Search Posts
I am prepping to run a Play-by-Post adventure using the award-winning
Stay tuned for my official recruitment announcement -- *taps fingertips together*
(Hanging on the tavern wall) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
By decree of the esteemed Baroness Myrtle Hellbane,
This adventure is inspired by the classic D&D adventure "B2 - Keep on the Borderlands" by Gary Gygax. This is similar in tone and theme but with some heavy-handed customization in an endeavor to take a fresh look at a classic. There is no overarching meta-plot here; the borderlands are an adventurer's paradise filled with opportunities that don't necessarily link together, making the players' choices the guiding force that determines the course of events that unfold. This is a home-brew setting using the Pathfinder rule set. I'm looking for 4-6 players. My prediction is for this game to run up to about character level 6 or 7 before this adventure comes to a conclusion. Decisions can be made at that time whether or not to continue on or start anew. Most combats will be represented via google slides. Please read all of the information below before posting. Character submissions that do not adhere to the guidelines presented will not be considered. Happy applying! ------------ Gamemaster Zedth presents,
Outside the realm of mankind, the hallmarks of civilization are narrow and constricted. Always the forces of chaos press upon its borders, seeking to enslave it populace and steal its treasures. If it were not for a stout few, many in the borderlands would fall prey to the evil which surrounds them. Yet, there are always certain exceptional and brave members of humanity and its allies - dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, and more - who rise above the common level and join battle to stave off the darkness which would otherwise overwhelm the land. A generation has passed since the Hellwar came to a end, marking the close of more than a century of conflict between the goodly folk of Atma and the unleashed minions of hell. Recent years have been spent rebuilding what used to be. On the eastern borderlands of the free realms of Mylosia rests a keep that had lain dormant for many years, as its garrison was withdrawn an age ago to join in the war effort. The lands surrounding the keep are rich in precious minerals and rare lumbers, and so the loss of the hub from which these resources could be gathered stung deeply. The absence of the firm hand of order has allowed evil to again threaten to engulf these wild lands. Tribes of kobolds, goblins, and gnolls - once pushed back by hearty folk of the old keep - have reclaimed their ancestral homes and stomping grounds. Roaming bandits, unruly wildlife, and myriad other dangers have likewise moved into the area, safe in the knowledge that the goodly races had left the countryside behind. Recent weeks had changed the status quo. A strike force had been sent to retake the forsaken keep and drive out those who had claimed it for themselves. While the assault had indeed been a success, the new garrison lacked the manpower to accomplish much more than hold the keep's walls. These recent initiatives have breathed new life into the castle, but it will take the vigilance of heroes willing to maintain the supply lines and fight back against the unruly neighbors if the keep is to remain in the hands of goodly folk. Myrtle Hellbane, local baroness and retired adventurer, has issued a decree that willing and able folk eager for adventure and treasure should report to the village of Sowell's Orchard, found two weeks march east of the free city of Broaklesh, where they can enlist with a caravan traveling to the once-lost keep on the borderlands. There are promises of generous bounties to be claimed, lands and title to be earned, and glory enough to go around. ------------ Please read the information below to ensure that you are familiar with my house rules: -Weapon Focus/Weapon Specialization (and their future progressions) now apply to a weapon group (see Fighter in the CRB) instead of a single weapon. -Weapon Finesse may be taken as a Trait instead of a Feat at character creation -or- may be obtained via Favored Class Bonus (any class) at a rate of 1/3. -Combat Expertise no longer has the "Int 13" prerequisite. Furthermore, this feat may be taken as a Trait instead of a Feat at character creation -or- obtained via Favored Class Bonus (any class) at a rate of 1/3. ------------ Starting character information:
------------ Important, please read: ----------- Please make your submissions below and feel free to ask questions. I do ask that you try to keep posting to a minimum, as recruitment threads with high post numbers often get overlooked. I look forward to meeting you folks.
