Sins of the Fallen (Pathfinder RPG, Custom World, NC:E possible)

Started by Myrleena, June 26, 2011, 08:42:17 PM

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Myrleena

Sins of the Fallen

"Six months ago the Crusade poured through Last Stand and Windspire, taking dozens of soldiers with them.  Oh, the force was so bright, so powerful.  They were led by Elric Von Kalvert, a knight and king from Cathedral, all the way from the first terrace.  Gods, he blazed like the sun in his silver armor, his golden sword held high.  The host seemed unstoppable as they poured through.  Thounsands of men and women came through each day, for months on end.  Dwarves from Mountainheart, clad in shining mail.  Our brother and sister elves from Osira, clad in the light armor of the seas there and with their slender and deadly pistols.  Humans from Cathedral, Osira, Mountainheart, and Dale...untold legions passed through Windspire.  And with them I saw many of my friends from Last Stand go, choosing to stand behind this legend in the making.  Many of my fellow soldiers left as well, and half of my own company joined the Crusade.  Fool that I was, I nearly went with...but someone had to remain behind.  I feared that the devils would launch an attack while we were weakened, a fear that vanished like a memory as they marched.  Gods...what a beautiful sight it was, watching the host of warriors, magi, and clergy striding forth in a glorious wave, nearly a million strong.  The gods must have been cursing us for fools."

"They strode out into Lylaen and destroyed many of the hosts of devils that we had been unable to dislodge.  They wiped out entire towns of cultists in their holy wrath, and then they advanced on Cindersedge, where the portal to Heaven's Scar remained.  The Crusade re-fortified the town after freeing it, and then they marched through.  My company was deployed to secure the site, and so I heard many of the reports that came back through.  With Sir Elric's leadership they smashed three devil hosts in that wasteland of rocks and spires.  They even won through to the portal to the Barren Wastes, cutting off reinforcements as they mopped up the last of the devils and demons within their reach.  And so the Crusade entered the Barren Wastes...that hellscape of blasted sands and rocky ridges.  Whispers spoke that Elric meant to reach the portal to the Abyss itself, that he meant to challenge the Gods of Darkness to battle, and destroy them and their ambitions once and for all.  That he would stop the Abyss from growing, from eventually consuming us all."

"Our hopes were so high!  But they were in vain.  The first survivors reached my detachment only two months ago.  The group of a dozen magi had escaped with the most powerful of the priesthood and dozens of wounded.  You had to have seen their faces, drawn with shock and fear.  Their story struck fear into us all.  They spoke of how the Crusade was halfway to the portal to the Abyss when they were confronted by a vast devil of Pride.  He was huge and completely inhuman, sneering at the Crusade as he bellowed his challenge to Sir Elric himself.  And Sir Elric succumbed to Pride, striding forward into single combat.  Their voices dropped in awe at the memory of the battle, as Sir Elric nearly felled the great devil, with it bleeding from a dozen wounds.  But the devil struck a mortal blow to their champion, and with a word it snuffed out the great hero's life.  If that had been all, the devil surely would have been vanquished, but no.  With another word, the devil cast a great spell which illuminated the twilight sky of the Barren Wastes.  Sir Elric's armor darkened and he rose to his feet as it mended, his eyes beginning to glow with red light.  He raised his sword, now stained green with the ichor of his foe, and he challenged his own followers to battle."

"That was when the devils struck.  Titanic worms burst from the sands to consume warriors, and legions of devils appeared as if from nowhere.  Had they not been shaken by the death and fell resurrection of Sir Elric, the Crusade could still have won through, but they were shaken.  They shattered under the impact, and they broke and ran.  The sands were stained with blood, and those that could escaped.  The magi were but the first to reach us.  I held the Cindersedge gate, my men wavering with fear, but I could do little else.  I had to hold the gate for those who made it back to us.  The others trickled in over the past two months.  Five thousand is all that passed through while I commanded Cindersedge.  Out of a host of nearly a million, only five thousand escaped.  The flower of a generation, just...gone.  I would that we could get through the gate again, for the survivors speak of hundreds being captured, and I fear what may be done to them.  But I lost Cindersedge, to my eternal shame.  I was driven back to Windspire, until Lady Skyspear herself drove my pursuers away, empowered by Alain herself.  The devils are back in our forests, and we cannot stop them.  Our coffers are drained by the Crusade, and we are undersupplied.  Those who left leave Citadel Windspire at half-strength, and Last Stand has but a quarter of the men it needs.  And the Darkness has consumed a man who might have challenged the Gods of Darkness themselves, and a generation of warriors.  I can but pray that we can hold them back.  That another generation can arise to battle the Darkness once more.  That someone to replace Sir Elric, and send him back to his grave, will rise among our children."

