Role Gate, which has been my PbP platform of choice for the past 1.5 years, is doing an AMA on Reddit. Tomorrow at 6PM CET they organised an AMA on r/rpg for those interested!
If any of you have been looking for alternatives to the forums or Discord I think it's worth giving it a try. I know I have a much easier time GMing there due to daily game update emails and a more immersive interface compared to Discord.
I am looking for two more players to join me in a Curse of Strahd campaign converted by me to PF2. The conversion makes heavy use of community materials as well as my homebrew changes to better fit the adventure to the new game system, so expect variations from the sourcebook.
Only human characters allowed (I will review versatile heritages but I am likely to veto them).
The game itself will be hosted on the Role Gate PbP portal. The game password is "sangzor".
If you are interested, I will also send you a link to my Discord server to discuss characters and Session 0 stuff. The current party is shaping up to be a diviner wizard, a champion and a monk.
The battlemaps will be hosted on Tableplop: new.tableplop.com
Hello, I am recruiting for a PbP run of the Sundered Waves one-shot to start this weekend. However it will not be held on the Paizo boards, but on the Role Gate platform, which I find to be better suited for PbP, especially for posting from mobile devices.
The game will be reported for PFS credit but it is run in campaign mode using the pre-made level 5 characters that come bundled with the adventure. These characters are not members of the Society.
If you haven't heard about the Sundered Waves adventure, all the details are explained in this Paizo blog., which also has the link to the pre-made character sheets.
I'll be happy to help with filling the sheets on Role Gate and figuring out any questions about the platform.
Hello,
I am recruiting 3-6 players for a Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–4 (Subtiers 1–2 and 3–4). The scenario has an Envoy's Alliance tag.
What is the scenario about?
The Whispering Tyrant has escaped Gallowspire and ravaged the lands of Lastwall. Although the nation managed to evacuate many civilians, there are still refugees, Pathfinders, and irreplaceable cultural treasures trapped in this undead-ridden realm known as the Gravelands. The PCs are part of the Society's efforts to infiltrate these dangerous lands, rescue the Pathfinders missing in action, and recover what historical texts and treasures they can. Just be quick! Every hour behind enemy lines increases the chance a nearby army learns of the PCs' mission.
What is RoleGate?
It is a freemium website dedicated to play-by-chat games. It works mostly similarly to these boards or MythWeavers, with some key differences:
Positive - it notifies the players once the game has progressed, via email and/or mobile app. It also has a character sheet for PF2 and allows to use the sheet fields in dice rolls for easier posting. Paid tiers have further automation support in form of macros.
Negative - it has rather lackluster support for pictures, especially on free tiers.
What is Tableplop?
It is a free lightweight browser-based VTT currently under active development by one guy. It is not feature-rich but I have found it to be the simplest to use, especially on mobile. RoleGate sheets will do the heavy lifting, Tableplop will take care of maps and initiative. It has some additional features but they are mostly geared for 5e, PF2 support is on the backlog but no dates yet.
Why recruit here, then?
Because I have been a part of this community for a long time and love everything except for the lack of game notifications. I want to introduce PF2 players to these tools which I have recently discovered for myself. I have already run one test game using these tools which you can check out here.
OK, you got me interested. What do I need to apply?
First off, I have found that my time zone is not compatible with many of the US Pacific players because they usually post around 3-5 AM my time (I am GMT+2) when I am fast asleep.
So I would like to have players who can be active in at least one of the following time slots: By active I mean being able to check the game progress and make at least one post in that period. When applying, choose one of these time slot(s).
Slot 1: 7am-10am GMT,
Slot 2: 3pm-6pm GMT,
Slot 3: 9pm-11pm GMT.
I will be usually active during Slot 3 myself but occasionally during other slots too.
In addition, I will need the usual PFS2 fare:
1) Player name:
2) Character name:
3) PFS#-Character#:
4) Character Class & Level:
5) Faction:
6) Regular or slow progression:
Does the Sun Blade Focus Spell trigger the Vampire's Sunlight Weakness? Seems rather overpowered to me if it does... Or does it not count as direct sunlight?
I would like to rebuild my first PFS2 character into a Pathfinder Agent/Swordmaster concept. But I am not sure how to make it work best. Here's the build I came up with so far for 12 levels:
Human (Half-Elf) Ranger 12
Background: Bounty Hunter
Starting stats: Str +3, Dex +3, Con +2, Int +1, Wis +0, Cha +0
Starting skills: Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Legal Lore, Nature, Occultism, Religion, Stealth, Survival.