I've played 3.x since 2000, played 2e long before that, and play a handful of RPGs nowadays including PF, 5e, and more. I have tons of PF books and this game is near and dear to my heart, I have every intention of continuing to play PF for many years to come, but after many years of experience I find myself strongly disliking certain aspects of our favorite RPG. Primarily I hate how restrictive movement is on the 'Full Attack' action. Secondarily I dislike how lame it is to take a -5 cumulative penalty on each successive iterative attack. What do you guys think are the reasons for the designers putting these punitive measures on melee combatants? Other than nullifying the purpose of some feats (such as Spring Attack) what would be the result of allowing players in a Pathfinder game to:
In 5th edition D&D you can attack at any point in your move - before, during, and/or after. This 'attack' can includes multiple attack rolls, meaning you could attack and kill the goblin adjacent to you, move 10 feet, kill another goblin, then finish your remaining 20 feet of movement. This is baked into the normal combat rules and requires no special feats to achieve. To me this feels more organic, more intuitive, and frankly more conducive to fun. I'm curious to try this in my next PF campaign, as a profound house-rule change experiment. What pitfalls do you predict that I may not be seeing?
I was going through my old D&D books for inspiration the other day when I read through how initiative functions on 2e. It got me thinking. In short it works like this:
This adds a tangible bit of chaos to the combat encounter since the players cannot predict the exact order their actions will take place in until their dice are rolled. I'm super curious to try this out with Pathfinder! I've played 3.x since launch in 2000 and so I enjoy changing things up once in a while to see how they play out. Sometimes combat in Pathfinder can get a bit robotic and so I've been considering trying this out in an upcoming game. I would keep the roll as a d20, acting from highest to lowest instead of porting the d10 with actions from lowest to highest, and I would probably handwave the optional rules of modifiers based on weapon size to keep things simple. What do you think the consequences would be? Do you see any pitfalls that I might be missing? Does this sound cool to anyone else but me?
I will be running a game for two buddies in the very near future, one of which hasn't touched a tabletop RPG in over a decade. I want him to have a balls-to-the-wall fun experience during this reintroduction to the hobby, and so I wanted to solicit some colorful and gritty ideas from my fellow forum lurkers to help paint a vivid picture he won't forget. One of the guys loves Game of Thrones (so do I) and I think adding in some of that GoT vibe would go a long way in conveying a gritty, memorable gaming experience. This of course is just one avenue to explore; the setting will be a typical classic fantasy setting replete with dragons, gnolls, goblins and such, but I think I want to put more of a focus on the political situation that the common folk find themselves embroiled in, meaning that the campaign's villains would more often be of the Lord/Lady variety as opposed to a red dragon. What gritty encounter ideas do you folks have that could help me set this scene? -------------------- I'll start off with a couple that I've come up with. 1) The skyward black columns of smoke you've (the party) been following have turned out to be the remains of a small farming village. A dozen hovels have been reduced to scorched shells. Embers fly carelessly into the air from the still-burning haystacks at the field's end. A sudden groan catches your attention - it's a peasant farmer, sitting limply against a chopping stump, dying from the deep stomach wound inflicted by some bygone raiders. The man strains to raise his gaze, looking up without an ounce of fight left in him, ready to take whatever fate comes with these newcomers. 2) This roadside inn didn't look like much from the outside, and it turned out it was even less on the inside. It's dank, cloistered, and utterly lacking in the charms one longs for on the open road. Despite the details, it was better than the droning pitter patter of rain on your helmet that managed to soak you to the bone for the last few days' travel. You are the only customers aside from the half-dozen soldiers of <insert local Lord's/Lady's name here>. The innkeeper nor his daughter have even acknowledged your presence as they seem more than occupied by the six uncouth men. One of them speaks up as the proprietor hustles to and fro in an attempt to keep food on their table and their drinks topped off. "Oi, I'll have another ale and summore bread, and make it snappy or else I might turn to other appetites..." says a particularly ugly soldier in his muddy leathers, grasping the innkeeper's daughter by her waist. She is obviously terrified but reluctantly sits on his lap in fear of upsetting the men who have already given her father a blackened eye. A shorter grunt with a tougher glint in his eye chimed in to the conversation,
The soldier turns to you, sizing you up to make sure it was an unfair fight,
We are looking for 1-2 players to join us in our ongoing epic. Here is the link to our game. We've been going on for over 2 years and we have some awesome story built up with some fantastic players. We're at a 'pause' briefly due to one of our players being occupied with issues that don't allow for game time, and we're not sure if that player will be returning. This is an open-world, meta-plot, epic freaking game that has taken us places that I did not anticipate as a GM. The plot and direction has been very player-driven and so we need another player or two to join us and help add their energy to the fun! We have 4400+ posts, so I know that's a lot for a player to jump in with. I will be adding a brief synopsis to this thread later (possibly as late as tomorrow) to get fresh eyes up to speed. You're of course welcome to read through our gameplay posting as well. Character creation:
House rules:
Other considerations:
--------- I look forward to meeting you and your characters!
