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.
Well I never played the red hand of doom but I like the idea at least as in the way you presented it.
Agreed. I know it only in name but your presentation makes it very appealing. So i would be interested as well.
Also tickles my fancy.
Sounds like a great premise. My interest is perked.
+1 on this idea. Which means you have more than enough people to move forward!
Really hoping you do move forward myself.
What an overwhelmingly positive response! That's awesome, I'll definitely have to start doing some planning for this.
In fact, have some notes that I just thought up:
- It'll likely be 5 players, maybe 6. RHOD is actually only written for a party of four, so if I go up to 6 I assume I'll have to rework a lot of the encounters to give them more oompf. Likewise since Pathfinder characters are stronger, I'll likely having everyone start at 5th level instead of 6th. If I do add a 6th player, everyone will probably start at 4th.
- Likewise, to keep you weaker in the beginning, it'll probably be a 15-point buy.
- Most classes ought to be available. No psionics, as much as I like them they don't really fit in with this. I really like the idea of the summoner, but I haven't played one, and given how much I see other campaigns here specifically excluding it, I assume it's overpowered as hell? I'm also tweaking the setting, especially heavily in one of the later acts, so Gunslingers should totally be okay.
- Less common races are not just allowed, but encouraged, provided, again, that they aren't game-breakingly good. I generally find Dwarves and Elves to be pretty boring, since they've been kept mostly the same since Tolkien standardized them back in the 40's. You can only take so many years of "THEY DUG TOO DEEP". Things like Tengus, Gripplis, they're races that don't get used as much, so I'd love to see them.
One of the times that I ran this adventure live, I had a player who wanted to play an Oakling, so I worked with her to write a background for it that made sense for the adventure, boiling down to having had a Dragon cast Awaken on herself and some of her kin, and essentially using them as lookouts. He ended up betraying them because, well, he's a dragon. And as a result all of her breathren died. She kicked his ass for it later, though.
But it worked, it tied into the story, it gave her a reason to be there, and it justified the hilarity of having a large tree wielding an axe. (My only regret was not killing one of the other players, who kept saying "In Soviet Russia, trees chop you".)
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 though we're going to be fighting a Goblin/Hobgoblin horde, playing as one of those races would be doable (Defection much?).
- No evil characters, they just don't work with this scenario.
Probably more to come when I think of other things.
I have a concept of a spunky spaceship pilot wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a cheesy mustache. I'm thinking of naming him Hoban. He really, really loves the stars. He's a leaf on the...
Wash is always welcome on my boat.
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Summoners aren't really better than any other class, the real issue is action economy. That and the fact that your baseline summoner can occupy two party roles at the same time with competence. THey aren't the best caster, but they do alright. Their Eidolon isn't the best on the front line, but they do alright.
I'm pretty sure that's why they wind up banned from most tables.
Synthesist takes the frontline spot and excels at it, leaving the casting mostly behind.
Master Summoner reduces the Eidolon to a fraction of what it was and boosts the casting to better standards. It's also a bookkeeping nightmare for the GM with a bunch of summons out at once.
Edit: Oh! I should play a Treesinger Druid.. Then I can actually be a Leaf on the Wind...
@YoricksRequiem: You might be interested in checking this out. We're nearly 11 months in though on a break at the moment. Crazy Hedgehog's Red Hand of Doom
@All You Potential Players: Stay out! And have fun! It's been a fun mod.
Summoners aren't really better than any other class, the real issue is action economy. That and the fact that your baseline summoner can occupy two party roles at the same time with competence. THey aren't the best caster, but they do alright. Their Eidolon isn't the best on the front line, but they do alright.
I'm pretty sure that's why they wind up banned from most tables.
Synthesist takes the frontline spot and excels at it, leaving the casting mostly behind.
Master Summoner reduces the Eidolon to a fraction of what it was and boosts the casting to better standards. It's also a bookkeeping nightmare for the GM with a bunch of summons out at once.
Edit: Oh! I should play a Treesinger Druid.. Then I can actually be a Leaf on the Wind...
Ahh, I see. Yeah that makes sense. I might ban Summoner because of that, then. I really love the idea of it, and I super want to play one at some point, but I can definitely see how the addition of what amounts to a sidekick would really upset the balance of battle.
A Treesinger druid would be interesting, and would definitely be easy to write a background for.
@YoricksRequiem: You might be interested in checking this out. We're nearly 11 months in though on a break at the moment. Crazy Hedgehog's Red Hand of Doom
@All You Potential Players: Stay out! And have fun! It's been a fun mod.
