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I've been running an online campaign for over two years now. I've had some attrition from the original four players ... resulting, as of recent, to just one player. Even more recently, we had a total party kill. (Walked brainlessly into an ambush ... thanks even to failed "use your brain" checks for my NPCs in the group.) In any event, we want to pick up where the other party just died, but in so doing, need to have people willing to wade into a campaign midstream. Because it is online gaming, and generally not IMing, it is definitely more slow moving than table top gaming, but exciting nonetheless. If you are willing and able to drop a post or two (or three) a day regularly and you are interested, then please let me know.
Here is both fluff and crunch concerning the campaign:
First - crunch.
I use 3.5 rules and the campaign is set in Forgotten Realms .. Silver Marches to be exact. I'm pretty open to any type of character being played ... just so long as they are playable in a group. (I do incorporate LA.) I'm okay with people rolling up character abilities instead of point buys. I use the DMG table 5-1 to assess starting gold for players of higher than first level and also grant each player one "gift" befitting that character - be it an item, knowledge, etc. I also use Action Points. I encourage some thought be put into a character's past and portrait and award each accordingly. As this campaign is sort of mid-swing, I believe that the PCs will need to have some familiarity with one another. I'm also open to people roleplaying more than one character if they are willing. (The only twist to playing more than one character is with the initiative roll. For however many characters a person plays, the initiative roll is the average of rolls for all those characters .. applied to those characters.) Eventhough my campaign's based in Forgotten Realms, I'm open to other splat books being used, including Eberron, Oriental Adventures/Rokugan, etc. In my campaign setting, psionics are different than magic. I.e., dispel magic will NOT impact psionics.
I have a handful of house rules that I can share later. I'd say that the biggest one is a "Will to Live" save. Essentially, upon raise dead, resurrection, or like spells, not only must the spell be cast successfully, but the fallen's spirit must have the willpower to resist the pull of the afterlife. For higher level characters, it's a relatively low Will save, but it does create some risk of death. (Will DC 10 + 1/times died prior.)
Let me know if you have any specific questions about the nuts and bolts.
Second - fluff. I.e., the story thus far...
The original base of the campaign was set in the frontier hamlet of Auckney in the far northwestern reaches of the Silver Marches region. What happened to the town is fairly common knowledge:
About a year ago, the town started to suffer from a variety of problems: (1) Local ranger-protectors began to vanish, (2) townspeople were being attacked by gnolls in the forest originally .. but attacks intensified and eventually started to occur in the village, and (3) the hamlet's local graveyard began losing its dead ... apparently by their own volition.
A month or two into the events, the town's priest sought to investigate the occurrences and was never heard from again.
Shortly thereafter, his apprentice, a moon elf, and the community's one remaining ranger put out a call to noble temples in Luskan (what few there were) seeking help. One paladin responded to the call and the threesome set out to investigate. They, too, were never heard from again.
In response to a rise in gnoll attacks and disappearances of townsfolk, as well as the town's dead, the local lord emptied the town's coffers to pay for a general call for mercenaries to come to the town's aid. Alas, most of the mercenaries proved to be just as bad as the gnolls - bullies, thugs, bandits and criminals earning a decent wage in addition to what mayhem they could cause over the town they controlled. (Naturally, the town's lord secured himself in his estate - preferring to be oblivious to all that was happening.)
And still more mercenaries came. The last batch, from Luskan, apparently had a bit more purpose and honor than prior mercs ... so much, in fact, that the situated mercs opted to attack them. The new batch of heroes, as these individuals turned out to be, were forced to flee into the wilderness in order to stay alive.
And then the gnolls hit. The first wave nearly destroyed the entire town. But the so-labeled heroes returned and nearly single-handedly killed off most of the gnolls and drove off most others, as well as found that the Zhentarim were behind the gnolls' attack. (Apparently, the Zhentarim were looking to use Auckney as a handhold into expanding their domain westward.
It became readily apparent that the attack was not over.) It took the heroes (who had certainly earned their title now) the next day to prepare the townsfolk for yet another incursion. And they were not to be disappointed. However, this time it wasn't just gnolls, but Zhentarim soldiers as well who engaged in the charge ... and curiously, a Red Wizard.
Though losses were heavy, and some of the heroes died, the invaders were repelled once more.
The heroes quickly realized that the town could not stand another hit if it were to survive. So, they prepared the townsfolk to take over the lord's stronghold/estate while they sought to engage the foe at their own base camp.
