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I have a strange idea for a high power solo play by post game, which would need to be done in either 3.PF (ie, 3.5e + pathfinder), or 3.5e.
The idea is that there is an Archivist (a very powerful base class in Heroes of Horror, a 3.5e book; fairly easy to convert to Pathfinder), who wants to gain entry into Hermea, and be considered extremely valuable to them, and have his name cemented into history as the one who brought all the best divine spells to that 'perfect' city. You see, an Archivist is like a divine wizard, but they have access to each and every divine spell from EVERY class list... provided they can provide a scroll of it to scribe into their prayerbook.
This means that every trick that any character might ever get to cast any spell as a divine prayer, means that the archivist could get that spell from that person as a prayer, and be able to cast it.
So the idea is that this archivist is going all over Golarion to strange people with obscure abilities, doing work for them, paying for the service, gaining their trust, and having them pay him in divine scrolls, or cast various divine prayers into scrolls he is scribing, so he can then scribe them into his prayerbook (or, depending, cast prayers directly into his prayer book to scribe them).
And since this class has such incredibly optimization potential and is possibly one of the more high powered classes in the game, the character should be able to viably solo or bypass threats that would often require a party to deal with... but we MIGHT have to do some minor house ruling here and there to enable this to happen (remove a few of the nerfs pathfinder gave a few 3.5e spell, for example. It's not 100% necessary to do this for the purposes of this game, but it might need to be done at some low levels...)
Is anyone interested in running something like this?
Well, I have 15 posts here because I am much, much, much more common in other PbP forums; the formatting of this one leaves... something to be desired compared to, say, myth-weavers. I can give links to my roleplaying from other forums to show that, yes, I am a good roleplayer.
I was thinking of leaving that sort of stuff up to the DM, though I would prefer to start at level 3 at the least... and part of the idea was to make it somewhat difficult to get *some* starting spells... ie, it would be a quest for spells.
@KK: That wasn't the idea... magic isn't being replaced at all. Spells aren't being lost at all. It's still as strong as ever. It's just that, using the fluff of Golarion, there is one place in particular, which is a very desirable place to live for some people, where the worship of gods aren't allowed. This person wants to find a very useful loophole and thereby establish an academy where people can learn divine magic in a more secular way at that place.
In other words, I want to use *the normal Golarion fluff exactly as it exists in the adventure paths*.
But I don't actually necessarily want the character going on the adventure paths; most of them might not actually interest him due to his motivations, and he is the sort of person to want to just bypass most of the encounters due to flight / teleport / divinations / etc.
IE, the sorts of things in the adventure paths might be going on, but he might very well leave the world to sink or swim as it does.
I just thought that, you know, a game set in Golarion, where the adventure paths stuff is happening (though not necessarily to this character), would be the sort of thing that the folk on this forum would find easy to run a sandbox in... seeing as how it is the Paizo forum...
All over. The character would end up very, very, very mobile, gaining access to strategic flight fairly quickly, and teleportation. Hence the sandbox -- he's traveling all over the world, seeking rare prayer scrolls, or people to pay to make a scroll for him to scribe... or people to cast a spell into a scroll he is scribing so he can scribe it into his prayerbook...
As far as where it STARTS, that's up to you. Whatever part of Golarion you feel comfortable with.
Well, he won't have strategic flight at level 3... it'll be a while!
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Gavin,
I would consider DMing you in this venture. I would like to keep the class as written in the HoH and concentrate more on character story if you are cool with that and want me to GM.
I wont post a book on here on how I GM, but if you go to http://paizo.com/campaigns/LoFPBPCampaignTheLiberatorsOfKelmarane
You will see my attention to detail and that I am a seasoned GM. I particularly like GMing solo campaigns as well.
Until I hear from you... have a good one.
CC
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All yours CC.
I guess I did my job attracting your attention!
Want to do a collaborated effort Kender? Seriously though, I am just throwing my name int he hat. He might not like my style at all, or we might have a personality clash.