Oh awesome, I'll totally check that out, cheers!
I would be interested just need to come up with some idea.
how about custom races?
how about custom races?
Maybe.
I haven't tried the race builder in the Advanced Race Guide yet, so I'm not sure how stable it is. I have used VoodooMike's in the past, since the ARG didn't exist, and I'm a big fan of Homebrew, and I've had some good results with that.
I want to say yes, but it would have to be really interesting without seeming at all like it would be poorly balanced. So it's probably the kind of thing that I would want to handle on a case by case basis.
I would definately be interested in playing this. I playd RHoD when it first came out and that adventure was deadly!
Let us know when you're recruiting and it looks like you're gonna get shelled.
Yeah, seriously, haha. I really didn't expect so much interest. I might end up running two groups, I'm not 100% sure yet though.
I'm going to do some research this weekend, read up on Crazy Hedgehog's game, see what other things have been attempted or done already, and try to get a handle on how much work actually has to be done for it.
Now that it's more than just "Hey that's something that I could do", I'll figure out a better timetable on when I'd be able to actually make it happen.
That is definitely a great question, and is something that I hope to have an answer to this weekend.
I've seen recruitment threads here before for converted RHOD games, and they always got plenty of applicants. Also, if you check the conversions section of the messageboards, you may find some of the work has already been done for you.
I've had a concept for a grippli inquisitor for awhile now, I'd love to let it free on this game.
My undine zen archer would love this...
Things I have learned so far:
- The fantastic and clever Tarondo has done a conversion of all of the story-related creatures that gives them more pathfinder appropriate classes, loot, and spell lists. This is an awesome thing.
- There are still some random encounters and other creatures that I have to tweak to make sure that, you know, something like "fighting a camel" isn't a CR 1/3 in D&D and a CR 15 in Pathfinder.
- To answer twilsemail's last question: Yes, it will be in Golarion. I'm going to try to avoid doing a whole "You're on a strange island that looks perfectly like the location of Red Hand of Doom" thing. As you said, knowing the location can make a big deal for backstory, and I'd rather your characters not be outside their element. Again, RHOD is about protecting your home from an invasion.
I'm probably shooting for the Nirmathas / Nidal / Molthune area for where this will actually take place. Possibly slightly going up into Varisia, too. But most of it will be in Nirmathas itself.
- I won't be supplying detailed maps of the areas, it'll all be description. I will supply a decent-sized map of the region with any adjustments that I feel the need to photoshop into it.
- I'm definitely interested in running two groups of five players each, depending on how the submissions end up being. So make them excellent. :)
I'm thinking that I could be ready to do this a hell of a lot sooner than I had originally suspected.
will keep watching with baited breath for the official recuitment
Still not sure what to play may depend on weather Lexibean picks me for his/her game (sorry Lexi, I never can tell gender on these boards).
I may have a barbarin available?
Ok...I will present a 5th Level Nirmathas Ranger (Human). I am assuming that we are still starting with a 15 pt. buy and what should our wealth be for 5th Level?
The book says 10,500gp, so let's go with that.
And yeah - 15 point buy. Let's also say two traits, not campaign specific since it doesn't really, you know, have any.
And remember, backstory trumps character optimisation every time. 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.
I may make the official recruitment thread sometime this week, but I may also hold off for a bit longer. Right now I'm planning to start the game itself during the first week of May.
How would you feel about an awakened primate character?
How would you feel about an awakened primate character?
has someone asked for a primate chaarcter?
Imma girl, Ed. :)
Imma girl, Ed. :)
you had to announce how big an idiot i am didn't ya couldn't have been a PM.
BTW I thought so but I hate guessing.
remember the 50-50-90 rule?
;) Poor Ed. Its okay.
What rule is that? XD
;) Poor Ed. Its okay.
What rule is that? XD
its an old rule I used to remember in college for test taking...
when preseted with a 50-50 choice (like true or false) 90 percent of the time you get it wrong.actually it also says that the longer you think about it the higher the chance of getting it wrong.
It is trueeeeee
This sounds like a blast. I have an idea, gimme a bit to see how to work it in.
Imma girl, Ed. :)you had to announce how big an idiot i am didn't ya couldn't have been a PM.
BTW I thought so but I hate guessing.
I got that one right. *flexes*
How would you feel about an awakened primate character?
