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Welcome! Before we begin, we're going to discuss a bit about the setting and our characters for a bit. I have picked you based on your level choices (we're starting at level 7), your classes, and your overall attitudes! =P Anyway, please dot and live bookmark this, if possible.
No problem! I have just selected two others, so we pretty much can either start or wait for one more. Basically, everyone will post their characters based on the following:
Name:
Race:
Height, Weight, Looks and Gender:
Class(es):
Kingdom:
Deity:
Combat Style: (Frontline Tank, Frontline Damage, Frontline Speed, Frontline Support, and the Midline and Backline versions of those.)
Out-Of-Combat Style: (Face, Scout, etc. This is much more general.)
Background: (Four paragraphs. Long, please.)
However, this will be after the setting is pinned down. I will be describing what I have already decided soon. Go ahead and throw out some ideas!
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Low magic is nice... it makes some encounters a LOT diferente (a ghost for exemple).
Are you more inclined towards a 'single' quest campain (like The Lord of the Rings trilogy) or 'multiple' quests campain (like The Witcher or mercenary style)?
With a lot of islands and the feudal theme, we could play a full medieval war campain, with mass combat rules and kingdom management, with some strategic quests between.
It's a little bit in between. There are going to be several villains across the land, and you can pursue any of them at any time. They might even fight among each other too. At some point, there may be a huge villain that needs to be stopped, or they could disappear for a little while so you can pursue other goals. However, low magic won't be implemented, and mass combat is a big maybe. I have played both of those before as a GM and player, and it made the games either too confusing or too biased towards certain classes. You can do whatever you want (to an extent) so building and managing a kingdom is possible, but not the main idea. I have the kingdoms that currently exist pinned down, as well as some villains, the starting 'area' (think tavern rather than city) and the island itself. Otherwise, villain ideas, plot ideas, the starting AREA (think country, not city), certain homebrew, mechanics, cities, NPCs, etc. are all open for suggestion.
Added a super basic world map. The borders are very... open-ended for all kingdoms except for Belangè. The knowledge of the kingdoms is as follows:
The kingdoms of Lannithir are Istorija, Lamira, Belangè, The Northern Tribes, The Kingdom of Evergreen, and The Fog. Istorija is known as the haven, free from most racial segregation, and lacking slavery of any kind. Religious groups often call this their home, and the kingdom is extremely large. It is ruled by a council of 20, and the rules are strict. However, the death penalty is only issued for murderers. The capital of Istorija is Uostas, near the center of the continent. Thus, it is the center of land trade, and most guards are focused on checking immigrants and refugees, rather than enforcing the laws.
The Northern Tribes are just that, tribes. There is very little consistency among the villages, and most races can be found, including the steam legions of the orcs near the coast.
The Fog is the kingdom located on the smaller continent to the East, and is home to mainly humans. However, The Fog contains the largest amount of elves and tengu outside of the Evergreen, and all of them have been brought there as slaves. The Fog endures dwarves and orcs, but will promptly capture any free elves and tengu that are found. Their rules are mostly lenient, and the death penalty is reserved for runaways and those who aid them. It is a monarchy, but it is mainly a title, as multiple lords make most of the decisions.
The Kingdom of the Evergreen is home to many of the intelligent races bonded closer to nature. Slavery is not practiced here, but humans, dwarves, and orcs, as well as other races of steel, are not allowed to enter their borders. The races occasionally squabble, but they are mostly peaceful. The elves live in cities similar to humans, but usually have much more green, and most cities have no roads, instead being houses connected by streams or grass. In the center of most cities are large trees, worshiped by many elven religions. The elven society has a council of 500 to make large decisions, but doesn't need much else. Tengu often live in these trees, or inside of the elven cities as citizens. The halflings and gnomes usually live within the Evergreen, but can also be found in Istorija or even the Northern Tribes.
The last of the surface kingdoms that most know about is Lamira. Lamira is seen as the slave capital, as it has enslaved elves, tengu, dwarves, gnomes, halflings, orcs, and even humans that have broken laws. Its rules are strict and heavily enforced on the poor. It is also the arcane epicenter, with several cities ruled over by noble wizards and sorcerers. It is a monarchy, but most cities also employ lords with more power than usual.
