Logan1138's page

Logan1138 wrote:

Oh man, this is a classic AD&D adventure! One of my personal favorites along with Against the Cult of the Reptile God and White Plume Mountain.

I have Savage Worlds Deluxe which I believe they are now calling the Explorer's edition. Are there any significant differences in the system that would justify my purchasing the new (unfinished) Adventure edition or would I be okay just going with what I already have?

Savage Worlds Deluxe should be fine. There are a few minor differences when it comes to character creation, but those mostly have to do with the skills being reshuffled, and can easily be explained.

You state that the module is one of your favorites. Does that mean you've played it before?

Yes, I played it when it first came out in the 80's, so it's been 30+ years. I still remember the general theme of the adventure but not much of the nitty-gritty details.

Oh man, this is a classic AD&D adventure! One of my personal favorites along with Against the Cult of the Reptile God and White Plume Mountain.

I have Savage Worlds Deluxe which I believe they are now calling the Explorer's edition. Are there any significant differences in the system that would justify my purchasing the new (unfinished) Adventure edition or would I be okay just going with what I already have?

Rappan Athuk + 5E == WIN!

I have been dying to play Rappan Athuk but I have only seen it offered using Pathfinder which is a great system that I do not happen to play.

So how's it going?

Redac, you're still going through with an archaeology grad student?

Logan1138, what ideas are you pursuing?

I will not be submitting an application for this game after all. Good luck with the game everyone!

Logan1138 wrote:

Dreaming Warforged, I wanted to make a few minor alterations to my character as a result of my growing knowledge about Eberron and Sharn (I purchased the 3.5 Campaign Setting and the Sharn, City of Towers pdfs yesterday and found some things that I think might work a little better for the character).

The substance of the character will remain the same, Gnome from Zilago working for the Trust, but I want to change his background to House Agent (Sivis but not drangonmarked) and rejigger the Ally, Contact, Rival selections somewhat.

If that is NOT okay, please let me know.

That sounds good. Only thing is: at your level, all of you are not agents per se, more like wannabes or resources. So you might think you work for the Trust, but the Trust might not see it that way, at least until you prove yourself. I hope that's ok.

No, that is what I figured. He is just a low-level desk agent at this point. I was going to have him working for House Sivis as a non-dragonmarked house agent doing scribe duty but "asked"(read threatened) by the Trust to report any compromising documents he might come across.

Dreaming Warforged, I wanted to make a few minor alterations to my character as a result of my growing knowledge about Eberron and Sharn (I purchased the 3.5 Campaign Setting and the Sharn, City of Towers pdfs yesterday and found some things that I think might work a little better for the character).

The substance of the character will remain the same, Gnome from Zilago working for the Trust, but I want to change his background to House Agent (Sivis but not drangonmarked) and rejigger the Ally, Contact, Rival selections somewhat.

If that is NOT okay, please let me know.

Dreaming Warforged wrote:

Ok, regarding money, I should have been clearer. You don't need a trickle of money, but an important payment, something between 50 and 200 gp.

[dice=Stitch Reason]1d10 You gambled with the wrong crowd. Perhaps it was a one-time error, perhaps the sign of a bigger gambling problem, but you got a first visit and the message is clear: Pay, or pay.

Oh man, that is the BEST possible result. I definitely want to expand on the idea of Stitch getting naively involved in gambling, not realizing how serious people take it, and probably doing a lot of card counting that pisses people off and make them think Stitch is cheating. Probably doesn't understand debt/tabs/etc. very well either. I love the idea of Stitch being deeply in debt for gambling.

Well, now we have our connection, Stitch!

In my application submission, I indicated that Rory is an inveterate gambler and it would probably get him into trouble at some point.

I was going to suggest that I got cleaned out in a card game as the reason for my needing immediate funds and voila! Stitch was at that table as well. I think it would be kind of amusing if the person we lost to erroneously suspected that I was in on your card counting scheme, even though I was merely scratching my nose because it itched, not because I was passing signs to Stitch.

Regarding connections, I had envisioned Rory as a fairly recent arrival in Sharn with his only connection that required any time in the city being that of Max Murlock (which I should reassign as a contact rather than an ally based on DW's post), thus I didn't expect to have any strong connections to other PC's at this point.

However, I will look over the other players' recruitment submissions to see what might work.

Survey says!

The only supplement out of that entire list that I have read anything from is the Lost Mines of Phandelver from the Starter Set but I have not actually played any of it and I last read it about 3 years ago so my memory of the information is pretty weak.

I only have a passing familiarity with WotC 5E stuff and know nothing about any of the other material.

I could definitely see Out of the Abyss material being logically included with the trapped baddies in the Dragon Below. Curse of Strahd would be cool if incorporated into the Mournland.

For what it's worth, I've been working on basically the same character concept and I just used the Archaeologist occupation. I think there is a Student occupation, though.

Of course, if someone else is submitting basically the same build, I might need to work on another one.

Please continue with your idea, I was only speculating about a concept. If I do submit a character, I'll just go with something else. Not a problem.

Lorekeeper, I am thinking about submitting an archaeology student who has finished his undergrad and is currently working on his doctorate at Miskatonic U.

Would I use the Professor occupation or is there an occupation specifically designed for Students in the complete rule set?

DW: The main draw for me to this campaign was precisely that you were going to "do stuff" to our characters about which we knew nothing. I was really excited when I read that part of your recruitment pitch as I love to be surprised by new events in the game.

So, no holds barred, amigo.

Third and final submission:

Logan1138 wrote:

Dreaming Warforged: I am thinking of creating a warforged Artificer (Gunsmith subclass) but the option presented in Unearthed Arcana at the Wizards site seems horribly overpowered. Would you be open to my submitting this concept with the understanding that, if this character was selected for your campaign, we would work together to "nerf" the abilities down to a more reasonable level in keeping with the rest of the party?

That would be fine. Note however that there are no guns in Eberron. I'm not sure where UA got that from, but it wouldn't work in the case of this campaign.

Interesting.

I am completely new to Eberron and I am surprised that with flying ships and trains that their are no firearms. That shouldn't be a problem though as I could just go with the other subclass of the Artificer which is an alchemist. It too is overpowered, though, and will need to be toned down.

Here is my submission for that character...

The Strange:

Dreaming Warforged: I am thinking of creating a warforged Artificer (Gunsmith subclass) but the option presented in Unearthed Arcana at the Wizards site seems horribly overpowered. Would you be open to my submitting this concept with the understanding that, if this character was selected for your campaign, we would work together to "nerf" the abilities down to a more reasonable level in keeping with the rest of the party?

Hi Grimmy!

Good to see you back in the DM saddle.

I have to ask: What the heck are you doing in India?!?

I'm not signing up for your (extremely) ambitious project but I just wanted to give you a virtual thumbs up for your courage.

Good luck!

I thought the adventure also sounded a bit like X1: The Isle of Dread with its emphasis on exploration of a largely unknown island.

Wow, I never knew that 5E core books had not been published in other languages. I know WotC is following a slow-release paradigm but leaving millions of potential players (and their wallets) around the world without books in their native tongue seems pretty short sighted.

Good on Gale Force Nine for rectifying this issue.

I would probably require a caster to use a Feat (let's call it Expanded Concentration or something similar) to add a second Concentration spell that he/she could keep up. Want to be able to maintain three Concentration spells? Take a second helping of Expanded Concentration. This would require a hard choice on the part of the player as to whether or not it was really worth it to have extra Concentration spells going.

Hmmm...have to think about this one. I've got the DCC rule book but haven't had a chance to play the game yet. The slightly gonzo style is definitely appealing.

Point of order: Boo was a miniature giant space hamster, not a mouse.

Baldur's Gate was the game that reignited my interest in D&D after having been away from the game for several years. Great, great game. BG2 was even better.

My thinking right now is to run the full series since I, at least, am completely new to the classic modules. It's pretty much the most infamous chain of modules and are meant to played serially anyways.

We can make adjustments on the fly, but I'm thinking starting at level 3 with T1: The Village of Hommlet.

