The Southern slopes of the mountain called Bethas, in the lands north of Lady Inarossa’s and Sir Henri Vessocho’s townships.
Day 1. It is the beginning of the third week of Arlaunvie, the fading of spring and the onset of summer. It has been fourteen days since Hallister first set out from the Capitol city, to find the missing princess, Farina Rosaria Fredrosse , the daughter of the King of Karrita Morianna, King Werdenand Fredrosse
There are no roads, this far to the north of the townships of Inarrosa and Vessocho. Here, below the southern face of the mountain the dwarves call Bethas, there is a natural spring which feeds the headwaters of the Lenore River and this river tumbles through a rocky valley, twisting and turning, falling over long ragged chains of glistening rocks or crashing loudly down narrow cuts in the valley floor, until it finally slows down into a lazy stretch of winding water flowing across the highlands within the borders of the Township of Vessocho.
It is just less than six miles, this falling and tumbling waterway, from the spring below the mountain top to the town of Three Willows, but it is not an easy trek. The way is hard, with occasional climbs down water sprayed boulders, and long slow marches along narrow “goat trails” that threaten a fall hundreds of feet to the floor below with a single misstep.
There is no place else Miagnik and his companions know about anywhere closer than Three Willows, and though the Township of Inarossa lies just a few miles to the west, or maybe the southwest, it is unfamiliar territory, and even though Moralane is not likely to become lost if the party were to set out that way, the risk of running into hostile goblins, or worse, some mountain troll in search of a meal was something none of them was up to facing at the moment.
Their hearts were sinking in their chests.
For a couple of weeks the group had known only minor setbacks, now and then, and it seemed that no enemy they faced was not overcome, eventually, by either force of blade or the mastery of fire, but in the blink of an eye everything changed.
The party discovered a group of goblin necromancers, who claimed to be opposed to the necromancer Omara, who had captured some dwarves that appeared to be members of the “followers” of the Helmsman. They had taken control of an ancient temple on the third level of the old goblin tombs, but for whatever reason why they were at war with Omara instead of in league with her no one could tell, maybe it was another faction of goblins determined to take control of the tombs of the great goblin kings, maybe they were revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the dwarven rulers of this island, whatever the reason was there had just not been enough time to find out. These goblins had control of Golems, powerful creatures resistant to most magic and conventional weapons, and before the group could put to use the weapons they had found, Hallister was trapped by the monster made of bones, and there was nothing left to do but run, run in the hope that a rescue could be carried out once more heroes could be found.
Now Miagnik and Moralane were leading their new friends Chuffer and Mixz back to Three Willows. There, Miagnik had left behind a chest filled with so many coins the counting seemed insurmountable.
He was sure that there would be enough to hire some dwarves in Three Willows willing to return to the mountain, what made him nervous was what would happen when word got out that he was hiring, and willing to pay. He didn’t know the town well, and hoped Moralane did (she did!) and more than that he was counting on her name as a way to keep the locals under control. After all, she was the daughter of the Knight who was lord of the Township.
All they needed to do was take it slow and steady, navigate the canyon back to the low lands and then follow the river to Three Willows, find Dwarbon’s house, and then find a tavern where out of work dwarves gathered to drink away their woes, hire some heroes, and return as quickly as possible.
How hard could that be, really?
It is an eight to ten hour hike down the mountain, following the tumbling river to the town of Three Willows. At this time of year the day has 14 hours of daylight – assuming you exited the Palace at around 9 in the morning, you will reach Three Willows at between 5 and 7 pm. About 2 to 4 hours before sunset. Miagnik, Moralane, Chuffer, and Mixz can post in response to this message, using the ooc tag “At Dwarbon’s Hose” or something that indicates you want to talk to you fellow travelers before they set out to hire new heroes to help rescue Hallister
The original four characters from Palace of the Vampire Queen will need to journey to the nearest village, Three Willows, (where they left a large sum of money in the safe keeping of a dwarf named,
Dwarbon Desdorelli
Search out a tavern, and try to hire adventurers willing to join them in returning to the dungeon to rescue their captured friend.
They have time to shop for goods they think they may need, or to research spells, or create simple magic items.
There is a being within this village that may be of help to them
They will find, after they have rested, and feel a bit calm that they are a bit wiser for the wear, and maybe have learned a few new things
Miagnik, Chuffer, and Mixz will advance to level 6
This game has seen many players come and go over its course, but one of the original players is still with us, Hallister (played by Doomed Hero) and this character was just captured by one of the villains of the Palace.
Now I am shutting down that game, but not technically ending it.
For this recruitment I would like to get three or four players interested in participating in an adventure to rescue Hallister, and if the game is a success, it could pick up the quest to end the plans of the Vampire Queen once and for all
First – no player will be expected to read the old thread. Your character does not need to know what has happened up to this point. It will be assumed that the remaining characters, a gnome witch, a goblin ninja, and a goblin sorcerer, will escape the palace and search for heroes to hire in order to aid them in the rescue of their friend.
Character Creation will be highly restrictive, and I know that will turn away a lot of players, but I want to keep the setting as it was begun
As part of this recruitment thread, I have asked the existing characters to join in the effort, for in the setting the three remaining heroes have agreed to set out to find help to rescuer their friend
Character Creation
Only Dwarven characters should apply
Initial character level is randomly determined by the roil of a d4+1
HP will be max at level 1, rolled for each other level, always reroll any roll of a “1” when rolling for hit point
Ability Scores
Character creation will be by “purchase” with a minor modification. Points will be set at 18. No character may begin the game with a Charisma score below 8 (not allowed to be lowered below 10 during creation, for Dwarven characters).
Race
As noted above, all characters will be Dwarves. Dwarves will be as per the Core Rulebook but will not have a +1 modifier to attacks against “orcs” as no such creatures exist within the Empire.
Classes
Class will be restricted to the following list
(the current party has a Witch, a Sorcerer, and a Ninja)
Starting Equipment
Beginning Gear for Player Characters at level 1
The common Dwarf carries from five to fifty copper coins at any time (5d10), and a meal in a tavern, or a few beers, will normally cost only a couple of copper pieces. It is very rare for anyone to carry silver or gold coins (in fact there are rumors among the common folk that wealthy Dwarves on the island are hording gold and silver coins, but the truth is not so simple).
To begin play each 1st level Player character will have:
250 Copper Pieces
A set of good quality clothes, boots, a hat, cloak, belt, and a leather shoulder bag (the shoulder bag will hold one square foot of goods weighing up to twenty pounds)
A long knife (comparable to a standard Dagger)
All characters start with this gear – to determine the gear your character has when joining this game use the standard wealth by level guidelines
2nd level 1,000 gp
3rd level 3,000 gp
4th lvl 6,000 gp
5th level 10,500 gp
You can spend this gold on any items in the core rule book, but when you are done equipping your character convert all gold coins remaining to copper coins, dropping any silver from the remaining value you have
When purchasing equipment or goods in the campaign setting (as a role play activity) copper coins spend much like silver or gold coins depending on the specific situation, what you are trying to buy and who you are trying to buy it from
Magic items are extremely rare in this setting
The adventure is set on an Island, called Karrita Morianna, which is part of the dwarven empire of Atharosse, an island chain off the west coast of a northern continent of the world of Riom
The current situation on this island is that dwarves and goblins get along reasonably well
In this campaign setting Gnomes are the offspring of goblin/dwarf relations
The primary goal of the adventure will be to penetrate down to the third level of the Palace of the Vampire Queen, and rescue Hallister.