Weapons: Guisarme, Longbow
My problem is that I am not sure what I actually want the build to do. Basically my goal is to find good synergies with the options offered by the PF Agent/Swordmaster archetypes, which seem to revolve around three pillars: tanking/melee control, aid another in any skill, and using recall knowledge vs monsters a lot. I am not sure if I'm supposed to focus on just one of these or if there is a way to utilise all of those capabilities fully.
The concept of the app looks super exciting to me as I found myself extremely challenged for any free time on the big screen (especially after my employer introduced some heavy restrictions on what can be accessed/installed at workstations), but the possiblity of gaming in bite-sized chunks on the phone without fiddling with cloud docs or losing paragraphs of unsaved text due to browser timeouts sounds extremely appealing. However, the app seems to be currently still in active development mode as there are some idionsyncrasies and limitations - e.g. the maps seem to be limited to 20x20 squares so I couldn't replicate a Flip-Mat there.
Does anyone share my excitement for a Play-by-App mode? Has anyone on these boards tried to use it yet? Maybe there are some alternatives I don't know about?
It has been three days since you left Elidir, climbing into the back of one of Bort Bargith’s wagons bound for the faraway Andoran capital of Almas. The smiling caravan master cut your travel cost to only a handful of coppers, so long as you promised to protect the wagons should any trouble arise. Fortunately, your journey through the hinterlands of Isger has been quiet, even if the ride itself has been far from comfortable. As you broke camp this morning, Bort announced you should arrive at the town of Etran’s Folly by nightfall, and he promised a comfortable bed for the night as a reward for a long day’s travel. The caravan’s teamsters shared a chuckle between them, trading knowing glances and subtle nods, but soon enough you are on the road again, the wagon bouncing and creaking along the uneven trail.
Many hours later, twilight begins to paint the sky with shades of orange and purple. “Up ahead is Plaguestone,” Bort shouts from the front of the wagon. No sooner does the call fade from his lips than it is overshadowed by a series of long, mournful howls emanating from the woods some ways aside from the caravan. Bort’s face darkens and he calls for alert, but the howls appear to move further away into the woods. ”Looks like the pack found someone else to feed upon today”, Bort remarks, when the howls stop abruptly, one by one, as if cut down. ”Or someone found them first.”
The last hour of the journey passes uneventfully and the wagons lazily roll into town as dusk falls. Most of the simple wood-and-thatch homes in Etran’s Folly look identical to one another and are in a similar state of disrepair. A number of the houses clearly look abandoned, their roofs collapsed. As you pass through the middle of town, the wagons go around a square with a large, flat, moss-covered cylindrical rock standing 2 feet high, with a hole in its center and a bowl-shaped depression off to one side.
The teamsters, directed by Bort, guide the caravan to the left, where a fairly large building with a stable borders the square. A sleepy-looking halfling girl runs out from the stables to greet the caravan. ”Good to see you, master Bort! Did you have a pleasant journey? Are the horses tired from the road?”
” - Well, Edna, at least it was safe this time, thanks Torag for that much! The horses are fine, but they must be hungry and thirsty from the journey - feed them and tell Delna to take care of my crew! I have several people I’ve got to meet on business, as usual, but I should be back for supper.
” - Will do, master Bort! Do try to get back soon - Delna told everyone she’s expecting your caravan, so folk will gather to hear your fables again!”
Bort puffs up his chest and retorts in indignation: ”Don’t you call them fables - they’re true experiences, all of them! Especially the one about the Chilled Giant! I could have died, you know! It’s not something to make fun of!” He storms off but you could swear he winked when he looked back at you.
The halfling stablehand Edna harumphs as she begins freeing up the horses and leading them to the stables. She motions towards the entrance door of the building. ”Folks, if you need a refreshment after the long journey, Delna will have something for you at the bar of the Feedmill. I will take care of the horses.”
You now have a couple of hours of free time. You can talk with the caravan crew, between yourselves, wander around the town, or go inside the inn.
You all start off as passengers and guards on the caravan going from from Elidir, the capital of Isger, to Almas, the capital of Andoran. The caravan moves along a road between the Apsodell Mountains and the Five Kings range. There are faster and easier routes south, but for those seeking to avoid Cheliax, this is the safest.
