Trash newspaper rolls its way down a cobblestone street, catching on a corrugated steel railing and flipping open as the breeze of Duskwall continues its relentless push in from the sea. The headline "Gang Violence Increases in Crow's Foot! Beware!" easily seen in its bold font before the paper gets whisked away into the dark sky. A foggy morning rolls over an old decrepit watchtower in Six Towers. This watchtower, once part of a structure that gave home to the mentally ill, lays abandoned and encased in tenacious vines. Though the stone sits strong and silent, the broken windows and rusted gates give a clear picture of lifelessness.
However, looking deeper into the watchtower, a new development has brought life to the decaying building. A small group of Duskwalls newest thieves walk up the winding staircase that leads up to the top of the watchtower. Crumbling masonry crunches underfoot as the group steps into a room covered in the dust of long neglect. Furniture sits about the room, with chairs, tables, and couches all covered in sheet clothes.
The room stands taller than normal, being a story and a half to the ceiling. The windows, those that aren't boarded up, have cracked glass sitting in their frames. A silence settles on the room after everyone has stepped into the room, creaking floorboards settling into the new weight that stands on them.
Who's going to break the silence? :) We're starting the game in Free Play, you have a note from an agent of the Hive, a shoe cobbler working in Coalridge, which is in the spoiler. This is a chance to describe your character's physical appearance and manner, decide on what you guys are going to do, gather some information then we choose a target and set a plan to start the engagement roll. This part of the game is very free form so feel free to ask questions and make choices as you like to.
Scrawled Note:
First impressions matter, and you lot have certainly made yours. My associates are willing to give you a shot, one shot. Here's the deal, a new piece of jewelry just came in off the Gaddoc last week, shipped to a merchant named Jorro. He sold it to an Iruvian. Find out who Jorro sold it to and retrieve it for us, leave it in the usual dropbox. Your payment will be 3 coins each. Burn this message once you've opened it.
Alright! Discussion is up, please report in and lets start with peoples preferences for crew. Top 3 with #1 being your favorite seems a good place to start. I have shared a new GFolder with the crew sheets and the crew creation summary under the Starting a Legacy GDoc. Please read over that as we start thinking of ideas for your crew. Crew creation is a collaborative project and it needs to be something everyone is happy with so please speak up with your opinions, its important.
I've recently purchased a new ruleset going by the name of Blades in the Dark and I would like to to put together a crew of Scoundrels to try and rise to the top of the mean streets of Duskwall. I've already got 2 people who want to join so I'm looking for 3 more to join the crew and explore something a little different from the usual Pathfinder fare. Blades in the Dark tries to portray a crime drama in a world of supernatural horrors which I think is an excellent chance to tell interesting stories. John Harper, the author lists Dishonored and The Wire as influences and I like to include Penny Dreadful and Gangs of New York as part of the kind of story I'd like to try to tell. If a gritty game of Victorian-punk If any of that is of interest to you, please continue read.
As always, a few matters of administration:
I would like to keep up at least a once per day pace of posting (relaxed on weekends) as the game's mechanics do require more back and forth communication than Pathfinder does. This goes for me just as much as it does everyone else. If there is need to bot a character for awhile just please let us know so there isn't too much slow down.
I have provided a link below to the crunch of character creation and a synopsis about the world along with a folder containing the playbook sheets needed to make characters. Owning a copy of Blades in the Dark is not required for recruitment but would be very helpful if you can manage it as I can't point to an SRD or put a paid PDF up obviously.
I would like to dive into the game and really explores all of its mechanics which do have an element of time advancement as you, your fellow players, and your crew all work to advance up the ladder of scum and villainy that rules the Duskwall underworld. So, if you are the type who likes to have payoff for longer running plot threads that will definitely be of interest to me in your background.
Everything else can be found in the link below so I think that will wrap things up for now. If anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to ask and I look forward to your submissions.
Korvosa, the Jewel of Varisia, has long sparkled on Varisia’s southern shore. Established 300 years ago by Cheliax at the height of that empire’s expansion; the city now commands its own destiny. A line of Korvosan kings and queens emerged to rule the city, establishing an infamous seat power—the Crimson Throne. Rulers have sat upon the Crimson Throne for more than a century, and the city has flourished. Yet the monarchy always seems on the brink of disaster. The Crimson Throne is not a prize to be won—it is a curse. No monarch of Korvosa has died of old age, and none have produced an heir while ruling. Even though King Eodred II controls Korvosa more fully than any previous monarch, that control remains tenuous, and many secretly count the days until their latest king falls to what they call the Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Perhaps you count those days as well or the monarchy of Korvosa could be the furthest thing from your mind. Earlier in your lives you were touched by Gaedren Lamm and that has changed and molded you into the person you are now. Maybe you have moved past it, or maybe you secretly harbor revenge in your heart. Either way, the scars of his continued existence are still a stain on your heart, one that might not be ignored much longer.
