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For those of you who participated in my interest thread: I’ve decided to run Age of Worms, converted to the Pathfinder 1e ruleset and set in Golarion.
For the uninitiated, Age of Worms is one of Paizo’s original Adventure Paths, published in Dungeon Magazine back before Pathfinder existed. It’s an epic campaign: the PCs start as level 1 nobodies in a forgotten mining town and (if you see it through) can end as level 20 legends. If long campaigns aren’t for you, neither is this thread—no hard feelings.
Posting Expectations
Because this is a long campaign, I’m looking for players who can post at least 5 times per week. I’m most active on weekdays, and that’s when the majority of my posting will happen. Life happens—if something comes up, just let me know.
Player’s Guide
There was no official Player’s Guide for this AP, so I put one together to support character creation and ground everyone in the starting town of Diamond Lake.
You can find it here:
Age of Worms (Golarion) Player’s Guide
Character Creation
Ability Scores: 25-point buy; no stat above 18 or below 8 before racial modifiers
Race: Core + Aasimar, Tiefling, Dhampir. If you want something else, ask—if it’s 15 RP or less and umanoid in appearance, I may allow it. (I’m not a fan of very odd-looking PCs.)
Class: Any Paizo class except those with an evil requirement (e.g. anti-paladin), vigilante, or gunslinger (except bolt ace; there are no firearms). Summoner must be unchained.
Skills: Background Skills in use
Feats: No Leadership. Crafting is allowed.
Traits: Two traits
Alignment: No evil
Gear: Average starting gold
ABSOLUTELY NO 3PP. Using 3rd-party material will automatically disqualify your submission.
Notes on Submissions
I’m looking for roleplayers, not roll-players. Please include a character background and—most importantly—tell me how you ended up in Diamond Lake and why you want out (or what you want badly enough to stay).
I’ll be looking at your posts in other campaigns (Gameplay and Discussion) to get a feel for your posting style and reliability. If you’re new to PbP, don’t worry, I will not be using posting history as a deciding factor.
Recruitment closes: Saturday, March 21, 2026 at 11:59 PM (East Coast / New York time).
Let me know if you have any questions!
Is there any sort of personality types you gravitate toward or don't feel are appropriate for the campaign? Do you prefer 'Grob the fighter who likes to fight' or do you appreciate characters with more nuance?
I'm thinking of a periodically spooky, not 100% rational, dual-cursed (Haunted & Clouded Vision) Life Oracle. She's the 'weird girl' in town who is tolerated because of her healing skills and is largely considered harmless but just a 'bit off'.
Dot. Let me read the Player’s Guide and mull some concepts.
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Making a dwarven miner without a doubt :) I’m thinking a ranger or slayer of some kind. Who of course uses a heavy pick.
Would it be alright to be a relative of Rangolin Dourstone?
Also feel free to click on my profile. It has all of my completed campaigns, as well as the ones that ended with TPKs or character deaths. You can see what kind of player I am from it.
I'm working on an aasimar Eldritch Scion/Staff Magus. He plays a lot like a bloodrager (and might even dip a level of bloodrager). I'm picturing him coming to Diamond Lake to be Allustan's apprentice, but their relationship is frosty because they have such different magical styles.
I already said dwarven doomsayer druid :)
https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/?id=3064421
I just need to remove leyweaver - it is 3rd party - it was originally for carrion crown, so fitting to undead campaign...but he can turn into a healer by just changing first level feat and traits...
Originally, he was reincarnated/menhir savant, but that was houserule because I was given permission to waive second level feature of Reincarnated to make the archetypes compatible :)
And leyweaver was the only one of the remaining ones to remove wild shape.
I'll finish the character to specs by the end of the weekend
Working on a Tiefling Rogue. I have the basics in place,
I just need to find their personality and read through your very helpful guide to fit them into Diamond lake.
So, dwarf, dwarf, dwarven tiefling and dwarven tiefling? :D
The perfect group! :D
All right, here is my submission.