The caravan master is Bort Bargith, a dwarf trader from the Five Kings Mountains, welcome in many settlements for his fair prices and gregarious spirit, who has been using this route for years. Bort has a reputation of a friendly, honest merchant, who prides himself on having whatever a small community might need. You aren't particularly familiar with him, or with the other caravan members - the old elven camp chef nicknamed Cooky, Bort's second-in-command Tamli, a stern half-orc woman with a no-nonsense attitude, or the three teamsters - the gnome Glunda, who seems to be more at ease with the horses than people, and rowdy Ulfen twins Olf and Ulf. But you've quickly come to appreciate his company when he shared a mug of ale and a flank of game with you over the evening fire, telling stories from his life of travel, which you are sure must be more than a little embellished, but nevertheless supremely entertaining.
After three days of travel, the caravan is approaching its next stop - a small town called Etran's Folly, colloquially known as Plaguestone - your first night's rest in a proper bed since you left Elidir. The next day, the caravan is to depart towards Falcon's Hollow. This is where our story begins.
I should note that the module has custom backrounds, listed here. You aren't required to take them, but if you do, they give your character a small connection to this region of Golarion and a built-in reason to be on the caravan at the start of the adventure. Please post here with your alias when you are ready to start the game.
This is a recruitment of campaign mode Fall of Plaguestone played for PFS credit.
As the Chronicle gives 3 scenarios' worth of rewards, I will also cut the module approximately in half - the lowest I could do while keeping the major elements intact. To compensate for the reduced number of threats, I will ask for a gentlepeople's agreement to only initiate long rests between chapters.
Your characters will still level up at the intended points - roughly twice as fast as usual. But after this game they are "gone" - the credit goes to your actual PFS character instead. You don't lock any characters in for the game - I will only need your PFS data at the end when I will be signing the Chronicle.
I shall also put forth a disclaimer that this way of playing sacrifices variety of NPC interactions and combat encounters for the sake of speed. So this will be more like a "bus tour" of Plaguestone instead of a leisure weekend, if this analogy makes any sense. On the other hand, it allows a manageable game duration for PbP - we should probably be done in around 3 months.
PFS rules do not apply in the campaign mode - feel free to use all available content. I reserve the right to veto any uncommon options.
I am looking for 4 players. I will check in on Sunday to see if there is enough interest to start the game.
In anticipation of the GM guide I decided to try my hand in converting the troop rules to PF2, with the main goal of converting Ironfang Invasion, but I believe troops have been used in several other adventures as well.
I should thank tqomins for his stellar work in compiling a spreadsheet with the bestiary stats.
I decided to do something in between an ooze and a swarm as far as the troop abilities go, meaning that troops are big HP sponges in my version. So, here goes the attempt:
There are 3 types of troops: a Squad (5-10 creatures), a Platoon (10-20 creatures) or a Horde (20-40 creatures). Troops are typically composed of individual Small to Large creatures with similar combat abilities and a capacity for organized teamwork (either on their own or when controlled by an outside force).
Troop template:
Size: If the base creature is small or medium: Large (Squad), Huge (Platoon), or Gargantuan (Horde). A Squad of Large creatures has a Gargantuan size, larger troops are not supported. The area of the troop is shapeable but must remain contiguous with a minimum dimension equal to one base creature.
AC: As the base creature, adjusted for the new Dex score.
Speed: As the base creature.
Level: base creature +5 (Squad), +6 (Platoon) or + 7 (Horde).
HP: base creature * ((troop level +2) / (base level +2) +1)
Ability modifiers: Str, Con +1 per added size category; Dex, Int, Wis, Cha -1 per added size category.
Skills/Saves/DC: as base creature adjusted for level and ability modifiers.
Attack: Melee attacks target everyone within reach. Ranged attacks target an area equal to the troop area within range. Affected creatures must make a basic Reflex save vs damage.
Damage: As the base creature, adjusted for ability modifiers. Precision damage does not apply but may be factored into the special abilities.
Resistances: As the base creature plus Troop Discipline (Squad).
Troop Discipline: when a Squad is hit with any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures, it treats the result as one category better. A Platoon or a Horde is immune to such effects.
Immunities: Critical hits, Precision damage, Troop Discipline (Platoon or Horde).
Weaknesses: As base creature plus Splash damage, Area damage equal to Level/2 (Squad), Level (Platoon) or Level *1.5 (Horde). This does not stack with existing base creature weaknesses.
