James will continue to answer any questions. I'm going to flesh out the trading post in more detail, as well as create a rough hex map of our party's surroundings.
A general announcement: FanExpo is happening in Toronto this weekend, so I will not be able to post regularly until Monday.
@Rribak: I can understand not wanting to change classes; sometimes, the characters we want to play function off of specific character options. But this can come with discrepancies, and we should accept that too. Though the offer I previously made still stands, the answer to switching Knowledge (dungeoneering) for (religion) will be no.
If having Knowledge (religion) as a class skill is as important as armor expert, you should change your trait. There's no reason a character without the former can't be religious either.
I don't want to sound harsh or cramp your style. Since we have first-party, third-party, and homebrew content, however, I'd prefer not to use the last more than necessary. Knowledge (nature) and Knowledge (religion) are two of the more important or 'big' Knowledge skills, and Survival will come up more often than not in a campaign about exploration and travel. Please understand why I'd rather not give you all three as class skills when you're playing a streamlined and effective rogue without some additional commitment on your part.
"At ease," James nods curtly. "I know some of you've never been as far as Foresthaven, so let me tell you: maps've been pointless after the Thalassan scum poisoned Eventyr with their magic. I've heard tale of trees engulfing villages overnight, water falling upwards, houses on floating boulders... we're lucky Moorside is far away from all that chaos. Nevertheless, we make do with landmarks."
"The winding path south of town leads to a massive road — the Imperial Highway. I don't know how the Thalassans did it, but the Highway's been ensorcelled to outlast us all. It's crumbling in some places, but it cuts right through the Wyrwood: if the bandits are hiding anywhere, it's in the woods."
"Talk to others on the road, too. Some of them might be wayward, but they've most likely traveled the way you're headed. Always respect the rules of hospitality."
"Like I said, I'm trying to keep an open mind about how you've done things different in the mire and the mountains," James sighs, his face contorted with either concern or disappointment as he addresses Kravar and Rribak. "But don't be reckless. And if you've got to be, at least stick together. You're both bright: I'm not asking you to butcher a stronghold full of bandits. If the enemy doesn't fight fair, no point hamstringing yourself to do otherwise, fancy monastery training or no." James' face darkens.
"If anything, I want news of Kevan and the wagon and you all to return alive, without losing an arm and a leg. Any more questions?"
Assuming none, James dismisses you and heads into Nearheath Hall, but not before beckoning for Lucatiel, talking to her about her horse.
Lucatiel:
Your father's face is fraught with worry as he limps towards the stables. James Hawthorn is a man who never frets, but he is obviously concerned. "Come, Luca. I've groomed and saddled Abigail; you should check again before you leave." Once somewhat out of earshot, he continues, "Don't let bird-brain's mystical ravings get in the way of what you've trained for and you'll be fine. Lance down, shield raised, trust Abigail with your life and you'll both come out alive, come hell or high water."
"And for the love of the gods, girl, do not drop the lance." He pauses, then sighs while going over Abigail's barding. "But the most important advice I can give you is this: killing people isn't like hunting or training. It changes you, haunts you. Don't let it change you for the worse — and for that matter, don't let it change Selina for the worse, either. Even in her face tainted by foul magic, I can still see the girls you both once were. Don't let her throw herself away to some... thing."
As he checks Abigail's saddlebags for the third time, James leaves the rest unsaid in silence.
@Vizper: As much as I enjoy evil characters, I do have basic expectations that player characters should work with the party and within the premises of a non-evil society. If the other players don't want to adventure with Vizper Darkbrood the character, I will ask you to create a different character. I think this also has a basis in lore; after all, an intelligent demon empowered you for a purpose, and you can't fulfill that purpose if you blow your opportunities before you can find your true potential.
With that in mind, do you really want to have murdered someone in a small, insular hamlet, or act overtly evil at this point in time? If you didn't meet the others in the group, who told you to head to Nearheath Hall? If the answer is no, I'll give you the Once in a Lifetime™ opportunity to ignore your Gameplay post through retconjuration.
@Rribak: Lucatiel makes a great point. If something you want can be expressed in terms of Paizo content, I'd like you to consider that first.
@Lucatiel and Vizper: To integrate Vizper's ideas about demons and devils, I think that a large part of Thalassa's might relied on arcane magic and using demons and devils. Since early Eventyr defined itself largely in opposition to Thalassa, mages would have been pretty ruthlessly hunted down — but it's been a hundred years. Let's say that that Eventyrian sentiment has evolved from magic as the devil (literally) to a social faux pas that nets you scared or offended glances.
A small order of 'new mages' would be trying to collect fragments of lore that were destroyed a hundred years ago, and catalog what arcane monuments and relics the Thalassans left. The conjurer in Moorside would be one of this order. It's unlikely a mage wouldn't recognize demonic corruption, so let's say he hasn't returned in ten years on some journey.
@Lucatiel Edit: Yes; we should discuss how everyone knows each other. From my understanding, Geoffrey, Lucatiel, and Vizper are townies; Lucatiel and Kravar know each other.
