Qorin's page

Feel free to chat about things here. I'm asking my current players to confine themselves to this thread, in the interest of keeping the recruitment thread clear.

Bonus points to whoever can correctly identify the source of this line without looking it up.

"I was attacked by a coked up w**** and a f***ing crazy dentist."

We started with 6 in April. Along the way, two had to drop out owing to RL issues. We recruited two replacements in August.

Now we've lost two more (vanishing acts) and are recruiting again.

Your experiences may be different. As you have obviously not been around the whole time, you'll need to have been somewhere.

The Main Campaign has just passed 2500 posts, and is not required reading, but is probably worth skimming, at least to see if the campaign is something you'd enjoy.

Currently we have:
Cueta Hearthseeker - a Mwangi (human) Ranger and general troublemaker.
Kal'Tos - a Dwarven Cleric of Abadar and ice-cold pragmatist.
Vallen Silverclasp - a Dwarven Cleric of Torag, skill-monkey and fretter extraordinaire.
Tomag - Half-Orc Inquisitor of Sarenrae, ray of sunshine with a greataxe.

Two Dwarven Clerics? Huh?
I don't buy the necessity of having a "balanced" party with slots available for martial, divine, arcane, skill, etc. and I don't pick characters according to it. I pick players who seem like they'll get along and be fun to play with and encourage them to play the character they want. I very much see this as an exercise in story-telling and am not interested in power-builds as much as I am in compelling characters.

This is but another dull tavern in another dull town in some nameless province. It is but another passage of time between the challenges of true adventuring. Such is the doldrum of existence waiting for another opportunity.

Outside the Inn, a fog lies over the town this evening, draping everything in its clammy grasp. The damp cobbled street shines as the light of street lanterns dances across the slick stones. The cold fog chills the bones and shivers the soul of anyone outside. Yet inside these tavern walls the food is hearty and the ale is warm and frothy. A fire blazes in the hearth and the tavern is alive with the tumbling voices of country folk.

Suddenly, a hush falls over the tavern. Even the flagons of ale seem to silence themselves. The tavern door swings open. Framed by the lamp-lit fog, a form strides into the room. His heavy, booted footfalls and the jingle of his coins shatter the silence. His brightly colored clothes are draped in loose folds about him and his hat hangs askew, hiding his eyes in shadows. Without hesitation, he walks directly up to your table and stands proudly in a wide stance with folded arms.

His accented voice speaks, "I have been sent to you to deliver this message! If you be creatures of honor, you will come to my master's aid at first light. It is not advisable to travel the Svalich woods at night!" He pulls from his tunic a sealed letter, addressed to all of you in beautiful flowing script. He drops the letter on the table. "Take the west road from here some five hours march down through the Svalich woods. There you will find my master in Barovia."

Amid the continued silent stares of the patronage, the gypsy strides to the bar and says to the wary barkeeper, "Fill the glasses, one and all. Their throats are obviously parched." He drops a purse heavy with gold on the bar. With that, he leaves.

The babble of tavern voices resumes, although somewhat subdued. The letter is lying before you. Dated yesterday, the ink is still not dry and the parchment is crisp. The seal is of a crest you don't recognize.

Before we jump in, take a moment to talk amongst yourselves about whether or not you have any history together. You each have reached 5th level by doing something, after all. It isn't important either way, but it is important that we know.

To a party of seasoned adventurers such as yourselves, this is but another dull tavern in another dull town in some nameless province. It is but another passage of time between the challenges of true adventuring. Such is the doldrum of existence waiting for another opportunity.

Outside the Inn, a fog lies over the town this evening, draping everything in its clammy grasp. The damp cobbled street shines as the light of street lanterns dances across the slick stones. The cold fog chills the bones and shivers the soul of anyone outside. Yet inside these tavern walls the food is hearty and the ale is warm and frothy. A fire blazes in the hearth and the tavern is alive with the tumbling voices of country folk.

Suddenly, a hush falls over the tavern. Even the flagons of ale seem to silence themselves. The tavern door swings open. Framed by the lamp-lit fog, a form strides into the room. His heavy, booted footfalls and the jingle of his coins shatter the silence. His brightly colored clothes are draped in loose folds about him and his hat hangs askew, hiding his eyes in shadows. Without hesitation, he walks directly up to your table and stands proudly in a wide stance with folded arms.