Special Abilities: Surround (1 action): Trigger the troop is adjacent to a creature. Effect The troop Strides up to its speed and can move through the spaces of any creatures in its path. Whenever the troop attempts a melee attack on the creature whose space is completely occupied by the troop, the creature must roll its save twice and take the worst result.
Modify the base creature special abilities to account for area-based attacks.
Example troops:
Zombie Shambler Horde Creature 6
NE Gargantuan Mindless Undead Zombie Troop
Perception +3; darkvision
Skills Athletics +15
Str +6, Dex -5, Con +5, Int -5, Wis -3, Cha -5
Slow A Zombie horde is permanently slowed 1 and can't use reactions.
AC 9; Fort +16; Ref +4; Will +6
HP 180; negative healing; Immunities critical hits; death effects; disease; mental; paralyzed; poison; precision damage; troop discipline; unconscious; Weaknesses area damage 9; positive 5; slashing 5; splash damage 9
Speed 25 feet
Melee (1 action) wall of fists DC 22, Damage 1d6+6 bludgeoning plus Grab
sea of jaws (1 action, attack); Requirement: The zombie horde has a creature grabbed, restrained or surrounded. Effect The zombie horde tears into the grabbed, restrained or surrounded creatures with their jaws, inflicting 1d8+6 piercing damage (DC 22 basic Reflex save).
Surround (1 action)
Hobgoblin Archer Platoon Creature 10
LE Huge Goblin Humanoid Troop
Perception +14; darkvision
Languages Common, Goblin
Skills Acrobatics +12; Athletics +16; Stealth +14
Str +4, Dex +2, Con +4, Int -2, Wis +0, Cha -3
AC 22; Fort +19; Ref +17 (+18 vs area effects); Will +13
HP 150;
Formation The effects are considered permanent and factored into the troop stat block.
Immunities critical hits; precision damage; troop discipline; Weaknesses area damage 10; splash damage 10
Speed 25 feet
Melee (1 action) wall of blades (versatile S) DC 24, Damage1d6+6 piercing
Ranged (1 action) Crossbow volley (range increment 120 feet, reload 1, DC 24) Damage 1d8+4 piercing
Crossbow precision the DC of the hobgoblin archer troop's ranged attack gets a bonus equal to its size category adjustment.
Perfect aim The hobgoblin archer troop's ranged attack ignores lesser or standard cover. The hobgoblin archer troop can target any area that is not fully covered from the direction of the attack by an impenetrable barrier as long as it has line of sight to at least one corner of that area.
Running Reload (1 action) The archer troop Strikes, Steps or Sneaks then Interacts to reload their crossbows.
Surround (1 action)
Fire Giant Squad Creature 15
LE Gargantuan Fire Giant Humanoid Troop
Perception +21; low-light vision
Languages Common, Jotun
Skills Athletics +32; Crafting +25, Intimidation +26
Str +9, Dex -2, Con +7, Int +0, Wis +0, Cha -2
AC 29; Fort +30; Ref +19; Will +21
HP 300; Resistances troop discipline;
Immunities critical hits; fire; precision damage; Weaknesses area damage 7; cold 10; splash damage 7;
Speed 25 feet
Melee (1 action) wall of blades (magical, reach 10 feet, versatile P) DC 34, Damage 2d12+15 slashing
Ranged (1 action) Volcanic volley (brutal, range increment 120 feet) DC 24,Damage 2d8+15 bludgeoning + 1d6 fire
Erupt (2 actions, evocation, fire, primal) DC 32. The fire giant troop imbues its weapons with fire, increasing the melee reach to 15 feet and dealing additional 1d6 points of fire damage to all affected creatures.
Throw Rock (1 action, fire) The fire giant troop's ranged attacks deal additional 1d6 fire damage.
Surround (1 action)
You did not sleep well this night. A sudden and severe thunderstorm battered the city, waking you up at night and invoking strange nightmares of bloody war when you manage to doze off again. As you finally decide you had enough and stand up groggily, the thunderstorm comes to an end as a new dawn rises slowly above the rooftops and the Shingles of Korvosa, illuminating the wet cobblestones with a crimson tint. As you begin your morning routines, something seems a bit off but you can't quite put your eye on it for a while.