Inspired by the classic D&D adventure 'B2 - Keep on the Borderlands' by Gary Gygax. This is very similar in tone and theme but with some heavy-handed customization as an endeavor to take a fresh look at a classic. 
Hello friends, This is my fighter that I am currently playing in a PbP Emerald Spire campaign. I am really enjoying the game and the character but as I am not even close to an expert on build ideas/feat knowledge/general optimization, I wanted to solicit some feedback and suggestions from the community here. Do you see any major pitfalls in my build?
Current feats:
A few points of note:
Hello friends, This is my fighter that I am currently playing in a PbP Emerald Spire campaign. I am really enjoying the game and the character but as I am not even close to an expert on build ideas/feat knowledge/general optimization, I wanted to solicit some feedback and suggestions from the community here. Do you see any major pitfalls in my build?
A few points of note:
Hello forum friends, Here is a nifty map that I drew up in about 25 minutes on this cool website. I was just kinda eyeballing it for fun, with no particular goal in mind other than to make a fun adventure backdrop for a new campaign. I was hoping for some inspiration from you folks! Take a look and tell me - what do you see?
My simple vision is that this area of the world, titled simply The Far Reach, is a new frontier with little in the way of goodly folk but rich in D&D goodness such as ruins, evil humanoids, and the like. The PCs would likely be arriving by sea. I'd love to hear any opinions you have to offer.
**Private Recruitment for friends** =================================== Hey guys, Try out a post here in this thread. 
As far as I know there are only 2 apps that Paizo offers -- the crit deck and the fumble deck in app form. I'm curious why there aren't many, many more. Paizo is wonderfully active in giving the player base a multitude of source material, options, toys, and tools to make their Pathfinder experience as awesome as it can be. I put forth that there is money to be made and great tools to be offered in the form of iphone/ipod//ipad/android apps. I currently use several independent apps for a variety of things that are immensely helpful in-game at my home tabletop sessions.
Those are just a few examples of apps that I believe Paizo could duplicate (and make better, streamline, or expand upon) that thousands of us hungry players would happily give our money for. Paizo, let's get this in the works! There is a untapped revenue stream that you are ignoring completely (your incentive!) that will make your customers' games more streamlined and awesome. (our incentive!) Thoughts?
There are so many wonderful forumers/posters who go out of their way to provide class guides, campaign conversions, character concept, and many other threads worthy of praise. I believe these are worthy of higher traffic as well. I would like to suggest a feature that would facilitate these thread's visibility. This feature would be akin to the "favorite post" but would be exclusive to one's own threads/posts. It would allow one to "feature" their favorite threads on their alias profile. To further the concept, these featured posts (featured specifically on one's alias profile screen) could be featured in a "Featured Posts" sub-forum, populating that forum based on popularity calculated by the number of "favorite post" clicks or post traffic. I believe this would create visibility for those really great threads on an unprecedented level.
Hello Forum, First off, I love Dark Sun. It was my first long-term campaign experience in D&D in the mid-90s and it has had a place in my heart ever since. I've been running a small Pathfinder Dark Sun game for my wife and a coworker and I'm finding myself coming up with unanswered questions about some of the Athasian lore and seemingly mundane details. I see the Dark Sun 2015 conversion thread in this messageboard and it is a great read. I was hoping to capitalize on any Dark Sun fan traffic haunting this area of the forums. If anyone has answers and/or thoughts on the following points, I would great appreciate your chiming in. 1) Sorcerer Kings/Queens defiling. So every city-state is ruled by a wicked king or queen, actively pursuing immortality and power at the expense of the world around them. The campaign setting explicitly states that defiling magic destroys life (flora in particular) in proximity to the spellcaster, and the size of the defiling is proportional to the spell level.