I’ll stop here for now, to see if there is any interest, and as always I’ll be happy to answer any questions that come up
I’m sort of curious about what most of you think is the default way of playing in a PbP game here on these forums.
Would you play in a PbP game where it was a requirement that all your game post were made in the third person, clearly as if you, as a player, are describing the actions of your character, and not in the first person (as if the game would read as a narrative of a fantasy adventure)?
See, I would love to run a game here where every player participated in the activity treating it as a game, and not as an exercise in storytelling. A game where each game post was made like it was being made at the game table. The player describes what they hope to have their character do or say, (and is allowed to Bold dialog if they want to add a more direct “Role-Playing” element to their post, but otherwise each post treats the activity like a game, and not a story.
What are your thoughts?
This one time, at band camp…:
I once joined, as a player, a game on these forums and posted, the first time in the third person, telling the DM what I wanted my character to do, and then said, “and then my character says…” - and the rest of the players in the game went into attack mode, telling me I should stop doing that or risk getting kicked out of the game because it broke up their “narrative” which, in my opinion, was a bit hard to follow anyway
I think this has been done before, but I want to start it again. I'll go first, and when everyone is tired of this question, maybe someone can post a new one.
Would you rather:
predict the outcome of an event with 100% certainty
or
control the outcome of an event so that there is an 80% chance it will resolve in your favor
It is not a fast paced adventure, but has attracted some players who would not like to see it come to an untimely end. To that effect I would like to reach out to anyone interested in joining an ongoing 5th edition game.
Here are a few details (and I will be happy to answer any questions)
The game began as a retooling of the classic Basic D&D module, B9 Castle Caldwell and beyond
The first group of Player Characters managed to explore the above ground areas of Castle Caldwell, and then we had a few players leave the game (I’ll explain why in a moment)
New Player Characters who had joined the game explored some of the below ground areas of Castle Caldwell, then returned, with rescued Non Player Characters, to town – were given a side quest, and then the game sort of game to a stall when some of the new Player Characters left the game.
Currently this game has three active Player Characters
Isaiah (2nd level bard) played by Flashohol
Wolfgang (2nd level Warlock) played by Atlas2112
Wylla (2nd level Wizard) played by Bimpnottin Daergel
I would like to recruit two to four new players, with emphasis on martial characters, divine spell casters, and rogues
Here is a brief explanation as to why this game has lost many players.
I am a consistent, but not frequent posting DM. I run several games here, and I have no intention of ending any of them before they are completed, but I have ended games when all the players involved want the game to close.I can, at times, be delayed by real life issues (I am in good health now, for a 53 year old, but I've had some scares in the past few years). I have 4 Adult children, and life somethimes gets a bit busy, but I have no intention of leaving this site for any reason. I've been playing D&D since I was 12 or maybe 13 years old (it's harder and harder to remember those days).
I post regularly, just not frequently enough to satisfy a lot of player’s tastes. I try to run an interesting game.
If you join this game I expect you to post once a day (or less frequently) and ask you to be patient with me when I am delayed.
The game is a straight forward 5th edition D&D game with no house rules. The Campaign Setting is the world of Alodoa (created by players and participants of these boards of the past several years). Other games I am running in this setting are
The Woodbridge Campaign (The beginning of All Things)
Palace of the Vampire Queen, the 5th edition version
Mirror, Mirror: A Skarda’s Mirror Pathfinder Adaptation
Race – all races listed in the Player’s Handbook are available as Player Choices
Dragonborn:
Not a fan of this race, but as I am trying to run a no House Rule game, I will include them. How they fit into this setting will be worked out in detail should an interest be shown
Special Note about Dwarves and Elves:
Elves and Dwarves in this setting DO NOT live to be hundreds of years old
I will post specifics about what you should know for any particular race, when an interest in that race is shown – Thanks! But, know that Half-Orcs do not occur in this setting as a result of any form of hostile interactions (Half-Orcs are a playable race, just avoid any “rapey” back stories, please).
Class – All classes are allowed
Level and Hit Points – Characters will begin as second level characters with 450 experience points (to show that you’ve done something already, and whatever it was you did, it got you into enough trouble to be offered a place on the Wreaking Crew). You will have maximum HP at first level, and roll for hit points for each level after that, and always reroll a “1” if rolled for hit points.
Ability Scores – You may choose to roll ability scores as described in the Player’s handbook, or elect to build your character with the 27 point option also described.
Equipment – you begin with the equipment listed for the class you select, plus any additional equipment granted from the selection of a Background (Backgrounds are required) plus a number of Gold Pieces equal to the roll of 3d6 x 10
Alignments – please select an alignment. I would like to discourage the selection of Evil Alignments, but I will not make them a restriction
Languages – Alodoan is the common language, there are also, Halfling, Elven, Orcish, Dwarven, and Gnomish Languages available
Chapter 6 “Customization Options” – Multiclassing, and Feats will be permitted
I expect you to track your own experience points. Characters in this game have not leveled as quickly as most players would like, but I don’t see that as a problem of the game – if you as a player are not actively pursuing adventure, you are not likely to earn experience points.
One last word of caution and this is not meant to be a dis against any current of previous player in this game, but this game has lacked players who want to play decisive, action oriented characters. It has good players, interesting characters with great background stories and interesting roll playing contributions. It’s just that the current player characters (as admitted by their players) are not the sort of characters who take a “leadership” type of roll and make decisive choices about where the party should go or what they should be doing.
This alone has lead to several delays in the game’s forward momentum.
Currently, the three player characters have pursued a “stranger” into a small wooded area south of the Chapel Hill, a hill in the town of Pawkatukit, looking for clues to the identity of a man claiming to be “Clifton Caldwell” but recent information obtained by the characters suggest that this man is an imposter.
So, that was a lot of jibber jabber
Anyone Interested?
It was late. Well past the hours when decent folk knew it was best to be safe at home. The danger this evening wasn’t from thugs lurking in the night, or from tricksters playing at deceptions in the taverns.
This time of year, late in the winter when the hope of spring was close, but not close enough, the sea carried in the worst of the winds and rains. Cold and bitter storms settled in for hours after dark almost every night in Aukenfol, the month of shadows.
And yet on this night the Ceradoul’s hall was filled to the walls. The young mothers, daughters, and sons stood in a crowd in front of the Red Table, the place of law, for this small fishing village on the rocky shores of the Last Lake, near the skerries of Kedrek Duhr. Forty miles out to sea the strongest of this struggling little country, men and women with experience with the dark sea of Rhoandour, were most surely battened down in the long, deep hulled fishing boats that left the harbor four days ago. They would not return for another six days, hopefully their hulls filled with the disc shaped Ekerands, the fat oily fish that migrated past these shores every four eight-months.
But this night, this night a need was great, a demand was made, the Ceradoul, the head-women of the village, had been summoned. Something had to be done. Someone was needed to act. There was one solution, only one, and everyone who was not sick or out to see knew what must be done, and no one, not one soul of Galjargoaht, was willing to volunteer. It was placed upon the Ceradoul, the three wise women of the community to chose who would go and see the Witch of Biminik Shuld.
Such a trip would mean someone, or some brave group, would be asked, no required to make a trip across the lake, from the harbor of the main fishing settlement to the skerrie hamlets of the unfriendly Nerana Ocieds, and once beyond them, if they were lucky, to the sheer walls of Fownieramagah, where the castle of the sea witch stood high above the water.