To Everyone: Initial plot hook has been posted. We can discuss it and roll some Knowledge checks here, or do some initial roleplaying in Gameplay. We shouldn't push the story too far. I'm going to get the Plot Twist Cards tonight from my local game store, so you can expect a Google Spreadsheets and your own cards sometime tomorrow. Any thoughts or criticisms?
Between the grasping branches of oak trees, the autumnal morning sun glares down on the sere and yellowed sign that reads, "Nearheath Hall." Beneath the building's wooden awning stands a grizzled man. His tunic barely covers the knots of old scars, and despite his pronounced limp he moves forward to acknowledge you. You recognize him as James Hawthorn, the reeve of this hamlet — and the one who, through your friends, asked you to come here prepared for a week-long journey.
As his eyes alight on each of you in turn, James begins to speak. "Before we begin, I need to remind some of you who came from outside the village how important our autumn harvest is. Even after Lord Greenfast's levy, it's what keeps us fed and clothed. That's why I sent the Gerse boy to Foresthaven."
"But the lad and his wagon hasn't returned. I know his kin — Kevan isn't the type to shirk his duties, even when he was here training with the militia." James' brows furrow further as he continues, "To be honest, the Imperial Highway isn't as safe as it was back in the day. The caravan that passed through a month ago told us that the bandits are getting bolder. I thought if Kevan traveled light and kept to his militia training, we could slip through; now, I'm worried that I was wrong."
"That's where you come in. I can't send Lucatiel on her own, and she's assured me that you can all handle yourselves in a fight and that I should keep an open mind about some of you." His eyes linger on Vizper. "If the bandits took our goods and Kevan, they're probably desperate — they won't be easy to intimidate like last time."
"So, I need you all to track Kevan's wagon down the Imperial Highway, and rescue them both. Can you manage that?"
I haven't started Gameplay mostly due to time constraints. I work overtime on weekends (at least until next weekend), so I can't write quality posts. I'm covering for someone else's shift tonight as well, so the earliest I can launch Gameplay is tomorrow. The least I can do for you is make this announcement look more official:
Gameplay starts on the 30th of August.
Meanwhile, let's keep the discussion going. What are your characters' short-term or long-term goals? Do your characters know what they want?
I'll add links to automatic bonus progression and background skills in the Campaign Info tab. I've given the idea of removing feat taxes some more thought, and I see no reason to implement them. Caster-martial disparity isn't much of an issue in this party, and feats are in no short supply after 6th level. Please assume feats work as normal Pathfinder except Path of War feats; the wyrmer class-specific feats for Geoffrey; and Ability Focus for Vizper, since the warlock class specifically calls it out.
@Lucatiel: Burnscar's initial character concept was a blacksmith, but he made Kravar instead.
@Rribak: Have a free coracle. I suggested using a rowboat's statistics for sampan should naval exploration or combat come up, but I think I can write up a unique ship statblock if that happens. I'm not going to ask you to pay for a pre-adventuring home, in the same way that aven and grippli stay at Nearheath Hall for free, and other human residents have homes.
Has anyone heard from SunstonePheonix, by the way?
It looks like each plot twist card has a name, four brief story ideas, and one alternate mechanical effect. I figured I would make a numbered table on Google Sheets and roll a d51 for everyone. Otherwise, we'll use the instruction card. You should play a plot twist card and explain the in-game event or development in this thread first, even for the mechanical effect ("I play the Sanity Check card. This enemy is confused for 3 rounds because...").
@Rribak: Moorside will be, as the name implies, near the Gnarlmarshes. I envision most of the subsistence farming would take place in flood plains — adding a river that goes through or near the hamlet makes sense. I haven't thought of a name yet, though I'm partial to compounds. I haven't found sampans or coracles on d20pfsrd per se, but if you're okay with a reflavored rowboat (the Skulls and Shackles version), I'm on board with the idea.
As for the grippli ideas:
(1) Since we're moving away from grippli as tree- or jungle-dwelling folk, yes, feel free to replace the 20 ft. climb speed with a 20 ft. swim speed;
(2) I don't think it's necessary, since the DCs of Survival checks to survive in the wilderness are pretty low, and...;
(3) For the sake of keeping the number of class skills changed equal, I think that it'd be better if you replaced Appraise and Linguistics with Knowledge (nature) and Survival.
@Kravar and Lucatiel: I'm really excited to see how your characters' backgrounds interact! The aven and the grippli have become really distinct from how I imagined they would turn out. Burnscar, one of the earliest ideas was a unique dynamic between the aven and grippli races. How do you think we can make that fit within your vision of the Bundna and the Bod-Ang'r?
I'm going to close off character submissions at this point (sorry Afla). Below is the list of player characters:
Hey, folks. I think we're nearing the end of character creation. I'll get Gameplay and Discussion threads started by the 1st of September. This brings me to the subject of my expectations for our game, how they might differ from your expectations, and how we can reconcile these differences.
