based on the United Nations (see below on "Earth 2320"). ICA's main job is to preserve, protect and prevent abuse of the inter-world travel network, itself based on the stuttergates. Special Cases is an agency of the ICA, whose job is to investigate and resolve failures of the network, be they accidental or deliberate. Agents would be assigned from other parts of ICA, run a 5 year term and then be rota'd out. This is your first mission with Special Cases. See below on background.
- Earth 2320 - the nations of earth have coalesced via some initial larger blocs to an effective post-scarcity society where population surpluses are effectively exported to new colonies off-world. There are a couple of hundred colonies, most of which have been through extensive and rapid terra-forming. Earth has 5 gates, located respectively in Denver, Strasbourg, Shenzhen, Cape Town and Montevideo. The initial destinations from Earth - Europa Prime, America Prime, Asiatica Prime, Africana Prime and Latina Prime are highly populous, multi-cultural "hub worlds" acting as transits from earth's continents and in their turn possessing multiple gates, but subsequent steps are likely to be dominated by particular ethnic/national/religious cultures and special interests, and "down the line" the problems of cultural fragmentation intensify. Beyond the Prime Hubs, most other worlds have a gate in and perhaps a gate out if they have developed their own colonies. Nova Roma stands two gates from Europa Prime, the intervening stop being Italica. The new candidate has been funded by Italica's political interests and by the Catholic Church (don't worry, I don't expect religion to intervene in the plot, in any particularly controversial way).
- Space travel. "Normal" space travel includes in-system travel to support mining and terra-forming. Most colonised worlds, as well as Earth, have space elevators (per the Beanstalk in 2300AD) to get craft, people and goods quickly outside planetary gravity, to low orbit "topstations" and into space. The beanstalk base is typically co-located with the stuttergate.
Things to Think About
So, some homework, as part of the background:
- Figure out a home-world background for your character, including family etc., taking into account the above
- Figure out a career background. You'll have been a high flying junior officer in one of the agencies of the ICA. Feel free to invent one.
In both cases we can collaborate on making things fit.
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Maps, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Hi, I’m thinking about running a d20 Modern/Future Sci-Fi/Horror campaign and wanted to check interest. Idea is as follows:
- Use d20 modern/future and relevant supplements (not modern path, etc)
- Setting is 300 years in the future
- Travel between inhabited worlds is via doorways as per Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, John Barnes’ A Million Open Doors, etc.; FTL travel, in spaceships, required to set up the doorways uses Stutterwarp (from 2300AD - but the 2300AD geopolitical background would not be used). I’d expect most of the action to take place on planets and stations rather than in space, though (no ship to ship combat, for example).
- “Mythos” based on Pathfinder Dark Tapestry
- Players all start off as human; there has at this point been no first contact with sapient alien races
Just an idea at the moment. The opening adventure would involve the party investigating a broken “doorway” on a world under terra-formation.
It will probably take me a month to prep everything and I have a couple of other campaigns, one underway and one about to start, but this is something I’ve been keen to do for a while. Want to check interest before I undertake the prep.
Thousands of years ago, the Rain of Stars scattered the debris of an exploding starship across the land that now forms the country of Numeria. The ship’s fragmented remnants can now be found in Numeria’s many mysterious and perilous ruins, feared by the local barbarian tribes and coveted by the sinister spellcasters of the Technic League. Now, something new has risen to power in these hidden technologic halls. The Iron Gods are ready to make their presence known. Who will stand against them?
Hi. This is an open recruitment for the Iron Gods adventure path. Some places have been pre-allocated to players on an existing campaign I'm running. We have 3 spare slots for a total party of 6. Slots currently taken:
- Expect to post at least once a day, preferably more often; if there is an extended break I may run your character (or ask another player to do so) to move things along.
- All characters begin at level one.
- 20-point ability buy.
- No evil alignments.
- Races: Core, plus Aasimar, Android, Changeling, Orc, & Tiefling. Variant heritages for Aasimar & Tiefling are permitted. And that, my friends, is it. No exceptions.
- Archetypes fine as long as they can be justified within the background
- Classes: Core/Base/Hybrid/Occult. No Alternate. Where Unchained variants exist, I expect them to be taken.
