A somewhat common sight along the eastern shores of the Earth Kingdom and on the Eastern Air Nomads islands, the cranehawk is an opportunistic predator and scavenger, perfectly at ease stealing freshly slain prey from more powerful but slower carnivores. Still, despite its dubious morals, its swift and precise flight and hunting techniques has inspired many airbenders to emulate its style, and the peculiar raptor even gave a name to an infamous, if seldom used, Pai-Sho strategy. Ignorant of the impact it had on the human inhabitants of the world, the cranehawk keeps on with its life, stealing kills and prey to other animals.
THE CRANEHAWK GAMBIT ***Prologue: setting the board***
«On the route to Mu-Nyao, Southern Earth Kingdom | About sunset | hot, dry, windy | day 10 since leaving Gaoling; early Autumn»
“C’mon, girl, we’re running out of daylight!” the coarse voice of caravan-master Ghui carries over in the empty plains, as his teenage niece Ima unties the ostrich horses from the four large carts and ties them together for the night.
Pao-Je and the other merchants are preparing the fireplace. This whole region consists of dry prairies whose yellowish grass reaches just short of hip-height. Lighting a fire incautiously can trigger a catastrophic reaction and burn the whole region down. They take great care of removing the grass and keep the fuel contained.
“Oh, it will be fine. I’ll keep an eye on it, and this young lad will help me, isn’t that so?” Kari Itori, the agrarian technician from the Fire Nation, grabs Zanto under her arm and brings him close to the clearing in the tall grass where a circle of rocks has been made “We will take turns controlling the fire so that it doesn’t spread. It is a nice exercise in control and restrain… something I sense you need.” the gray-haired woman winks at Zanto, and some of the merchants chuckle.
“Maybe we’ll have rain instead, guys. Listen!” very far away, distant thunders announce, perhaps, a storm.
“Mpfff” mutters Ghui “Not really the season for storms. Guards, please help Ima, her head’s in some clouds, she’ll take all night untying the beasts.”
The White Lotus agents look at each other. Their cover has them hired as guards for the caravan. A group of capable warriors, they had very little trouble with the few bandits encountered along the trip; their only challenge was the enraged saber-toothed moose-tiger, a couple days back. They almost lost one of Pao-Je carts, and the snooty head merchant was very vocal about the trouble they would face should that happen for real.
Still, they know that their real assignment will begin once in Mu-Nyao, where their contact will be.
“I can do this myself…” Ima sticks out her tongue at her uncle, but she doesn’t mind the company, especially Kalden’s. The roguish air-bender has immediately grabbed the young girl’s attention and she seems very interested in whatever “war story” the one-eyed airbender can tell her. “I bet this is pretty boring… you guys must’ve faced who knows what dangers in your life, right?” she smiles a hopeful smile at the Lotus agents, eager to hear some dashing tale of heroics.
____________________
And here we go!
The Campaign Info tab has a little information on your fellow travelers. For now, just introductory role-play unless you wish to use any ability. Feel free to make up past stories, true or false, about your deeds. Ask if there’s anything not clear.
We will go through your sheets, helping those unfamiliar with the system to make a fun and fully functioning character.
Please create an alias for your character. If you could copy/paste the sheet template I linked in the first post of the Recruitment, that would be very helpful for me to look at your sheet and help you out with it. If you have very little knowledge of the system, I can help you step by step, just lay out in this thread what you wish your character to be able to do.
This is the recruitment thread for a Mutants & Masterminds 3rd edition game set in the world of “Avatar: the Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra” (here’s the Interest Check thread, where it all started).
Things that I look for in applicants are knowledge of the show’s universe, a reasonable familiarity with the game system, good writing skills (English is my second language, and it takes quite a bit of effort to write properly: poor grammar or lazy writing just gets on my nerves), and a commitment to post at least once every two days, perhaps a bit faster if we’re lucky. Longer absences can happen of course, just give me a warning so I don’t wait for you. If you start disappearing very often without warning, I may eliminate you from the game to speed things up for the others.
The tone would be similar to that of the shows (light-hearted, but not childish and hopefully quite mature).
Setting
We will be playing before Aang’s time, roughly 60 years before the Fire Nation started the Hundred Years War and used Sozin’s Comet to wipe out air-benders. The current avatar is a fire-bender named Roku, but he is just a teenage trainee traveling the world to learn about his duties and his powers.
There is no stigma attached to being a fire-bender, and the Air Nomads are well and alive in their temples. The world is more or less at peace, barring some minor conflicts between neighboring countries.
Characters creation – the fluff
The PCs will be recruit into the Order of the White Lotus – a world-spanning secret society dedicated to truth, knowledge and peace. The adventure will start when you gather, after your initiation, for your first assignment together.
I’d rather not see kid characters: late teenagers and adults are best, like the current team Korra.
