Goblin

The Patient Lurker's page

15 posts. Alias of Zorblag.




Centuries ago Tsar, the great temple-city to Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead, stood as a bastion of evil and hate. Eventually, at the behest of the churches of Thyr and Muir, the last overking, Graeltor, called for a mighty crusade to tear down the walls of Tsar and forever end the presense of Orcus worship in the world. The great Army of Light, led by the archmage Zelkor marched to the gates of Tsar and laid siege on the fortress city for more than a year before it suddenly and unexpectedly fell. The forces of Orcus were magically transported outside of Tsar, behind the Army of Light and fled en masse to the South. Leaving the abandoned city behind, Zelkor lead the Army of Light in pursuit, knowing that the forces of Orcus had to be destroyed lest they scatter and sow the seeds of future evil throughout the lands. The Army of Light finally caught up with the legions of evil forces in the Forest of Hope where they had chosen to make their last stand. Both armies disappeared into the forest and neither ever emerged; The Army of Light was lost to a man.

Years later, when a terrible graveyard and thriving dungeon complex devoted to Orcus was discovered in the Forest of Hope it became clear that the Army of Light had failed to destroy it's foe. That dungeon complex is now known as Rappan Athuk, the Dungeon of Graves. Many adventures have lost their sanity and lives exploring it's depths, but that is the setting for another adventure.

The Desolation surrounding Tsar is a largely ignored and unexplored wasteland where two massive armies virtually smashed themselves to pieces. Those who have braved its depths have hurriedly passed through studiously ignoring the battleground around them and the ruined city it surrounds. Surely something of value remains to be gleaned from such a cataclysmic conflict of old. Now, having obtained sufficient power to make it worth trying, you can be one of the few to have ever tried plumbing the great unknown that is the Desolation. Most have deemed it too dangerous or devoid of anything of value, but there are always legends of some great knight who fell on the battlefield clutching his powerful sword that was never recovered or some powerful wizard whose mighty staff disappeared in the melee and must still be lying out there somewhere. Will you find your fortune in the wastes or perhaps even in the fallen city of Tsar itself?

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I'm looking for one or two replacement characters to participate in the Slumbering Tsar Saga by Frog God Games. If you're familiar with Rappan Athuk, this is set in the same universe and in fact references the same events, but this is its own mega-adventure. It's hard by design. At times it will likely seem unfair. There's always a chance that you'll wander into an area that you're simply not prepared for and get killed. It's what Frog God Games does and that's supposed to be part of the charm of the style of the adventure, but it's certainly something you need to be prepared for ahead of time.

You'll be joining a party that currently consists of a fighter, a sorcerer, an unsworn shaman and a bard-ish multi-classer.

I'm looking for solid, but not OP characters who are good at doing what they do. Someone able to deal with traps effectively would be a good addition to the party, and given the setting you can expect to be dealing with undead and evil outsiders on a regular basis. Beyond that there are no particular builds and roles that need to be filled, so come up with something you'd enjoy playing in a dangerous setting!

I'd like players that are friendly and who post around once a day during the week and get a post in over weekends; we've been moving along at about that clip for the most part until now and I'd like to keep it up.

Character Build Rules

Start at Level 7
20 point point buy
Evil Characters are discouraged, but we'll work on a case by case basis for the right stories.
Class: Just about any Paizo class, prestige class and archetype is fair game; check if you think it might be too much.
Race: Core races, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, orcs, ratfolk, ask about others, but anything not to crazy or powerful is likely fine.
Traits: Two traits, and you can select a (play relevant) drawback to add a third. No campaign traits.
Trait Exception: Trap finder can be selected as combat trait.
Religions: Deities of the Bard's Gate Region of the Lost Lands setting are fair game.
Background Skills are in use.
Elephant in the Room Feat Tax Rules are in use.
Variant Multiclassing is in use.
Fractional Base Bonuses are in use.
Standard Wealth by level (using the Autmoatic Bonus Progression adjustment mentioned below,) so start with 11,750 gp (no more than half spent on any one item.)
HP: Max level 1, For levels beyond the first character level use the following: d6 classes get 4 hp; d8 classes get 5 hp; d10 classes get 7 hp; d12 classes get 9 hp.

Automatic Bonus Progression, Magic Armor and Weapons and Crafting/Buying House Rules:

We are using slightly modified Automatic Bonus Progression rules.

The following changes will apply:

Items that only provide bonuses to AC, saving throws and statistics longer exist. Items that used to have one of the bonuses listed along with others will have their cost reduced on a case by case basis to remove the cost of whatever part of their description has been removed.

Non-magical armor and weapons can be attuned normally using the ABP system (so you'll start with one +1 piece of armor and one +1 weapon by default at level 7.) For armor and weapons with other properties we'll use the capacity system described in the Unleashing Unchained blog post. When magic weapons or armor are bought, crafted or discovered they'll have a capacity listed.