Maliane, Sandrohen, and Falisheane, the old women who made up the Ceradoul sat on high round stools behind the Red Table, and listened to the pleas of the young mothers. Fifteen young children had fallen ill with high fevers, sweating, and raspy coughs, and this sickness was spreading.
Fortunately none had died from the ailment, so far, but they were not getting any better either, and this had gone on since two days before the fishing fleet left the docks. The sickest of the children were now growing weaker as it was becoming harder and harder to get them to eat, or drink, and it seemed that death was as close as the wind.
“We will choose the ones who will seek the sea-witch’s counsel at first light,” Maliane, seated on the right, at fifty eight the youngest of the Ceradoul said as she raised her left hand high in the air.
“Choose now, choose now!” the crowd chanted back at her.
The chant went on a few more times, and when it had nearly died out a young mother of three, Alima, stepped forward holding Johun, her youngest and only healthy child close to her, and said, “The one must leave at first light. We can waste no more days wondering when the last hour of our children’s lives will come.”
“Yes, yes, yes,” the crowd added, their voices growing louder and turning once more into a chant of , “Choose Now, Choose Now, Choose now!”
Falisheane, the eldest of the Ceradoul at seventy four, seated in the center, rose slowly from her stool, the wooden pegs that were her legs making a loud sound on the wooden floor as she balanced herself back and forth a few times and raised both of her arms high in the air, letting the long sleeves of her brown Hajeril, the traditional dress of a wise-woman, fall into a bunch at her shoulders. “Enough!” she shouted.
“Who will volunteer, again I say, who will volunteer?” She continued to shout above the chanting crowd. “ You, Danielan, or you Shenheen? Which one of you will do this?” She dropped her arms and pointed with a finger from both hands at one after another in the crowd. “Who!? Not you, or you, or even you, Caitlarn, who only last ten-month sailed with the sweeping of the Ekerand, and this year you are home and why? Because you lost one leg, HA! I lost both my legs in different sweepings, and sailed even three more sweepings before my strength was no more. Why will you not go? Is the fear of the sea-witch too much for a woman such as you? Are your children well or sick?”
“I have one who has the fever and Jaminie is too young to care for him if I were to go. You know I would, if I could!” the young blonde woman shouted back at the old woman.
The crowd erupted into shouts of, “It must be your choosing. It must be the will of the Ceradoul. You must decide.”
One voice rose louder and louder than the others, a tall, dark haired girl who rose to stand on a small table and screamed.
“I have said I will go!”
It was Brenda, Brenda Carvol, the granddaughter of Sandrohen, and the daughter of Karan and Tromel Carvol. Brenda was too young to have children of her own, but she was not too young to sail in the sweeping. She would have sailed this time, with the rest of the young men and women her age along with the older people of the village whose children were old enough to care for themselves for a ten-day.
But Karan and Tromel had sailed with the sweeping, and Brenda was an only child, until her parents had returned and her mother and father brought at least one more child into the world, it would be forbidden for her to sail in a sweeping. It was against the laws of the people for an entire family to sail in a sweeping. It was not uncommon for some to be lost in a storm, or a ship to sink if a Garlgadron attacked the fleet. Sandrohen had lost her husband and oldest son in separate sweepings, and as Ceradoul she could not sail.
“I have said I will go!” Brenda shouted again, and this time her shouting silenced the crowd.
Silent eyes turned toward the Ceradoul.
Sandrohen, who was not the oldest, nor the youngest of the Ceradoul, tried to stand, and fell from her stool. She was not the oldest or the youngest of the wise-women, but she was the most frail of the three, and her days were coming to an end.
When she had been younger, Sandrohen had been Ywalldrut, an adventurer who refused to adhere to the rules of her people. She travelled with the Dalrow, and the Gahoolie, seeking her fortune far inland in the wild dark places of the deep forest of this world. She did not sail in any sweepings, and when she returned to the village of her parents, she was already pregnant with the child of a man from the High Kingdom, a man the rest of her family never knew. She married Fadran Carvol, and raised a family. When her husband was swept overboard, her oldest son, Nallon, became head of the family, even though he was only half-sibling to his brothers. When Nallon was killed when his ship fought of a young Garlgadron intent on stealing the sweepings of its nets, she allowed her son Tramel to be the head of the family. Sandrohen grew older, and was known as a quiet woman of deep, long thoughts. A woman who would often talk at great lengths about the many possible was any single problem could be solved. She had learned some magic, nothing altogether as wonderful or dangerous as the spells of the Sea-Witch, but it was enough to give her purpose among her people, even if she was often seen as a bit off in ways. When she was young, and adventuring, she had been exposed to strange poisons, bizarre ailments, and peculiar, often near fatal cures, or so she claimed.
Most of the human people of the fjords of Qthria were strong, healthy folk, but Sandrohen’s life had taken its toll on her health, and when she fell from her stool, Maliane rushed to her aid, while Falisheane’s voice rose again in a shout.
‘I have said NO! Brenda, you are brave, and as filled with determination as your father, rest his spirit on the waves, but you are not permitted the freedom to make this choice and will not be until you are twenty years old and have sailed a sweeping. That is final.
Brenda fumed at the refusal, and climbed down from the table, but as she did she kept one eye on her grandmother. When Maliane rolled Sandrohen onto her side, gently rubbing the woman between her shoulder blades, a remedy that often eased Sandrohen’s labored breathing, Brenda’s eyes caught her grandmother’s, who looked right at her, winked and smiled.
This made Brenda furious. She knew her grandmother was only faking to get sympathy from the other women of the Ceradoul. Her grandmother thought that she was so clever, determined to keep Brenda from doing this service for her village, and why? Because her parents were already gone, her one remaining relative, her grandmother, was a wicked, unfair, unfeeling, and foolish old woman.
She was foolish, oh yes, Brenda knew well that Sandrohen was foolish. Because it didn’t matter to her what the Ceradoul believed was permitted or not. It didn’t matter to her. Brenda had wanted the Ceradoul to give her the honor of going to the Sea-Witch for a cure, give her the honor, yes that would be the best way for this to have worked out, for Brenda. But best ways, as she knew from so many of her foolish grandmother’s stories, were not the only ways.
Brenda stormed out of the hall into the dark, cold, windy and rainy night, and went straight home where she packed her backpack, took her father’s Askamad, a fat, short handled, double bladed hand axe, and headed for the boathouses near the docks. She had already stashed a week’s supply of food in a small skiff, tied at the end of the last long pier at the north end of the shoreline.
She had a small oil lamp, a gift on her tenth ten-month from her mother, and a thick seal skin coat, lined with badger pelts. She wore her hard boats, the ones normally worn when gathering along the tide pools, and woolen pants with a thick leather belt. She had four small sacks, three torches, and a few other small things that she knew might be useful in searching the Castle of the Sea Witch. For she already knew the tales.
The Sea-Witch did not like visitors. She did not welcome strangers. She did not hand out gifts of magic potions, spell holding stones, or cures for fevers. No, this was not her nature, or so the stories told. If one wanted the help of the Sea-Witch one had to earn it, and that meant not only reaching her castle high up the seventy foot tall cliffs of Fownieramagah once you managed to get past the little hamlets of the Nerana Ocieds on the wave swept skerries of Kedrek Duhr, but one had to find the Sea-Witch herself, in the mysterious, maze like castle, and that was only possible if you survived the dangers that she kept hidden away there.
The Sea-Witch just might grant you a reward, answer a question that might set the course of your future, or give you the secret to crafting glass stronger than iron, as many such stories told. But to get the aid of the Sea-Witch, you had to survive her castle.