"Until then, I will defend Citadel Windspire with my life.  For my own children live on the other side of the portal.  I pray that my life will be enough."


- Flyndale Farsight
Captain of Citadel Windspire

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This game uses the world of Adena, detailed here.  Adena is a world of my own creation, and is a work in progress.  I won't contradict anything currently written (though I may reword it on occasion...sometimes my explanations are lacking) but it may grow over time.

The party will be heroes gathering in the capital of Jewel, Amethyst (referenced in the link above).  Your exact goals are likely murky, but they essentially come down to keeping the devils from invading Jewel.  Some people might hope to drive them out of Lylaen as well.  That's up to you.  Obviously, there are other motivations, including the vast amounts of wealth that have been liberally scattered through the many battlefields that cover Lylaen.

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Two words of warning about this game.  First, I will not be caring about the power level of opponents.  If they're too potent, you'd best have an escape route.  That's your problem, not mine.  Second, I expect people to be playing the 'good' guys.  No instant conversions into bad guys.  That isn't to say you have to all be holy warriors...you don't.  But you can't be outright evil.  Oh, and a third thing.  This game will be going relatively light on sexual content, if at all.  If it happens, please try to keep it from delaying the continuation of the game.  Nothing sucks more than a couple of people holding up the entire game.  You may also start a secondary thread to finish things, if you're going to take a significant amount of time.

Also, some enemies will try to kill outright.  Some will try to capture, some rape...it will run the gamut of possibilities.  Enemies can be negotiated with in some cases.  Some are ruthless, brutal bastards, though.

Posting Rate:
I will be posting every two to three days, approximately.  This will advance the plot slightly, or give reactions of other characters.  Combat will move more slowly.  I, as GM, will roll initiative for all characters at the start of combat, giving the posting order.  From the time the person before you posts, you have 48 hours to post.  If you do not, your turn will be skipped.

Character Generation Rules

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

8th Level
32 Point Buy
Standard Gold (33,000 gp for 8th), plus one item worth up to 10,000 gp that is a bequest from another important NPC in your background.
Non-Evil Characters.  If you follow a demon, fine, but the demon has to be neutral, or not wanting to destroy everything.  Play nicely.
Races are currently limited.  I'm working on writing up updated halflings, half-elves, half-orcs, and gnomes.  They should be up in the next few days.
Maximum HP on level up. (d6 = 6, d8 = 8, d10 = 10, d12 = 12.)
2 Traits from different categories
Cohorts may be allowed, but they require a full writeup, and have to be played as their own characters. Cohorts are not extensions of your character. 25 PB, normal gold for their level, make them interesting.

Approved Material
Pathfinder Core Rules
Advanced Player's Guide
Ultimate Magic
Ultimate Combat (On release.)
Inner Sea Primer
Bestiary 1
Bestiary 2

Banned Material
Antagonize (Feat, Ultimate Magic)

I reserve the right to nix anything that's significantly outside the accepted power bounds. On the other hand, I may be flexible about bringing new things in that fit the power curve.

Skills

Skills will be important in this game, however, much of that is in the hands of the players.  I will only rarely ask for a skill check.  Those times I do ask will be almost exclusively for Perception or Knowledge checks.  If you want to do something that involves a skill, just make the roll and put it down.  If you think someone is lying, roll a sense motive check.  If you want to jump the pit, roll your acrobatics.  If you don't roll, you either won't notice (bluff or perception for most traps) or you'll likely fail what you attempt.  And remember, while social skills help with opponents, they might have things that they will not give up, no matter how bad things get.  Just like PCs, they can resist such skills if they have sufficient motivation.


Here is a sample character sheet in BBCode, should anyone wish to use it.

[b]Ruleset:[/b] Pathfinder
[b]Player:[/b]

[b]Character Name:[/b]
[b]Alignment:[/b]
Gender:
Height & Weight: x'x" & x lbs.
Hair Color:
Eye Color:
[b]XP:[/b]

[b]Class & Level:[/b]
[b]Race:[/b]
[b]Init:[/b] +xx
[b]Speed:[/b] xx ft.