Focus more on personality and character traits than on backstory. Your backstory is important if it affects what you do today, but delve into it just as far as it is necessary. Toph’s backstory is extremely simple, could be summed up in two or three sentences, but her personality is extremely well-defined. Zuko on the other hand is such a complex character because of his complicated past. Both paths lead to a good character, but beware of lengthy backstories for an otherwise flat character.
I’d appreciate if you could keep the naming conventions of the show (Fire Nation is simil-Japanese, Earth Kingdom simil-Chinese, Air Nomads simil-Tibetan and Water Tribes simil-Inuit).
Characters creation – the crunch
PCs will be PL 9 – 135 pp.
For those of you less familiar with the system, PL 10 is what is usually considered “average superhero” so Spiderman, most X-men, minor Justice Leaguers such as Green Arrow or Black Canary, etc…
PL 9 are Mako and Bolin; PL 9 is Zuko during the first episodes, Sokka during the last ones. The White Lotus Masters that take back Ba Sing Se in the finale are around PL 12 each, and a fully trained avatar rockin’ the Avatar State probably gets up to PL 13-14 (14 is where the official guidelines for the DC Universe put Green Lantern).
Trade-offs are encouraged of course.
Here’s a little primer on powers – not extensive, just my take.
Powers primer:
Bending styles
This is my take on the four elemental styles. All four can provide some sort of attack, of course, but defense, movement and utility powers are a bit different. I didn’t cover everything: clever applications are of course welcome (like Toph’s Earth-bending Tremorsense and lie detector).
Benders can be either focused solely on their element (like Katara and Toph) or be also very good hand to hand fighters (such as Iroh and Zuko), with distinct styles that may or may not have synergy with their bending (Zuko’s dual dao braodswords style is pretty much independent from his firebending).
Air-bending
Air-bending is a fast and mobile style. It can provide speed, flight and other movement powers. Defensively, it should not provide Protection, but rather Deflect and Defense-enhancing powers. Attacks are usually something non-lethal, maybe high accuracy/low damage shifted. Utility powers like Move Object are viable.
Fire-bending
Fire-bending is mostly about offensive power. Different types of damage, from quick rapid attacks to huge area-shaped fireballs; some exotic-saves Afflictions like heat-induced Fatigue; stuff like that. It should have little defensive capabilities (except maybe against its own element), but can provide some good movement powers, firerunning and even a clumsy form of jet-powered flight at high levels. Not much in terms of utility powers, but I’m open to clever ideas.
Lightning can provide a little variety, but it is still mostly attacks.
Water-bending
Water-bending is the most versatile style – virtually anything can be done with it. Water and ice walls can provide defense and protection, there’s some good attacks, snares, stuns; movement powers like sliding on ice surfaces you just created, and even healing! This makes up for the fact that it is the most easily crippled style: air and fire are always available, and most civilization are built on earth rather than on ice or water. If you bring with yourself a waterskin for emergencies, it will provide you with enough water for some of your powers, but not the whole thing. Conversely, in open waters you’ll probably have an advantage.
Earth-bending
Earth-bending is about solidity, and a stable stance. In addition to your usual variety of attacks, Protection and especially Create Object are probably your main powers; the latter can be used with great precision in large open rocky areas. Movement-wise, the show is a bit inconsistent: it should be the most rooted and stable style, but we see earth-benders run on walls, and jump hundreds of feet when pushed by earth pillars. Do something in the middle.
Metal-bending has not been discovered yet, sorry.
I’d rather not see Energy-bending.
Other powers
There’s also other types of powers: Ty Lee chi-blocking jabs, for example, could be a martial arts stance that include paralyzing or stunning Affliction and Nullify [bending]. A very spiritual character, like guru Pathik or Jinora, may have empathic powers like Super-senses, Healing, ESP, or even a limited boost to ability scores.
Also, this being a fantasy/wuxia world, there’s lots Powers with the Training descriptor: a few ranks in Speed or Leap (just how far can Ty Lee jump?) or other movement powers, a rank in Protection to represent a tough hide... there are many possibilities.
Technology
Technology isn’t very advanced, the steam-powered machines of the Fire Nations are in their early stages. I may get behind a fire-bender who uses machines, but remember, those shouldn’t be more complex than those seen on the show.
Non-powered characters
They’re just as good as the benders! A good skill monkey, or a weapon master (maybe with a Device as his special/ancestral weapon) are always good candidates, I’d love to have them on board.
Animals
Weird animals are a big part of the world’s charm. However, since a giant flying bison is just as powerful as a PL 9 bender (if not more), if you want to have a critter you need to pay for him via the Sidekick/Minion advantage – which is expensive, so it is a fair trade-off.
I am very fastidious about character sheets, I like them all in the same format and properly emboldened. I have created a template that you can fill out and copy/paste in your alias’s profile.
CHARACTER SELECTION
You don’t need to create an alias or complete your sheet until you are selected.