I went for a healer oracle of life. His Promethean curse pairs well with his Life Link revelation, because it seems like he's giving up his body to help others. I made him the adoptive son of Manlin Osgood, I hope that doesn't clash with some secret the NPC has.
STR 14, DEX 10, CON 14, INT 10, WIS 12, CHA 19
Male Human
Medium Size
NG Life Oracle 1 (Promethean curse)
BaB +0
Init +4; Senses: Perception +6, Sense Motive +0
CMB +2 (0BaB +2strength)
CMD 12 (0BaB +2strength)
Favored Class Oracle
FC bonus: +1 HP
Defense
AC 17, touch 10 flat-footed 17 (+5 Armor +2 Shield)
HP 11 (8 + 2 (1*2Con) +1 (1 FC))
Fort +2 (+0 base +2 Con)
Ref +0 (+0 base)
Will +3 (+2 base +1 Wis)
Offense
Speed 30 ft
Melee Morningstar +2 (1d8+2/20x2 P & B)
Ranged Light crossbow +0 (1d8/19-20x2 P)
Space 5 ft, Reach 5 ft
Divine magic
Mystery: Life
CL 1
Concentration (CL + Cha): +5
DC: 14+spell level
Level (slots): Known
Cantrips (-): Create Water, Detect Magic, Guidance, Light
1 (4): Bless, Shield of Faith + Cure Light Wounds
Revelations
Life Link
Promethean Curse
Your body is falling apart, forcing you to rely on mechanical augmentations or replacements to keep yourself alive.
You take 1 point of Constitution damage each day, but you also ignore the first point of Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution damage you take for the remainder of that day.
Traits:
Seeker
Armor Expert
Feats:
Lvl 1 - Heavy Armor Proficiency
Human - Improved Initiative
Skills:
ACP -3
Diplomacy +8 (1 Ranks +4 Cha +3 CS)
Heal +5 (1 Ranks +1 Wis +3 CS)
Knowledge (religion) +4 (1 Ranks +3 CS)
Perception +6 (1 Ranks +1 Wis +3 CS +1 trait)
Spellcraft +4 (1 Ranks +3 CS)
Background skills:
Craft (armor) +4 (1 Ranks +3 CS)
Handle Animal +8 (1 Ranks +4 Cha +3 CS)
Languages: Common
Equipment:
Wealth: 7gp 4sp
Common items
Scale mail, Morningstar, Heavy Steel Shield, Light crossbow (10 bolts)
Dagger, Backpack, Bedroll, Winter blanket, Belt pouch, Trail rations x10, Hemp rope, Sewing needle, Soap, Waterskin, Spell component pouch
Fjort doesn't know who his birth parents are. All he knows is that when his adoptive father Manlin Osgood took him in, the word Fjort was sewed onto the blanked he was wrapped in. Assuming that was his name, the armorsmith took care and raised young Fjort as his own. Life was hard, being the son of a busy smith. Fjort had to learn to live life alongside metal, and he also apprenticed at his father's side. He took his father's name with pride.
Fjort's young years were happy, as far as they could be. He had a home and learned the truth about honesty. He didn't really see Diamond Lake's troubles, as children usually don't. He found that he liked caring for others, offering solace and cheerfulness. Apprenticing as an armorsmith made him learn how to treat wounds, and soon he started to treat others' wounds, especially miners.
In his adolescent years, however, it seemed that his attitude contrasted with Diamond Lake's general mood so much, that it caught the attention of powerful supernatural forces. His body started to decay. At the same time, he manifested healing powers. It was like he could transfer others' ailments to himself, and his body suffered for it. It came to the point where he started to lose a finger, a toe, or his chest started to show crevices. He would always recover in a day, but the next day something else came up.
Fjort tried to hide this from his father as best he could, but lacking a finger is hard to explain to a smith. In the middle of being scolded for being careless with the tools, the boy's knee started to bleed abruptly, which made him finally tell his father what was up. Osgood tried taking him to Abadar's and Pharasma's temple, but they couldn't explain what was happening. It was like the boy's life was deteriorating jointly with Diamond Lake.