Just wanted to offer an opinion from an old-school vet (began playing D&D in 1981), Temple of Elemental evil is a mini-campaign all its own. You would not play the Slave Lord modules (A1-4) after completing ToEE because your characters would be too high in level, probably about level 11-12 and A1-A4 is meant for PC's from 4-8 level IIRC.

I look forward to seeing this game take off as I intend to read along for some good old nostalgia.

Between three different cards, the Haunts are referred to as being:

"In front of you"
"In front of all players"
"In front of characters"
"Next to your character card"

More seriously though, assuming these are all the same place, it's still not clear to me how the scenario power interacts with the text on the Haunts themselves. Do you follow the scenario instructions before, after or instead of following the Haunt text?

I think the right interpretation is this:
1. First you encounter the Haunt, which means putting it next to your character card. This is because you should "finish one thing before you start another", so the encounter happens before the "when you encounter"

2. Then you should attempt to close the location. This is because the closing the location text on the Haunt uses the word "immediately", while the scenario text does not. The check will be harder than usual because of the Haunt.

3. Then you arrange yourself in such a way that the Haunt is both in front of you and next to your character card. This is because I'm assuming all these different places aren't meant to be different. The important thing is the Haunts still add 1 to the difficulty of all your checks, irrespective of having been told to put them somewhere else.

4. Then you count the number of Haunts that you can see around the table, including your own, roll d6, add the numbers together and compare it to 5.

5. Finally, you might then encounter Iesha. If you're Kyra you can then read all the other text on the card, but otherwise you just roll some dice and hope not to lose your whole hand.

Does this look right? I searched for other threads about this, but the only thing that was ever confirmed was not to pull d6 additional Haunts out of the box. Some asked the question but never got a confirmed response and none seemed to put the entire sequence together.

I can't quote the rule book to you regarding your question and interpretation, but I can say that this is how I interpret and play the Haunt cards.

That Iesha Foxglove card is a real b*tch. I've found this particular scenario the hardest to successfully complete so far having played all of the Perils of the Lost Coast, Burnt Offerings and The Skinsaw Murders.

Just wanted to say (write?) that I will not be submitting a PC for this campaign BUT I am looking forward to reading along on these old-school adventures.

I hope you all have a blast!

4d6: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 1, 3) = 11 = 10
4d6: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 5, 6) = 20 = 16
4d6: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 1, 6) = 10 = 9
4d6: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 4, 6) = 21 = 17
4d6: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 2, 2) = 12 = 10
4d6: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 1, 2, 1) = 10 = 9

It seems we've gone inactive. Does the automatic system base it on the last time the DM posted then?

I think "auto deactivation" is a result of no one (not just the DM) posting in the game play section for 90 days.

You might try "dotting" the game play section and see what happens.

I am not going to apply for this game (I'm not a big fan of PbP gaming) but I wanted to give a virtual "Thumbs Up!" for starting this old-school game.

I remember playing this module when I was about 11 or 12 years old. It's an interesting adventure and I plan to read along.

That's all well and good but when are we going to get Rappan Athuk for 5e?!?

I have been wanting to play this mega-dungeon of death for a while now but don't want to play it using PF and haven't seen anyone run it for S&W.

I agree that WoTC did a very nice job of making all of the classes in the PHB (almost) equally attractive, but that book benefited from the extensive play test done for 5E. I would imagine that the new options in SCAG will not be as thoroughly play tested and, therefore, subject to greater variability in their relative power.

I am actually happy to see a few more subclasses available, especially for some of the classes which only got two options in the PHB and one of them was often "weaker" than the other and, therefore, rarely used (e.g. Circle of Land Druid vs. Circle of Moon Druid).

I just hope that they are able to avoid the all too common problem where new options are better than core options. I can imagine a scenario where every player is using the new subclasses/archetypes from SCAG because they are OP compared to the PHB.

Loved psionics ever since I saw them nestled in the back of the original Player's Handbook. I love how they mesh with fantasy and make grumpy grognards grumpier.

Glad to see 5e carrying on the tradition.

I just realized that my post was inappropriate for this thread and probably came across as trolling or thread-crapping. It was not intended as such but if anyone viewed it that way, I apologize.

I would never want to tell someone else how to play the game the "right" way or suggest that they are engaged in "badwrongfun" but my original post may have come across that way. Again, I apologize if I gave offense.

In the spirit of the random nature of the feature, I would probably make a d20 roll whenever the Sorcerer cast a spell and use the result to determine if they needed to roll for a potential Wild Surge. Depending on how frequently I wanted to see this take place I would use a target number of 10, 12 or 15 as the "DC" to determine if a roll was called for. I think I would also add the level of the spell just cast by the Sorcerer so that higher level magic would be more likely to potentially trigger a Wild Surge.

As an example, if I choose to set the DC at 12 and the Sorcerer casts a 3rd level spell, I would roll a d20 and if I rolled a 9 (+3 for 3rd level spell = 12) or higher on the d20 I would have the player roll for a possible Wild Surge. I think it might also be good idea to have a Wild Surge take place on a number equal to or less than the spell level cast. So, a first level spell would only call for an actual roll on the Wild Surge table if the player rolled a 1 on the d20, while a 5th level spell would do so on a roll of 1-5 on the d20.

Psionics...ugh.

I've hated Psionics since the first time I saw them tucked away in the very back of the 1E PHB. I hate them for the same reason I don't like Monks in D&D: they just feel out of place for the game I want to play. If I wanted to play a game with psionics, I would play something like Gamma World where it seems more appropriate.

I really hope psionics don't become "core" and allowed for play in Adventurer's League.

/crotchety old grodnard rant

Well, that's unfortunate. I hope my dropping from the game didn't create a cascade effect. I fully intended to read along to see how the game progressed.

Well...I need to go ahead and withdraw from this game.

Unfortunately, I sometimes get excited by a really cool sounding campaign and forget that I do not enjoy the process of Play-by-post gaming. I just need to admit that I probably won't be around for the long haul on this game so it would be better to acknowledge that right now and bow out before things get going.

I fully intend to read along and see how this game plays out and I hope everyone has a blast. Have a great game everyone!

Logan1138 aka Andalin Oakrunner

Well...I need to go ahead and withdraw from this game.

Unfortunately, I sometimes get excited by a really cool sounding campaign and forget that I do not enjoy the process of Play-by-post gaming. I just need to admit that I probably won't be around for the long haul on this game so it would be better to acknowledge that right now and bow out before things get too far along.

Perhaps, Maro's seedy past has caught up with him and the security officers drag him away for more interrogation and extradition?

I fully intend to read along and see how this game plays out and I hope everyone has a blast. Have a great game everyone!

Logan1138 aka Maro Trask

Well...I need to go ahead and withdraw from this game.

Unfortunately, I sometimes get excited by a really cool sounding campaign and forget that I do not enjoy the process of Play-by-post gaming. I just need to admit that I probably won't be around for the long haul on this game so it would be better to acknowledge that right now and bow out before things get going.

Have a great game everyone!

Logan1138 aka "Ty" Darkmoon.

Well...I need to go ahead and withdraw from this game.

Unfortunately, I sometimes get excited by a really cool sounding campaign and forget that I do not enjoy the process of Play-by-post gaming. Add to that my distaste for Pathfinder and I just need to admit that I probably won't be around for the long haul on this game so it would be better to acknowledge that right now and bow out before things get going.

I fully intend to read along and see how this game plays out and I hope everyone has a blast. Have a great game everyone!

Logan1138 aka Katani

Well, I think in general the people that have severe allergic reactions to shifts from the 3.x paradigm just don't come to this part of the forum, so you're getting the opinions of people that like the system, or are at least open-minded/interested.

Yup.

As with most E-3PO droids, its exclusivity throughout the galaxy has resulted in a haughty personality, but the damage sustained causes it to temporarily take on that of a forgotten Sith Lord.

I eagerly look forward to seeing this dynamic in action during game play! :D

Just wondering, how is Chainmail playing a Gnome Illusionist/thief? There are no Gnomes nor Illusionists in Swords & Wizardry to my knowledge.