An application would be considered complete when you post, in a single message, the following (spoiler what you wish except name and concept):
Name: self-explanatory
Concept: two or three sentences summing up personality and powers
Backstory: self-explanatory
Personality: self-explanatory
Description: pictures are always nice
Build preview: trade-offs; important ability scores, advantages, and skills; rough sketch of the power-set and combat abilities
Submissions will stay open for a while (at least until July 31st, possibly more).
Feel free to ask questions and help, both to flesh out the fluff and to build the crunch.
This is an interest check thread for a game set in the world of “Avatar: the Last Airbender” and “The Legend of Korra”. The actual recruitment thread will happen only if I get enough people interested.
I’d like the players to be a bit familiar with the world and the show (If I say “Ba Sing Se” you should know what I’m talking about).
Thinking about the timeline, I believe a good moment to set the game is before the events of Avatar: The Last Airbender – actually, before the Hundred Years War. It will be set during Avatar Roku’s training – around 60 BSC for those who know the timeline.
The four elements are at peace (barring small, local fights between neighboring counties). There is no stigma attached to being a fire-bender and the Air Nomads are well and alive.
The hook is that you will be recruits into the Order of the White Lotus. I’d rather not see kid characters: late teenagers and adults are best, much like the current team Korra.
The game system will be Mutants & Masterminds, a system built for superheroes but that can easily accommodate for any type of character: it will be easy to build a very specific set of element-based powers and balance them with a non-powered character.
I am equally familiar with 2nd edition and 3rd edition M&M. I believe that both system are great, striking a good balance between abstraction and detail. I will ask any who is interested to express an opinion on which edition they prefer.
Early evening, 21st of Neth (mid-autumn), 4712 Age of Lost Omens
Tiboros Manor, wealthy neighborhood of Nisroch, coastal Nidal
The waning sun casts a pale light as it sets behind the roofs and down into the Arcadian Ocean: in the halls of the Tiboros Manor, the help is lighting candles while wearing metal collars with chains around their neck (as tradition for Nidalese servants), making the room even creepier.
Tiboros Manor is actually quite tame and comfortable compared to the mansions of other, more fanatic Kuthonite nobles, but it is still unnerving for outsiders: the walls are decorated with metal chains holding up oil paintings depicting recognized kuthonite saints, such as Saint Martion, bound and shackled in an expression of ecstasy as blood drips from his wounds. The gentle brush strokes violently clash with the darkness of the subject, and the black and red tapestry covering most walls and floors does not help cheering up the room.
However the Tiboros have been nothing but perfect hosts so far, making sure your mounts were taken care of and offering spicy red tea with dark bran cookies. You are all around a large mahogany table, a cup of scalding hot tea in front of each of you.
At the head of the table sits Titos Tiboros, present head of the family. He is a tall and lanky man with an emaciated face and a spotty beard: he looks older than his fortyfive years.
At his left Leona Tiboros, his wife, does her best to do the honors of the house: she invites you to sit and to try the tea. You notice she sips it even if it is clearly undrinkably hot: a small act of devotion to the Lord of Pain, one of many, judging from her appearance.
The sleeveless blouse she is wearing reveals Lady Leona’s arms, a stunning work of pain and beauty: every inch, from shoulder to wrist, is covered in ritual scarring. Not the crude cuts of the fanatics: these scars are clearly made by professional kuthonite artists, and the wavy motif rolls over and around the Lady’s arms as a beautiful, drawing thorny roses with the scar tissue.
Both Lord Titos and Lady Leona lack the left pinky finger – a common ritual amputation among noble kuthonites, symbolizing the fact that they don’t need their hands to work.
Finally is Lord Titos who talks.
“Thank you all for coming. As it was explained to you, our daughter Anya married Stepan Boroi, the Baron of Karpad, about a year ago. He was from a solid family and had a good income, and he followed a most welcome path of courtship that won over our little girl.” a faint smile makes his way on Lady Leona’s face, but it quickly disappears as the husband continues “In her letters, Anya describes her husband as succumbing to paranoid and irrational behaviors from time to time, but nothing worrisome – until, two months ago, little Marek” they both sigh in hope “our grand-child we have yet to meet, was born. Anya wrote that Stepan was getting worse, then... then three weeks ago the letters stopped altogether, and now we fear for our family. Do you… do you think you can help us?” two servants lift upon the table small chest lacquered in black and red. Lord Titos opens the chest, revealing no less than five thousand golden coins “Our daughter mean everything to us – there is no price we would not pay. Can you travel to Karpad and bring us news of our daughter and her child?”
Ihro:
Ihro is still unsure about this. Ok, they’re treating him well, but Nine Hells, are these people weird! If this is a good example of life outside the monastery, he might as well stayed shut inside.
That morning, when a chain-wearing servant found him practicing his forms in the birch park in Nisroch, he promised a good reward for this job… but now he’s wondering if it really is a good cause…
Taldash:
Titos and Leona seem to have aged half a decade in the last month. Even if Taldash initially took up a job for them in hope to convert the family to a more open and good-natured religion, in these months he learned that while sporting some very disturbing habits, happiness and family can be found even in a kuthonite household. He’s very worried that this trouble with their daughter can send them in a self-destructive spiral deep into the clutches of the more fanatical followers of the Midnight Lord. This situation needs to be solved.