Mivaela:
You hastily dress up for the appointment with a client you have in the morning. It is a young Varisian woman with the lower part of her face covered by a bright scarf - to protect you from the dry wasting cough she has. Your fortune-telling comes out pretty bleak, so you take a liberty to spice it up with a bit of white lies, inserting a few jokes to cheer up the poor lady and raise her spirits to help combat the sickness. As she leaves, you shuffle the deck and notice that one of the cards comes up twice. Confused, you pick it up - the card looks old-fashioned and is definitely not from your working deck, though it also appears too worn out to come from your heirloom deck. It is The Joke - an image of a laughing giant amused by an intrepid bard. On the other side of the card there is a handwritten message in brown ink.
Garran Fain:
Currently between jobs, you use the downtime to take care of your armor and weapons. Your old whetstone doesn’t do its job so well anymore, so you decide to jog down to the smithy to pick up a new one. When you return, a Harrow card awaits you on the table. Alarmed, you inspect the house but there is no sign of breaking and entering. The old-fashioned card depicts a circus Bear riding a unicycle. On the other side of the card a handwritten message in brown ink is addressed to Tymo Flint.
Kyoden:
Another night passed idly without the Oni scouring the city for signs of Gaedren Lamm. You feel depression, boredom and guilt hungrily waiting at the edge of your soul. You tell yourself that you must stay strong if the Oni is ever to have his vengeance, but it’s hard to concentrate within the familiar confines of your home, where everything reminds you of her. You decide to get some fresh air. As you open the door, a small piece of paper that was tucked into the frame from the outside falls down on the floor. You pick it up - it is a Harrow card, depicting a Cricket dressed up in an old-fashioned style. On the other side of the card a handwritten message in brown ink is addressed simply to The Oni.
Edita:
Today is the day for you to get a new tattoo on one of the remaining free spots of your shoulder blade. As you come over to your inking master, she greets you with a smile and says she has a surprise for you. After a few painful hours the image is done, but you have a hard time making out the details on the swollen skin. The master gives you an old-fashioned Harrow card, saying that she found it yesterday and it inspired her to do the image, since she felt it somehow suits your personality. The card depicts a solemn knight kneeling before an Empty Throne. This is not what you expected - but you like the image and feel strangely attached to it. On your way home you spin the card around and notice a handwritten message in brown ink, which you’re pretty sure was not there before.
Alistair:
You go to the market looking both for food and for a job to see if you can join a caravan anytime soon. But nobody is looking for guards on this particular day. Frustrated, you decide to cheer yourself up at a nearby Varisian tent. You spend some time watching the dancers and performers, but when you leave the tent you find your purse gone from your pocket. Luckily you already spent most of what you have taken with you. Double-checking to make sure you haven’t misplaced it, you instead find something small and thin - a Harrow card depicting a Juggler. On the other side of the card therer is a handwritten message in brown ink.
The Message:
I know what Gaedren has done to you. He has wronged me as well. I know where he dwells, yet cannot strike at him. Come to my home at 3 Lancet Street at sunset. Others like you will be there. Gaedren must face his fate, and justice must be done.
Z.
Opening the discussion thread for you guys to get together and finish your aliases. I feel massively underprepared compared to GM KEN and my plan is mostly to wing it for the first few weeks while I build up the prep!
Note that I will use a few more changes compared to Waz Up's original recruitment:
The game will use some of the Unchained rules: Consolidated skills, Background skills, Skill Unlocks, Combat Stamina feat (free for fighters), Automatic Bonus Progression.
I also hope to be able to reorder the AP beginning a bit, in order to postpone encountering Lamm closer to the end of book 1. I will spend the next week on working out the details, and if I don't have the plan by next Monday I will probably scrap it.
At this point in time (probably until September) I may not be able to post every day, but will post at least 4 times a week. I usually have a bit more time on Fridays and weekends, but may sometimes skip weekdays.
I am in a GMT+2 timezone but I sometimes post at weird hours (3:15 AM right now) so I think that US players in my other games don't have issues with that.
For your next assignment, you are asked to report to Venture-Captain Brackett in Almas, the capital of Andoran.
Morning light streams in through the stained glass windows of the Cathedral of Aroden in Almas, where Venture-Captain Brackett sits behind a large, antique desk replete with hair-thin lines that mar its surface like nearly healed scars. He scans a handful of papers before speaking to you and the other assembled guests, among them the no-nonsense wizard Wystorn Telfyr and Major Colson Maldris.
“I recently received news of a kidnapping in Sauerton, up in the northern wine country. Thalia Andares, heir to the Sauerton Red wine fortune and daughter of Consul Tercio Andares, vanished during the Silverglazer Sunday celebration and has not been seen since.”
