Looking for a GM for Pathfinder.

Started by Blinkin, July 25, 2013, 03:35:46 PM

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Blinkin

I love the Pathfinder system, but I freely admit that I don’t have the experience in it to even think about running a game, so I’m looking for someone who would be willing to take a broad, general and fairly bare bones concept that I have and run with it… I would love a long term game that stands the test of time and player dedication to the story, but one step at a time, right?

The concept is one that deals with slavery and the cause of battling it on a small scale in hopes that the small victories and losses may change the path of a world.

Viscount Bremmin has called a group of adventurers together with the promise of well pay and a cause that is dear to their hearts. Standing before the roaring fire, his hand filled with a tumbler of brandy, he addresses the gathered party, “Thank you for coming to my call. Each of your reputations has preceded you and that reputation is why you are here.” He turns back to the fire, his forearm resting on the mantle as he gazes into the fire for several seconds. “I will not beat around the bush. I’m willing to pay each of you who take my offer a substantial amount, provide support and backing for your movement if you will do one task for me.”

He lifts his eyes and looks from one set of eyes to the next, “Find and free my daughter from the slavers who have abducted her… whatever it requires, however it must be done. Help me and I will insure that your own fight against slavery continues for the rest of my life.”

In my mind, I see the party as either already established, or a recently gathered group who, for whatever personal reason, are waging a personal war against slavers and slavery in general; focusing on the slavers themselves rather than just anyone who happens to own a slave, and willing to at least discuss the potential boon that is being offered.

The trail of the daughter should be somewhat long and involved as simply going out and tracking her down doesn’t have much drama or opportunity for adventure; a means to an end of a greater story.

Everything is, of course, up to the potential GM who might take the story on, but my own personal preferences are:

   A 25-30 point buy, or 4D6 (reroll 1’s) and drop lowest.
   Starting level 5-8
   No gun-slingers or summoners
   Sticking to the standard races (Humans, elves, dwarves, half-elves, half-orcs, gnomes, Halflings, etc)   
   Alignments be in the Good or Neutral range (IE, No evil)
   I get into the game… lol
   Any potential player be in it for the long haul; I really want to see a game that last for more than 6 weeks for a change.

Again, these things are all up to the GM who ultimately accepts the challenge… if one will… and what he or she decides to do with the storyline.

I think that there’s a lot of opportunity for drama, character development and even more than a little smut. ;)
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
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Ixy

Blinkin-- I'd love to see this come about, but I'm kind of a lousy GM.  I could help out with NPCs and would like to play a character or two, but I don't think I'll by much more help than that.  I hope this happens anyway :)
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Blinkin

Hi Ixy,

I could handle the storytelling side of the story, it's mainly the mechanics that I'm way, way, way way way over my head in and I am more than aware that if I try to run the game that I can't play in it. That just doesn't work very well in the long run... and I really want to play! lol

I don't think that gathering enough players will be a significant problem; it seems that it's more often an over-abundance of players that's the issue... it's the shortage of GM's that keeps slapping me in the face. lol

In the end, I've GMed AD&D in the past, even ran GURPS once, but Pathfinder is just not a system that I've had enough in depth experience with to even think about running... My total experience has been On E, and none of the games has ever made it beyong the 6 to 8 week mark. When I join a game, I'm in it until the end, and I think that my track record speaks pretty well to that... hopefully when (Not if) a GM accepts, there will be enough interest to find the 4 to 5 players that most like.
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

Countdown0

I would be willing to GM your campaign.

Pathfinder isn't my "alma mater" as far as role playing, but it is based off of the D&D 3.5 system, with IS the foundation of my role playing background.

I would probably have a few changes to the starting character set-up, but nothing too drastic or game changing.
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Muse

  I would love to play if that's okay, or at least have a chance to apply. 

  *Sighes*  Summoner hate is contagious. :P  What bugs everyone so much about them?  *Sweat drop*
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

Countdown0

Quote from: Muse on July 26, 2013, 01:45:12 AM
  I would love to play if that's okay, or at least have a chance to apply. 

  *Sighes*  Summoner hate is contagious. :P  What bugs everyone so much about them?  *Sweat drop*

Game-breaking power?

Actually, if Blinkin let's me GM the game I will probably only allow core classes to keep things simple.
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Blinkin

#6
Quote from: Countdown0 on July 25, 2013, 11:29:40 PM
I would be willing to GM your campaign.

Pathfinder isn't my "alma mater" as far as role playing, but it is based off of the D&D 3.5 system, with IS the foundation of my role playing background.