Belangè is a kingdom of nightmares, so you have been told. Their borders are consistently enforced by gigantic walls, with no gates. Large adamantine golems stand every 100 feet, and piles of bones form a small hill surrounding the wall. The golems attack anything and everything that they can see. Or so you have been told.
Ohh! I completely missed that I was accepted ^^'
Well then, that sounds like an interesting world to explore!
Now, given that I have two different character concepts (one being melee control, the other being ranged damage), I need to hear what people think about Dreamscarred Press and their Path of War and Path of War: Expanded stuff.
If people don't want PoW I'll go for the ranged damage build of Bolt Ace Gunslinger, a human one.
And further build-wise; are we going to be using traits?
Basic Path of War should be fine. For four players, we'd need usually two frontline of any type, a midline support, and a backline damage. We can switch it up if needed, though. I also invited Ace, but he hasn't posted here yet. And yeah, two traits. No drawbacks.
Sorry, can't make a longer post right now. I won't be using PoW. I'll stick with monk shaman. As I said, I can cover all skills, minor casting, and frontline if that takes some pressure of the rest of you.
Alright, going through things in order:
Four paragraphs seems a tad excessive for a backstory. Any particular reason?
I'm still not really comfortable with low-magic games in Pathfinder unless someone wants to convince me otherwise.
Edinoiz: if you have any questions about PoW, feel free to ask. I love seeing them show up in games, even if I've already committed otherwise.
Any reason we aren't allowed Drawbacks specifically?
Would you be willing to allow the Autohypnosis skill?
Any chance Monks could be non-lawful? I wanted to run TN.
How are we doing hp?
Oh, I'm still in the ranged damage category. And I switched to Half-Elf for my race.
I am currently looking at a Stalker 1-Bolt Ace Gunslinger 6, going to Bolt Ace 11/12 before I get back into Stalker. Initiating sweet, sweet maneuvers and some swanky TWF Light Crossbow wielding will be heading your way in a few (read 5) levels ^^
Alright, going through things in order:
Four paragraphs seems a tad excessive for a backstory. Any particular reason?
I'm still not really comfortable with low-magic games in Pathfinder unless someone wants to convince me otherwise.
Edinoiz: if you have any questions about PoW, feel free to ask. I love seeing them show up in games, even if I've already committed otherwise.
Any reason we aren't allowed Drawbacks specifically?
Would you be willing to allow the Autohypnosis skill?
Any chance Monks could be non-lawful? I wanted to run TN.
How are we doing hp?
Thanks for asking, I'm not the greatest at explanations yet.
1. Once I describe more of the lore, the four paragraphs are so long because you are level 7. A level 1 backstory is simply your life before adventuring. A level 7 backstory also needs to describe how you got to such a high level.
2. I'm not either. We won't be messing with the magic in the world, no worries.
3. There are some drawbacks that have very little impact while allowing another trait. I don't really want to exploit drawbacks, either.
4. Can anyone but psions use it? If not, then sure.
5. TN is also fine for monks. It's more towards balance than neutrality, though.
6. Full first level, then rolls.
The story of half-breeds is a short one. They are not allowed in most societies, and enslaved in the Fog and Lamira. Istorija is the only kingdom that officially allows half-breeds, but they are heavily segregated, and some are killed in the streets. Thus, most half-breeds are found in hiding, or in the north, among the tribes. Half-elves have the ability to cut portions of their ear and attempt to pass as human, but other half-breeds are not able to disguise themselves so easily.
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Map of Lannithir Take a look... if you tell me where the forests, swamps and deserts are, I can add it... (if you like it ;))
Awesome, thanks! the Kingdom of Evergreen is almost solely forests, with a little wetland spread around. Istorija is mainly greenlands, with some swampland around the rivers. Double check the spelling of the kingdom of the north =P but it is also almost completely snowy, mountainous terrain. The southern side of the Fog is a desert, and Lamira is mainly forest, but most of the land is covered in roads and cities.
Yeah, I'm definitely going for the Pass for Human feat. Just one more reason to get the disguise up to snuff.
Looks great! The Fog would have a few more coastal cities, and Belangè would just kinda be blank. Otherwise, looks awesome! I'll link it in the short description area.
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Map of Lannithir fixed! If you have the name of the cities and major geographics (mountains, forests, swamps, bays, seas, etc) I could also add to it.