- No third party content.
- Two traits, one of which must be a campaign trait (see the campaign guide). Drawbacks may be used to acquire a further trait.
- Average gold for your class.
- Maximum HP at level one, roll or 1/2 HD + 1 thereafter.
- Brief (1-2 para) back-story to link your character to the scenario background. See the campaign guide for background.
Process: if selected I’ll reconfirm with you before going ahead (in a recent campaign for 6 people, even this didn’t work - two people confirmed but dropped out without even posting in the Gameplay thread). I’ll also check your character sheet against the rules. I do expect the sheets to be rules-legal and will request changes if not.
Getting selected: the process on these groups strikes me as kind of weird and slightly frantic, especially when the number of candidates exceeds the number of slots.
In general and personally, I prefer RP to competitive gaming; I’ll look for people who look like they can commit - both to the game and to their characters, who write well (and succinctly), who act maturely and who will play nice. Party mix, in terms of what roles need filling, is also a consideration (so note the slots already taken - I'll also check with those individuals on their preference). There are only so many of one particular class that a party can, or should, accommodate.
In terms of feedback during the process, I can't say whether making a particular tweak will guarantee selection. I can rule on any controversial choices - so feel free to check. It's not a question of getting in early. Anyone who submits a character before the closure of submissions will, I promise, get fair consideration.
Finally, if not selected, it seems to be common for players to drop out so don’t despair; if we do have people drop out and the slot is appropriate, you may yet get an invite at a later date.
I will probably leave recruitment open through to February 8, at which point I'll start contacting those who've been short-listed. If that deadline changes I will post the change on here.
Reboot of the Gameplay thread for this campaign, having lost 2 of the original party.
Every year when the leaves begin to fall, the small town of Kassen conducts a rite of passage in which it sends a band of young, would-be adventurers to the abandoned crypt of the town founder to recover the Everflame, a magical fire that is kept burning throughout the winter. Each year the youths' mettle is tested by traps, illusory monsters, and other challenges before returning home to a festival honouring their coming of age. But this year … things are more complicated.
What follows is a description of the ceremony, as it happens. I've put it inside a spoiler tag as it is quite long. Brief summary: the ceremony is now over. The road to the crypt leads away through town and to the south. Most of the party are likely to know one another (or know of one another), with the probable exception of Illya.
Introduction:
It’s the last day of autumn, and as she waits for the Festival of the Everflame, Asina Silvers sits on the first floor balcony of her father’s inn, overlooking Kassen’s town square. At the square’s centre, by the ancient fountain that supplies the town’s fresh water, stands a newly constructed wooden platform; and at the centre of that is a barrel-sized basket filled with large, flat stones.
“Can’t wait?”, asks a voice at her shoulder. She turns to see that she has been joined by the inn’s only employee, Jimes the waiter.
“Nothing to do till the festival starts. Everyone’s pretending to take it seriously, which means no business. Where’ve you been?”. She eyes the halfling, suspiciously. Good company he might be, but you couldn’t trust him farther than you could throw him (actually less far even than that, given his size).
“I’ve been counting the takings”
Her eyes narrow. “Taking the takings, you mean?”
“No, child. Counting. I’ve told you before: if you and your father have no business, I have no business.”
Yes, she had heard that one before. “That may be the case, but if you only ever leave us just enough to stay in business, we’ll never be rich, will we?”
A pause. Jimes looks at his feet, thinks for a second, then - by way of changing the subject - says, brightly: “So, thoughts on the festival?”
Asina glowers. “Waste of time. A bunch of idiots trying to prove themselves go on a fake adventure, which proves nothing, except that we’re all fools for going along with it. They all come back safely, we have a big slap up meal at the Greathall, father makes barely any profit on the catering, then you take a penny from every weight and the Guild takes two. And the mayor gets re-elected. As I said, we’re all fools.”
Jimes retains his smile. “You’re very cynical for a 13 year old. And actually, my question was more, which idiots are going to get picked?”
