I would like to run a rotating GMs table of a PF 1e, Gestalt, Adventurer's Guild (of some sort). Each mission would be short and relatively simple with about four encounters (one combat, one exploration, one social, and the fourth could be anything). I'd GM the first one then another player would GM the second one, with my character subbing in for theirs for the second adventure. And so on and so on.
Parameters I'm planning on:
1. Gestalt
2. PF 1e
3. Google slides for maps. I think this will be the easiest way to rotate control of the maps without having to constantly change settings, change roll20 games, etc.
4. Short quests.
5. The PCs all belong to some sort of guild that sends them out on regular adventuring missions.
6. The party levels up after each short mission.
Parameters I want input on:
1. What point buy to use? I'm thinking either 25 or 30 would be appropriate for gestalt.
2. What materials to allow? My default would be all Paizo material with certain spot bans, e.g., on blood money, sacred geometry, etc. But if there were several people with a strong desire, I could see allowing spheres and maybe some other stuff.
3. What should the premise of the guild be? A chapel to a certain deity in an urban setting? An army fort in the wilderness? A thieve's guild? A generic adventurer's guild? All could be fun.
4. What posting commitment. I'm thinking 2/day, 1/day, or 6/week.
5. What deadliness level? Should CRs usually, approximately be party level*1.5 (easy for gestalt, imo) or higher like party level*2.
6. What starting level? For rapid leveling, 1 can be fine. Higher than 5 would probably be a bit much, esp with gestalt and the rapid leveling.
Thanks to the chronic shortage of good GMs (esp. for PBP), I've tried to get a rotating GM set up a couple of times and have run the first quest myself but haven't had any luck getting players to follow up and run a quest in return. So my latest scheme is to have a fairly continuous plotline and semicontinuous cast of characters in a rotating GM set-up. As usual, I'm willing to show my commitment by running the first quest. I'm looking for 3-5 other player-GMs who would be willing to run follow-up quests. The short and sweet nature will help prevent GM burnout and PBP's short attention spans.
I remember there used to be a series of games on here that was one encounter, with a level up after every encounter or every other encounter. It was a blast with minimal commitment, and I'd potentially be interested.
I remember there used to be a series of games on here that was one encounter, with a level up after every encounter or every other encounter. It was a blast with minimal commitment, and I'd potentially be interested.
Nice! Was it rotating GMs as well?
Everyone would take their turn with a fair bit of freedom. I just think an agreed upon format would be good. Like four brief encounters, some general difficulty level, we're told what we're supposed to do, etc.
It was actually not rotating GMs, but a lot of different people GM'd it. Whenever someone had an encounter they'd built, they posted something. I have a couple cool encounters in mind, so I'd be willing to GM one or two times.
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Awesome. Happy to have some interest. I'm hoping to have some mild plot/character continuity. So I'm intending an overarching story that each GM creates a small part of during their turn with narrative freedom and just an understanding to try not to take things in a COMPLETELY different direction than what previous GM turns had done (looking at you, Star Wars sequels).
Examples for what the party x premise could be:
1. Members of a Lastwall special ops team dealing with a sudden emergence of plant monsters joining the undead horde.
2. A cold-hearted team of closeknit mercenaries sent to explore a series of technological ruins in Numeria, searching for the pieces of a technological artifact of great power.
3. A casual club of noble scions in Absalom who have decided to put their privilege and training to use as vigilantes fighting organized crime.
Etc., etc., etc. Something specific enough that each GM can easily whip something up when it's their turn. Since this is the interest check stage, please give input now if there's something you'd really enjoy! Be it a part of Golarion to be set in, a preferred type of enemy to encounter, a party theme (e.g., dwarves, orphans, bards, dwarven bard orphans, etc).
I'm interested. I'd be down for something Nautical themed, or at least based in a city that has a port, as I have some Nautical-themed encounters in mind.
Ok we have three interested parties! That could work great. More people are welcome to chime in but I think four player-GMs is the minimum.