Races of Lannithir: A brief history.
I'm pretty confident I can fill the role of front-liner alongside support, and Shamans are full 9th level caster to boot, I'm just a couple of levels behind on the scaling for them.
I wanted to take the Warded Against Nature drawback since it worked with the fluff of my concept, but if you aren't comfortable with it it's fine.
Also, anyone can put ranks in Autohypnosis and I actually recommend it if you're look for an extra skill, since it's really helpful.
I'm human if I hadn't mentioned it up to this point (I'm actually about halfway done with my build, I just haven't come up with a satisfactory name. I'm posting here just so that folks can follow along if they're so inclined).
I'd be more comfortable writing a backstory in the range of 2-3 paragraphs, but if 4 is absolutely necessary then I'll step up to the plate.
Autohypnosis should be fine then, but I'm not comfortable with warded against nature, because while it does mean getting on a horse is extremely difficult, if you are attacked by wolves, well, you're not attacked by wolves. 2-3 longer paragraphs is fine, but you need to explain how you reached such a high level.
I'll make do without it then.
We are allowed a certain leeway with the setting, right? As in creating villages, NPCs, possibly organizations or events.
Yeah, I'm pretty much done with describing what I've pinned down for the setting, so give me some of your ideas based on what I've told ya.
I have a preliminary outline of having been struck by a falling star early in life, bequeathing magnificent insight and power.
I doubt that helps, I won't be looking at more details until I finish my stat-block.
Ok, I think I'm starting to finalize my character concept now.
Switching back to human, probably only taking that single level of stalker. The persecution thing with half-breeds didn't fit in with what I had in mind.
I also got a question: Are we using fractional saves and BAB progression? Since I'm multiclassing it'll be relevant for my build.
There are a few things that I need to change with races because of how they are set up in this setting. Please comment if you don't agree with some of the stuff or if you'd like to see a little more.
Humans:
Take a -2 to diplomacy when talking to elves, fey, tengu, and other intelligent races from the Evergreen. However, you gain +1 diplomacy when talking to other humans, and +1 intimidate when dealing with slaves.
Elves:
Alternate racial trait: +2 Strength +2 Intelligence -2 Constitution. This can only be selected if you were a runaway slave.
Dwarves:
+5 diplomacy when dealing with other dwarves, but a -2 diplomacy against tengu, elves, orcs and other underground races.
Halflings:
+2 to diplomacy. Must take the fleet of foot alternate trait. -2 to intimidate.
Gnomes:
Must take the explorer alternate racial trait.
Half-orcs:
Alternate racial trait: +2 Strength +2 Intelligence -2 Wisdom. This only applies to half-orcs raised by the Steam Legion.
Alternate racial trait: +2 Strength +2 Constitution -2 Intelligence. This only applies to half-orcs raised by feral orcs.
They must take the Bestial alternate trait, but it is free. They take -2 diplomacy against every race except for orcs.
Half-Elves:
-2 diplomacy against every race, but receive the Pass For Human trait for free, and ignore this -2 when successfully disguised.
To be honest I'm not really a fan of changes like this, since they usually force people to play certain types of characters.
That being said I think the bonuses/penalties are a little to extreme. Even the Xenophobic drawback is only a -2.
Changed it too be more subtle. Wasn't really sure what the bonuses should have been. The only reason for changes like those is that, at least for half orc and elf, you can just not take the score changes and keep the base. As well, tengu has no changes. They're just sorta minor balancing changes for the setting.
Interesting changes, as I see them I like them!
HIGH ROLLS PLS!
Rolling
OH MY GOD! I have almost no HP D;
Can we please have the training rules so that I can fix that? Pls?
I meant more in the realm of "every human is racist" or "halflings aren't intimidating". I'm fine with it as a fluff thing since player characters are exceptional and aren't usually restrained in that regard. When things start crossing into the realm of mechanical effects that it becomes more of an obstacle.
Johnny, I think it's not so much that every human is racist and more like everyone is slightly racist with some exceptions to the rule. Therefore those from the races in question would be suspicious of/less receptive of ideas from a human.
"I know your kind enslaved and is still enslaving my people and has also killed thousands of us, so I don't really like you without getting to know you. For all I know, you're from the Fog come to capture us or slaughter us. Prove me wrong."