“They’ve already been picked. They know, even if it’s not public yet. At any rate, we’ll find out soon enough, here they come …”
From down the street, there’s a slow, mournful drumming, from the front of a procession that is marching purposefully through the town and into the square. Arranged in rows, clad mainly in black and with eyes downcast and mournful, the townspeople enter the square, then spread out to surround the central fountain. After a few moments, a murmur passes through the crowd as it slowly parts to let through Mayor Jonark Uptal, a stout man in his early 50s, with long blonde hair and a full beard, wearing his red cloak of office, with its gold lining, over the day’s black garb.
He leads the way with a tarnished silver lantern. Behind him, an old pony drags a cart laden with backpacks and supplies. Once he reaches the center of the crowd, Mayor Uptal steps onto the platform and calls out to the assembled townsfolk:
“Once again the winter winds blow through the Fangwood, marking the end of another harvest. There are wolves in the woods, howling at our walls, and serpents in our shadows, waiting to strike. Just as it was one hundred and seventy-four years ago, when Kassen himself left these walls to protect us, so it is today. Where are our heroes? Where are the brave folk that will venture out to Kassen’s tomb and retrieve the flame to keep this community safe for another winter?”
The crowd parts again. This time, a number of individuals step forward: Kassen’s “elders” - the various individuals in town tasked to oversee the education of new “heroes”: individuals who may eventually, after perhaps leaving the town for a while and getting some real “adventuring” experience under their belts, rise to the task of filling key roles in the development and protection of the town. These are the heroes who will be honoured by their nomination for the quest.
Not, Asina reflects, that it always works like that. Sometimes, yes, the nominees are the favoured apprentices of the town elders. Sometimes they’re privileged, undeserving types whose parents, relatives or friends have managed to call in a favour. And sometimes they’re just individuals the town would prefer to see leave, go adventuring and never come back. Generally it’s a mix. The fun part - usually the only fun part of the entire bloody crypt flame festival exercise - is watching the nomination process and guessing who is in which category. The actual pantomime of the “quest” is merely an afterthought; anyone who thought otherwise was completely missing the point.
First to step forward is Holgast, the wizard and town sage. He’s been carried here on a palanquin, carried front and back by two of his apprentices, both of whom are wearing the resigned expressions of individuals who are getting nothing out of their apprenticeships but a bad back. He’s smoking his usual, pungent peppermint-spiced tobacco. He lifts his pipe. “Holgast the Walker,” - at this his apprentice both roll their eyes - “on behalf of the Wizardly Orders, casts no stone this year”. Asina looks at Jimes. There’s a turn up. So, no wizard.
Several other elders come forward, and again, cast no stone. Their apprentices, where they have them, look despondent. Finally, Armana Lastrid, the grim, determined and largely humourless ranger, steps up and throws a stone into the basket: “The Rangers of Nirmathas cast their stone for Ka'narg, may he grace our name!”.
There’s a round of polite applause. Armana currently has two apprentices - Ka'narg Half-Orc and Bardan Greyholt. Ka'narg, big, intimidating and rough-hewn, is the “nice” one, although somewhat serious in demeanour (much like Armana in fact) - he came to Kassen as a child, escaping the Molthune invasion, and has been quietly serving Armana for some years. Bardan - who seems to have missed out - is the “difficult” one, a Kassen lad, born and bred, but whom most people remember as a frustrated child, an angry teenager, a petty thief and an all round social menace. His parents, in desperation, gave him to Armana to “sort him out” - she seems to have quietened him down, all right (though she occasionally sees him at the inn, drinking with Jimes, which can’t be a good sign) - but, well, would Bardan have ever won Armana’s affections, set against Ka'narg? Ka'narg, face firmly set, grimly dutiful as always, steps forward, takes - as first chosen - the silver lantern from Mayor Uptal, and steps back. Asina seeks out Bardan’s face in the crowd - he’s standing near to Armana, but seems to have taken the slight well, and looks relatively unperturbed.
Next to cast is the Captain of the Watch, Gregor Wisslo: “The Town Watch casts a stone for Harken, of the North”. He casually throws a stone in the basket and steps back.