Fjort spends his days torn. On the one hand, he doesn't want to leave his father and the miners who need him in town. On the other, he's had it with this town brewing problems to itself, and incapable of growing out of its own corruption. He wants to leave, but can't just bring himself to do it.
You don't mention archetypes. Would you prefer just the basic classes or are archetypes allowed?
Also, I have conversions to Pathfinder for all of the books, from when I ran this a few years ago.... if you're interested.
There are also no campaign traits since this is port from 3.5?
Grumbaki here, with a Dwarven miner. Mostly settled on a slayer (feels like a miner, and gets trap finding!) but that is subject to change.
What's most important is the background below. I'd like to make sure that it is a good campaign fit.
Ragnar Dourstone, son of Rungni. Nephew of Rangnolin. This is an identity which the miner has been trying to escape his entire life. His father, and his uncle, have never seen eye to eye. The two old dwarves are far too alike in temperament and ambitions to have ever truly gotten along, and even as adults have maintained a rivalry which goes beyond that normal for siblings. Each success of the other is tallied up in their eternal quest to outdo the other.
For Ragnar, his life under his father has been one of constant expectation. Expectations that he has time and time again failed to live up to. It was expected that he *make something* of himself, far beyond that of a the common man. Preferably this was to be as something honorable, such as a merchant, a scholar, or an artisan. And yet, what drew Ragnar was the call of the mines. What he enjoyed was the feeling of being underground, of swinging his pick, of hunting out veins of ore and exploiting them. His father tried to steer him away, even paid to have him apprenticed to a master craftsman. It was a task that Ragnar took well to, but even then he infuriated his father by finishing his apprenticeship by making an adamantine mining pick. A tool that would be the envy of any miner, but which symbolized a damning lack of ambition in his father's eyes.
When Ragnar finally came of age, he rebelled by leaving home to pursue his passion. And this took him from Janderhoff, to Diamond Lake. Far enough away from home that he thought that he would not be haunted by his clansmen shaking their heads at him, and away from the politics of the mining clans. He thought that there he could strike out on his own, in a growing mining town where he could live by his skill and work alone.
It was a cruel joke of the gods that he found that it was also the home of Rangnolin Dourstone. The most prominent dwarf within the town. Ragnar shares the name as the wealthy dwarf, but little else. He knows that if he went to Rangnolin with a problem, that his uncle may very well help. But not to help him, but to lord it over his brother back in Janderhoff. Ass such, Ragnar has done all he can to maintain a respectful distance from his kinsman. What he desires, more than anything else, is to prove himself. To show that he is a dwarf who is worthy based on his own deeds, and from following his own path. And yet, he is deeply aware that he carries with him his Clan name. And that what he accomplishes, or fails at, reflects on his family. It is a burden to carry as great as any lode mined.
Already he has made something of a name for himself as being adventurous in his profession. He pushes further, and deeper, than most miners are willing to go. And in doing so, he has become quite adept at dealing with many of the dangers found in the deepest tunnels, especially the walking dead, but also aberrations. While most miners would avoid pursuing veins when such dangers are present, Ragnar forges ahead, confident in the belief that fortune favors the bold.
Q and A time
Is there any sort of personality types you gravitate toward or don’t feel are appropriate for the campaign? Do you prefer ‘Grob the fighter who likes to fight’ or do you appreciate characters with more nuance?
I don’t have a preference as long as they are characters that have some depth to them. With your example as given I would say I would lean more toward the nuanced character because there seems to be a character there and Grob feels more like a stat block. That said if you wrote a backstory to Grob that says why he likes to fight and make him interesting I would probably gravitate that way. From my experience, when characters tend to lean more toward statblocks and less toward being a fleshed out character the player tends to be less engaged. This can be ok in an in person setting as things tend to flow quickly. In PbP those players tend to just vanish and then we’re stuck finding replacements or the game dies.
Would it be alright to be a relative of Rangolin Dourstone?