His accented voice speaks, "I have been sent to you to deliver this message! If you be creatures of honor, you will come to my master's aid at first light. It is not advisable to travel the Svalich woods at night!" He pulls from his tunic a sealed letter, addressed to all of you in beautiful flowing script. He drops the letter on the table. "Take the west road from here some five hours march down through the Svalich woods. There you will find my master in Barovia."

Amid the continued silent stares of the patronage, the gypsy strides to the bar and says to the wary barkeeper, "Fill the glasses, one and all. Their throats are obviously parched." He drops a purse heavy with gold on the bar. With that, he leaves.

The babble of tavern voices resumes, although somewhat subdued. The letter is lying before you. Dated yesterday, the ink is still not dry and the parchment is crisp. The seal is of a crest you don't recognize.

Welcome Zoriya and Tomag:

I'd like for us (as well as the current players) to talk a bit about what's been happening to you.

I'm thinking your ship was separated from the main fleet in the first storms that struck.

Badly damaged, it limped along until you reached a small island.

There was a dispute about whether to return to Absalom or press on, hoping to reach the New World.

Eventually the ship set sail for Absalom, leaving the few who wished to go on with one of the ship's boats and a supply of food and fresh water sufficient to last them for a few weeks.

Through various adventures, they made their way to the bay where the expedition was originally intended to go to find a community of castaways at Newspring.

It's been a year since Free Captain Finn Blackstone discovered the new continent. He returned to Port Peril with grand plans of exploiting his discovery and keeping the place a secret for his own profit, but he returned to the Shackles. A week after landing, he was found floating face-down in the harbor, his throat slit, and his "secret" soon became public knowledge throughout Avistan and Garund. The great navies of the world were put on alert. A race was on

Over the past few months, word has reached each of you of a grand fleet leaving Absalom, sailing under the flag of The Golden Pegasus. Sailing from Absalom, but not of Absalom, the expedition was funded by a private consortium. Brigades of cavalry and infantry would set sail to conquer the newly discovered lands, and hundreds of men and women were wanted to found a new city, a shining light of civilization in the unexplored wilderness, the beginnings of a new nation. The call went out for volunteers, and you answered.

The Captain of the expedition's flagship, The Golden Pegasus, had been Blackstone's mate, and had selected an ideal spot for a new city along the new continent's coast. A place with a sheltered harbor, with access to fresh water, with abundant forest covering rugged hills and flats alike. A paradise was promised.

When the fleet set sail, it was a glorious thing, three massive warships guarding no less than a dozen smaller brigs and caravels. A thousand men and women would found a new town, and everything they needed was provided, materials and supplies to last them through the first year, seed and livestock to establish a farming base, skilled tradesmen and the tools they would need to take what was needed from the forest and hills.

The fleet sailed across the inner sea and through the arch of Aroden without incident. A week into the Arcadian Ocean the storm struck. It came out of the north, a terrible storm that battered the fleet for days, and when it was over, half the ships were gone, either sunk or blown away from the fleet and vanished in the open ocean....

The story continues here and here.

We've lost 2 of 6 original players to real life issues, and are hoping to find a couple of replacements. Reading through the existing threads will show you what has happened thus far.

This will be where the more narrative elements of the story are told, both roleplaying and action.

and I have to run, so that's all for now.

dot in here: more when I get home.

The place you've landed may not live up to the lurid descriptions of earthly paradise you heard back in Absalom, but it is certainly a pleasant land. Inside the bay, the water is calm, and along the shore, sandy beaches give way to low scrub, with fingers of dense forest nearly reaching the water in places. The mouth of a small stream lies nearby, winding through a marsh, and less than a mile along the shore you see another stream.

Most of the passengers are desperate to be on land, and the sailors are rowing them over in the ship's boats. Though forest dominates the terrain in the area, it is broken by brackish ponds and salt marshes near the shore, and along the streams that cut between low ridges of higher ground. In the distance, rugged hills rise up under a thick blanket of trees.