I am not complaining at all, in my 1st Edition days I was the only person at my table who played gnomes or Illusionists. Just curious how this will work since there are no "official" rules for the race or class.

"Yes sir he did indeed fall down the flight of steps twice when we arrested him. If I hadnt seen it myself I wouldnt believe it either."

I think our characters are going to get along quite well... :D

Just wanted to let you know that I am still interested in this game. I was "out-of-pocket" all of yesterday and am now trying to decide whether to play a rogue or wizard/sorcerer. I should have a completed PC up in the next day or two.

Welcome Master Trask, I think the rebels could definitely use someone with your ... unique abilities <ahem>.

In all seriousness, that's an awesome name and i LOVE the two descriptons we've gotten so far.

BTW, here's a little intro video I put together. Enjoy!

Dude, that opening crawl vid was totally sweet! Did you make that yourself? If so...how did you do that?

I saw Star Wars in 1977 when I was 5 years old (the first movie I can recall watching) and I was totally blown away by the opening crawl followed by that massive Star Destroyer sailing across the screen. Best opening to a movie...EVER.

I forgot to mention in my original post that Threepio was my favorite Star Wars character, too. However, I really didn't want to be completely useless in combat so I went with "the not-a-player who thinks he's a player" rogue archetype for the comedy relief Threepio usually provided.

Name: Maro Trask

Template: Outlaw

Attribute emphasis: Perception and Dexterity (ranged only)

Fun facts: Lando Calrissian meets Austin Powers. Fancies himself a ladies man but...doesn't quite have it. Silver-tongued rogue who prefers to talk his way out of a fight if he can but is reasonably adept with a blaster just in case he's dealing with Trandoshans or Gamorreans. Card sharp wanted in 4 systems...or so he claims.

I don't know if it qualifies as a "main" PbP site but one that I have seen is Myth Weavers

Need to roll for gold...

Gold: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 6) = 13 * 10 = 130 gp

I decided to go with a HP tank and play a Ranger (two HD at first level FTW!).

Dot

Dotting for great justice!

Hey guys!

As I’ve mentioned to a few of you, I am planning on eventually running a sequel campaign to two games we have established to be in the same continuity:

Thron’s Rise of the Runelords
Jelani’s Absalom Abberations

I am going to keep this invitation limited in scope, as I’m not wanting to overload us on players in our playground. For anyone coming into this thread later than others, please do not be offended. I’ve been slowly testing waters of interest at first, and am also interested to add new blood to our little game world. So anyone who is here that was not part of either of those games, take it as a serious nod of respect of your role playing ability that we have invited you to join us, as these two games have seen this group together for several years running now. We don’t just let anyone in.

I will be adding more to come, but in truth, I plan on this being a more open dialogue between us rather than a typical “I’m going to be running Game A, and my criteria are X, Y, and Z.”

That being said, here is the game I plan to run, along with X, Y, and Z. LOL!

- The game will take place a yet to be determined number of years after the end of the campaign events for those two games. The current PC’s for those games will be NPC’s now. Namely, the new group’s parents. Their involvement will be purely for roleplay presentation only. They will be busy with their own lives to endeavor in this campaign’s affairs. You, their kids, are adults now and are responsible for your own lives.

- The game will have a mix of role play and combat. No one thing will predominate. Think along the lines of a more involved version of downtime in the Absalom game.

- Leveling will be slow. We will likely start at a mid-low level and stay at each level a while.

- Legacy quirks. Depending on your lineage, you may have some nifty hand me downs. From Absalom, maybe the serum passed on to you and you have access the Eidolon Evolution pool. Or, from either game, maybe your parent(s) handed down a magic item. Yes, this may make you more powerful than WBL. Who cares! I’ll be figuring the balancing out.

- Make characters that fit your level of involvement. If you know you will be a bit busy and post sporadically, make someone who doesn’t rely on the limelight. If you have faith in your ability to post frequently and delve deep into character interactions, make someone who would shine in that regard. I don’t want anyone feeling pressured into posting, or feeling bad if they can’t keep up, and would prefer post a single descriptive post of their activities during a downtime scene.

There will definitely be more to discuss and plan out in the weeks/months leading up to those two campaigns ending and this game starting. But, this gives us all plenty of time to plan out what the NPC’s do in their campaign’s epilogues, as well as consider the new characters and their relationships. Also, newcomers to this version of Golarion can get questions answered. But, as a start, take a look at the games linked above. There is a lot of material, I know, but I promise they should be good reads.

As to anything else, drop a line here, dot the campaign thread, and let’s see what develops!

DOT

Welcome and congratulations to those who were selected. A new task lies before each of you. I will get into individualized points/questions/comments as the next few days develop, but for now, here is what I need from each of you.

1) Sign in to the Official Roll20 Page for this campaign. It will be where I host our combat maps, and do my editing for the overall kingdom map.

2) I know you guys already have your aliases made and such, but this is a personal request. Please edit your aliases to follow the basic formatting of this Alias of mine, Darian Aulamaxa. Note some of that stuff in the spoilers is campaign specific, but you should easily be able to get the gist of the overall format I'm wanting.

3) Start discussing who or what your cohort is. Are they a spouse? Sibling? Loyal follower? Keep in mind this is NOT an adventuring buddy. The cohort and followers will be remaining behind and helping manage your lands while you are off doing your own things.

4) Be braced for some potential background adjustments as I trickle out more information to you guys bit by bit as to the state of things in the campaign.

There will be more to follow, but headache and tall grass are calling me away. Again, congratulations to each of you for making it in!

Placeholder Dot. Do not post or dot here unless selected.

Hey all!

I am going to throw my hat in the ring to offer up to DM a Kingmaker campaign with several modifications to some of the core concepts of the game. Some caveats to clear up first:

1) I am interested in folks who post frequently and have a strong history on the boards. I don’t wanna run into a problem of people vanishing and needing replaced. I know it happens sometimes, but I’d rather avoid the revolving door affect if possible. Please post some of your prouder RP moments in your submission.

2) I will be including a PC of my own, as a background character to provide occasional input as necessary. It will be a Dwarven Cleric with a focus on Item Creation. NO, this does not give you Discounted magic items because Jean part of the group. But it will give you the chance to have an item you are emotionally attached to (example - a handed down suit of armor, a sword claimed as a trophy early in your life, etc) upgraded at regular cost without having to ship the item off or have to have a crafter brought in. If you want to get items at the crafting price, you’ll need to pay the feat tax yourself.

3) I prefer Roleplay over Roll-Play. Make a character who can interact with others, even f it is at a basic level of 5 Int, Wis, and Cha. And if you are he type of player to avoid roleplay posts and wait to contribute until it is Hack-N-Slash time, this may not be the game for you.

4) Here is the big one. You will ALL be in charge of your own section of the Stolen Lands. Each of you carving out your own section for your specific houses. So when a Kingdom Turn comes around you each have your own little area to build up and play in. How will this work? I’m glad I asked! There will be one PC, chosen by the party selected, to act as the overall Ruler. The rest, my dwarven character included, will serve as Lords/Ladies of Houses allied to the Ruler. There will be 5 distinct city seats dedicated to the group, to be chosen by the players, to get their lands going. The first chunk of time dedicated to the game will be Kingdom Turns to get the “settled” portion of the game caught up to where the story is. I expect each House to organically develop its own unique feel, like Game of Thrones/Brevoy.

5) Speaking of that, where are we in the story? A small bit of time before Book 3! That’s right. The party will be starting at Level 7 and will level up incrementally as I decide, not based on tracking XP values. To help you each flesh out your own Houses, the Leadership Feat (*GASP*) will be given to each PC for free! What nonsense does this mean!?!? No, you will not be traveling with a cohort. But the cohort and your other followers should be used to fill Leadership Roles in your own lands. When it comes time to adventure and explore, you will be entrusting your Lands to the care of these individuals.