Sure. It's up to you to handle the backstory of whether you've been Awakened as the spell and why or, if there is an actual ape society, why you've left them.
For racial stats I would say something like:
+2 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int
20 Movement Speed.
20 Foot Climb (+8 Climb checks)
+2 Intimidate, +2 Survival
Bonus Feat: Improved Unarmed Strike
-2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Wis
30 Movement Speed
20 Foot Climb (+8 Climb Checks)
+2 Acrobatics, +2 Stealth
Natural Attack: Bite 1d6
Imma girl, Ed. :)you had to announce how big an idiot i am didn't ya couldn't have been a PM.
BTW I thought so but I hate guessing.
I got that one right. *flexes*
How would you feel about an awakened primate character?Sure. It's up to you to handle the backstory of whether you've been Awakened as the spell and why or, if there is an actual ape society, why you've left them.
For racial stats I would say something like:
** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **
i also posted in my other alias. Sun Wukong he is a character in another game. stats for that are in the profile.
i also posted in my other alias. Sun Wukong he is a character in another game. stats for that are in the profile.
just out of interest how did you make that character?
just out of interest how did you make that character?i also posted in my other alias. Sun Wukong he is a character in another game. stats for that are in the profile.
I used hero lab.
started with the base baboon animal entry then added the celestial and foo creature templates.I had to use the Foo creature as opposed to awakened becuase of storyline, (he doubles as an animal companion to a monk charcater)
Officially putting my interest in. Will be submitting a Awakened Gorilla Cleric of Desna. (using the starting stats you listed)
I am intrigued as well; may I submit Saron Voskal; the Catfolk Sorcerer (Elemental-Air) However, I am not familiar with Golarian ( I've run my own Campaign world since day one of roleplaying) ; reading suggestions?
Edit: Actually, I've just thought of an interesting concept- she will probably be either a Celestial or Destined bloodline instead.
for a quick look use the inner sea primer. For a more detailed look use the inner sea world guide.
Officially putting my interest in. Will be submitting a Awakened Gorilla Cleric of Desna. (using the starting stats you listed)
Sounds solid.
However, I am not familiar with Golarian ( I've run my own Campaign world since day one of roleplaying) ; reading suggestions?
As Browman said, the Inner Sea books are your best bet, but I wouldn't worry too much over it. I don't know where Catfolk even are in Golarion since (I believe) the campaign setting stuff was written before the race was made canon. I could be wrong on that.
But my understanding of Catfolk is that they tend to be explorer-types (going with the whole curiosity angle, I suppose), and they get along with most other races, so finding yourself in a primarily human area is totally cool.
The reason that I chose the area of the world I did is because it has every kind of terrain available in a pretty close area, though I'm adding some more swamp. But whether your character lives in a community, wants to traverse mountains, is helping to form a desert settlement, exploring old ruins, has reason for being near the ocean, it pretty much has everything. The most important thing is that, unless you're character is just Lawful Good to the point of being suicidal and seeks out evil to vanquish at every turn, you want a reason to be defending this place rather than running the hell away.
I'm working on the map and descriptions for some of the more official areas now. There are a few different cities that I'm establishing, but there's also plenty of room for pockets of tribes or other civilizations. My intent is to adapt locations from RHOD into Golarion as smoothly as possible, but also not to make it so rigid that it's difficult for player's characters to fit into it, because that would be silly. It should all end up being quite flexible, unless I make a series of horrible errors.
I'm all excited about this now. :D
Depending on how busy my workweek is, I'm going to try to get the last few things taken care of early. I am hoping to have the official recruitment thread up with the map, relevant location information, and guidelines for character creation up on Wednesday or so.
You guys have already seen most of it, so continue doing what you're doing, I don't think I'm changing anything that we've already talked about.
If anyone has any questions about races or classes that they want to ask beforehand, please do so soon. It's looking like there's going to be some pretty stiff competitions going for this.
I'm really excited, I hope you guys are too!
Depending on how busy my workweek is, I'm going to try to get the last few things taken care of early. I am hoping to have the official recruitment thread up with the map, relevant location information, and guidelines for character creation up on Wednesday or so.
You guys have already seen most of it, so continue doing what you're doing, I don't think I'm changing anything that we've already talked about.
If anyone has any questions about races or classes that they want to ask beforehand, please do so soon. It's looking like there's going to be some pretty stiff competitions going for this.
I'm really excited, I hope you guys are too!
How do you feel about gunsliger?
I'm really excited about this and I hope to get in on it when you begin recruiting. :)