I would probably have a few changes to the starting character set-up, but nothing too drastic or game changing.

As I understand it, there isn't a lot of difference between Pathfinder and D&D3.5, except for the amount of source material, they are essencially the same... As I understand it.

If you're willing to run the game, then you're hired! lol

The only stipulation that I require to go unchanged in my preferences is that I get to play in the thing. ;) Everything else is open to change to whatever you feel would fit your style and conception of the scenario requires. I don't have any conditions on how the game goes and the scenario presented is certainly not where the game has to go. I just thought that it was a fair place to begin with an idea

Thanks for taking up the challenge... Now, how to turn the subject line into an interest thread... I've never been able to do that...
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

Blinkin

#7
Ah, Mr. Muse. I knew that you might appear here. ;)

I'm leaving group selection and conditions up to the GM. What he will allow is in his court. My own personal opinion on summoners is that they are game killers more often than not because they have an unbalancing effect. Then, it seems that the only people who want to be around them are the people who play them... all of the time. ;) It's a bit hard on party cohesion the times that I've seen a summoner, so that's my objection to them. As for gun-slingers, I'm a traditionalist and portable guns were not a part of the fantasy relm (much less the historic one) until near the rennessaunce period. A relatively late addition and just doesn't belong in the setting...  Whenever I see one, I swear they are more like old-west characters than mid-evial ones. But, just my opinion.

Since character classes have been brought up, I'm very likely to play a ranger in this. Will there be a problem with the animal companion? If it doesn't fit your concept of the scenario, it's cool, but I have yet to get to use one and it's almost THE thing that draws players to the class. I promise no big lizards or insects. ;)
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

steelsmiter

I'd be interested in playing if the GM is OK with an APG Savage Barbarian, and it's me.
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Muse

*smiles* 

I'll pitch a concept as soon as I hear back on what is meant by 'core'.  (Core book only?  Or just the stuff published by Paizo?)  It would also be nice to know about the pantheon you'd like to use for this world, as I may well pitch a cleric. 
A link for all of us who ever had a shouting match with our muse: http://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_gilbert_on_genius.html

How to set this Muse ablaze (O/Os)

When the little angel won't appear no matter how many plum blossoms you swirl:  https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=135346.msg16474321#msg16474321 (Major update 5/10/2023)

steelsmiter

Well in the APG, Ultimate Magic, and Ultimate Combat, additional 20 level classes are referred to as Base Classes. so... yeah there's that possibility.
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Blinkin

Anyone know if a Ranger's favored enemy can be a class? Such as "Humanoid (slavers)"?

Just curious... I seem to recall seeing someone who played one with a favored enemy of Humanoid; Evil once... so I was curious.
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

steelsmiter

Well, I am of the opinion that if you could pick a race (there's what like 7 subcategories) a single alignment (of which there are 9 subcategories) isn't unreasonable, Slavery is typically both illegal and amoral so you've got Chaotic Evil specifically right there.  If you're against institutionalized slavery you could specify lawful evil. But then again some GMs may think all humanoids restricted to one alignment is too restrictive and give you all three evils.The drawback is that you can't restrict it by profession. Evil is Evil, etc.

Can't say there's anything against picking a given social class, or a given character class for that matter. If you hated fighters, you could hate an ogre fighter. The same way if you hated ogres, the fact that the ogre has fighter levels would be a restriction on your hate.

but there is a considerable amount of unbalance for social classes. For example, nobles hate commoners, and commoners hate nobles. It's a lot more likely for a commoner to be a Ranger than a Noble. Social constructs aside, this is in a way, more balanced. If nobles got a damage bonus against commoners... that's a lot larger a category than the other way around.

That doesn't mean the answer is no.
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BraveEarth

No can't be a class, There is no Slaver class regardless

steelsmiter

Slaver is a member of the merchant social class to which the original question referred. That's little c class not big C Class.
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Ixy

I come from the school of gaming that says that, if the GM decides it's not unfair, game-breaking, etc, then it's fine in the game.  That's why they're called the Game Master, or the Dungeon Master, or the Storyteller, or what not-- they're in charge of giving everyone an interesting game.  I don't see how it would be unbalancing except that we know that slavers will be frequent enemies in this game.  Maybe it applies only to those who run the operation-- not the petty thugs that protect the camp-- just those who do the actual handling or abuse of the innocent people.
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steelsmiter

Quote from: Ixy on July 26, 2013, 07:11:10 PM
Maybe it applies only to those who run the operation-- not the petty thugs that protect the camp-- just those who do the actual handling or abuse of the innocent people.
As well it should, but honestly I can't imagine a "game breaking" favored enemy, the bonuses seem to me rather too small for such worries.
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Ixy

Quote from: steelsmiter on July 26, 2013, 07:17:36 PM
As well it should, but honestly I can't imagine a "game breaking" favored enemy, the bonuses seem to me rather too small for such worries.