Welcome to the New World. This campaign will be used primarily for the nuts and bolts of downtime, exploration and discovery, and so on. In addition to your hard work developing your colony, there will be various minor events and encounters here. Anything that will take more than a few rolls to play out will happen in the Golden Pegasus thread. There will probably be times when we need to pause this thread to let the other catch up, but unless that's announced, consider that one day real time is equal to a day in this thread.

As the campaign goes on, we'll see how this works and adjust accordingly.

Exploration:
At this point, you know almost nothing about this continent. Even the hex that you're in is considered unexplored and unsettled. This increases the frequency of encounters a lot. Just saying. You might like it like that.

Downtime:
Like it or not, each of you has 100 gp worth of capital to start building with. It can be goods that you brought with you on the ship, it can be labor that your friends and allies are willing to lend you, it can be influence that you have earned, or magic that you've hoarded during the voyage. It could also be something you discover on landing. The WHY of it is up to you.

Use these to create teams (there are 100 people here, after all) or rooms (you'll want rooms because they turn into buildings when you stick them together) to generate more capital. Using these buildings and teams to generate GP will not give you actual coins, but the value of the coins. Until you guys set up a mint or something.

Kingdom Building: This is a long way down the road, as you'll need to explore and prepare the site for settlement, which takes time, as well as lay out a few build points at 1000gp/BP. Yes, I've decided to coddle you like baby kittens and reduce the cost of a BP for a small kingdom (UC page 205). Still, it's a lot of cash in the circumstances.

I'm sure that's not everything, but it's a start.

Oh. The population of your little land:

The six of you.

Your friends and family:
Gwenydd Sandlock Female Halfling weaver/seamstress - wife of Ben Sandlock
Sira Female Halfling (3 year old)-Ben's Daughter
Walton Sandlock Male Halfling Fisherman/Sailor- Ben's younger brother
Shalla Female Halfling - Walton's Wife
Jos Male Halfling (5 year old)- one of Walton's twin boys.
Jak Male Halfling (5 year old)-the other twin
Bern Hearthseeker Gair's son At 16, Bern is newly a man and freshly blooded as a warrior.
Jarla Silverclasp - Vallen's sister
Deeshka, elderly halfling woman -a mother-figure for Cueta. She is currently sick and injured.
Horn'Tos is Kal'Tos' younger brother. He has recently become a journeyman smith and is eager to explore the world.
Sorala Tharn - Garrak's research partner and wife, a female half elf historian and linguist

80 as yet unnamed NPCs. Most of these are commoners, with a sprinkling of warriors and experts. They will be your fodder for building teams, and as you interact, many of them will eventually be identified as individuals.

Also:

Edmund Thayer - A haughty young Taldan Aristocrat
Sandra Thayer - His even haughtier younger sister
Ingwe Obuti - A grotesquely obese Mwangi half-orc adept

Cueta and Ben, in particular, have lost a lot of their NPCs. There is an excellent chance that they were on board the Harpy - the last of the other ships, that wrecked on the rocks some hours before the Lillend found safe harbor.

It's been a year since Free Captain Finn Blackstone discovered the new continent. He returned to Port Peril with grand plans of exploiting his discovery and keeping the place a secret for his own profit, but he returned to the Shackles. A week after landing, he was found floating face-down in the harbor, his throat slit, and his "secret" soon became public knowledge throughout Avistan and Garund. The great navies of the world were put on alert. A race was on

Over the past few months, word has reached each of you of a grand fleet leaving Absalom, sailing under the flag of The Golden Pegasus. Sailing from Absalom, but not of Absalom, the expedition was funded by a private consortium. Brigades of cavalry and infantry would set sail to conquer the newly discovered lands, and hundreds of men and women were wanted to found a new city, a shining light of civilization in the unexplored wilderness, the beginnings of a new nation. The call went out for volunteers, and you answered.

The Captain of the expedition's flagship, The Golden Pegasus, had been Blackstone's mate, and had selected an ideal spot for a new city along the new continent's coast. A place with a sheltered harbor, with access to fresh water, with abundant forest covering rugged hills and flats alike. A paradise was promised.

When the fleet set sail, it was a glorious thing, three massive warships guarding no less than a dozen smaller brigs and caravels. A thousand men and women would found a new town, and everything they needed was provided, materials and supplies to last them through the first year, seed and livestock to establish a farming base, skilled tradesmen and the tools they would need to take what was needed from the forest and hills.