6) I will be using some of the Downtime Rules for things like building personal buildings and hiring teams. If this interests you, feel free to inquire further.

Still reading? Still interested? Good! Here are the crunchy bits:

Starting Level - 7
Ability Scores - 15 Point Buy
Wealth - 23,500 gp. No more than 8,000 gp in any 1 item.
Traits - 2 traits, 1 of which must be a campaign trait. 1 Drawback allowed for a 3rd Trait.
Races - Core, anything more exotic needs confirmed by me, and a confirmation of exotic race does not guarantee acceptance into the game.
Classes - No to Gunslinger, Basic Summoner, and Occult Material. This is my personal preference.
Background Skills are in effect
Character Image - I personally like a reference image included with submissions. It helps to visualize characters in my head, and I use them for tokens on the map.
Maps - I will be handling maps using Roll20.

I’m sure I am overlooking something to post here, but for now, this should suffice to see if anyone is intrigued. If you want to know anything else, feel free to ask.

Did a search and didn't find anything (albeit a quick one at about 2:00 AM), and was wondering if anyone could help me out on a sticky wicket I'm trying to figure out.

Namely, does a bonus to your stealth gained from Penumbral Disguise, Cloak of Shadows, and other similar abilities actually grant you those bonuses against creatures with Darkvision? I know Deeper Darkness specifically mentions that darkvision does not penetrate it, but what about effects like these?

Coming soon to a campaign near you!

Jelani, this will be the Discussion thread for the game. Drop me messages relating to the game here, and having it on my campaign tab will keep me seeing it regular and keep the information organized.

Welcome, to all ye who were selected!

A few further tidbits as we get this game off the ground:

1) I like reference images. If you do not already have one posted for your character, please add one to your alias. I will use this image in creating tokens for your character on Roll20.

2) Check in to the Roll 20 Campaign I have created for the game. This is where all combat maps will be posted.

3) Check yourselves into the RP thread as soon as you can. I will be updating that later on so as to give all the players a moment to get situated at the scene.

As you step through the portal, you are immediately greeted with the site of a lavishly decorated chamber. Black silk banners hang from the walls bearing skulls of embroidered silver. Glowing orbs of light float above sconces on the walls, illuminating the chamber in a pale light.

Along the center of the room is a large oak table, long enough to host a vast number of guests, and covered in all manner of foodstuffs. As you take in the site, a nearly invisible, transparent form approaches you and asks in a monotonous voice, "Greetings. How might I be of service?"

"Awaken, my loyal servant. The Master calls to you. The time has come to release me from my infernal prison of Gallowspire. For this task, I am calling forth my most capable of subjects both near and far to do what must be done. Enter the portal, and join with the others..."

This is an interest/recruitment thread for, what I hope to be, an interesting, epic campaign of villainy and intrigue on a large scale. If the little snippit above doesn't make it clear, the PC's in this venture are going to be agents of the Whispering Way, servants of Tar-Baphon seeking to ensure his release from Gallowspire. This is going to be entirely homebrew on my part, and will be a mixture of Sandbox, driven by PC decisions and interests, as well as some rails placed when things seem to be at an impasse.

Also, I enjoy PbP more as a RolePlaying medium than a RollPlaying one. As such, I tend to prefer characters who are driven more by the story than they are by the mechanics/minutia of combat.

Does this mean this is going to be a combat free game? No way. Where'd be the fun in that!? What it means, though, is that the focus in this campaign is going to be the interactions of the PC's with one another as well as with various NPC's introduced.

So, if you are fine with what you've read so far, I invite you to apply! Here are the character creation guidelines to follow:

Submitting a Character:
Create a profile/alias and include relevant information and mechanics inside. I’m going to be asking that character submissions follow this format. You don’t have to follow that exactly; as long as it’s not a nightmare to read and the information is all there, I’ll be content.

Be sure to include the following in your profile, preferably at the bottom and in spoilers:

Description - Please provide a description of your character as if someone were seeing them for the first time. If you have a picture reference, please include it.

Personality - Self explanatory I hope.

Background - Your character is not of great renown, at least not yet. Feel free to go as in depth as you'd like on this section, but keep in mind that you are level one, and while above the cut of your average soldier or town guard, you haven't done any great wonders yet.

Your characters will be able to interact prior to game start in the Gameplay Thread, partly as a way to have fun and pass the time, partly to help me evaluate your posting style/frequency/character personality. Posting in the pre-game RP thread does not necessarily improve or hurt your chances of acceptance.

Also, please submit at least two examples of your previous PbP experience that you are feel are best representative of your style. I am not looking for inexperienced posters for this game, so unfortunately, if you are new to PbP play, you will be facing stiff scrutiny, but you still have a chance.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Recruitment will be open until Noon EST January 29th, and I will try to make my decisions by the 31st.

Hi all,

Lately I have been having a hankering for some good ol' deep space RP. What do I mean by Deep Space? Well, as an obvious reference, think Star Wars and/or Star Trek. Spaceships. Aliens. Lasers. Technology. That sort of thing.

Setting: Would be one of my own design, but based on our own world, but WAAAAAY in the future. Space travel is commonplace. We have claimed and terra-formed other worlds. We have encountered other intelligent life, and dealing with them is somewhat commonplace.

Rules Set: I would be using the rules for Rogue Trader to handle gameplay. Anyone who would be interested in playing would have to have access to those rules.

There would be some key differences from the books, however:

1) NOT in the Warhammer setting. It is one I am not 100% familiar with, and as such, would not want to get into lore debates with anyone about something I post. Therefore, just ditching that entirely.

2) Certain "classes" in that rules set plays off of mutations and such. Those features of them will continue to exist, but will have different lore associated with them, determined by both myself and the player of any of those classes.

3) Technology is not revered as some sort of religion as it is Rogue Trader. You DO know how a ship properly works, and are not so much blindly doing things and hoping the "machine spirit" of the ship likes what buttons you are pushing and does what you want.

4) I WILL allow multiple people to have their own ship, though only one person can be the "Rogue Trader" (that is the class term in the book, but in this game would be referred to as "Captain" or "Admiral" if the group has a fleet).

5) The game will likely lean more heavily on Role-Play than Roll-Play. If this is not your style, perhaps this is not the game for you. Will there be combat? Of course. Will there be dice rolling? Definitely. Will there be ship-based combat? What kind of space game would it be without it?

6) The BANE of most PBP's: this game will be a Sandbox (Yes. I said that.) I DO NOT HAVE A PREDETERMINED CAMPAIGN/SERIES OF ENCOUNTERS PLANNED FOR YOU! No railroads here. If the game stalls, I may throw something at you to force you along, sure. But the game is going to be what you make of it.

With all of the above being said: I am NOT looking for character submissions here, or even concepts. Just looking to see how many people would even be interested in playing. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, feel free to ask them here.

A month has passed since the last official battle of the Alien War was waged. The nations of the world have either splintered into numerous factions, been unified under the hand of conquerors, or dissolved entirely to anarchy.

Star City is no different. Beachhead was utterly demolished from the weight of the assault launched there, not to mention the earlier destruction rained down upon it from the mysterious nuclear attack several months prior. East and Northpoints also suffered heavy casualties and structural damage, though in the time since the battle, thanks to the help of a few altruistic metahumans, the rebuilding process is underway. The V'sori living in Prospect Point either fled with their brethren or put up a last stand, which ultimately led to what destruction rained down on that disctrict. Southpoint held up well initially, but as V'sori influence waned, the fighting between the Family and the Slashers escalated, ultimately ending up with the Slasher leadership being obliterated and their members absorbed into what is now the unrivaled crime syndicate on the island. The remaining districts have continued on as if business was usual, though with a newly found freedom thanks to the defeat of the V'sori, though most fear they may have to deal with the newer alien races that have arrived sooner or later.

Officially, Omega has been disbanded, once the death of Dr. Destruction became known. While most of the individual cells soon broke apart to either loss of conviction to the cause, or to in fighting of the members, some still remain intact.