I agree. 
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Blinkin

Perhaps I should of said a profession rather than a class (little C). Slaver being said profession, like soldier, bodyguard, buglar or tax collector... as examples.

Simply going with too broad of a group, such as "evil" gives too wide of a base to abuse and while the benefits of favored enemy are relatively minor early on, Rangers traditionally went for the favored enemy before anything else, and I'm not entirely sure that it would be much different than a Paladin's rooting out any evil. Alignment really doesn't help narrow it.

On the other hand, racially speaking, "Orcs" is fairly broad, but it's not as spanning as others might be... there is a "Human" option, so that logic goes out the window. lol

I think in the end, unless the GM goes for a profession as a favored enemy, it's be traditonal racial picks. I won't be upset as it's not a big deal, but the option would fit nicely into the background that I was thinking about.
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

steelsmiter

I don't know. If it were me, I don't think requiring a specific evil is too broad, though it is true that certain professions reflect certain alignments more. Unfortunately if you go for alignments you couldn't hate a Neutral slaver. likewise if you assume that most sex workers are chaotic good, it would make more sense to hate prostitutes or madams (who do something that makes people feel good but is illegal) because you could hate a neutral good prostitute then as well. Just an example I'm not saying all sex workers are CG, but that using profession as a guideline certainly adds characterization. You might not hate orcs or, humans in particular but certainly those of this profession.

That does beg an interesting question though, What about retired slavers? If your hatred of them is either present or lacking based on something besides having ranks in that particular profession, you don't really hate all slavers, but that leaves the whole issue of reformed vs. "once a slaver, always a slaver". That's at the very least an added complication onto the issue of using profession.
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Countdown0

When I say core classes, I guess that can easily be interpreted in many ways. Yes, classes from the Corerule Book only would be my preference. That said, if you pitch me a character concept that I think will fit amazingly well, I can be convinced to let you play something else.

I will be standing by the "no gunslingers, no summoners" ruling though. There might be very basic gunpowder weapons in the campaign though, but they will be extremely rare, and most people will not be trained to use them. And no, there wont be any old-west style people with the guns.

There's a lot of information for me to provide, so I'll fill everyone in as best I can.

@Blinkin,  you can choose to use your "Hunter's Bond" class feature to either provide yourself with an animal companion, or you can use "Hunter's Bond" as sort of an area of effect buff to your allies, allowing them to share your favored enemy bonus (half value) against a single target of the appropriate type. You can only choose one of these though: buff your allies or animal companion.

Also, your favorite enemy can't be "Humanoid: Slavers". You can't really choose "Humanoid: Evil" either.The problem is that a Ranger get's their bonuses over their favored enemy (enemies) because they know their behavior and study them. Its not drawn purely from hating them.

For an example, an Evil Barbarian (human) and an Evil Monk (Human) will both behave differently in how they fight. Just being Evil doesn't necessarily mean they behave the same or share the same weaknesses. However, because they are both human, "Humanoid: Human" as your favored enemy would mean you know the weaknesses of the human body and human mind, and could exploit them as such.

You can choose favored enemy "Outsider: Evil", because evil outsiders like, demons and devils, generally share the same weaknesses: they are arrogant, cruel, paranoid, prideful. And having studied their weaknesses, you would know where the 'weak spots' are on their body and how their "societies" work, making it easier for you to scared them or lie to them.

The point is, not all slavers are the same species, or fight the same way. They don't all think and act the same way, so you couldn't study to be better at killing all slavers. Some will use magic. Some will use brute force. Some will use deception. Some will use blackmail.

@steelsmiter, I have no problem with you playing as a Savage Barbarian. However, because they are described as having "little training in modern arms", I'll rule that your character will not have proficiency in any Martial Weapons that racial feats don't give them. You are still proficient all Simple Weapons though.

@Muse, it will be good to have a cleric. Too often, nobody wants to play the cleric >.< For a pantheon and picking a deity and such, I'll ask that you use this resource ==> http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Portal:Religion
Just scroll down to the "Find a Deity" section and pick whoever you feel fits your character best. I'll be using canon source material for things like that so everyone knows what they are dealing with. That said, if you prefer, you can create your own deity and religion, as long as you clear the tenants and beliefs of that deity and the religion with me first.