On Posting: Most normal days, I can churn out at least one lengthier post. If we're in combat or I'm replying to questions that need short answers, I can post more. At the same time, come September, I'll be swamped with full-time studies at one university, part-time studies at another college, and a weekend job. I'll try to let you guys know if I'm in crunch time beforehand, but I can't promise to always be active everyday. Likewise, I won't expect you to be that active.
At the same time, I'd like to make our story engaging and interesting for all of us so that the game doesn't die due to my inactivity. I can promise to give your characters ample chances to shine and achieve their goals, and to maintain an up-to-date synopsis and dramatis personae on the Campaign Information page so that we never lose track of information or loose ends.
On NPCs: Some monsters and NPCs I use straight out of Paizo books, some I craft myself. I'm going to be adding some Path of War stuff where appropriate.
In terms of other details, what do you prefer for maps? I can use Roll20, Google Sheets, or Ditzie, so I can accomodate your needs. Do you guys have any questions about the game?
In the golden years after Eventyr won its war of independence about a century ago, those who had fought for freedom, gold, or prestige found it in spades. Marcus Hawthorn, one such veteran, spent his newfound fortunes taming the frontiers of the Gnarlmarshes near the Imperial Highway. With blossoming trade between the towns of Trine and Foresthaven — and new grippli allies whose knowledge of the swamp led to many a bountiful harvest — the hamlet of Moorside grew, with Marcus as its reeve.
But old feuds between noble blood rekindled, and twenty years ago Lord Greenfast called most able-bodied men and women to march against Trine. Trade along the Imperial Highway shriveled, and worse, the brave Hawthorns were almost killed to the last man at the Battle of the Burning Bridge. Guard patrols have become less and less frequent; bandits and worse prowl the surrounding wilderness with renewed confidence. The Gnarlmarshes and the Wyrwood have claimed long-abandoned farmsteads. Moorside is a shadow of what it once was.
As a whole, Moorside is a tight-knit community and welcoming to outsiders — as long as they make their intentions clear. Bandit raids and wandering criminals have made honest travelers rare as of late. A long-standing tradition, however, welcomes the grippli, who occasionally pass through or trade with the hamlet. Grippli often stay at Nearheath Hall for free, or are invited to steadings as honored guests. This is in stark contrast to the attitudes of other settlements, and speaks volumes to the town's partnership with the grippli.
Government autocracy (elected reeve, James Hawthorn)
Notable NPCS
James Hawthorn is the reeve and Defender of Moorside, and the leader of its militia. Injured at the Battle of the Burning Bridge and embittered by his long-suffering wife and daughters, he spends most of his time reminiscing about his family's military past and 'encouraging' everyone to learn how to defend themselves and their families by taking part in the militia.
The Darkbroods were one of the few founding families of Moorside. They've grown reserved over the years; nowadays, only their servants enter and leave their manse to fetch supplies from the hamlet. Their only daughter and heiress, Selina, is a demonspawn; she (who now goes by the name 'Vizper') and the Darkbroods are no longer on speaking terms.
Though Moorside has shrunk since the Battle of the Burning Bridge, the Tervens are a mysterious addition to its roster of families. Initially thought to be 'Goldenlorders,' travelling missionaries from the banner of Goldenmeadow who worship a draconic master, the Tervens have become a welcome part of the hamlet since they remained tight-lipped about their past (such as how "Pa' Terven" got those scars that rendered him unable to speak), and knew their way around herbs and healing poultices.
(I've taken some narrative liberties with the Darkbroods and the Tervens; let me know if you want to change something. I haven't added a connection to the aven yet; if and when we have an aven player character, we can work on it. As a reminder to myself, the town of Foresthaven surrounds the castle of Kinsgrove Hall, where Lord Greenfast resides.)
Notable Places
Darkbrood Manse; Hawthorn Manse; the Terven residence; several outlying farmsteads, to be named.
A smithy, to be named.
A trading post, to be named.
Nearheath Hall, a tavern for those on the road or without a home — and as such, empty most of the year. Also serves as the hamlet's town hall.
Marketplace
Base Value 100 gp; Purchase Limit 500 gp; Spellcasting 1st
Minor Items 1d3; Medium Items —; Major Items —
The roster of player characters currently is:
Geoffrey Terven (human wyrmer)
Lucatiel Hawthorn (human warlord)
Kvoak (grippli druid)
Rribak Bonerattle Boner-Rattle (grippli rogue)
Vizper Darkbrood (tiefling warlock)
@Afla: Signature feats are for advancement after 6th level. They unlock 7th or 8th level class features for single-classed characters. Your crunch leaves a lot of questions: who is this champion spirit? Why does it grant you proficiency with the elven curved blade, when elves aren't part of this world yet, but I digress? Who is Afla? I'm afraid that an amnesiac with few connections to Moorside isn't appropriate for this game, since we are sticking with a "villagers become adventurers" opening; I urge you to revisit your character concept.