2) Station in society. Simply put-- How do slaves, nobles, and merchants differentiate one another? Since virtually any human/demihuman can be a slave, one cannot distinguish a slave at a glance based on race alone. What is stop a slave from killing a noble in an alley, putting on his finery, and walking out of the city gates? Are there typical means of identification that I'm not seeing in the campaign setting? (such as branding, clothing articles, scarring, tattoos, etc) 3) Weapons galore! I love the 'Brom' art of Dark Sun. His depictions of the savagery that is Athas was undoubtedly a powerful factor in this campaign capturing my imagination so thoroughly.
Do any of you know of any illustrations that show all/most of the unique Athasian weaponry? (Ideally with labels for each weapon) 4) Potions as fruits This is a lame question because it is not so much clarification as it is asking for someone to point me in the right direction.
---- I know I have more unanswered questions hiding in the back of my mind right now, so maybe I'll chime in again later with additional requests for help. Thanks in advance for your input and thoughts.
Greetings! We have a really great game going since July 2014. It is an epic adventure in my homebrew world of Atma. We recently lost a player, a ranger. The party is pretty well rounded but we wanted to open recruiting for a 5th party member. Character creation guidelines:
The party currently consists of: -Human Invulnerable Rager Barbarian
I encourage you to read the campaign tab and some of our gameplay to see if you would fit in and would enjoy taking part in our epic. I look forward to hearing from you!
Hello forum,
In short, my player wants to create a wondrous item that can cast Shield 3/day, as a swift action. I'm not finding much help with the item creation rules for a couple reasons:
See the spoiler for my player's exact words, examples cited, and request.
My Player's Magic Item request:
Some math: CL x SL x 2000 x 2
However, a continuous +4 shield bonus would be most likely an animated +2 steel shield, that is equals a +4 shield, which is 16,000 gp or 8000gp to create. With this behind us, there are some other factors to consider:
So, if we see this side, an item with constant shield spell, would be like someone using a +2 animated Ghost Touch heavy shield with the additional effect of an unlimited Brooch of Shielding and unlimited turns of animated (That’s roughly about 52k gold, without counting the unlimited animated effect), and I’m sure that I, as DM would never allow such item to be created for only 2000gp. So, here I am now trying to convincing you to allow me to create that item! Anyway, I wanted to create an item that allows use of shield spell 3 times per day as a swift action.
On a side note, we could work with an item with ‘three’ charges, each charge needing five casts of shield to fill up. (Considering as quicken, it would be same as a level 5 spell). Anyway, lots of ramblings about it but in the end, here is the most important part: What do you think? How should I approach this item creation?
Your time and answers would be greatly appreciated.
Hello Forum, I've got lots of experience with GMing, and I'm wondering if this might actually be a detriment to the Beginner Box experience. I'm afraid that I will accidentally apply too many of the Core rules out of habit. I wanted to ask if anyone has ever dissected the CRB vs the BB, and made a list of the most common rules that are absent in the BB. This is sort of a reverse engineering I'm looking for. As opposed to asking what rules do I use in the BB experience, I am asking if anyone knows "what rules do I leave out?" I understand there are MANY rules that show in the CRB that are not present, but I was referring more specifically to skill use and combat. Anyone have any tips for keeping me on track with the BB?
I started this new thread because I know the higher post-count tend to not get as many views.
