I got a character idea in my head for an elderly martial artist sort. Not so much the anime-style version where they're absolute powerhouses, more the style where they are capable of anticipating opponents perfectly and performing perfectly leveraged strikes, despite their advanced age. I do intend to make the character literally older, but for these purposes I'm mostly wondering about characters that can function well as a martial combatant with no high physical stats. If I ever put this in a game at a low level I'll probably some justification along the lines of a retired warrior returning to the front lines, but he needs to shake off the rust (as it were).
My first thoughts:
-Sensei archetype monk is sort of the classic route, using their Wisdom both to dodge and strike. Possibly going into Brother of the Seal to move opponents around the battlefield with Awesome Blow, or the Zen Archer archetype instead if I felt like going ranged.
-Investigator. Most any investigator plays into the idea easily, putting Int to work in melee, though you can lean into it harder with some talents and archetypes. Also high skill points per level and knowledge skills for days, which works fantastically for the trope. I also like the idea of eventually getting to use Age Resistance regularly.
-Ranger (Unarmed Style) into Horizon Walker. True understanding of their surroundings give them insight into the opponents who live there. This one fits the trope well enough for me, but they'd still mostly be using their physical stats, which takes it a little away from the point.
-Elemental Ascetic Kineticist? I'm not usually a super big fan of kineticists, and it feels a little off-trope, but it mostly works, I think?
What are your thoughts? Have you built a character like this? I feel like the trope works best as an unarmed build, but that's not strictly necessary; feel free to toss weapon builds around as well if you've got something you think is fun.
Here's something I've been toying with since the Vigilante came out. I'll eventually come up with a plot for a game with this idea, but for the moment, I'm just futzing about with the mechanics. I'm thinking of a superhero-ish game, sort of a fantasy-style Justice League, and having each of the players be a form of vigilante (preferably different archetypes, but we'll see about that as we go).
So! While I appreciate the idea behind the Vigilante with their dual identities, it feels to me like they have relatively little incentive for hiding behind their social identities much of the time, unless the plot specifically calls for secrecy in some way. I think let's give them some more motivation, in the form of something every player likes to get ahold of: More power!
Specifically, I think I'll give them an interesting form of Gestalt. When in their social identity, they'll have access to the normal set of vigilante abilities and nothing else. However, when they transform into their vigilante identity, they'll also be able to use the full power of their gestalt class as well, using their full array of abilities and skills, and maybe even some stat boosts or limited mythic power if it feels appropriate.
To temper this, and give them more of a reason to not just run around full-power all the time (not everyone can have a sickly aunt that could be used against you if your identity is revealed), I think we'll give them some sort of limiter on their full abilities. Something along the lines of only letting them use their full vigilante abilities for, say, ten minutes per day for every level. We'll need to justify this in game with each player having some sort of limited source to their power, either by some central guiding force or just ask each player to work out why they have a limit.
What do you guys think? Suggestions? Improvements?
Not so long ago, the true realm of Amber faced a new challenge to its eternal power. While that adventure continues to play out, there are many stories still to be told about the early days of this era...
A Skald's inspired rage doesn't allow an allied barbarian (or bloodrager) to use the barbarian's own rage powers, though the barbarian can use their own rage bonuses, nor does the barbarian's rage add on extra bonuses to the inspired rage if they use it.
But can they use their own rage while remaining under the effects of inspired rage and use both sets of rage powers? Or can they only be under one rage at a time? This FAQ seems to say that they can only use the one, but a friend was debating the point, and I thought I'd look for clarification - particularly on a bloodrager's abilities.
The one true reality, home to the masters of creation, bastion of Order and site of the great Pattern, Amber has stood since Time begun and will stand until all things return to Chaos.
Welcome, Princes of Amber, to everyone's favorite game show, Character Creation!
Strength! Psyche! Endurance! Warfare! Which will be first?!
Diceless, you say?:1d4 ⇒ 4
Warfare it is! The grand Attribute Auction will begin shortly with the most directly dangerous of the Attributes, directly in control of one's ability with weaponry, skill with tactics of all kinds, and the speed of your reactions!
However, before we begin in earnest and hear any bids, let's learn a little more about our players and the game. Let's have a quick sound off to make sure everyone's still paying attention - please post here using your character's profile (however basic it might be at this point) as soon as possible.
At this time, if you think you have a good grasp on the rules, feel free to send me your initial bids for Warfare in a private message, keeping in mind the following:
Players will receive 125 points to use as they wish between all available purchases, including Attributes, Positions of Power, Powers, Items of any kind, Personal Shadows, Good Stuff, and Constructs.
Should you overspend for any reason, the remainder will be made up in Bad Stuff.
Basic Pattern Imprint is totally free, unless for some reason your backstory calls for its omission, in which case you will be refunded some, if not all, of the points involved.
We will be using the Constructs rules from Shadow Knight (more on that once everyone has checked in).
"As I sailed into Shadow, a white bird of my desire came and sat upon my right shoulder, and I wrote a note and tied it to its leg and set it on its way. The note said "I am coming," and it was signed by me."
-Roger Zelazny, Nine Princes in Amber
At the center of all things, where all roads eventually lead, lies the City. Golden Amber, the heart of reality and the home of the line of Oberon. Throughout all the universe, everything that has ever truly existed lies only within Amber's walls; all else is simply a reflection of her incredible beauty, a shadow of her immortal glory and an echo of her awesome power. Yet even Amber is not perfect, and we see this imperfection in the shadows of reality all around us, growing every day and hinting at corruption from the very source. And if Amber, glorious Amber, may be flawed...what then of those who rule over her?
---------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction: What the Game is About “There is Shadow and there is Substance, and this is the root of all things.”
Hello all. This is a game about reality, perception, and what makes a ruler fit to rule. This is a game about the Princes and Princesses of Amber.
For anyone familiar with Roger Zelazny's amazing series of books, you already know the basics - bear with me for a moment while I explain a few of the concepts to everybody else (and please, try to avoid spoilers, as they may come up in game). We won't be recreating Zelazny's story here, but many of the same themes and some of the dramatis personae may recur, and I'd prefer to save some surprises for later on.
About Amber: The city of Amber is the true reality, the ultimate bastion of Order and Substance from which all other realities are derived. Anywhere else is known, collectively, as Shadow. The further out in Shadow you go, the more unlike Amber a place can be, and Shadow is infinite. This means that, in Shadow, there can be found any possibility, anything from Camelot to Tatooine to our own Earth. The royal line, by the same token, are the truest versions of humanity there can be, and so the most powerful beings anyone knows of, except for each other.