Saravyn:
The pay is good, the opportunities to learn something about the Plane of Shadow ample, and while sobbing and clearly distraught, the Tiboros are giving Saravyn and the others enough information on how to help. This looks like a profitable job to the wizard, even if the ragtag bunch of companions he finds himself to work with seem to have less in common with him than usual.
Titania:
In her many travles as a caravan guard, Titania has been halfway around Golarion, but Nidal still looks off-putting to her. There is something unnerving about this nobility keeping good manners and gentle demeanor when their god asks for blood and pain. Anyway, she won’t be here for long. The pay is good and they’re asking them to travel through the woods to a small barony, far from this weird city.
Dario:
Dario is having a field day. These crazy people in Nidal have so many weird habits to fill an entire thesis about the repercussions of the cult of Zon-Kuthon in high society. Every moment he passes here finds out a new custom.
Not only that, he’s getting paid to travel to a rural community: perfect to study the contrast with the city.
Ok, this will be a small prologue. The adventure properly begins with your arrival at Karpad, the small barony, but I wanted to introduce you to the Tiboros family who pays the bills in this adventure.
There is about two weeks of travel from Nisroch to Karpad, mostly in the woods, so the five of you, when the adventure starts, should already be well acquainted with one another.
Think of this prologue as free-form roleplaying: you just got the money and the quest, and you are preparing for the trip in the Tiboros Mansion. Talk among yourselves, describe your actions, etc…
I’ll give you three of four days while I review your crunch and prepare the adventure properly. We are starting with Chapter One Sunday 25th or Monday 26th.
In northern Nidal, far from the Umbral Court of Ridwan and from the most fanatic among the Zon-Kuthon priests, life proceeds more or less like in any other kingdom. Visitors may be put off by the ritual scarring the citizen are subject to, but they themselves see it now as a quirky tradition of a strict deity rather than an imposition from an evil cult. Most people cut a shallow wound on their chest every Sunday (they need healthy hands to work the land), and are happy to get a lawful and ordered community in return.
You find yourself in Nisroch, called by the wealthy Tiboros family. Their daughter Anya married a small baron from the countryside a year ago, and in her letters she writes of the increasing paranoia of her husband. She now has a newborn to think about, and the Tiboros, fearing for the well-being of their yet unmet grandchild, are asking you to travel to Karpad, the aforementioned small barony, and bring back news of Anya; or even help her, should her troubles have become worrisome in the meantime.
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Hello all. I’m looking for 5 players interested in the Midnight Mirror adventure module. It will be run as a standalone adventure with little to no variation on my side.
The module starts off as a very small sandbox and has a second part more structured. It has an investigative part, a lot of role-playing and moral choices, and some good and tough fights. It is set in a village worshipping Zon-Kuthon, the Midnight Lord of Pain, but is less “fanatical backwater maniacs” and more “let’s humor the old priest who wants us to prick our fingers before he blesses us”. It’s not solely horror-themed, no more than most adventures. It has a good mix of tragedy, roleplaying and regular heroics.
For combat I will use maps when the module provides them.
Submissions will be open probably until Saturday 17th, maybe more if needed.
The submissions need to follow this format:
Name Alignment, Race, Class (archetype) Short description (polearm fighter with heavy armor focused on maneuvers; draconic (silver) sorcerer focused on evocation spells and with very good social skills; fighter/alchemist focused on mutagen use with good Knowledges; etc...)
Campaign trait picked (see below)
Background and personality (the ideal length for this section is 300-600 words in total. Use spoilers please)
I don’t want to force you to build a 4th level sheet before you are selected. If you like statting, go ahead and build the complete character, but posting the final sheet won’t be a plus in the selection process (most likely I won’t even read it). Also be warned that I like sheets submitted in a standard template (you can see my aliases), so I may ask you to change your formatting. Read the Character Creation section anyway before submitting.
Character creation:
Material allowed: any Paizo, nothing 3PP. If you have on your sheet something not from CR, APG, UCo, UM, ARG, please put a link to a srd document or at the very least write the manual you picked it from.
Level: 4th
Ability scores: 20 Point Buy (you get of course the +1 of 4th level).
Races: Any Core race plus orc, tiefling, aasimar. You can also be a fetchling but you have to pick the related campaign trait (see below). Alternate racial traits are allowed, but not the many different kinds of tieflings and aasimars from Blood of... You can be a spawn of a kyton or an azata or a daemon or whatever fluff-wise, but there’s no mechanical changes from the standard tiefling/aasimar.
Alignments: non-evil are strongly preferred. Try to make characters that can work well in a group. Seeing as the setting has an “easy-going Kuthonites” vibe, clerics and paladins and inquisitors of good faiths should be a lot of fun to play!
Classes: any Paizo class and archetype from official sources, except a Synthesist Summoner. Guns follow the emerging firearms rules.