Brenda would not fail. She would find the Sea-Witch, and she would return with a cure before one single child of her village was lost to the fever. She would do this with or without the Ceradoul’s permission, and without the interference of her foolish grandmother.
As each of the four companions placed their arm inside the ATM they are instantly teleported away from the world in which they had been stranded, and one after another appear, with a slight popping sound
*pop*
*pop*
*pop*
*pop pop*
the extra pop is for Kamastra, who is technically not wearing a bracelet, but teleports when Zae does
You find yourselves standing in a simple, unadorned, but rather large room. The ceiling is high over your heads, and at the far end of the room, sunlight pours in through tall glass windows behind a single desk. Through the windows you can see the roofline of Du’Orbna, including the famous clock tower of the Shadow Sprites Arena, sponsored by Luscious Pastries, home of the famous indoor Skazer-Tag championship team, the Du’Orbna Goblins, probably the best skazer-tag team on the eastern seaboard.
The walls of this large room are covered with incomprehensible maps, charts, and schedules, none of them recognizable.
At the desk at the far end of the room, the Dungeon Minion sits. She is wearing a smart blue suit, from the Alin catalog, fall collections, and her hair is neatly coiffed into a bun on the top of her head. She is wearing a strange sort of half-pair of glasses, resting on the tip of her nose, with small gold chains attached to each of the stems.
This is now open for the two sets of characters (Its “A” Dungeon, and Its “A” Dungeon, Too) to introduce themselves to each other.
I will be adding post to this thread to try to get everyone up to speed with the current situation, and once everyone is ready I will close the other games.
This way, this game begins with its own posts, and not a lot of confusing history hanging out of the back end.
One of the things that I just can’t seem to get right in any of my PbP games (with one exception, and sadly, that player has left the boards) is how to get players to see something of interest to their characters in another player’s character.
I mean it’s one thing for a character to “say” something to another character, but I practically never see one character ask anything of another character like, “where do you come from?” or “How much did you pay for that axe?”
Let alone see a player in OOC thread ask questions about other player’s characters abilities, goals, ideas.
Does anyone have any ideas for how to encourage players to be interested in the other characters in a game, without making it seem like you, as the DM, are beating them over the heads about it?
One of the truly greats in our history has passed, according to twitter accounts of Avalon Hill and DriveThruRPG
Loren Wiseman, founder of Games Designer's Workshop, and one of the developers of Traveller, as well as many other great RPG and Table top games in general.
New characters joining this adventure will be second level, and will join the adventure with chapter two of the original “Castle Caldwell and Beyond” module for Basic Dungeons and Dragons (B9) which is being adapted for 5e play.
If you would like to join post here with your character idea, and please take a look at the original recruitment thread for the particulars of character creation
The summer almost did me in, and this game almost ran out of energy, but I think it is about to come back to life.
I am hoping to find a very special player. This player will be special for a lot of reasons, mainly because this player would be willing to jump into a game that has a long history, yet is still at very low level, this player would be willing to put up with some new house rules, but most of all this player would be willing to play a specific class and race of character, which I know is a huge thing to ask, hence my timid approach
You see, originally this game was supposed to be an adventure for the characters as well as a world building game for the players. I had wanted the party to be made up of each of the three different races found in the village of Woodbridge, Human, Maetaur, and Gymnagaopthian
We’ve lost almost all of the original players, but we still have three humans dedicated to this adventure (and one human character dedicated to building the village, Marcus, the local craftsman)
If you would like to join this game, or if you have questions about what it would be like to join this game, post here, and we will talk about it.
Oh, and one more thing, I will be slightly deviating from my original idea for this setting and running the Adventure Path,
Giantslayer
with necessary modifications to place the setting here, instead of Golarion
I wonder how many different games would be changed in the basic approach to combat if you were required to declare your actions for a round , AND then roll for initiative (which is how we used to do it in the stone age).
It seems to me that rolling for initiative, and then selecting actions for your character is just pure and simple meta-gaming. After all, if you already know when everyone is going to act, you can better select your actions, right?
It would seem more chaotic and “fog of war” like, if players had to decide what their characters were going to do, and with a very limited ability to wiggle around within those declarations, be held to those choices after initiative dice are roiled.
Player Characters might try to reach the same place, attack an already disabled opponent, or waste their actions entirely, which would, to me, feel more like a wild and crazy fantasy battle
But that’s just me.
Has anyone else tried using this sort of reverse initiative rule?
This game is giving me fits. When I post to one of the threads, I get a big Golem screen, and a message that there was a problem, and have to click back to the main Paizo page to reset the message.
I have several games, and only this one is acting strangely. Any idea what I am doing wrong and how I can fix my mistake?
I started writing a silly story about two young Drow in love and I realized I don't really have a good idea of how a race that lives underground would think about the passing of time, and seasons. Would they even have seasons?
Is there something I can make up in the underground realm that cycles in a way that the Drow would have learned to use this cycle to describe what time of day it is?
Or more specifically, where can I find the specific rules for what types of creatures are permitted to have “class levels” (either NPC or PC class levels)?
Is there a specific Guide that lists the requirements that a creature must adhere to in order to be eligible for Class level application, or are the details spread out over multiple volumes of the rules?
See, what I am doing is trying to craft new random encounter tables for my “Its “A” Dungeon” adventures and I am looking at making a “creature type” table that sets the first parameter, and then having sub tables that are used to apply class levels to those types in specific encounter situations, but I need to know what creature types can have class levels and what creature types cannot.
If anyone can help me with this dilemma I would very much appreciate it.
Is it building a pyramid of character abilities that produces something unique?
Is it interacting with other people, socially, though dialog?
I read many threads here that get caught up in the Role Playing versus Roll Playing discussion, but what I am particularly curious about, is what do you think Role Playing is? How do you do it so that you feel like you are having a good time, having fun?
I was reading this article today and found it simply fascinating
Someone, with a lot of talent, and time on their hands, should research Pathfinder APs and see how many words are put into the NPCs mouths (of course we all know that the DM will take what is given in the modules and build upon it, but even so...) and how that is broken down
The first was a paperback I read over twenty years ago, which I kept on a shelf in the basement. I was down stairs this past weekend and was looking at the shelf and didn’t see the book where it was supposed to be. (The book, is the first in the Battletech trilogy about the Grey Death Legion, it is called “Decision at Thunder Rift”). I looked and looked for it, but could not find it. So I went online today to see if I could get a new copy and the stupid thing is selling for 45 dollars on amazon, USED!
The second, hurts more I suppose. I keep a lot of old game products in large clear plastic tubs with locking lids in the garage on some shelves, and on Tuesday night the dogs (I have two Australian Shepherds) must have gotten into a mouse chasing frenzy because they knocked down one of the shelves, and one tub broke open. This tub had some Car Wars products, a set of 3.5e DND books and some soft cover supplements from various games of the 1980’s. While I did lose the 3.5e MM to the dogs regular attitude of “Hey this is on the floor so we get to chew it up,” I was not as heart broken by that as I was that the only other thing they decided to destroy was my one copy of “Tollenkar’s Lair,” which I can now only find on ebay for $70.
Man these losses are hard to take, and even though I probably could shell out the money to replace them, it just isn’t the right time to do so.
So, does anyone else have a story about lost books that were a heartbreak, maybe couldn’t ever be replaced, or were replaced for more than you wanted to spend?