One such cell remains, the last cell formed by the late Dr. Destruction prior to the war. Its members currently remain hidden out in their lair beneath Wilmore Innobotics, allowing the dust to settle and things to calm as they decide on what their next move should be...

Starting us a thread!

Welcome to a recruitment for a replacement for my Kingmaker campaign! For those of you who do not know me, here is some information about myself:

I am a full time nurse, and I work night shift at a local hospital. 12 hour shifts. Loads of fun. Been married for almost 2 years. I travel to visit relatives frequently. However, I still, situation pending, find the time to try to post once per day in the games I am currently in. The only things that really hold me up are if I have little to contribute to the scene or any of the above RL obstacles getting in the way, though I do my best to minimize such occurrences. A lot of the time I post from a mobile device. I am not a grammatical genius, nor am I a typing beast. I will make mistakes, so I won't hold you to any unrealistic standards regarding the English language, but the better you write and easier your post is to read, the better.

I like to keep things moving at a decent pace, and as such, will be looking for posts from people at least once per day, exceptions being the weekends. If you have nothing to really contribute to the current scene for the moment, please say so out of character and I will be fine with that. If things are ready to progress in-game, and we are waiting for actions from someone, I will post out of character a request for that individual to act, and if 24 hours pass, I reserve the right to DMPC that characters actions for the round, or move the scene along without their input. This applies to noncombat scenes as well. Most PbP’s die due to a decline in posting frequency, and I do not want to see a game I start fail in that regard. I will advance the scene, DMPC’ing characters as necessary, to keep this game moving. If ANYONE shows a recurring issue with lack of interaction with no legitimate reason, I reserve the right to remove that player and refill their spot as I see fit.

Combat maps will be provided by an off-site page called Roll20. I am not a master of its use, but I am growing more comfortable with it by the day and prefer it over other methods. If you have issues using this website for the game, then perhaps this is not the game for you either. A lot of what takes place in Kingmaker relies on good maps, so I am going to require the use of this site for them, and will not be taking extra effort to post them elsewhere. To sum up: Roll20 use is a requirement.

Campaign Specific Notes: I have ran this campaign through, completely, for my table group. I have decided for this PbP to make some changes, to the story-line at times, but primarily to the Kingdom Building aspect of the game. In short: no, you will not have ABSOLUTE control of what gets built in the cities. You will still be able to have control over a lot of details regarding the kingdom you found, but the fine details are going to be handled by myself as the DM. However, I will be open to player input when that time comes. But the full breakdown of this will come later, and should not be an immediate issue.

Also, this game has two groups running concurrently, in the same timeline, in two separate parts of the Stolen Lands. Eventually, when the Kingdom Building phase arrives, there will be a lot of changes going on to the campaign, as the two groups will have to compete for land control, and either come to diplomatic or hostile solutions to their problems. Should be fun!

So, if you are fine with what you've read so far, I invite you to apply! Here are the character creation rules to follow:

Starting Level: 2nd level

Stats: 15 Point Buy. I know this may seem low, but I want to make the PC’s rely on each other to succeed, as well as keep the game as balanced as possible.

Alignment: I am going to be allowing any alignment here, though I am expecting every character to have something that motivates them to take part in the campaign. Also, I am a firm believer that an Evil character does NOT have to be maniacal. In fact, true villainy comes in a form that makes the masses love them. If you elect to play an evil character, they stand a far better chance at acceptance if they play well with others. Also, your character will be accountable for their actions. If you are caught committing a crime, expect to be pursued and/or punished. Granted, this being a Kingmaker campaign…this could lead to all sorts of trouble if you don’t govern yourselves adequately…

HP: Max for 1st level; after that, you can either roll upon leveling up or take the average.

Classes: Core Material available on the SRD will be accepted, minus Gunslinger. Sorry, not a big fan.

Races: All races except the following will be okay: Ratfolk, Tengu, Grippli, Samsarans, Strix, Vishkanyas, or Wayangs. If you choose to play something monstrous, for example: a Kobold, explain why you are tolerated in civilized lands.

Drawbacks: I will be allowing Drawbacks.

Traits: Two, one being a campaign trait. So with a drawback you have potential for three traits. Campaign traits can be found a multitude of places. If you have to ask where to find them…well…consider that a sign that you likely shouldn’t apply.

Wealth: Max starting wealth.

Downtime: This campaign BEGS for the use of Downtime Rules, and as such, I strongly encourage each player to have SOMETHING beyond adventuring they would pursue in a day-to-day existence. Open a shop, tavern, inn. Form a guild of mercenaries. Begin building the nation’s army. Craft items! If you have a reasonable RP tie to do something, it is very doubtful I will say no!

Submitting a Character:
Create a profile/alias and include relevant information and mechanics inside. I’m going to be asking that character submissions follow this format, stolen from Jelani. You don’t have to follow that exactly; as long as it’s not a nightmare to read and the information is all there, I’ll be content.

Be sure to include the following in your profile, preferably at the bottom and in spoilers:

Description - Please provide a description of your character as if someone were seeing them for the first time. If you have a picture reference, please include it.

Personality - Self explanatory I hope.

Background - Your character is not a hero of great renown, at least not yet. Feel free to go as in depth as you'd like on this section, but keep in mind that you are level one, and while above the cut of your average soldier or town guard, you haven't done any great wonders yet. Also, I am not blind to the fact that this AP has been out for ages, and many of its features are not so secret. If you have knowledge of the campaign, I invite you to have your character be FROM Restov, Brevoy, the River Kingdoms, or have traveled the Stolen Lands themselves, and you can incorporate some tidbits of this knowledge in your background. However, I do ask that you do your best not to use out of game knowledge to drive character actions. If I suspect any metagaming to be taking place, I will put an end to it in my own, most likely harsh, means. Also, if you go this route, I expect you to include at least 1 rank in Knowledge (Local) in your character to represent this added insight. In this section, include why and how you came to receive an invitation to the gathering in Restov.

Along with your submissions, I would like you to post an RP sample in this RECRUITMENT thread. Do not post in the Discussion or Gameplay thread unless I inform you that you were selected.

The bulk of the group is already made, consisting of:

Hobgoblin Alchemist
Hobgoblin Fell Rider
Half Elf Inquisitor
Halfling Titan Mauler
Aasimar Evangelist

What they are requesting to have join them:

Full arcane
Warrior
Skilled Warrior
Ranger
Druid
Warpriest
Full Cleric

Recruitment will be open until April 12th Midnight, and I will post my decisions by Noon EST on the 13th.

For the record, for the sake of people's privacy, I will be using our various handles, as it were, when referring to each other. Namely, what I consider our most recognizable character names.

This message is going out to all the members of "The Crew", including our far-flung members across the globe. I, for one, look fondly back on our epic games during college, and have decided that I would like to at least TRY to keep something going on a semi-regular basis in a PbP setting. I know that Kagehiro recently sort of tried this, but it fell apart due to low frequency of updates.

I, however, do not think the undertaking to be impossible. So, I'm sending this message out to all of you in the hopes of finding out if any of you are interested in trying again to make something work in the online realm.

Namely, I am hoping to run a Necessary Evil game using the Paizo forums and their dice rolling mechanism. I also plan to use Roll20 to serve as a chat room service as well as where the game maps will be stored.

What I need to find out from you guys is the following:

1) Would you be interested in trying this? I promise to update way more frequently than Kagehiro did. Granted, there may be times when I'm busy on a work stretch that my own updates will slow down, but I try to keep everyone informed of when these would happen.

2) IF you are interested in trying this, would you prefer I run it as a sort of sequel to the previous Necessary Evil game? Or start fresh and develop it as a brand new campaign?

This message has went out to the currently active gamer group, as well as to:

R'k / Darknaut
Hion / "Dervish"

If any of you know anyone else that may be interested in joining, feel free to send them a link to this. I personally do not care how many people we have involved here, I just haven't been able to take part in the gaming and frankly miss the interaction with all you guys, and think this would be a way to do both!