With a meaningful look, Maldris catches Brackett’s attention, and the two nod in understanding as the major contributes. “Tercio Andares is powerful and widely respected; not only has he been the mayor of the large town for many years, but he is also a strong voice in the Andoren military — even for a consul. The Sauerton Red winery has made him extremely wealthy, and his financial support could be a considerable asset to the Pathfinders’ important work in and around the Worldwound. He seems uninterested in foreign affairs, though, perhaps because it’s politically safer to focus on domestic matters. Even so, he is known to help those who help him.”
“I appreciate the summary, major,” says Brackett. “I am convinced that the Andares’s gratitude would do much to refill our war chest for a struggle that is unlikely to end quickly. When you track down Thalia, as I trust you will do quickly, it is important not only to the Pathfinder Society but perhaps to the whole world that you request funding for the military campaign against the Worldwound. Of course, convincing Tercio to contribute troops and military aid would be even better, but aim for finances first.”
With a sigh, Major Maldris picks up his tricorne hat and prepares to depart. “I would stay longer, but I must make final preparations to travel,” he states in a quiet voice. “While I hope that the Andares family agrees to help the society, I am also wary of this political practice of mutual backscratching. As all of you are in Sauerton—especially those who care for this fine country—remain vigilant for signs of short-sighted corruption and abandonment of Andoran’s founding principles: freedom and democracy. Follow what you believe to be the best course of action, as I will not be available to advise you. Nonetheless, I would appreciate any reports of corruption after the situation is resolved.” After sharing a quick handshake with Brackett and a nod of farewell to the rest of you, he departs, closing the door behind him.
Telfyr breaks the moment of silence that follows by reporting, “My scrying indicates that the young Andares is being held in a building with high ceilings and once-elegant adornments in a style popular in this nation before the People’s Revolt. The structure seems to have sustained extensive fire damage which has not been repaired. Thalia is alive and unhurt, at least for now. She was reading a fresh copy of the essays of Alysande Benedict when I saw her.”
Brackett begins to bring the briefing to a close by concluding, “We have transportation ready to take you to Sauerton as quickly as possible. When you arrive, present this letter to Consul Andares
before you begin your investigation. It introduces you and offers the condolences and assistance of the Pathfinder Society. Not only is this proper etiquette to announce your intentions to the mayor, but Thalia vanished from the Andares manor. Someone there should be able to make sense of Telfyr’s visions.
Telfyr frowns at Brackett’s diction. “Scrying, Brackett, is diff–“ “Alright, yes, scrying,” the venture-captain concedes as he pushes a sealed letter across the table. “Introductions, rescue operation, then negotiation for funding and possible military support. Make any questions quick; you’ve got a boat to catch.”
Criscius, Jacques, Elemenar, Zorahas - welcome to the game! This one takes place in a different part of the world - Andoran, and when reading the scenario I sometimes felt like I'm reading the news. If you aren't familiar with how Andoran works, Knowledge (local) will see extensive use, though there will also be local NPCs to help you out. Suffice to say it is a fantasy version of USA.
Once in Kerse, it is easy to get directions to the manor home of Temel Passad - it seems the entire city knows the prominent Kalistocrat, and his name is spoken with utmost respect. You find your way to an opulent manor, and upon presenting your wayfinder are quickly ushered in by a pair of uniformed servants into a richly decorated parlor.
"The Master offers his apologies for a delay, but he is currently finishing an important business and will be with you as soon as he can. Please make yourself comfortable." With that, the perfectly schooled servants retreat, leaving you to once again ponder the contents of the mission briefing, while treating yourself to the finest Chelish wine and a gleaming silver plate of delicate sweetmeats.
