Took me a while to feel functional again, but I'm over the cold and back in action. Hope you all had good weekends.
Grant takes Whitney's paper and studies it for several moments, his brow quirked with curiosity. "Well, damn. Got a hidden Lore Generation macro that I need to know about?" He grins during the good-natured teasing, but a gleam of admiration flickers in his eyes. "I'll rework the name and a few details, but for the most part, I think this will work. Thanks!"
Zanessa:
Grumdil smiles knowingly at your flattery and nods. "You seem to have the hang of the most basic principle: being able to talk to people. Of course, you'll need to listen and keep your eyes open for the things people don't tell you." He twirls his beard as he speaks, seemingly exceptionally cool and relaxed at the moment. "You're selling an experience, not just your goods. Also, learn to back off when it's necessary, but don't hesitate to chase a 'yes' when you know you're doing the right thing."
He pauses to greet and wave at a few passersby. "All you have to do is figure out what mark you want to leave on the world, and then do it a little bit at a time every day. As for the auction... don't be afraid to bid with money you don't have. Also, go after what you want like nobody's business, but make sure you know what you want before you bid." He winks mischievously.
Make a Sense Motive check, please.
Erthriel:
The bedraggled, yet cheerful gnome finally stops long enough to take your order. "It's been bombastically fantastic! One fried bread will be five silver pieces, please!" Upon closer inspection, the gnome is vibrating intensely, as if his entire body is pressurized and wrapped in a tiny earthquake of enthusiasm. "I can guarantee that you've never tasted anything like it!"
Aeshelia:
Olivia looks a bit offended at the implications of Aeshelia's turnip cart remark, but says nothing else about it. "Pleasure doin' business, miss. My dad'll be pleased, and maybe ya could show him what you wind up makin' out of it when ya finish." With the transaction complete, she watches your interactions with Augrer, looking more curious about him with each passing moment.
Added the Recommended Listening doc to the Campaign Info tab. It's still a work in progress, and I'm looking for suggestions on fleshing out the songs used. Hope you enjoy!
“Thanks for opening your vid prog up to questions, especially when you and your colleagues seem to be busy fighting for your lives and all. So, anyways, I was wondering. When you started broadcasting your prog, I’m sure that you probably figured that some Eoxians would someday be calling you names or making insults—that was just simply a matter of time. But, did you ever think that those same Eoxians would also be trying to kill you with a dreadful Eye-Beam™ at the same time?”
“Honestly, mama told me this day would come, and life has a funny way of throwing tomatoes at you when you think it’ll give you lemons.” Neon picks some lint off his shoulder and absentmindedly hits one of his macros.
The targeting parameters switch to the enemy ship’s engines. He adds, “I’m glad you asked, though. I’ve never gotten an eye quite this evil before, and it’s a new experience for me!”
The Pathfinder character alias with notes on the player will likely be enough. Feel free to add those in a spoiler near the end of the profile, and have your stat block put together so I can reference it easily throughout the campaign.
The PF character is going to function in much the same way as a regular game would; your player persona is joining a campaign, so while the perspective of playing that character might be through their eyes, the mechanics won't change.
Also, the Arrowsong Minstrel archetype seems really cool! I'm excited to see it in action.
“Easy with the micro there, Head Wound,” Neon shoots back. “You keep gettin’ up in my air, there won’t be any left for me to breathe.”
Also, what’s with this guy’s fashion sense? Red sucks. Shaking his head in despair, he mans the science officer’s station, doing his best to muddle through the unfamiliar prompts.
Computers (+2 from ship, +2 from assist):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
"Found 'em! Let's go raid the closet for some skeletons." With the location of the Endless Threnody locked in, he punches a few keys, sending the Loreseeker along the optimal path to reach their target.
Awesome! I’m liking the possible interplay between Whitney and Grant, and it’ll get even more interesting once the players learn more about Grant’s life... no spoilers, though! Your PF character concept is solid, too - masking their magic is going to be very important for arcane casters, and while no underground arcane movement exists in the game’s lore yet, you can always try to found one!