Part of the royal line's power derives from their ability to walk the Grand Pattern. The Pattern lies beneath the Palace of Amber, and is the ultimate center of reality. The royal family and some few others are strong enough to walk along the Pattern without being destroyed. Once they've done so, they gain the power to walk through Shadow at their will, and because Shadow is infinite, this means they can go to any place they can possibly imagine, and have anything they have ever desired. Anything they can think of exists, either because they created it or discovered it.
And this is in itself a point of contention for many Amberites: does Shadow truly exist, or is it simply an extension of their will? If all you need do is desire something exist and go to it, did you find it, or did you bring it into being? Do the countless souls in the infinite worlds of Shadow exist independently of Amber, or is all of creation just your plaything, made real by your presence? These are the questions the philosophers among the godlings of Amber ponder.
About the Players: In this game, you will be playing as one of the members of the royal family. There are all sorts of possibilities for this, as not all Amberites have always known of their heritage. The Amberites before you have walked in Shadow, and they have not always been particularly choosy about their exploits. It's rare that a true Amberite is born in Shadow, but sometimes the royal power takes root. This means that in addition to the possibility of being born to Amberite power and privilege within the Royal Court, you can play a character from anywhere, anytime, who has done anything, as long as you're human. As far as I'm concerned, you could have been a Marine who fought on the beach on D-Day, a member of the Merchant's Guild in Waterdeep on Faerun, or one of the Browncoat Resistance in Border Space.
Now, what could possibly challenge beings who have no equal? Who could ever trouble a family that has ruled the Golden City since before time began? Why, who else but one another?
Above anything else, this is a political game. Outmaneuvering your siblings in pursuit of your own agenda is the core of Amber and of Amberites, so if you're looking for a nice little cooperative venture, this is not the game for you. That's not to say there won't be a common enemy for all of you to face, but ultimately, your biggest obstacles to real power will be each other. Not everyone will feel the need to climb to the top, and sooner or later there will inevitably be cliques or alliances among you, but ultimately only one head can wear the crown.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Game Details: What You Need to Know “No word matters. But man forgets reality and remembers words.”
This game is going to be a bit unusual, in that we'll be using the Amber Diceless Roleplaying system. This means that an awful lot of the usual number-crunching goes right out the window. I'll go into further detail once players are selected, but here are a few things you'll need to know about the system when submitting proposals.
The Auction: The first part of character creation in Amber is the Auction. Players are given a set number of points they are allowed to bid with, and then they bid against one another to determine their rankings in the four Attributes: Strength, Psyche, Endurance, and Warfare. The reason attributes are rated in rankings rather than simple numbers is because the only metric that matters for Amberites is how you're superior in relation to each other - you're already better than everyone else. This means that the character who is first in Strength isn't just the strongest PC, he is very likely the strongest person in the universe, capable of superhero-like feats of power. There are opportunities, later on, for some ranks to shift, but mostly we know where each player's ranking lies - these characters have had ages to learn each other's relative strengths, after all.
Again, I'll explain further details once players are selected, but here's the point that's important for character submissions: you won't necessarily know your character's real strengths before we begin. What this means is that you're going to need to think more about their personality and desires then about their powers, because that will end up being shaped later on.
The Struggle: As I said above, this game is going to be competitive. Your characters are going to be at odds a lot of the time, with conflicting agendas and power struggles. I expect there to be a lot of conflict, plotting, subterfuge, and general PvP, if not outright combat. What I need, though, is for the players to be able to keep the separation between player and character distinct. I don't want to see people getting mad at players for things that happen in game - if your character's brother chops your character's hand off, you still have to be able to play nice.
Diceless: I know, I know - if you're competing against each other, and the only way attributes are determined in ranking order, how do we resolve anything without dice? That's a great question! The answer, of course, is somewhat complicated, but here's my best attempt at condensing it.
If you are up against one of your siblings in a contest where their attribute is better than yours, they win. Period. If, for instance, you are third in Warfare and you find yourself in a swordfight with the character in first, you're going to lose. So rather than attempt to win futilely, you need to find a way to change the situation so one of your strengths comes into play. In the previous example, let's say you're first in Endurance, and your opponent is fifth. You, then, decide to play defensively - you dodge and weave, back away and generally deny him the opportunity to use his superior swordplay until your superior Endurance begins to give you the edge against your tiring opponent. Or perhaps you know something about the terrain your opponent does not; maybe your greater Psyche lets you trick the other into falling down a pit you cover with a clever illusion. These are simplified examples, but they're the crux of it - if you're going to lose, then change something so you don't.
This is, of course, very different from most systems we here on these boards play in. It requires more thought and less math, and sometimes there just isn't anything you can do to change the outcome. For me, I think this is just as much a strength as a weakness, but your mileage may vary.
Number of Players: Somewhere between five and eight, very likely settling on six or seven. I could run with fewer or more, but in a game so focused on player interaction, I feel like that range is the most appropriate to keep things interesting without getting too complicated.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Character Applications “There are none of you, good doctors, could cope with my family anyway.”
So, if we don't know your character's exact abilities until we start, what do I need to hear in order to pick players?
I'm looking to hear a little about your character's backstory. You don't have to go into immense detail, but there are a few specific things I need to know.
Where are you from? Were you born in Amber, or are you from out in Shadow? If you are from Shadow, how long have you known about your true heritage (yes, you do have to be an acknowledged and empowered Amberite by now)? Do you live in Amber now, or have you made a home for yourself somewhere in Shadow?
How old are you? No one is going to be young by human standards (in order to have the level of experience that is necessary to stand up to your siblings, you'll need to have some years under your belt), but you can be anywhere from 60 or so to thousands or even tens of thousands years old.
What are your interests? Amberites have the opportunity and the time to indulge in every wild fantasy that ever occurs to them - so what have you done, and what still doesn't bore you? You can, if you like, even get into particular fields of study or feats of prowess - just bear in mind that you can't say you're the best fencer ever to live or whatever, as the Auction will largely decide such things for you. Your bids in the Auction later on can certainly determine your level of interest, but you don't know for sure just yet.
Those are the questions I really want answered, but feel free to go into as much or as little detail as you like on those points, and elaborate on more if the need strikes you. Since so much of the character creation process is going to be fluid, at this point I'm looking to see what kind of gamer you are more than getting to know your character. I'm looking for innovative thinkers and good writers, and this is your opportunity to show it off.
