Withdrawing my interest, this does not seem like my type of game. I really love the Dark Sun setting, but I'm not so much into dungeon crawling.
Good luck with the game!
If it makes any difference, this isn't going to be like Rappan Athuk -- it's going to be a lot of exploration and talking with other denizens of the ruins (including the existing party).
How do you feel about pbp newcomers? I have plenty of experience with pathfinder, but I've recently moved and have no group to game with yet. Would you be happy for me to throw a submission in?
I think anyone who makes a character will be able to play at this point.
I'm working on this profile. Im almost finished choosing everything for my crunch. Then to work on fluff.
Two weeks seems a pretty reasonable time frame. I've just about made it through all the variant rules.
I'm currently working on a healer build. Sebecloki, any objections to an oracle with the life mystery? Class doesn't require character to worship a god; fluff-wise I'm thinking he's either a type of greenbond or has gained his powers through an event which damaged his soul/life force (or both). My concept is that he's sort of a "professional martyr" specializing in taking other people's damage and status conditions onto himself, something a life oracle can excel at. If oracles are a no-go, no worries, I'll rework the idea :)
For if it matters to your build (or anyone else's), my character has ended up taking on a tank role. My main goals in combat are debilitating the enemy, protecting allies from damage by boosting their AC and redirecting attacks at me, and... well, doing what barbarians do best: hit it real hard. Outside of combat, I'm a capable party face and a decent survivalist.
I'm a barbarian/mesmerist and I'm going down the Guardian mythic path.
I'm thinking I'd like for my character to be from a city of giants in the mountains somewhere, perhaps an aspiring occult shaman for his people before adventure came calling.
My character is also going to be a tank, but more of a skirmisher tank.
So have we got a broad idea of our current party members? I have a few ideas, but I don't want to get too carried away with my concept until I'm sure I can make it fit in with everyone else
Well we'd definitely differ then as far as tanks. If I stay settled on my current ability score layout, I only have 10 dex. I invested in health and DR instead of AC since I'm taking In Harm's Way so I can redirect attacks into me. I'm also using Guardian to absorb damage and give me fast healing.
The extent of planning I've done past that so far though is picking up Perfect Clarity and Mad Magic next level. And Mask Misery.
Some of my selections may be subject to change depending on what might be a little more useful for the party though.
I'm leaning toward a skill-monkey type character, the Litorians seem really cool so I'd love to play one if it works with the rest of the party
So we have tank, tank/skirmisher, skill monkey, and healer. Hmmm, what's a Spryte to do? Maybe a glass cannon or striker? Do we have a pure caster? Support could also be fun.
Dotting in with interest.
Thinking of a Litorian wielding a Litorian warclub pairing it with a fighter or possibly a multiclass archetype. I should mention I'm the author of the Direlock, and was fairly active in the creation of many of the MCAs...
Also, are you doing character traits? If so, the standard two? Are drawbacks permitted?
That's fine. Standard Two. Drawbacks fine.
Dotting in with interest.
Thinking of a Litorian wielding a Litorian warclub pairing it with a fighter or possibly a multiclass archetype. I should mention I'm the author of the Direlock, and was fairly active in the creation of many of the MCAs...
That's fine as a base class as long as you're on board with the fact we're going to be using spell points or some other alternative magic system.
Speaking of that, can we have some votes on that -- if no one expresses a strong different opinion, we're going to use the spell point system I linked, which is a good approximation of AE magic in Pathfinder.
Two weeks seems a pretty reasonable time frame. I've just about made it through all the variant rules.
I'm currently working on a healer build. Sebecloki, any objections to an oracle with the life mystery? Class doesn't require character to worship a god; fluff-wise I'm thinking he's either a type of greenbond or has gained his powers through an event which damaged his soul/life force (or both). My concept is that he's sort of a "professional martyr" specializing in taking other people's damage and status conditions onto himself, something a life oracle can excel at. If oracles are a no-go, no worries, I'll rework the idea :)
That's fine.
Sorry Sebecloki - I can't seem to find the post or link in the acurrent games Campaign Tab for the spell-point variatnt rules - can you relink it?
So my idea is coming together, I'm looking at a litorian or human ranger / rogue. There are a lot of complicated rules here so I'm going to read through all of the links before attempting a character sheet.