I encourage you to look over the game play, look over the Campaign Info tab for some detail and fluff, and please post if you're interested! We're a pretty fast-paced game. Most of us like to post a few times a day, but the minimum is once per day, excluding weekends. We're looking for 1, maybe 2 new players. The current party makeup is:
Because they're so well-rounded already, almost any character could fit in well and bring strength to the group. Here are the basic guidelines:
Character Creation:
Basics: Level 2 character. (see house rules spoiler below regarding level 2 hit points) 20 Point buy. 500 GP starting wealth. No evil alignments. Choose 2 traits(APG only, choose from different lists, no two of the same type. *IF you want traits from other books, they must be approved.) Classes, Races, Feats, Spells: Core Rulebook, Advanced Player Guide only. *exception-No Summoners. *exception. I will allow Tieflings as they directly tie into the theme of the campaign. If you choose tiefling as a race in this campaign, you must be Good-aligned. That's my only caveat. I will likely not pick more than one tiefling PC unless I'm really feeling generous. I really prefer the classic feel to my games, so I prefer sticking close to core. Class archetypes and racial feature swaps: APG only. Background Story: I'm big on flavor. I want a background story in your profile and I want it to make me either laugh, cry, or go "hell ya!" It doesn't have to be ultra long, just make it count for something. Take a look at the "Factions of Note" spoiler, it will help with understanding your place in this land. All the players will be unofficial members of the Consortium of Light. As it is more or less a motley crew of heroes, your backgrounds can be as varied as you want. Feel free to make up town/city names, we might could revisit those places later if the story arc takes us there. House Rules: 1) XP I don't use XP. I will arbitrarily level you up, every so often. 2) Hit Points Max HP at lvl 1. At level up roll as normal, but take a minimum of half your hit die if you roll low. 3) Crits A natural 20 is an auto-confirm crit, unless your opponent is 3+ HD more than you. The idea is to make natural 20s more exciting when you're in combat with an opponent that is about your level or lower. 4) Melee touch attacks Players may choose to add their DEX modifier or their STR modifier to their attack rolls when making a melee touch attack.
Our tale begins with the newly formed companions out on the road, a week out from the free city of Tarlof, where they met one another in a sewer. Coming from an array of backgrounds you all had come to the conclusion that you'd rather live free than live under the tyranny of the minions of Ultruu and his armies of sin. Whispered rumors reached your ears naming Tarlof as a budding safenest for a growing underground resistance some were calling The Consortium of Light. If rumor reached the wrong ears however, that city would swiftly come under more scrutiny, and scrutiny is the last thing any underground organization needs. It was in the dank sewers of Tarlof where you all met for the first time, advised by one contact or another to congregate there. It was there you met others like you--strangers in a harsh world from all walks of life with one thing in common - a will to make a difference.
It was there when you knew you were part of something bigger than yourselves. It was there that you joined the Consortium of Light. Exchanged News:
-Some sort of initiative was being spearheaded to organize a plan to shift the momentum away from Ultruu's minions and back to the mortal goodly folk of the realm. This initiative was taking the form of a council of leaders and heroes, congregating in the little town of Archdale toward the northern tip of the Frostfang mountain range. -The township of Sojourn which rests on the northeastern edge of the Everwood, has been freed from hellish control for the first time in a century! (Sojourn is on the way from Tarlof to Archdale) -Ultruu has rumored to have taken the next step to obtaining godhood. Rumors speak of a jet black scaled monstrosity, that eats children in the night, that disappears into shadow, that leaves behind shed scales that pulse with a black warmth. -The Elven city of Toria is splitting into factions-- some wanting to remain in isolation, others wanting to aid the war effort. -The port city of Haven is said to be under attack by a large army of hellish minions and mortal collaborators. Rumors indicate that the defense effort does not go well.
You heroes, now nearly a week north of Tarlof, are nearing the little town of Sojourn. You've had the tall pines of the Everwood to your left for the last few days of travel. The farther north you travel, the more hilly and steep the countryside becomes. You eyes are constantly drawn to the Everwood's beautiful rugged hills, building up to small mountains covered in soaring cliffs and evergreen trees. When the road you have traveled on has finally turned northwest and veered you toward the now visible Sojourn, an early snow begins blanketing the countryside. In the warm red light of the setting sun you see smoke rising from the town and your first thoughts are of warm meals and warmer beds, the smell of cooking fires and fresh baked bread. Perception DC 10:
To your horror, you quickly realize those columns of smoke are too numerous for comfort. Even from your distance there is a sense of foreboding. A fortunate shift of the wind carries the potent stench of rotting flesh. It appears the rumor of Sojourn's liberation was either false, or short-lived. Perception DC 15: To your horror, you quickly realize those columns of smoke are too numerous for comfort. Even from your distance there is a sense of foreboding. A fortunate shift of the wind carries the potent stench of rotting flesh. You think you see carrion birds in the sky, and lining what is left of the town walls. There appear to be black-armored men...or creatures...standing guard here and there. It appears the rumor of Sojourn's liberation was either false, or short-lived. You also saw movement of several humanoids and the flash of sunlight on steel at the edge of the Everwood, nearly 500 yards from the perimeter wall.