---------------------------------------------------------------
A Final Word “All roads lead to Amber," he said, as though it were an axiom.”
Lastly, a couple notes on time management. I'm not putting a time limit on recruitment just yet. I'm pretty much willing to let it run until I do or don't have enough players. I will make sure to give a few days warning before I make my final choices. As for pace once the game starts, I intend to be fairly casual about it; my life runs pretty busy most of the time, and I'm not going to ask more of you than I would myself. If you can make a post a day, great.
Otherwise, I'll just make sure things keep moving along several times a week, making assumptions about people's actions as necessary if they're slowing us down. If I haven't heard anything from someone in a couple of weeks, then I'll start looking around for replacements, although a good enough excuse ("My house burned down!") would probably get me to let you back in - that is, if your siblings haven't killed you off in the meantime.
Finally, between an unorthodox system and a setting that is both very odd and probably unfamiliar, I'm sure many of you have questions. Feel free to ask away, I'll see what I can do.
Howdy, friends - got something for you that's been throwing me.
First, some background, so you know why I'm asking this. In a game of Serpent's Skull my group is running, I'm playing an archaeologist who is slowly creating a personal secretary/database - essentially, an intelligent adamantine tablet that will serve as his own little Jarvis a la Iron Man.
To accomplish this, I have created (with my GM's permission) an intelligent magic item, starting off with a base item that can cast Secret Page at will. The rules for the base item seem fairly clear. Secret Page is a 3rd level sorcerer/wizard spell, so the item must be at least caster level 5, but can be set higher for an increased cost (not that Secret Page does anything different at a higher caster level, but that's neither here nor there). Then you tack on the costs for making an intelligent item, add any desired powers, and voila, item exists, can cast Secret Page at will at caster level 5.
Now for the tricky bits, and thence the questions.
If I later create a similar item (or upgrade the first item, should come out the same no matter how you slice it) to have multiple abilities, either within the base item or as abilities for the intelligent portion of it, then...
How would I rate the caster level?
Still just as the base level required for the highest level spell it can cast, or should it go up as it acquires multiple effects?
If so, does that mean I need to jack up the base price for each of its spells/abilities to meet the higher caster level (again, Secret Page and the like do nothing more beneficial at higher caster levels)?
Say I do jack up the caster level, does that mean that its intelligent item abilities all become more powerful without any corresponding price increase? For example, say the item can cast Fireball 3 times per day at the standard intelligent item ability cost of 18,000 gp - does the damage go up if the base item's caster level increases (not that I intend to do this, but as a hypothetical...)?
[Sidebar question that occurred to me as I was typing this - does the item need to have a base mental stat high enough to cast these spells?]
I feel like I should throw out the caveat here that I'm not trying in any way to create a super powerful magic item to break the game with, or even really to create a particularly useful item - this is almost entirely for flavor purposes. That said, I do want to get it right out of the box, so I'm not just throwing gold away or getting away with making something on the cheap accidentally. Also, I may eventually try to make the item combat relevant in some way, and if that ever becomes the case, then the costs and power levels become much more significant.
Whaddya think, folks?
The sturdy old door swung inward with a creak, and all four of the hopeful onlookers peered inside. The interior of the ancient building was dark, but streams of light poured in from various windows and cracks in the ceiling. There was a layer of dust coating the area, and cobwebs hung from every corner. As they studied the room, the breeze from the open door caused one of the old tables to finally crash to the floor.
The four exchanged glances: The White Lion Inn had clearly seen better days. But...
Where some of the furniture had fallen into disrepair, there was still some sat as solid and comfortable-looking as it always had, and the sturdy oak bar looked as if all it needed was a good polish. This might not be so bad after all - if someone just had the drive to make it happen. And, as the brand new owners of this once-illustrious locale, it looked like it was up to them.
This is the discussion thread for Capitalism Ho! Here we'll be posting most out of character chat, particularly anything lengthy. I'll get around to some more specific posting guidelines once this coming weekend is over - I'm currently on vacation with most of my extended family, and posting is going to be spotty at best, so I figure starting a new campaign is probably not the best idea. Come Monday, and we're ready to rock.
In a little-known corner of Golarion, there rests an even littler-known town. Once a center of trade and culture, this little village has declined to not much more than a tiny collection of barely-tended farms and halfway-competent shops. But the people still hang on, loyally clinging to their ancestral homes.
Recently, a major trade caravan has constructed a new thoroughfare between two of the country's largest cities, bypassing the traditional path that brought most of the remaining trade to the little village. The village, while still a scenic spot, is declining even further, and people are beginning to say that they may have to abandon their home at last.
As descendants of the town's village heroes, and co-owners of the single tavern, you have decided this will not stand. You set out to bring back your village's reputation and re-establish your business as the hottest spot on Golarion!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction
Welcome, friends, to an epic tale of business and tourism, of kingdoms and hamlets, and most of all, working hard for the money: this mini-campaign that's been buzzing in my head for some time now, finally set free.
This is a game about building up your business, and your little town, into the greatest version that you can imagine. Loosely based on some of the concepts in the video game "Recettear: an Item Shop's Tale", we'll be running the game almost entirely business/donwtime-centric. Yes, you all will be adventurers, but when you go out adventuring, we'll handle that portion with a glossed-over cinematic approach. Roll a few dice, decide how well you've done, award gold and xp based on that, and give a quick summation of your amazing adventures, then back to the important business of running/improving your tavern and town! Oh, there may be the occasional dragon that needs slaying, or perhaps a troll or two might come to town, and you heroes will be called on to handle it, sure, but that's more of a sideline. You're too busy here in town to go looking for such silly things.
That's not to say there won't be challenges, though! As your business and town grow and improve, you'll find yourself butting heads with the major trade caravans and larger cities, competing for resources, territory, people, and, of course, money.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Details
We'll be mostly using the downtime rules from Ultimate Campaign. Fear not if you don't know these rules, I not only intend to handle most of that side of it, but I'll probably be modifying them on the fly as we figure out what works or doesn't work.
One of the main themes I want to play with here is that the scale of this game is going to be determined by the scale of the character's ambition. If you focus solely on running and improving their tavern, then this'll end up mostly as a game about a particularly awesome tavern. On the other hand, if you start focusing on expansion of your town into a city or kingdom, then suddenly it starts becoming a game about running a city. And if that kingdom then starts getting greedy, or pisses off its neighbors too much, then we're looking at a full-scale war game.