I know I was the one who suggested the Words of Power system, but since my character doesn't cast spells (and never will), I'm fine with whatever the group chooses.
I would like to try out the spell point system just because I've used Words of Power before but I would be happy either way. Casting actual spells is more of a hobby for my character. Ha.
Edit: I also think I'm going to change my character to being a woman since I've been running down this rabbit hole of viking culture. A woman psychic shaman type warrior from the mountains sounds pretty cool. Maybe a group that doesn't like the dragons for trying to tell their people what to do?
With regard to backstory, are we making characters who are aligned with dragons, or giants? I'm making the assumption that the party has to be on the same page there...
That's fair. I'm definitely at a stage where I could go either way. Dragon shaman barbarian sounds particularly cool now that I think of it.
You could come up with some explanation like an emissary or captive of one party with the other -- we can work around it.
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Okay here are the rules,
Arcana Evolved Conversions. These blog posts are collected in a handy pdf available here.
I am happy to see people are enjoying the AE-to-PF1E conversions I did. =D
I was leaning toward the dragon faction as well. Sebecloki, how detailed do you want the backstories to be? I'm having a great time looking through these variant rules, I've never had the chance to make such a complex character, this is awesome :)
I just want an embryonic idea I can start to work with -- I just need to have some basic idea who was on the ship when it got sucked through the portal to Dark Sun.
There will be some other characters too -- like some kind of scholar/advisor who has been translating the hieroglyphics in the fort and will be a translator potentially when you encounter other factions.
I am noting that most of the races that people have posted an interest in so far are not the dragon faction races -- which are the dracha and mojh. If we go that direction, what does everyone think about making the group a series of rebels against the giants who have sided with the re-emergence of the dragons? Maybe they were being chased by a giant warship, and that the other faction is their former compatriots who are trying to punish them.
I'm thinking more through the magic issue -- would anyone considering a magic-using class revolt if we combined the Words of Power with spell points? (so instead of 17 spell points purchasing 1 9th level spell, it purchases any of the combinations of one, two or three effect spells for a 9th level word spell)?
The more I look at it, I like the idea of Words of Power because it really gels with the importance of true names in Arcana Evolved -- they're something like the rune magic that's also in the setting.
I am noting that most of the races that people have posted an interest in so far are not the dragon faction races -- which are the dracha and mojh. If we go that direction, what does everyone think about making the group a series of rebels against the giants who have sided with the re-emergence of the dragons? Maybe they were being chased by a giant warship, and that the other faction is their former compatriots who are trying to punish them.
I really dig this idea, I'm happy to roll with that if it suits everyone else?
Here's a decent little setting overview for the Diamond Throne -- honestly, the details are pretty skimpy even in the full write up, so this is probably all you'll really need to know
I'm getting a really interesting idea...
The party could be associated with a mojh scholar named T'lam'tlisstilit the Shadowborn who arrived as an emissary of the returned dragons to New Balatosh, a small city built on the edge of the ruins of Balatosh, the former capital of Thartholan, once a realm of high magic before it's destruction by the dramojh.
The mojh scholar brought with him a tenebrion seed -- a draconic artifact of extra-planar origin that promotes 'evolutions' of various kinds.
The giants dispatched a force to destroy the seed, as they consider it an abomination, since the seeds were the source of the dramojh, the fiend/dragon hybrids that used to rule the lands, and which the giants defeated in a great war.
The giant hit squad includes a special order of sibeccai assassins called the Scalebreakers -- a group of rangers whose favored enemy are draconic creatures.
They are led in part by a female giant hero named Elsah who is an alchemist/master chymist who can thus become a even bigger, badder giant.
The characters were in the company of the Shadowborn and several of his associates aboard a sloop headed down a fast-moving set of rapids, towards a draconic safe house, when they were suddenly conveyed through a mysterious set of ebony rings that appeared before their vessel to the Lake of Doom at the center of Kalidnay.
The immense war barge of the giants followed soon thereafter, but the group managed to dock and secure themselves within a stronghold by the shores of the lake. They have had several clashes with the Scalebreakers and their leaders in the weeks since, and suppose they must be holed-up somewhere else in the ruins.
