Sample/Recent Post: When his terms are agreed to, Ang Ban Dongar is efficient and cooperative, stowing the documents in a leather pouch tied around his waste that he refers to as "the royal records department". He always keeps a distance between himself and all but Lady Lyra and her only to allow her do the operation. He also follows along carefully in the construction process, being certain the mechanical foot can be detached effectively if he so desires. Still the process takes much of the days and being near such a beast is awe inspiring, a little frightening and a bit just weird (you can feel that he thinks of you as food despite being willing to bargain).
Still, he gives detailed advice on reaching Oomsatta territory, about the organization of the Oomsatta and about ways to navigate the entire area. The Oomsatta, supposedly, have ten villages total, two of which are large (~300-400) and the other smallish(~100 people). He shakes loose a shower of iron feathers from his body, saying these mark one who follows the Compact between man and dragon and you should attach them to your clothing as the Oomsatta do. The compact was made years ago when Oomsatta came down from the hills and he mentions that both dragons and Oomsatta are "children of the earth" (unlike ordinary humans and he knows not of whatever your kind is). The Oomsatta camp/villages is apparently a somewhat cosmopolitan place - traders from the Kind Lands and the Free Lands often pass through and a number stay to escape the kindness or the freedom of their lands. Some of the small peoples such Arlo or Paritosh can be found there, especially in one village (he doesn't know the name).
Ang notes, "As mentioned in the document, my land extends to twenty five miles around the peak Skyorn, where you are now. Unfortunately, interlopers, both bear and dragon, have been violating these valid and established borders and I cannot guarantee your safety or accompany you past fifteen miles from great Skyorn. Move carefully, since it is winter and the dumb beasts are eager for the hunt."
He shows you a buried stone building to sleep in that night and goes someplace to sleep himself after that. In the morning, you head out and Ang indeed accompanies you fifteen miles beyond Skyorn. With Arlo and Paritosh scouting, you move quickly and carefully. However, at the twenty five mile mark, your begin to feel some beasts are stalking you. Deciding to force the matter, you take a rout that would require any following you to come into view. Thus you reach a ridge and behind you two large, dire-sized (ten feet high) white-coated cats emerge 50 feet away. In shape they are like American mountain lions. They were stalking and just beginning to charge. See map.
Description: In a multiverse based on the Planescape setting, using PF1 rules plus custom “caper”/world-building rules, you will be an agent of an ad-hoc group of wizards, priests and occultist aiming to stop plane-destroying effects, unleashed by various mysterious forces. Your employers are sophisticated interdimensional operators who understand many kinds types of magics and technologies operating on a variety of planes (with their own personal agendas too? Of course!). The operation still resembles a group of gentlemen adventurers than a true bureaucracy and you will operate as part of a cell of adventurer, the cell making its own choices on the ground, though guided by your mentors/handlers.
The party is currently in the land of the Oomsatta, a mysterious land where a tribe of humans has a strong connection to the Earth and the dragon of the surrounding and where two technological realms threaten this people.
Style: This campaign began as an effort to use some ideas from the Blades In The Dark system. I am creating/evolving an approach of investigators who make their choices and add their own narrative. This is still a work in progress. At this point, it mostly involves me outlining a situation and anyone can make a choice for the group (within reason but still). A lot of the initial thread following action involves; narrate what you do, maybe add a little improvised detail about the situation or world, and roll a skill (standard Pathfinder skills). It gets more defined as each character’s threads get more developed. The campaign has gone on for eight months and 1000+ posts, so you can read the approach.
Group: The party is fairly well balanced with magic, sneakiness, tech knowledge and melee somewhat covered. So any of those would be good. Given the campaign, every character should sort of expect to be something like a "skill monkey". A character having a connection to dragons would be since you are in a land of dragons - but it's not necessary.
Inspirations: The Black Company series (especially Shadow Linger) by Glen Cooke, Nightwatch/Daywatch Sergie Lukyanenko, The Elder Isle series and other works by Jack Vance, The Dark Tower by Stephen King, The War Hound and The World’s Pain by Michael Moorecook and a number of others. The Earthsea Series by Ursula LeGuin (especially the later books).