Recently, the party lost the rogue, and over the past few months also lost the last dwarven character in the group.
Right now, a halfling (Bard), a human (Sorcerer), and a half-orc (Fighter), along with a dwarven NPC (Cleric) have left the Palace of the Vampire Queen and returned to the Black Village (an abandoned dwarven settlement) where they are taking refuge in Loamstone Hollow, a Kobold Hovel, to resupply and plan their next excursion into the mountain to search for and rescue the daughter of the King, who went missing just a week or so ago.
The setting for this adventure is the Island Kingdom of Baylor, which is part of the same campaign world that I am using for the Games
The Beginning of All Things
and
Castle Caldwell and Beyond
New characters will be met at the Kobold Hovel, and will be looking to join any expedition to the Palace of the Vampire Queen (thus quickly join the current group of heroes).
This game is being played using a highly modified (house rules) version of the 5e D&D rules, and includes elements of world building open to all players.
Is there a simple on line guide somewhere that can explain how to build these kinds of maps (with movable tokens and such things as light and darkness effects) and how they are made available to players on these forums after you have figured out how to make them?
I tried using mapTools (and using my home computer I can generate a map with tokens on it, then all I know how to do is export an image of that map and post it to a drop box account so that players can "Look at it" - I have never been able to understand how to make a map available in a link that players can manipulate)
I know I am old, and I know I am not very smart, but I hope there is a simple guide that can walk me through this process somewhere out there and that a fellow like me will figure it out in time.
Anyone have a resource out there that I can review, with step by step lessons or anything like that?
I am looking for suggestions on how to make PbP battles (in level appropriate blocks, say, 1- 4, 5-7, 8-11, that sort of thing)
Move Faster
Any suggestions are welcome, from the most obvious (post more often, that way battles will get over more quickly) to the ones not so obvious that maybe you have stumbled upon in your own PbP games that moved a lengthy battle along to an acceptable conclusion faster than you expected.
If we can come up with enough really good ideas, that are manageable and can be broken down into little chunck sized pieces, maybe we can publish another helpful Guide to PbP gaming.
I have started to run my First On Line (Play By Post) Adventure Path here in the Paizo campaign forums and I am wondering about how I am allowed to use the PDF map bundles, should I decide to purchase one of them.
Can I post map portions to a Drop Box Folder of my own, and then link that image in one of the game posts to help my players manage their characters in a PbP combat situation?
When reviewing the Iron Gods Map Bundle I was intrigued by all the options and tricks available to a GM using virtual table top resources; however I want to be sure I do not violate any rules when I use the images in a game on a public forum such as this.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated, so that I can make an informed decision before I make the purchase.
Morning of the first day of Summer; approximate time of day, 10:00 am, (turn 61)
Carson Foster Bing, the owner and proprietor of Bing’s Bells and Whistles, stands behind the bar of his small tavern, on the trail west of Torch, near the White Tail River, polishing a ceramic mug with a clean cloth, while he explains things to the newcomer
“Among the farmers and prospectors who live along the small strip of fertile soil northwest of Torch, there is a saying,” the tall, thin, clean and dapper looking human says,
Nothing good comes out of the west
The town of Torch, established 96 years ago, is peculiar in this part of the world. It is a small town, with a population of around five thousand people (counting the outlying farms and prospectors cabins) and it lies in the foothills on the eastside of the Red Rock Mountains. The Red Rock mountains are not a particularly high mountain range, rising only to a height of eight thousand feet at Prospector’s Peak, but it isn’t the height of these mountains to the west that keep people from moving further away from the Empire of Starfall, no not the height, it is the width.
One of the reasons Torch is peculiar is its isolation, the vast plain where Torch is found is two hundred seventy miles from the nearest other city or town in Starfall, far to the east. The rain shadow created by the Red Rock Mountains makes this vast plain nearly uninhabitable, the low rain fall coupled with the high elevation (the central plain here is at five thousand feet, while Torch sits in a low land depression only two thousand three hundred feet above sea level) mean growing food is practically impossible, and the barren landscape is littered with dangers unnumbered not the least of which are the Lizard-folk who still cling to the belief that this land belongs to them and them alone.
Another reason Torch is peculiar is that no one has ever come to Torch from the west. Not one person (naturally Lizard-folk do not count) has ever come to Torch from the west to tell the citizens there what the world beyond the Red Rock Mountains is like, and no one, not even the agents of the Technic, League has ever set out to cross those mountains and returned. All that is known about the land west of Torch is that the mountains are scarred with deep impassible gorges, treacherous gullies that can become torrential rivers during the brief and intense summer storms there, and that the only things that live there, besides the antelope, bison, bears, and mountain lions, are kobolds and Lizard-folk, hiding in caves and scraping out an existence hunting anything that dares to enter those mountains.
Of course, the most peculiar thing about Torch, well, after all, is the Torch, but everybody knows about it, and how it has gone out recently, which sort of makes Torch less peculiar than it used to be. Oh, it’s still peculiar, but not as peculiar as it once was.
As Bing goes on, talking about the people and places of Torch, filling in as many holes in the strangers information about Torch as he can, he eventually gets around to talking about how this new situation, a mystery in town, has been bad for his business. With the torch out, the prospectors that usually come by his place, well, those brave enough to risk exploring into the Red Rock Mountains anyway, are now packing up and heading northeast, or east, back to more civilized places. If this goes on, he says, Nodding across the bar to those few people of Torch that he knows are regulars who like to come out to his place to get away from the more busy taverns on the hill, as he calls it, he sighs, and then looks at the stranger one more time, and asks
Welcome to Bing's Bells and Whistles - Open All Night
This is the Discussion thread for our new adventure.
Please use this space to get to know each other, plan activities, discuss problems, announce vacations, and other things. You do not (probably should not) post In Character here as I prefer this to be the place where we simulate our gaming table talk.
The name of this place will be a small, dark tavern on the western edge of the town, actually off the regular map of Torch a little ways, in a small homestead like enclave.
Bing will be an NPC, who dislikes the busy nature of Torch, but doesn't want to be too far away to not take advantage of the business opportunity.He is a charismatic and talkative fellow, who has an eye and ear on everything going on (or so he will claim) we will meet him soon when the game thread is opened.
Hello, and welcome to the recruitment thread for an
Iron Gods Adventure Path
campaign.
With a few complications
What I am hoping to accomplish with this recruitment is find two to four interested players who would like to play through the Iron Gods Adventure Path. I will give you the player character creation guidelines below, but first I want to explain those complications I mentioned, to make sure you understand what will be the same and what will be different about this version of Iron Gods
The Adventure Path will be played almost exactly as it is presented in the booklets (the first book, Fires of Creation will be slightly modified to make the encounters a little more difficult, as there will be a few second level characters in the party). The biggest change will be how Numeria is used in this version of the campaign.
I have two current games on these boards that have similar themes to the Iron Gods Adventure path, but due to some mistakes I made, and player drop out, both of those games are a little off course right now.
I have asked the players of those two games if they would object to closing those threads and consolidating the story lines of those adventures into an Iron Gods Adventure, and they have agreed.
One of the games is set in a frontier setting, where a new continent was discovered and is being settled.
will be used to introduce the “Numeria like” setting for this version of Iron Gods.
This version of Numeria will be placed on one of my campaign world settings (the World of Riom) and will not be related to Golarion,
however everything about Numeria will be used (except for its placement in Golarion) exactly as it is described in the Iron Gods Adventure Path. The Golarion deities will be used (it will be assumed that the people of this “Numeria” have established these religions on their own over their recorded history.
