It is mid-day in Sasserine, and the appointed hour approaches. The letter written by Lady Lavinia Vanderboren summoned four individuals of various talents to the Vanderboren Manor. The clouds above the city have decided to celebrate this auspicious occasion by darkening the sky and drowning the city in a fierce deluge.
The manor itself is located in the eastern section of the Merchant District; an easy enough building to find, as it stands three-stories high. The architecture is gothic in nature, and a seven-foot-tall stone wall surrounds the plot of land immediately around the manor. On the southern edge of the square wall lies a large, iron gate that has been left unlocked and open. Beyond the gate is a small cobblestone path that winds through a miniature garden filled with flowers and plants that, in full sunlight, would no doubt be staggeringly beautiful. In the poor weather, everything seems dull and lifeless.
At the end of the path is the front door to the manor, a pair of wooden doors bearing inlaid carvings of pair of nymphs capering through a forest. This door, unlike the gate, is closed. Fortunately, an overhang held up by two massive pillars provides a reprieve from the rain. A large brass knocker lies on either door.
This is where the adventure begins, on the doorstep of the noble Lady Vanderboren's manor. Feel free to describe your approach, and interact with the other three PCs as they arrive. Knock when ready.
"A man cannot destroy the savage in him by denying its impulses. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."
Welcome to GM Red Ruin's Savage Tide AP! What is Savage Tide? Good question!
Savage Tide is an early AP made by Paizo before they converted from 3.5 rules to Pathfinder. It was published serially in Dungeon Magazine. But you're not looking for a history lesson...what's it about? The adventure begins in the city of Sasserine, on a seemingly minor mission from a noble. Deeper and deeper mysteries arrive throughout the adventure path; to quote my post in the Interest Check thread, Savage Tide "begins essentially running errands in a city, leads into some sailing across dangerous waters, engaging in the defense of a town/village/colony against an invading force, and ultimately ends with a rather large scale war on one of the non-Material Planes. And loads of other exciting events that I don't want to get into because of spoilers."
I will be running this game gestalt, which is explained further down somehweres. I will also be running this as theater of the mind. NO MAPS! Or at least, no 5x5 squares and moving characters around on Google Docs.
So, let's set the scene, eh?
Introduction:
The halfling before you is a wizened old crone, for lack of a better term. Deep crow's feet sit at the corners of her eyes, and smile lines mark her cheeks. Her greyed out hair is tied in a neat bun. Her dress is simple, but elegant; it gives the impression that she herself is not wealthy, but she dresses the part.
"My name is Kora. I work for Lady Vanderboren, and she saw fit to ask for your help," she says in a clear, strong voice. The halfling gives you an assessing gaze, and frowns. She rustles in her cloak, and produces a letter. As she extends it towards you, it flaps lightly in the air from the old woman's light tremor. "Don't see why. Always a troublesome one, that Lavinia. Where she thinks someone like you can help her, I've no idea. No one ever tells me anything," she complains, although a twinkle in her eye betrays her stern expression. She waits for you to read the letter.
The note reads:
Greetings, and I trust this missive finds you in good health!
My name is Lavinia Vanderboren, and I humbly request your attendance at dinner at my estate on Festival Street and Blue Skink Lane tomorrow evening. I think I can present you with an opportunity uniquely suited to your skills. Please inform the carrier of this letter of your response to this invitation, and I hope to be speaking to you soon!
Lavinia Vanderboren
The halfling woman stares at you, one eyebrow ticked up in question. "Well?
Setting:
The adventure will take place in Golarion, albeit a slightly modified one. I'm shamelessly stealing someone else's idea that I saw by setting the AP ten years AFTER the events of Wrath of the Righteous. The Worldwound is closed, and Demon Lord Deskari is dead, dead, dead. In the aftermath of the Worldwound sealing, a small mass of land, previously part of ancient Azlant, has risen from the deeps. Several attempts at colonizing it have been made, but they have largely been unsuccessful. This island will come up more later in the AP, and I will describe the lore involved further when we get there.
SASSERINE:
Hoo yeah, starting city. I could write several pages worth of stuff about the city, but people would probably just skim it and my hours of work would be tragically wasted. Here's the Cliff Notes:
Sasserine is a city that is located just south of the Shackles. It is divided into seven major districts, each ruled by a noble family. Each district has a temple to a god that is commonly worshipped by its residents:
Azure District:
The harbor district. This is where most of the sea-trade goes on, as well as a lucrative exotic pet/animal market exists. Most of the animal trade is illegal, but it is overlooked to some degree by the local authorities.
Noble Family: Islarans.
Deity: Gozreh.
Champions District:
The sports district. There is a booming arena/gladiator business that pervades most of the district. Fights are generally not to the death, and range from minor amateur bouts to fierce warriors that have become practical celebrities in the city. There are also "Dragon Challenges" that involve contestants pitted against dangerous creatures, but that will totally never ever come up in this AP so I don't know why I'm mentioning it. Never.
