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"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
It's September 26th, 1923. The last few weeks have been unseasonably chilly, yet the weather on this particular morning is fine and warm; balmy, one might say. Perhaps the weather is changing for the better? Despite the reprieve it may bring, you are all busily at work.
Discuss characters and stuff! 
After a successful Interest Check, I’ll be running a Call of Cthulhu 7th edition adventure. This will be a largely roleplay-driven and investigative adventure - do not expect much along the lines of combat - which is not to say that there will not still be action scenes, or that there will be no combat at all, or that you will be safe. This will be Play by Post. You do not need to create Aliases ahead of time. Please note that previous experience with Call of Cthulhu is not required, and you can probably get by with just the Quickstart Rules, located here.
Roll for Stats! Strength: 3d6*5
Size: (2d6+6)*5
Luck: 3d6*5 If these end up being pretty far from what you had in mind for your character, you can swap once per roll category. So you could swap one Size/Intelligence/Education with another of those, and a Strength/Constituton/Dexterity/Appearance/Power with one of each other. You can also swap any of the stats with Luck. If this still puts you too far off from what you have in mind for your character, or you roll really piss-poorly, let me know and we can work something else out.
You should all have some connection to an Anthony Carmichael, a handsome New York dilettante with a history as a pretty successful producer / playwright. He is talented and quite decadent. Whatever your history with him, you haven’t seen him in many months. You may be an actor, musician, writer/librarian, investor, producer, critic, or whatever else you can think of that existed at that time and has a connection to the arts. You also can just have a connection to him personally - if you’re a doctor, perhaps you’re his doctor, etc. Maybe you just shared a cab and got to talking once and left an impression on each other. If none of those really mesh with what you’re looking for in your character, that’s okay, too - instead have a connection to another player character who has a connection to Carmichael.
We’re going to be playing in New York in the early 1920s (Like, 1921-1923). As I mentioned in the recruitment thread, I am far from knowledgeable about 1920s New York, but this is some stuff i’ve picked up from a few Call of Cthulhu books. Don’t feel obligated to adhere to any of this - when dealing with eldritch gods, I think wiggle room in historical accuracy is permitted. I’m including this simply to gve us all a baseline, make it easier to connect to the time period, and because there may be some things here that spark inspiration for your character. General:
Culture:
Fashion: I’ll plan to leave two weeks open for the recruitment intending to close it on the 26th, take the weekend to choose characters, and start the game on Monday the 29th. If you have any questions, please do reach out! I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with.
Thinking about running a short adventure with Call of Cthulhu 7th edition, one which would be more based in investigation / roleplay / atmosphere than combat, set in the 1920s New York. I'd be looking for 3-4 people to unknowingly embark on a journey that likely leads to madness.
Alright I will be posting questions soon for y'all so we can start to do some world building stuff. Some will be clarifying, some will be questioning what you've already established and some will be much larger. The bottom line is that as before, don't feel like we have to take anything from Pathfinder lore at face value - this is our world to create as we see fit. You can also start polishing crunch and pitch anything for third party or houserules that you haven't already!
Hi! I’m back on these forms after a couple of years of life craziness and I want to dip my toes back into running a game. In the past I’ve had a tendency to bite off more than I could chew, so I’m going to start this one as something relatively simple... So, let’s dive in here. Character Creation Rules
Getting a bit deeper into it
What kind of game is it?
Anyone who is submitting a character needs to do so with another player. I will not be accepting solo applications. You can use this thread to pair up, or if you have someone in mind already you can reach out to them. This is largely because I want to see the strengths of your writing skills not only individually, but also your collaboration together: Your characters must already have some kind of relationship together. You could be siblings, a knight errand to their bard, lovers, a student and teacher, a scholar and their muscle, Indiana-Jones type explorers, Bonnie & Clyde thieves, a construct and their creator, or whatever else, it’s up to you. On that note, don’t worry about covering all the standard party roles. If neither of you roll a Rogue, I’m not going to write a trap that kills you. If no one takes a healer, you’ll find a Cure Wounds wand. Because this adventure will be constructed off of what you make for your characters, don’t be concerned about trying to be everything - it’ll play to your weaknesses as well as your strengths, but in a way that’s interesting and fair, not simply “you’re doom for being unprepared”. In short: Build the characters that you want to see, and we will construct the world and adventure around them. This could end up being a lot of RP if you go with more of a social Bard, a more combat focused game if you’re a “kick down the door” Barbarian. There could be investigation, dungeon crawling, pirates, urban intrigue, wildlands, horror, or any number of other things. Hell, if you want a western, make characters and we’ll throw them into a western. Tiefling gunslinger? Yes please. Because we’re making this all up, in part as we go, if you want to re-fluff a race, go for it. Want Elves to be less woodsy and be pirates? I’m in. Want Dwarves to be less like Gimli in the mountain and more like rampaging Vikings? Let’s do it. Want Tengu to be less like thieves and more like wandering Romani? I’ve always been into that idea. I should preface all of this by saying, please don’t write too much. There’s a lot more world building we’ll do after I’ve chosen the players, and I don’t want to read a novel yet, don’t want it to seem like whoever writes the most is the least likely to be chosen, and also don’t want you to spend a long time writing something when I’m picking so few players. Give me something interesting, but don’t feel like it all needs to be ironed out. For instance, I don’t need your entire character’s backstory and life. At this point, I don’t care who their parents are unless that’s relevant to now. I want to know your character is as a person and what they care about. Really, the 10 minute background format should be adequate, just feel free to throw in some more hints as to other things. If you have a new land, race, or god, give me some details about them (maybe a paragraph or two), but don’t feel like you need to write a whole entry about any of those things. Just something to build off of. Remember earlier when I said not to roll up here with a drider? Here’s your loophole. It won’t be the 34-point version, but if you write up a race that sounds interesting, even if you don't play with the race builder ahead of time, we can use that race builder to come up with something that fits, within reason. Obviously if your characters are siblings, you should be of the same race, but you could still do a thing with Sects or Class to vary them up (like the Githyanki/Githzerai or the types of Veryx from the new City of 7 Seraphs book that I’ve been devouring). Again, within reason. What should my submission be?
What I really want is:
For the two people submitting together, do this as separate posts that reference each other. Bonus points if you work different perspectives into your shared relationship or backgrounds. Remember that whatever your relationship is, it shouldn’t be free of challenges. One Final Note
. . If you have any questions, please let me know! Recruitment will be open for... I don't know, a few weeks? Let's say April 15th. Maybe longer if there are a lot of people still working on things, or sooner if I get a bunch of interest fast and then it tapers off.
I'm considering running a game that I've wanted to for a long time - one that would feature the player character's having died, only to come back to life as undead. It would be a homebrew world that we'd build together, there would be a few templates / undead race options available. I'd probably only take 2-3 players. Any interest?
Hello! As the interest check thread went well, let's get this started. I'll be looking for four to five players to play through a couple of modules in the Star Wars: Edge of the Empire game published by Fantasy Flight. It will be taking place here on the forums, using a conversion chart for die rolls. We'll be starting with Under a Black Sun as our intro adventure and going on to The Jewel of Yavin afterwards.