@Vizper: You need to choose one least invocation known.
@SunstonePheonix: Greater Bond is an epic feat in P6 that does what you're looking for, so advancing your snapping turtle companion will be post-advancement.
@Afla: Then I look forward to reading more about your character!
@Madcaster: It looks like your Will save was calculated as if your Wisdom was 8. The breathwright archetype replaces the more obvious signs of draconic lineage (natural weapons and scales). Receiving serpentine eyes from your lesser draconic senses seems flavorful, but otherwise feel free to look as human or draconic as you like.
How would you justify the Deft Dodger trait in terms of background? Would you mind if I took narrative control over your character's parents, and fleshed them out?
@Peet:Aven are tengu reflavored. In terms of the Deific Obedience feat, you've proven that my gut instinct was mistaken; I have no reason to think that this will break the game before even beginning gameplay. I think your write-up of the Hr'op-Shta would add a lot of insight into grippli culture, rites, and attitudes toward death (i.e. that all grippli seek to be buried in the Isle of Mists and that I can use undead grippli as enemies). You should still probably talk to SunstonePheonix. They're the other grippli player in this game, so you two should iron out any discrepancies and establish lore that works for both of your characters. For instance, in keeping with SunstonePheonix's previous naming scheme, the Tribe of the Ghost Spider would be translated to Hr'op-Shta-vor or Baot-hr'op-shta in Grippli.
If everyone is interested in using the background skills system, we'll implement it.
@Zayne Iwatani: Most of it's correct. The following class feature has been updated in Path of War Expanded:
Mounted Maneuver Expertise wrote:
Mounted Maneuver Expertise (Ex): Starting at 1st level, a hussar and his trusty steed are so in tune with each other that they can work as one when performing maneuvers. Whenever a hussar is mounted and uses a maneuver with a movement component (such as making a charge attack, or taking an extra move action), the hussar can have his mount take the appropriate movement in his place. If the maneuver allows the hussar to make a charge attack, both him and his mount are considered to be charging. This replaces the share spells ability that normal animal companions gain.
I don't know what the best way to send the Piercing Thunder maneuvers would be. Pick a way (email or Google Docs is my preferred options), and I'll send the maneuvers to you.
@Zayne: I've seen automatic bonus progression altered for companions in two ways. One is to give your companion automatic bonus progression as if it were a player character of X levels lower (generally accompanied by reduced progression for your character as well, but I like the idea of mental or physical prowess as a capstone bonus too much to let that happen). The other is to for you to decide whether you want the bonus at any given level to apply to you or your companion.
I've always thought automatic bonus progression was a good thing, especially for P6, since it gives you a cloak of resistance +1, ring of deflection, a +1 enhancement bonus to any one weapon and suit of armor you have, and a +2 belt or headband of your choice for 8,000 gp, and makes magical arms and armor cheaper by no longer requiring a +1 enhancement bonus before enchantments, and frees up your item slots. I'm surprised that people don't like this trade-off, but I'd like to stick to my guns unless it's a dealbreaker.
The decision on how automatic bonus progression affects companions might be important for you too, @SunstonePheonix.
Hussar:
This is an archetype for the warlord (replacing 1st and 6th level bonus feats and tactical presence) or warder class (replacing heavy armor proficiency, 3rd level bonus feat, and clad in steel). This also replaces your mount's share spells.
You get Mounted Combat as a bonus feat at 1st level and a mount. You recover an expended maneuver whenever you negate an attack using Mounted Combat. Your mount can fulfill the movement component of your maneuvers. At 5th level, you learn a formation. As long as you and your allies are within 5 to 15 feet of each other (depends on the formation), you grant a benefit to everyone participating in the formation.
There's also a new discipline called Piercing Thunder. If this interests you, I can type out the full version.
@Afla: I'm playing in a solo campaign exploring a desert world with a medium character, and it's a blast. Spirits are a really cool way of adding more legendary and historical figures into this world. The biggest problem is the suli race, unfortunately. I'd rather not introduce genie to this game to stay consistent with the theme of the setting and other people's character concepts.
@Madcaster: Automatic bonus progression "decreases character wealth by level to half the normal amount," and on Table: Character Wealth by Level, it notes "For 1st-level PCs, see Table: Starting Character Wealth." If everyone thinks my reading of this was too harsh, then everyone should get full starting wealth.
@Peet: For your grippli concept, I can seed in a Skoan-Quah-esque tribe of grippli. My largest concern is that Deific Obedience for you pretty much reads, "Benefit: Gain Weapon Focus (dagger) and Greater Weapon Focus (dagger). This also stacks with Weapon Focus (dagger)." Which would be fine, except as an unchained rogue or with the Path of War Deadly Agility feat, you also get Dexterity to damage at 3rd level — which is a significant jump in your character's damage output. I am slightly wary of this.
