The Worldsmith's page

I'm not that excited about mythic, myself. I always liked the idea better of epic leveling like what was present in 3.5, and to me it flows more naturally. Hit 20th level then have access to special classes that continue raising your level and grant you extra abilities...seems a more natural flow to me.

That's just me though. I am looking forward to a Tar-Baphon showdown after Tyrant's Grasp.

So, the automata are all nonfunctional at this point, unfortunately.

500 years ago to the day, the magic of the world fled. The flying cities fell from the sky, their connection to the greater magics failing, the great street lights faded, and the world was plunged into darkness. The food generators stopped functioning, the servitors froze where they stood, and the world quickly fell into chaos. The shocklances of the soldiers sent to keep order overseas were no longer functional, and they were quickly bludgeoned to death by rioters with stones.

A deathly silence falls through the halls as the steam is first vented with a sharp squeal. Though the magical guts of the servitors has been replaced with steam pistons and their shocklances are just wooden props heavily embossed with silver and gold, those who are not so jaded from the court all gasp as the emerald shells of the servitors snap to attention beside the glass double doors, a reminder of the pre-fall time.

I am fine with androids from the core rules (more advanced servitors, perhaps, more alive than the old automata, and thus able to survive with less magic?). I would prefer no races created using the RP rules.

You can think of the automata being more like golems in the traditional pathfinder world, and are specifically based off of emerald automaton from the emerald spire super dungeon, though I'm not planning on having them green, necessarily. You can imagine the scene in the throne room a lot like the old Chuck-e-cheese show, where you have obviously fake mannequins controlled by clever puppeteers or simple devices to give them the appearance of life.

So, unfortunately I would prefer to keep to the standard races for this one, up to 20 RP. I have found that the custom race creation rules are kind of like custom magic item creation rules. A wonderful guideline, but easily broken.

And here is Ardrans phantom, question, she will have an effective level of 5 (Adran will take the phantom ally feat at level 3) , do phantoms/eidolons/animal companions also get feats as they increase past "level 6"?

I could probably switch from a desired end level state of Bloodrager5/Spiritualist 1 to Bloodrager 4/Spiritualist 2.
Also, are we using any feat tax rules? Background skills?

Hey There.

So, this is a weakness of the P6 rules as written, in my opinion, as they don't account for any of these kind of interactions. I'll allow you to pay 1 CB from your main character to increase the phantom's effective level to 6, but no higher than that. After word, your CB points may be spent to improve either your main character or your phantom, but the phantom does not gain CB points on their own.

No feat tax rules or background skills in this instance. You can trade in CBs for feats if you have any you were unable to get, and I'm going to allow you to trade them in for skill points as well.

is there a map Of this land?

Not the mainland. There is a hex map of the isle of Icari but it will be revealed bit by bit as it is explored.

So, I am closing recruitment for new players here. If you've made a post before this one, congrats, you're in! If we don't have a viable pool of players after everyone makes characters, we'll re-open this for new submissions.

Players: I'm going to give everyone one week to get your characters and lore together. I'm fine taking character sheets however you find the most convenient, including writing it out and scanning a copy to me, google docs, mythweavers, Paizo forums, etc. If you have any questions during character creation feel free to post them here or shoot me a direct message.

Good Morning Everyone!

My apologies for the haitus over the weekend, had a society game and then had to deal with my little sister getting in a minor accident. She's fine, but it took some time out of my Sunday dealing with that.

Let me start by saying that I'm really excited in reading the lore already submitted. I think we've got a good group of people applying and there shouldn't be any issue fitting those who have applied so far into the world.

Let me start going post by post.

Mightypion: I like the idea of a kingdom of demonspawn. I am going to tweak things just a little bit, though, specifically in regards to the rumors regarding the loss of magic. I am deliberately keeping that vague. I'm fine leaving it in that it is a rumor, but I have my own plans as to why the magic ended and they may or may not be revealed, depending on how far we get in the campaign. As far as your bloodrager post later...just excellent. I look forward to seeing your character.

Lapyd: I had considered that and was planning on checking to see if there was any opposition to that. I think I want to include some magic items in the world, but only flavorful ones, not crunchy (think: Decanter of Endless Water, not Belt of Giant Strength +2).

CucumberTree: I was hoping there would be at least one anti-magic character in the group. Logically, that is a position that at least some would take after watching their world ended by magic. I'm super excited to see what kind of character you create with this one.