[b]Str:[/b] 10 (+0) [10] (+0)
[b]Dex:[/b] 10 (+0) [10] (+0)
[b]Con:[/b] 10 (+0) [10] (+0)
[b]Int:[/b] 10 (+0) [10] (+0)
[b]Wis:[/b] 10 (+0) [10] (+0)
[b]Cha:[/b] 10 (+0) [10] (+0)

[b]HP:[/b] x (xdx+x)
[b]AC:[/b] xx (+x Armor, +x Dex)
[b]Touch:[/b]
[b]Flat-Footed:[/b]

[b]Fort Save:[/b] +x (+x Base, +x Con)
[b]Ref Save:[/b]  +x (+x Base, +x Dex)
[b]Will Save:[/b] +x (+x Base, +x Wis)

[b]BA:[/b] +x
[b]CMB:[/b]  (+x BA, +x Str, +x Size)
[b]CMD:[/b]  (10, +x BA, +x Dex, +x Str, +x Dodge, +x Deflection)

[b]Attacks:[/b]
Weapon +x (xdx+x/Critical Range and/or multiplier)

[b]Skills:[/b]

+x [b]Skill[/b] (x Ranks, +x Stat)
+x [b]Class Skill[/b] (x Ranks, +x Stat, +3 Class)

[b]Languages:[/b]


[b]Feats:[/b]


[b]Traits:[/b]


[b]Special Qualities:[/b]

[b]Spells:[/b]


[b]Equipment:[/b]


[b]Description:[/b]


[b]History:[/b]



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I'm currently looking for 4 players for the game (in addition to my Girlfiend, ShamshielDF), and I will be slightly selective about taking players.  Please take the time to read through the history above as well as the one in the world writeup, at the very least.  This world has a peculiar feel to it, and I want to preserve that.

Experience

Characters will level when they reach experience multiples of three.  Thus, a character of 8th level starts with 24 experience.  I will give out experience when PCs reach landmark points, where I believe they've learned something or advanced.

OOC Thread

Genbu83

I'm game and would love to be in one of your's.

I was getting into your Dungeons as you bowed out, though I am very familiar with your character generation.

I'll take a moment to look at character archetypes that'd fit the setting.

I'd be most interested in playing an Inquisitor, likely of Durand. I feel in a way he is a nicer view of the inevitable. Hardship is something that must be endured. However, it tempers a finer soul.

Myrleena

Yeah...the problem with my Dungeons game was that it was effectively a dozen different games in the same setting, and it just overwhelmed me.  An annoying side effect I hadn't expected.

As to character generation, it's a bit different than it was before.  Shouldn't be much different, though.

And one thing to note about the Gods of Light.  Actually, a couple of things.  First, the Gods of Light know that the various sins are necessary for Adena to exist.  The problem is that they didn't intend to create such powerful incarnations of the sins, that hated them enough to destroy the entire world to kill them.  Their mortal servants, on the other hand, are free to interpret things as they will.  This leads to the intolerance and relative ignorance of mortal servants who think the sins need to be destroyed.

Second, all of the gods can be killed.  They aren't omnipotent, but they're very, very powerful beings in their own rights.  The gods, as an example, might be in the range of CR 30-35.  But they can be killed.

Foxfyr

Oooo, the story background has me hook, line, and sinker. I'm thinking an arcane class who has plenty of skill using a bow so he won't rely solely upon his limited magic capabilities.  Expect a character sheet sometime this evening. :-)

Genbu83

That's sort of why I like playing inquisitors. Some times you must do "evil" for the sake of good.

Though Playtesting a gunslinger could be interesting in yor game. I do like the raw power of your dwarves.

I'm still very sold on playing and Inquistor of Durand, but A Dwarven Ranger could work, unless we'll be traveling the terraces, then a magus or cleric might be more useful.

TheGlyphstone

I'll call tentative interest, uncertain on character concept. DMs running homebrewed worlds are always fun to play with, being more involved and dedicated, and you've already built confidence for me in DMing skill with the Damien Nightstrider game (slow as that is progressing).

Would you consider adding Pathfinder: Psionics Unleashed to the approved list?

Altair1983

Id love to throw my hat into this game the setting looks rather intriguing.

Myrleena

Okay, let's see if I can answer questions in (approximate) order, and get to all of them.  Oh, and while I'm thinking about it...as I said, I'm only looking for 4 players.  I'll take players whose characters show that they've read the backgrounds and are trying to fit into the setting (not that it'll be hard).  I talk a lot tougher than I really am up front.  It helps get the point across, I've found.

Now, in order-ish.  First, Loki, that sounds fine by me. (I'm a sucker for arcane-archer type characters...even if I've never played one.)  Damn the hells of being a GM primarily.

If you want to play a gunslinger, Genbu, you're welcome to.  However, I will require you to update to the final version when Ultimate Combat comes out.  And yeah, the races in this world are...a bit scary.  Hopefully it gets across how scary the world is as well.  Damn, that reminds me...I need to work on the other races. *cringes*

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm prejudiced against most of the other core races.  I just don't like most of them thematically.  But I'll get them done.