This, thinks Asina, is a classic case of using the quest to get rid of an annoyance. Harken, a big, genial warrior from the northern lands of Linnorm, must have spent as much time carousing in the inn as walking the bounds for the Watch. At first, he paired up with Grimscar, that uncouth, loutish half-orc from the Woodcutters, but one day when a drunken Grimscar had gone one taunt too far against poor, slow-witted Golfond Kir, Harken had turned round and given Grimscar the beating he’d long been asking for (along with pretty much the rest of the town). Not that Captain Wisslo approved. No, he liked his beatings by the book, and with the appropriate paperwork. Harken’s not that type, so off to the quest he goes. But there he is, with a big, wide grin all over his face, so he doesn’t seem too unhappy about it.
It’s now the turn of Colbin Vetnar, master of the Woodcutters. But the guild doesn’t have apprentices, does it? “The Honourable Guild of Woodcutters casts a stone for Bardan Greyholt”. A murmur goes round the crowd. Asina stares at Jimes. Jimes shrugs. “I called in a few favours”, he says, through a wolfish grin. “And now I’m owed a few as well. Win-win!”. Asina frowns. Nobody looks good when associated with Vetnar. Even Jimes doesn’t look good. Something will come of this, she’s sure.
Another elder comes forward, Father Prasst: “The Temple of Erastil casts a stone for Irgal Zeth.”
Asina bites her lip. Irgal was there, helping, the night her mother died giving birth to her little brother, Gemyn, who - in turn - never survived the following winter. She knew Irgal beforehand, of course, saw him around town, when he was a cheerful journeyman priest. After the death, the halfling seemed to blame himself. Or perhaps he heard or saw something that changed him. Whatever, the joy drained from him, as it did from so many who were close to the event. Asina looks for her father in the crowd. She spots him at the back, near the wall of the Greathall, deep in conversation with the inn’s mysterious lodger, Cygnar Anravis. Is Trelvar Silvers deliberately ignoring the ceremony? Nobody normally talks to Cygnar, he just hangs around, always cloaked, always hooded, always watching. Asina shivers. Best put Irgal out of her mind. Two to go.
Now old Sir Dramott steps forward, in his old-fashioned, somewhat tarnished plate armour. “The Lastwall garrison casts its stone for Keshik Moldrok.” There’s a silence in the crowd, as it decides what aspect of this decision it likes least. The Lastwall garrison, an uninvited but apparently permanent military presence on the part of Nirmathas’ militant northern neighbours, is - to start with - unwelcome in Kassen, despite its proclaimed mission to oversee and hold back the orcish marauders of Belkzen. Then there’s Keshik himself: in a town where almost the entire population is either human or half-human, or something like it (half-sized human, even), Keshik is a lizardman. Pushing 7 feet tall and thoroughly unmissable in town, he’d obviously been sent by the Lastwall military to be hidden somewhere out of the way, where they could forget about him. And after a brief period where he had a rough degree of freedom to roam the streets of Kassen and of being left to his own devices, it became clear even that strategy wouldn’t work. Keshik is too ... unusual. Too frightening and disturbing for the delicate sensitivities of the Kassen citizens. So Dramott’s strategy is obviously: out of sight, out of mind. Get poor, friendless Keshy on the quest and forget about him.
One elder left. Mad Moltus Vardigan emerges from a crowd of his own - his twelve strangely similar sons. An old shrivelled white faced man, yet with the same long black hair as his young progeny, wearing black robes and if anything a blacker cloak, he stumbles forward. “The Vardigan Bloodline casts a stone … for the white haired girl.” Asina’s confused. What white haired girl? There is no white haired girl. Yet suddenly there she is, standing by him. A tall, slender half-elven female, with pale skin and vivid violet eyes. Asina has never seen her before. It’s as though the sorcerer’s apprentice has just been conjured into existence. And, why, with so many sons to send into the world, choose her? Moltus looks up, through the crowd, and straight at Asina. “I’m sending her away because she’s too dangerous to keep around”, he says, directly to her, black eyes fixed on hers. She stares back, transfixed. Then looks around. Everyone else carries on as normal. It’s as though nobody heard Vardigan’s words. And Vardigan himself is gone. Just his sons remain (and are there twelve, or really thirteen?). Asina shudders, her back prickling cold, and steps back.