Michael_Hopkins: This gives me a real "We who are about to die, salute you!" kind of feel and it is marvelous. Have you decided which element you're thinking of for the Kineticist?

MordredofFairy: I am going to close recruitment today in the next post for those who have not already indicated interest, so you got in under the bar! My plan is to give everyone a week to make their character.

CrusaderWolf: About the E6 ruleset, I agree. I'm modifying the normal E6 a bit in allowing more than just feats to be bought with the extra points, but I think it's a great system. As far as magic, I'm not changing anything from the core book except putting a cap on the maximum power of magic as imposed in E6. Divine and Arcane magic still exist and are distinct. The gods haven't been written about yet because they haven't come up, but they are there and played an important part in pre-fall life. You'll notice that one thing mentioned in the original post was food creating machines. That would require the spell Create Food and Water, which is a divine spell.

Andostre: I haven't made any progress on the wiki with everything going on over the weekend. Between helping my little sister deal with insurance and car buying, it's been a bit of a weekend! The Wiki is supposed to be just a collection of what's been decided so far though, so everything should be found in this thread that has been decided so far. I'm imagining the world of the Carthi Empire (note to self: Need to come up with a name for the planet), is basically bog standard fantasy now, save for the ruins of a more magical time and the way people react to the old high fantasy.

I have a hankerin' to play an Unchained Summoner for this game. Is that ok?

That's fine, so long as it's unchained. The only restriction is on chained summoners.

The Isle of Icari was home to the mighty Carthi Empire before the dark times. Their origin was lost to the mists of time, but for thousands of years they were a bastion of strength and stability in the world. They wrought great works of might and magic, raising cities above the clouds and exploring the deepest fathoms of the sea in great glass domes. No longer did the civilized races of the world have to toil the fields unless they wished to, as their needs were provided by magic. Emerald servitors performed the day to day work of the empire, building and toiling for their mortal masters. Their armies wielded magic unheard of, pushing the bounds of their empire to the ends of the world...until the day of their collapse. 500 years ago to the day, the magic of the world fled. The flying cities fell from the sky, their connection to the greater magics failing, the great street lights faded, and the world was plunged into darkness. The food generators stopped functioning, the servitors froze where they stood, and the world quickly fell into chaos. The shocklances of the soldiers sent to keep order overseas were no longer functional, and they were quickly bludgeoned to death by rioters with stones. The comfortable world promised by the Carthi empire collapsed into barbarism and was swiftly splintered into a thousand petty kingdoms. The island home of the empire was shrouded in an impenetrable mist, and vessels sent to ascertain what was going on were never heard from again. 

In the five hundred years since the fall of the Empire, civilization has slowly reasserted itself, if in different forms than it once was. The ten thousand Kingdoms have coalesced into about twenty, the great wars of the old empire dying have finally reached their end, and the world population is a third of what it once was. Magic still exists but it is a pale shadow of what it once was, allowing a new renaissance of science and technology to flourish. Curious scholars periodically charter vessels to investigate the isle, trying to determine the reason for the fall, and just recently one of these expeditions found that the mist which once shrouded the isle has burned off, revealing the island continent once more. A brief expedition ashore found the island deserted of higher life, and was swiftly repulsed by a group of humanoids covered in coarse brown fur. 

Now, rulers of the five greatest Kingdoms have begun to send out expeditions seeking to explore and colonize the new island. Small enclaves have emerged on the Eastern edge of the island, and parties of explorers trudge deeper into the untamed wilderness, seeking out the mystery of the mists, and perhaps trying to reclaim the magic that was their birthright. 

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High above the hall of the Governor, castrati sing like choirs of angelic beings in the old language of the Carthi Empire, "He comes, He comes. The anointed one, the ever powerful! He comes, He comes! Stand aside for the high mage, the defender of the honor of Carthi! He comes, He comes! The Governor of Valirend!" 

The court has come out in its finest tonight, with countless nobles pressing close to either side of the thick purple carpet that cuts through the middle of the throne room. The air is thick with incense and musk, which only partially covers the scent of too many bodies pressed into too small of a space. Their finery is greatly varied, from priceless antique metallic foil suits that predate the fall, to thick robes that have come into fashion recently, but the one thing that all of them share is a thin sheen of sweat on their faces and exposed sections of their bodies. This place is sacred, but like most buildings built before the fall, there are far too few windows to keep the area adequately cooled. For some ceremonies, though, only the most ancient and holy of structures will do. Quiet murmurs of disagreement spring up over precedence, and the court is a constantly shifting mass as men try to elbow forward closer to the purple carpet and the man who will be walking down it. 