You can be a golden-scaled kobold without taking the trait. This world isn't particularly predisposed to favour golden dragons anyways, so take some other trait you'd like. As for being middle-aged, keep in mind that you're a villager or someone who fills a different non-adventuring role at the start of this campaign. Currently, I think we have:
Kvoak, a grippli fisher
Geoffrey, whose parents are healers called upon by the hamlet and neighboring farms,
Vizper, whose demonic heritage is beginning to manifest,
A daughter of a famous veteran, who is one of the few full-time members of the village watch,
An aven who traveled to this hamlet from their monastery home for reasons Burnscar will explain.
Use this to inform the scale of your character's background, and why a kobold is in this hamlet. Maybe kobolds just age faster.
@Burnscar: I'm not as familiar with Path of War content as I should be, but that's a yes. I'll work each discipline into the setting; from what I've seen in Tome of Battle, maneuver-based classes tend to be more versatile or interesting than normal martial classes, so I'd recommend other people at least look at Path of War stuff. I can borrow my friend's copy of Path of War Expanded and give you guys archetypes for normal martial classes. I'll be keeping an eye on Deadly Agility and other rules hiccups.
I look forward to reading about aven and their monasteries from you.
@SunstonePheonix: Grippli in our world not having a standard written language and using pictographs instead makes a lot of sense to me. I've looked through Pathfinder traits and I couldn't find one that affects Knowledge (local) and Sense Motive. If Bluff is important to you and you don't mind losing some wealth, you can reskin Addict; or, you could take the following:
Trait wrote:
Baot-Vor Trader
On your quest to find yourself, you've made ends meet by bartering between human villages on the outskirts of the Wyrwood. Your experiences there have granted you insight into local rumors or happenings, and when someone is offering you an unfair deal. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (local) and Sense Motive checks, and one of those skills is always a class skill for you.
One less skill, but no downside. I think it's a fair trade, but it's still up to you.
I quite like the idea of rustic grippli and monastic aven working together.
As far as I'm concerned, everyone who's posted this far is in. People who post from here on in will be put on a waiting list, in case someone would like to quit.
@SunstonePheonix: I'll be adopting the gr'sebi and the Baot-vor wholesale, and I especially appreciate how the Baot-vor have a predisposition towards adventure and wandering. I do have a few questions: Would you consider grippli physiology a requirement to speak their throaty language (such that a character can understand, but can't speak, Grippli unless with magical aid)? If no-one else is playing tengu, do we want to remove them from the lore?
@Madcaster: If the darkvision and low-light vision are constant, then yes, it would make you appear more draconic. I plan on expanding Goldenmeadow's role in our setting more (mostly on a wandering order of monks, missionaries, or wyrmers that preach their golden lord's values) so that you aren't completely out of place, but some folk are more superstitious than others.
@Peet: Those are interesting concepts, though I would have to put in more work to accomodate a heavily-Golarian character in this world. Whittle down your list to the character that you'd like to play the most. The kobold sorcerer might be interesting since some parts of our setting are tied to dragons and we most likely have another dragon-themed character in this party, but I intend for most kobolds to be enemies. The world is currently humans, half-human races like tiefling, and grippli, but if you wanted to play a half-elven character we'd add elves to this list.
Here are the character creation rules, fleshed out. Once we have our starting cast of characters and their finalized sheets, we'll move to actual Gameplay and Discussion threads.
Character Creation
Ability Scores: Roll 4d6 and drop the lowest result six times, then assign them to your abilities. You may then opt to use the purchase method for High Fantasy (20 points).
Hit Points: Maximum value at 1st level, half at every level thereafter (3.5 for d6, 4.5 for d8, 5.5 for d10, 6.5 for d12).
Races: Our setting is predominantly human. Grippli (or gr'sebi; see SunstonePheonix's post) and half-human races (such as tiefling) are also acceptable. For other races, talk to me first.
Character Options: Any, including 3rd party content — but talk to me first, especially for something that introduces a new subsystem, like Tome of Battle or psionics.
Traits: Any one, except campaign traits or Golarion-specific traits.
Starting Wealth: Roll according to class. You may then opt to use the average value. Remember that automatic bonus progression halves your wealth.
@Angelpalm: Orphaned characters often reek of clichés or laziness. Not that someone can't pull it off convincingly, but I've seen enough Lonewolf McEdgelords that I'm willing to skip such characters for others who could help flesh out the setting with their connections to NPCs. Besides, it fits idea of beginning in a hamlet better.
It looks like your rolled ability scores are 11, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17 (32 points).
We haven't done anything about feat taxes yet. About half of you (Burnscar, Madcaster, and yourself) are inclined to support it. If others want it too, I'll revisit the concept.
@Vizper Darkbrood: You should probably ask before you roll. D&D 3.5e used d4's for starting wealth, but Pathfinder uses d6's. The warlock has the same starting wealth as the barbarian or the bard, so roll 3d6 × 10 instead of 4d4 × 10 gp. The average actually increases from 100 gp to 105 gp, believe it or not.
As with ability scores, roll your starting wealth and take average if you don't like what you see. Remember that automatic bonus progression halves your wealth.