Campaign Parameters:
Start 9th Level, standard character wealth for magic item buying. 25 point buy. No dumping wisdom, intelligence or charisma below 9. Don’t maximize for initiative (I’m doing ad-hoc initiative for speed). Alignments between lawful-good and neutral. Standard wealth by Core Rule Book. All Paizo books allowed, third party books might be OK but only psionics or hi-tech or other classes/races not duplicating things in Paizo books. Magic users probably shouldn’t lean on teleport/dimension door since it’s hard to handle in play-by-post.
Campaign Traits (choose at least one of these and one standard trait):
Interplanar Travelers(s); knowledge planes is a class skill.
Minor magic awareness; Can cast detect magic once per day as a spell-like ability and spellcraft is class skill.
Minor technological knowledge; Can use knowledge engineering to determine the principles powering a given technological device. If you are trained in knowledge history, you can use it determine the sort of society which would produce such a device. You may make a Wisdom check to determine how to activate a given device (this does not imbue the character with any skills in the use of the device. It doesn’t teach to use firearms or welding machines, etc).
What's the post rate? One post per day on week days (Mon-Friday, roughly), post when you can on weekends. If your character is absent during combat on a week day, I may act for you. If you vanish, your character might become a regular NPC. Bonus points if you tell me your situation.
Posting approach: Most of the time, anyone can start posting after I’ve posted (In melee, anyone can take act first once I give the go-head, just don’t act twice – fair warning, this may initiative-feats less valuable). To a reasonable extent, you can post actions for the entire party takes part (we enter the room). Don’t be shy. Always be thinking about how you can post to move forward the action – and feel free to send me suggestions on that as well (I’ll required saving throw levels, AC the monster hits + potential damage etc. You will too).
Learn the standard narrative style – write in the third person present tense, etc. Don’t just name a game mechanic, don’t just narrate what you are doing, combine the two. Don't ask whether you can roll a skill, just roll it. I encourage everyone to improvise little pieces of plot as we go along (but exactly how much you do that is up to you, since it’s fairly personal, each continuing player has their own style here). Still, we are creating are creating a story together. I hope to find people excited to help shape this world. I like to move actions quickly and give the group suggestions. Feel free to push back if things seem to fast for you, you don’t like a suggestion or for any other reasons. I try to be very open to constructive criticism (obviously there are limits). Did I mention “work in progress”? It is a continuing work, with stuff happening, however.
Applying: Describe your character concept and give an example of something you’d improvise in the process of acting in the world. (see above for allowed classes etc). I’ll answer questions and ask questions and then show me a character sheet. I will decide after five days, longer if there aren’t enough applications. This is a somewhat demanding campaign so if you are busy or already are many campaigns, think if you can make the added commitment. I put some effort into my narrative, plot development and world-concept. I'm looking for 1-2 more players who that appeals to.
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I’m interested. (It’s a Friday morning before a busy weekend so it may be Sunday before I get back here, but...
Does the group have, and would the roleplay style enjoy, a LG PC Wizard (artillery & control) that is HUGE on Knowledge Skills — I Love getting Setting &Background info — and is Huge on Bluff (and Diplomacy) — I like to Bluff the NPC into giving the group information.
Hmmm... interesting. I'm kinda tempted to rebuild my pseudodragon rogue, but I'm not sure if that would be permissable.
I’m interested. (It’s a Friday morning before a busy weekend so it may be Sunday before I get back here, but...
Does the group have, and would the roleplay style enjoy, a LG PC Wizard (artillery & control) that is HUGE on Knowledge Skills — I Love getting Setting &Background info — and is Huge on Bluff (and Diplomacy) — I like to Bluff the NPC into giving the group information.
Could be good. We have a sorcerer who's also done wizardly sort of stuff. Magic is a significant thing so I think there's room for two. I've just point to wizard/sorcerer divide. The Wizard plays by the rules, does things step by step while the sorcerer works by intuition. Wizards and sorcerers playing off each other is a great theme.
Hmmm... interesting. I'm kinda tempted to rebuild my pseudodragon rogue, but I'm not sure if that would be permissable.
With circumstances, it could be possible. You'd want the ability to turn into a cat or dog or some innocuous creature for more advanced worlds but still, could interesting. We don't have a pure rogue.