The fleet sailed across the inner sea and through the arch of Aroden without incident. A week into the Arcadian Ocean the storm struck. It came out of the north, a terrible storm that battered the fleet for days, and when it was over, half the ships were gone, either sunk or blown away from the fleet and vanished in the open ocean. The remaining ships were becalmed. A week passed without a breath of wind, and the captains put out the boats, to tow the heavy ships.

That was when the kraken struck. First it took the ships' boats and the crew. It ate its fill, and disappeared, only to return that night, dragging one of the smaller ships down, devouring crew, livestock, and colonists alike. On the remaining ships, hundreds stood in horrified silence, listening to the screams until they were silenced.

The next night, The Golden Pegasus was ready. When the kraken attacked one of the ships, it fought, ballista and catapults firing. The kraken sank back under the waters and the foundering ship's survivors climbed into boats, racing to the other ships. They were still in the water when the kraken returned, attacking the Golden Pegasus this time, and in the morning, the great warship was gone.

At dawn, the sun rose red, and the captains of the remaining ships met. They argued. They fought, and one was grievously wounded when swords were drawn. On all the ships, despair and crowding had people near to rioting, and more than a few trivial disputes resulted in murder. When the sun set that night, the wind came up. Two ships sailed west, towards the new land. three turned east, heading back to Avistan.

In the night, the wind blew harder, and just before dawn another storm struck. The wind and driving rain made it almost impossible to see in the grey light that filtered through the clouds, but it was enough to see land. Enough to see the other ship, running to the starboard side caught on rocks, breaking up before it was lost to sight. The captain of the remaining ship, The Laughing Lillend, personally climbed the main mast with his spyglass as the ship ran before the storm. Eventually, he must have seen what he was looking for. He pointed hard starboard, and the ship turned, cutting across the wind and waves, in the direction of the rocks that had broken the other ship.

Instead of rocks, though, the Lillend found shelter. A bay calm enough to drop anchor in and wait out the storm. Night fell again, and dawn came, clear and bright. A wide, sheltered bay that ran almost 20 miles inland, fed by numerous streams, with rugged hills rising to the west, flat plains extending north and east, all covered by lush forest. To the south, two arms of land embraced the bay, and you could just see the narrow passage to the open ocean. Of nearly twenty ships that had set sail, only one had reached the destination. Yours.

After a week spent on repairs, the Laughing Lillend would sail back for Absalom. The crew was near mutinous at the thought of waiting that long, but they knew the necessity of the repairs. They would leave one hundred souls on the shores of the new world, to do their best to survive. The captain assures you that he will return.

A new continent has been discovered, far across the ocean, a place of limitless possibilities and untold riches. Also a place where survival will depend on the skills of those individuals brave enough to forge new communities from the uncharted wilderness. A hundred souls will set sail for the far shore, risking everything, but with the hope of a brighter future than any possible in Avistan or Garund.

This campaign will initially make heavy use of Ultimate Campaign's downtime and exploration rules, and eventually the kingdom building and mass combat rules. It will be extremely sandboxy, with players determining their own goals and setting the course of their own adventures. The colony will largely succeed or fail according to the players choices. If it succeeds, it will grow, and eventually the players can found a kingdom.

Until the players found a kingdom or discover native settlements, there is essentially no town. Nowhere to buy magic items, nowhere to sell their loot. Noone to buy spells from. Ships will come occasionally, but there will be very little contact with the old world.

The new world is NOT a static environment. The colony will have an impact on the new continent, and the inhabitants will respond. Such is the nature of this fantasy world.

Simple survival is by no means guaranteed. Players should expect to face the wilderness with all its dangers, environmental hazards, etc. They should be ready to handle it.

Working together is going to be pretty necessary, and characters who seem likely to be able to do so are more likely to be chosen.

The Rules: The last release of the D&D Next playtest. Unfortunately, if you don't have these, they are currently unavailable.
The Adventure: The GDQ series of modules, as adapted by me.
The Point: Dungeon-crawling fun and excitement.