T'lam'tlisstilit has been slowly translating the writings on the walls of the fort, which has begun to give them some sense of where they are and what has happened.
T'lam'tlisstilit has ascertained that the structure used to be the strong hold of the High Templar Ankhun-Ahnpur, one of the chief representatives of the sorcerer-queen Kalid-Ma who used to rule the city.
He was the master of the 'Three Gates of the Night', a group of three monumental structures that sit within a compound within the larger fort complex, which the hieroglyphics suggest was named the Khnum-Ahen-Khnom -- Jaws of the Scarab or the Scarab Hold. These 'Gates of the Night' discharge gibbous horrors on a seemingly per-ordained, yet hard to deduce rhythms.
The Shadowwall that surrounds the Three Gates of the Night keeps the rest of the Scarab Hold free of the horrors discharged from their depths.
The Shadowwall and the Three Gates are located in the middle of a larger enclosure, one side of which abuts the Lake of Doom. The compound in which the characters are currently quartered occupies the shores of the lake, and is built partly into a great rock that juts out into the black, viscous waters.
The Shadowwall and the Three Gates divide the 'Inner Court' from another section facing the rest of the city, to which your party has not yet been able to gain access.
So would our party basically be trying to figure out a way home whilst dealing with the giants? Will we have access to the tenbrion seed to potentially gain evolution levels? And how would that work with gestalt/VMC rules?
I haven't decided yet on what the mechanics of the tenebrion seed would be.
The other questions are up to you -- presumably you'll want to leave when you figure out what a horrible place Athas is, but you could also stick around for various reasons, like an interest in studying the alternative dragons of Dark Sun, who undergo a metamophosis process that reminds the Shadowborn of the powers of the tenebrion seeds and piques his interest.
Some of the giants are going to be more fanatical than others. Elsah and the Scalebreakers definitely want an all out war where one side perishes. There will be some humans and littorians who are willing to come to a compromise.
The Athasian characters like Faalccun, the former apprentice of Dregoth who is currently camped outside Kalidnay in a huge battle barge with a million zombies, will be very interested in gaining access to a land with water and agricultural resources, as well as fuel for their defiling powers. You may have to defend the gate from greedy Athasians.
Those are just some of the possibilities.
So would our party basically be trying to figure out a way home whilst dealing with the giants? Will we have access to the tenbrion seed to potentially gain evolution levels? And how would that work with gestalt/VMC rules?
I looked at Arcana Evolved -- tenebrion seeds are connected with a racial class system that can work basically as a prestige class for our purposes. This system wasn't imported into the PF1E conversion, but there's no reason we can't use it.
Here's the system -- all Diamond Throne races have a 6 level racial class. Levels 1-3 are 'racial levels' and levels 4-6 are 'evolved levels', for which you need exposure to the tenebrion seeds. You need levels 1-3 of the class for the evolved levels.
If you want to pursue this, you need to factor it in as a 6 level prestige class for the purposes of our system.
Originally I was all about being on the side of the giants, mainly because I'm a sucker for the "fantasy Roman Empire" trope. However, as you've explained the set-up a bit more, I think being representatives of the AE dragons will be better in the long run.
As pro-giant, our only really feasible option on Athas is to say "Oh, look; some other world that dragons have also f'ed over. Proves us right!" As pro-dragon, it opens up a lot more opportunities, such as: Are Athas dragons related to AE dragons, or are they false dragons? (as pro-giant we're unlikely to care.) Do we ally with them because they're dragons, or fight against them because they're a voracious, domineering, wasteful, untrustworthy threat to our world's resources (aka because they're dragons)? Do we see our own world's future in the current state of Athas and decide to betray our dragon lords? Do we see our own world's future in the current state of Athas and decide to redouble our efforts so as to make sure we end up favorite servants of the winning (AE dragon) side instead of miserable wretches squabbling over water in the dust of the giant empire? Et cetera.
So my vote is for pro-dragon party!
The more I'm thinking about this, the more I think that will be a really interesting direction -- also MsMerceMary wants to be a spryte, and that's a faen evolution which makes more sense for a dragon party too (the faen goes into like a chrysalis state).