@SunstonePheonix: I also work weekends, so I know your pain. See you next week.
@DM waz up?: You could choose one of the tiefling bloodlines that grants you a +2 to your Charisma. They're detailed in Inner Sea Races, Blood of Fiends, or on the d20pfsrd website. It's not that I'm denying you imbue item, but normal character advancement stops at 6th level. If you'd like a familiar, you can work towards the Familiar Bond feat (no shortage of feats in P6) or multiclass. If you'd like Fly as a class skill, you can have it. I don't know what fiendish runner is, but vestigal wings seems okay.
The hamlet of Moorshire is near the Gnarlmarshes and the Wyrwood, and swears fealty to Lord Greenfast.
I'll find another name for the banner that used to be Goldenmeadow. I'll be fleshing out the hamlet today or tomorrow, but so far the salient details are: Madcaster's parents are its healers, Zayne's family constitute most of its justice system, Burnscar works at the only smithy in town, and SunstonePheonix is a friendly neighborhood grippli.
I've also taken a look at everyone's rolled ability scores:
@DM waz up?: I'd prefer if you chose tiefling; I won't be adding rakshasa to this game. As for warlocks, they'll have a d8 Hit Die and the following class skills:
Warlock Class Skills wrote:
Acrobatics (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Craft (Int), Intimidate (Cha), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Knowledge (planes) (Int), Knowledge (religion) (Int), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spellcraft (Int). (Since warlocks had Jump as a class skill, they get Acrobatics. They didn't have Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Search or Spot, so they don't get Perception or Stealth.)
With deceive item, you'll be able to make Use Magic Device checks much more reliably in and out of combat, but P6 rules prevent you from getting imbue item. Warlocks don't have any dead levels so we don't need to worry about adding new class features. I think damage reduction 2/cold iron and fiendish resilience would make good signature feats for the warlock class.
@Zayne Iwatani, SunstonePheonix: No-one knows how the Thalassans sundered Eventyr.
In terms of game mechanics, SunstonePheonix is correct. The highest level of spells that people can achieve reliably is 3rd level (or 4th level, if tales of rituals are to be believed), but legends of those wielding unfathomable power that doesn't translate directly to a 3rd-level spell also exist. Encounters with higher-than-3rd level spells will be rare and planned out, so don't worry.
This brings me to dragons and higher-level magic, which is to say I will always signal when something might be beyond your abilities, but there will be entities beyond your abilities. For instance, if you're told at 2nd level by a fleeing tribe of friendly grippli that their home was invaded by marsh giants and you go to that part of the swamp, you will find marsh giants.
@SunstonePheonix: Looking forward to reading about the tribe!
@Zayne Iwatani: Looking at cavalry in the Middle Ages, it seems that all knights were technically mounted men-at-arms, but not all mounted men-at-arms were knights — so your background checks out. Your family is likely one of the few that have a long, military history. If you are itching to fight, you're probably one of the few members that constitute what counts as the hamlet's town watch, which mostly means dealing with drunks and rowdy travelers, and sometimes investigating crimes or banditry. Is your grandfather still alive?
@Madcaster: Are Geoffrey's parents still alive and working as healers in the hamlet?
Thanks for waiting, guys! I'm working for the next couple of weekends before the new semester starts, at which point I'll only be working Sundays. I'll be able to post more frequently then.
@Zayne Iwatani: Well, Burnscar's rolled scores actually look like 13, 13, 14, 14, 15, 15. It's technically a 30-point buy, but a far way from an optimized array of ability scores that you can get from using the point buy method. Let's stick with the "roll, and use point buy if you don't like what you get" for now, but if everyone is rolling really well, we'll bump the point buy to 25 points so that no-one feels left behind.
I've begun to write out a rough draft for our game's setting. Let me know what you think, or what I should write about next!
Eventyr, a Kingdom of Banners
On the westernmost frontier of the known world, between the snowy peaks of the Worldspine to the north and the marshes to the south, lies the kingdom of Eventyr. Eventyrians are fiercely loyal to their local communities, and by extension their banners (equivalent to baronies or knightdoms), and somewhat suspicious of magic — traits well established by the time they overthrew their magocratic, imperialistic former masters in Thalassa. This war of independence was the first time the banners — established by the Thalassans as a tool to govern their empire and keep the Eveyntrians divided — united under a common cause. In their retreat, the bitter Thalassans invoked terrible magics that sundered mostofEventyrapart.
Almost a hundred years has passed, but Eventyrians still live confined in their villages and towns. The dangers on the road have made travel something only the brave or desperate seek. Old King Hadrick, son of the queen who united Eventyr against Thalassa, rules in name from his throne in Plynth. The banner-lords have yet again descended into petty squabbling among themselves. Their wars continue to deplete the defenses of their villages, which are plagued by monsters emboldened by Eventyr's rampant magic — and worse.
Themes: Thalassa is Graeco-Roman, Eventyr is almost Dark Ages England.