Traits: 2 traits from any source (except from Adventure Paths), plus 1 custom-made campaign trait (see below).
HP: as PFS.
Gear: 6000 gp. Nothing can be created beforehand, everything must be bought.
Campaign traits:
In service of the Tiboros family: the Tiboros family in Nisroch is very wealthy, and among its loyal employees you have been chosen to help Anya. Living in a Kuthonite household made you tough: you gain +1 trait bonus on saves against Necromancy effects and spells with the Evil descriptor.
Old friend of the Tiboros: albeit weird in their worshipping of the Midnight Lord of Pain, the Tiboros are nice people: you remember seeing little Anya growing up and having drinks with her parents. Your frequentation maid you tolerant: you gain +1 trait bonus on Diplomacy and Sense Motive, and one is always a class skill for you.
Planes expert: you are a scholar of the Outer Planes, and Karpad is notorious for its link to the Plane of Shadow. You gain +2 trait bonus on Knowledge (planes) and this is always a class skill for you.
Pathfinder: this sounds like a juicy story, and you are lucky to have been around when the Tiboros asked for help. This will make it into the Chronicles, you know it! You start with a free wayfinder and gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge [history].
Fetchling: Karpad is somehow renowned for hosting an unusually large community of fetchlings, and you are curious to see how your people live in this village. You can choose the fetchling race.
There’s something about Kuthonites: you have a deep interest in seeing how normal kuthonites live, either because you are fascinated by the alien religion or because you wish to eradicate it. You gain +1 trait bonus on Knowledge [religion] (this bonus increases to +2 when dealing with Zon-Kuthon related matters). In addition, you are either proficient with the spiked chain, or get Aklo as a bonus language.
From the Woods: Karpad, as most northern Nidal, is set in large forest knows as the Uskwood – a type of territory you know very well. You gain +1 trait bonus on Handle Animal and Survival, and one of those is a class skill for you.
Dark soul: after living for a while in the shadowy Nidal, a bit of darkness slipped into your heart. You gain +1 trait bonus on Intimidate checks and when attacking concealed enemies you reduce the miss chance by 10%.
The "disc one final boss" of my campaign is coming up, and I want it to be an epic an very hard battle. I would not mind one of the PCs dying, I have the resurrection subplot ready, but it is by no mean a necessity.
they have standard equipment for their level and the PCs are not really optimized, but still built in a smart way.
The fight will put them against the champions of a heavily LN deity. I was thinking of having them face a Cleric, an (alternate) Paladin and an Inquisitor, all level 10.
The paladin will have Smite Chaos instead of Evil (3/5 PCs are chaotic).
Do you think this will be hard enough, too hard, too easy? SHould I equip them as PCs or NPCs?
If everything goes as I imagine, the PCs will storm a tower and find these 3 defending a vault - so both parties will have time to cast preparatory spells, but the space will be more or less confined.
One of my players asked me for a magic shield with several properties.
Neither he nor I are very good at crafting items, so I'm asking for your help.
He would like a shield to protect him from area damage spells such a fireball, etc... something akin to Evasion. Also, his PC shield-bashes sometimes, so a minor improvement in the offensive department is welcome, although absolutely not mandatory.
Now a ring of Evasion costs 25000 gp.
The budget for this item hovers around 10000-15000 gp, so clearly we need to do something a lot less powerful.
I am not a fan of per-day uses on magic weapons, but seems to me it is one of the few viable ways. Another way could be a shield that increases Ref saves, but that seems a bit lame.
Can any of you suggest a rules-legal item, balanced for an 8th level PC, with the aforementioned budget, that can help against area damage spells?
Noon, third day of the month of Neth, middle of the autumn season.
You departed this morning from the Lonely Chimney, a roadside inn between Redleaf and Carrion Hill, just fifteen miles south of your destination. The inn was cold and damp, empty but for the five of you and Luvick, the lame and melancholic innkeeper. After breaking fast with dark bread, eggs and goat milk you decided to travel together the remaining miles to the Hill.
One would be forgiven if he forgot you are in the middle of the morning: thick, lead-colored clouds cover the sky from horizon to horizon, and the grey fog shows no sign of getting thinner the closer you get to midday.
From time to time a cold, light rain pours from the sky, making your feet sink even deeper in the muddy road and the soaked coats all the more heavy upon your shoulders.
Four hours after your departure from the inn the path gets out of a fir thicket and in front of you appears the hump of land that hosts Carrion Hill. The waters of the Kingfisher river splash softly in the muffling fog, and even in the middle of a workday almost no sound comes from the city.
I’ll give you a couple of posts to get yourself acquainted with each other – you walked together all morning after all – then you’ll proceed into the town
Here we go with the discussion Thread! PC please report. In the Campaign Info tab you can see a link to google docs document with a brief, spoiler-free description of Carrion Hill. You might want to read that - it is equivalent to what an innkeeper on the road for Carrion Hill might tell you.