That’s fine but not a direct relation (i.e. not a sibling, spouse, or child). Cousin, Niece, Nephew, etc would work fine.
I made him the adoptive son of Manlin Osgood, I hope that doesn’t clash with some secret the NPC has
That’s fine
Would you prefer just the basic classes or are archetypes allowed?
Also I have conversions to Pathfinder…
Archetypes are fine as long as they are Paizo archetypes. Also, thank you for the offer but I already have this as well.
There are also no campaign traits since this is a port from 3.5?
That is correct. I looked at several that people have come up with and I just didn’t like any of them so instead I just decided to allow people to pick up an extra trait of their choice.
Submissions So Far (I have not looked at them yet)
Fjort - Human Life Oracle
Ragnar Dourstone - Dwarf Slayer
Greetings, DM Slayde. I'd like to submit for your generous Age of Worms campaign Iomedaean Knight Cado Anghel, an aasimar paladin of Iomedae.
He was born in Diamond Lake, becoming a very minor celebrity in town, who left to train under paladins in Moltrune.
A literal 'left town and made Good' story.
You mentioned Dragonchess in the Guide. Assuming we can jump into a game at Lazare's (or elsewehere) what's the mechanic behind it? Could I put a skill point or background skill point into it? Is it a straight INT roll? Or something else?
Diamond Lake seems like a rough and tumble sort of place. Think I might go with a Brawler.
@DM Slayde- I do have two questions for a concept I have:
1) Does Allustan Neff ever take on apprentices? (Hence being a mentor for a wizard concept)
2) For a familiar , could a wizard or witch take on a small dog (Small or Tiny) and just use the Fox stats and bonus?
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Reporting in, gonna have to reconsider my original plan for an Undead Sorcerer/Paladin Eldritch Knight (ultimately, obviously they wouldn't start there) because part of it hinged on Wee Jas' acceptance of necromancy and undead (as long as they were created with the deceased's consent) as opposed to Pharasma's zero-tolerance policy.
Time to start brainstorming!
Dotting - thinking on a cool concept.
I've finished writing up my barbarian magus submission: Grulf.
Here is my submission. Just a few more things to tidy up crunch-wise.
Xarafine, an Inquisitor of Sarenrae (immolator archetype).
Haven't written up her backstory yet, but she is a newly-minted agent of the Sarenrite Church, and she has been assigned to the region in and around Diamond Lake.
She poses as a barmaid/serving wench in areas where there are rumors of nefarious (not simply illegal, stuff like slavery, torture, sacrificial rituals and the like) goings-on, and then gathers information from the customers while they are deep in their cups.
DBH here with my Tiefing Rogue Annia Wight.
ANNIA WIGHT
Female Tiefling (Daemon-Spawn) rogue 1 NG medium outsider (native)
Init +4; Senses Darkvision (60 ft.), Perception +4,
Languages Abyssal, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Infernal
AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 13. hp 10 (1HD)
Fort +1, Ref +6, Will +0, +2 trait bonus to Fortitude saves vs. poison and drugs, +4 trait bonus to Fortitude saves to avoid the effects of alcohol
Resistances Cold 5, Electricity 5, Fire 5,
Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
Melee cold iron dagger +4 (1d4+1/19-20)
Ranged cold iron dagger (thrown) +4 (1d4+1/19-20)
Melee silver dagger +4 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged silver dagger (thrown) +4 (1d4/19-20)
Ranged crossbow, light +4 (1d8/19-20)
Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 15
Atk Options Sneak Attack 1d6,
Special Actions
Racial Spell-Like Abilities: death knell ( DC 13, 1/Day)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 13
Special Qualities Fiendish Resistance, Fiendish Sorcery, Finesse Training, Skilled, Spell-Like Ability, Trapfinding,
Feats Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse
Skills
*Acrobatics +7,
Appraise +3,
*Bluff +5,
*Climb +4,
Craft (Paintings) +7,
Diplomacy +1,
*Disable Device +10,
Disguise +1,
*Escape Artist +7,
Intimidate +1,
*Knowledge (Local) +7,
*Perception +4, Perception (Trapfinding) +5,
Profession (Scribe) +4,
Ride +3,
*Sense Motive +4,
*Sleight of Hand +9, *
*Stealth +7,
*Swim +4,
Possessions studded leather armor; thieves' tools; Wrist Sheath [ Cold Iron Dagger; ]; Wrist Sheath [ Silver Dagger; ]; Pouch, Belt [ Glass Cutter; Soap; Sewing Needle; String (50 ft.); Whetstone; ]; Backpack, Common [ Waterproof Bag; Bedroll; Blanket, Winter; Mess Kit; Grooming Kit; ]; Waterproof Bag ; Canteen ; Scrivener's kit; Crossbow, Light ;
Fiendish Resistance Tieflings have cold resistance 5, electricity resistance 5, and fire resistance 5.