The ceremony continues, as if nothing untoward has happened.
The mayor once again speaks to the townsfolk. “I present to you the brave heroes who will follow in Kassen’s footsteps to retrieve the Everflame! Some of them may not return, but I say to you that their sacrifices shall not be forgotten.” (“Hmmph”, mutters Jimes, “Nobody has ever failed to return from the quest ... Gerol and his pals are probably sitting there giggling right now in their fake monster costumes.”). He goes to the newly minted adventurers in turn, gives each of them one of the backpacks from the cart, and shakes them warmly by the hand, although in the case of the half-elf at the end of the row, he does so with a somewhat confused expression. Finally, he goes up to Tycho, takes from him the ceremonial lantern and in exchange gives him a tied up scroll, telling him that it’s a map of the route to the crypt.
The mayor points to the south, the direction of Kassen’s tomb. “Go, brave heroes, and do not return until you have the eternal fire.” The townsfolk begin waving goodbye with cold, solemn looks on most of their faces.
The square empties, leaving the party of heroes to commence their journey.
Asina and Jimes step back from the balcony, and go back downstairs to the tap room of the Seven Silvers Inn, to await the afternoon’s trade.
Every year when the leaves begin to fall, the small town of Kassen conducts a rite of passage in which it sends a band of young, would-be adventurers to the abandoned crypt of the town founder to recover the Everflame, a magical fire that is kept burning throughout the winter. Each year the youths' mettle is tested by traps, illusory monsters, and other challenges before returning home to a festival honouring their coming of age. But this year … things are more complicated.
What follows is a description of the ceremony, as it happens. I've put it inside a spoiler tag as it is quite long. Brief summary: the ceremony is now over. The road to the crypt leads away through town and to the south. Most of the party are likely to know one another (or know of one another), with the probable exception of Illya.
Introduction:
It’s the last day of autumn, and as she waits for the Festival of the Everflame, Asina Silvers sits on the first floor balcony of her father’s inn, overlooking Kassen’s town square. At the square’s centre, by the ancient fountain that supplies the town’s fresh water, stands a newly constructed wooden platform; and at the centre of that is a barrel-sized basket filled with large, flat stones.
“Can’t wait?”, asks a voice at her shoulder. She turns to see that she has been joined by the inn’s only employee, Jimes the waiter.
“Nothing to do till the festival starts. Everyone’s pretending to take it seriously, which means no business. Where’ve you been?”. She eyes the halfling, suspiciously. Good company he might be, but you couldn’t trust him farther than you could throw him (actually less far even than that, given his size).
“I’ve been counting the takings”
Her eyes narrow. “Taking the takings, you mean?”
“No, child. Counting. I’ve told you before: if you and your father have no business, I have no business.”
Yes, she had heard that one before. “That may be the case, but if you only ever leave us just enough to stay in business, we’ll never be rich, will we?”
A pause. Jimes looks at his feet, thinks for a second, then - by way of changing the subject - says, brightly: “so, thoughts on the festival?”
Asina glowers. “Waste of time. A bunch of idiots trying to prove themselves go on a fake adventure, which proves nothing, except that we’re all fools for going along with it. They all come back safely, we have a big slap up meal at the Greathall, father makes barely any profit on the catering, then you take a penny from every weight and the Guild takes two. And the mayor gets re-elected. As I said, we’re all fools.”
Jimes retains his smile. “You’re very cynical for a 13 year old. And actually, my question was more, which idiots are going to get picked?”
“They’ve already been picked. They know, even if it’s not public yet. At any rate, we’ll find out soon enough, here they come …”
From down the street, there’s a slow, mournful drumming, from the front of a procession that is marching purposefully through the town and into the square. Arranged in rows, clad mainly in black and with eyes downcast and mournful, the townspeople enter the square, then spread out to surround the central fountain. After a few moments, a murmur passes through the crowd as it slowly parts to let through Mayor Jonark Uptal, a stout man in his early 50s, with long blonde hair and a full beard, wearing his red cloak of office, with its gold lining, over the day’s black garb.