It starts with a card. An innocuous and easily unnoticed slip of paper but this one seemed to call out for attention. On the backs of the painted cards, written over heavy embroidered artwork, are the words ” I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.”
The script is bold but flowing, with strong sharp lines, almost perfect in a way.
Thaniel (The Demon’s Lantern):
Your card has a stylized picture of a glowing lantern. Inside the light hole of the lantern sits the grinning fanged face of a demonic horror. Your hands sting for a moment when you touch the card but it quickly passes. The Demon’s eyes seem to follow you as the fire swirls over the card in artistic waves. You find the card inside your duelist’s glove when you slide your hand into it in the morning.
Aleixieca (The Peacock):
Your card has a stylized picture of a flared out peacock. The majestic creature spreading out its large plumage as if preening for attention as your eyes seems to dance across the card. The colors of the peacock seem to shift under the morning sun that shines through your tavern room. The room is completely empty except for you and your belongings, with the windows still shut and your door locked. Even so, the feeling you get from the card is not menacing but you cannot quite place what you feel when you look at it, as if it were constantly changing.
Bao (The Juggler):
Your card has a stylized picture of a man dressed in a bright brocade of colors, washing over the entire spectrum of the rainbow. His arms are spread out in front of him, one holding a tiny elephant, another tossing a rabbit up into the air, and above his head is a sharply serrated knife. You feel a sense of good fortune when you touch the card. You find the card when you are working at the docks, and a stiff breeze blows across the dock, sending a roll of silk to go toppling out of Jareth’s (a co-worker) hands as he was carrying it. The card seems to fly out of the unfurling silk and slap against your chest, sticking to you.
Briar (The Cricket):
The card shows an almost comically large cricket with large bottle cap glasses hanging off of its antennae. Its hind legs are a blur on the picture, to simulate the motion of its body. You find the card as you wake up in the morning to the sound of faintly chirping crickets, folded vertically with a crease down the center of it inside your belt pouch. Your tavern room seems undisturbed by anyone besides yourself, and if you ask the tavern keeper if anyone had come in during the middle of the night he tells you that no one had.
Orlando (The Dance):
Your night time dreams are filled with a large dancing hall, filled with men in their best doublets and silk shirts. The women wear scandalously thin and revealing clothing, as is the fashion for this season. Everyone contorts and dances in a fashion that is both sexually charged and almost purely innocent. You are swept up by the most beautiful of the women in the room, whom lead you to the dance floor and then let you take the lead, weaving through the crowds as effortlessly as pure liquid grace. When you wake up in the morning, you feel refreshed and ready for a new day, and to your surprise. A card that seems to represent the very scene you dreamed of hangs over the door of your tavern room in plain view with a small ray of the early morning sunlight illuminating it.
Declan Taxha (The Locksmith):
You are woken up several times in the middle of the night in a cold sweat that seems to have covered your sheets from all the tossing and turning you do. Your nightmares consist of running through a music box, each of the mechanisms and turning gears a deadly trap that you dodge and run and weave through. Eventually you are able to reach the “end” of this deadly puzzle, and find inside a small room an open chest. Inside the chest is a card, which seems to expand and grow into a hideously shaped man-shadow, a silhouette of a deformed monstrosity wielding a pair of key picks as weapons. As he lunges at you, you bolt up in your bed to find it is morning, early enough that the sun hasn’t risen yet. You breathe a sigh of relief as the dream seems to be over, but the most disturbing part is waiting for you. As the card you saw in your dream is curled up tightly in your hand, and the man is grinning at you on the front of the card.
What each of you does with this note is ultimately up to you. Whether you heed the call or decide to ignore it is up to you. Either way, it is the 3rd of Pharast 4708 AR, a red dawn rises over Korvosa, and Gaedren Lamm is still out there.
For those who wish to try and find out more about the address on the card, you can make a DC 10 Diplomacy check for this information:
Spoiler:
You find out that 3 Lancet Street is the home and fortune-telling shop of a Varisian woman named Zellara. You receive this information from friends or family, or from people on the street that you may trust or talk with on a semi-regular basis.
