Lets go with the worst case scenario, eh? Lets say theoretically drifting can free Rovagug and lets assume that the combined efforts of all the other gods for some reason cannot beat him again. Lets calculate some odds, eh?
9 afterlives means 9 planes (lets not even get into the question of if each layer of Hell is infinite).
Astral+Ethereal+Shadow+Dimension of Dreams is 4 more.
Elemental Planes is 4 more.
Positive+Negative Energy Planes is 2 more.
Plus all the demi planes which may or may not be infinite.
That gives me a 1 in (19 x Infinity) chance that I'll free Rovagug. I'll take those odds.
As for the bomb going of somewhere in those 19 infinities, isn't that also a chance you take every time you, again, jump into a car? That you'll kill someone or multiple people? Taking a look at the numbers again, I only gave you the answer for people in the US. There are over a million people killed by cars each year. That's a LOT of people. So again, cars must be evil right? Because each time you jump into one, you don't know if you're going to end someone's life?
EDIT for Matthew:
See, if we are going with that argument, I'll throw my hands up in the air because I personally don't know how to respond to that. I'll concede to someone who thinks using cars are evil. But not to the logic that using cars AREN'T evil but drifitng is.
Make a Punnett Square! That way you could determine where the outsider and where the human genes go!
Human Celestial
Human HH HC
Infernal HI IC
Assuming that the outsider gene is dominant, you have a 25% chance to make a pure human, 25% chance to make a tiefling, a 25% chance to make an aasimar... and a 25% chance to make one very confused celestial/infernal mix (which may be its own race... or a crossblooded human sorcerer)
I'm thinking that Durkula grapples and fangs Roy, but then Roy reverses the grapple and carries him outside the chamber just in time for the right side to win the vote. Then Belkar shows up and TWEPs Durkula. Maybe.
Presuming that Belkar survived that fall.
From a storytelling perspective, killing a major, likable character offscreen is just an awful choice.
Why of course! Any setting needs a good mix of interesting and practical. And thank you for the reference, I know a bit about that specific plague but for some reason, it didn't cross my mind to use it as inspiration.
I could actually speak a bit to plothooks and the like. Riht no, I have a table filled with plothooks for each district within the city, and the overall feel changes depending on the part of the city. Obviously problems within an area where merchants live will be different than the ones faced by nobles, or more criminal elements. I wrote these up so that players could feel like they have a choice in things.
Do they wish to run a street gang, simply trying their best to survive? Or are they patrons of a Senator, delving into the realm of political intrigue? There is of course, the problem of the plague, but that could be tackled as a main plotpoint, or simply be used as the catalyst for a number of different quests. It really would be up to the person reading.
These are all very good points, some of which I have already implemented into my outlining. One of the biggest roadblocks ahead of me might actually be "How much is too much"? The city should feel natural enough to stand on its own, but not so rigid that a potential GM could not chamge some of the details to their liking.
Updates. The gods are going well. There will be about 30 total of various different alignments. For the most part, these gods are Roman in origin, using some of the more obscure ones such as Nox and Poena while a few such as Cernunnos have different origins.
There will be changes from the original mythologies these gods are involved in every now and then to better fit the setting, but they should remain recognizable to those who know about them.
By the ay, is this the best forum to keep this thread in? I'm thinking it might be best in the homebrew section since it isn't official... yet.
That is a good point there. There are plenty of settings out there that do the kitchen sink approach, with many of them already being at the point where no one should try to replicate them.
In other news, I will be posting updates from time to time in order for others to keep track of the progress of this if they are at all interested.
EDIT: Right! And later down the line, once I've worked the kinks out these classes, I'll need to look for playtesters. Not yet though, the classes still have to be playtested by myself.
Hello all, I'm Michael Riter, and I've recently went to work on creating an Urban Fantasy campaign setting which would detail a large city; the capital of an empire to be exact. Now the setting crosses elements of the Roman Empire, Victorian England, as well as the years Europe was stricken with Black Death. I have taken to calling this project Oxonia: Collapse of an Empire.
Now, I have gotten to work on what to include in this setting to really breath life into it and came up with a list of things to be added to keep me organized.