I have GM'd several golarion modules tabletop, Gm'd a begining players group in Absolom for 2 years, gm'd LoF AP, and played through Second Darkness and Rise of the Runelords.
So I think I have a good feel for a small portion of the golarion world.
Hopefully I will be able to do a good job for this guy.
CC
Also, that url I posted didnt send you to the LoF pbp campaign at all. I guess just lick my name and go to the campaign tab. That will bring it up. Sorry about the confusion.
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Why do we want to lick your name?
Now I am confused.... ;)
Invisible c's always get me...
Some other thoughts that went through my mind while considering what I would do with this solo campaign was have "guest" stars that come in for a couple hundred posts, aid the hero in an impossible task, then part ways. Could be an interesting way to have an uncontrolled npc/pc of sorts.
I might ask Kayoss or one of my chelaxian devil worshipers to make an appearance. :D
Just an idea. Of course, The main character would always be Gavin...
Sure, sure. So do we want to run this under 3.5e rules or 3.PF rules or some houserules or hybrid thing we come up with? What part of Golarion do you want to start with? I will assume only availability of Cleric spells, Adept Spells (and maybe Paladin?) to start if you want, and have him focus on solving mysteries for people, and occasionally going into a fight pre-buffed to the gills, if he did his detective work right and wasn't caught off guard?
Later, when he has exhausted all the capabilities of the divine classes in his home area, then he can branch out to find more obscure people (and higher level people)? Should I dip something int based to get trapfinding (Factotum? Also to get all skills as class skills maybe)? Or should I count on going Divine Metamagic Persist to solve problems, and dip Cloistered Cleric? While Archivists *certainly* have access to non-Trapfinding based ways of solving Traps (summons!), this particular character might not have it at low levels. What sorts of things do you see him doing to solve problems to start with, before he gets all... crazy capable?
Also, I'm fine with guest stars. I'm a bit surprised that you think I might need help or consider a task to be impossible though. I play at high op (not theoretical optimization, though. I don't want to play pun pun in a pimp hat, you know? Just high op...)
And the guest stars can be the quest giver types. IE, "Do this for me and I'll cast [x,y,z] spells into your prayerbook."
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Sure, sure. So do we want to run this under 3.5e rules or 3.PF rules or some houserules or hybrid thing we come up with? What part of Golarion do you want to start with? I will assume only availability of Cleric spells, Adept Spells (and maybe Paladin?) to start if you want, and have him focus on solving mysteries for people, and occasionally going into a fight pre-buffed to the gills, if he did his detective work right and wasn't caught off guard? Later, when he has exhausted all the capabilities of the divine classes in his home area, then he can branch out to find more obscure people (and higher level people)? Should I dip something int based to get trapfinding (Factotum? Also to get all skills as class skills maybe)? Or should I count on going Divine Metamagic Persist to solve problems, and dip Cloistered Cleric? While Archivists *certainly* have access to non-Trapfinding based ways of solving Traps (summons!), this particular character might not have it at low levels. What sorts of things do you see him doing to solve problems to start with, before he gets all... crazy capable?
Ok Gavin, let me throw this at ya and see if we are on the same page.
I will assume you are fine with my style and detail from the other threads, so lets jump right in...
For a starting point, I want you to choose between Absolom, Magnimar, Korvosa, or Riddleport. I think having access to a port of call will be important for your early travels and experiencing a diversity of cultures. Plus, these areas I am the most familiar with.
I would like a good background to your character. It doesnt have to be a book, ut if you would like to write one, feel free. I enjoy a good read and the more info you give me the better.
Your starting spells will be exactly as stated in the HoH. You will get all 0-level cleric spells in your prayer book, +2 1st lvl cleric spells. In addition to that, you will get 1 extra 1st level cleric spell for every point of intelligence bonus you start with. So a 16 int will gain you 3 extra 1st level cleric spells starting off.