Marella Galanis hails from a large island of scenic hill-scapes surrounding a dormant volcano. Her culture glories in ritual worship: Marella grew up training to be a sword-dancer like her mother before her. That was until she was pulled under while trying to save a boy who had been drawn too far into the sea. Marella began to breathe water, uncovering that she had within her some blood of the mythical nereids. Further exploration of the seabed near the island revealed a sunken temple. As she ran her hand across the stone, a strange symbol burned into her left palm. As she emerged onto the beach, Marella was overwhelmed by some mysterious power that portented a change coming to her Bronze Age world.
Marella is an undine witchy (with hexes) version of Inquisitor. Oh yeah, she is pretty stealthy and has a familiar who is invisible in the scene below.
sample post:
The child pickpocket started sprinting down one of Oomsatta’s few alleyways as soon as he saw Marella’s blue-eyed gaze fall upon him.
<Why do they always have to run?>, she thinks.
While the crowd in the street behind her focuses on the slayer and the slain, Marella waves her left hand sinuously and speaks a soft plea. Then her slight form begins dashing after the boy at preternatural speed. She quickly overtakes him; he whirls to face her, a look of fear twisting his dirty face.
[cast Expeditious Retreat]
Coming to a stop, Marella brushes her dark blue forelock from her eyes and kneels down.
“Easy now, I just want to talk.”
The boy’s only reply is to look at her uncertainly.
Marella needed to figure out what was sparking the outbreak of violence in town. As the sudden, lethal fight between two men with daggers had broken out in the main street at sunset, she had known in her gut that the cause must be nearby. The only peculiar thing of note had been the hooded woman on the far side of the gathered crowd. Marella had not been able to get a look, but she had seen this boy plying his trade near her.
“Who was the woman standing near you while you... stood at the edge of the crowd?”
She calls upon her eldritch patron’s power to sense the truth.
The boy shakes his head. “I didn’t see anyone.”
[Sense Motive 8+16=24 to see if he’s Bluffing and Detect Lies spell-like ability DC 18. Assuming he misses one of those…]
Marella arches one thin, dark-brown eyebrow. “I know you’re lying.”
The boy coughs. “Ilsina, that was. She runs the candle-shop on Vintner’s Street. Please don’t tell her I told you.”
“Of course, not. Run along.”
The boy is more than happy to.
Heading back toward the street, Marella passes the mysterious sigil on her left palm down over her face: her aspect changes to that of a fair-skinned redhead.
She turns and heads in the direction of the candle-shop.
[cast False Face]
<I am curious to meet this Ilsin.>
This is how I've built my pseudodragon rogue for a previous campaign that died fairly young. He could easily have some shape-changing via use magic device and a wand of the appropriate spell.
I'll see about putting together an official application here.
This is how I've built my pseudodragon rogue for a previous campaign that died fairly young. He could easily have some shape-changing via use magic device and a wand of the appropriate spell.
I'll see about putting together an official application here.
For monster-characters, I will have to research what CR for level-adjustment would be appropriate if any. I'll try to come with something in a bit.
I think by the monsters-as-PC rules pseudodragon would be a one-level adjustment (as pseudodragons are CR 1 monsters). The other option would be to use the rules from Monster Classes: Woodlands that makes being a pseudodragon a two-level class (because pseudodragons have two hit dice). It's a bit more powerful than a base pseudodragon, but it is giving up two levels instead of one. (I do own the pdf)
So, to fill out a bit more complete of an application:
Character Concept
An inquisitive pseudodragon with many talents, who could be really good at any of them if he could just pick on one to focus on. The idea with Terexaltherin is that he has a little bit of magic (from rogue talents), a little bit of psychic magic (from feats), a collection of random magic items to use via Use Magic Device and the talents from the Counterfeit Mage arechetype to do other things. He wouldn't be as strong as anyone else in anything other than being a really stealthy telepath, but between sneak attacks and his collection of magic options and skills he'd be at least able to contribute in virtually any circumstance.
I'm thinking he was once a wizard's familiar, who eventually parted ways because the wizard was getting annoyed with him always getting into their books and asking them questions. He's generally friendly and insatiably curious, but good-hearted and willing to risk himself to help those in need, as well.
Example of play
Terexaltherin quietly clung to the ceiling, the enchantment from his wand holding him firmly in place where his little claws couldn't have. In the room below him, oblivious of the little dragon listening above. He'd gotten some interesting information out of them, but now he needed to leave, and they were still sitting around talking. He was pretty sneaky, but it was awfully hard to open a door without being noticed.