A deathly silence falls through the halls as the steam is first vented with a sharp squeal. Though the magical guts of the servitors has been replaced with steam pistons and their shocklances are just wooden props heavily embossed with silver and gold, those who are not so jaded from the court all gasp as the emerald shells of the servitors snap to attention beside the glass double doors, a reminder of the pre-fall time. The swords and crossbows of the guards standing beside the holy relics do a far more effective job of enforcing the peace, though. Above the double doors, a lantern is thrust through a hidden niche, appearing as a ghostly light behind the sign that scholars of the ancient language say bears the cryptic message, "Fire Exit," in glowing red letters, though none know the reason why those words are written there. As the Govenor approaches the glass doors, he waves his right hand toward them as if willing them open with magic, and a couple of burly serfs pull back the doors to allow him passage.   

Once seated upon the iron chair at the iron throne at the head of the purple carpet, the high mage gestures for the rest to settle. His eyes flick toward the door as he speaks, "Let those who have been selected to journey to Icari step forth!" 

Welcome to my campaign sign up thread. For those of you who were in the interest check thread, welcome back! For those who were not, let me go over a bit of the background of this campaign to get everyone up to speed. 

My name is Michael, and this is my first time running a PBP game in many years. I've been running a home game for years, but two of my players decided they'd hook up and are inviting their first child in a few weeks, while another one is moving for work in just a few months. Taken together, we decided to wrap up the campaign and hang up in person games for the moment. This leaves me with a bit of time on my hands and nowhere to scratch the itch. 

I am looking for players for my game. But, there's a catch with my games. You see, my players don't just consume the world, they help write it also. The world of the Carthi Empire and the Island of Icari is nebulous at this point, and I would like to see it expanded and deepened through lore that you, the players, help me write. Want to play a drow slayer? That's great! All you need to do is tell me a bit about where the drow fit into the world, and an order that trained your character. If it fits in the world, it's canon! My plan is to build this world together, and over the weekend I will be establishing a wiki that will collect all of the lore written and provide prompts for things that have not yet been discussed. Completing the writing prompts gains you some power over the game, allowing re-rolls, positive modifiers to your rolls that you can apply at your discretion, or even a 'Come Back from the Dead' token that can be cashed in when your character would otherwise die, allowing them to miraculously survive, among other rewards.

The one Kingdom that I have established in the old world is the Kingdom of Valirend mentioned above. They are a predominantly human nation that descends from the provisional governor set up shortly after the fall, modeled after the vision of the Byzantine Empire shown in the Raj Whitehall Series by David Drake and S. M. Stirling. They are a coastal nation that flourishes on trade, and have a kind of odd cargo-cult reverence for the relics of the old world, even if they are kept working largely though slight of hand and parlor tricks rather than the standing flows of magic that once powered them. They are one of the main benefactors of exploration of the isle of Icari, their reverence of the old world making them almost fanatical in their desire to see and understand the wonders that have been hidden under the mist. Their governor, Barholm, is a devout follower of the Magic Cult, and wishes nothing more than to get his hands on one of the great generators of magic that are spoken about in the old tales. There are four other great Kingdoms and as many lesser Kingdoms as we need to make the old world feel lived in. 

Most of the action takes place on the titular Isle of Icari, which is largely unexplored. There are several small settlements across the Eastern edge of the island, closest to the mainland, but the largest of them is the Free Port of Xalia, where a temporary truce has been signed between the great powers, allowing all of their agents a safe home port where the powers that be have declared that no violence will take place between the agents of the rival nations (openly). 

For your character, please use the following guidelines for creation:

• *20 point buy

• *Start at level 2, with 1000 GP. No more than 250 GP may be spent on any one item.  

• *Any 1st party class, with the exception of chained summoners. BUT: If you take a class outside of the core book, you must write at least 400 words talking about an order or organization that trains members of that class and how they fit into the ruins of the Empire on the mainland.

• *Any 1st party race, up to 20 RP. BUT: If you pick any other than human, you must write at least 400 words talking about the race and their place on the mainland.