Anyway, Edinoiz, you got three 1's in a row. Just reroll, I don't want you dying instantly.
Everyone is really, really racist. Even Dwarves with the Ancient Enmity trait don't actually take penalties to their social rolls.
I'd be more inclined if these where circumstantial penalties, but as it stands there is no "getting to know one another", half-elves'll always have -2 diplomacy with everyone, even their close friends.
But that's just my opinion I suppose. If you wish to move forward with it the by all means.
There are exceptions to this of course. They're just so few and far between that I'd rather not say 'you take a minus to your diplomacy' every time you talk to an elf that's from the evergreen, because that's most elves. There are people who don't care about these, and I'll tell you. The biggest example is PC's. Unless you say in your backstory that you're racist towards particular races, you will ignore most of the diplomacy stuff. Because you've had to work with other races before. You're good guys. Most citizens of Istorija mostly accept elves and other races of nature as well. However, a human from the Fog will almost always capture elves and half-elves. There are exceptions, but again, telling you every time to take a -2 or greater doesn't seem... efficient, I guess is the right word? It would seem better to tell you about the exceptions, or rather, add a +2 to make up for it, secretly, than to tell you every time. There are dwarves that like orcs, even though orcs consistently attack their kingdoms. There are Tengu that like most humans, because they know that judging an entire race for the actions of some is what led to their slavery. But these are exceptions. That's my explanation, at least :P
Well it looks like we are on the same page, or at least close enough.
Are you alright with Unchained Monk taking vows? I wanted to take Vow of Peace.
Well it looks like we are on the same page, or at least close enough.
Are you alright with Unchained Monk taking vows? I wanted to take Vow of Peace.
Yeah, that's fine.
Hum... would not be easier to just chance the initial attitudes of the npcs? This way you take all the penalties away...
Exemple, you enslaved my people -> my starting attitude is 'unfriendly' instead of 'indifferent'.
That's a really good point. Would everyone be okay with that?
I'd be fine with that.
Humans:
Elves, fey, tengu, and other intelligent races from the Evergreen are automatically one step more unfriendly towards you. However, you gain +2 intimidate when dealing with slaves.
Elves:
Alternate racial trait: +2 Strength +2 Intelligence -2 Constitution. This can only be selected if you were a runaway slave.
Humans from the Fog will be treated as Hostile towards all elves.
Most humans will automatically be one step more unfriendly towards you.
Dwarves:
Dwarves are automatically one step friendlier towards you. All other underground races are automatically one step more unfriendly towards you.
Tengu:
Alternate racial trait: +2 Strength +2 Wisdom -2 Constitution. Must take the Claw Attack racial trait.
This can only be selected if you were a runaway slave.
Humans from the Fog will be treated as Hostile towards all tengu.
Most humans will automatically be one step more unfriendly towards you.
Halflings:
+2 to diplomacy. Must take the fleet of foot alternate trait.
Gnomes:
Must take the explorer alternate racial trait.
Half-orcs:
Alternate racial trait: +2 Strength +2 Intelligence -2 Wisdom. This only applies to half-orcs raised by the Steam Legion.
Alternate racial trait: +2 Strength +2 Constitution -2 Intelligence. This only applies to half-orcs raised by feral orcs.
They must take the Bestial alternate trait, but it is free. Every race besides orcs are automatically one step more unfriendly towards you.
Half-Elves:
Every race is automatically one step more unfriendly, but receive the Pass For Human trait for free, and ignore the downside when successfully disguised.
Exceptions exist!
Ok then, thanks for the re-roll and HERE I GO! [•-•]
Sweet, a net +10 HP increase!
I also had a fun idea about crafting weapons and such: would it be possible to invent and build a custom weapon (details to be approved by you) provided my character makes the necessary KN: Engineering and Craft rolls?
Maybe, if everyone agrees. Anyway, when would everyone be ready to start?
My stat-block is all done, just gotta do up my backstory and pretty everything up.
Working on a name and spells right now.
Was there a decision as to whether or not we are using Fractional Bonuses? There's a difference between two and three attacks for me.
We aren't. Too complicated for me. Also I just realized Ace Matthews hasn't responded at all yet. Should we wait or find another? He was the first guy I messaged...
Well...
No one in the recruitment thread even knows that the game has been closed. It wouldn't be too much trouble to scoop up another.