Sealed Mission Briefing:
Pathfinders,
Society agents recently learned of a lost, previously undocumented Sky Citadel in what was once Sarkoris, the land now consumed by the Worldwound. As we cannot push into that demon-infested wasteland ourselves, we have recruited dwarven aid in the dangerous expedition. In exchange for military assistance and historical expertise, the dwarves will have the opportunity to reclaim this lost stronghold. Two weeks ago, Highhelm sent an entourage of diplomats and tacticians north toward Mendev to meet with Venture-Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury to discuss terms and develop a plan of attack. When they failed to arrive in a timely fashion, Jorsal commissioned sending magic to contact Rakuska Ingardam, the mission’s leader. Rakuska’s return message—cut off due to the magic’s limit—was as follows:
“Passed Xer, paid our way, but attacked and overcome. Razmiri priests hold us for unknown purpose. We are held somewhere near the Glass River at…”
One of several possible places they are held is the Gray Revelation Inn, about thirty miles east of Xer — we suspect the Razmiri priesthood uses the site to interrogate prisoners. You must investigate and liberate the three dwarven envoys — if indeed that is where they are imprisoned — and then escort them to Mendev. Accompanying you are two other dwarves who will take the captured envoys’ places if you aren’t successful: merchant Metella Raugar and respected Pahmet mystic Amauhak. The Kalistocrat Temel Passad, a Druman with whom we have dealt in the past, has volunteered a boat to transport you north, and I see little reason why we should not take him up on this offer. Building a good working relationship with one or more influential merchants would be to everyone’s benefit.
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin is looking for skilled and reliable agents to aid in locating the dwarven envoys to Worldwound, who have gone missing en route, and ensure that the Society's mission reaches Mendev.
Those who are willing to take up the offer and the risks involved, are to report to Temel Passad in the Druman capital of Kerse. You will find more details in the mission briefing after you enroll.
I have some experience with running/playing Pathfinder, but this is my first attempt to run a PFS game, so I might be confused about things, particularly when it comes to reporting or PFS-specific conventions. So I would like to get at least one player who has been a PFS PbP GM and is willing to answer newbie questions. I would prefer to stick with 4 players at the table.
The town of Torch is not going through the best of times. Eight days ago, the famous violet flame, after which the town was named, has stopped coming from the top of the Black Hill. This is a headache for the town’s famous metalworking industry, as the unnaturally hot flame allowed for cheap smelting of adamantite and rarer skymetals. The town is filling up with frustrated miners and scavengers coming to sell the ore nobody buys, and equally frustrated traders coming to buy the skymetal goods nobody sells. The town has also come to rely on the flame for incinerating its waste, and by now a growing smell of rot is starting to spread across the households. To make matters worse, actual splitting headaches have started to spread among the town populace like plague - some speculate they are connected with the piles of refuse contaminating the town’s water supply again after it has been cleansed in the Crowfeather Palace, others place the blame on the strange fluids seeping from the top of the Black Hill from where the violet flame once burned.
Citizens are concerned about the future, since so far the ungodly taxes and tariffs imposed by the Technic League on the skymetal profits have bought the town relative autonomy and freedom. All manners of rumors are starting to spread - some imply that the Technic League themselves are behind the ordeal, in a plot to take over the place once the town accrues enough debt, and others say that the cabal is so outraged at the loss of income that they managed to persuade the Black Sovereign himself to visit the town to find out who is responsible. Such visits, it is added in hushed tone, never end without a few people brutally executed and a few technological marvels "confiscated", androids among them.
Since the day the flame has gone out, the town’s eyes were set on Khonnir Baine - a councilman, inventor, businessman and the closest person you have to what humans call "a friend". Khonnir has done a lot for the town’s prosperity since he came here from Chesed a few years back with his tomboy daughter Val, including promoting acceptance of androids. Always the responsible leader but also an ever-curious researcher, Khonnir set about to investigate the Torch hinterlands, soon returning with the news of heretofore undiscovered caverns below the town. The town council has promptly announced a 2000gp reward for exploring the caverns and finding out if there’s anything in them that could have disturbed the flame, but the first two groups of volunteers never returned. Undeterred, Khonnir has gathered his own party of explorers and managed to return alive five days ago. They spoke of dangers from the Darklands and of technological ruins beneath the town, presenting a deactivated automaton they have managed to salvage as proof. With their hopes restored, the council have sent an out-of-town adventuring group devoted to Brigh to investigate the ruins, only to have them disappear again. Two days ago, Khonnir’s group made their second foray, this time prepared to face technology rather than wild critters. However, they have not reported back.
With Khonnir’s disappearance, it seems that Torch is quickly losing all hope. Some citizens begin packing up their things. The council has doubled the reward for returning Khonnir’s body to 4000gp, prepared to bring him back from the dead. In the unlikely event he is returned alive, they will also throw in the scroll of resurrection they kept for this purpose. So far, however, no brave souls have stepped in to tread where so many before them have perished. But of course, the least fortunate person in town right now is probably Khonnir’s daugher Val. The normally cheerful and active girl has holed up in “the Foundry Tavern”, the Baine family establishment, keeping it empty of patrons and ready to host any adventurers willing to mount the rescue attempt.