• *Characters built using Spheres of Power/Might by Drop Dead Studios and Psionics from Dreamscarred press are allowed. No other 3rd party classes and abilities are allowed.  Characters built using third party material are treated like classes outside of the core classes, for the purpose of write ups. 

• *A player may take two traits, and may take a drawback to take a third trait. 

• *Please have a photo of your character. 

• *Your character will need a backstory. You can have them from Valirend, or from one of the other great Kingdoms, or any of the lesser Kingdoms. If you choose not to have them from Valirend, please provide a short write up about the Kingdom they come from, some information about the nature of the Kingdom, what their primary trade good is, what their relationship is with Valirend and any other described Kingdoms, and what they want on the isle of Icari. If you choose to go this route, you will be able to bank one Re-roll to use during play, or take an extra trait at character creation. 

• *We will be playing a hexcrawl game with limited resources and carrying capacity, so I would recommend at least one character be able to scrounge for food and deal with dangers in the wilderness. 

We are playing with E6 rules in this campaign. For those of you who haven't heard of it, E6 is a system where the characters stop gaining levels when they reach level 6. Due to the low-magic nature of the world, the characters just aren't able to harness magics much more powerful than that. When a character reaches 6th level, they will periodically be given a CB (Character Building) point, which can be traded in to get extra feats, ability score boosts, abilities from prestige classes, or even steal abilities from other main classes. Always wanted to play a Slayer that had a better sneak attack? Steal the rogue's sneak attack and increase yours! What about a Kineticist who is also a kick butt martial artist? You can do that! 

The main advantage of this system is that it keeps martials and casters relatively balanced, combat relatively quick, and means that an enemy that was dangerous at first level never really goes away, especially in large numbers. The characters are always at risk, and the isle is always threatening. Encounters are based on where the characters are, not the average party level, so there is a good chance when you first start exploring that you might find encounters beyond your level. Know when to fight, and when to hide. 

I will continue running this game until there is a lack of interest in the game. I'm hoping that we can create a world together that engages everyone, but if you join and later lose interest please let us know and we will write your character out of the campaign. I'm hoping for at least one post every other day per player, and unless there is some grand emergency I plan to be on the boards at least once a day. I am open to playing on the Paizo forums or on discord, and we can discuss what platform we are using once we figure out who our core crew is going to be. Currently, I'm comfortable running for 4-6 dedicated players.  

I look forward to seeing your submissions. I am also available on discord here. 

The Worldsmith (Michael)  

Sounds like a fun place to play....would like to know more about the world as its post-apocalyptical feel appeals to me!!

Keep an eye out for the recruitment thread later tonight! I'll be creating a discord and sending out a link. I'm hoping we can get people together to do a bit of collaborative world building.

Humans(and their allegories) are fundamentally broken inside where they constantly fight the evil within. For 500 years they have been without. Nearly all would have no idea of the new powers to be unleashed on them. I'd say the reawakening of massive magic machines (like flying cities) would spur even more adventures...But that's the optimist inside me.

You're certainly not wrong, but for right now I'm designing the world for low magic and low power. If the campaign goes on long enough and is successful enough, I may consider doing a follow up campaign after the restoration of power to continue the story.

Cucumber,

For your first question, that's the big question of the game...if there is a way, the scholars of the world haven't discovered it yet. Out of character, I haven't decided yet. I'm thinking there probably is, but if we enacted that, it would be a game ending change. Logically, high magic as described takes away most of the challenge of the world, especially if only one faction has it, and will return the world to peace where there is no more need to adventurers.

E6 is a system where the characters stop advancing after 6th level. No magic higher than 3rd level, no more than two or three attacks per round. Monsters which are dangerous at 1st level are still dangerous in high level games, in larger numbers. Here is an Paizo Forum Post discussing the E6 System for those unfamiliar.

As for the gods? I haven't gotten that far yet. My preference is to do a bit of collaborative world building with my players, with one of those questions being what Gods there are and how the change might have affected them.

Robert, Call me Michael. I'm hoping for daily posting rates, but I'm fine with weekly if that's the call. I'm thinking a group of 4 players, but if I can get a group committed to posting regularly I can add more in. I was planning on taking a vote to see what platform we would be playing on, but my first preference would be this forum. As far as longevity...I would love for this to be a long running game, but that will depend on player interest.