Korvosa, the Jewel of Varisia, has long sparkled on Varisia’s southern shore. Established 300 years ago by Cheliax at the height of that empire’s expansion; the city now commands its own destiny. A line of Korvosan kings and queens emerged to rule the city, establishing an infamous seat power—the Crimson Throne. Rulers have sat upon the Crimson Throne for more than a century, and the city has flourished. Yet the monarchy always seems on the brink of disaster. The Crimson Throne is not a prize to be won—it is a curse. No monarch of Korvosa has died of old age, and none have produced an heir while ruling. Even though King Eodred II controls Korvosa more fully than any previous monarch, that control remains tenuous, and many secretly count the days until their latest king falls to what they call the Curse of the Crimson Throne.
Perhaps you count those days as well or the monarchy of Korvosa could be the furthest thing from your mind. Earlier in your lives you were touched by Gaedren Lamm and that has changed and molded you into the person you are now. Maybe you have moved past it, or maybe you secretly harbor revenge in your heart. Either way, the scars of his continued existence are still a stain on your heart, one that might not be ignored much longer.
It starts with a card. An innocuous and easily unnoticed slip of paper but this one seemed to call out for attention. On the backs of the painted cards, written over heavy scrolled artwork, are the words ” I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.”
The script is bold but flowing, with strong sharp lines, almost perfect in a way.
Alynbrand (The Rabbit Prince):
Your card has a stylized picture of a rabbit on it, sitting upon a throne with a crown on his head. The Rabbit holds a scepter lazily in one hand and his ears are perked up inside the crown on his head. You get a feeling as if the rabbit were bored, simply waiting for the next fight. A key sits in one corner of the card. You find this card resting precariously on your sword in the morning, hanging just off the sharpened edge.
Kur-Awk (The Dance):
Your card has a stylized picture of a woman dressed in almost scandalous silks. Leaving just enough to the imagination to keep someone interested. Her body is contorted in the middle of an intricate dance step and a look of happiness is on her face. The image seems somehow in perfect harmony with the swirling background. You find this card in an empty tankard that rests on a table in front of you. You have spent another night drinking off the anguish of a fruitless hunt for Gaedren Lamm. Perhaps your fortunes will look up this day.
Ritcher (The Demon’s Lantern):
Your card has a stylized picture of a glowing lantern. Inside the light hole of the lantern sits the grinning fanged face of a demonic horror. Your hands sting for a moment when you touch the card but it quickly passes. The Demon’s eyes seem to follow you as the fire swirls over the card in artistic waves. You find the card stuck under your holy symbol to Cayden Cailean.
Byron (The Juggler):
Your card has a stylized picture of a man dressed in a bright brocade of colors, washing over the entire spectrum of the rainbow. His arms are spread out in front of him, one holding a tiny elephant, another tossing a rabbit up into the air, and above his head is a sharply serrated knife. You feel a sense of good fortune when you touch the card. You find the card inside your breast pocket as you walk down the street towards your next possible client when a soft breeze seems to flow around you. No one was near you at the time but the streets are busy with people already in this early morning.
Taisha (The Cricket):
Despite several weeks of searching for Gaedren Lamm, you have had almost no luck at it. His ability to evade the Korvosan Guard also seems equally matched against the criminal elements and underground of the city. No one really seems to know where he lives. However, that changes this day as you wake up to find a card resting over your chest. The card startles you as you did not go to sleep with it and there is no indication in your tavern room (The Longshoreman) that anyone had been inside while you slept. The card shows an almost comically large cricket with large bottle cap glasses hanging off of its antennae. Its hind legs are a blur on the picture, to simulate the motion of its body. And in the back of your mind is the faint chirping of crickets, considered lucky by some people.
Rolan (The Crows):
Your card has a stylized picture of a large crow, distinctly reminiscent of your own friend Munin. Only one side of the crows face is painted, with a large hollow black eye staring at you. You find this card quite surprisingly when you wake up in the morning and first crack open your spell book. Your room shows no signs of being entered by anyone while you slept and the rest of your family is not even awake yet. Leaving only one possibility, that someone was able to sneak into your room without waking you or anyone else up. Quite the feat considering how the stairs creek when you walk up and down them.
