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I am considering running a sort of reverse Way of the Wicked game where Talongarde underwent an alternate history. King Markadin recived his revelation from Mitra and marched to battle of Tamberlyn to face off aginst King Jaraad of House Barca. The battle went well for Markadin until he faced King Jaraad in battle. Markadin may have won the battle if it were not for a dishonorable act on the cusp of his victory. King Jaraard was not above trechery and before the final blow was stuck, Jaraard’s personal assassin struck a crippling blow from behind, piercing Markadin's spine and allowing King Jaraard to decapitate the the Paladin with a blow from his sword, Helbrand in the ensuing distraction.
With their leader dead, the Barca forces won the battle and took over Talongard. King Jaraard would take the throne and make Ghastonhall his seat of power. Choosing Infernalism as the state religion he let a purge of other faiths, most especially those who worshiped the lord of light Mitra. Still one thing he did not purge is the Markadin line. Although only a babe at the time, the heir to Markadin survived and with the aid of Mitran supporters and those that escaped the purges fled to the north into a hidden enclave that would act as the last bastion of Mitrian faith. Finding support from both the Ice Elves and some of the local natives the Mitrian Faith has preserved in the north although life is harsh and unyielding, defending against attacks of rampaging monsters and surviving in the harsh frozen wilderness of the north.
The reign of King Jaraard was one of absolute tyranny. Slavery was the norm as those in debt or convicted of minor crimes were quickly forced into long periods if not permanent servitude. The privileged reeked the benefit of the system, while the average citizen was forced into a brutal lifestyle where their life was cheap and nearly worthless. The Asmodian church spread their doctrine of diabolism sought to corrupt the hearts and souls of those that resided there. Numerous people were ensnared willingly or forcefully into devilish contracts, feeding damning more souls to the eternal torment of the nine hells. King Jaraad for his evil work would eventually pass onto infernal reward for his wicked life, while his eventually his descendant Vastenous Barca would take the throne and continue the evil reign over the island.
Still the light of goodness could not be extinguished completely and there is many who work in the shadows to one day bring down the corrupt rule of the Barca and restore a righteous government to the land. For many decades they have done small acts to help the populace but for every step they made, the grip of the Barca and the Asmodian church grew tighter. Things in Talongarde have changed for the worst most recently with the rise of Cardinal Adrastus Thorn as the leader of the Asmodian church. Working with the sanction of Vastenous he has started a number of ambitious construction projects that many fear are part of a much more sinister plot. Now is the time for the Righteous to step out of the shadows and bring down the evil that has infested the island.
Premise:
Much like the real Way of the Wicked, the player characters will start out as prisoners in Branderscar for some kind of crime and then make their escape. Of course this time they will be heroes that will save the land and restore the light to the world.
As for Branderscar, while the debtors and petty criminals are typically sentenced to slavery, those who commit more serious crimes against the state are sent to to a number of prisons where a quick death would be a mercy not found there. Those put into the prisons are subjected to the most horrific of tortures and torments. Most perish after a long period of torture and torment but a rare few who are malleable enough to be bent rather than broken have their their souls to hell and come out the most fervent supporters of the Barca regime. Either way, in Branderscar hope is a fleeting memory.
Much of the adventure path will borrow from the existing module but of course things will change around in a lot of cases to represent the alternate history of Talongarde that has developed. The Watch Wall for instance still exists, but was created by the Barca regime instead of the Darians for instance. Other parts of the book will be twisted to better fit a more righteous path for its heroes.
The System:
Because I'm already busy running a lot of Pathfinder games I feel that in order to run this game, a more rules-lite system should be implemented. Thus we will be making use of the Cypher System for this game. The Cypher System has a lot of flexibility and gives players a huge amount of options of what to play. Martial characters definitely get a boost in the ruleset while casters generally are more down to earth and while proficient won't have a whole slew of world-shaking powers at higher tiers. Of course its also a system where you don't have to worry too much about as many permanent player-crippling effects like Stat & Level drain or getting resistances and you can often take on most foes. Magical items will mainly be covered by Enchanted Items, Cyphers and Artefacts. For instance your typical magical sword might just be a sword that does +1 damage or reduces the difficulty by one step to hit, while an artefact weapon would be able to burst into flames, inflict holy fire and the like. Cyphers can easily be represented by one use items like potions, scrolls and the like. I would have to decide how to handle "Cypher" limits, considering that I don't find it realistic for one use items to just "Vanish" if they're above your limit, in a world where you have wizards with entire towers full of magical items. Instead your Cypher Limit represents the number of items you can activate at a certain time. Once you clear a slot by using a cypher, you can fill it with another cypher by taking one action to "Prime" the object. Thus having a higher cypher limit means you get more utility out of one use items in battle but outside of combat with time you won't be as limited. Just a suggestion I am considering for this game.