He leads the way with a tarnished silver lantern. Behind him, an old pony drags a cart laden with backpacks and supplies. Once he reaches the center of the crowd, Mayor Uptal steps onto the platform and calls out to the assembled townsfolk:
“Once again the winter winds blow through the Fangwood, marking the end of another harvest. There are wolves in the woods, howling at our walls, and serpents in our shadows, waiting to strike. Just as it was one hundred and seventy-four years ago, when Kassen himself left these walls to protect us, so it is today. Where are our heroes? Where are the brave folk that will venture out to Kassen’s tomb and retrieve the flame to keep this community safe for another winter?”
The crowd parts again. This time, a number of individuals step forward: Kassen’s “elders” - the various individuals in town tasked to oversee the education of new “heroes”: individuals who may eventually, after perhaps leaving the town for a while and getting some real “adventuring” experience under their belts, rise to the task of filling key roles in the development and protection of the town. These are the heroes who will be honoured by their nomination for the quest.
Not, Asina reflects, that it always works like that. Sometimes, yes, the nominees are the favoured apprentices of the town elders. Sometimes they’re privileged, undeserving types whose parents, relatives or friends have managed to call in a favour. And sometimes they’re just individuals the town would prefer to see leave, go adventuring and never come back. Generally it’s a mix. The fun part - usually the only fun part of the entire bloody crypt flame festival exercise - is watching the nomination process and guessing who is in which category. The actual pantomime of the “quest” is merely an afterthought; anyone who thought otherwise was completely missing the point.
First to step forward is Holgast, the wizard and town sage. He’s been carried here on a palanquin, carried front and back by two of his apprentices, both of whom are wearing the resigned expressions of individuals who are getting nothing out of their apprenticeships but a bad back. He’s smoking his usual, pungent peppermint-spiced tobacco. He lifts his pipe. “Holgast the Walker,” - at this his apprentice both roll their eyes - “on behalf of the Wizardly Orders, casts no stone this year”. Asina looks at Jimes. There’s a turn up. So, no wizard.
Several other elders come forward, and again, cast no stone. Their apprentices, where they have them, look despondent. Finally, Armana Lastrid, the grim, determined and largely humourless ranger, steps up and throws a stone into the basket: “The Rangers of Nirmathas cast their stone for Tycho Sandalwood, may he grace our name!”.
There’s a round of polite applause. Armana currently has two apprentices - Tycho Sandalwood and Bardan Greyholt. Tycho is the “nice” one - he came to Kassen as a child, escaping the Molthune invasion, and has been quietly serving Armana for some years. Bardan - who seems to have missed out - is the “difficult” one, a Kassen lad, born and bred, but whom most people remember as a frustrated child, an angry teenager, a petty thief and an all round social menace. His parents, in desperation, gave him to Armana to “sort him out” - she seems to have quietened him down, all right (though she occasionally sees him at the inn, drinking with Jimes, which can’t be a good sign) - but, well, would Bardan have ever won Armana’s affections, set against Tycho? Tycho, all smiles, steps forward, and - as first chosen - takes the silver lantern from Mayor Uptal, and steps back. Asina seeks out Bardan’s face in the crowd - he’s standing near to Armana, but seems to have taken the slight well, and looks relatively unperturbed.
Next to cast is the Captain of the Watch, Gregor Wisslo: “The Town Watch casts a stone for Harken, of the North”. He casually throws a stone in the basket and steps back.
This, thinks Asina, is a classic case of using the quest to get rid of an annoyance. Harken, a big, genial warrior from the northern lands of Linnorm, must have spent as much time carousing in the inn as walking the bounds for the Watch. At first, he paired up with Grimscar, that uncouth, loutish half-orc from the Woodcutters, but one day when a drunken Grimscar had gone one taunt too far against poor, slow-witted Golfond Kir, Harken had turned round and given Grimscar the beating he’d long been asking for (along with pretty much the rest of the town). Not that Captain Wisslo approved. No, he liked his beatings by the book, and with the appropriate paperwork. Harken’s not that type, so off to the quest he goes. But there he is, with a big, wide grin all over his face, so he doesn’t seem too unhappy about it.