My list thus far:
An introduction to the setting
A summary of the roles various existing classes/races within the setting
Thematic base classes as well as archetypes and iconic characters for each
Crimes and Punishments
Cuisine
Holidays and Festivals
An expansive list of important people in the city including statblocks and descriptions for each
The various organizations/factions within the city as well as plothooks/boons for helping/consequences for pissing off each
A section detailing each district within the city as well as plothooks/rumors associated with each
A timeline of important events starting with the Oxonian Empire's foundation
A list of gods including domains, subdomains, and a description for how to worship them (unfortunately the deific obedience feat is not usable under the Pathfinder Compatibility License so this would be an alternate system to that)
Once I get further into this, I will be looking into mapping out each city district completely as well as having a complete map of the capital city. Not only that, but later down the line, I am thinking of even expanding by writing an Adventure Path taking place primarily within the city.
Now, here is the main reason I posted this: What do YOU look for in a campaign guide? More specifically, what do you feel helps create an atmospheric and enjoyable experience? Now, I know everyone is different and I already have that in mind, but I wanted to get a feeling of what people other than myself think about when looking at various campaign settings. Nothing specific of course (such as I think you should have a character/faction that does X), but more broad topics similar to what I listed above. This would be of great help to me as I flesh out the world and keep in mind the different styles of play for everyone.
Looks like I snuck into this one. Thanks to Michael Riter for the article idea.
No need for thanks! I discarded that idea, while you picked it up off the street, fed it, gave it a home, raised it as your own, watched it grow up and then sent it off to college... I mean Wayfinder. Think of the life you gave it!
Cheers to you for going through each and every submission. I am sure it must have been difficult to decide, let alone read through what I could imagine was many, many hours worth of work.
I love it. Nerf everything. I love the whining and hate the powergamers. The onslaught of complaints shows that too many powergamers have no concept of actual roleplay.
Now the PC and his group must journey to the Abyss and find a way to stop Asmodeus' evil plan.
Now just hold on one second! Some people might be offended by that comment you see... Asomdeus is in charge of HELL, not the Abyss! The Abyss is where DEMONS live, while Hell is where Devils live. Gosh, some people are so insensitive.
Merisiel of course! Because if this thread has taught me anything, that means I would also be dating James Jacobs. And I think that would have its perks.
Either that or I would be dating a T-Rex who just so happened to be named James Jacobs... which wouldn't be as exciting.
I think it's time to look at Andoran & Taldor. Poor kingdoms, we keep ignoring them.
As someone whose most memorable PFS character is both a Lion Blade and a Marquis (along with a whole host of various other titles), I would insist on referring to Taldor as an EMPIRE. ;)
Dear Asmodeus, it all makes sense... someone replaced Torch's rubber ducky with an idiot ball which caused him to abandon all common sense!
But seriously, what plans could he possibly have that wouldn't be helped out by a few hundred/thousand loyal Shadow Lodge agents speeding up the process. He is true neutral, meaning it's not like he was planning to destroy the world or anything.
People hate him because of the... Questionable writing that took him completely out of character during those final few moments. And when I say out of character, I mean from starting off as basically a union leader to the Pathfinder Society's agents to basically flipping off everyone who was working for him while twirling a Snidely Whiplash style mustache and cackling as he teleports away, flaunting the fact that he doesn't need you anymore.
Granted, he has always been a schemer, but... His motivations for leaving were off, the WAY he left was off and most damningly, his entire personality is off.
Interestingly enough, I am headed off to college this August, and thus a new Pathfinder group as well. I am having my players as Shadow Lodge agents fighting against the Society's corruption and Aspis agents... and Torch will NOT totally turn into a bad guy so haphazardly. Shocking right?!
Anyways, I have him as an Absalom native. I am not sure if there is an official answer though.
You know, this reminds me of a different forum post I read a while back covering the same topic. I can't remember the exact detailing but it did culminate in a hilariously sarcastic post detailing the hilarity of attempting to get players to use their real life knowledge of social skills. It went a little something like this....
"Ah, so you feel that players should earn their diplomacy or intimidate rolls by telling you in detail what their character says? Why don't you apply that to other skills then?