Lapyd, That's my exact idea. I tend to be a simulationist GM...I create a world and let the players run free in it. If the power level grows too much, though, its hard to balance that in a sandbox, so I try to keep it in a bit tighter of a power range. I'll type up a recruitment thread when I get home from work today.

Hello, my name is Michael and I'm addicted to designing and running worlds. 

The ancient city stretches before your characters into the far distance. Towers taller than the highest bough stretch to either side of a ruined road made of some strange gray mineral, creating a narrow slot of daylight overhead. The mineral, once solid, has been broken by immense time, exposing gaps in the surface through which giant creeper vines have begun the process of climbing the buildings on either side seeking sunlight, now brown and dormant due to approaching winter. Gaping holes in the structures, some of which still have glass shards embedded in them, reveal only darkness within. The wind whips between the buildings, a cutting cold breeze that brings the promise of snow to come, for those who are weather-wise enough to spot it. Every few hundred yards, a cross-street between the buildings emerges, sketching out a rough grid shape to the city otherwise completely covered in overgrown structures. In the distance, a howl of some creature can be heard deeper in the ruins, and then a swiftly silenced cry of panic by a small creature. Roll Perception. 

So, my home group recently dissolved. Two of my four players hooked up and are welcoming their first child into the world, and another is six months away from moving for their job. This leaves me with a bit of time on my hands and nowhere to scratch the itch, so here I am. I've been working on a Hexcrawl world with sandbox elements, but before I get too far I wanted to see if there was any interest here. 

So, what happens if a high-magic world suddenly becomes low magic? 

The Isle of Icari was home to the mighty Carthi Empire before the dark times. Their origin was lost to the mists of time, but for thousands of years they were a bastion of strength and stability in the world. They wrought great works of might and magic, raising cities above the clouds and exploring the deepest fathoms of the sea in great glass domes. No longer did the civilized races of the world have to toil the fields unless they wished to, as their needs were provided by magic. Emerald servitors performed the day to day work of the empire, building and toiling for their mortal masters. Their armies wielded magic unheard of, pushing the bounds of their empire to the ends of the world...until the day of their collapse. 500 years ago to the day, the magic of the world fled. The flying cities fell from the sky, their connection to the greater magics failing, the great street lights faded, and the world was plunged into darkness. The food generators stopped functioning, the servitors froze where they stood, and the world quickly fell into chaos. The shocklances of the soldiers sent to keep order overseas were no longer functional, and they were quickly bludgeoned to death by rioters with stones. The comfortable world promised by the Carthi empire collapsed into barbarism and was swiftly splintered into a thousand petty kingdoms. The island home of the empire was shrouded in an impenetrable mist, and vessels sent to ascertain what was going on were never heard from again. 

In the five hundred years since the fall of the Empire, civilization has slowly reasserted itself, if in different forms than it once was. The ten thousand Kingdoms have coalesced into about twenty, the great wars of the old empire dying have finally reached their end, and the world population is a third of what it once was. Magic still exists but it is a pale shadow of what it once was, allowing a new renaissance of science and technology to flourish. Curious scholars periodically charter vessels to investigate the isle, trying to determine the reason for the fall, and just recently one of these expeditions found that the mist which once shrouded the isle has burned off, revealing the island continent once more. A brief expedition ashore found the island deserted of higher life, and was swiftly repulsed by a group of humanoids covered in coarse brown fur. 

Now, rulers of the five greatest Kingdoms have begun to send out expeditions seeking to explore and colonize the new island. Small enclaves have emerged on the Eastern edge of the island, and parties of explorers trudge deeper into the untamed wilderness, seeking out the mystery of the mists, and perhaps trying to reclaim the magic that was their birthright. 

Your characters will be the explorers sent by the five Kingdoms, or independent explorers or treasure hunters wishing to seek out wealth in the ruins of the Empire. I'm running this as an E6 Pathfinder 1e game, using some custom Gestalt rules. Spells above 3rd level are unknown, and characters never advance past 6th level, but after they gain 6th level they gain CB (Character Builder) points periodically, which allow them to purchase abilities from other classes, feats, ability increases, or advance in prestige classes, gaining the abilities but not increased levels, BAB, or HP. The world is low magic and dangerous, and the characters are always at risk of death if they get in over their heads.  

So, is there any interest in this kind of a game?