Characters:
Will start at 8th level.
Ability scores will be rolled by rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest, and arranging them at will. If your total ability bonuses less than +4, you may take a mulligan and reroll.
All classes from the playtest will be available.
All races except Drow and Kender will be available.
Hit Points will be max at first level, you may roll or take the standard half+1 for 2nd through 8th levels.
Gear: Each player starts with 1000gp of mundane equipment, and 2 uncommon magic items.

Background:
This is pretty much a dungeon-crawl, and while roleplaying is certainly encouraged, the world beyond the dungeons is mostly off camera. We have a group that has just begun to scratch the surface of the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, and could use a little more muscle.
Rather than developing a complex backstory for your character, they simply need a reason to go fight the giants that are wreaking havoc in the Kingdom of Sterich, and enough personality to pass themselves off as more than a stat-block.

Therefore, please interact with each other, and with the groups veterans, and when we have a good party, we will return to the action in progress.

(As of this post, we have a Mage 5/Rogue 3, a Fighter 5/Rogue 3, a Fighter 8 and a War Cleric 8. I'm not likely to turn anyone away for not adding to the balance of the party, but some people care about that stuff.)

Fifteen minutes after leaving Arial in the cave, you find yourself in the trees at the edge of the clearing where the giant's steading is built. The main building is enormous, suitable to the giants that inhabit it, and above the front door is what seems to be a crude watch tower. No giants are apparent, either in the tower or at the door. To the rear, a second building is joined to the first by a 15 foot tall wooden palisade. Two gates lead into the enclosed yard between the two buildings. The entire compound is roughly 300x500 feet.

You have left the Kingdom of Sterich, and are travelling through the foothills of the Jotens, on your way to the stronghold of Nosnra, chief of the hill giants who have been raiding the surrounding country-side in increasingly vicious and well-organized bands.

There will be no wandering monsters in the discussion thread. Please introduce your characters (in character) as you ride and feel free to discuss anything except the new hobbit movie.

The Rules: The latest release of the D&D Next playtest.
The Adventure: The GDQ series of modules, as adapted by me.
The Point: Dungeon-crawling excitement, and the opportunity to see the playtest rules at work at higher levels (8+)

Characters:
Will start at 8th level.
Ability scores will be rolled by rolling 4d6 and dropping the lowest, and arranging them at will. If your total ability bonuses less than +4, you may take a mulligan and reroll.
All classes from the playtest will be available.
All races except Drow and Kender will be available.
Hit Points will be max at first level, you may roll or take the standard half+1 for 2nd through 8th levels.
Gear: Each player starts with 1000gp of mundane equipment, and 2 uncommon magic items.

Background: The adventures in question are dungeon-crawls, the campaign will be roleplay light. That said, characters with a bit of personality are more interesting than not. Rather than give an elaborate background that will be ignored, when you've finished your build, introduce your character in character, and roleplay with one another as you travel.

You're on the road together, travelling from the Kingdom of Sterich to the Jotuns, a range of mountains that lately has become a staging ground for giants to attack the human lands nearby. The first stronghold is the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief, and the king of Sterich has provided you with a map showing the location of the giant chief Nosnra's fortress. You have also been warned to expect an outside force that is pushing these giants – and others – to raid far beyond their usual range.

Dot away

Melodramatic enough title for an OOC thread?

I plan to create a second recruitment thread that's a bit more organized up front to continually recruit new characters to weave into our web. That way when people disappear into the mists of the interwebs, we don't have to stop to hunt for replacements, and since we're playing p6 (e6 for pathfinder, beta found here) there may be characters of different levels but not much more so than you'd find at a PFS table.

The story begins at dawn of the first day of a festival in Levkarest, capitol of Borca. It is a two week celebration of the Sefeasa's wedding, which will happen on the seventh day. Most of you will be on the road leading to Levkarest, except those of you whose backgrounds specifically locate you as residing in Levkarest.

At this point, my roster of characters is:
Bliznap
Isabeau
Sergei
Stanrick

Others can be added in as they finish their applications. Gameplay will probably start Wednesday.

I'm thinking of an epic perspective for the campaign, which PbP is well suited for. What I mean by this is that characters can go their own way, in different directions, and several scenes can happen simultaneously. Because of this, there can be more than one party active at a time, and there is no need to limit to the number of characters that come into play, until it reaches the point where my head explodes.