The people of this “Numeria” are mostly unaware of the existence of other people from other parts of this world, and their understanding of the world will be as it is described in the adventure path, only they know what their world is like (the world of the “Rain of Stars” event) and almost nothing of the world beyond their natural borders.
The Science Fiction background (the origin of the technology) of Numeria will be the same, but also incorporate Science Fiction elements that were introduced in my other two games. A major addition will be a description of some monster types present in the Adventure Path that are a kind of technology/necromancy based hybrid and they will be called “Necromechadons.”
Character Creation Guidelines
1) All elements presented in the Iron Gods Players Guide are used without restrictions
2) The 2 to 4 characters I would like to recruit for this adventure will have to be local inhabitants of Torch (you will be met, and join other adventurers who are not from Torch)
3) Ability Scores should be generated using the “Heroic” method (roll 2d6+6 a total of six times and arrange the scores to your liking
4) Characters should be created at first level with maximum HP
5) Race – you can select any core Pathfinder Race for your character – non-core races may be permitted after evaluation (I would prefer only races mentioned in the Players Guide for this Adventure Path, but I will try to be flexible).
6) Class – This is a bit scary for me, but I am going to allow all current PRD listed Classes. Please, do not suggest classes that are exclusive to the d20PSFRD website.
7) Traits – you can begin the adventure with one trait, selected from the PRD references (Traits that are found in the Players Guide for this Adventure Path are allowed, as long as they can be selected for a local resident of Torch).
8) Wealth – you will begin with 3d4 x10 gold pieces plus a standard set of clothing (your character is not among the well off of Torch – you recently had a financial setback, or some other explanation as to why you are of limited resources, basically this will be a driving factor in your willingness to join with the strangers who have arrived in the town and are hiring help).
You do not have to create an alias right away, but I will want to see a fully filled out Alias before I make final selections
How I play
1) I try to post at least once every other day, sometimes once every day, and occasionally once every three days – but it will never be my intention to just disappear. I respond to direct questions as quickly as I can.
2) I prefer that characters post in game spoken dialog with Bold script, thoughts with Italic script and Player questions or other out of character comments with OOC script options.
3) Your Alias, should be populated with everything I, as a DM, will need to know about your character, this includes background, abilities, equipment and special rules situation that apply to your character that you want to make sure I am aware of. Also, it is very helpful to me if you use the “Race/Class” fields of the alias to give me immediate access to important character information. If you need help formatting these fields, just ask
4) Typically, you will not need to pro offer rolls such as Knowledge or Perception checks, and if they are called for, in a situation where it will make a difference, I will usually ask for them, or give a spoiler with the results of those checks if you roll high enough (so normally, if you don’t get asked to make a specific check or a spoiler is not posted, assume rolling a perception or Skill check at that moment is not required)
Who is already involved?
These characters will appear in Torch, in two separate groups, and each group has a specific agenda. The characters recruited here will join these other player characters for this adventure
From the “Reflections in the Eye’s of the beholders” game thread
I am going to mention two more things in conclusion, first, for this version of Iron Gods, the characters recruited through this effort will be locals of Torch, and currently, given the situation at the beginning of the Fires of Creation Adventure Path Module, no one in Torch is even remotely interested in getting involved in what has happened. Your character should only consider joining in on the investigation of the mystery because you are persuaded to join the strangers who have come to town. Second, and please forgive me sharing a little personal information, but I am having a minor surgery next week, and will be away from my regular posting activities for a few days. I hope to have this recruitment sorted out, and the new game ready to launch before I take this little break, so forgive me if I seem to be in hurry.
This was a wall of information, and I hope I didn’t overwhelm anyone. Feel free to ask me questions about the adventure, or myself as a DM, and I will try to answer as soon as I can.
a couple of years ago, and then forgot about it - Now I intend to use it to record all the things players on these boards have done to create the Alodoan Campaign Setting
I would like to know if you can please change the title ( I know it isn't all that important and all) to this
"The Beginning of All Things - The Alodoan Campaign Setting"
Well, things did not always go as I had hoped they would.
In the over two years we’ve been playing the characters have just recently reached level 3. The current Player Characters are
Calex, male, Human (Alodoan), Wizard
Marcus Dale, male, Human (Urandoman), Expert
Mina Gemblossom, female, Maetaur, Shaman
Poseus Murandae, male, Gymnagaopthian, commoner/ranger
Riku of the Grey Hand, male, Human (Alodoan), Cleric
We’ve built the beginning of a campaign world, called Alodoa, and some of the things we’ve created have spilled over into two other games I am running here, which are set in the same setting.
Unfortunately we haven’t done much more to develop the world where this adventure is actually taking place, and mostly this is because we’ve been dealing with a player character turnover that has made it difficult to keep the game focused on one plot at a time.
Currently, the party of adventurers, Mina, Calex, Riku, and an NPC Ranger, (an Alodoan Elf, Named D’ieredon) are helping Poseus rescue his entire village, who were captured by Orc (in this setting called the Tafganor) raiders.
The Gymnaga-folk are held in a hastily constructed fort, to the southeast of Woodbridge, our initial campaign village setting.
Meanwhile, Macus Dale has suddenly found himself a reluctant leader, as he works to build up Woodbridge’s defenses against an attack by more of the Tafganor raiders. (The current village leader, Patricia Flaherty, has gone northwest to Castletown to ask for help from the Alodoans there, and secure at least a company of soldiers who can march back and help defend Woodbridge from what is surely an imminent attack).
So here is what I would like to ask
I would like to see if there are three to five interested players who would like to join this campaign
The campaign will be mostly wilderness adventures set on an Island called Urandoma (Orimar) which is modeled upon a Hollywood idealization of 17th century Ireland. The island has a local population (Urandoman’s) who have spent centuries under the rule of oppressive local petty barons and tyrants of different types, but are now experiencing a period of prosperity and peace under the banners of the concurring Alodoan Empire, which lies across the sea to the west.
New players to this campaign will not only participate in standard wilderness adventures (and possibly a small underground dungeon or two), but will also be asked to participate in expanding, or creating elements of the campaign setting.
New Characters will be created at 3rd level (you will have very little gear, magic items are rare, the economy is not large).
Here are the creation guidelines if you are interested
Races
I would like to find players interested in creating characters of these races
Halfling (Alodoan)
Human (Urandoman)
Gymnagaopthian
Gymnagaopthian:
The Gymnaga are an indigenous population of Monstrous Humanoids, but by their own history they do not originate in these lands and their stories talk of a great migration many thousands of years ago. Their history as part of these lands is filled with long periods of Slavery under the dominance of the Snake –People (these are called Sashi-Anhain, and are similar to Yaun-Ti in appearance and behavior, but there are differences between these monsters in this campaign setting). Gymnaga people prefer to live close to sources of fresh water, but even something as small as a four acre pond will be sufficient for their needs. They can, and do live among regular populations of Humans and Maetaur.