Usually a character is built under the concept of a Descriptor Type and Focus. I am going to give PC's a sub-descriptor called "Race" though that will give a few racial abilities. For humans for instance I am thinking of giving them a flex skill ability (representing their versatility) and a bonus type ability at 1st tier. Elves would get something like Low Light vision, proficiency with bow & sword weapons and some bonus to speed defense (but a penalty in Might Defense) for instance. Those we shall work out in character creation.
In addition, much like the previous version, the PC's will also get a bonus depending on what crime got them sent to Branderscar.
Rebellion: While the average rabble rouser can expect at best a flogging, torture and/or enslavement, those who go to outright sedition such as attacking soldiers, asmodian priests, law enforcement, provoking riots or other major acts of opposition to the rule of Barca warrant a more severe punishment and are taken to Branderscar.
Bonus: If you were a physical rebel who fought the regime directly you may chose one of the following:
Practiced in Armor, Gain Practice in the next level of a weapon group (or light weapons if not practiced), Danger Sense, Thrust, Bash or Pierce. If you merely were a rebellion leader, you can chose to be trained in two social oriented skills as though you had taken the "Interaction Skills" knowledge ability.
Grand Theft of Noble Property: While low key thievery and crime is common in Talonguard or even indirectly supported through bribery and kickbacks, a person of low station stealing property of value from the nobility or the asmodian church is a crime worthy of the most harsh punishment imaginable.
Bonus: Due to your skill at thievery you gain two Stealth Skills as though you had taken the "Stealth Skills" ability.
Channeling Holy Divine Power: While worshiping a proscribed faith typically is punished with flogging, torture and/or enslavement, those who channel divine power are given special attention by the Asmodian church. While at times they will tolerate a priest of a neutral or evil faith (With the proper licencing fees and kickbacks, those who practice without such approval can expect no mercy), those who use powers of a good faith are quickly rounded up and given a slow and torturous death in Branderscar.
Bonus: If you have not taken "Channels Divine Blessings" as your focus, you may choose one "Blessing" of the Gods. If you have taken this focus you may chose an additional blessing from the list
Failure to uphold a magical licence: While the Barca regine embraces diabolism and magical prowess they understand that wizards, sorcerers, bards and other arcane casters are not bound by any rules or restraints. Those with the aid of magic can rise above their station as well as wield powers that can be a threat to the regime. To practice magic legally, a citizen need to register as a practitioner and pay exorbitant fees to the Barca coffers or alternatively sign an arcane devil contract, thus allowing the asmodian church some degree of oversight on their activities. This often means only the most wealthy of individuals can afford to practice the art or attend magical schools in Talonguard. Those who practice arcane magic illegally are often taken by force to a torturous end in Branderscar.
Bonus: You can chose either Hedge Magic or Magical Training from the "Magic" Flavor list as an additional ability.
Heresy: While many may grumble against the Asmodian church, committing acts that undermine the power of the church such as turning a sizeable number of people away from the faith, vandalizing property of the church or outright battling those of the faith is worthy of more severe punishment.
Bonus: You can chose 2 skills from either the Knowledge Skills or Investigation skills list.
Deism: Associating with good outsiders or agents of the good gods, be it summoning them directly or working towards their causes is enough to have a someone placed in Branderscar for such blasphemy towards the Asmodian faith. Also applies to those who associate with Daemons and Demons as well.
Bonus: Having met and interacted with the divine on such a personal level has left its mark on you. This at times gives divinely inspired visions and insight. You start with the Premonition magic ability.
Unsanctioned Murder: While the common murderer is sold into permanent slavery or executed, killing a Noble, Agent of the church or government official without the sanction of the regime will send the subject to Branderscar.
Bonus: You have learned to strike from the shadows and with deadly accuracy. You have the Surprise Attack ability from the Murders Focus. If you already have the focus, you instead can chose one ability from the Tier 1 stealth list instead.
There is numerous other crimes that can get you tossed into Branderscar for, those can be decided upon in game.
So does this concept interest any of you players?
I think I would be willing to try this out, though it's new to me.
Sounds interesting!
This would have been fantastic...
I really like the cypher system. I've played the strange but not the core cypher rules.
Guys... don't Necro Threads.
sorry, missed that this was not a open recruitment.