Malinor and Elfriede: Do you guys want to give any input on the game plot, theme, key elements, etc? So far, we have a request for some nautical-themed stuff.
Also, what's everyone's experience with PBP? Both playing and GMing? I've GMed a four or five short adventures, completed a couple long ones, and have a couple long ones that are ongoing. I've played in a bunch, many of which have died and some of which finished or are still ongoing.
I was pretty active on the PbP forums, both GMing and playing, about 4 or 5 years ago. I GM'd through a few of the books of Kingmaker, played a bunch of different games, and did some PFS Gming as well.
A coastal town could be a lot of fun. I'd enjoy some urban adventuring, I think, but that might be challenging with several GMs.
A coastal town sounds fun! There could be all sorts of quests involving short nautical forays, the sewers, infiltrating a noble's party, etc. The two biggest elements left to nail down, in my mind, would be:
A. What ties the party together? Are we bored noble scions who decided to be vigilantes together? Are we members of a single dwarven clan, etc?
B. What ties together the challenges we're facing? Is there a vampire lord somewhere in the city manipulating things? Is there a crime syndicate we're fighting? Are there portals dumping monsters all over the city for some unknown reason and we need to contain the monsters while investigating why the heck this is happening? Etc.
Malinor, I feel flexible. Do you want to propose an answer to question A or B and then I'll answer the other? Then we can get rolling as I'll start setting up a specific game and we open an official recruitment for one or two more player-GMs.
Unless, of course, anyone wants to re-discuss elements we've brought up so far?
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Its always fun to have old barrows or tombs nearby.
For A I will say that our parents adventured together and we are childhood friends ready to fill their boots. That allows for some variety in backgrounds for characters.
For B we can go with the Hellmouth from Buffy leading to all kinds of evil things coming to join in or popping out.
Sorely tempted by this, though not sure I have time in my schedule. Taking a serious look at the issue. :)
That said, for B, what if the instigating issue is that a small fishing village down the coast has gone mysteriously abandoned for whatever reason-to-be-determined-through-the-storyline? Which could definitely lead to Hellmouth, or at least be a red herring for the pcs to follow? Just an idea.
Super interested! I'm happy to play in anything you're running (or also playing in) Caster!
Ah, who am I kidding? Put me in the "interested" column. :D
As for the party connection, what if the PCs are part of a coastal guard attachment? Patroling the roads and maybe the waters right off the coast?
Or, if we're less than upstanding citizens, smugglers? * grin *
Looking back through the thread, a coastal town would be a lot of fun, and the idea to be smugglers could be a good one!
Having different smuggling missions would be good rationale for why one member of the group is conspicuously missing each adventure.
I've done a bit of PbP as a player, not as a GM.
Also I like the Smuggling Angle, but I'd be more interested in a position where we could work for the city's underworld or fight baddies as we see fit. Perhaps we're like, Problem Solvers for a not-always-above-board Merchant Guild.
So a little smuggling here, some merchandise escorting there, a little sprinkle of committing or stopping a political assassination. Investigating trade possibilities with a new region/company. Something that gives us some leeway.
I'll be honest, all of it sounds fun. I'm good with pretty much anything. lol
Simeon: Aw shucks. Happy to have your interest.
All: Ok this seems to be crystallizing into a pretty specific idea. I'm liking the angle of being agents of a merchant guild that is a little shady but generally interested in the prosperity of the town and local area. That's good for business, after all! There's no official process here. I'm just kind of latching onto ideas with some mix of apperent consensus and appeal to me.
Here is a list of things for everyone to weigh in on over the course of the next 24 hrs then I'll whip up an official framework and recruitment.
A. It seems there might be enough interest that I'll have to pick player-GMs somehow. I can either pick a party as well as I can as organizing GM or set up a voting process by which player-GM applicants rank each other after recruitment closes.
B. Does the party have some prior connection/glue besides working on the same team for this merchant guild?
C. What kind of problems are the party facing? Extraplanar? Criminal? Some unholy alliance of the extraplanar and criminal? Civil unrest? Overzealous law enforcement? Etc.