Description: Gymnaga appear to be a mix of a reptilian creature and a Halfling. It has always been interesting to both the Gymnaga and Maetaur people that their Halfling parts are very similar, though generally speaking Gymnaga have a more robust Halfling physique and are considered, by Humans and Maetaur alike as more physically attractive, having larger, more almond shaped eyes, wider mouths, and shinier hair. It is important to note that a Gymnaga’s lower body is not Snake-Like. All of the major body organs of a Gymnaga are found in the torso. The reptilian lower body, which begins at the hips is scaled, muscular, and contains a short bone structure that is connected to the hip bones and is a strange fusion of two upper leg bones that are separated at the hip, but join together into one common knee. There are no lower leg bones, only the tail bones continue after the knee. The color of a Gymnaga’s lower body can be dark brown through dark green, and speckled yellow and blue over a deep emerald green is not uncommon. Typical height, when standing on the knee, of a Gymnaga is 4’’-10” to 5’6” for females and 5’2” to 5’8” for males. Typical overall length for a Gymnaga is 9 to 12 feet. Typical weight is 160 to 250 pounds. Obesity is extremely rare, but very thin Gymnaga are not uncommon. Gymnaga are semi-aquatic. They cannot breathe water, but can hold their breath for very long periods (up to ten times their constitution score in minutes, before any checks would be required to continue to hold their breath).
Society: Gymnaga have strict rules for place among their communities based upon Class. There are four Classes in their society, The Priest Class (the ruling class, and this is handed down from mother to first born daughter), The Artisan Class (which includes all craftsmen but not laborers or people who take care of animals), the Warrior Class (a very small class), and finally the Low Class which is all unskilled workers, and those who fish or hunt for food, or take care of domesticated animals. Class conflict is unknown, and each Gymnaga respects and understands their place in society. However, these class distinctions are often pushed very far to the side when a community of Gymnaga is smaller than a few hundred. Generally, when encountered as isolated small settlements, Gymnaga will be found trying to break out of their class roles, though there will always be Priests (Clerics) who are females among any settlement population. Typically a Gymnaga, male or female, will wear a long dress like garment that is wrapped around the upper body (in the fashion of what we would know as “Ancient Greece”). These garments can be made from cloth or skins, and often the finer, more delicate the fabric the higher the class of the wearer. Belts are common, the preferred material is wool, tightly woven and colorfully died. While Gymnaga interact with other races amicably, they can often cause unusual “bad” relations to exist because of their lack of acknowledgement of the need for physical boundaries. They are often intimate with Humans and Maetaur alike and while Humans find this behavior welcome, if challenging, Maetaur find it offensive. Gender Identity is not clear among the Gymnaga, and no non-Gymnaga races understand this, although it is easy to differentiate a male from a female Gymnaga, the only absolute behavioral differences that can be observed by an outsider are the behaviors of the Priests, which tend to be authoritative, a behavior no male Gymnaga exhibits. It is not uncommon to see male and female Gymnaga be overly concerned with their physical appearance and charm, and the attention of other Gymnaga, and other races, of a sexual nature, is always welcome if not sought after. Gymnaga, as far as anyone knows, cannot produce offspring with Human or Maetaur relations. Gymnaga bear live young, typically one baby is born, but twins are not unheard of. Gymnaga do not form mated or bonded pairs and families of Gymnaga raise children as a cooperative effort. Gymnaga see all other races, regardless of an individual’s place within their own society, as “Classless.” This does not mean they treat other races with disdain, only that they do not see a need for other races to be identified by class as they are not Gymnaga at all anyway.
Relations: Gymnaga like the company of Humans and Maetaur and find their behavior, their tendency to be uncomfortable around Gymnaga, as a curiosity not to be looked down upon. Indigenous Humans, being accustomed to the behavior of Gymnaga, find them pleasant if a bit difficult to interact with at times. However, the invading human population (the Alodoans) seems to be overcome with interest in the Gymnaga, and this is causing some tension between these people. Where the Maetaur do not see a difference in the two human populations, it is well known that the Gymnaga DO see a difference, in physical appearance and behavior. The Gymnaga are curious about the Elves, but not bothered by them. Gymnaga are conflicted about the Halflings invaders, and are usually closed mouthed about their feelings. It is whispered that there is some ancient connection between them (though the Halflings disclaim any such talk).
Alignment and Religion: Gymnaga are predominately Good and Lawful (in their own way and among larger populations), but can be Neutral and rarely Chaotic. Their religion is highly structured and worships a Pantheon of various gods that are both like the Gymnaga in appearance, and in some instances, not at all. Some isolated Gymnaga communities have been known to adopt Druid like followings, but they are reluctant to acknowledge the authority of other races deities. Gymnaga Clerics are always leaders of their communities and can be found acting alone, as a village leader, or at times as groups. Some Gymnaga Clerics will often leave their communities, at the request of more senior clerics, to study the ways of other religions to better understand their own.
Racial Build: (standard – 12 points)
---Racial Qualities---
Type: Monstrous Humanoid (3 RP)
Even though Gymnaga are Monstrous Humanoids, they lack Darkvision, and instead have Low Light Vision
Size: Small (0 RP)
Due to the long tails, Gymnaga are medium sized creatures. They are required to use small sized weapons and armor (worn on their Halfling-like torso)
Base Speed: Slow Speed (-1 RP)
Gymnaga have a base speed of 20 feet.
Language: Standard Language Quality (0 RP)
Gymnaga speak Common
---Racial Traits---
Advance Charisma (4 RP)
Gymnaga are considered attractive and well mannered by almost all intelligent races, and receive a +2 racial bonus to their Charisma Score
Swim (2 RP)
+8 to Swim Skill Checks
Swim Speed of 30’
Skill Bonus (2 RP): Alluring
+2 to Diplomacy Checks
Hold breath (1 RP):
Can hold breath for 4 x constitution in rounds
Flexible Body (1 RP):
Gymnaga are never denied their Dexterity Bonus to AC unless they are magically or physically restrained
Maetaur
Maetaur:
The Maetaur are an indigenous population of Monstrous Humanoids. They are normally found living in and among the indigenous populations of Humans and do not normally have their own communities. The history of local populations of both Humans and Maetaur contain stories of a time before the “Great Kings” when Human and Maetaur tribes fought in tribal wars. But it was through the unification of many indigenous peoples under the leadership of two historical figures, King Adennore of the human people (called the Banyan Doir , which means People of the Valley of Ban) in legends and tales and the Chief of the Maetaur people (in the human legends he is called, Wiliman Cloudrunner, whereas in the Maetaur versions of the same story it is a female chief and High Druid called Wilmorra Greyskies) in a war against a race known as the Tafganor (Orcs) which, according to legend, drove the Tafganor out of the land, that the Human and Maetaur peoples came to be one population.
Description: Maetaur are medium sized creatures. They are described as “small” centaurs by Elves and Halflings (though true centaurs are not known in these lands). They have the torso, from the mid waist up of a humanoid creature resembling a Halfling in size and build but with delicate facial features, round, instead of pointed, ears, and straight, light colored hair that is thick and lustrous. Their lower bodies resemble a small pony, and can be solid colored in brown, grey, or white. Piebald and other unusual colorations (speckled or spotted) are very rare. Maetaur do not normally grow facial hair. Both Male and Female Maetaur prefer to wear the hair on their heads long and loose, but braid or tie the hair on their tails (they have no “mane”). Typical height for a Maetaur is 5’4” to 5’10” for females and 5’6” to 6’2” for males. Average body weight for both male and female Maetaur is 260 to 440 pounds (obesity is rare among Maetaur, but not unseen).