Those ancients who first ruled Carrion Hill raised great
basalt towers and dug vast chambers to hold their lore in
enormous libraries of carved stone tablets and timeless,
magically preserved tomes. The Varisians, seeing much to
remind them of the magic and libraries of Thassilon, were
quick to destroy these blasphemous repositories when they
found them, yet they were just as quick to build over those
ruins. In their haste to do so, most of the hidden chambers
were missed. […]
Exploration of the underground labyrinths below
Carrion Hill has long drawn adventurers in search of
hidden treasure, yet the dangers below are not insignificant.
[…]
The Pc's find themselves entering a race against the clock,
steeped deep within macabre horror, and a sense of crushing
despair.
I’m thinking about running the Carrion Hill adventure module. Seems to me it’s among the best ones and we don’t see many non-1st level adventures on these boards.
For those of you who don’t know it is set in Carrion Hill, a small city sitting on the Kingfisher River in Ustalav, whose economy thrives on mittenstone (a unique building material exported by the hill). The city’s unfortunate name is due to being built upon countless ruins of past civilizations: below the city there is a labyrinth of dungeons belonging to many different eras of the world.
The module’s mood is one of gritty horror and madness, the setting is urban, the scope is mostly investigation and dungeon delving.
I’m looking for 4-5 players; submissions will be open for a few days at least.
The adventure is a published module: your backstory won’t really be woven into the game, so if you want you can leave it bare bones. What I’d really like to see instead is personality, quirks, ethics, motivations, view of the world.
You are 5th level adventurers, and the module starts with the usual “brave heroes needed!” Why did you answer? Why are you in Ustalav in the first place? This bit about your personality is important for your submission – even more so than a completed sheet. I look forward to the exchanges between PCs when faced with the weird stuff that goes on in this adventure.
Crunch:
Manuals: nothing from 3rd party. Anything not from Core rulebook or Advanced player’s guide please mark it with the corresponding manual in the sheet or link from d20pfsrd.
Ability Scores: 20 point buy; you also have the +1 from 4th level
Level: 5th. It’s a 36-page module, probably there won’t be occasion for leveling up.
Races: Only core races. Alternate racial traits are allowed.
Alignment: non-evil are strongly preferred. Try to make characters that can work together with others.
Classes: any class and archetypes from Paizo is ok. There are no guns in the adventure, but in the world we are in the “emerging firearms” phase, so you can be a gun using class if you want. Oriental classes (ninja, samurai and monk) are a bit of an ill fit in the gothic horror setting, but I won’t veto them altogether.
HP: as PFS (first full, then average rounded up)
Traits: 2 traits from official, non-adventure-related sources.
Gear: 6000 GP. Nothing can be created beforehand, every item must be bought. Extra known spells (for wizard, witch, alchemist, magus) cost as much as a scroll.
I’d like you to submit your sheet in the standard template that Paizo uses for NPCs. Of course if you wish to further divide and explain your stats feel free to do so, but your sheet should have at least this layout.
Spoiler:
Name
Gender race class (archetype) lvl
AL size type (subtype)
Initiative +X ; Senses: special senses, Perception +X
/* Defense */ AC X, touch X, flat-footed X (+X dex, +X armor, etc…)
HP XX (XdY+Z)
Fort +X, Ref +X, Will +X
Special defenses:
/* Offense */ Speed XX feet
Melee weapon +X (XdY, x3),
Ranged weapon +X (XdY, 19/20x2)
Special attacks:
Spellcasting
/* Statistics */ Str XX, Dex XX, Con XX, Int XX, Wis XX, Car XX
BA +X; CMB +X; CMD X
It is almost dawn now at the Everdusk Fortress.
Dagor Morthis has summoned all of you to the Sundeath Chamber. Far from being a creepy dungeon, the so called Sundeath Chamber is a vast salon just before the master’s study and boudoir; it opens on an east-facing solarium and keeps much of the warmth and tasteful furniture that Jarmille Manor had before your Master claimed it from a spoiled noble family and renamed it Everdusk Fortress. There are signs hinting at a change in ownership though: the dark curtains decorated with hellish runes, a cabinet full of carefully labeled poisons, a chalice full of crystal clear liquid where the eye ripped from the squire’s face floats lazily, and a bloody knife sitting on the delightfully carved mahogany table – which a man covered in purulent bandages is trying to clean.
Ichabod has been in the salon for a while now, cleaning. Lillianna lies down on a soft and dusty sofa a few feet away, and the rest of you just got in.
For a while you are all staring at the dark curtain that separates the salon from the Master’s study. Dagor Morthis has been in there for hours now, in the sole company of Iubhal, the katapeshi soothsayer that came into his service just a few weeks ago.
«AGAIN?» a raging scream in Dagor Morthis’s voice comes from behind the curtain «What are they still doing here? Haven’t they had enough?» many arcane words follows from Iubhal, interrupted by blasphemies and insults from your master.