You're right, there are tons of questions. For instance, at the same time the sorcerer-kings are making plans to invade the Diamond Throne, you can bet the dragons in the Diamond Throne will be doing the same potentially -- unless they ally, or the diamond throne dragons re-recreate the dramojh in response to an Athasian invasion, or who knows what?
It is interesting that defiling magic/naturebending/dragon metamorphosis and the tenebrion seed evolutions are are conceptually/aesthetically not dissimilar, and I haven't decided what to make of that fluff wise yet.
From the reading I've done so far, I have to agree with the tick. It makes my story of a barbarian tribe almost of giants isolated in the mountains make more sense and really presents some drama into the story right out of the gate for not only me but the party as a whole. Overall, pro-dragon seems to be the most interesting narrative route.
Okay, then I'd say let's go with that pending anyone expressing a compelling alternative view.
I really feel good about this, getting so many ideas -- it also occurs to me, for example, that there might be a connection between the tenebrion seeds of the Diamond Throne and the obsidian orbs that Athasian dragons use to channel the defiling magic that powers their metamorphosis.
Unless someone playing a casting class is going to quit over this, my current decision is to combine the Words of Power and Spell Point systems.
For this, we will use this revised table to determine casting slots/points for the words (it is persuasive that the current allocations are not correct mathematically). So, instead of using the points for a 9th level spell, you get a 9th level word or the other appropriate combinations.
I think the PbP format is a unique context in which such a complex system could work, and really fits in with the fluff of the Diamond Throne, which has a strong concept of true names.
Of course, now that you say you're using Words of Power, I'm going to change my character build, since I really love the words of power system. I should have crunch up either tonight or tomorrow.
I was thinking of starting not this week but the following one, maybe monday or tuesday, does everyone think they can have characters together by then?
Okay, so my character will be posted tomorrow (most likely), but I got this idea stuck in my head when I was working on it, and I wanted to post it.
In the lands of the Diamond Throne, there exists a rarely talked about form of dueling, one not intended for the public eye: The battle of the Iron Chef.
Legend has it that this system began with a wandering chef, who was a master of his trade, but lacked the experience to get a job with a wealthy household or noble family.
Given that his lack of experience was the problem, he travelled the land, challenging any household chefs to cooking contests, where the challenged with choose a local ingredient and a panel of three judges were assembled to determine which was the better meal.
Each chef would prepare an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert, each using the selected ingredient.
As time went on, this wandering chef chose to stick to his nomadic lifestyle, as he found it to be a great source of joy.
Centuries later, while the wandering chef's identity has faded from history, his tradition lives on in the form of the Iron Chef duels.
In order not to disrupt meal service, a contender will ask for the specialty of the house, then pay for his meal without eating it, but return the dish with knife and fork crossed on the plate and some sort of denigrating remark about the dish itself. The challenger then waits for meal service to be finished, where he is escorted back to face the chef and a panel of three members of the staff are then convened and the battle is joined.
Mechanically how I see this working would be opposed profession (chef) rolls, with the winner determined by higher roll, as an alternate system to doing profession checks to make money (we can divine the amount earned by the number of days in a week if you would like).
What do you think?
I think I can get my character up by then. I've got a rough draft on paper, just need to work on the format for a pbp alias.