The game is starting in a little town in an idyllic location in the wilderness of the River Kingdoms. It has a little bit of everything - situated in the forest, by a lake with mountains looming behind them, resources abound to meet almost any construction or production needs. What's this place called? We'll be working that out as a group once the players are chosen. Similarly, the tavern that you all own has no name at the moment.
I'm looking for about four players, more or less depending on how many interesting applications I get.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Applications
Crunch: If you haven't figured it out yet, this is not going to be a numbers-heavy game when it comes to your characters. However, let's get that out of the way first, since I know it helps some folks brainstorm.
Level: 1 to start with.
Classes: Any official Pathfinder material is legal, except for the Advanced Race Guide.
Races: Any of the core races are fine, other official races on a case-by-case basis (but they're probably fine). No custom races, please.
20 Point Buy
Average Character Wealth
Everyone must have 1 rank in one Profession skill.
Backgrounds: I don't need an epic sweeping background for this one, though if you want to supply one, that's fine too. Still, I'm looking for flavor and motivation more than anything in the numbers, so give me enough to get a feel for your character. You may have noticed, humor is going to be prevalent in this game (mostly because I don't feel like trying to separate the silliness of the concept from the game itself in my mind), so try to have a sense of humor. Your character doesn't need to be silly, but don't give me grimdark, either.
A point that should probably be made on this topic: I'm not looking for characters who can only run a business/town and aren't of any use to a normal party. Yes, you are going to be managers for the most part, but you'll be using your heroic skills to do it, as well as to actually adventure from time to time.
--------------------------------------------------------------
A Final Word
As I stated earlier, I'm more interested in concept than numbers. Give me an interesting story, or awesome flavor, and I'm way more willing to give you all kinds of leeway in what you can get away with in the game. One of the primary reasons I game at all is because this is the only medium I'm aware of where you can be rewarded for trying to accomplish something awesome, even if it's doomed to fail. Frankly, I'm looking for good writers. I don't want to see a game that reads like a collection of stats and rote actions, I want to see something that I can look back at later on and read to entertain myself.
Lastly, a couple notes on time management. I'm not putting a time limit on recruitment just yet. I'm pretty much willing to let it run until I do or don't have enough character concepts that interest me. I will make sure to give a few days warning before I make my final choices. As for pace once the game starts, I intend to be fairly casual about it; my life runs pretty busy most of the time, and I'm not going to ask more of you than I would myself. If you can make a post a day, great. Otherwise, I'll just make sure things keep moving along several times a week, making assumptions about people's actions as necessary if they're slowing us down. If I haven't heard anything from someone in a couple of weeks, then I'll start looking around for replacements, although a good enough excuse ("My house burned down!") would probably get me to let you back in.
With a bit of comedy, some ludicrous ideas about making a viable tourist trap in a fantasy setting, and a few creative PCs, I think we'll have ourselves some fun. Capitalism Ho!
In a little-known corner of Golarion, there rests an even littler-known town. Once a center of trade and culture, this little village has declined to not much more than a tiny collection of barely-tended farms and halfway-competent shops. But the people still hang on, loyally clinging to their ancestral homes.
Recently, a major trade caravan has constructed a new thoroughfare between two of the country's largest cities, bypassing the traditional path that brought most of the remaining trade to the little village. The village, while still a scenic spot, is declining even further, and people are beginning to say that they may have to abandon their home at last.
As descendants of the town's village heroes, and co-owners of the single tavern, you have decided this will not stand. You set out to bring back your village's old reputation and re-establish your business as the hottest spot on Golarion!
This here is an interest check for a silly little mini-campaign I've been thinking about putting together. With the recently published Downtime Rules in Ultimate Campaign, I feel the need to test drive these things, and what better way to do that than have a bunch of PCs run a flagging tavern?
Loosely based on some of the concepts in the video game "Recettear: an Item Shop's Tale", we'd be running the game almost entirely business/donwtime-centric. Yes, you all would be adventurers, but when you go out adventuring, we'd handle that portion with a glossed-over cinematic approach. Roll a few dice, decide how well you did, award gold and xp based on that, and give a quick summation of your amazing adventures, then back to the important business of running/improving your tavern and town!
I envision this starting at level 1, any official Paizo material legal (I reserve the right to veto, though), 20 point buy, average character wealth.
With a bit of comedy, some ludicrous ideas about making a viable tourist trap in a fantasy setting, and a few creative PCs, I think this could be fun. Bear in mind, at the moment, this is only the barest of ideas, and I'd love to see other people's input. If there's enough interest, then I can see about putting this together fairly quickly, and get it up and running sometime soon.
In a home game, just started up a level 1 Human Fighter with the Archer archetype. I'm not having any trouble with the build, exactly - frankly, the first several levels of an archer are not complicated business. What I'm looking for is a little originality, some quirkiness to make him a bit more interesting.
So I'm putting out a request for build ideas. Remember, I am not looking for the Most Powerful Build, but rather, something a little off-kilter from what you'd usually expect to see while still being reasonably capable.
Guidelines:
Basic builds anywhere from 5 to 10 seem reasonable, but do what you feel like.
Don't worry too much about magic items unless there's some effect crucial to your idea. There are no crafters in the group, so equipment is gonna be mostly what we manage to find.
I'm vaguely intending to stick with Fighter through his entire career, but if you have a crazy multiclass plan, I'm interested.
Stats are currently 12/19/14/14/14/12. Shouldn't matter too much, but now you know. I could probably talk the GM into letting me play with those a little bit if your idea absolutely requires something different.
Anything officially Pathfinder is cool to play with, including modules and whatnot.
We're starting out with Crypt of the Everflame, if this somehow matters to you - no spoilers, please!
"As you know, in the dimension of Eternia, there is a planet divided into two halves, one Light, and one Dark. On the Light side, life is verdant and lush, full of ancient tangled forests, rolling grassy plains, and majestic peaks capped with snow, while the people reside in wondrous cities and quaint villages untouched by violence. On the Dark, fire and rock abounds, dangerous crags and treacherous sands dot the landscape amidst the ruins of kingdoms long dead. Once, there was balance to this realm of opposites. But that time is long forgotten. Both sides have their champions, and they have struggled throughout the ages for control, the Light striving only to maintain their peaceful lives, while the Dark continually seeks to conquer and dominate the planet entire.
Until recently. The champions of Light and Dark are missing, and none know where they have gone. The fate of the planet sits on the edge of a knife, teetering between its two poles with no one ready to catch its fall. It is time for new champions to take up the mantle, to hold up the banners and proclaim their allegiance; it is your time. Masters of the Universe or Evil Warriors, Virtue or Sin, Light or Dark - Eternia's fate lies in your hands."