Characters with animal companions can split the ABP bonuses they receive between themself and their animal companion however they like by default. A +2 resistance bonus, for example, could be use to give the character +2, +1 for each the character and the animal companion, or +2 for the animal companion. This can be set at the start of each day.

Additionally, items that would normally not be allowed under ABP (amulets of mighty fists and the like,) can be purchased (and only work) for animal companions as they would under non-ABP rules, but the cap on bonuses is the same as the bonus that ABP would grant at a given level. E.g. When at level 8 the animal companion could have a +2 AOMF, and when the character hit 14 that could go up to +3. If the Animal companion receives bonuses this way they wouldn't stack with the bonuses from ABP the character might be splitting with them.

When crafting or buying magic items other than weapons and armor custom items are not allowed, including the properties of different magic items from the same slot.

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If you're interested in joining us or have any questions, do let me know. Right now the party is just making it's way back from exploring the Desolation back to the Camp, the closest thing to a civilized town you'll find in the area. New characters would join the party there.

I'd like to add new characters sometime in the next week or so, so we're starting with a deadline of the evening of April 8th and we'll see who's applied at that point!


Bard's Gate's shrine to Muir's is a relatively small building in the Old Temple District of City. Although it is old, it's been well cared for over the years, and now that it is seeing more use since the fall of the Great Shrine in the Lyre Valley, it feels crowded. Here in the chapel, the decorations are only somewhat ostentatious and the symbol of Muir, a blood red upraised sword upon a white background is displayed prominently. The room has been cleared for this briefing, but through the open door you can hear the bustle of the daily activity of the clergy as they attend to their various duties. In addition to the five adventurers chosen from those who responded to the call for an exploratory expedition there are two priests of Muir in the room.

Barahil the Faithful is the taller of the two, a stern looking warrior of a priest with a reputation for bravery and austerity. His severe eyes gaze out at the group before him as if trying to measure their worth even as he speaks. "As the head of what remains of the church of Muir here in Bard's Gate it is my honor to thank you for gathering to our call. As you likely know, The Order of the Sword of Retribution has much invested in the the reclamation and of our basilica in the Lyre Valley, so we cannot currently send our own forces into the desolation surrounding the ruins of old Tsar. Until recently I hadn't imagined that we had a need to, but thanks to Brother Grindolf's discovery it seems we have need of an expedition that should not wait until our other task is done.

"You know the basic task. Brother Grindolf has found a set of orders that Zelkor, leader of the Army of Light issued to the paladin Lord Bishu more than 300 years ago at the end of the siege of Tsar. These orders were to stay behind the main body of the army and secure the former city of death and undeath, the vast Temple to blasphemous demon prince Orcus against reoccupation by it's former inhabitants or any other evil force that might try to fill the vacuum it's desertion would leave. Until this discovery it was thought that Lord Bishu had been lost with the rest of the Army of Light in the Forest of Hope, but if there is any chance of learning his actual fate, it is one that we cannot turn down.

"We have already provided you with some funds to equip yourself for the journey, and will rely on you to use your previous experiences to determine what will best suit your needs. Though our resources are stretched thin right now, I have obtained an agreement with Bolfred the Just and the Church of Thyr, who seems endlessly interested in sponsoring adventuring parties to do this sort of good, that should you find evidence of Lord Bishu and his followers we will find a way to support whatever actions make sense in the light of your discoveries.

"Beyond that I will leave you to discuss the particulars of your expedition with the one who's found cause for it. Brother Grindolf here can answer any of your questions as well as I could, and I am needed elsewhere at the moment, as always seems the case. I look forward to hearing from the Brother of your reports, and may Muir bless your holy mission."

With a brief nod to you and his fellow priest and very little ceremony Barahil turns the briefing over to Brother Grindolf and strides to the door where you see another priest waiting for him, a scroll of some sort in his hands and a worried look on his face. Barahil is already issuing orders to deal with some situation or other as the two make their way out of sight.

This leaves you with Brother Grindolf, an unassuming middle aged man who looks like he would be much more comfortable in a library than on the battlefield. You might wonder how it was he came to be a priest of the Goddess of Virtue and Paladins, but you also know that looks can be deceiving, and fate places people where it will. Once Barahil has departed, Brother Grindolf clears his throat and addresses the group in a much less imposing voice. "Er, like Father Barahil said, I'm to be your contact for this expedition. In addition the funds you've already provided I have a couple maps and documents to send with you and will do my best to answer any questions that you might have. I don't know that much of area of the ancient battle of Tsar, but I'll do my best to give you the best start possible. Now, what can I do to make that happen?"


Human Cleric 5/Hinterlander 2 | HP: 26/34 (44) | AC: 22, Touch: 15, FF: 17 | Fort: +8 Ref: +9 Will: +11 | Perception: +14 | Initiative: +7 | Channel: 2/3

We'll start planning the campaign here. It'll be fun!