Spellcraft DC 14:
You recognize the incantation as some sort of scrying spell
After a while, between the screams of your master you hear Iubhal whimper «Th-this is not… » he stutters «Master, I am su-sure we can try agaaAAHH!» a bright white light flashes in the minuscule opening between curtain and floor, then you hear a soft thud.
Dagor Morthis comes out of the study, his face hidden by the cowl «Lillianna, my dark flower! Where are you?» he flashes his gaze around the room until he sees her.
«Oh, here you are! Grab Bru and these two dancing monkeys» he points at Leknep and Zexil «Take the southern path down to Crow’s Nest. Those Eagle buffoons think they can keep trespassing in Dagor Morthis’s Territory.» then, almost as an afterthought «Ezekiel, you should probably join them. But clean the study first.» he says at Ichabod.
Right where Cheliax, Isger and Andoran touch, atop the Aspodell Mountains (well, not really atop, but still pretty high!) sits the Everdusk Fortress, home of the evil overlord Dagor Morthis. A devout follower of Archdevil Baalzebul the Lord of Flies, Dagor Morthis still has a lot to scheme, destroy and corrupt before he can call himself worthy of aspiring to a place next to Tar-Baphon and Runelord Karzoug as one of the great Evils of the legends.
For the moment, he rules and terrorizes a decent slice of the Aspodell Mountains – which unfortunately include very little in terms of actually inhabited land; mostly he terrorizes raptor birds and enslaves the goblins that wander into his territory.
He’d love to have peasants and children whispering his name in fear, and dreams of defeating armies of Eagle Knights. Alas, Andoran has yet to really notice the fearsome power of Dagor Morthis, and the only “heroes” that he gets to kill are treasure-hunters more reckless than brave and just a little less power-hungry than himself.
But finally, things are starting to turn his way! His zombies raided a couple of hamlets sitting on the Path River, and his name started spreading.
When Andoran sent a delegation to Everdusk, Dagor Morthis got his showdown! He killed the cavaliers, and that ridiculous paladin, and left alive just a squire, with an eye ripped off and the blond hair encrusted with blood, to carry his message of destruction back to Augustana! And you were there!
What? No, not in Augustana, you were there during the fight!
Oh, it was great assisting your Master in the massacre of those bigoted do-gooders! Yeah, well, Dagor Morthis doesn’t much care about friendly fire, and it’s true that your colleague Hogron Legbreaker was caught in one of his fireballs and died, but come on, it wasn’t an accident, right? Dagor Morthis cares about you! I’m sure he caught Hogron sending conniving messages to Almas, or stealing from the pantry. Hogron had it coming. Probably.
What counts is, now that your Master is gaining in reputation, you can expect missions a lot more exciting than before…
Adventure information:
Are you familiar with the Quirky Miniboss Squad Trope? That’s the mood I’m going for.
The adventure will be about thwarting the dumb heroes and carrying out the will of your master, but just as much about avoiding the much bigger evils from Cheliax or Darkmoon Vale - all without incurring in punishment from the Evil Overlord.
If I see enough interest for the premise, I’ll select 4 or 5 PCs. Submissions will be open for a while.
You can start bouncing concepts around and ask for feedback if you want, but the only submissions that will be considered final will be those with both crunch and backstory. When you finally post the definitive version of a character, either as the alias itself or as your usual profile, please put somewhere in the body of the message the name of the PC in Bigger and Bold. This makes it easier for me to keep track of final submissions.
Backstories don’t need to be too long, but they must be meaningful. If something doesn’t impact on the way your character thinks or act, then chances are it doesn’t need to be in the backstory.
Backgrounds that explain traits, class choices, favorite enemies, mindset, etc… and maybe a quirk or two of the PC, are greatly appreciated.
Lengthy backgrounds novels with a lot of side-characters that will never once come up in game… not so much.
Feel free to give your character a role in Dagor Morthis’s Organization, and associated title (like Warden of Beasts and Stables). You're his trusty lieutenants after all.
How to make your Crunch:
Manuals: Core, APG, UM, UC, ARG, Inner Sea World Guide, Bestiary (see below) and Ultimate Equipment (mostly for class kits).
Anything not from the Core Rulebook needs to be marked with the corresponding manual in the sheet.
Ability Scores: 20 point buy
Level: 3rd
Alignment: well… Dagor Morthis is NE with lawful tendencies and worships mostly Baalzebul, but you’re a much more unfocused bunch. There may even be someone Neutral among you: a mercenary, or someone forced to serve Dagor Morthis through a curse or similar. Most of you should be kinda evil though (or at least a bit of a dick).
Classes: Paladin is out for obvious reasons.
Other than that… everything goes, I think – even summoner and gunslingers I’m ok with. It’s not too serious an adventure after all. For samurais, ninjas and monks please have a good reason for why you are an ocean away from home.
Races: Any core, featured and uncommon race from the ARG is allowed. However, a STRONG preference will be accorded to races and concepts that fit the premise – which is to say, pathetically evil Punch Clock Minions. I’d rather not see svirfneblins (I think they have way too many bonuses and lend themselves to be very broken).