What each of you does with this note is ultimately up to you. Whether you heed the call or decide to ignore it is up to you. Either way, it is the 3rd of Pharast in 4708 AR, a red dawn rises over Korvosa, and Gaedren Lamm is still out there.
For those who wish to try and find out more about the address on the card, you can make a DC 10 Diplomacy check for this information:
Spoiler:
You find out that 3 Lancet Street is the home and fortune-telling shop of a Varisian woman named Zellara. You receive this information from friends or family, or from people on the street that you may trust or talk with on a semi-regular basis.
Here is the OOC thread for party two's CotCT PBP game. What I need from all of you is finished character sheets, either in your profiles or here in the thread. I will be loading all of your characters into Hero Lab for ease of reference.
All of you can use this thread at any time to get into contact with me and ask me questions about the campaign or anything else in general. Also, even if your character isn't fully ready yet, please post here as quickly as possible to tell me your here and (mostly) ready to go.
Here is the OOC thread for party one's CotCT PBP game. What I need from all of you is finished character sheets, either in your profiles or here in the thread. I will be loading all of your characters into Hero Lab for ease of reference.
All of you can use this thread at any time to get into contact with me and ask me questions about the campaign or anything else in general. Also, even if your character isn't fully ready yet, please post here as quickly as possible to tell me your here and (mostly) ready to go.
Hello everyone! I thought I would take a hand at DMing one of these PBP games. Mostly because I want to run a campaign from the wonderful Paizo guys that is very dear to my heart and I never got to finish, being the first campaign I ever read from Paizo.
I would like to run the Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign for those who are interesting. I will be accepting character submissions for about a week or until I believe I will not be getting anymore submissions. This should also be enough time to hammer out details on character ideas and concepts. I understand that as an older AP some people will have probably already played or even finished it. Towards that, I would like you to state if you have already played the AP in your submission. Having already played the AP will in no way impact your acceptance into the PBP. I am mostly looking for good, well-written backgrounds and character concepts right now, and my preference will be towards articulate, well thought out backgrounds that fit well into the story setup for the AP.
Spoilered below is the crunch of the campaign along with anything else I can think of.
Basics
Spoiler:
-I’m looking 4 active players. Hoping to have an at least a 1 post a day commitment with notice when you won’t be able to do that so we can NPC the character. I have pre-approved two friends from real life who also really wants to play the CotCT campaign and are becoming relatively experienced in PBP style games so the group total will be 6.
-Allowed books: Pathfinder Rulebook, Bestiary 1 & 2, Advanced Player’s Guide, Adventurer’s Armory, Curse of the Crimson Throne’s Player’s Guide, Pathfinder Player Companion: Inner Sea Primer.
-Please keep in mind that this AP is mostly a city crawl and try to build characters accordingly. However, for those who have not played ahead, there are whole sections of the campaign that deal with outdoors type adventures so if you really want to play the outdoorsy types, you won’t be left out of the loop completely.
-Finally, I plan on using my Photobucket account and updated pictures to represent battle maps were possible, in any place that doesn’t allow for such, I will attempt to be as descriptive as possible as to the layout of the battle situation.
Character Creation
Spoiler:
-You will be making 1st level characters using the book list presented in the previous spoiler. Material from other Paizo products will be allowed in with approval, but in the interest of keeping my need to regulate balance issues to a minimum, I will not be allowing 3PPs or 3.5 material.
-Ability scores will be done by point buy to keep everyone on even footing, but you will have 25 points (epic fantasy) to spend.
-Races Allowed: All standard core races plus Aasimar, Tiefling, Dhampir, Ifrit, Oread, Slyphs, and Undine
-Classes Allowed: Any of the classes from the Core Rules or the APG are acceptable. Until its a little closer to finished, I’m not looking to play test the Magus in a long term game at this time.
-Skills and Feats will be done as normal, each character will also be allowed to select two traits of their choice, but one of the traits must be from the Curse of the Crimson Throne Player’s Guide. Please try to work the Gadren Lamm subplot into your story as it makes several party interactions easier for the campaign as a whole.
-Each character begins with average starting gold.
-I would strongly prefer not having any evil characters but your characters do not need to be particularly heroic. A streak of patriotism would also be very preferable.
That looks like about everything I can think of to put up. I hope there is a good amount of interest. For those interested, I am a relatively experienced DM in RL campaigns and a few PBPs on these boards as a player. I am greatly looking forward to hearing your responses and running this campaign.
Thank you for taking the time to read all of those and I hope you are interested.