The next morning, you are all promptly awaken by a squire from the Swordlords, and informed that it was time to depart. Each of you are assigned an aide to help you gather your things and get on the road quickly. As you make your way outside, you are greeted by Jamandi Aldori and a dwarf clad in full plate. The dwarf is busy moving wagon to wagon barking orders at workers.

Jamandi makes his way over and says, "This is Dolgrin Girndmar, a priest of Torag. He has been hired to oversea the construction of the fort once you select a proper location. However, I think it would be wise to take his advice on defensible locations and design, he is quite skilled at what he does. But ultimately, the decision is yours. Follow this road to it's end at Oleg's Trading Post, but do not linger there...you have a long way to travel yet from that point. Once you cross the East Sellen, you've arrived at the Slough. Dolgrin knows the way to the crossing, should navigation prove too difficult."

As you make final preparations and depart town, you can see behind you the other group exiting the Inn and preparing to travel as well. They, however, do not have the luxury of wagons to travel by.

It is about noon the first day of travel that you arrive at Nivatka's Crossing, a town of tradesmen, hunters, fishermen, and trappers. The village itself is surrounded by a wooden palisade and is set on the northeastern bank of the Shrike River. A low bridge allows access over the river here to the south - the southwestern side of the bridge being fortified by well-manned guard towers.

By the end of the second day, you arrive at Oleg's Trading Post, it appears to be a run down fort. It is surrounded by a ten foot palisade, at each corner are 20-foot-square watchtowers, each armed with run-down catapults. There appears to be only one entrance through the palisade - a thirty foot wide wooden gate. Oleg at first seems warm and friendly, but once he learns of your intent to travel on, and that you are not some "reinforcements" he is expecting, he grows bitter and surly. His wife Svetlana, however, maintains a welcoming charm and makes sure you all have adequate sleeping arrangements for the night and full bellies.

The next morning hails the beginning of cross country travel, slightly slower than what you were accustomed to with the roads, but fortunately the ground is relatively level so the slower pace is only marginally noticeable. After two more days of travel and a night of camp, you arrive at the crossing of the East Sellen River as the sun prepares to set in the distance.

"Well, lads an' lasses, what say ye? Camp on 'is side fer tha night, or cross o'er and make camp thar?" Dolgrin asks as the caravan comes to a halt.

Handle Animal DC of 10, or Survival DC of 15 to cross the river safely. Only one PC needs to make the check, but it WILL be the first PC to volunteer a roll that does so.

The next morning, you are all promptly awaken by a squire from the Swordlords, and informed that it was time to depart. Each of you are assigned an aide to help you gather your things and get on the road quickly. As you finalize your preparations, you see that the other group is already awaken and are departing along with a moderate sized caravan containing a vast amount of supplies and goods. Shouting out from the lead wagon is a dwarf in full plate barking out orders to workers. Jamandi Aldori comes over from them to speak with you momentarily before you depart.

"Follow this road east past Nivatka's Crossing for three days, and you will arrive sure enough at Oleg's Trading Post. Do not dally there, Oleg has requested our aid, and should be expecting your arrival."

Little time is left to inquire as you are quickly set on the road east out of town, along the Shrike River's northern edge. It is a relatively peaceful trip, giving you each plenty of time to get to know one another. By the end of the first days travel, you arrive at Nivatka's Crossing: a town of tradesmen, hunters, fishermen, and trappers. The village itself is surrounded by a wooden palisade and is set on the northeastern bank of the Shrike River. A low bridge allows access over the river here to the south - the southwestern side of the bridge being fortified by well-manned guard towers.

You are able to secure lodging for the night easily enough, and the next morning finds you on the road once again. The three days and two nights of travel are relatively quiet, and you are treated to the sights of the rolling hills and plains of southern Brevoy.

Towards night of the third day, you can see ahead the road appears to end at a run down fort. It is surrounded by a ten foot palisade, at each corner are 20-foot-square watchtowers, each armed with run-down catapults. There appears to be only one entrance through the palisade - a thirty foot wide wooden gate.

Check in here if you are in Group 2!

• Erimriel - Chaotic Good female aasimar Brawler
• Andrezi - Neutral Good male Human Witch
• Aleksandr 'Sasha' Volkov – Neutral Male Half-Elf Summoner
• Serafina Trimble - Lawful Evil female human Sorcerer
• Rahaal – Lawful Neutral Female Aasimar Cleric (Evangelist)

Check in here if you are in Group 1!

• Rockne Coonak - Chaotic Good male halfling Barbarian (Titan Mauler)
• Grautak Matrakha - Neutral male hobgoblin Cavalier (Fell Rider)
• Dagru - Lawful Neutral male hobgoblin Alchemist (Grenadier)
• Yandasana Fethen - Lawful Good female elf Investigator (Empiricist)
• Vianella Orlovsky - LN Aasimar Cleric (Evangelist)

Welcome to the game everyone! This will be where we kick everything off. Any questions you may have OOC, please post them here. Also, feel free to introduce yourselves to each other. Several of us have played in several games together before, and are well acquainted. It's time those of you new to what I lovingly consider as my "PBP Gamer Group" get settled in.

As for myself, I've already posted my introduction on the initial Recruitment thread.

I will be adding more here momentarily, but first, I need to go make the announcement!

Welcome to my recruitment for yet another Kingmaker campaign! For those of you who do not know me, here is some information about myself:

I am a full time nurse, and I work night shift at a local hospital. 12 hour shifts. Loads of fun. Been married for almost 2 years. I travel to visit relatives frequently. However, I still, situation pending, find the time to try to post once per day in the games I am currently in. The only things that really hold me up are if I have little to contribute to the scene or any of the above RL obstacles getting in the way, though I do my best to minimize such occurrences. A lot of the time I post from a mobile device. I am not a grammatical genius, nor am I a typing beast. I will make mistakes, so I won't hold you to any unrealistic standards regarding the English language, but the better you write and easier your post is to read, the better.

I like to keep things moving at a decent pace, and as such, will be looking for posts from people at least once per day, exceptions being the weekends. If you have nothing to really contribute to the current scene for the moment, please say so out of character and I will be fine with that. If things are ready to progress in-game, and we are waiting for actions from someone, I will post out of character a request for that individual to act, and if 24 hours pass, I reserve the right to DMPC that characters actions for the round, or move the scene along without their input. This applies to noncombat scenes as well. Most PbP’s die due to a decline in posting frequency, and I do not want to see a game I start fail in that regard. I will advance the scene, DMPC’ing characters as necessary, to keep this game moving. If ANYONE shows a recurring issue with lack of interaction with no legitimate reason, I reserve the right to remove that player and refill their spot as I see fit.

Note: There are several people that I have played in PbP’s with in the past (or currently) that are likely to apply. I am not going to lie, I will likely show them some preference in regards to acceptance. I say this up front not to discourage new applicants, but to be fully honest with all of you. However, I have yet to decide on how many people I plan to accept, but it is likely in the realm of five. If there are outstanding characters presented that outshine all others (in my humble opinion), then I will not let them sit on the side lines.

Combat maps will be provided by an off-site page called Roll20. I am not a master of its use, but I am growing more comfortable with it by the day and prefer it over other methods. If you have issues using this website for the game, then perhaps this is not the game for you either. A lot of what takes place in Kingmaker relies on good maps, so I am going to require the use of this site for them, and will not be taking extra effort to post them elsewhere. To sum up: Roll20 use is a requirement.

Campaign Specific Notes: I have ran this campaign through, completely, for my table group. I have decided for this PbP to make some changes, to the story-line at times, but primarily to the Kingdom Building aspect of the game. In short: no, you will not have ABSOLUTE control of what gets built in the cities. You will still be able to have control over a lot of details regarding the kingdom you found, but the fine details are going to be handled by myself as the DM. However, I will be open to player input when that time comes. But the full breakdown of this will come later, and should not be an immediate issue.

So, if you are fine with what you've read so far, I invite you to apply! Here are the character creation rules to follow:

Starting Level: 1st level

Stats: 15 Point Buy. I know this may seem low, but I want to make the PC’s rely on each other to succeed, as well as keep the game as balanced as possible.