Alternate racial traits are allowed. No custom races.
To further widen the options, I’m also willing to select:
- One (and only one) Skeletal Champion character (Bestiary page 252); The base character should be of any common race, will have 1 class level, and a point buy of 15 (CON will be n/a being undead). The only difference from the template is that you can be of any Alignment.
- One (and only one) afflicted Lycanthrope character (Bestiary page 196). The base character should be of any common race, will have 2 class levels, and a point buy of 15.
If you submit one of these options, PLEASE be extremely clear in your sheet.
HP: full first HD, then rounded up average (ex 3d8: 8+5+5)
Traits: 2 traits each. One from APG, the other from the below list.
Gear: 2000 GP - nothing can be created beforehand, every item must be bought.
Don't exaggerate with the weirdness: a hobgoblin fighter has just the same chance of getting picked as a weird cursed grippli ninja. Just do something fun, that you feel can work both on a threatening and on a comical level - like Paizo goblins!
Custom traits:
Andoran hatred: the Eagle Knights or some other pompous do-gooder from Andoran wronged you (at least that’s how you see it), and you gravitated towards their enemy as compensation. You get +1 trait bonus on critical hits confirmation rolls.
One of them: you don’t look particularly evil – never mind how dark is your soul, you look just like a normal guy. This comes in handy when you need to spy or infiltrate the heroes. You gain +2 on Disguise and Bluff checks made to pass as a normal citizen, and one of these skills is always a class skill for you.
Fallen: you used to be one of the good guys – then discovered this was much more fun! Your turncoat past left you suspicious of others – if you betrayed, why not others? You gain +1 trait bonus to Sense Motive and Perception, and one of these skills is always a class skill for you.
Forced: you really aren’t a bad guy, but a curse or something else forces you to serve Dagor Morthis. If you can’t escape you are at least determined to survive to get revenge. You gain +2 to your AC when your adversaries roll for critical confirmation.
Overlord’s Pet: Dagor Morthis has somehow taken a liking in you, even in you are still a flea. Because of this, he is somewhat more forgiving. You gain +2 trait bonus on both Diplomacy and Bluff checks made to influence Dagor Morthis; one of these skills is always a class skill for you.
Only in it for the money: you don’t really care for Dagor Morthis or for your companions. The pay is good, the job is fun, but that’s about it – you won’t risk too much for them. You gain +1 trait bonus on Reflex saves.
Second choice: you really wanted to get in another notorious organization (such as the Red Mantis or the Empty Hand Orc Raiders), but they didn’t want you, for whatever reason. By rising from the ranks of Dagor Morthis, you’ll show them! You gain +1 trait bonus on Knowledge [religion] and Knowledge [nobility], and one of these skills is always a class skill for you.
Born in the mountains: you grew up around in these peaks – no surprise you ended up serving one of the madmen drawn to it. You gain +1 trait bonus on Knowledge [local] checks and Climb checks, and one of these skills is always a class skill for you.
Former Slave: Dagor Morthis bought you, or more likely you were a gift from a shady ally. But you managed to endeavor yourself to him and now you have pretty much the same freedom as the other minions. That’s not much, but it’s better than before. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Fortitude saves to avoid becoming fatigued or exhausted, and a +1 trait bonus on Escape Artist checks.
True Believer: you are really really faithful to Dagor Morthis. He doesn’t seem to acknowledge your loyalty more than he does with others, but deep down you know he values you. This fervor gives you a +1 trait bonus to saves against Fear and Compulsion effects.
Lab rat: Dagor Morthis experimented on you. Maybe he was successful, maybe not. But you certainly developed a certain resistance to his kind of magic. You gain a +1 trait bonus to saves against all Transmutation and Necromancy effects.
Good morning guys… I need help creating a magic item.
The PCs need several special gems from a coven of hags.
Unfortunately now one of the three is dead, and the two remaining don’t get along: Kohorra, a powerful Green Hag, wishes to convince or force another hag or witch to join them to recreate the coven; Keevara, her changeling witch daughter, wishes to be freed from her mother’s influence and leave her.
Kohorra has a powerful curse that impedes Keevara from leaving the swamp where they live.
The gems that the PCs need to retrieve are half in possession of one, half in possession of the other.
I need an item (that would be in possession of the PCs) that if given to Keevara could help break the curse and let her leave, while if given to Kohorra could help her enslave another, more powerful hag. They need to decide which witch (eh ^^) back up to get the gems.
The ideal item is both witch thematic and freedom/enslavement thematic… but I know that’s hard, so I think I will settle for one of the two themes.
I want to leave open a diplomatic solution with either witch, but not one that makes the two both happy. They’ll make a friend and an enemy out of this, either way.
Of course the PCs can also pursue the violent option. I have five 8th level PCs, and the hags with their minions are an appropriate, if tough, encounter.