Fiendish Sorcery Tiefling sorcerers with the Abyssal or Infernal bloodlines treat their Charisma scores as 2 points higher for the purposes of all sorcerer class abilities.
Finesse Training (Ex) At 1st level, a rogue gains Weapon Finesse as a bonus feat. In addition, starting at 3rd level, she can select any one type of weapon that can be used with Weapon Finesse (such as rapiers or daggers). Once this choice is made, it cannot be changed. Whenever she makes a successful melee attack with the selected weapon, she adds her Dexterity modifier instead of her Strength modifier to the damage roll. If any effect would prevent the rogue from adding her Strength modifier to the damage roll, she does not add her Dexterity modifier. The rogue can select a second weapon at 11th level and a third at 19th level.
Hidden Hand Your concealed weapons strike fast and true. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Sleight of Hand checks made to conceal light weapons and a +1 trait bonus on attack rolls when making an attack with a light weapon during a surprise round.
Iron Liver You gain a +2 trait bonus on Fortitude saves against poison and drugs, and a +4 trait bonus on Fortitude saves to avoid the effects of alcohol.
Resistance to Cold (Ex) You may ignore 5 points of Cold damage each time you take cold damage.
Resistance to Electricity (Ex) You may ignore 5 points of Electricity damage each time you take electricity damage.
Resistance to Fire (Ex) You may ignore 5 points of Fire damage each time you take fire damage.
Skilled Grimspawn have a +2 racial bonus on Disable Device and Sleight of Hand checks.
Sneak Attack (Ex) If you can catch an opponent when he is unable to defend himself effectively from your attack, you can strike a vital spot for extra damage. Your attack deals 1d6 points of extra damage anytime your target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC, or when you flank your target. Should you score a critical hit with a sneak attack, this extra damage is not multiplied. Ranged attacks can count as sneak attacks only if the target is within 30 feet. With a weapon that deals nonlethal damage, you can make a sneak attack that deals nonlethal damage instead of lethal damage. You cannot use a weapon that deals lethal damage to deal nonlethal damage in a sneak attack, not even with the usual -4 penalty. You must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot. You cannot sneak attack while striking a creature with concealment.
Spell-Like Ability Grimspawn gain death knell as a spell-like ability.
Trapfinding (Ex) You add +1 to Perception skill checks made to locate traps and to Disable Device skill checks. You can use the Disable Device skill to disarm magical traps.
Annia drifted into Diamond lake several months ago when Korvosa grew too hot for her.
She is a regular at Jalek’s Flophouse and spends her days making a few coppers writing letters to send home for those who can’t write. She will even do a small drawing of the person paying for the letter to send with it for their family.
At night she spends her time quietly at the Feral dog or the Spinning giant, nursing a drink that she discards when she leaves. This is her main source of income, picking pockets and snapping up unattended valuables when she thinks it safe.
Annia keeps her head down, she never wants to attract Sheriff Cubban’s attention. Getting careless with her pilfering is what made her have to flee Korvosa.