Before we get into all the things about dipping in to other classes and if I will throw traps at you that will require a more serious trapfinding and detection capable character, I would like to state exactly the kind of DM I am and how I create material for my players.
I love character development, and base my material around advancing a character's story arc through the class they choose to run. Since it seems by your last statements that you will want to solve other peoples problems, work that into your background and we will start off the campaign with you doing just that.
Now, is the entirety of your character's desires solely on gaining divine spells from other divine classes? Or is that going to be a byproduct of your character's desires to see the world?
When you say, "when he has exhausted all the capabilities of the divine classes in his home area, then he can branch out to find more obscure people (and higher level people)" I am curious as to what you are thinking here.
Without a background, much of this initial conversation is speculation based on my part and I cant realy answer in absolutes.
Please know that I will DM what YOU want to have happen to your character. It is my job to make that advancement as interesting, challenging, and fun as posible.
If you want gaining knowledge to be your number one motivation, then we will have material to do that. If you want to be a ladies man with an inability to make a commitment, we can do that too. If you want to eventually be known as the man that uncovered the ancient artifact of xxxxx then we will do that.
You tell me what you want, and I will make that happen through the people, culture, and setting you decide to start in.
There will be more than enough opportunity to gain access to other divine spells. Trust me.
As for dipping into other classes, that will be solely your decision. And if you want to have a more sneaky, skill based experience, then perhaps dipping into another class that rounds your character out wil be the best for you. I would recommend not dipping until we get through a couple levels and we see where things are going storyline wise.
I am very good at mystery, crime drama type campaigns. So dont worry about that. And I never presume to tell a player how I think they should play their class. I wont have the time to keep up with your class abilities as well as all the things I will be doing. So if you forget a class feature that would have helped you in a certain situation, then dont look to me to remind you.
I only thing I ask is that the player takes responsibility for his own character.
As stated before, play the class right out of the HoH book. Class skills like Gather information will be translated into diplomacy being a class skill for you. We will play entirely by PF rules. The only changes to your class will be these...
Decipher Script class skill is now Linguistics
D8 hit points
BAB will be like a Cleric instead of Wizard.
As for house rules, since this is a solo campaign, you will get at least 50%hp per level if you dont roll a 4 on your d8 hp.
All PF material can be used for character creation except UC as I do not have that book yet.
Stats will be calculated as such...
You will get an additional 12 points to add to these stats as you see fit. Highest stat, before racial bonuses will be 18.
So... like this
These are your stats.
you get max starting gold and two traits to choose from.
Enjoy and I look forward to getting your background.
I meant that, at first, his travels will be local, and then he will leave his local area, after there is nothing more for him (and his prayerbook) in his area.
Crunch info: Collegiate Archivist adaptation of Collegiate Wizard from Complete Arcane? Yea or Nay?
Entirely by PF Rules? 3.5e has more options for getting spells as divine than PF does, so far; consider the Divine Bard or the Shugenja for example. There are ways to get Cure Moderate Wounds at level one (Runescarred Berserker), even!
Also... entirely by PF rules removes most of the best feats and options for Archivist... Academic Priest, Persistent Spell, Divine Metamagic, Knowledge Devotion, Collegiate Wizard/Collegiate Archivist... Most of the stuff I was counting on to be able to solo challenges meant for a party of four or more before I had a huge list of prayers, you know?
Can we consider access to all stuff that is available online? Whether it is PF or 3.5e?
So stuff here:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/
or here
http://www.d20srd.org/
And for 3.5e specific stuff, things that are found in this thread?
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=1109.0
I don't know what 3.5e books you have other than heroes of horror. Do you have Complete Champion? Complete Divine? Complete Mage? Spell Compendium?