Alignment: I am going to be allowing any alignment here, though I am expecting every character to have something that motivates them to take part in the campaign. Also, I am a firm believer that an Evil character does NOT have to be maniacal. In fact, true villainy comes in a form that makes the masses love them. If you elect to play an evil character, they stand a far better chance at acceptance if they play well with others. Also, your character will be accountable for their actions. If you are caught committing a crime, expect to be pursued and/or punished. Granted, this being a Kingmaker campaign…this could lead to all sorts of trouble if you don’t govern yourselves adequately…

HP: Max for 1st level; after that, you can either roll upon leveling up or take the average.

Classes: Core Material available on the SRD will be accepted, minus Gunslinger. Sorry, not a big fan.

Races: All races except the following will be okay: Ratfolk, Tengu, Grippli, Samsarans, Strix, Vishkanyas, or Wayangs. If you choose to play something monstrous, for example: a Kobold, explain why you are tolerated in civilized lands.

Drawbacks: I will be allowing Drawbacks.

Traits: Two, one being a campaign trait. So with a drawback you have potential for three traits. Campaign traits can be found a multitude of places. If you have to ask where to find them…well…consider that a sign that you likely shouldn’t apply.

Wealth: Max starting wealth.

Downtime: This campaign BEGS for the use of Downtime Rules, and as such, I strongly encourage each player to have SOMETHING beyond adventuring they would pursue in a day-to-day existence. Open a shop, tavern, inn. Form a guild of mercenaries. Begin building the nation’s army. Craft items! If you have a reasonable RP tie to do something, it is very doubtful I will say no!

Submitting a Character:
Create a profile/alias and include relevant information and mechanics inside. I’m going to be asking that character submissions follow this format, stolen from Jelani. You don’t have to follow that exactly; as long as it’s not a nightmare to read and the information is all there, I’ll be content.

Be sure to include the following in your profile, preferably at the bottom and in spoilers:

Description - Please provide a description of your character as if someone were seeing them for the first time. If you have a picture reference, please include it.

Personality - Self explanatory I hope.

Background - Your character is not a hero of great renown, at least not yet. Feel free to go as in depth as you'd like on this section, but keep in mind that you are level one, and while above the cut of your average soldier or town guard, you haven't done any great wonders yet. Also, I am not blind to the fact that this AP has been out for ages, and many of its features are not so secret. If you have knowledge of the campaign, I invite you to have your character be FROM Restov, Brevoy, the River Kingdoms, or have traveled the Stolen Lands themselves, and you can incorporate some tidbits of this knowledge in your background. However, I do ask that you do your best not to use out of game knowledge to drive character actions. If I suspect any metagaming to be taking place, I will put an end to it in my own, most likely harsh, means. Also, if you go this route, I expect you to include at least 1 rank in Knowledge (Local) in your character to represent this added insight. In this section, include why and how you came to receive an invitation to the gathering in Restov.

Your characters will be able to interact prior to game start in the Gameplay Thread, partly as a way to have fun and pass the time, partly to let you display your character’s personalities. Participation in this pre-game banter in no way will impact your eligibility or likelihood of acceptance. It is not a requirement, and the person with the highest post count has equal chance of acceptance to the game as someone who does not take part. The pre-game RP will be taking place wholly within the guildhall, as described in the thread. Feel free to take some liberties with NPC’s of your own design, but do not expect any responses from me in that thread, as it is purely there to provide the applicants with a venue to entertain themselves while the recruitment process is under way.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Recruitment will be open until February 10th, and I will post my decisions by Noon EST on the 12th.

It is nearly dusk once the appointed time of your summons to the guildhall of the Aldori Swordlords in the city of Restov. Inside, the sounds of servants frantically preparing tables and chairs can be heard even on the street, and the sweet smell of roast boar can be caught wafting on the wind. The warm glow of a fire proves a comforting sight through the cracks beneath the door, as it is still quite cold here in the north, despite it being late Pharast.

Two men dressed in splint mail and armed with the fabled Aldori dueling swords stand at attention on either side of the double doors at the top of the stairs leading into the building. They wear the colors and heraldry of the city of Restov, and demand proof of invitation prior to allowing entry...

So, I was looking to have a wizard of mine pay someone to craft a staff for him. It would have the following spells:

Level 2: Invisibility, Scorching Ray
Level 1: Magic Missile, Grease

I priced it as follows:

400 x 2 (spell level) x 3 (min caster level for a level 2 spell) = 2,400 gp for the first Level 2 spell.

300 x 2 (spell level) x 3 (min caster level for a level 2 spell) = 1,800 for 2nd Level 2 spell.

200 x 1 (spell level) x 1 (min caster level for a level 1 spell) = 200 per level 1 spell.

For a grand total of: 4,600 gp.

My questions are:

1) Did I do the pricing calculations correct?
2) The total price calculated...is that the cost to craft or the final total cost? My assumption is it is the crafting cost, so that to purchase it would cost 9,200 gp, but then again, I am not 100% positive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, as my brief search fu after a 12 hour night shift is very much depleted.

I have a question that has came up in a PbP I play in, regarding use of the feat Dazzling Display with a reach weapon.

The GM has ruled that, as it's a reach weapon, I have to have a clear area around me to perform the activity that goes into a flourish of maneuvers with the 7 foot long weapon (a glaive). As such, all squares in my immediate vicinity (a 5' halo) must be clear to do.

I get his point, but nowhere in the rules for the feat does it say that the reach of your weapons apply. As it's his campaign, I'm not trying to Rules Lawyer with him, nor do I even intend to use any discussion here as evidence. I was just wondering if this has ever come up before for anyone else, as my searching could not find a thread related to this at all (though my search-fu was not extensive).

Either way, I am going to stick with his ruling, because, as I said, his campaign, bottom line.

Kudos and thanks in advance.

Greetings to the Select Seven!

Please check in here and let me know you have found your way to the thread. Also, for those of you selected, feel free to start getting to know each other during the intervening time between now and game start. The setting remains the same, and will be continuous with the current happenings within the festival, in the same thread. However, time is passing and the festival will slowly be winding down as Wednesday approaches (my next day off, not counting the Super Bowl tomorrow).

I will spend tomorrow going over the actual crunch of the submissions and providing feedback. One thing I noticed at a glance: very few of you listed your encumbrances. Please do the math and list those values, as they will be a factor. If you have a lot of gear, you need to decide what it is you are carrying, what is left behind, what is on your mount, etc.

"The coastal town of Sandpoint has faced few trials and dangers over the course of its forty-two year history, but unfortunately, that is all about to change. Unknown to the town’s founders, they chose to build their community over the ruins of an ancient stronghold once used as laboratory and prison, a place where horrific experiments and unholy explorations into what divides man from monster took place. These are the Catacombs of Wrath, one of several such sites used by Runelord Alaznist’s apprentices during Thassilon’s height, a place where arcanists explored and perfected the stolen arts of lifeshaping and fleshwarping. When Thassilon fell, these catacombs went dormant, but the one buried under Sandpoint was not fated to stay that way."

Okay, so I am going to try my hand at the PbP GM'ing thing. And what better way to do it than with Rise of the Runelords! Some information about me to get started:

I am a full time nurse, and will be transitioning to night shift in the near future. 12 hour shifts. Loads of fun. Been married for almost 9 months. I travel to visit relatives frequently. I also have a weekly gaming group I attend on Sundays. However, I still, situation pending, find the time to try to post once per day in the three games I am currently in. The only things that really hold me up are if I have little to contribute to the scene or any of the above RL obstacles getting in the way, though I do my best to minimize such occurrences. A lot of the time I post from a mobile device, as my computer is currently being repaired. I am not a grammatical genius, nor am I a typing beast. I will make mistakes, so I won't hold you to any unrealistic standards regarding the English language, but the better you write and easier your post is to read, the better.