D. How high should GMs try to set the difficulty/deadliness level? I like medium-high, personally, meaning that at least one PC is KOed per adventuring day but player deaths are fairly unlikely/rare.
E. What posting rate commitment? For me, the acceptable range is from 2x/day to 6x/week.
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A: A vote system might be good after the initial "Training Montage," which would be a group chosen by the GM, or just selected randomly while everyone levels up at the same rate. (Perhaps a group fund of GP rather than individual rewards. AKA: Guild Quartermaster)
B: The group can have some beginnings to true team choesion, since their "parole" with the company to see if they were a fit.
C: If based on a coast town in Cheliax, Inhospitable Law Enforcement with Extraplanar mixed into it at later levels can work quite well.
D: I've always loved Medium/High, until True Boss encounters happen. Those should be challenging.
E: 1xWeekday/1xWeekend (Still 6x/week) would be easiest but the 2x/Weekday for 6x/Week is good for me!
A. For GMing, why don't we do your run first, then GMs who are ready can type a fast pitch for their scenario. Players vote, GM randomly selects a squad. If we end up with 10ish players, we could even run two "teams".
B. I'm not sure on this, to be honest.
C. I'd prefer a good mix of different enemies. It can feel episodic, with only a little to tie it all together.
D. Medium/high is fine with me.
E. I can do 1x/day or 6x/week.
A. It seems there might be enough interest that I'll have to pick player-GMs somehow. I can either pick a party as well as I can as organizing GM or set up a voting process by which player-GM applicants rank each other after recruitment closes.
Not sure what we'd be judging if there's a vote, we'd have to figure out some sort of criteria to be judging, other than willingness to both play AND take a turn as GM. Might be easiest if you, the "Organizing GM" just picks a group, methinks.
B. Does the party have some prior connection/glue besides working on the same team for this merchant guild?
I would think it shouldn't be mandatory. Allows for more individualism, and possible surprises and mystery in the backgrounds.
C. What kind of problems are the party facing? Extraplanar? Criminal? Some unholy alliance of the extraplanar and criminal? Civil unrest? Overzealous law enforcement? Etc.
To start with? Mostly mundane stuff. Rivals. Thieves. The aforementioned Smugglers. :D Maybe then graduating up to a murder-mystery or cult, which could include lots of things. Weaving through it all should of course be some overzealous and/or corrupt law officers, and maybe a riot or two. In any event, I like Mr Hopkins Cheliax idea.
D. How high should GMs try to set the difficulty/deadliness level? I like medium-high, personally, meaning that at least one PC is KOed per adventuring day but player deaths are fairly unlikely/rare.
Medium-high, as described, is perfect.
E. What posting rate commitment? For me, the acceptable range is from 2x/day to 6x/week.
I am also a fan of 1x/day, 6x/week set up as a minimum. More if you have the time and if the situation requires.
A. It seems there might be enough interest that I'll have to pick player-GMs somehow. I can either pick a party as well as I can as organizing GM or set up a voting process by which player-GM applicants rank each other after recruitment closes.
I'm not sure how to do that at all tbh so i'll leave that to you
B. Does the party have some prior connection/glue besides working on the same team for this merchant guild?
I'd have us start out as new hires, being put on a team together to solve whichever situation happens to be the first we encounter.
C. What kind of problems are the party facing? Extraplanar? Criminal? Some unholy alliance of the extraplanar and criminal? Civil unrest? Overzealous law enforcement? Etc.
All of those, but in particular i've been thinking of running things that involve a Kraken as the Boss so probably also some monster hunting of the giant tentacley variety, as well as like pirates/naval military inspecting cargo.
D. How high should GMs try to set the difficulty/deadliness level? I like medium-high, personally, meaning that at least one PC is KOed per adventuring day but player deaths are fairly unlikely/rare.
Medium-High for most things, but Challenges for Bosses.
E. What posting rate commitment? For me, the acceptable range is from 2x/day to 6x/week.
1x/day 6x/week minimum. More if you have the time, but not necessary.