Shrouded within a voluminous crimson robe, the figure bobs slowly behind a podium, the large brim of its hat hiding its face. It speaks in a deep, sonorous voice, heavy with import and age. It raises its head for the first time since emerging to the stage, and golden lights flash within the deep shadows over a deep blue scarf. The speaker looks out into the grand audience chamber, sees the five faces gathered there, and ceases its speech, squawking in dismay.
Court Mage Orko, Grand Vizier to the throne of Eternia, floats out from behind the podium, away from its Far Speech enchantment, the end of his robe several feet above the floor. In his usual high-pitched tones, he says, "Only five of ya? Aw, no, I was really hoping we'd get a real muster together! You know, like in the old days!" He sighs. "But I guess you'll have to do."
Seeing scowls in his audience, he floats back a few feet, holding up his blue hands. "Er- I mean, I know you'll do great and all. Ahem." Floating back behind the podium with as much dignity as he can muster, he nervously tries to gather his notes, and manages to spill them across the stage. With a muttered, "Nuts!" he sets to collecting them, saying, "Ah - I'll just be a minute, go ahead and chat with each other. I'm sure you've lots to say, new group of heroes gathered to fight evil and all that."
Do me a favor and keep all out of character chatter to this thread. Dice rolls are okay in gameplay, but let's try and keep the gameplay reading like a story. On that subject, let's stick to third person past tense as much as possible.
Ex: Adam raised his sword over his head, shouting, "By the Power of Grayuskull!
That's reiterated in the Posting Rules, which are now up in the campaign info tab.
The mighty He-Man, guardian of Castle Grayskull and most powerful man in the universe, has disappeared! Over twenty years ago, the kingdom woke to discover Grayskull gone, and its defenders with it. At the same time, King Adam went missing, and Queen Teela the Sorceress remained the sole ruler of Eternos, a guiding light in dark times.
Skeletor, the Overlord of Evil, has also been quiet this last twenty years. The common people have begun to believe him gone forever, and the most common story is that He-Man must be continuing their battle wherever it is they have gone. Without their leader, the Evil Warriors quickly became disorganized and went their separate ways; each still a deadly threat, but none could face the might of Eternos and the Masters without the power of Skeletor to bind them together.
But not all is well on Eternia.
The Queen has fallen into a coma, and without her strong leadership, there are rumblings of a war of succession within Eternos.
The bee-people of Andreenos, long dependent upon the wondrous Ambrosia, have found their supply disappearing. Without it, the Andreenans will surely fall, leaving their mountains open to takeover by the wicked Webstor and his Arachna allies.
In the Sea of Rakash, the waters begin to thrash menacingly, churning to reveal hideous monsters never before seen that attack mariners of all kinds.
And on the Dark Side of Eternia, there are whispers of a man with the face of a skeleton...
In desperation, Orko of Trolla, Grand Vizier and Court Mage of Eternos, has sent out a summons for heroes, for the next generation to protect the people of Eternia against the oncoming darkness - for new Masters of the Universe!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Game Details: What You Need to Know "Remember, knowledge is power. And you can get the power."
This game will be set in a version of the Masters of the Universe...um, universe. Not based entirely on the comics, the old Filmation show, or the newer Cartoon Network reboot, but rather an amalgam of all three taking the bits that I (and, presumably, the players) like the most.
My conscience says I should mention I'm pretty blatantly stealing the original concept, and the name, from a personage who went by Sacremas on Groovy Gamers and PbPHouse. He gave up on running the game before it ever went up, but the idea stuck with me pretty hard. If anybody has better luck at finding this person than me, let me know, 'cause I would love to invite him/her to play.
Here are a few of the finer points.
System: We'll be running this in Pathfinder, with the rules from the Mythic playtest modified by the clarifications/changes discussed here. There are going to be significant homebrew changes, a large portion of which I'll be making up on the fly, but I'll do my best to make you aware of them before they impact you significantly.
Current Homebrew:
High Tech: Eternia is a world on which magic and science have both risen to incredible levels, on occasion mixing in creations of wondrous power. If you would like to play a character with tech-based powers, we'll take your class abilities or magic items and reflavor them to come out sounding high tech. For instance, you don't have a Carpet of Flying, you have a Wind Raider. If you would like to be an inventor yourself, we'll represent that with the feat Master Craftsman, and we'll tweak it to make it a little easier to use(mostly because I think that base feat is way too hard to be worth it, usually).
Magic Item Creation: This isn't exactly homebrew, but worth including in this section. If you have item creation feats, any custom magic items will have to be approved by me before I allow their existence.
New Skills: Knowledge (Science), Craft (Gadget).
Setting: This will, obviously, be run in Eternia, the homeworld of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: But don't be scared if you don't know much about the source material. It would be great if you knew something about either show, but again don't worry if the only thing you know about He-Man was that he used to walk around in fur undies. All I ask is that we stay true to the main themes. We're looking for swords-and-sorcery meets science fiction, with maybe a little Conan layered on top. Yes, I will be asking for ridiculous names for characters, but they're all probably nicknames, so don't get too worried. Oh, and if you are looking for a bit more information about the setting, here and here are two great timelines of the universe, and here is a similarly great bio list for basically everything in said universe. Hats off to these guys, they compiled all that out of a seriously weird hodgepodge.
Character Examples:I realize this concept is a little tricky for some, so here are a few ideas to get you started.
Examples:
You could do a tie-in to one of the old heroes, like: Stingor, son of Buzz-Off.
You could take one of the original characters from the show (like Ram-Man, or Mekaneck) and update them to fit the timeline.
Alternatively, you could tie in to one of the Evil Warriors, something along the lines of: Angel-La, Evil-Lynn's rebellious apprentice now seeking to redeem herself by allying with the forces of good.
Or, you could make your own mighty hero, such as: Thundor, last of the cloud elementals. The lord of lightning, he wields the power of the storm to strike down the forces of evil.
Number of Players: I'm looking for five players, possibly six if the choice gets to be too hard to make.
Advancement Track: None. We'll be leveling up as the story demands, not due to rising numbers.