It is on its doorstep where you find yourself, drawn there in part by your routine habits, and in part by knowing from the time you’ve spent among humans that, unlike most androids, it is not desirable to leave them alone for long when they are distressed. And it seems that the folk wisdom, this peculiar heuristics derived from inaccurate reports of isolated accidents across centuries, is inscrutably right again, for as you approach the tavern, you hear something startling—a scream of terror and the sound of crashing and mayhem coming from Khonnir’s small stone house behind the tavern!
And we open right into action! Feel free to describe your time in Torch and the approach to the tavern. I’ll post the map link later today.
EDIT: and the map link is up!
Welcome!
Before we begin the game proper, I still have a few nitpicks about the characters:
Fifteen - I can't see which background skills you have chosen. Also, you can't take the Androffan language without either the appropriate trait or a rank in Social.
Baleiro - I don't see where your FCB went, I think you are entitled either to one more HP or to one more skill rank. Also you can have up to 5 known extracts in your formula book.
Rur Capek - seeing as we have a bona fide rogue in the party, perhaps you would want to switch your Local Ties trait to Knowledge (Engineering)?
Hi everyone,
I’ve decided to make good use out of my Humble Bundle purchase and run an Iron Gods campaign. But I’d like to limit the party to 3 players only. To compensate, we will be playing gestalt characters. The in-game reason for this is that your characters are all androids, who, for some reason, have recently began remembering one of their previous lives. This can be a memory of a distant past on a distant world, or just one or two 'generations' back - but it came suddenly and unexpectedly, and contained images not unlike those of the strange metal ruins dotting Numerian landscape.
Character creation:
Race: Android. To increase the party diversity, I will also allow the racial options from the Book of Heroic Races: Advanced Androids by Jon Brazer Enterprises. Some of those are available on d20pfsrd, but the book has more, plus a few pages of flavor text. It's still just fine if everyone makes standard androids, as long as you observe the character considerations in the next spoiler.
Class: Gestalt combo of any two Paizo classes. If a class has the Unchained version, please use that.
Ability Scores: 20 point buy, 18-8 before racial modifiers.
Traits: Two, one from the player’s guide.
Alignment: A strong preference for non-Chaotic, non-Evil. Even if you decide to go all HK-47, make sure your character is not up to disrupting the party and the plot.
Background: Try to not go overboard - I think 2-5 paragraphs is usually enough to convey the motivation your character has to undertake the adventure, and to showcase your writing chops while you're at it.
The game will use some of the Unchained rules: Consolidated skills, Background skills, Skill Unlocks, Combat Stamina feat (free for fighters), Automatic Bonus Progression.
Character considerations:
Please remember that Androids in PF are not robots. They have living human souls inhabiting a near-perfect (and at times, perfected) replica of a human body. The key difference is really nanites doing the function of hormones or vegetative system. Thus, they are capable of feeling most human senses - pain, hunger, temperature, physical enjoyment, and of expressing almost any human emotion - but through an either altered or dulled perspective. E.g. they may be immune to fear, but they can run for their life if they assess the situation as dangerous. They may not experience sex drive - but they can value someone caring for them and begin caring for someone in return, etc.
Your brain has preserved and somehow unlocked a memory of actions your body has taken while inhabited by a different soul. It is entirely possible that your previous self is disgusting to the current one. On the contrary, it could have been a paragon of perfection to which you can now only aspire. Either way, this predicament makes you unique amongst androids and other humanoids you knew so far. This is a great boon - but at times, it could become a danger too.
While your body is a marvelous technological creation, this in and of itself makes you no more qualified as a technologist than any random human as a doctor. Perhaps even less as nanites take care of most of your body's inner workings, so fewer things can go wrong. Keen intellect does help you learn quicker but you don't come with much pre-packaged knowledge. Speaking of intellect, while your brain is technically a computer, it works entirely differently from the modern computers in real life, and even if there might be a binary code underpinning it somewhere, your thought processes are countless levels of abstraction above it.
People from the waiting thread after the previous IG recruitment are welcome to apply, however due to the rules changes you’d still need to rebuild your character even if you made an android for that game.
I'm not sure how much interest this idea will generate. I plan to make the selection before Monday Feb 20th if I get enough applicants by then.