Also, some time ago, I made a set of low level characters for a (now dead...) strategy game for the purpose of being example characters that an Archivist could obtain spells from. I used 3.PF rules, which allows more extensive access than just PF rules alone. Here are some of the characters, if you are curious:
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17530
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17528
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17529
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17526
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17527
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17582
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17522
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=17531
and, should you care, the archivist that benefited from these in that strategy game:
http://www.dndsheets.net/view.php?id=16937
If you like, I will send you the Google spreadsheet associated with that (it listed prices and calculations and such), but I can't figure out the private messaging system of these forums, or how to email it to you. :( :(
In those dndsheets links, you'll find access to things like Divine Magician, Divine Bard, Cloistered Cleric, Southern Magician, several 3.5 only spells, etc. -- lots of 3.5 stuff. I'm not saying I *require* access to that sort of thing, just that you consider, if you are sticking to PF only rules for the world-at-large, that you consider that Pathfinder doesn't yet have ways to get such a variety of arcane as divine (yet), without DM Fiat.
You should take a look at the two handbooks if you haven't; I will be using them extensively if I can..
http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=3545.0
http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=185
Your post didn't say what level we were starting at, but it said something about starting wealth...? Am I starting at level 1 for some reason? If so, why?
As far as backstory... I'm thinking the bastard son of an adventurer. He grew up with his mother, a beautiful but poor seamstress of a coastal town, staring out at the ocean, believing until the day she died that her beautiful man would come back to her. Eventually, the legacy of his (deceased in the field) father reached him: a crate full of journals talking about the wonders of the world, and the only remaining magic item of note was a prayerbook, which his father presumably looted from some tomb somewhere, and that only remained because the people that stole all the magic items as the crate made its way to him, didn't realize that this was essentially something similar to a wizard's spellbook.
After all, it was a bunch of devotions, and didn't detect as magic, so it was just another journal to them. However, this young man spent his time reading the journals, becoming most enamored with the idea of the city of Promise. After all, it was the world at large that had taken his father from him... and that prayerbook would be his ticket to getting into Promise. But first, he had to be incredibly exceptional. He had to be more than most any other human he had ever met... They didn't like gods, so perhaps he could figure out how to reinterpret the prayers in the prayerbook to still do the same thing, but not talk about gods. Studying for years, he unlocked the secrets of the prayerbook, and found that he *could* change the prayers, and still have them work. It seems that he had begun to unlock the secrets of miracles -- no, not miracles. Divine Magic. With this, he could, eventually, be exceptional, and able to convince them that he would be an asset to that place... that perfect city. He could even start an academy!
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Give me a bit to look this stuff up. I have electronic copies of all 3.5 stuff (well, just about all of it) so let me check these options out and I will get back to you. I really didnt want to keep up with 3.5 feats and all anymore to be honest, but I am willing to put that aside. Just give me till tomorrow to read all this and I will leave you a post on what I am thinking. Fair?
CC
I'm thinking Riddleport. Maybe his mom being a seamstress was just what she did some of the time, if you know what I mean... and she wasted away pining for the roguish charm of the man that was my character's father... and, of course, he never came. This could also give my character some reason to be standoffish for the other folk -- the crime in riddleport makes him have a fairly negative view of people in general. His bookishness would set him apart, too Plus, it's coastal...
Also, is there a way to PM or IM or Email you that I am missing somewhere??
Buh? Is there something I'm not aware of?? Is there a game forum somewhere??
Uh... I am willing to negotiate! Really, I'm fine... my position on stuff isn't set in stone. What happened wrong?
Well, does ANYONE want to run something like this?
I'm still seeking!
Again, a bump... still seeking a DM!
just go to a recruit thread and apply,
Most GM's prefer GMing for a group.
The thing is, this isn't really a balanced concept for a group. This one character would be (for example) far too powerful for all but the highest optimization level of a group game.
I say it again
most GM's prefer GMing for a group, not just one person.
and most GMs would not agree with what you want.
I'll say it again
"Most GM's prefer GMing for a group, not just one person"
and most GMs would not allow any of that material.
Than I am obviously not looking for most GMs!