I like to keep things moving at a decent pace, and as such, will be looking for posts from people at least once per day, exceptions being the weekends. If you have nothing to really contribute to the current scene for the moment, please say so out of character and I will be fine with that. If things are ready to progress in-game, and we are waiting for actions from someone, I will post out of character a request for that individual to act, and if 24 hours pass, I reserve the right to DMPC that characters actions for the round, or move the scene along without their input.

So, if you are fine with what you've read so far, I invite you to apply! Here is the character creation to follow:

Starting Level: 1st level

Stats: 2 options. First is 20 Point Buy. Second is Roll 4d6 drop the lowest, if overall modifier total is less than +4, you may then do a 15 Point Buy.

Alignment: I am going to be allowing any alignment here, though I am expecting every character to have something that motivates them to take part in the campaign. Also, I am a firm believer that an Evil character does NOT have to be maniacal. In fact, true villainy comes in a form that makes the masses love them. If you elect to play an evil character, they stand a far better chance at acceptance if they play well with others. Also, your character will be accountable for their actions. If you are caught committing a crime, expect to be pursued and/or punished.

HP: Max for 1st level; after that, you can either roll upon leveling up or take the average.

Classes: Core Material available on the SRD will be accepted, minus Gunslinger. Sorry, not a big fan.

Races: All races except the following will be okay: Ratfolk, Tengu, Grippli, Samsarans, Strix, Vishkanyas, or Wayangs. If you choose to play something monstrous, for example: a Kobold, explain why you are tolerated in civilized lands.

Drawbacks: I will be allowing Drawbacks.

Traits: Two, one being a campaign trait. So with a drawback you have potential for three traits.

Wealth: Max starting wealth.

Downtime: I will be allowing some of the downtime rules in regards to businesses and teams. The campaign takes place mostly in and around Sandpoint, so if you want to develop roots here, I encourage you to do so. Also, if you want to do some crafting, opportunity will be available from time to time.

Submitting a Character:
Create a profile/alias and include relevant information and mechanics inside. I’m going to be asking that character submissions follow this format, stolen from Jelani. You don’t have to follow that exactly; as long as it’s not a nightmare to read and the information is all there, I’ll be content.

Be sure to include the following in your profile, preferably at the bottom and in spoilers:

Description - Please provide a description of your character as if someone were seeing them for the first time. If you have a picture reference, please include it.

Personality - Self explanatory I hope.

Background - Your character is not a hero of great renown, at least not yet. Feel free to go as in depth as you'd like on this section, but keep in mind that you are level one, and while above the cut of your average soldier or town guard, you haven't done any great wonders yet. Also, I am not blind to the fact that this AP has been out for ages, and many of its features are not so secret. If you have knowledge of the campaign, I invite you to have your character be FROM Sandpoint, and you can incorporate some tidbits of this knowledge in your background. However, I do ask that you do your best not to use out of game knowledge to drive character actions. If I suspect any metagaming to be taking place, I will put an end to it in my own, most likely harsh, means. Also, if you go this route, I expect you to include at least 1 rank in Knowledge (Local) in your character to represent this added insight. In this section, include why and how you came to Sandpoint for the Swallowtail Festival.

Your characters will be able to interact prior to game start in the Gameplay Thread, partly as a way to have fun and pass the time, partly to help me evaluate your posting style/frequency/character personality. The pre-game RP will be taking place during the festival.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Recruitment will be open until February 7th, and I will try to make my decisions by the 9th.

The Swallowtail Festival begins promptly, as scheduled, on the first day of autumn. The square before the church quickly becomes crowded as locals and travelers arrive. Food for the festival is provided free of charge, courtesy of Sandpoint’s taverns. Each brings its best dishes. It soon becomes apparent that the darling of the lunch is Ameiko Kaijitsu of the Rusty Dragon, whose remarkable curry-spiced salmon and early winterdrop mead easily overshadow the other offerings, such as the Hagfish’s lobster chowder or the White Deer’s peppercorn venison. Merchants from Magnimar, Riddleport, and further have arrived to try to profit from the crowds, hawking clothes, crafts, and souvenirs from all over.

The turnout for the morning's opening speeches is quite respectable. Mayor Kendra Deverin, a short woman with fiery hair and friendly disposition, steps up to the top step of the new cathedral and calls out, "Greetings everyone, and for those of you visiting, welcome to Sandpoint on this wonderful occasion! For the locals, I'm glad you could make the time to help make this festival a success in every measure. It's good to see everybody out and about enjoying themselves, especially you, Larz! I was worried you weren't getting enough daylight from all your working!"

The crowd chuckles, and from the gathered masses, a curt reply of "Blame tha missus, I told 'er I was too busy fer...!" is all that can be heard before he gets drowned out by a laugh from the assembled and the mayor.

She resumes, "At this time, I would like to ask Sheriff Hemlock to say a few words!" She begins a round of applause as a tall, dark skinned man with a shaved head takes the stage, he raises his right hand to silence the crowd, his left resting on the pommel of his sword at his hip.

He solemnly says, "I just want to remind everyone to take care throughout the festival, particularly at tonight's bonfire. Speaking of which, let us all take a moment of silence in memory of those who lost their lives five years ago."

After a brief moment of quiet, he simply nods and steps off the stair. Replacing him, obviously surprised and insulted by a lack of introduction, is a man wearing the garb of an entertainer. A practiced smile reveals itself within his well manicured goatee, and his golden hair has been prepared to perfection.

"Well met, one and all! I am Cyrdak Drokkus, as I'm sure many of you know. I would like to take a brief moment to thank the founding families, churches, and local businesses for their most generous donations to help make this wondrous building a possibility for our little corner of the world. I know my own establishment made a sizable donation, not to say the least. Anyway, in honor of this event, I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the special feature being performed at the Theater tonight, 'The Harpy's Curse,' with the role of Avisera, the Harpy Queen, being performed by none other than my dear friend, Allishanda!" Several excited murmurs can be heard amongst those gathered, as well as a few groans from those not interested in theatrical enterprises. He then concludes, "Without further ado, may I present the true host of these festivities, Father Zantus!" Cyrdak extends his arm in a flourish of a bow, then makes his way out of the limelight.

A middle aged man in blue robes and hair the color of the night sky makes his way up the stairs. He turns and bows to those gathered, and calmly states, "Thank you all for attending this glorious day." A small group of acolytes push a covered wagon to the bottom of the stair as the man speaks, "When Desna first fell to Golarion, many of you know, she was nursed to health by a young, blind child. As a show of thanks, she granted him a new form, that of an immortal butterfly. Now, this community has gathered to rebuild this church when it was destroyed. In return, we have been granted with this wonder of engineering. To show our thanks to the Goddess of Stars and Travelers," he gestures to the large crowd containing many new faces to the area, then says excitedly, "Let the Swallowtail Festival begin!"

He raises his arms, and the acolytes pull the cover back from the wagon, releasing thousands of swallowtail butterflies into the sky, which the crowd applauds and cheers before the crowd disperses to shop, mingle, eat, or, in the case of children, chase butterflies through the streets.
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I invite you all to take some creative license with interacting with non-descript NPC's, but do not expect any major conversations with actual NPC's, such as the Mayor or Father Zantus, since as of now, you are not heroes, but simply citizens or visitors enjoying the festivities and not on their radar so to speak.

Was talking to my buddy about a character I had made for an evil campaign he was running, a campaign that has ended and likely won't restart again. I was looking forward to playing the character, and was discussing with him maybe eventually making him lawful neutral in an effort to make him more playable.

However, he thinks it can't be done given the concept, which is something I disagree on, as he says Lawful Beutral characters don't really go try to conquer cities. So I am just curious what y'all think.

The concept:

A warlord/commander who has gained access to an army who believes he is the best suited to rule "Region X." He would like to place himself in power with as little loss of life as possible, but accepts the fact that in war, death is a very real possibility and likely outcome.

As previously written for the evil campaign, he was willing to take things to much further levels to get what he wanted, but if made LN, I would obviously play up more of a siege and frequently request the cities current leaders to surrender diplomatically.

Not fishing for argument ammo, just curious if I am alone in thinking it can be done with alignments other than evil.