Also, I won't be allowing Psionics Unleashed for several reasons, Glyph.  First and foremost, I don't own the supplement.  Second, I don't like the power-point system.  It bugs me for some reason.  Silly, I know.  Third, it's a third party product, and those always make me nervous...even though I've heard good reviews of DSP.  And fourth, I'm holding out hope that Paizo will put out their own version of psionics. >.>

I think I got everything...no, wait!  So people are aware, this will be run in The Hunt For Damien Nightstrider subforum of the Big Group Games.  It won't be connected to the other games, but it will be in the forum (because I already have Moderator rights there).  I think that covers everything now.

TheGlyphstone

PsiUnleashed is Paizo's "official" psionics supplement (as in, they've said there will be no in-house book), despite it being contracted out to a third-party publisher, but okay.

Myrleena

Everything I've seen has been fans saying that they aren't going to do psionics.  The only references to psionics by staff members in recent history is James Jacobs, who said that they would take more than minor tweaks.  And he's said that he wants to do both Epic and Psionics, too.  In fact, Here is his recent commentary on the subject, 11 days ago.

Anyway, as I said.  I'm not going to allow it for several reasons.

Altair1983

Ill be bringing in a Human Combat Rogue and ill get my sheet up hopefully around tommorrow.

Foxfyr

Here is my CS thus far.  It's still under construction (obviously), but I'll finish it up once you create the modified abilities for the Half-Elf class.   :-)

I have a background in the works, just a matter of getting my ideas on virtual paper.

Genbu83

Dwaven gunsling from your world sounds really cool. I'd be just fine with updating. Though, I might just play both, an inquisitor with a gunslinger cohort. It has been a while since I've had a cohort...and as I know, you play up monster abilities.

Expect Character Sheets within the day. I'm off to number crunch.

Myrleena

First, your character sheet isn't publicly viewable, Loki.  Just an FYI. >.>

As for other things...I quickly cranked out some stats for the other races.  Yes, they're rough, and they also had things taken from the APG for their additional abilities, but...they're there, and I think they fit.  Ah, that reminds me!

In this world, Gnomes are a minor subrace of dwarves, and Halflings are a subrace of elves.  They split off ages ago, but that's where they originated.

Foxfyr

Quote from: Myrleena on June 27, 2011, 09:14:39 PM
First, your character sheet isn't publicly viewable, Loki.  Just an FYI. >.>

*Facepalms*

It would help if I linked the correct CS, wouldn't it?   :P  It should be fixed now.

Myrleena

Yes, that would, in fact, help.  And looks good thus far.  Though I'm more about character histories and such myself.  But hey, I'm in this for the story.

TheGlyphstone

Quote from: Myrleena on June 27, 2011, 07:57:51 PM
Everything I've seen has been fans saying that they aren't going to do psionics.  The only references to psionics by staff members in recent history is James Jacobs, who said that they would take more than minor tweaks.  And he's said that he wants to do both Epic and Psionics, too.  In fact, Here is his recent commentary on the subject, 11 days ago.

Anyway, as I said.  I'm not going to allow it for several reasons.

I stand corrected.

KaitlynKay

Here's another tentative interest for you.  I'm sticking my toes into Pathfinder one at a time, and this might be a good place to stick the second toe in if you want me. :)

TheGlyphstone


KaitlynKay


TheGlyphstone

I think you mean 'delicious'.


Anyways, I'm considering a Summoner of some sort - concept PMed for detailed exploration.

Myrleena

Sorry, was cooking dinner when the posting/PM spree started.  Quick answers:

KaitlynKay, you're more than welcome to poke your head in!  I try to be friendly about new players, though if my posts are sometimes somewhat terse, don't take it personally...I just have a hard time figuring out how to end them

For everyone, we currently have another player who is going to be in, who has given me his character history.  The history is good enough that, so long as he builds his character, he will be getting into the game.  If all those currently interested do well, I'll allow everyone in.

Damn it, I suck at turning people away. >.>  Especially when the characters are just awesome.

KaitlynKay

Myrleena, do you mind if my character takes the place of Genbu's cohort?  It would really help me with learning (since he is the catalyst to me finding pathfinder and is helping me along).

Myrleena

Hrrm...if you want to, that's fine.  Or if you want to go with a lower level character, that's also fine.  Just realize, while my bark is worse than my bite (usually), I'm a rather brutally fair Game Master.  Being lower level could be very detrimental to your character's health.

KaitlynKay

Umm .  I have a bad habit of dieing :P  Lol, I think I'll go ahead and be his cohort.  It gives be the ability to play under his limited shelter since  . i hope . . he won't let his cohort out right die- and I will get a bit more experience under my belt.