Oh, and it was awfully hard to open doors period when you were just over a foot long.
Reaching out to one of the two telepathically, he mentally whispered, trying to sound like one of their associates, <Hey, open the door!>
[bluff roll]
Character Concept
An inquisitive pseudodragon with many talents, who could be really good at any of them if he could just pick on one to focus on.
Cool, that sound, 1 or 2 CR seems fine.
Think also - planar background, how you joined the Organization. You would be something of the expert on draconic lore, an important thing currently.
Marella Galanis hails from a large island of scenic hill-scapes surrounding a dormant volcano. Her culture glories in ritual worship: Marella grew up training to be a sword-dancer like her mother before her.
So basically the standard for inquisitor; damage doer, healing and "strong sense of purpose".
So basically the standard for inquisitor; damage doer, healing and "strong sense of purpose".
Pretty good single target melee damage, debuffs, scouting, mostly out-of-combat healing. But isn't most healing like that?
And lie-detector. Plus, she has a pretty neat way of gathering information on a subject fast, magically.
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An inter-planar sleuth brigade? I'm in ... or hope to be!
With W E Ray withdrawing on the full-caster front, I'd like to submit a shaman so as not to step on your sorcerer's toes.
Here's what I'm thinking: He's a very mixed-blooded half-elf who'd been in the line of succession for leadership in a minor tribe. His grandfather was murdered for a then-unknown reason, and the assailants escaped to Sigil. It was only after his grandfather's spirit returned to him (in the form of his spirit animal) that he learned of the murderers' motives and rough details. Long story short, as the outer planes are where many souls reside in the afterlife, his ancestors were at risk unless he took the threat on proactively. This revelation set him on course to join the organization and hunt down these interdimensional interlopers, though they're always one step ahead of him...
Descriptive bits:
Middle-aged: He's been at this a while, and really wise characters who are teenagers always struck me as a bit ahead of themselves.
Convivial: Charisma is a shaman's secondary stat, and as a leader away-from-home, he hasn't forgotten how to deal with people.
Curious: Seeing new lands & people is a perk of his duties, and from his tribe's generally more primitive roots, it's enticing to see new technology, even if he doesn't understand it.
Stubborn: When the literal spirit of your ancestors makes you the chosen one, you're not used to being told no. Hearing it, yes - but not being able to act/talk through it is a different story.
Spirit-dependent: Spirit of the heavens for shaman has so much cool flavor, that will probably be my main choice. Life as the wandering one. This would mean there may be some ambient light/dark effects when the shaman is about, and he'll have a nice body. Watch out gals, guys, goblins, and golden dragons - one look into his eyes is all it will take!
Mechanical bits:
Shaman of the heavens/life should allow for some balanced magic. Channel energy, healing, scrying, restoration, etc. No fireballs though! Just rainbow lasers/walls later.
I'd take fey-thoughts to represent his varied heritage, and combined with the traits and shaman skill list (and potentially archetype), there's a lot of skill coverage. I'd be giving him at least 12 INT + favored class, so no skimping on skills.
Hexes are useful to plug gaps as needed.
Also, here's an example of my play as Dalton from a previous game.
Let me know what you think!
Cool, that sound, 1 or 2 CR seems fine.
Think also - planar background, how you joined the Organization. You would be something of the expert on draconic lore, an important thing currently.
To be clear, do you mean either the monsters-as-PC's rules or the monster class rules would be fine? I'll probably go with the monster class rules if that's the case, as I'd like to actually be able to use some of these PDF's I've paid for. :D
For planar background (and background in general), I've been playing around with some ideas. The top one right now is this:
Terexaltherin comes from a world ruled by dragons, with mighty true dragons at the top. Pseudodragons like Terex occupied a curious place in the heirarchy. As a sort of dragon, they were respected... but as small, 'harmless' creatures they were viewed with a certain amount of disdain, especially by other types of dragons.
Terex was a particularly large and athletic pseudodragon, but his most noticeable characteristic was his curiosity. From a young age he proved to be insatiably inquisitive about nearly everything, always sneaking into places and listening to people just because he wanted to know more about what was going on. Learning to read simply made him a voracious reader, and soon his non-draconic acquaintances took to calling him 'The Little Bookwyrm'.