I want to thank everyone who submitted characters. I liked each and every one of your characters and it was a hard decision, but I have chosen our starting party of 6.
The party will be: Chaek' Laktar, Half-Orc Fighter
Everyone in the party, please make final audits of your characters, update your alias pages, and chime in on the Discussion tab to let me know that you accept. I will post first game background and set the stage tomorrow after I get home from work.
Hello forum, I confess a certain ignorance regarding many of the hot topics on these boards. One topic I've seen on thread titles, but I haven't read deeply into, is whether or not Summoners are "OP". I believe I've read that the Summoner class is not PFS legal? Is that correct? Also its seems that most PBPost GMs do not allow Summoners(or at least ban certain archetypes) in their games. I am starting my first PBPost game, and I am soliciting you all for your opinions on this matter, so help me make a more educated decision as to whether I should allow them. Thanks for any thoughts you have.
Hello community,
I know next to nothing about Golarion. Where is the best place to start?? I see in the products there are a bunch of "____" of Golarion source books, but I don't see anything that resembles the classic "campaign setting" "boxed set" that I've been used to in Ad&D. I know in 3.0/3.5 the campaign settings tended to be a PHB-sized hardbound sourcebook. Is there are a similar product for Golarion? Something with maps, basic info on cities, politics, races, powers-that-be, etc? I appreciate any help in directing me.
Am I wrong in thinking this seems like too much damage? That is enough damage to knock a full grown commoner unconscious and on death's door, in a split second. Something about that seems off to me. Seems like 1d8 or 1d6+1 might be more appropriate. Am I crazy?
Looking for some players interested in learning the Play-by-post world with me.
Greetings to my possible new friends in the City of Sin, I am probing for interest right now. I might need a player or two to fill a spot(s) at my existing game, and/or I might be starting a whole new game sometime in the near future. Game info:
I generally prefer 3-5 players. I live on the south-west side of town; first game meet-ups would preferably be at a game shop near there. -I think the closest shop with tables is Little Shop of Magic on Flamingo and Decatur. Reply to thread if you're interested.
"Stay in saddle, Ride DC 5: you can react instantly to try to avoid falling when your mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when you take damage. This usage does not take an action." This "or when you take damage" is what bothers me. I see nothing at all in the mounted combat section (pg 201-202 CRB) regarding having to make a ride check when you've taken damage. Shouldn't that section specifically iterate this? It seems like a pretty important omission. I feel like it needs some clarification. Any damage at all? Someone acid splashes a mounted rider for 1 point of damage, and they need that ride check to stay in the saddle?
Does this also mean that anyone with a minimum total skill bonus check of +4 to ride can essentially never be dismounted until that mount dies or goes unconscious? I have a hard time wrapping my head around this. Any thoughts?
Fishing for some fun ideas for some Swampy encounters. My players are going to be nearing the swamp and probably be entering it for a couple of quests. I have some ideas already in mind, but what I'm asking the Paizo forum guys/gals for are some more ideas to bring life to the swamp.
Fire away!
Example-
The monster poisons a PC who failed his initial saving throw. He takes 1d3 str damage.
Question is: Does that PC roll for the poison on HIS turns from there on out, or are the remaining poison rolls done on the Monster's turn since the initial poisoning was done (and rolled for) on the monster's turn?
I have looked on these forums and searched the internet for the answer so I apologize if this has been asked before, I keep seeing 2 different cover arts for the Bestiary ii on 3rd party sites (such as Ebay). What is the deal?
Why are there 2 covers? Is one newer than the other? |