Any other criteria for the PbP characters? Can you tell us more about your ideas for The Vanselir Tales?
PbP character creation guidelines will come once I’ve had a bit more time to think about how to make human characters that would be mechanically engaging, not just flavorful.
As for the Vanselir Tales...
The setting will be a persistent one, and I plan on basing several campaigns within it. Some of the details about its history and geography are still under construction, but overall, it’s heavily grounded in medieval romances and incorporates the Fey a lot more than I see in most settings (those guys need more love, in my opinion). That being said, there are still dark powers at play; the Fey can be just as dangerous and twisted as any other creatures, and the characters will encounter things beyond what they initially expect to see that will test their mettle... and their sanity.
The Vanselir Tales is very much a labor of love for me, and I can’t wait to see how it develops once there are actual players running around in it. More details will be available once the campaign nears the recruitment stage.
Strap on your +1 helmets of adventuring, ladies and gentlebeasts of the Paizo Forums! I have a proposal for you.
I’ve always been a huge fan of stories that dig deep into the conventions and structures that shape them on emotional, intellectual, and narratological levels. Considering that I spent most of the last five years studying various narratives and the conversations surrounding them, I recently had the idea of putting that hard-earned [sound of dozens of sets of eyes rolling in unison] English degree to use… through tabletop gaming.
My proposal is this: I would like to run a PbP campaign in which two sets of characters exist simultaneously. One would be more or less true-to-life humans who come together from different walks of life to play a tabletop game, while the other would consist of standard Pathfinder PCs built according to what sort of personality and playstyle the human characters would have. This campaign would lay the foundation for a future campaign I’ll be running IRL, titled The Vanselir Tales, that I’ve been working on for several months and will be GMing to compare results and stories from the two groups.
The common thread that brings this group of players and their characters together in one setting-within-a-setting is the GM, played IRL and in-game by myself. Whether the players are veteran gamers answering an ad posted locally, returning players who’ve been involved in one or several of the GM’s past campaigns, or interested individuals who got talked into trying tabletop for the first time, each one is brought into The Vanselir Tales because the GM hand-picked them to take part in the campaign.
As time goes on and the human PCs learn more about each other, the story would open itself up to all manner of conflict and catharsis. Real-world struggles breaching the realm of the tabletop game, shared experiences bringing the PCs together on more levels than one, and friendships being forged or tested are all possible scenarios within the scope of this game; more than that, they’re goals I’ll be working toward as both stories progress.
”But Infamous Wes,” you ask, ”why bother with all this ‘two worlds’ crap when you can just play a regular campaign to similar effect? Wouldn’t that be simpler for everyone involved? Who do you think you are proposing this stuff, anyway? Also, what makes you so infamous?”
Putting the last question aside, I know this is an ambitious undertaking that requires balancing a LOT of moving parts to pull off without seeming cheesy, heavy-handed, or just plain stupid. With that in mind, I’m ready for the challenge, and I’m looking for players who are willing to put in just as much effort as I am to make this work. I don’t want to settle for just another fantasy campaign when I have the chance to tell a story about the tragedies and triumphs of the human experience, one that may very well help everyone who hears it to better endure or enjoy their own life beyond the game.
This campaign would require communication, hard work, and a significant amount of vulnerability on the part of its players. It would be a study in and celebration of storytelling itself and how it brings people together by confronting them with ideological, philosophical, and psychological challenges. With that being said, I’d be in the same boat as you, and I really think we could make something amazing out of this idea. If you don’t think so, I totally respect that, and I want to hear your thoughts - whether in favor or not - so I can polish this concept and be a better GM moving forward.
The fact that you’ve made it this far in what I originally imagined as a brief paragraph outlining a weird, niche concept for a campaign is much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read through this proposal, and I hope you’ll be willing to dive into this different breed of story with me in the near future.