It was this curiosity that led to him into contact with the Organization, as he was (again) snooping around where he shouldn't have been. After giving one of the Organization's wizards a bit of a shock, he ended up helping them with the problem at hand by scouting around. When their work on the world was done, the same wizard offered Terexaltherin a chance to become his familiar, and Terex, enthusiastic about the idea of entire other worlds and planes to see, eagerly accepted.
He served as a familiar for a time, but eventually the itch to explore on his own grew too great, so he parted ways with his wizard friend, though they remain on amicable terms. Since then he's served the Organization as a rather unconventional agent, combining the bits of magic lore he's picked up with his natural pseudodragon stealth and some minor psychic powers from stretching his native telepathy to come at problems from unexpected angles...
...when he can be coaxed out of the nearest library.
backstory to planar background to meeting an organization agent:
While Marella was still on the island, troubling news came by ship from landward nations: war.Marella had no innate wanderlust, but she could not stand idly by. She knew that violence would soon come to the island. Unsure of what she could do alone, Marella still set out, heading to the country from which the ill tidings had come.
The front of the war lay yet far from the capital city. Most of the enemy were human; the rest were true monstrosities. Their appearance varied immensely. Some had horns, some had talons for hands, others had a spiders’ set of eyes. Many of these monsters had some sort of enchantment about them to demoralize or bewitch enemies.
Marella joined with four mainlanders to seek the army’s leader beyond its lines. After weeks of travel and engagement, they reached a short, hastily-built keep. They battled and slew a gargantuan, plasmic beast that served as guard. Entering, they at last saw the architect of the war. He stood twelve feet high--humanoid but with a the head of a bull. Despite his fell sorceries, they downed him, though one of the party died. The remainder rested in the great hall, tending their wounds and wondering what lay beyond the black surface filling a doorway at the back of the room. That was answered sooner than they thought.
Three humans, but with pointed ears, emerged and started talking to the party. Marella used her magic to understand them. Apparently, these elves belonged to a different place in which beastly creatures such as the minotaur king, a group named the Trux-Wev, had already won. There remained but a frantic and fragmented resistance. The rest of Marella’s companions were sorry to hear the fact, but only Marella decided to go to the elves’ aid. She stepped through the portal.
Three years of grim fighting followed. She made elven friends and lost them violently. She spoke with the humans who labored under the Trux-Wev, before some of them were agonizingly mutated into monsters. Heroes of the land rose and joined the fight. They found epic victory, but only as a result of the information gathering of Marella and her elven compatriots.
Rather than attend the celebrations, Marella sought solitude at the coastline. Swimming and exploring miles and miles to try and get the savage and abominable memories out of her her head, she finally emerged; only to find a strange woman standing on the beach. The woman’s eyes were multi-colored, mirroring the rainbow of gems embroidered into her clothing. The woman said, “There are still more worlds to save, beyond number. You seem to have concern for places far beyond your homeland. And you’re a survivor. I belong to an organization that would like to speak with you.”
Marella buckled on her scimitar. “Let’s go, then.”
From earlier recruiting thread:
Questions IF you have your character outlined (I think everyone still interested has their character outlined):
1. What was your world of origin like
__A. Technology-level?
__B. "Values"? (honorable? Corrupt? Trading oriented?)
__C. What was geography of the world?
__D. What races existed and how did they relate?
(you don't have to answer all questions, just whatever gives a good story)
2. How does your character manage to keep a low profile in a mostly human plane? What would your *cover* occupation be?
3A. If you were in the orgnization for a while, what was the last world you were in like? How did it end?
3B. If you have NOT been in the organization long, how to you find your way to Sigil or where you were recruited?
I'm interested in playing a normal farmer (possibly from Oomsatta), recently struck gold while furrowing their field and walked away incredibly rich (maybe doing business with a dragon?)
Mechanically, this would be a human Animal Speaker Bard 9 with the Animal Ally and Boon Companion feats; they would be focused on out of combat utility, provisional healing, and in combat they would serve as a bard often does, buffing the party and trying to make things easier for everyone.
The whole goal would be someone normal trying to make it work in the unbelievably big and powerful Planescape setting, and gotten themselves dragged into a mess quite a bit bigger than them. Would this be something worth developing further or are you uninterested in a character like this?