On Dragons: The hundred years since the end of Thalassic oppression has not always been peaceful. Several great eastern cities were razed by a massive dragon known as Old Embermaw, and it was only after the banners united once more under King Hadrick that the dragon was driven back, mortally wounded, to the Worldspine. Crucial in this conflict was the aid of a dragon with golden scales, who asked for a banner of its own as payment. King Hadrick granted it the banner of Greenfast, now named the banner of Goldenmeadow.
The golden banner-lord has become reclusive over the remaining decades, but Goldenmeadowers are supposedly graced with great powers from their draconic patronage. The old lord of Greenfast was once King Hadrick's kin. He is rumored to be the lord of the Banner With No Hold, a posse of brigands and traitors that live in the Tanglebriar and consort with monsters.
Grippli
In their ancient oral traditions, grippli elders sing of a time when shining humans of bronze and gold drove the grippli into the marshes that they now call home. There, the grippli encountered the aven (tengu) — and the Covenant of Mere and Mire has bound their fates together since. From atop their mountain perches, aven bring their crops to the grippli in exchange for the bountiful fish in the wetlands. When danger looms, aven and grippli defend their territory together.
It has only been a few decades since the humans of the banner of Wyrwood have made contact with the grippli. The humans of nearby villages first brought baubles and metal tools in exchange for food and guidance. Since then, some aven and grippli have made new homes for themselves in neighboring villages, almost always under the auspices of their tribes.
Though this relationship has been mostly profitable, the grippli find that their camouflage cannot help them in the larger human towns of cold, dead stone, and that the social conventions of humans is oftentimes confusing. On the other hand, Eventyrians — who often call grippli the stiltfolk, for the shape of their houses in the marshes — are divided between villagers who live in contact with the grippli and see them as neighbors and friends, and 'civilized' city folk who look down on such savage beastfolk.
Naturally, we're starting somewhere in a swampside hamlet, tentatively named Moorshire, in the banner of Wyrwood. Here are a few questions for your characters and their backgrounds.
@Burnscar: Knighthood is usually reserved for the upper crusts of Eventyrian society, and the highest honor someone drafted from hamlets like yours is often to die fighting for the lord of his banner as a foot soldier. How does this make you feel? The smithy you work at is probably the only one in this hamlet, and owned by your family. Who are they, and what are they like?
@SunstonePheonix: Your grippli character is most likely from one of the tribes neighboring the hamlet of Moorshire. Who is your tribe led by? What defines your tribe from all the other tribes? Who are your closest friends and family back home, and who are your new friends in Moorshire? If there was a druidic organization for grippli, what would your relationship to it be?
@Zayne Iwatani: As a wyrmer, you're either descended from or a traveler from the banner of Goldenmeadow, on the other side of Eventyr from Moorshire. Why did you, or your parents, make this journey? What does your character do in Moorshire? I know little about wyrmers except that they're dragon-flavored, so you'll have to help me out here.
@Angelpalm: I'm looking at both scaling items from Pathfinder Unchained and Weapons of Legacy for cool magic items, but I want to avoid a MagicMart scenario where you can buy and sell magic items to get the ones you want. Consumables (potions, scrolls, and wands) will be available for purchase, but I'd like you guys to quest for, craft, or at least give me a wish list for unique or wondrous items. I guess this rules out character builds or concepts that depend on specific magic items.
As Burnscar notes, we'll play P6 and lean upward for class features when we get there. I think everyone gathered here is okay with reasonable 3rd-party or homebrew rules, but removing feat taxes (I hear this one is popular, though everyone has their own ideas about it) or using the wound threshold rules are things we should discuss.
We'll also be starting at 1st level, since "villagers getting a call to adventure" is the premise of this game.
It's up to you guys if you want to roll ability scores, use a point buy, or roll then use a point buy if you don't like what you get. I'm partial to a 20-point buy or "roll 4d6 and drop lowest."
@Burnscar: Brawlers, adaptable both during fights and during worldbuilding; I approve.
Finally, here's a list what you guys have shown interest in so far.
Burnscar: Interested in playing a brawler.
Cam Jones: Interested in playing a human, psionic character. Familiar with content up to Occult Adventures.
DM waz up?: Interested in playing a warlock (Complete Arcane, conversion pending).
JonGarett: Interested in playing a non-human character.
SunstonePheonix: Interested in playing a non-human character, generally enjoys playing Core Rulebook and Advanced Player's Guide classes.
Zayne Iwatani: Interested in playing a cavalier.
EDIT: I'm off to work, but maybe we can build the world around the characters that we'd like to play. We should also determine how common dragons (if we have a wyrmer) or psionics (if we have a psionic character) are. And thanks, Zayne; I think I can use Trinity as a springboard for some ideas, and I'll write them out once I get back in about 10 hours.
@JonGarrett: Low-magic, fantasy Europe is my baseline for this world — which rules out specific things, such as androids, modern firearms, and Technology Guide content. We'll determine as a group whether emerging or early firearms exist, and how common they are. The same goes for other time- or setting-specific content.