Society: Maetaur and Humans have similar social behaviors, with the notable exception that Maetaur are particular about conventions of dress, and use types of dress to denote station and social status. All Maetaur are conservative when it comes to their bodies and both male and female Maetaur wear variations of the traditional “Rafgham” (a long skirt made from woven threads of cotton or wool, it buttons across the top of the equine part of the Maetaur and is worn to within a few inches of the ground). Male Maetaur will wear a wide belt and shirt on their human like parts, and females normally wear a long shirt and a narrow, sometimes multiple, belt or belts. Gender identity is an important part of Maetaur society, and the culture recognizes more than two gender roles for each sex. It is not uncommon for Maetaur to be flirtatious and promiscuous, among their own kind, and often change partners several times through their lives, but they are traditionally committed to a partner when raising children, and stand-offish with other races if topics of interspecies intimacy arise. It is not unusual to find large households of mated Maetaur raising from four to nine young in a collective parenting environment where it is difficult to tell what the intimate relationships are among the adults, but these family units are normally headed by a older female who enjoys the attention of many males, though she is usually only intimate with one male at a time. Maetaur will typically take offense to suggestions that they can or do engage in interspecies couplings (though it is not uncommon for a Human and a Maetaur to interbreed, the offspring is always a Maetaur).
Relations: Maetaur see a distinction between the local human population and the humans who have invaded the land, and generally treat both with kindness, but are suspicious of Alodoans. Maetaur have a long history of cordial relations with Gymnaga, but find them to be peculiar and overtly intimate at times. The Maetaur are skeptical of the Elves and do not, as yet, trust them. Maetaur seem to be fascinated by Halflings, and are friendly toward them, but find it difficult to accept their behavior as most Halflings are dismissive of the natural religion of the Maetaur people. According to tradition, Maetaur and Tafganor (orcs) were in conflict in these lands before the arrival of the first Human kind, and they still see the Tafganor as racial enemies even though no one can remember the last time an actual Tafganor kind was seen in these lands.
Alignment and Religion: Maetaur are general Good, and often Neutral. They can be Chaotic (rarely) and Lawful (even more rare) and are only now, in the past few generations, coming to understand Lawful as it is applied by the invading populations in regards to the existence of a unified government. Maetaur follow a Nature Religion overseen by a council of Druids (and there is often talk of a High Druid Council that calls secret meetings during the High Seasons, the winter and summer Solstices). They recognize several Nature Gods, each having dominion over different natural aspects of the world including elemental gods. Maetaur Druids do not, usually, seek to have authority within Maetaur populations, but do not object to being called upon to be arbitrators in disputes.
Racial Build: (standard – 12 points)
---Racial Qualities---
Type: Monstrous Humanoid (3 RP)
Even though Maetaur are Monstrous Humanoids, they lack Darkvision, and instead have Keen Hearing, granting them a +2 racial bonus to Perception checks when hearing is a factor. Maetaur have Normal Vision
Size: Small (0 RP)
Due to being Quadrupeds, Maetaur are medium sized creatures. They are required to use small sized weapons and armor (worn on their Halfling-like torso).
Base Speed: Slow Speed (-1 RP)
Maetaur have a base speed of 20 feet, which is improved to 30 feet because they are quadrupeds.
Language: Standard Language Quality (0 RP)
Maetaur speak Common
---Racial Traits---
Advance Charisma (4 RP)
Maetaur are considered attractive and well mannered by almost all intelligent races, and receive a +2 racial bonus to their Charisma Score
Skill Bonus, Empathetic (2 RP)
+2 to Intuition* Skill checks to Sense Motives
Quadruped (2 RP)
Increase size to medium
Increase Base Speed to 30’
+4 racial bonus to CMD against trip attempts
Sure-Footed (Quadruped) (1 RP)
+2 to Skill Checks or Saving Throws that involve balance or footing
Pack (Quadruped) (1 RP)
A Maetaur can carry, pull, or drag +20% of weight allowed by its strength, but is limited to normal strength ratings when attempting to lift.
Alternatively, there may be an opportunity to create a Dwarven character (who would be from the Island Kingdom of Baylor, to the south of Urandoma) or an Elven (Alodoan) Character. And finally, one of the player’s in my Castle Caldwell and Beyond campaign has added a new Human culture, to the southeast of Baylor, called the Vayangurr (a sort of “Viking-esque” type of humans). Last but not least, we have named some countries in Alodoa, Harrispania, Barvkovia, Palicadia, and Vurespania, which could serve as a country of origin for a Human (Alodoan) character, and could be expanded upon with more cultural details (we’ve touched on Baravkovia being a sort of “Ravenloft-esque” setting, high in the dark mountains).
Classes
The following Classes are available to Players creating characters (of any race)
Bard
Cleric
Fighter
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer
Wizard
The following Classes are available with Race restrictions
Alchemist: a Character that is an Elf or Halfling may be an Alchemist
Cavalier: a Character that is an Elf or Maetaur may be a Cavalier. Maetaur Cavaliers may only belong to the Order of the Lion (in this setting known as the Companions of Haeur) – they begin the game with an animal companion that is a Bobcat or Fox instead of a mount. Any Cavalier ability related to the use of a “Mount” is always available to the Maetaur Cavalier. Elven Cavaliers may belong to the Orders of; Shield, Sword, Seal, or Blue Rose
Druid: a Character that is an Elf or Halfling may not be a Druid
Inquisitor: a Character that is a Human (Alodoan) or Halfling may be an Inquisitor
Magus: a Character that is an Elf or Halfling may be a Magus
Oracle: a Character that is a Halfling may not be an Oracle
Paladin: a Character that is an Elf may be a Paladin
Witch: a Character that is a Human (Urandoman), Maetaur, or Gymnaga may be a Witch
Ability Scores
Players will have the choice of either rolling their ability scores using the following method
Roll 4d6, a total of 4 times, dropping the lowest rolled number from each roll to generate four ability scores. Roll 5d6, a total of three times, dropping the two lowest rolled numbers from each roll and then selecting from the three rolls the two best scores to generate two ability scores. Characters that choose this method receive a bonus of +10% starting wealth.
Or arranging their scores using a point buy system with the following restrictions
Your characters ability scores begin at 10 and you have 20 points to purchase ability score increases per the standard Pathfinder rules. No ability score can be lowered to less than 7 AFTER the application of racial modifiers. No ability score can be raised to greater than 17 BEFORE the application of racial modifiers. Characters that choose this method will be given one BONUS trait selected from the Basic Traits list. Traits
Characters may have one trait (selected from the PRD, here at this site) and may have one additional Bonus trait if they select the point buy ability score system
Alignment
I encourage everyone to consider a “Good” alignment, and I will try not to be bothered by other choices. However, it should be pointed out that there is plenty of opportunity for player character conflict, even among Good alignments, as there are two distinct clashes going on – the first, the so far up to this point peaceful expansion of Alodoa into Urandoman territory, is now starting to become strained, as Calex, and Alodoan, has been granted authority over Woodbridge, and may have plans to bring in more Alodoan settlers, and there is a serious conflict seething under the surface here, involving Elves and Halflings
I’ll stop there, and open this thread for questions
Like many of the older players here, when I started the Standard by which our attempts to recreate fantasy adventures in our games was derived from books everyone was familiar with (among our group that is). So for us, Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, Sword of Shannara, and the Elric Sagas were the idealizations we crafted our play style around.
But, it seems today that the Standard for many role playing adventure gamers is not based in the novel as much as it is the computer game and animated series (which themselves have Standards derived from sources such as novels and other role playing games). As I am an older guy, who did not get into computer games all that much, and as I have a limited exposure to the gamut of animated adventure stories, I wonder, if you younger players could help me out with a list of what the Standards of fantasy role playing games are for you.
What are the Thematic and Genre staples that constitute the Standard from where your games are derived?
