garabbott's page

When Darkness Falls

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age." - H.P. Lovecraft, "The Call of Cthulhu"

Hi everyone, welcome to the recruitment thread for When Darkness Falls.

This campaign is sort of an experimental project I've mulled over for years, so be warned it might be a bit unorthodox. First of all: this is a Lovecraft-inspired campaign, and for much of the prep work I've done for it I've been reading/referencing the Call of Cthulhu RPG, a d20 source book that is 3.5 compatible. If you're not familiar with the game, it is designed to be a brutal and horrifying experience in which the PCs not only face death and excruciating bodily harm, but their characters also run the risk of losing their very sanity as they confront terror after terror in the world of Cthulhu Mythos. This campaign will be no different. (Hint: mature themes abound).

The game begins in the city of Salem, the capitol of Oregon State on the U.S's western coastline. The year is 1951, and the country still celebrates and prospers from its glorious victory at the end WWII. Each investigator (PC) will be commissioned by a powerful private interest, the K. West Fund, to join a team of highly-trained and highly-qualified specialists. The investigators should come from a variety of backgrounds (we'll talk about character creation in a second), but suffice it to say that private detectives, criminal investigators, military personnel, doctors and even professors will be considered for the job.

All hopeful investigators should have a full portfolio turned in by the 29th of September, or next Sunday. For instructions on how to create a portfolio, see the campaign info (which I have copy+pasted here for your ease).

Posting requirements are ideally once a day, but I definitely can slack on even that from time to time, so we'll say that 4 posts a week should be the minimum. I don't know how many players I'll be running this with, so just assume for now there'll be 3-5.

Thanks for reading! I'll let Mr. Lovecraft have the final word....

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."
- H.P. Lovecraft, "Supernatural Horror in Literature"

Hey everyone, just saying that I begin my long travel home today... an overnight train and then an overnight plane. I may not find internet reliably for a few days, therefore.

Hey everyone, at some point in the next 3-4 days I will be returning to a tropical island I was at a few months ago where internet is hard to find and expensive by the minute. I'll probably only be getting access for maybe an hour every few days (that was what I averaged last time I was there). This will likely last until around the 20th. Hope that it's not too much trouble, and if I'm ever slowing the game down please DMPC or somebody feel free to run my character if necessary!

As Vesorianna disappears, Darren solemnly draws his sword and lowers himself to one knee, holding the sword's point to the ground and leaning his forehead against the pommel. He closes his eyes and, speaking quietly and quickly, this emotional revelation pours forth:

"Here in this darkest of dark places I have opened my eyes to many things. I have seen tragedy, horror, cruelty, and the brutal evil that plagues the minds of men. And here in this wasteland of cruel intentions I have also seen many honorable, heroic actions, and have discovered true friendship among worthy, brave peers. We have battled with evil beyond anything I could have imagined before, and miraculously we have emerged victorious from the dark. Only with your courageous strength and forceful will -- generous gifts indeed, almighty Inheritor, Light of the Sword -- could I have persevered while many more worthy companions were not so lucky. For these things I thank you: for Life, for Justice, for Friendship, and for Victory. Please accept any and all future services I can perform in your name, and know that I will not, cannot rest whilst evil and madness reign over the hearts of men. And so I will go forward from this day on, repaying my debt as you have deemed me worthy of great fortune. Guide my hand, guide my sword."

For Victory, for the Heart."

Darren struggles back to his feet and smiles weakly to the group, then turns and walks slowly to the exit.

Travel update: I'm leaving Europe on Monday, will be fly until Tuesday when I land in Bangkok, Thailand. Hopefully maintaining regular internet access won't be difficult in Thailand, but if it starts to be a problem I'll be sure to let ya'll know! I'm hoping to escape from the big city fairly quickly and go find the super cheap lodging out in the jungle or on the beach.

I started in Spain and walked the Camino de Santiago, and then went to Hungary for a few weeks to stay with friends I met on the pilgrimage. Then I went back to Spain for the Running of the Bulls (San Fermin 2012), to France for about 3 weeks (Paris, Rennes, and Brest), then to Amsterdam for a weekend and Berlin for about 2 weeks. I hitchhiked back to Paris from there and caught a flight to Ireland, where I stayed and worked on farms for 3 months, and now I'm back in Madrid and doing round 2 of Europe, going to visit all the friends I made the first time. Eventually my traveling buddy and I are hoping to get to Thailand, but who knows if we'll actually make it :)

Hi everybody! Long time no see -- I'm still traveling the world being an irresponsible ex-student, but I've been frequenting these boards again as I couldn't tear myself away from the PF world for too long. Lots of new faces for me here and lots of progress in all the games, it seems. I just was glancing through what's been going on in the old campaigns, perusing for pleasure :)

Lately I've actually been picked up into a Carrion Crown game and I've started a slow-moving homebrew campaign of my own that matches my irregular posting abilities.

Anyway, I was reading through Heart of Light particularly and got a little nostalgic, thought I'd just swing through and say hello. Congratulations to Solaric for winning the tournament and getting the girl, and goodluck to Vicky manipulating those pesky politicians!

Get tons of Invisibility and methods of flying for the whole group, sneak in to where the Lady is being held, and have the entire party suddenly appear, yourself down on one knee and offering the Lady your hand.

"My Lady, please, allow me to escort you out of this den of evil."

Then kill everything in your path as you lead a mad rush to escape.

Hey thanks Sebastian, I appreciate it!

And thanks Bree, I'm not letting myself get very concerned over it. And I found internet, too!

All I have to do is present my thesis in like 3 hours and I'm done with the first half of my last year in college! Now I'ma go write that presentation...

Speaking of, tomorrow is my 21st birthday and here in the United States that's our legal drinking age. I'm sorry if I don't post tomorrow, and I'm really sorry if I post something absurd, inarticulate, or completely meaningless and irrelevant. I'll do my best.

Specifically I'm thinking of a Mirthil Chain Shirt (probably magical) hidden underneath a normal set of clothes (yes, like Frodo). The purpose of this would be to avoid buying the Glamoured armor enhancement, and to still have the fact that my character is dressed for combat (he is also wielding a cane sword) hidden.

Are there specific rules related to this concept, or would there be a Disguise check necessary, or just a straight-up penalty to some actions, or is it perfectly acceptable and someone simply must make a Perception check to notice it? What say ya'll?