Johnny Lawrence
LN Human Sorcerer 5/Monk 5 | Archmage 2
STR 10
DEX 20
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 24
CHA 10
WP/Vigor 28/39 DR 7/Adamantine
Defense 25 (10 base +5 dex +1 deflection +1 armor +8 Wisdom)
BAB 5 CMB +5/10 CMD 28
Init +11
Fort +9
Ref +10
Will +12
Speed 40'
Melee Touch +10
Ranged Touch +10
Unarmed Strike +10/10 to hit; 1d8 damage; 20/x2 crit
Skills:
*Adventuring: Escape Artist r5 +13, Heal r5 +15, Perception r5 +15, Sense Motive r5 +15, Spellcraft r5 +8
*Background: Linguistics r5 +8, Profession (Chef) r5 +17/19
Feats: Precise Shot, Great Fortitude, Spell Penetration, Greater Spell Penetration, Spell Focus (Evocation), Varisian Tattoo (Evocation), Unarmed Combatant, Stunning Fist, Deflect Arrows, Combat Reflexes
Traits: Tattooed Focus (Profession: Chef; +2 to Profession chef checks and adds it as a class skill), Reactionary (+2 to initiative)
Class Features:
*Sorcerer: Archetype (Wildblooded), Bloodline (Empyreal), Bloodline Arcana (Use Wisdom instead of Charisma for all class features and effects), Bloodline Powers (Heavenly Fire: 1d4+2, 10/day; Celestial Resistances: acid and cold resist 5), Bloodline Spells (Bless, Resist Energy, Magic Circle vs. Evil, Remove Curse, Flame Strike, Greater Dispel Magic, Banishment, Sunburst, Gate)
*Unchained Monk: Flurry of Blows (1 extra attack), Stunning Fist, Unarmed Combatant (1d8), Evasion, Fast Movement, Ki Pool (9), Ki Strike (Magic), Still Mind, Purity of Body, Style Strike (1/round; Leg Sweep), Ki Powers (Qinggong Power: Barkskin; High Jump)
Spells/Day: -/8/6
Words:
*Target:
0: Cone, Personal, Selected
1: Burst, Line
(3: Barrier)
*Effect:
0: Acid Burn, Decipher, Flame Jet, Lift, Sense Magic
1: Burning Flash, Fortify, Radiance, Wrack
2: Accelerate, Force Bolt
*Meta:
0: Boost, Lengthy
Equipment: Clothes, Chef's Tools (MW)
Mythic:
Path: Archmage
Archmage Arcana: Wild Arcana
Base Mytic Abilities: Hard to Kill, Mythic Power (11/day), Surge 1d6, Amazing Initiative
Mythic Feats: Mythic Paragon
Path Powers: Enduring Armor, Elemental Bond (Fire)
Automatic Bonus Progression: Resistance +1, Armor Attunement (Clothing) +1, Weapon Attunement (Unarmed Strike) +1, Deflection +1, Mental Prowess (Wisdom) +2, Physical Prowess (Dex) +2
Johnny is a member of the Order of the Divine Snake, a monastic order whose members are all descendants of powerful outsiders. Johnny trained both his innate spellcasting abilities and his unarmed combat style at the monastery, with a heavy focus on sweep attacks.
Part of the Monastery's dogma requires that the aspirant, to become a full member, must declare a goal for himself and then travel into the world, not returning to the monastery until he had accomplished that goal.
For Johnny, it is to find the man who ruined his life and kill him. This man, Daniel (surname unknown) challenged Johnny's father to a fight and then killed him by cheating. Johnny now burns with vengeance and searches the world for him. During his travels, he joined with a group of heroes, each of which had motivations of their own.
Okay, so my character will be posted tomorrow (most likely), but I got this idea stuck in my head when I was working on it, and I wanted to post it.
** spoiler omitted **
That's hilarious, I love it! I'm imagining the Diamond Throne version of Iron Chef Sakai as a really snooty litorian with curly whiskers. I hope we can fit a culinary battle into an adventure after we finish with Kalidnay.
I'll start reading the Words of Power rules tonight and post any questions I have tomorrow.
@Oceanshieldwolf, MsMerceMarcy -- is a start time some time next week going to work for you?
Just to tease a little more to really urge people to make characters -- I'm planning on adding in some stuff from the Stardrive Setting of Alternity too in this campaign, so you'll have a chance to encounter the forces of the I'krl Theocracy Exteat if you play your cards right. I'm rewriting the history of Athas a bit to take into account some of the late-edition ideas about the halflings having offworld origins or aspirations.
Yep, that works for me! I'm just having trouble coming up with a niche to fill but I've got a couple builds on paper.
Also, I don't have a predetermined idea for where the campaign will go -- if you want to continue along with the Legacy of Fire arc with the Athasian characters, that's an option. If you want to play for only a module length foray into Kalidnay, we can do that too. If you want to do something else like invade Athas, or go back to the Diamond Throne setting, we can also do that, we'll just see how the story develops.
On the last thread, I do find the slassans, the spider/lizard hybrids of the dramojh that took over the Diamond Throne underdark really interesting. Maybe we could play some converted underdark modules or something at some point.
@Sebecloki, do you have any resources on hand for naming characters? I decided to go with a human, I just want to make sure his name is lore friendly.