Time Management: I'm not putting a time limit on recruitment just yet. I'm pretty much willing to let it run until I do or don't have enough character concepts that interest me. I will make sure to give a few days warning before I make my final choices. As for pace once the game starts, I intend to be fairly casual about it; my life runs pretty busy most of the time, and I'm not going to ask more of you than I would myself. If you can make a post a day, great. Otherwise, I'll just make sure things keep moving along several times a week, making assumptions about people's actions as necessary if they're slowing us down. If I haven't heard anything from someone in a couple of weeks, then I'll start looking around for replacements, although a good enough excuse ("My house burned down!") would probably get me to let you back in.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Character Applications: What You Need to Tell Me "You're pretty good at giving orders, metal-mouth - now let's see how good you are at taking 'em."
Classes/races allowed: Anything Paizo published. I'll be willing to look at third party material (yes, including psionics), but I'm disinclined to use it, particularly if you can't a) point to it on the SRD, and b) give me a compelling reason why these rules are necessary for your character. I'm much more inclined to reflavor something official.
Character Wealth: 10,000 gold, for regular equipment. Item crafters may use half of this on their item creation. The larger than usual allotment is to represent the vast array of technological and magical advancements available to Eternians.
Basics/Background: Characters will start 4th level, with a 30 point buy baseline. That may seem high, but hey, this is basically a comic book world. "But the title said mythic", you say? True enough - and there's a catch to that. Everybody here may be buff, but if you're going to have the power of a true Master of the Universe, then you'll have to prove you're worthy. The Mythic Ascension, in this universe, is far more common than most universes. It's probably about as common as, say, an 8th level adventurer in Golarion - in any given major city, there's probably a couple walking around. That being said, it's far from an everyday occurrence. What I want from you is the tale of how you came into your powers, or in the case of characters whose power comes from simply being one of their race (Buzz-Off, Whiplash), how you mastered it. Include this in your backstory, and Mythic Power will be yours to command from the very start, beginning at Tier 1 and rising swiftly.
A Twist: If your character has an ability that you can't quite make work within the rules, then justify it. Describe this ability, why they have it, and make it significant to your character and relevant within the world, and I will work with you to make it happen. This is not intended to make your characters significantly more powerful, so please don't ask me for something equivalent to Meteor Storm. The point is to help flesh out a character's concept, not to supercharge them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Final Word "A person doesn't need super powers to be a hero. All he needs... is bravery."
I'm more interested in concept than numbers. Give me an interesting backstory, or awesome flavor, and I'm way more willing to give you all kinds of leeway in what you can get away with creating your character. One of the primary reasons I game at all is because this is the only medium I'm aware of where you can be rewarded for trying to accomplish something awesome, even if it's doomed to fail. Frankly, I'm looking for good writers. I don't want to see a game that reads like a collection of stats and rote actions, I want to see something that I can look back at later on and read to entertain myself.
Also, this isn't grimdark. Yes, this is a somewhat more serious setting than the source, but I'm not looking to run a game of torture and death, here. If you're wondering how far you can push it...let's use "Avatar: the Last Airbender" as a decent benchmark. People can be seriously wounded, suffer emotional trauma, or even die, but there is going to be precious little in the way of truly dark themes, like torture or rape.
Alright, people, have at it. Looking forward to see what people come up with, and feel free to ask me any questions you might have.
Just seeing if people would want to play in this game: mechanical details after the story. This is just a first stab at it to establish the general idea, details/quality will probably increase.
Story:
The mighty He-Man, guardian of Castle Grayskull and most powerful man in the universe, has disappeared! Nearly twenty years ago, the kingdom woke to discover Grayskull gone, and its defenders with it. At the same time, King Adam went missing, and Queen Teela the Sorceress remains the sole ruler of Eternos.
Skeletor, the Overlord of Evil, has also been quiet these last twenty years. The common people have begun to believe him gone forever, and the most common story is that He-Man must be continuing their battle wherever it is they have gone. Without their leader, the Evil Warriors quickly became disorganized and went their separate ways; each still a deadly threat, but none could face the might of Eternia and the Masters without the power of Skeletor to bind them together.
But not all is well on Eternia.
The Queen has fallen into a coma, and with no heir, nor the Council of Elders to advise, there are rumblings of a war of succession within Eternos.
The bee-people of Andreenos, long dependent upon the wondrous Ambrosia, have found their supply disappearing. Without it, they will surely die, or worse.
In the Sea of Rakash, the waters begin to thrash menacingly, churning to reveal hideous monsters never before seen that attack mariners of all kinds.
And on the Dark Side of Eternia, there are whispers of a man with a skull for a face...
In desperation, Orko the troll, Grand Vizier and Court Mage of Eternos, has sent out a summons for heroes, for the next generation to protect the people of Eternia against the oncoming darkness - for new Masters of the Universe!
There you have it, folks - a fantasy/sci-fi game set in a darker version of the Masters of the Universe...um, universe. Not based entirely on the comics, the old Filmation show, or the newer Cartoon Network reboot, but rather an amalgam of all three taking the bits that I (and, presumably, the players) like the most.
My conscience says I should mention I'm pretty blatantly stealing the original concept, and the name, from a personage who went by Sacremas on Groovy Gamers and PbPHouse. He gave up on running the game before it ever went up, but the idea stuck with me pretty hard. If anybody has better luck at finding this person than me, let me know, 'cause I would love to invite him to play.
Now then, down to the talking points.
System: I'm inclined to run this in Pathfinder, using the Mythic playtest rules with the official revisions posted to the forums. I'm not completely married to this idea, however, and would be willing to hear arguments for Mutants and Masterminds, the Marvel RPG, or any other system you think would fit this game.
Theme: Don't be scared if you don't know much about the source material. It would be great if you knew something about either show, but again don't worry if the only thing you know about He-Man was that he used to walk around in fur undies. All I ask is that we stay true to the main themes. We're looking for swords-and-sorcery meets science fiction, with maybe a little Conan layered on top. Yes, I will be asking for ridiculous names for characters, but they're all probably nicknames, so don't get too worried. Oh, and if you are looking for a bit more information about the setting, here and here are two great timelines of the universe, and here is a similarly great bio list for basically everything in said universe. Hats off to these guys, they compiled all that out of a seriously weird hodgepodge.
Number of Players: I'm thinking about five, maybe six.
Power Level: Epic. These are Masters of the Universe we're talking about here, not members of the local ratkilling guild, and as such, they are a cut above. That being said, while these folks are superpowerful, they're not terribly experienced at the hero gig just yet. If we do run in Pathfinder, this will be represented by a high point buy (25 or 30), relatively low level (5 or so), and a higher than average mythic tier ratio (about equal, maybe slightly higher than, character level). We'll also be looking at each character specifically, figuring out what we want their 'power set' to be, and handing out perks to make 'em work.