It’s now the turn of Colbin Vetnar, master of the Woodcutters. But the guild doesn’t have apprentices, does it? “The Honourable Guild of Woodcutters casts a stone for Bardan Greyholt”. A murmur goes round the crowd. Asina stares at Jimes. Jimes shrugs. “I called in a few favours”, he says, through a wolfish grin. “And now I’m owed a few as well. Win-win!”. Asina frowns. Nobody looks good when associated with Vetnar. Even Jimes doesn’t look good. Something will come of this, she’s sure.
Another elder comes forward, Father Prasst: “The Temple of Erastil casts a stone for Irgal Zeth.”
Asina bites her lip. Irgal was there, helping, the night her mother died. Giving birth to her little brother, Gemyn, who never survived the following winter. She knew Irgal beforehand, of course, saw him around town, when he was a cheerful journeyman priest. After the death, the halfling seemed to blame himself. Or perhaps he heard or saw something that changed him. Whatever, the joy drained from him, as it did from so many who were close to the event. Asina looks for her father in the crowd. She spots him at the back, near the wall of the Greathall, deep in conversation with the inn’s mysterious lodger, Cygnar Anravis. Is Trelvar Silvers deliberately ignoring the ceremony? Nobody normally talks to Cygnar, he just hangs around, always cloaked, always hooded, always watching. Asina shivers. Best put Irgal out of her mind. Two to go.
Now the druid, Olmira Treesong, steps up. “The Fangwood casts its stone for Ahlbay UstIer.” Predictable. She only has one apprentice. Ahlbay’s very different from the strange, leaf-clad (often barely clad) free spirit Olmira. He seems obsessed with the river, often standing knee deep, calling to the waters, speaking to it, encouraging it even. The town’s many fishermen, notably the mayor himself, would miss him. One more, now.
One elder left. Mad Moltus Vardigan emerges from a crowd of his own - his twelve strangely similar sons. An old shrivelled white faced man, yet with the same long black hair as his young progeny, wearing black robes and if anything a blacker cloak, he stumbles forward. “The Vardigan Bloodline casts a stone … for the white haired girl.” Asina’s confused. What white haired girl? There is no white haired girl. Yet suddenly there she is, standing by him. A tall, slender half-elven female, with pale skin and vivid violet eyes. Asina has never seen her before. It’s as though the sorcerer’s apprentice has just been conjured into existence. And, why, with so many sons to send into the world, choose her? Moltus looks up, through the crowd, and straight at Asina. “I’m sending her away because she’s too dangerous to keep around”, he says, directly to her, black eyes fixed on hers. She stares back, transfixed. Then looks around. Everyone else carries on as normal. It’s as though nobody heard Vardigan’s words. And Vardigan himself is gone. Just his sons remain (and are there twelve, or really thirteen?). Asina shudders, her back prickling cold, and steps back.
The ceremony continues, as if nothing untoward has happened.
The mayor once again speaks to the townsfolk. “I present to you the brave heroes who will follow in Kassen’s footsteps to retrieve the Everflame! Some of them may not return, but I say to you that their sacrifices shall not be forgotten.” (“Hmmph”, mutters Jimes, “Nobody has ever failed to return from the quest ... Gerol and his pals are probably sitting there giggling right now in their fake monster costumes.”). He goes to the newly minted adventurers in turn, gives each of them one of the backpacks from the cart, and shakes them warmly by the hand, although in the case of the half-elf at the end of the row, he does so while wearing a somewhat confused and worried expression. Finally, he goes up to Tycho, takes from him the ceremonial lantern and in exchange gives him a tied up scroll, telling him that it’s a map of the route to the crypt.
The mayor points to the south, the direction of Kassen’s tomb. “Go, brave heroes, and do not return until you have the eternal fire.” The townsfolk begin waving goodbye with cold, solemn looks on most of their faces.
The square empties, leaving the party of heroes to commence their journey.
Asina and Jimes step back from the balcony, and go back downstairs to the tap room of the Seven Silvers Inn, to await the afternoon’s trade.
Welcome everyone - I've announced the group but have not done a final check on the stat blocks etc. Could you please get your alias set up with the up to date stat block - I get back from vacation on Sunday and will try to go through and run final checks Sunday/Monday.