Allowed Species - Anything published is fair game. If you want to tweak established culture to fit your idea of the character, I'm probably fine with that. I'd definitely prefer that over "I picked a species I don't want because it has the best perks". If you want something not published officially (either in the Species Menagerie that's floating around, or otherwise), let me know and we'll see what we can do. Allowed Books - All of the Edge of the Empire sourcebooks are available. If there's something you want from an Age of Rebellion book, let me know and we'll see if there's an EOTE equivalent, or if it otherwise can be adapted or would just slot in flawlessly. For Force and Destiny, please see the note on force users below. Roles - Since you'll all be working together as a crew, and Careers are pretty broad, it might be a good idea to have a role in mind for what you actually do on the ship. You can generalise between a few things, or specialise hard in something. The selected players will be able to make tweaks before the game begins, so don't worry if there's slight overlap. It's also worth noting that each of these roles will definitely have their chance to shine.
Remember, you are all part of the same crew! Teamwork will be essential to not only your mission success, but also your very survival.
As just an Exile who has things like Advanced Reflexes, and otherwise goes into other Careers, I'll want to know about an ancestor who was a Jedi/Sith, and how aware you are of your abilities. As a full Force-User, I'll want to know about your own training, and why you're essentially a criminal now (instead of doing something like helping the Rebellion). In both cases I'll want to know what you plan on taking for Force Powers, and how you plan to use them while remaining undetected. I am asking more from the potential force-users than from others because you will have a harder time being a character. The Jedi are all but extinct and flaunting powers is bound to get you Empire attention, resulting in, you know, death. You will essentially not be able to use a lightsaber and will have to be cautious about when and how you use your abilities at all. The further you plan to go into being a Force user, the higher the stakes and risks. Which makes sense: A smuggler who has some intuitions can be seen as "lucky", but someone who, you know, lifts a ship out of the swamp with their mind is on a different level, and people notice that kind of thing. It is also not guaranteed that there will be a Force-user at all - there won’t be bias or preferential treatment for them if other characters are more interesting / better suited. So, get writing, Jedi!
Any questions, of course please ask. Because of holidays, I'll plan for leaving this open for just over 2 weeks, and shoot for closing it on January 6th.
I'm thinking about dipping my toes back into the Edge of the Empire waters, and have been wondering if anyone would be interested in playing through the Jewel of Yavin adventure. I'll likely be taking some heavy liberties with adapting it, but the basic premise is that players are smugglers / thieves / vagabonds who are going to attempt a jewel heist. It's just an interest check for now, so please don't throw up STat Blocks or anything yet, but if you want to spitball some character ideas, it's never too early for those!
Questions for world building coming soon. Feel free to get acquainted, pose some ideas if you want.
I tried to come up with a cool name that combined these things but I couldn't. Dungeon Gods? Iron World? Dungiron Wo- no, that sounds awful, stop. Right, then. Hello! Since I'm pleased with how my two games of Rise of the Runelords in the Dungeon World rules are going, I've decided to start up recruitment for another game! With another Adventure Path! What Ruleset is this? Dungeon World! Super short premise: Dungeon World is a narrative-driven game with very simple mechanics. You have the 6 standard attributes (STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, CHA) and the modifiers range from -1 to +3. When you roll, it’s 2d6+the relevant modifier. A total of 6- is a miss, 7-9 is a partial success, and 10+ is a full success. There are basic moves that everyone can do, as well as class (and for our purposes, race) specific moves. If you’d like to see some games in action, I have two ongoing games here on the forums. Do I need to be familiar with Pathfinder / Golarion / the Iron Gods Adventure Path? Absolutely not! Dungeon World is centered around the idea of us building the world together. This is something that works great when the players are already selected, but is more difficult for recruitment such as this. An Adventure Path gives us a simple place to start from. I do not expect that we will follow it faithfully, or even necessarily at all. If the group decides to veer off dramatically, we'll do that. The Adventure Path is more used here as a rough framework to give us a base to launch from. Okay, what's the premise? You will all be in a town in the land of Numeria known as Torch. The land itself is savage and dangerous, with ancient ruins, superstitious barbarian tribes, dark magic, and nigh unfathomable technological marvels. There are automatons, and at least one crashed metal mountain from the sky that people harness the metal from. Torch gets its name from an ever-burning and otherworldly fire, that sometimes erupts with flares and otherwise works as a perfect forge. The region is ruled by the Black Soverign in name, but the real power is held by the Technic League. Even here in the town of Torch, they take a significant cut of the town's income as tithes. They openly accept slavery, and have reputations as being cruel sadists, and hoarding technological wonders. The rest of the world is subject to what you write. Where are you from? What are your people like? Why are you here? If you would like to read the established lore, you can download the Player’s Guide here on Paizo. For our purposes, it’s not necessarily canon, but it may give you some interesting ideas. How do I apply? For this game, you'll be using some custom Dungeon World classes that I've put together. You'll select a Race playbook and a Class playbook. This is slightly different from how Dungeon World normally operates. But for your Starting Moves you'll have the option of choosing some from the Race and some from the Class. Any you don't select can be taken as Advanced Moves when you level up. I've left the Races intentionally vague, so when you choose one, think about what kind of stuff you want to be! Obviously be prepared to deal with problems if you're going with something absurd. You don't need to make an alias or go too far into character creation. Let me know what Race/Class combination you'd like to go with, and tell me about the Race itself, and what your character is like. You can do some world building if it helps get your idea across, but I'm more interested in your character's personality. There's a fair amount of world building that we'll do together, and at this stage, I’m more curious who you see existing. Here is the link for the Races and Classes. I’m also using these for my in person Rise of the Runelords inspired game - which is why the formatting is the way that it is, they’re intended to be printed as little booklets. Also since it’s my personal project, I shameless pilfered from other sources without credit - sorry. Recruitment will be open for probably a week? Let’s say maybe next Friday? But if interest dies off / everyone has dotted submits before then, I may close it early (giving 24 hours notice, of course). And, of course, any questions, please do let me know!
The sun begins to rise in a blood-red sky over the town of Hobbs, situated rather in the heart of the New Mexico Territory. Formed some 15 years before, the town has grown significantly since, largely due to settlers traveling through to California, or gangs passing down towards Mexico for trouble and profit. To the north lie the Territories of Utah and Colorado, still largely inhabited by various Indian Tribes. Back East, there's a War on. Being that there are 34 states, it weren't much concern when South Carolina decided to leave on its own. It weren't much either when Mississippi or Florida joined. But as time wore on, it began to be more and more of the Southern states. Now we find ourselves stuck in the middle. California to our West supports the Union, while our neighbor Texas supports the Confederacy. More and more troops pass through our territory, trying to convince us to join their respective side, while they march off to their deaths. Some good men have signed up and gone off to fight for what they believed, leaving their wives to do their best, and their sons to pick up the slack. Can't say whether it's helping or not, but I can tell you about the type of men it leaves behind... Early on in its existence, Hobbs gained the nickname "The Rock" for a 60' stone obelisk that stands in the middle of town. The Territory's been passed around between the Spanish and Mexicans before, so it may have come from there, but no one can say. No one can say, either, what the symbols engraved on it are likely to mean. But those who live there accept it as though its part of the natural formation of the land. Sometimes there are rivers, sometimes mountains, sometimes giant obelisks. The nickname has taken on another meaning in the last few months, representing a sort of stability. Even as the skies turn ashen, as rivers run red with blood, as brother kills brother, Hobbs remains unmoved. Whatever reasons you have for being here, they're your own. Your business is your own. Your past lies where you left it, ready to rear its head when its most inconvenient. You may think of Hobbs as being a boomtown, a place that will thrive even more as the conflicts grow - but it's just as likely to be a powder keg waiting to blow up in your face. One by one, Elle, Connell, Monique, and Adrian open their eyes to face the sobering light of day, and realities of their lives, for better or worse.
dot dot dot.