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I'm super interested as well! Love me some gestalt, and the opportunity to play in such a unique game is too good to pass up.
I'm not positive if a starting location has been chosen yet, but I have what I believe is really good suggestion: Diobel also known as the 'Backdoor of Absalom'.
It's a port town, so that satisfies the desire for possible watery adventures. Pirates and sea monsters are apparently somewhat common. It's also got a fair amount of illegal activity, including the smuggling of goods into Absalom. There's a powerful criminal org known as the Kortous Consortium which wield a lot of power in the city. The ruler of the town has a bitter rival with his former childhood friend, the old Primarch of Absalom Lord Gyr.
Aside from all of that, not too far away is the Immenwood which is filled with all sort of dangerous creatures.
We could also take our adventures to not only Absalom proper, but also Shadow Absalom, the dark mirror of the city on the Shadow Plane.
As for some of the above questions/considerations:
Point Buy: Anywhere between 25-32 is a good 'heroic array'.
Material allowed: I don't mind all Paizo, but if Spheres and/or the Legendary classes from L. Games were also allowed, I would be most happy.
Posting rate: Around 1/day is good, though leeway for weekends, and holidays(of which there are many upcoming) should be acceptable.
Deadliness level: Fairly, but not 'go out your way to kill at least one PC/get a TPK.' After all, we're all players, and it's no fun having your character killed on even a semi-regular basis.
Starting level: While 1st isn't bad, I would say at least 2nd or 3rd, since that's where a lot of class abilities 'come online' that allow for customization. Ie, talents(not Spheres, lol), powers, arcana, discoveries, etc.
Party formation: I think the best way would be stated interest. If too many people *really* wanna play one specific adventure, maybe get a second GM to run another group through. Which can also be a player in group 1. I kinda doubt we're all gonna be interested in playing every single adventure. For example, I'm likely to not want to go on any sort of underwater quest. Just not a fan of them.
I feel like any sort of voting system could lead to hurt feelings, or discontent. I'm not a super sensitive sort, *especially* with what amounts to a group of 'internet strangers' but on the off chance I got passed over several times in a row, I might start thinking I wasn't welcome.
Types of encounters: I'm up for anything and everything. If we chose Diobel as the starting location, we have 'mundane' enemies(ie, fellow humanoids), sea monsters(which is pretty heckin broad), fae, minotaurs, harpies, and I'm sure a heck ton more. And that's just where we might begin.
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Great to get more fun ideas to throw into the blender! This is getting more and more shaped.
I do think that a few people are a little confused about the format I'm shooting for here. There would be a set cast of 4-7 player-GMs. I will take a turn first GMing a very short quest in which my character will sit out for in-character reasons. Then someone else will GM a very short quest that continues the story in some general fashion and their character will sit out while mine hops in. And so on an so forth.
I don't have time to try to answer any of the questions right now but I just wanted to express my interest. I love a good gestalt game and I ran an episodic (TT) campaign for a while where other GMs would tag in for an adventure somewhat regularly and it was awesome. (Ours was a ninja clan and every adventure was a new mission we were sent on by the clan.) We also had a rotating cast of players, which proved to be an amazing way to deal with scheduling conflicts in a TT game.
I'm not familiar with any of the 3pp stuff and wouldn't really feel comfortable running anything if you used them, and my posting rate is usually closer to 6x weekly than 2x daily (many weeks I could do 2x daily for part of the week, but not always, and occasionally its a struggle to get 6x weekly). But, if that posting rate is acceptable and there's no 3pp stuff I'd definitely be in (if chosen)!
Well, if there was ever any question if your idea for this game had merit, 'Caster, I think we can safely say it absolutely does, and there definitely is interest.
Just sayin'.
Bit tight on time (and a little too scatterbrained at that) to get together all my thoughts on the questions, but Khalth just about summed up most of the thoughts I’ve got about them.
I do like the idea of setting it somewhere on the Isle of Kortos, tons of potential for fun there.
Recruitment post is up!