In terms of kicking off, I will write a set up and post when I kick off the Gameplay thread. In the interim if you want to calibrate back stories with one another please feel free to do so.
The general idea is that the various "mentors", where relevant (i.e. for the 6 party members), will each nominate a member of the party as part of the celebration that kicks off the quest. The rogue candidate will be nominated by the Woodcutters' Guild. The assumption is that the "winning" candidates found out the night before the celebration. You may have known one other beforehand, as inhabitants of Kassen, but will have had little chance to discuss the quest, and by and large you won't have known who the other nominees would be (the exceptions being the ranger and rogue nominees, who were originally vying for the same slot).
The story will pick up after the celebration as you, as a group, set off on the quest.
Every year when the leaves begin to fall, the small town of Kassen conducts a rite of passage in which it sends a band of young, would-be adventurers to the abandoned crypt of the town founder to recover the Everflame, a magical fire that is kept burning throughout the winter. Each year the youths' mettle is tested by traps, illusory monsters, and other challenges before returning home to a festival honouring their coming of age. But this year … things are more complicated.
Hi. I haven’t GM’d PbP before, so I’m proposing to run this venerable Level 1 module if enough (4-6) people are interested. If it goes well, we can run through the rest of the story arc (Mask of the Living God and City of Golden Death) and see where we get to. If things do work, I’d be more than happy to run a long tour of Pathfinder modules right up to higher levels.
This is an open recruitment call for the scenario (and possibly subsequent campaign; I'd assume if we do continue then anyone around at the end of each scenario who wants to carry over just does so).
Requirements/constraints:
Expect to post at least once a day, preferably more often; if there is an extended break I may run your character (or ask another player to do so) to move things along.
All characters begin at level one.
20-point ability buy.
No evil alignments.
No third party content
Archetypes fine as long as they can be justified within the background
Races/Classes: The module, as written, serves core classes/core races (and the town in which it's set, and from which the party is largely expected to have come, reflects this). My preference would be to go with that, but if required would stretch to something more exotic if it could be justified.
Two traits.
Average gold for your class.
Max HP at level one, roll or 1/2 HD + 1 thereafter.
Brief (1-2 para) back story to link your character to the scenario background. See the campaign information for background on the module. The quest is a rite of passage for young citizens of the town, so you need to figure out a connection - the most likely one is to link to the relevant class mentor (again see scenario background).
I will probably leave recruitment open through to January 4 to allow for the holiday period to subside.
Every year when the leaves begin to fall, the small town of Kassen conducts a rite of passage in which it sends a band of young, would-be adventurers to the abandoned crypt of the town founder to recover the Everflame, a magical fire that is kept burning throughout the winter. Each year the youths' mettle is tested by traps, illusory monsters, and other challenges before returning home to a festival honouring their coming of age. But this year … things are more complicated.
Hi. I haven’t GM’d PbP before, so I’m proposing to run this venerable Level 1 module if enough (4-6) people are interested. If it goes well, we can run through the rest of the story arc (Mask of the Living God and City of Golden Death) and see where we get to. If things do work, I’d be more than happy to run a long tour of Pathfinder modules right up to higher levels.
At this point, just checking interest.
Intended requirements/constraints:
Expect to post at least once a day, preferably more often, but with allowances made for weekends; if there is an extended break I may run your character (or ask another player to do so) to move things along.
All characters begin at level one.
20-point ability buy.
No evil alignments.
No third party content
Races/Classes: The module, as written, serves core classes/core races (and the town in which it's set, and from which the party is largely expected to have come, reflects this). My preference would be to go with that, but if required would stretch to something more exotic if it could be justified.
Archetypes fine as long as they can be justified within the background
Two traits.
Average gold for your class.
Max HP at level one, roll or 1/2 HD + 1 thereafter.
Brief (1-2 para) back story to link your character to the scenario background. When we get into actual recruitment I have a bunch of handouts paraphrasing the module notes (and removing spoilers), from running the scenario IRL, that I would post up to help with this
As I say, just checking for interest at this point.