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Per talking to Ryuko in his thread about doing a Pathfinder Adventure Path using the Dungeon World rules, I've decided to run a game for Rise of the Runelords. Whether you are or aren't familiar with it is fine - I expect that it will vary a good deal from the Adventure Path as written - after all, we'll be making more things up as we go. At most it'll be a loose framework. As for available classes, naturally anything on the SRD is fair game. I have most things on this fairly comprehensive list, so I'm happy to look at any of them and vet whether they'd be allowed (they are likely to be).
Mechanics
Unlike Dungeon World, this game does not have established moves. Each Attribute has a few broad suggestions of what it is good for, but is meant to be pretty free form. The Attributes themselves are named after card suits, so you'll have Hearts for presence/influence, Spades for dexterity/coordination, Diamonds for knowledge/observation, and Clovers for strength/endurance. Each has different applications depending on what you are trying to do. For instance, if you're gambling, you'd probably use Hearts for bluffing. But you may choose to cheat, which would be Spades for the sleight of hand aspect. Things like that. The game itself is very free-form - there is no initiative, there are not really any turns. If you want to attempt something, attempt it. It'll always be a back and forth, but combat won't become some separate kind of "mini game" within the game or break the flow. The World
The time period will be roughly during the Civil War. Here's a map of the US at that time for reference. We'll be around the Texas / New Mexico territories, leaving lots of opportunities for battles between the North and South, with Natives, Mexicans, and lots of other things. There won't be much government authority out this way - between the civil war and rapid expansion, small towns don't have much for support. You can imagine the kind of people who are left around - mostly those who are desperate and just scraping by. This game also does not have "magic", at least that you'd understand or be able to cast. Remember that there was a lot of superstition. Mental health problems were seen as demon possession. Weird things are seen as hauntings or evil forces. There is the notion of Hell and Sin as a tangible thing. On account of all this, it's likely that you'll see things that your characters will not / cannot understand. And I'll likely do my best to make that even worse. To give you a bit more of a starting point, the town we'll be in is called Hobbs. It's got roughly ~500 residents. Assume ~250 are families of more than one person, and maybe ~100 are slaves. It's grown largely because of its location - there's desert for miles around but Hobbs is in an opportune place for both trade and travel. There's lots of types of shops, and the town even has its own newspaper. Couple of Established Characters Elle Lockwood - Owner of The Lockwood Stop, the local tavern / inn. (See the bottom of the post for more about her) Henry Beauregard - The Sheriff of Hobbs. He's a bit of a workaholic, but since the death of his wife, he's been having some trouble with alcohol. An intelligent, clever, and brave man. Lilly Von Schtupp - A Madam, and friend of Elle Lockwood, who operates out of the Lockwood Stop tavern, letting the patrons and her prostitutes frolic together, for the right price. Richard Commstock - The grizzled, old veteran reporter of the Hobbs Informer. Folks respect him but generally don't like how pushy he can get when he thinks he needs to know something. He makes them feel guilty and accused at times. Character Creation
How to Apply
Now with that said, it does NOT have to be a novel. Honestly, a paragraph or two is totally fine. As long as there's enough there that I start getting a feel for your character and can ask you some additional questions. For those who do want to write a little more, great! Feel free to create NPCs and locations to tie in as needed. You shouldn't have to make an Alias for applying, but I'd like to see the crunch (simple as it may be). I already have one player, and I am looking for two more. Three at the absolute most. You should be able to post at least once per day. Also, because this is homebrew, there may be some things that change as we play in the interest of it being fun, so please do be accepting of that caveat. I guess that's probably it. Feel free to ask questions! EDIT: In case it is a thing that is useful / helpful, here is the existing player's crunch, backstory, and the questions that I asked. Elle: Crunch
Backstory <ken burns documentary voice>Elizabeth 'Elle' Lockwood was the product of a restless German banker in New York City, a Mexican reformist on the run from the French occupation of Mexico City, and a joint endeavor towards a life that promised adventure and a future free from two separate countries hell bent on their own self destruction through the wages of civil war. And run on sentences. They met in northern Missouri for a moment brief enough to decide that this wasn't where the dream was, but long enough to raise a child to the age of 12. The journey to their new southern life was hard, and cost Elle her father when a group of marauders set out to take the dreams of others attacked in the night. Her mother would later sadly say that some roads home are paved in tombstones. They finally arrived at this home a month later and opened a tavern where anyone could stay, even if it was just for a moment long enough to realize they weren't where they needed to be. It was called the The Lockwood Stop. "When in Rome you do as the Romans, when in here you do shots at the bar." Her mother died (at the ripe old age of 56) when she was 14, leaving Elle as the sole owner. You'll still find her there, playing banjo, sitting behind the piano, or making sure the next patron's arrangements for the night are to his or her liking. She might even say to you "Nothing in here is powered by steam that shouldn't be, Michael. This isn't steam punk. No one likes steam punk."</ken burns documentary voice> First Questions After your mother passed, leaving you as the sole owner of the The Lockwood Shop, I imagine there were some wealthy or powerful men who tried to take it from you, whether by trying to marry you, buy it from you, or take it by force. How did you stop / deal with them? Second Questions
The sun begins to rise in a blood-red sky over the town of Hobbs, situated rather in the heart of the New Mexico Territory. Formed some 15 years before, the town has grown significantly since, largely due to settlers traveling through to California, or gangs passing down towards Mexico for trouble and profit. To the north lie the Territories of Utah and Colorado, still largely inhabited by various Indian Tribes. Back East, there's a War on. In a matter of weeks, the country itself has split. Being that there are 34 states, it weren't much concern when South Carolina decided to leave on its own. It weren't much either when Mississippi or Florida joined. But as time wore on, it began to be more and more of the Southern states. Now we find ourselves stuck in the middle. California to our West supports the Union, while our neighbor Texas supports the Confederacy. More and more troops pass through our territory, trying to convince us to join their side, while they march off to their deaths. Some good men have signed up and gone off to fight for what they believed, leaving their wives to do their best, and their sons to pick up the slack. Can't say whether it's helping or not, but I can tell you about the type of men it leaves behind... Early on in its existence, Hobbs gained the nickname "The Rock" for a 60' stone obelisk that stands in the middle of town. The Territory's been passed around between the Spanish and Mexicans before, so it may have come from there, but no one can say. No one can say, either, what the symbols engraved on it are likely to mean. But those who live there accept it as though its part of the natural formation of the land. Sometimes there are rivers, sometimes mountains, sometimes giant obelisks. The nickname has taken on another meaning in the last few months, representing a sort of stability. Even as the skies turn ashen, as rivers run red with blood, as brother kills brother, Hobbs remains unmoved. Whatever reasons you have for being here, they're your own. Your business is your own. Your past lies where you left it, ready to rear its head when its most inconvenient. You may think of Hobbs as being a boomtown, a place that will thrive even more as the conflicts grow - but it's just as likely to be a powder keg waiting to blow up in your face. One by one, Benji, Elle, and Talulah open their eyes to face the sobering light of day, and realities of their lives, for better or worse.