1. What was your world of origin like
__A. Technology-level?
Late Bronze Age.
__B. "Values"? (honorable? Corrupt? Trading oriented?)
Trading mostly, aside from some set-piece battles between city-states on the mainland.
__C. What was geography of the world?
A thick circle of land around a central sea, with her island roughly in the middle. Land has a lot of forest, some rocky desert.
__D. What races existed and how did they relate?
Just humans and the occasional plane-touched (aasimar, undine, et al.)
2. How does your character manage to keep a low profile in a mostly human plane? What would your *cover* occupation be?
Marella looks human, with the only sign of her lineage being a forelock of blue hair.
She's a trained dancer, and she has the silk outfit to prove. Dancing with or without scimitar is optional.
3B. If you have NOT been in the organization long, how to you find your way to Sigil or where you were recruited?
Marella was recruited on the second world where she had gone to fight against evil forces.
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Hi Im one of the players in this game, just wanted to wish you all the best and say there are some great ideas here. :)
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I'm orbiting around the name Iwalani right now, so I'll use that as a placeholder!
While the standard set of core races and many uncommon existed, plane-touched beings were quite rare. In fact, the world was difficult to reach for some yet-unknown reason by planar travel. This is, in part, what made the attack so alien and the return of Iwalani's ancestor so remarkable.
Thanks for looking us over, Lady Fitzroy. It's always good to see players take a hand in crafting who will segue nicely into their group!
The whole goal would be someone normal trying to make it work in the unbelievably big and powerful Planescape setting, and gotten themselves dragged into a mess quite a bit bigger than them. Would this be something worth developing further or are you uninterested in a character like this?
I don't think that would work, I'm sorry. This is a particular setting and quest concept I've kind of riffed-up and not generic Planescape. The key thing is characters should be actively motivated towards "saving the world" whatever their other concerns.
1. What was your world of origin like: I've been playing around with some different ideas in my head. One temptation was to have Terex be from the Mharoti Empire from Kobold Press's Midgard setting, but I think I'm going to just borrow some ideas and go in a different direction. I'm thinking that Terexaltherin is from a vaguely Roman-like empire ruled by dragons. So...
__A. Technology-level? Iron age, with some odd bits of mass enchantment to help things out (baths heated by fire elementals instead of fires, that sort of thing)
__B. "Values"? How closely related you were to being a true dragon is as important as anything you do. Morals are as varied as the different types of dragons, but in general being a being of action with many talents is valued above being a specialist or a quiet planner.
__C. What was geography of the world? A pangaea-style continent, with wet coasts and a huge inland desert.
__D. What races existed and how did they relate? Reptilian and especially dragon-related species are generally dominant. The core races are unknown. Lizardfolk are more or less the lowest caste of the society, being basically slaves/serfs, with more and more dragon-like species being higher-ranking.
2. How does your character manage to keep a low profile in a mostly human plane? What would your *cover* occupation be? Terex mostly takes advantage of his small size to stay out of sight, but if he's somewhere he has to be seen as something other than a pseudodragon he uses one of his wands to polymorph into a local bird species, or a cat.
3A. Still debating on this one.
All right, to finish off:
3) The last world Terex was on was a very urban world with a great deal of magic taking the place of high technology. Terex was constantly having to tear himself away from all the interesting libraries and magical trinkets to focus on the mission.
Said mission was a difficult one, rooting out a secretive cult dedicated to a god of omniversal destruction who were working to put together some sort of spell. Oddly enough it was Terexaltherin's curiosity that provided the vital clue, when he noticed that the architecture of a large portion of one empire's capital was very oddly designed. In fact, the shape of it looked rather like magic runes. Following how this had come to be uncovered a number of cultists in various positions in the city, and Terex and the other agents he was with were just barely able to stop them before they completed the last of the buildings they needed to complete their spell.
All right, I believe I have Terexaltherin more or less ready in this profile. I haven't double-checked HeroLab's numbers yet, but this should be pretty close.
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I double-checked everything and I believe I'm all ready.
I am provisionally accepting Terexaltherin and Marella into the game (starting with "onboarding"). Thanks to everyone who applied and I'm sorry I couldn't accept everyone and I'm sorry I couldn't do this more quickly.