Also, just throwing this out there. steelsmiter, prostitution is NOT illegal in my in game world. Not in most places, anyway. You wont find any sex workers hanging around Magrim's temples, but they will be around.

Anyway, if anyone has any questions about how I plan on running the game and what is allowed, fire away :D
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Blinkin

#21
Well.. first, let me say that the comment that I'm about to quote is simply a quote and does not reflect my views on race.

"The only good jap is a dead Jap..."

I tend to view the original intention of the favored enemy in those terms; from way back in the 1st edition AD&D days. The whole reason for it was that the ranger had something that he hated, or was so devoted to killing, that it didn't matter the circomstances, it had to die. This does, of course, forget the whole argument about age or profession. Is a goblin child immune from the wrath of a ranger? An old knoll sitting against a tree in the woods? The social issues are mainly ignored because it removes an over-complication of morality. All drow are evil, all goblins are savage and all orcs are bad. It's not that simple, of course, but that's part of the beauty of role-playing.

In any profession, there are good, bad and ugly... or at least less attractive members. Are all prostitutes drug abusers? Are all brick masons diligent in their work? All dwarves greedy? In the same breath, dwarves are a racial option for favored enemy, which means that the Ranger must think so, or he wouldn't want to kill them so bady that he has a knack for it.
Ok, the points on slavers makes sense. It was just a random thought anyway and I'll decide on favored enemy and terrain in the old fashioned way. :)

Th I wanted to go with an animal companion as the Nature Bond because, to be honest, I've never been able to and having the opportunity appeals to me. I guess that we'll have to work out who has control of it and how much.

The only questions that I have are how to generate ability scores and level. I would assume that starting wealth is standard for said level?

Oh, and will you allow prestige classes? Not sure if I'll bother, but it's worth thinking about if you are.
"I am a Southern Gentleman, which means that I'm a rogue and a scoundrel. When I'm not kissin' the hands of married women, I'm slipping off their wedding rings."
My Ons' & offs'
Absenses & Apologies (Updated 3/02/23)
Blinkins' Thinkin's (Story Ideas)
Yes, I really am blind.
Being Literate is the ability to read and understand a language. When you ask for literate, what you are looking for is Verbosity, which is the ability to use lots of words without actually saying very much... like politicians. I consider myself both literate and verbose.

Countdown0

Dwarves are a racial option, but remember that all dwarves are dwarves. Their hearts are in the same place. Their lungs. They have the same natural strengths and weaknesses. Think of it like being a fisherman. You are good at catching fish. Will you possibly have a favorite kind that you like to go after and tailor your methods to improve your odds of catching them? Of course, but you are still a fisherman.

To another point, just hating something doesn't mean you are good at fighting against it. Remember that the Ranger also receives skill bonuses when using skills (including knowledge) against favored enemies. Skills are not born of emotion, but of study and training. The Rangers favored enemy is a reflection of his/her greater knowledge about how to combat them.

My mother hates snakes, but she knows nothing about them. She's hated them her whole life, but she would have no knowledge of how to most effectively kill one. For this reason, I'm going with favored enemies as a Ranger's skill at fighting something s/he is very good at fighting, not something s/he hates.
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steelsmiter

Quote from: Countdown0 on July 26, 2013, 08:46:30 PM
@steelsmiter, I have no problem with you playing as a Savage Barbarian. However, because they are described as having "little training in modern arms", I'll rule that your character will not have proficiency in any Martial Weapons that racial feats don't give them. You are still proficient all Simple Weapons though.
Since that concept was not core to the original archetype I'll have to pass. Gimping a class for no reason other than flavor text when the original writers wrote it a specific way is stupid. Sorry if that's offensive.
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Not offensive. I just personally think that free armor and a bonus against fear is much stronger than a bonus against traps, so the Barbarian would have to give up something more, especially since the effectiveness and challenge of traps against player characters falls off greatly not long after level 7, when the Savage Barbarian would also gain natural AC.

I'd be willing to negotiate some specific martial weapons with you if you really have your heart set on the Savage Barbarian with a greataxe or halberd or scythe or some other martial weapon, but I'm not going to just give a class a net gain in overall power, especially when Barbarians are already so powerful in Pathfinder with their rage powers, as well as their ability to absorb copious amounts of damage and smash just about anything that get's within 5 feet.
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