Discussion.
Ignore this. Sorry. I still love you.
Over the last ~8 months or so I've really fallen in love with the Dungeon World / Powered by the Apocalypse System. I've been writing a hack for the last 2 months or so, and I think it's at a stage where I can finally do some playtesting. The basic premise is that instead of a fantasy world, it's a "realistic" superhero world, in the style of Watchmen or certain Batman stories. The world is something that we'll at least sort of make up together, but it'll be somewhat Steampunk in nature, set in an alternate 1900 or so. I have 6 classes for this, but I'm probably only looking for 3-4 players since I question my ability to GM for a larger group. I'd like a mixture between people who know Dungeon World and people who don't. It's a very easy system to pick up. System Premise Essentially it works like this: Instead of Skills or Abilities, there are what are called Moves. When you use a move you roll 2d6 and add the relevant stat. a 6 or lower is a failure, a 7-9 is partial success, and a 10+ is success. Sometimes a 12+ can be critical success. Your stats range from -1 to a maximum of +3. There's a pool of moves that everyone has the ability to do - like a "Hack and Slash" move. And then there are also moves that are unique to each class. Each starts with 3-4 Class moves, and as you level up, you choose additional moves. Basically you say what you want to do. If it requires a roll, you roll it. Then I give you complications. The game itself is very focused on the players working with the GM to create the world, so if you don't like world building or making things up, this probably won't be a good fit. I'm not sure exactly how long this game would go on - ideally we'll go from level 1 to at least level 4. If you'd like to see how it plays on the boards, I recommend reading DM Frogfoot's "Stitch in Time" game. Classes The Siren - A master of disguise, manipulation, and alchemy. Example characters: Poison Ivy, The Chameleon, John Constantine. The Hood - A ranger/thief with an aerial companion. Example characters: Garrett from Thief, Mordecai from Borderlands, Green Arrow, Hawkeye The Mentor - While some see them as a doddering old fool whose time passed years ago, they are more than they appear, focusing equally on Body, Mind, and Spirit. Example characters: Uncle Iroh from The Last Airbender, Stick from DareDevil. The Shadow - I am the night. Martial arts, gadgets, and shadows. I suspect you know who this is based on. The Spider - The Spider is an acrobat and sneak, who has access to a gang or troupe. Example characters: DareDevil, Robin, Spider-Man. The Judge - An authority figure who steps outside of the law to uphold what they believe it should be, using their beliefs and reputation as a sword and shield. Example characters: The Punisher, Judge Dredd. Submission If there's actual interest in this, I'll make the PDF of the classes available. Obviously I haven't given you a ton to work with here, and that's intentional. I want to see what you come up with riffing off of what little there is. I want to hear about what character class you'd be interested in playing, and what the character would be like, and what you imagine their background to be - even if it is broad strokes. Then I'll choose a few people and we'll start building a world together to romp around in.
Work is finally letting up a bit and both my Throne of Night games are slowing down some, so I'm thinking about starting up another game. And I'm thinking - wait, let's get something out of the way first: Do not submit characters yet. Feel free to speculate about ideas and concepts, but I absolutely do not want to see crunch at all. Okay, so I'm thinking of running some things in the world of Kaidan. Rite Publishing has a three-part Adventure Path and two standalone adventures set in this world. It's supposed to be heavily influenced by Japanese culture, as well as having some good horror elements. I only started considering this idea today, so there is a lot that I have up in the air. For instance, I'm not entirely sure how much I'll use from the books, what order I'd do them in, or what level players would start at. The idea for running something eastern came to me last week as I was rewriting the entire Tengu culture for a game I submitted an application for. I managed to make a Tengu Inquisitor into something of a Ronin. It sparked the idea to do something Eastern, because I quite like the idea of running something that encourages those classes and archetypes and character concepts that don't necessarily get a lot of use. The Samurai, the Kensai Magus, a Bard Geisha, the Ninja. However, the setting also lends itself to the players at least starting as outsiders. Likely, this would mean that I might have you start off with a level or two of an NPC class - or even encourage a degree of multiclassing (eg: Take 2 levels of something Western and then have more things open later). It would of course be entirely story-driven. If you decided to dip into Ninja, you'd have to find someone to train you. If you wanted to be a Samurai, you'd have to learn the ways. I mean, all within reason of course. But if we're going to be having your characters change over time, they should change, ya dig? On the subject of classes, I'd certainly allow anything from the new ACG book, any other Paizo material - likely except for the Summoner. It's also entirely likely that I'd allow one player to play as a Psion. I also would prefer a fairly low-magic party for this one, I think. Horror isn't horror if you have enough spells to fell a dragon. Obviously there's still a lot for me to work out, but before I dove into that process, I wanted to at least see if there would be interest in this kind of game. I was hoping that their Campaign Setting Book would be out before I started this, but it isn't looking good on that front. But who knows, I'm probably a month or two away from being ready all the same. Anyway, yes. Thoughts?
Chapter 1 For many within the town of Skelt, it was a day like any other. People there had their own fears and concerns and worries - would they be prepared for the winter? Would this be the day that Molthune tried once again to annex them by force? These fears existed even for Imperia Wardroxan-Grayblade, though she might deny it if asked. Her concerns dealt more with the now, and now, as the sun rose, she sat hunched over her workbench, tinkering with her latest project. In other parts of the town, different fears thrived. The fear of unrequited love in a young human girl, the fear of inadequacy in an Elven man. And in two separate ends of the city, a fear spoke about the end of the Dwarven people. Kurth Silvermug had arrived in town late the night before, and had spent the morning searching for a temple to pray in - only to find that there were none dedicated to Torag. While Skelt only boasted a population of just over 5,000 people, its proximity to an entrance of the Underdark meant that many Dwarven families had felt there. More than 1,500 of its citizens were Dwarf-born, and yet they seemed hardly to mind that their culture was being stripped away, forgotten to the sands of time. Potentially of larger concern was that of the Dwarven people's population numbers, which were also in steady decline. Old Boreyn Steelhymn read and reread his book, ingraining the names in his mind, and hoping to find some Dwarves descended from those adventurers, who might have the courage to make one last run at reclaiming Dammerhall. It had been quite some time before Boreyn had added any names to the book, and yet there were so many hundreds of entries that had come before. It was as though they had simply stopped trying. Meanwhile, several hours outside of the city, Baird Ironhame and Talas Arduinn were taking down their camp and preparing for another day of travel. The town of Skelt loomed in the distance, and there was both excitement and worry in the air. This was the day when Baird's plan would cease being merely a dream.