@DM waz up?: You can definitely play a warlock! If you're still interested when character creation starts, we'll go trawling the Internet for Pathfinder conversions.
The warlock class has a strong demonic tint, so perhaps that can inform us about how this world regards demons or other extraplanar forces, tieflings, and warlocks.
@SunstonePheonix: Thanks! I did fine on the exam, I think. I really don't know, since my english professor keeps giving me mixed signals about my writing. When one essay gets a 90% and a different one gets a 60%, I have no idea what my final mark for the exam essay will be. Though I guess it's my fault for taking this course...
@G-unit: Hello, and welcome to the discussion! I look forward to reading your ideas about this world.
@Burnscar: With regards to automatic bonuses, you're absolutely right. I'll change the 6th-level bonus to mental or physical prowess +2 in the final version.
@Green Smashomancer: I share your concerns. I have experience running adventure paths and homebrew campaigns, but I worry that we'll write ourselves into a narrative corner. Hopefully there never will be a dearth of information (or at the very least, a hook that gets you that information), and keeping a lively Discussion thread should help. I'm also looking at Ultimate Intrigue's nemeses rules and GameMastery Plot Twist Cards as potential play aids to drive the story forward if the game stalls.
This brings us back to our world's races. We want a small set of 'core' races that all have a purpose in the world beyond being the token nonhuman or anthropomorphic race. I see a lot of merit in Burnscar's idea for human + two or three other races. I like the idea of a human-centric world mainly because it grounds the base expectations of the world; an elf is older and more graceful than a human, and so on. It also informs us of how society at large would react to someone different. We can substitute different races here for the same effect.
We'll take a top-down approach with races by deciding which races are 'in,' then finding a place for them in the lore. If you were building your character, which race would you like to play? Which other races do you want to be playable, in case you need to make a new character or find a cohort? Should playable races be more or less harmonious with each other, or is conflict between races a major conflict that we want to explore? Finally, here are a couple rough ideas for race combinations I came up with; is there anything we can salvage from these?
Shamanistic tribes of lizardfolk, kobolds, and wyvarans have united in order to withstand the onslaught of 'civilized' races in their native domain.
After a dwarven kingdom fell, a community of like-minded dwarves, mongrelmen, myconids (Monster Manual II), and svirfneblins must scavenge to survive in the Underdark.
An Underdark watchpost commissioned by a minor drow house is home to derro, drow, duergar, and mindflayer (Monster Manual) retainers.
The world is mostly human and urban, but aasimar, dhampir, skinwalkers, and tieflings prowl the streets in a hidden battle for control. The night is dark, and full of terrors.
EDIT: I know some of the races I listed above are more powerful than others, and some aren't Pathfinder races at all. I used to be a 3.5e Dungeon Master before I became a Game Master, so I still have my copy of Savage Species; we could use a conversion of that book, use level adjustment, or find some other way to balance the characters. The game is ultimately about what we want to play. Pathfinder's race builder system is a last resort, only if we can't express the races we want through the races that already exist in D&D and Pathfinder — which is unlikely.
Hello! I'm checking for interest in a homebrew, play-by-post Pathfinder game set in a world driven mostly by player input.
The world itself will be themed around a low-magic, medieval Europe, but most of the other details are not finalized. The game's mechanics are going to be consistent, but it's up to us to create a world that we want to play in. Deities, races, firearms, psychic or psionic magic, third party content — everything's on the table for us to discuss.
As your Game Master, I will provide opportunities for you to adventure in this world and work towards your character's goals.
Character Creation
These character creation guidelines aren't finalized since I'm currently just checking for interest, but this is the bare minimum of what you can expect.
P6: To keep game mechanics from getting out of control and to keep the focus on what your character does as much as on what your character is, we'll be halting regular character advancement at 6th level. To continue advancing, we can adapt epic feats from The Abridged P6 Codex, create new epic feats tailored to your characters, or gain mythic tiers.
Automatic Bonus Progression: I'd like magic items to be rare, mostly not for sale, and a cause for awe or alarm. Automatic bonus progression solves some issues that this might cause.
Background: You grew up in a hamlet. In such a small settlement, you should all know each other, and at least two other friends or family. This should also inform the scope of your character's backstory. The hamlet's details — which gods are worshiped, which races are most common, what its renowned for — will be determined through your character concepts.
If you want to explore a specific concept (such as a halfling evoker), I'll write some lore around that concept (in this case, halflings, wizards, and how the school of evocation is regarded).
That's about it. Do you have a character that you wanted to play in a different campaign, but couldn't? Is there Paizo or 3rd-party content that you wanted to experiment with? What do you want to see in this world: dangerous dungeons, sprawling cities of intrigue, airships, or more? What do you think about Adamant Entertainment's Backgrounds and Occupations?
If you have any questions or comments, please let me know. I'm off to write my final exam and get some well-deserved sleep, but I'll return in about 8 hours to reply. Thank you!