Noble Family: Lorchesters.
Deity: Kurgess.
Enlightened District:
The monk district. Well, actually, it is primarily a residential district, but the church of Irori plays an especially large part in the lives of this district. The district is fairly crime-free when compared to the others, as the clergy are part of the local authorities, and train daily in their quest for self-perfection. People here tend to live more quiet, reflective lives, and are generally more laconic and xenophobic towards strangers than other districts.
Noble Family: Taskerhills.
Deity: Asmodeus C'mon, of course it's Irori.
Merchant District:
I mean, it's got merchants. Shops on shops. This is where you go when you have a Bag of Holding filled to the brim with magical items that you want to sell so that you can buy your cloak of resistance plus whatever. Pretty self-explanatory. Also the Vanderboren estate is here.
Noble Family: Arabanis.
Deity: Abadar.
Noble District:
Buncha snooty rich-folk with silver spoons surgically embedded in their posteriors upon birth. It is, of course, one of the safest areas in Sasserine. The House of the Dragon is a magical academy of reasonable renown.
Noble Family: Lidus.
Deity: Timekeeper*
*Timekeeper is a homebrew deity with the Darkness, Good, Glory, and Travel domains. Timekeeper is a demi-god; a Samsaran who was one of the heroes that defeated Deskari and has since ascended to demi-godhood. More information will be presented in the AP; if anyone is interested in taking him as a deity, I can explain more when I'm not super tired.
Shadowshire:
The district where the poor, the unkempt, and the criminal bodies congregate. It's something of a free-for-all here.
Noble Family: Dracktuses, but it changes frequently.
Deity: Norgorber, with no official church.
Sunrise:
Another primarily residential district, but this one hosts a large number of non-human residents. In fact, its ruling noble family is a group of elves. Citizens of this district tend to value nature rather highly, farming plays a major source of wage earning for most residents.
Noble Family: Knowlerns.
Deities: There are temples to Erastil, Desna, and Cayden Cailean, although there is less of an emphasis on religious unity in this district.
Crunch:
This is a gestalt game. This means you pick two classes, and basically get the best parts of both. Here is a link with all the cool explanation stuffs.
Starting Level: 1
HP: Max HP first level, Half HP +1 every level after (d10 would get 6 per level, for example)
Starting Gold: Max starting gold from the wealthier of the two classes.
Race: Any Paizo, but I'm less likely to pick a super obscure race unless you have a good reason for picking it. I admittedly have a slight bias towards core races, but an interesting character can easily sweep this bias aside.
Alignment: Any. Yes, even evil, but you'd better be able to play nice with the group, or so help me I will turn this campaign around.
Class: Any Paizo class, none of the playtest classes.
Ability Scores: 24 point build, on a 1-1 scale, from a base of 10. You can go over 18, but your final score in any ability post-racial and age modifiers cannot be over 20. So, you can make an old paladin who is still supernaturally strong due to the power of his faith, or the dwarven bard you never could make due to that floating -2 CHA; this frees up a good number of character options, I think.
Skills: You get +2 skill point per level, BUT one of them must be spent on a social skill (Intimidate, Diplomacy, or Bluff). Remember that you can use Aid Another in social situations if you don't want to just stand there!
Feats: You get a bonus campaign feat at first level. It's a bit like a campaign trait.
Traits: 2 traits. No campaign traits. Those are feats, silly.
Campaign Feats:
Water Rat
Most of Azure District’s citizens learn to swim at a very early age, and take to the water as easily as land.
District: Azure.
Benefit: You gain a +2 bonus on Swim checks. When wearing light or no armor and not encumbered, fatigued, or exhausted, you can swim at one-half your speed as a move action or your full speed as a full-round action. While swimming, you gain a +2 bonus on Initiative checks.
Normal: Without the benefits of this feat, a character swims at one-quarter his speed as a move action or at one-half speed as a full-round action.
Arena Blood
The blood of an arena champion flows in your veins, giving you a thirst for glory and a drive to succeed.
District: Champion’s.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on Intimidate skill checks. In addition, whenever you successfuly demoralize an opponent using the Intimidate skill during combat you are immediately healed of 1d4 points of nonlethal damage (max 4 points per round).
You also gain a +2 morale bonus on grapple checks, sunder attempts, trip attempts, bull rush attempts, and disarm attempts if you are aware of any noncombatants observing a fight you are participating in.
Steadfast Loyalty
Self control and discipline are the birthright of many who grow up in Champion’s District, and you strive to uphold these ideals.
District: Champion’s.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on Will saving throws against charm, compulsion, and fear effects. In addition, when you are attempting a Constitution check to stabilize when dying, the penalty on the check is only half your negative hit point total instead of your full negative hit point total.