Here are some basics to get you guys started. I also added some background information to the Campaign Info tab. Obviously feel free to ask any questions - I'm pretty accepting of most things. And I've likely forgotten at least one thing. Character Creation:
Basics
House Rules
Allowed Races
Allowed Classes
Racial Alternatives:
Duergar (Deep Dwarves)
Oread
Svirfneblin (Deep Gnomes)
Dwarf Variants
Clever Hands: +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Cha.
Respected Speaker: +2 Cha, +2 Wis, -2 Str.
Scholar of the Ancient Ways:+2 Int, +2 Wis, -2 Con.
Trickster and Singer: +2 Cha, +2 Dex, -2 Wis.
Warrior of Legend: +2 Con, +2 Str, -2 Wis.
Traits / Background: Presuming that at least one player is a dwarf, they will be the one most likely to have organised the party and be leading it. This does not mean that they will become the King. They need not have that ambition, or even be suited for it. They should be driven more by wanting to reclaim the dwarven lands than to rule, simply for how dangerous and difficult this task will be. For the sake of this campaign - being a Dwarf means you come from a Human-controlled surface city. Being a duergar means that you are a dwarf who is a member of one of the last remaining city-states in the underworld. This same distinction applies to the Gnomes and svirfneblin as well, though those civilizations are thriving much better than the dwarves, and have a good relationship between them. It is worth noting that despite being ‘the same’, dwarves and duergar do not generally get along. Escaped Slave (Duergar or Svirfneblin)
Lore Seeker
Mercenary
Missionary
Savior of the Dwarves
Traitorous Exile (Drow)
Although small, the town of Skelt was doing its best to throw a celebration. For now, after months of discussions, and weeks of travel, there was to be a trade caravan arriving from the duergar settlement of Kraggodan. This would be the first time that this settlement of duergar set foot outside of the underdark in more than thirty years. Some of the traders who were coming had never set foot outside of their kingdom before. Every one of the townspeople had worked hard in preparation - as did many of the visitors. There was a feeling that swept through everyone, that something special was about to happen. They were on the precipice of change. The new dawn was to bring endless possibilities, and a new friendship with a people almost forgotten. Visitors, mostly humans and dwarves, had come from far and wide, all with their own reasons. Some had come hoping to acquire old relics. Others simply wanted to see if the stories of the dwarves were true. And there were still more with other agendas entirely. Dietrich had arrived days ago, spending his days quietly observing to make sure things would go smoothly, while spending many of his nights over an open fire, telling tales of dwarven strength and heroics. The only other elf who had made the journey was Ariael, who had arrived that morning. He had hopes that the duergar travelers would be able to give him information pertaining to the movements of the subterranean drow. Many of the dwarves who came had lost their heritages, and were indistinguishable from the humans in every way except for their sizes. Those that were trying to keep their culture alive banded together nearly instantly, and spent days working to sculpt a large statue of Rogar Tarnhammer, one of the most beloved dwarven kings. Ancian had been drawn to them almost immediately, longing to learn more about his people, and agreed to help them, for while he had no knowledge of stone, he knew more than many of them about steel. Thanks to him, the statue that they would unveil had a massive metal hammer that stood out from the stone statue. Finally, at last, the day had come, and many had rose early in the morning to wait, crowding around the bridge that lead towards the Mindspin Mountains, each wanting to be the first to see the arrival. As the hours dragged on, the town itself seemed to hold its breath. Banners swayed in the wind, and the world was silent. The town elders watched the horizon with anxiety, knowing that without this trade agreement, it was likely that they could not hold out against both Cheliax and Molthune. The fear of their preparations, their hope, having been for nothing only served to make the excitement that much more palpable when the caravan arrived. The group had not had an easy trip, having lost 3 duergar of their original party of 12 in the weeks of travel. If any of the duergar had been asked, as they stepped into the sun (some of whom had never seen it before), and saw the excitement just for them, whether it had been worth it, they would be hard pressed to say no. Many on both sides wept openly, overwhelmed by the bittersweet emotions of mutual loss and now, hopefully, salvation. While the duergar were intending to spend some time in town trading before venturing back to their dark citadel, there were two among them that had different destinations in mind. Gumar had fulfilled his obligation to help the caravan get to its destination, and was now free to go on his way. During the trip he had been shown the road that lead to Fasturvalt. Though he had never been there, its was the largest settlement of his people for quite some distance, and it was the closest thing he might have to a home. Skygge on the other hand was determined to finally leave his home. His ambitions of reaching Dammerhall and discovering what had happened to it were largely ignored by his peers, but he had hopes that on the surface he might have more luck finding individuals interested in adventure.
Coming soon.
Part 1: "The Calm Before the Storm" Moxxie:
Moxxie had been running for days.
She wasn’t sure if the clerics were still following her and she wasn’t going to stop and find out. There was no going back to Canorate. Not now, perhaps not ever. With the city behind her, with her life behind her, she had kept running, trying to stay one step ahead of her fears. Her eyes filled with tears and rage when she thought of Icobar. She knew that she had failed him. But she also hoped that, in time, she could make up for it. The first few days were not so bad. She had stolen some supplies on the way out. But now, with the sun going down on the fourth day, she wondered what she had done, and how long she could hope to survive. Despite it being summer, the nights were cold, and she was so very far from home. Tonight was the first night in weeks that she did not dream of Icobar. What she dreamed was worse. She saw the entire Elsir Vale under siege. A dark and horrifying battle, filled with the sounds of screams, death, and the roar of flames. The entire vale was burning. The last thing she saw before she jolted awake was a banner, yellow, with a clawed, red hand on it. Evril:
Ever since he had made the decision to return to the Elsir Vale, Evril had felt like he was on the right path. He felt that he was exactly where Sarenrae wanted him to be. And yet for more than a month he made no progress. He simply traveled between the cities of Korvosa, Canorate, and even Brindol. If anyone had knowledge about his parents, they weren’t talking.
The most he’d even been able to find out about Restenford Keep was that it had long since been swallowed up by the Southern Fangwood, and that it was dangerous and he should steer clear. After weeks without being able to find anything out, Evril had a breakthrough. In the town of Canorate he found a trader who possessed a map of how to get to the Restenford Keep. The man claimed to have bought it from a Tengu who lived in the Southern Fangwood and spoke of treasure, but the man himself had lost the desire to risk his life for what was most likely a wild goose chase. Remembering the rumours from his youth about how dangerous the Fangwood was, Evril decided to call in a favour. He immediately sent a letter to Arbiter Deimos, asking for him to come with haste, and meet him in the town of Skelt. While waiting, he stayed in the temples of Canorate, praying to Sarenrae for the answers to his history. She had not answered him directly, though Evril had faith that the Keep was provide him with some closure. Knowing that Deimos is on the way, Evril has decided to head to Skelt to meet him, as there is not a moment to lose. Deimos:
Arbiter Deimos reread the letter for what felt like the thousandth time. It was short and concise, exactly what he would have expected from Evril, but there was something else to it that set him on edge. Although they had fought side by side on multiple occassions, Deimos had not seen him in years, and did not know what was on his mind. Was he frightened? Lovesick? Under duress?