So that's that. Who's up for this thing? And if you are, do you have any questions or opinions on how we make it happen?
I was just playing my magus in our home game tonight, and ran into this question.
Specifically, there was a baddy asleep in front of me. I cast shocking grasp one round, and held the charge. The next round, I assumed I could coup de grace him with my scimitar and simultaneously deliver (and do critical damage with) the spell. My GM was confused, and it sparked a bit of a debate around the table. Here are the things we were unable to entirely settle:
First, "You can use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace" doesn't technically say this is an attack with the weapon. Spellstrike, on the other hand, does say "He can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack". I should clarify by saying none of us could think of why the hell you couldn't deliver the spell as part of the attack you're obviously making to coup de grace someone, but the rules are a bit unclear.
Second, presuming you were capable of hitting a coup de grace target with both spell and weapon as above, does the spell do critical damage as well? I think it does, since if you're attacking with any part of this, it should all be a critical hit, but I'm not sure, and neither was anyone else at the table.
Third, once again presuming Spellstriking a coup de grace target works, does the spell's damage also count towards the DC of the coup de grace Fortitude save vs. immediate death? Or is it just the weapon's damage? This one, none of us had a clue, and decent arguments were made either way.
I ran my group through the playtest adventure with some PC's we have from an ongoing game. Some background, first; There were five characters in the party, all at level eight with four mythic tiers. I scaled up the encounters appropriately, and for the most part, it went swimmingly.
We did run into a few problems/questions, though, and here are the main ones as we saw them.
First up, the Hierophant ability Sacred Boons. Specifically, combined with a cleric with the Animal domain, and thus, an animal companion. My player asserted that this would cause his animal companion to be affected, going up by (in our case) eight effective Druid levels, causing the stupid horse to gain something on the order of 7 HD and all that comes with it, two ability score increases, multiattack, devotion, and a few other things I'm forgetting. Is this intended? Because we all found it to be way, waaaaay more powerful than any other increase you could get out of a domain power. So much so, actually, that I forbid him the use of it.
Second, we ran into some issues with Amazing Initiative, but the already-posted changes to that seem to clear them right up, so well done there.
Third...well, this isn't really a problem so much as a hope. My players were disappointed with the range of mythic feats available. Almost everyone had a loadout of base feats that were incompatible with most of the mythic upgrades, and so felt left out. We made up some variants they could use, but basically, we would really like the list to be expanded.
Fourth, we had a question about a paladin's immunity to fear and how it relates to the hubris flaw, but with those relegated to optional status, I think that problem goes away too.
All in all, we had a good time with these. It seems to us a great way to make a game more legendary-feeling without spiraling it quite as out of control as the old epic rules. Good work, and thanks.
The bright morning sun sparkled on the speaker's impeccably polished armor as he addressed the gathering before him in the little circular plaza. Perhaps fifty of Danel's youth were arrayed beneath the small wooden speaking platform, staring up with mixed expressions at the speaker.
His hands clasped behind him, he surveyed the varied crew with a wry smile on his stern face. His dark brown hair, kept relatively short, ruffled in the breeze as his gaze swept the crowd. More than half of them were looking somewhat bleary-eyed today, an aftereffect of their last night of freedom, he imagined.
He spoke up again, in a deep but not imposing baritone. "Most of you know me, by reputation if not personally. For those that don't, never fear: you'll get to know me soon, probably better than you'd like. The name is Gohren, and I'm this city's Master-at-Arms."
Raising a hand, he beckoned to an aide waiting patiently just off the platform. As the younger man hurried over, he spoke again. "You all know why you're here. Since this city was founded, every generation has spent its time serving in the militia, and more importantly, learning how to defend themselves and if need be, their land."
He shifted slightly, lifting his arms and moving from side to side as his aide busied himself with Gohren's armor, unfastening buckles and undoing straps. "More than once in our history, this has been a tradition that's served us well, and the proof of it is that we're still here, when so many of our allies have fallen to the ravages of time and outside savagery." He shook his head, a little sadly, as if remembering comrades lost.
The aide took the breastplate from Gohren's chest, and the armsmaster rolled his shoulders and flexed his wrists. Without his armor, he was revealed to be a smaller man than most would expect - not by any means small, but clearly, his nickname of "the Wall" hadn't come from his size.
He stepped down to the plaza floor and clasped his hands behind his back again. "Now then. I'm sure some of you think that this training is unnecessary. Maybe you've learned something of combat from your parents, or maybe you simply think that such things are beneath you. If that's the case, then here's your chance to get out of it."
He grinned then, and it was a very different expression than the fatherly smile he showed the trainees before. There were more teeth in it, and a glint of steel in his eye. "We have another tradition here in Danel. If you can prove to the armsmaster that you don't need his training, then you may be excused from your year's service. For me personally, that means one thing." He gestured to the platform behind him. "If any of you think you can make me say uncle, or get past me and up those stairs, then by all means, step forward and you'll get your shot. Don't be shy now, if you're feeling particularly confident, we can use whatever weapons you'd like." He nods to his aide, who removes a canvas covering from a rack that displays a wide variety of weaponry. "Take what you need, if you don't have your own." He raised an eyebrow then, and waited.
The students exchanged glances. Most took a step back, not trusting that wolfish smile - but a few remained, eying each other and the armsmaster with equal parts bravado and caution.
First up, its time to start getting numbers cemented, so if there's anything you're unsure of mechanically, go ahead and bring it up now and we'll hammer it out. After that's done, we can get to work on getting this thing underway for reals.
All this talk about languages has amused me. For the most part, I am gonna make you take these languages y'all are making up the normal way, through Int or Linguistics skill, but I promise I'll make them be relevant so that isn't just wasted on flavor. Because I like how each of you has a background involving it, though, here's a freebie language for each of you. Asa, you grew up speaking two languages, Common and Aliin are almost interchangable for you. Basher, your mother insisted you learn Nortspake, and never quite let it go. Arthur, your research into ancient cultures has resulted in you learning to read (and theoretically speak) High Nortspake. If any of you already speak these languages, then just consider yourself with an extra bonus language from your regular list.
With that settled, here's the first curve ball I'm throwing your way. Before Gohren takes you under his wing for the foreseeable future, you all have a month off from your regular duties. It's tradition in Danel to give you time to prepare yourselves in whatever way you see fit. Many of the youngsters use this time to go a little wild, out from underneath their parent's rule, but some use it more productively - and rumor has it that the One Man Wall notices. Let me know what your characters do with the time, and bear in mind there are no wrong answers. If you party for a month, great, you won't be punished for it, I just want to know what you folks get up to, and I'll react by making a few appropriate changes.