If you want your fighter to make an attack roll, he better whip out a sword and demonstrate exactly HOW he attacks. After all, he has to earn that roll.
The rogue wants to pick a lock? Better hope she knows how to do it in real life because she has to earn that role.
And what about the cleric making a heal check? She has to detail the anatomy of the human body in what she is trying to fix. She has to earn that roll.
And the bard? He wants to use his Perform (Exotic Belly Dance) skill? Well then... He better EARN that roll."
I've always found that if a single player is intending to do something monumentally eh... poor in judgement, such as this, I step on that player but leave the rest of the party alone.
*Player attempts to kill the lich*
*The lich uses wish to transport the offending PC into the Negative Energy Plane* "That was odd. So anyways, as I was saying, I want you to help me deal with my apprentice."
I just made a post on the PFSOC. They have shown support for 3rd Party Content and non-PFS products before, so I certainly hope they are interested in a FREE magazine filled with excellent artwork and content all laid out by wonderful editors like a nice Christmas present :3
Hm. I was thinking about maybe the PFSOC (Pathfinder Society Online Collective) Google Group... I'm sure quite a few people wouldn't mind downloading copies of it.
I've always had the mindset that the story comes first, which is why I like rolling behind a screen. If the players are just rolling really badly and doing badly through no fault of their own, I don't capitalize on that as it simply frustrates the players even more. That is when my die tends to roll 'low'. The exception to this is of course in very climactic moments such as the end to a story arc, a confrontation with the BBEG or something very dramatic. This is to preserve the fact that the PCs are heroes who should not be pub stomped by any old group of goblins... unless they seem to ask for it. In which case, if I roll high, its fair game. (I define 'asking for it' as essentially ignoring the GM's Are you SURE you want to do that?)
I never fudge to give myself an advantage though. Only the players. The story comes first, and by the gods, I will move heaven and earth to make it fun for the players.
Unless of course I have a discussion with my players and they all really WANT a brutal game. Then I go nuts and roll in the open.
You'd be part of an inseparable group of friends consisting of a muscular psychopath, a priest, a shifty kleptomaniac, and a frail intellectual obsessed with the occult (that last one's probably you).
Bonus points if that priest IS the muscular psychopath, and seems obsessed with, "Kicking evil's ass... in the name of the lord."
You get a +1 from me Varin. When this is all said and done, I could say that you are all bloody amazing roleplayers. When the final selections are made, I hope that the party dynamic is interesting and stays strong.
Evil deities are definitely allowed. Odd, but allowed. And I don't think the Archive is a good fit. The leader is LAWFUL evil. If anything, she'd have a better time getting along with a Paladin than a devotee of the god that wants to literally destroy everything.
Monkey Swarms are serious business. You can tell, since Mad Monkeys is 3rd level spell. Just let that soak in for a second. That means a monkey swarm is on the same scale of effectiveness as a fireball or a lightning bolt.
I just have to note that I haven't forgotten. My players are just far too terrified to get on a boat at the moment. It may have something to do with the Paladin almost drowning the last time they did...
Anyways, based on limited info it's a simple solution.
"Hey you two gaming time is for gaming nothing else so T...besides the weather no topics not related to gaming...and A...stop being a dick. Everyone understand? I have no time for crap I'm the DM I have places to describe and people to pretend to be! Now lets play some Fu^#&#& Pathfinder!"
Looks like they both need to get their act together to be honest.
Person A: If you don't want to bother with other people anymore, then good for you... but don't be an a@@~!&! about it.
Person T: Cis-Scum? Really? Really? Some allies get burned out from being a part of a movement and need time to recharge. Respect that.
Both people: Keep it away from the table for god's sake. Fantasy RPGs were made to have fun, not bring the real world into things. Have fun, be friends, if there are personal things, don't let them get in the way of the game and story being told.
Paladin of Sarenrae accused of torturing priests of Zon Kuthon!
When questioned about the act, one of the victims said, "It was horrible... she tied us up and... and... did NOTHING to us. Not even a single lashing."
The Paladin in question has confirmed the above quote as the truth.
If you had to rank your power on a leveled scale of 1 to 20 with one being mediocore, and 20 being practically a demigod... where would you see yourself (and your companions for that matter?)