The letter suggested that they meet in Skelt. Deimos had not been back there in years. He had not wanted to be. He would have liked to see Canorate and the temple, but he suspected that everyone he had known was long gone. Besides, Evril said it was urgent. There would be time afterwards to see the temple. Deimos had already left Korvosa behind him, and was traveling along the Dwarfroad, only a few hours outside of Skelt. Whatever Evril needed, Deimos would soon find out. Krazzix:
If there was one thing that Krazzix hated, it was staying in a city without trees. The city of Skelt that he was used to was built so close to the forest that you barely had to go out of the way to find trees. Krazzix could swing from them all day and not get bored.
But in Brindol, there was only farmland and sparse trees here and there. The city was miles away from the forest he knew and loved. Still, Krazzix could not complain much. He would be starting the journey home today, and he had succeeded in his task. While the act of being a courier for a letter from the Town Speaker in Skelt to a cleric in Brindol was not at all glamorous, he had done it well, and could hope for more important tasks in the future. In the meantime, Krazzix was anxious to get back home. Not only did Brindol not have trees, but he had been specifically forbidden to steal anything from the people there, even temporarily. The Speaker specifically mentioned the battle against the Lizardfolk that Krazzix had been involved in, trying to explain that to the people of Skelt he was a hero, but to the people of Brindol he was just another dangerous and scaled creature. No one had treated him poorly or anything, but their glances certainly left him with a feeling of discomfort. Krazzix resolved not to stay for a minute longer than he had to. Maldrek:
There was a storm over the mountains, which was when Maldrek liked them best. He could feel the power flowing through the sky, and through himself. Throughout his time in exile, he had rarely spoken to anyone at all, in part because of the damage that his words could do. He had been alone for decades, removed from civlization, but the storm made him feel as though he was a part of something larger than himself.
He stood on a ledge, with his arms spread wide, enjoying the rain and flashes of lightning. He sometimes fired his own in response to the storm’s, as though trying to communicate with it. Something to the west caught his eye, and he moved closer to investigate. Over the hills he heard a different sound than thunder, something that he had not heard in many years. It was the sound of war drums. As Maldrek watched, he saw in the distance a group of goblins were making their way across the mountains. The tribes had steered clear of him for years, tending to refer to him as Drut’n T’su (“Thunder Demon”). What brought them so close now, he had no idea. But from up above in the mountains, he could see the path they were forging through, and he had no doubt that the raiding party was on its way to Skelt. Maldrek scoffed. He had not set foot in that city for decades, surely a small band of goblins would not change that. And yet. Something about this felt different. There was a change in the air, in the wind. These goblins were marching with purpose and they were bringing someone along with them. Death.
Allow me to welcome those of you who have been admitted. While it’s no secret that I think everyone posted brilliant characters, yours are among my favourites (with some others being admitted in Group 1). I shall keep this short so that we can get underway. I am not looking to bombard you with rules about how to play your characters, how to post here, or so on. I expect that most of you will behave as adults. No team killing, no fighting between players. If characters are going to argue, awesome. But don’t make it personal. Everyone should please try to post at least once a day. though there's definitely something to be said for quality over quantity. Also, if you will be away for more than a day, let me know so that I can make appropriate plans to control your character. If you go away without letting me know, I will DM you anyway, but I will not be happy about you slowing down the game. I do not want to leave anyone behind, but I have seen many games fall because of single players. I'm gonna try my best not to let that happen. The most important thing is to communicate with me. I am pretty understanding and, let’s face it, I am here to put on a great game, not to berate you for not giving me all of your free time. I want to make adjustments based on what you guys are or are not enjoying and what your speed and styles are. Please feel free to contact me about absolutely anything. Oh, and your characters will level up whenever I feel like it, because I hate keeping track of XP. I am going to try to make this a relatively cinematic experience rather than getting all caught up in the rules. I believe in the GM approach of saying “Yes, but” to players. If you have an awesome plan, I don’t care how much it bends the rules, I’m going to do what I can to make it happen. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s do a roll call and kill some b%#&$es. Arbiter Deimos
Part 1: "The Calm Before the Storm"
Sznek:
For Sznek, a new life was beginning.
The Mountain Goat Clan had always use a few scouts to investigate potential targets before their raiding parties would attack. Sznek was not as strong as some of the other goblins, but his speed and precision made him one of the frontline marauders. During one particular raid, the scouting party was made, and the humans were prepared for the attack, far more prepared than they should have been. Sznek saw many of his brothers cut down, and though he fought bravely, he was greatly outnumbered. Many of the goblins were captured and sold to slavery, and Sznek himself ended up someone else’s property in Kaer Maga. This particular human liked two things: gambling, and the sight of blood. The goblins that he purchased were soon to die in the Pits, tournaments in which contestants would battle to the death. Miraculously, Sznek managed not only to stay alive, but to build a following. Stories spread of the little goblin who could take down ogres and ankhegs far larger and stronger than he was. Some said he had even defeated a charda, but it may have only been a story. Sznek eventually came to such fame that the gambler had no choice but to set him free. And now, the little goblin decided that he wanted to learn what became of his people. When he returned to the Mindspin Mountains, to the areas where the Mountain Goat Clan once claimed dominion, he found nothing but abandoned villages. It looked as though his people had been gone for years. With a feeling of defeat, Sznek decided to continue his journey to the town of Skelt, hoping that someone would be able to tell him what became of his tribe. Kibrenest:
Although he had been in Skelt for some time, Kibrenest still had not grown accustomed to it. It was a far smaller, and considerably safer, town than Korvosa had been. Unfortunately for Kibrenest, since it wasn’t a port town, it also didn’t have as much of a rat problem as Korvosa had.
Today, like many days, he found hims them. He knew how to hunt rabbits. And he knew how to protect himself from bandits. Evenelf glad that he had learned other ways to survive. He knew what plants to pick, and how to create various concoctions from when it meant fighting in a way that honourable men would consider dirty. Kibrenest hated having to do that, but it kept him alive. While many plants were available in the areas around Skelt, or in the Fangwood, the kobold also liked to have things on hand that were more exotic, and he often took trips along the Dwarfroad in the southern Mindspin Mountains. That’s where he is today. He has gone further West than he usually does, though, because he’s hoping to catch a glimpse of the city that was once his home. Korvosa is far away, barely even visible in the distance, but close enough to know that it exists. Going back there would not be like it was, but he still misses his clan, and wishes that things were different. Standing on a dirt road with mountains towering over him, away from everything else, Kibrenest begins to hear war drums. He remembers tales of how, years ago, Skelt was frequently raided by goblins. He knows what the drums mean, and where they’re heading. And he knows what will happen if they find him first. Edgar Ripley:
Edgar expected the day to be quiet, like all of his others. He preferred them like that. Too much excitement had occurred in his youth, and though he was still not an old man, he had settled into a studious life as something of a librarian in his temple. While he still had the option to go on Missions, it was something that he had not done for quite some time, and was not looking to do so any time soon.