The base camp, as it turns out was the original site of the town of Auckney - known to the locals as Auckney Proper. Why it was abandoned is subject to rumor and late-night story-telling. But in the end, a two hour hike through the forest northeast of Auckney, would lead at last to the forces behind recent events in the region.
With the winter coming in strong and rain and snow to slow their way, the heroes set out in the early morning hours to follow survivors of the last incursion back to their roost. Along the way, they witnessed first hand the departure of the dead from Auckney's graveyard - two oblivious zombies marching steadfast in the same direction as they. And so they followed .... right into an ambush.
The battle was fierce, but due to a poor tactical decision by the group, they stood little chance to survive. For they marched right into a clearing in the forest as the sun began to rise and suffered an immediate volley of arrows coming from all directions, as well as gnolls rushing to meet them in melee on foot. Distracted by the melee combatants, the group quickly succumbed to the flights of arrows. The gnolls left behind to guard the trail to Auckney Proper succeeded in their purpose ... and just maybe reclaimed some recognition ... especially after their two-failed attempts at conquering Auckney.
The gnolls moved from the treeline to claim their trophies from the fallen adversaries.
.... And from the shadows of the trees, pairs of eyes watched the macabre scene in silence. "Fools," was a thought lost to none. "They walked right into the ambush ... a poorly staged ambush."
... At least the opposing forces had thinned some more.
... They remained hidden in the trees, watching as the gnolls ventured from their hiding places to the fallen bodies to claim their trophies, and wondering what their next choice action would be.
Third - prelude.
Obviously, the last bit of text signifies where a new group could step in. I'm open to playing into the new group's knowledge so that it has some good footing to pick up the adventure where it left off for the others. If you are game, let me know. Likewise, if you want to get involved differently, let me know.
The campaign has been HEAVY combat with very little downtime and very little occasion to sell gear. (Which makes since given the isolation of the area and that a legion of foes has been trying to sack the town the heroes are intent on protecting.)
Fourth - final notes.
Through attrition of players, I ended up roleplaying quite a few NPCs to the last remaining player's one or two PCs. I enjoy playing both sides of the table and take pains not to drive the campaign one way or another, but nevertheless like to keep my own numbers LOW. As noted above, I am not adverse to people playing more than one character. Given the amount of combat and conflict in the campaign, it is quite plausible to lose characters. Many have died in mine.
I acknowledge that it is somewhat difficult to get into a campaign midstream. So, any history or motives you have for your character(s) can help me to tailor the campaign for you (and others). In the end, let me know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.
I am looking at CR08 characters.
I've been running an online campaign for over two years now. I've had some attrition from the original four players ... resulting, as of recent, to just one player. Even more recently, we had a total party kill. (Walked brainlessly into an ambush ... thanks even to failed "use your brain" checks for my NPCs in the group.) In any event, we want to pick up where the other party just died, but in so doing, need to have people willing to wade into a campaign midstream. Because it is online gaming, and generally not IMing, it is definitely more slow moving than table top gaming, but exciting nonetheless. If you are willing and able to drop a post or two (or three) a day regularly and you are interested, then please let me know.
Here is both fluff and crunch concerning the campaign:
First - crunch.
I use 3.5 rules and the campaign is set in Forgotten Realms .. Silver Marches to be exact. I'm pretty open to any type of character being played ... just so long as they are playable in a group. (I do incorporate LA.) I'm okay with people rolling up character abilities instead of point buys. I use the DMG table 5-1 to assess starting gold for players of higher than first level and also grant each player one "gift" befitting that character - be it an item, knowledge, etc. I also use Action Points. I encourage some thought be put into a character's past and portrait and award each accordingly. As this campaign is sort of mid-swing, I believe that the PCs will need to have some familiarity with one another. I'm also open to people roleplaying more than one character if they are willing. (The only twist to playing more than one character is with the initiative roll. For however many characters a person plays, the initiative roll is the average of rolls for all those characters .. applied to those characters.) Eventhough my campaign's based in Forgotten Realms, I'm open to other splat books being used, including Eberron, Oriental Adventures/Rokugan, etc. In my campaign setting, psionics are different than...
Sounds interesting! Please contact me at: antithesisNOSPAM@comcast.net (removing the NOSPAM, of course) with some more details!
I've never played in a play by post game before, but I'd be willing to give it a shot. Email me at lfleeman@csufresno.edu if you are interested in having me on board.