Some thoughts on house rules and such:

The campaign will follow the e6 rules. Ravenloft's mood of terror and corruption is better served by a comparatively low powered game.

Fear, Horror and Madness checks are NOT will saves. Fear checks are wisdom based and are modified by anything that modifies saves against fear-based effects. All classes treat them as "good" saves. You aren't adventurers because you're chicken.
Horror and Madness checks all use the charisma modifier, and are treated as "bad" saves by all classes. As with other saves, there are feats that give a +2 or traits that give a +1 to these checks.

I favor character-driven narrative over tactical simulations, so I'm looking for players who will engage in this as a storytelling project. I will reward good storytelling with xp, bonuses on rolls, etc.

Diplomacy, Intimidate, Bluff in particular get bonuses and penalties based on the play. "I try to intimidate him" will get a pretty hefty penalty, but a good description of how you try may rate a bonus.

I don't use battle maps, and will try to rule fairly on things like area of effects, cover, flanking, etc. Description is your friend, here.

My tastes runs to 'boss' monsters that are frequently far above the PCs pay grade, but with significant weaknesses that can be exploited once they are discovered.

Magic items are extremely rare, but make up for in potency what they lack in frequency. Crafting magic items is not likely to be viable. Potions/oils/scrolls are notable exceptions.

The wider world is Ravenloft. You are all natives of Ravenloft, and have not heard of anywhere beyond Ravenloft. For the purposes of this campaign, there is nowhere else. Familiarity with the world of Ravenloft is helpful, but not required. There will be many changes made to suit my tastes. Darklords are not a thing, the mists themselves govern the closing of domain borders.

The first thing you feel is the hard floor.
It's dark, and you can hear other people groaning nearby.
There is the aftertaste of too much drink on your dry tongues and a headache like an axe splitting your skulls.
It is a moment before you realize the creaking noise isn't your joints complaining, that the room isn't rocking because you're still drunk. The salt in the air isn't your sweat.
You are on a ship, sailing.
As if they had been waiting for that realization to dawn, a rough looking gang of pirates bursts in, waking the room with shouts and blinding lantern light. Those who aren't quick to find their feet get swift kicks, and a tall man swaggers in with a long coat and his black beard in braids. He bares his gold teeth in a vicious grin.

"Still abed with the sun over the yardarm?" he screams, leaning down to get in your faces, a whip coiled in his hand. "On your feet, ye filthy swabs! Get up on deck and report for duty before Cap'n Harrigan flays your flesh into sausage skins and has Fishguts fry ye up for breakfast!"

The whip cracks in the air as he finishing, and he steps aside, waving you up a narrow stairway.

Welcome one and all.
For your information: the campaign proper starts when you wake up, stripped of your gear and badly hungover in the hold of the pirate ship Wormwood, having been press-ganged into service. This is a pretty common way of recruiting for pirates, and makes life in port that much more of an adventure. Of course, if you really don't want to be a pirate, you're always welcome to try your luck with the sharks....

I had thought about spending some time at the tavern before you all were drugged and kidnapped, but there's no good reason for you not to get acquainted below-decks. Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

Anyone not sick of pirates?

Starting a new Skull and Shackles game, and looking for anyone interested in joining the crew. This will be a game that is about character development and storytelling first.
Looking for roleplayers able to make a solid, descriptive post twice a week. A paragraph should be a bare minimum, and you can expect a similar contribution from me
Characters should have a backstory that gets them to the Formidably Maid tavern in Port Peril. This can be as simple or elaborate as you like. Keep in mind that storytellers are being sought, but that as a first level character, your story is just beginning. If you've already slain a great wyrm and have a standing date for tea with Asmodeus each Thursday, it will be hard to reconcile your story with your stats.

Speaking of which, characters should be first level, built on 20 pts with average starting gold for your class. All races, classes, feats & archetypes in the PRD will be allowed, excluding 3PP, though I will admit to a preference for the core races. Characters will be allowed two traits that may include the S&S campaign traits, but are not required to. I leave it to you to get yourselves to the tavern on time. Each character should also have a flaw (a trait equivalent penalty/negative) that should shed some light on their personality. I will also assign each character a third trait when the final party is chosen.

I'm trying my hand at GMing PBP for the first time, so I ask anyone who signs on with our crew to be tolerant.