What woke Edgar up on this particular morning, however, was a servant bursting into his room, telling him that Derth Trinn, one of the High Priests, needed to see him immediately. Edgar rushed to Trinn’s room as quickly as he could, despite the pain in his leg, to find that the Priest had himself not even gotten up from bed. The older man was sitting up, but was pale and shaking. Edgar doubted that the priest could even have gotten out of bed. Trinn’s eyes did not narrow and did not dialate as he spoke to Edgar, almost as if he did not see him there at all. The priest spoke of a dream that - no, not a dream - a vision, that had plagued him the night before. He saw the entire Elsir Vale under siege. A dark and horrifying battle, filled with the sounds of screams, death, and the roar of flames. The last thing he saw was a banner, yellow, and with a clawed, red hand on it. With his face full of fear, he implored Edgar, that there was no time to waste, that he must leave Canorate at once. Edgar, he insisted, must go to Skelt and warn them of what was coming. Otherwise the entire Vale would fall, and everyone would be killed. He saw it all, everything they worked for, being eaten by flames. While Edgar had never been sure if he believed in visions like that, he also hadn’t known the priest to lie or be mistaken about such things before. Trinn was not a man to overreact. Edgar knew what was being asked of him Rellen Marn:
Rellen Marn awoke the same way that he fell asleep most nights, with the bitter taste of disappointment in his mouth.
In the three months since his father was hung, he had not managed to uncover a single bit of evidence that proved his innocence. Rellen had resigned from the Sable Company, had given up everything he had, and left his home in shame, and for what? He hadn’t found Laria Treeve, who his father supposedly had an affair with. He was miles and miles from home, in Kaer Maga, the most lawless, wretched, disgusting city he had ever seen. It was no place for a man of honour. And yet even here, information is coming up empty. Everyone wants to be paid before they talk, and most of them don’t have anything worth hearing. It was time to move on, he had wasted too much time and money already. Rellen looked at his hippogriff, Arrow, and then at the letter that he had been tasked with. It had been given to him by a Dwarven gunsmith, with instructions that it be delivered to a “Shishka” in Skelt. Skelt. That was as good a place as any to start again. Shishka:
The past month had not been good to Shishka, but she was about to return home, and that filled her heart with joy. Her trip to Brindol to sell some of her exotic wares had been profitable, though not as much as she had hoped it would be. Back home, “Shishka’s Gadgets Galore Emporium” was struggling to stay afloat.
It attracted collectors and inventors and adventurers and travellers, but fewer and fewer of them seemed to be coming by these days. If it wasn’t for the stipend that she and her brother Dingle were paid for keeping the town’s elevator in repair, her shop most likely would already have gone under. But Skelt relied on that bridge for trade with Vellumis, and could not risk losing the gnome siblings. Shishka knew that if the shop did close, that the town would still make arrangements for the two of them to have a place to live, but that wasn’t what she wanted. The shop gave her a place to meet like-minded people, a place to tinker with gadgets, and a place to play elaborate pranks on her brother. How could she do any of those things while living in a small boarding house, or a permanent room at the inn? She couldn’t. Among her trades of the day, Shishka had acquired a map that lead to an old keep in the Fangwood. With how large the woods were, and how many dangerous things lurked within them, she had no doubt that it had not already been looted. She allowed herself to dream, wondering what kinds of treasures might lie in wait. With determination, she looked towards the north, to her home in Skelt, and decided that she would do whatever it took to not lose her shop.
Allow me to welcome those of you who have been admitted. While it’s no secret that I think everyone posted brilliant characters, yours are among my favourites (with some others being admitted in Group 2). I shall keep this short so that we can get underway. I am not looking to bombard you with rules about how to play your characters, how to post here, or so on. I expect that most of you will behave as adults. No team killing, no fighting between players. If characters are going to argue, awesome. But don’t make it personal. Everyone should please try to post at least once a day. though there's definitely something to be said for quality over quantity. Also, if you will be away for more than a day, let me know so that I can make appropriate plans to control your character. If you go away without letting me know, I will DM you anyway, but I will not be happy about you slowing down the game. I do not want to leave anyone behind, but I have seen many games fall because of single players. I'm gonna try my best not to let that happen. The most important thing is to communicate with me. I am pretty understanding and, let’s face it, I am here to put on a great game, not to berate you for not giving me all of your free time. I want to make adjustments based on what you guys are or are not enjoying and what your speed and styles are. Please feel free to contact me about absolutely anything. Oh, and your characters will level up whenever I feel like it, because I hate keeping track of XP. I am going to try to make this a relatively cinematic experience rather than getting all caught up in the rules. I believe in the GM approach of saying “Yes, but” to players. If you have an awesome plan, I don’t care how much it bends the rules, I’m going to do what I can to make it happen. Alright, now that we have that out of the way, let’s do a roll call and kill some b@!#!es. Shishka
Hello friends. As some of you already know, I am preparing to start a PBP campaign of "The Red Hand of Doom" very shortly. For those who don't know, "The Red Hand of Doom" is one of the most highly acclaimed adventures for D&D 3.5. I've done (read: stolen and then largely tweaked) a conversion to Pathfinder, and then thrown it somewhat haphazardly into Golarion. In the History and Locations section, you'll be able to find a map that I've altered, as well as information relevant to the specific areas. Note that I've left it vague in many cases, not because I have no ideas, but because I want to see what you guys do with your characters first. You can feel free to skip the Adventure Premise if you want, but I figured that some people might be interested in knowing what the adventure is about before making their characters. Adventure Premise:
In The Red Hand of Doom, your characters will discover that a massive army is marching on the Elsir Vale. Because the cities within are all very independent, they are unfortunately also terribly unprepared for such a thing. The players will have to find allies, come up with inventive ways to slow down the approaching horde, and possibly even die for their country in an enormous battle. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Character Creation:
- 15 Point Buy. - Starting at 5th level. (Don’t forget the +1 Ability Score modifier at 4th level!) - No Evil Alignment, and do not abuse Chaotic Neutral. - Two Traits, neither need be campaign specific. - Starting gold is 10,500gp. - HP is full + con for the first level, half + con for each additional level. - All Paizo Classes / Archetypes are accepted. Though please note, it will be difficult for a Summoner or Cavalier to get in. No third party, no psionics. - Less common races are not only allowed but encouraged. I generally find Dwarves and Elves to be rather boring since they haven’t changed much since Tolkien standardized them back in the 40’s. Tengus, Gripplis, Ratfolk, Aasimar, Tieflings, etc are all welcome. Note that this doesn't mean if you have an Elf or a Dwarf character that you won't be selected. Having a good background trumps everything. But I like having more options and I'm sure you guys do, too. Hell, even playing as a goblin/hobgoblin could work. Character Background Information:
The setting is Golarion, specifically the regions around Barisia, Lastwall, Nirmathas, Nidal, and Molthune. There are definitely a few changes, so please consult the map and locations that I've written about. Mostly I've left it pretty vague to leave more room for your backgrounds to define you. We're not stepping outside of those regions, so you feel free to change what's going on in Brevoy or Andoran or Geb or whereever if it makes your character more interesting. Don't worry much over making it canon, just so long as it makes sense and is interesting. You could tell me that there's an eternal war going on with the Northern Giants and the Panserbjørn and I'd say "Okay, awesome, what does it mean for your character?" While this can be a pretty combat-heavy adventure, there are plenty of opportunities for out-think the opponents, as well as roleplay the hell out of situations and interactions. Character growth and storytelling is one of my favourite parts, so please make your characters interesting. Also, bear in mind that in the Red Hand of Doom, you will be defending the region, so you need a reason for that. Brief History of the Region, and Locations:
Map! Please forgive the shoddy Photoshop work. Once upon a time, this region was a unified kingdom known as Rhestilor that was barely surviving due to civil strife, monstrous incursions, and magical blights. As much as the nobles tried to hold it together, there were too many different threats to try and combat, and the kingdom was weakening. During a large war close to 200 years ago, a savage horde of goblins out of the Wyrmsmoke Mountains burned the capital Tamran. Although the Rhestilor Army managed to kill many of the goblins, Tamram itself had to be abandoned. The city that had been built on piers and canals fell into disrepair and begun sinking into the marshes. While Rhestilor won the battle against the goblins, the strain was too much on the kingdom and it broke apart. Since the divide, many of the local towns have taken to looking after themselves. They are generally on relatively friendly terms with each other and have established trade routes, but they are independent and very segregated. Locations
Canorate: A trade city located on the shores of a river leading to Lake Encarthan, Canorate is the largest community in the region. It’s the first bit of civilization that one approaches when arriving from either the south or east. Canorate is ruled by a Temple Council, and rumours say that it even has a supremely powerful Arcane Spellcaster who is paid a fortune to safeguard the city from magical attacks. The city itself is built with a circular layout that combines architectural beauty with sensible defense. The very center of town features a “Sweet Orchard” section where only the wealthiest of citizens live. Commoners need work or travel permits to even gain access. Population: 11,600. Skelt: The town of Skelt is famous for three things. There is a road to the west known as the Dwarfroad that was forged through the mountains, leading directly to the port town of Korsova. North of Skelt is the Elsir River. The river itself is at the bottom of a wide chasm that splits the region. The town of Skelt has an elevator that goes down to the river, where it uses a ferry system for transportation of people and supplies over to Vellumis. Slightly north of Skelt is Skull Gorge Bridge, which goes over the river, leading north to the town of Urgir. Population: 5,400. Vellumis: A small town built on Lake Encarthan. It’s known for woodcutting the northen Fangwood, and also for papermarking. Vellumis is one of the oldest cities in the area, and while it was once a beautiful city of marble and domed buildings, it has recently come under rule by the Trask clan, who are generally seen as brigands by the other rulers. Population: 6,200. Kraggodan: Not much is known about Kraggodan, the Dwarven city located near the southern end of the Mindspin Mountains. The Dwarves were twice hired by the Kingdom in the old days, both to build the bridge north of Skelt and to make the Dwarfroad passage through the mountains. While they now have a good trade relationship with Brindol, they generally keep to themselves. Blackfens: Lake Encarthan's southwestern shore gives way to vast wetlands known as the Blackfens. It’s more of a marsh than a swamp, which has been growing wild since Tamran was abandoned. The population of monstrous denizens in the area has been on the rise, but their growth has been somewhat slowed by a small and secretive group of Tengu known as the Tiri Kitor. Korsova is a huge port city, governed by a charter that divides responsibility between several magistrates, arbiters, and a monarchy of kings and queens. The Tornwastes is the name given to the desert west of the Mindspin Mountains. It’s largely seen as uninhabitable with little reason to ever go there. There are some ancient ruins that attract explorers and archaeologists, but it’s seen as one of the more dangerous places to lead expeditions. Kaer Maga is the only city in the Thornwastes and is perched on the southern edge of the desert, on a high rise that overlooks the lands to the south. The city itself is built on the ruins of an immense and mysterious fortress. It’s an incredibly cutthroat and dangerous city, with no established government whatsoever. Residents often murder travelers or even raid the city of Jangerhoff. Fangwood: The Fangwoods are sprawling forests that separate Skelt and the ruins of Tamran. Given their massive size, not much is known of what goes on in them. There are rumours of strange beasts, and even thriving tribes. It is said that the Tiri Kitor reside in a part of the woods. Nimon Gap / Terrelton / Talar: These are all very small villages that are built along the rivers between Skelt and Brindol. Many of them are so tiny that they don’t even have established governments or things as simple as Inns. Individuals will sometimes let travelers stay with them for a small fee, and most of the residents make their livings by farming, raising livestock, or hunting in the Fangwood. If you have any questions, please feel free to reply or contact me directly. I'm very much looking to seeing what you all come up with!
Please please please do not submit characters for this. At least not yet. Right now it's just an idea that's probably a couple of months away, at best. I am still pretty new around here, and to playing online in general, but I've been having an absolute blast with it, and I am thinking that sometime in the coming months, I would like to try my hand at GMing an online game. I've done it quite a bit around a table, but I think this kind of environment would be even better for me. Now obviously it's likely that my first attempt will be some kind of module to get myself "in the zone", as it were. I'm not planning for that yet. It's likely that I'll ask you guys what a good one to run is. But that's certainly not my end goal, so I am setting my sights a little further down the line. Right now I want to ask whether there would be interest in me running a conversion of one of my favourite adventures of all time: "The Red Hand of Doom". Obviously there would be a number of changes going into it, both to make it work more appropriately for Pathfinder (taking into account different classes, and how much PF characters tend to be stronger), as well as my own little homebrew changes to make it, you know, "my own". For those of you who haven't played or heard of it, "The Red Hand of Doom" is a D&D 3.5 adventure for roughly levels 5-12. The essential story is that an absurdly massive hobgoblin army is preparing to destroy, well, everything. Unlike a lot of adventures which have the players being able to take out threats much larger than themselves, RHOD presents an enemy that you cannot possibly hope to survive head-on. Instead you are travelling around the surrounding areas, fighting skirmishes, finding allies, evacuating civilians, and finding inventive ways to slow down the impending doom. It's a lot of fun. But I didn't want to begin the work of doing a conversion and preparing for a fairly large campaign if no one was going to be up for it, so I figured that I would ask first and get that bit out of the way, that way I don't waste my time. So, yes! Let me know what you think, if you'd like to play it, and so on. Additionally if you have played it, and have thoughts one way or the other (what you liked, what you didn't like), I'd enjoy hearing those too, but please spoiler-tag any, you know, spoilers, for anyone who hasn't played it. |