Annia never knew her parents, she grew up on the streets of Magnimar, scrabbling in the gutters to survive. Never a member of any of the city's gangs, she remained a petty thief until she left to wander Varisia looking for wealthier prospects.
A slender woman with a touch of grey to her skin Annia looks apathetically at the world. A life of living on the edges scraping by has made her emotionally distant.
I see her as a survivor who has lived her life just getting by and is apathetic and uninvolved. She's ripe for life to come along and drag her into an adventure which will change everything. :)
Any questions or problems let me know.
Here's Ouachitonian's submission. Hezekh Ironfist, half-orc Brawler (constructed pugilist/wild child) and his augmented wolfdog companion. just a couple of halfbreeds who've been through the ringer and been rebuilt with golem parts, and are ready to take it out on anyone stupid enough to antagonize them.
You mentioned Dragonchess in the Guide. Assuming we can jump into a game at Lazare's (or elsewehere) what's the mechanic behind it? Could I put a skill point or background skill point into it? Is it a straight INT roll? Or something else?
I hadn't thought much about it. Sure you can put a background skill in it. As for how it would be handled, I'd probably do something like this
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@DM Slayde- I do have two questions for a concept I have:
1) Does Allustan Neff ever take on apprentices? (Hence being a mentor for a wizard concept)
2) For a familiar , could a wizard or witch take on a small dog (Small or Tiny) and just use the Fox stats and bonus?
1) Neff will take apprentices
2) I have no problem playing a fox familiar as a dog
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Hated my idea, so going a different route. Human Ghost Rider Cavalier, Order of the Shroud. Haunted but noble. In town after seeing horrors elsewhere. Gonna work on some background and figure out his fighting style and behaviors. As well as where his nobility actually lies.
You mentioned Dragonchess in the Guide. Assuming we can jump into a game at Lazare's (or elsewehere) what's the mechanic behind it? Could I put a skill point or background skill point into it? Is it a straight INT roll? Or something else?
I hadn't thought much about it. Sure you can put a background skill in it. As for how it would be handled, I'd probably do something like this
Thanks! I threw a bg point into Prof: Dragonchess... mostly because I have no idea what it should be classed as. Judging by the piece you linked, I suppose it could be the player's choice of Craft (INT check option), Profession (WIS check option), or Perform (CHA check option). I really like the idea that you can approach the game using any one of three tactics. Anyhow, no need to worry about the particulars at this stage.
Here is Aja for your consideration. Everything is in her profile. Briefly:
Aja - Human Female, dual-cursed Spirit Guide Oracle of Life (with the Channeling revelation)
If you have questions, please let me know.
Started transcribing menhir savant druid, will be mostly done later today.
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Just a note: I am leaving on a short vacation tomorrow morning and returning Monday afternoon. There is a high probability I will not be responding until Tuesday Morning.
Submissions So Far (I still haven’t reviewed any)
Ragnar Dourstone - Dwarf Slayer
Cado Anghel - Aasimar Paladin
Grulf - Aasimar Magus VMC Barbarian
Hezekh Ironfist - Half Orc Brawler (Contructed Pugilist/Wild Child)
Fjort - Human Life Oracle
Aja Endymion - Human Oracle (Dual Cursed, Spirit Guide)
Just a note: I am leaving on a short vacation tomorrow morning and returning Monday afternoon. There is a high probability I will not be responding until Tuesday Morning.
Submissions So Far (I still haven’t reviewed any)
Ragnar Dourstone - Dwarf Slayer
Cado Anghel - Aasimar Paladin
Grulf - Aasimar Magus VMC Barbarian
Hezekh Ironfist - Half Orc Brawler (Contructed Pugilist/Wild Child)Fjort - Human Life Oracle
Aja Endymion - Human Oracle (Dual Cursed, Spirit Guide)
I submitted this character Xarafine, Inquisitor (Immolator Archetype) of Sarenrae as well.
Is there something in her build that was not acceptable, or was it just missed in the crowd?
If something needs to be fixed/removed/changed, please let me know. I am very interested in being considered for this game.