Suspicious Eye
You are always on the lookout for treachery and wrongdoing, like many of the other people from Cudgel District.
District: Cudgel.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on Sense Motive skill checks. In addition, the DC to take an object from you through the Sleight of Hand skill is increased to 25. You still receive the normal opposed Perception skill check to notice the attempt, and if you make this Perception check, you may immediately make an attack of opportunity on the target who was attempting to pick your pocket. If someone attempts the feint combat maneuver on you, you gain a +4 bonus on your Sense Motive check to avoid the feint.
Normal: The DC to take an object from a character through the Sleight of Hand skill is 20.
Merchant’s Tongue
Growing up around the merchants of this district made you glib and gave you a keen eye for value.
District: Merchant.
Benefit: You have already made quite a bit of money, and have a knack for making more. If you take this feat at 1st level, you gain a one-time bonus of 300 gp to your starting cash. In addition, whenever you sell an object, you can make an opposed Diplomacy check to automatically sell an object for 5% over its asking price.
Academy Graduate
You attended one of several academies in this district, during which you were schooled in the finer arts of being an aristocrat.
Prerequisite: 1st level only.
District: Noble.
Benefit: Pick any three Charisma- or Intelligence-based skills.
These three skills are always considered class skills for you.
In addition, you gain a +2 bonus on Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (nobility and royalty) checks, and may use
these skills untrained.
Knack for Magic
Magic is not that mysterious to you, and its gifts have made your life a little easier.
District: Noble.
Benefit: You get a +2 bonus on Spellcraft skill checks. In addition, you have an innate talent for magic, granting you the following spell-like abilities as a 1st-level caster: 1/day— detect magic, light, and prestidigitation.
Child of the Shadow
You were raised in the streets and back alleys of Shadowshore and have refined several talents and tricks valuable to survival in this neighborhood.
District: Shadowshore.
Benefit: You have a knack for rooting out the underground markets. You gain a +2 bonus on Diplomacy and Gather Information checks made to learn about a city’s black markets.
Growing up on the filthy streets of Shadowshore has also gifted you with several tricks you can use to ensure survival. You gain a +2 bonus on Initiative checks in urban environments. You are also adept at fighting in confined areas, such as narrow city alleyways or crowded taprooms. Enemies cannot gain cover from you if they are in your reach; you can thus attack someone around a corner without penalty. A creature with total cover from you still recieves all benefits of his cover.
Student of Nature
The wild has always excited you with its simple beauty and majestic creatures. It is no wonder that many of your talents let you better enjoy the natural world.
District: Sunrise.
Benefit: You get a +1 bonus on Handle Animal, Knowledge (nature), and Survival skill checks. You also get a +2 bonus on Fortitude saving throws to resist special attacks from plant creatures.
Your Application:
In order for your application to be complete, I need the following things:
The Crunch: I don't need every single piece here set in stone, but I want at least a good idea of where you are going with the character. Your race, classes, level one feats, and traits are necessary for this section, everything else can more or less wait until the campaign starts.
Why You?: Why has Lavinia decided to recruit you? You have done something noteworthy that has gained you minor renown in some circles. What is it you did? Did you protect a caravan from a bandit attack? Steal jewels from a minor noble family? Thwart a small smuggling ring? Make it whatever you want, but remember that you are level 1. You are gestalt, so you are strong for a level 1 character, but odds are you didn't slay a dragon.
Flavor/Background: The good stuff. Give me an interesting story. Don't just make a justification for how your samurai once picked up a potion and suddenly became an amazing alchemist. Give me a character that could be a main character in a fantasy novel that would make everyone argue about who would play him/her if HBO picked up the series. That level of interesting. Feel free to be from Sasserine, or anywhere else, really.
Appearance: A few sentences is all I really need, but feel free to embellish. You can also describe mannerisms, quirks, etc.
I think that's it. Recruitment will close next Monday at midnight, central time. Have at it!
Please visit the Discussion Section, but do not post. I will add in any major changes or clarifications that I deem necessary. They will be posted in both this thread and the Discussion thread, but this way you will not need to root through the entire thread just to see if I changed or clarified something.
Hello, all! A few months ago I obtained a good number of the Savage Tide AP magazines, and I am rather eager to run it. For those unfamiliar, Savage Tide is an old 3.5 AP that begins essentially running errands in a city, leads into some sailing across dangerous waters, engaging in the defense of a town/village/colony against an invading force, and ultimately ends with a rather large scale war on one of the non-Material Planes. And loads of other exciting events that I don't want to get into because of spoilers.
I would be running the game with Pathfinder rules, and am fairly confident I could scale the game up appropriately. However, for such an epic AP (Planar Warfare), I feel that a power boost would be enjoyable. So, before I start up a recruitment thread and hash out all my rules and regulations, I was wondering: would people be interested? If so, would you prefer to use Mythic rules, or Gestalt?