Also, I would ask that you each make a special section on your character profile labeled "GM caveat". In that section, list any bonuses I've thrown your way, or alternatives I let you pick up that are outside of normal rules. I anticipate this sort of thing getting a little confusing, and I'd really like to keep organized track of it all without having to go find my original notes every time.
Finally, just because we've got the cast in place doesn't mean we have to stop working on background. Anything else you guys want to keep coming up with is great, I love the relationships you three are forging.
Individual notes
Arthur, those traits you wanted are fine, although there is no Egorian school of architecture. We'll say instead that you can recognize the work of one of the cultures that helped to inspire your research. Dropping your Wisdom, though...that might be a problem for your Gunslinger. Feel free to do it, but a Gunslinger without grit is a sad Gunslinger. Also, we're gonna start nailing down numbers, so the sooner you can fully update your profile here rather than on Mythweavers, the happier I'll be. If you need a little reference for how to set it up, take a look at Basher's profile - he's got things organized pretty well over there.
Asa, I'm having some trouble reading your skills. Any chance I could get you to organize them more like Basher has it written out?
Looking to see if folk would be interested in the following game. The game, as run on here, will probably be short (as far as PbP's go), as I intend it to be something of a test run for the first few chapters of a campaign I hope to later run with my regular local gaming group.
That being said, if there was enough interest, or fun being had, it's entirely possible I could just keep running the whole thing here. Without further ado, here's the details.
Scions of Magic Plot (Imagine this running over the title sequence of a Pirates of Dark Water-esque show)
Tetrigus the lich, immortal would-be tyrant, schemes to remove all opposition to his plans by bringing an end to all mortal magic. He has very nearly succeeded - but with that success has come arrogance. Convinced that mortal wizardry is finished forever, he has begun the final stages of his plan to establish his eternal reign over the world.
However, for all the undead wizard's knowledge, and the advantages he has worked for centuries to secure, there still exists one last threat to his power.
Progeny of celestials and fiends, born of dragons and descended from the stars, ancient bloodlines sing within a few young adventurers. They are not yet aware of their own destinies, but it is only through their power that Tetrigus's evil can be defeated, and balance restored to their world!
Game World
Set in my own homebrewed little world, the plane of Maren. This world finds itself in a dark age. Over the long centuries of Tetrigus's plans, the world has very nearly forgotten that the arcane ever existed, and the creatures of fantasy have faded into the mists of time. The lichs's secret campaign has left the world bereft of its primary driving forces, and technology has not yet proceeded apace to fill the hole. Many once-great kingdoms have fallen into ruin, lacking the infrastructure to stand on their own. Settlements have been overrun by the creatures of the wild, and society is, on the whole, becoming more and more ignorant and backward.
The PC's will begin their adventure in the city-state of Danel, known as the Chapel on the Hill. One of the last standing bastions of civilization as the world once knew it, Danel's citizens are aware of the world's growing troubles, but are themselves content and, more or less, prosperous. The adventurers find themselves about to enter into the training all citizens are required to undergo as they reach their maturity, training under the city's armsmaster, descendant of the city's founder.
Starting Characters
Attributes: 24 point buy. Unusual, I know, but it's the number I like.
Races: All standard races are available, although all appear human, and age as humans. Those with non-human stats are said to have their race's blood in their ancestry, although mostly, this is considered a joke. Ex: "Dwarf-blooded".
Classes: Any non-casting class is available, or any archetype that removes spellcasting from a normally casting class. If you would like to play an overtly mystical archetype, run it by me, but no guarantees. Monks, I'd prefer it if you tried to find one of the less flashy archetypes. I'm reserving the right to veto any crazy ideas.
2nd level. Technically, I intend for the characters to be 1st level when we start out, for story purposes, but for such a miniscule amount of time, I don't want anyone to bother statting it out.
Restricted skills: Any skill is available, but any ranks in Spellcraft or Knowledge: Arcana will be entirely theoretical, at least at first. Think of it as if someone in our world had book smarts about how wizards in Golarion cast spells, for example.
What I'd like to See: I'm more interested in concept than numbers, folks. Give me an interesting backstory, or awesome flavor, and I'm way more willing to give you all kinds of leeway in the game itself. One of the primary reasons I game at all is because this is the only medium I'm aware of where you can be rewarded for trying to accomplish something awesome, even if it's doomed to fail.
Frankly, I'm looking for good writers. I don't want to see a game that reads like a collection of stats and rote actions, I want to see something that I can look back later on and read to entertain myself.
Numbers: I'm only looking for a few players here. Three, maybe four if I see some really great character ideas coming down the pipe.
Game Style
I intend for these heroes to shape the destiny of their entire world, and therefore, will be pumping them up to ridiculous levels over the course of the full campaign.
For the first few chapters, intended to run on these boards, what this essentially means is that I'll be handing out bonuses left and right based on what I perceive to be your character's goals, intentions, and personality. This is not to say that you won't have any say in these extras whatsoever, though. Most of the time, when I drop extras on you, I'll offer you a choice or two, and later on, I'll grant you the ability to change it if you don't feel like what you have fits what you have in mind for your character.
What this means for gameplay is largely what I already said about what I'd like to see about your characters. If you try to pull off something interesting, I'm gonna be happier with it, and the more I know about your character's details, the more I'll be capable of tailoring the bonuses to you specifically.
Time Management
I'm not putting a time limit on recruitment just yet. I'm pretty much willing to let it run until I do or don't have enough character concepts that interest me. I will make sure to give a few days warning before I make my final choices. As for pace once the game starts, I intend to be fairly casual about it. If you can make a post a day, great. Otherwise, I'll just make sure things keep moving along several times a week, making assumptions about people's actions as necessary if they're slowing us down.
Misc
I'm sure I missed some things people will want to know, so ask away. I'm more than glad to flesh out some details on the world, if it helps you build your character. Heck, feel free to take some liberties, I'll either help you correct them to fit what I have in mind, or incorporate them into this still-growing world.
Fairly simple question - is there a feat, or trait, or whatever, that can remove a wizard's prohibited school(s)? I could swear I remember seeing something like this, but I can't find it for the life of me. I've got a player who wants to play a Spellslinger (Ultimate Combat), but is agonizing over having four prohibited schools, and I'd like to cut him a break, so I thought I'd see if there's a legitimate out before making something up.