Horror/Survival Pathfinder. Besieged in the Sodden Lands.

[PixelatedPixie]

The premise I have in mind is a Horror/Survival Pathfinder game.  The inspiration would be games such as Diablo and Darkest Dungeon.  It would use the Pathfinder rules (Paizo only, no third party) and rely on such books as Horror Adventures and Book of the Damned.  I am somewhat envisioning High Fantasy characters in a Dark Fantasy-style setting. 

I am not an expert on the Pathfinder setting, but it will be set in Golarion and take place mostly in the Sodden Lands. 

It was hard to call the settlement a village.  A few sagging and battered structures clinging to the back of a pile of rock that had once been a castle.  The swamp stretched out in every direction, the only paths through it winding, shifting, and treacherous.  It was raining, but it always rained.  It was a day worthy of celebration when the sun managed to peak through the constant clouds above.  It was windy, but it was always windy.  A cold howling wind that drove the rain almost horizontal at times. 

It was not a place that any would choose to live, but the few dozen residents had nowhere to go, and no means to get there anyway.  They survived on harvested swamp-wood, plants pulled from the swamp, and fish.  They rarely interacted with the outside world, few cared enough to make the trip.

The characters can have their own reason for being there, or can have been hired by a Rahadoum Noble to hunt down the pirates that captured his daughter, though he seems more concerned about the necklace she was wearing. However the plot will focus more on the characters coming under siege by dark powers, and similar things to that. 

SMUT
It will have a good amount of smut, and will be rated nonconsensual-exotic.  Anyone interested has to be comfortable with that sort of content and its inclusion.  This could involve long periods of captivity/slavery, nonconsensual sex, bondage, pain, and maybe stuff such as body swapping, body modification, and so on.

In general the villains, at least in regards to smut, will be male.  This is due to my own personal ons and offs, and as I am not overly interested in M/M or F/F content, I would prefer the characters are women.  I don't care what the players are.  I won't stop someone from tossing in a male concept if desired, but it is unlikely to be accepted (at least at the current time).

APPLICATION
I will not be doing first come first served, and in general am looking for just a description of the character and not a full sheet.  I haven't decided how many characters I will go with, but I will likely keep things relatively small, I am also undecided on how long I will keep things open (it will depend on the level of interest). 

I don’t have a specific list of races or classes, but the more outlandish the less likely I will accept your character.  I prefer relatively human characters, even if the villains may run the gamut. 

I would like to aim for at least one post from everyone a week, possibly more (my own rate varies, but I should be able to post on weekends at the very least, and often more than that).  If someone doesn’t post for more than two weeks without notice, I reserve the right to kill off or otherwise remove their character (though obviously this will be dealt with case by case).

CREATION
The game will begin at level 5 and may not advance much past that.  I am admittedly undecided.  I am open to most Paizo content, but third party is banned (please don’t ask for an exception).  I reserve the right to reject even Paizo content however if needed. 

25 point buy.  Max HP every level.  10,500 gp for gear (but no more than 3000gp should be spent on any of the following categories: weapons, armour, or other magic items.  And no more than 1500gp on disposable items).  I dislike Mythweavers (and really anything else that I have to open offsite), and if possible would prefer sheets are posted in their completion on Elliquiy.

The background skills rules can be used: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/background-skills/
A character can have 0, 1, or 2 traits, or 3 traits and a drawback. 



Thanks for reading!  Please post if interested.   Also let me know if I missed something!

[Thorne]

I haven't had a chance to mess with the Horror Adventures stuff in much detail ... but you have my attention.

[Ixy]

I'm always interested in horror-themed games with a system in place to keep a roughly scalable balance of challenge.  In horror stories, twisted shit should happen.  I'm not above it or against it, and I can revel in that horror aspect of a story just as much as the next writer-- for what it means to the story and the character.

That said, I find that games promising NC are too often either dead before it happens or focused entirely around extensive rape scenes (and then another tentacle! And another tentacle! And another one! And you come even if you don't want to and your pelvis breaks and shit!  And another Tentacle that is like seven feet long! And then you dieeeeeeeeeee!!!!eleventy!!!1! ok I got what I wanted I quit)

obviously your writing is nothing like that. So as long as this game doesn't attract the kind of crowd that's INTO that, I would be really appreciative if you could consider a character from me.  I just can't stand fluffy-bunny-snuggle crap and all, even if my characters can occasionally be annoyingly cutesie (I really really try not to be one dimensional).

[Chulanowa]

(and then another tentacle! And another tentacle! And another one!).

I'm with Ixy, though, I'd love a horror-fantasy game, especially one drawing from an established setting, and am kinda leering of games that "revolve around" NC content. If you're wanting to run a horror Pathfidner game that dips into NC, instead of just a continual parade of rape in a dungeon, i'm interested 

[Kathyan]

I am so interested in this

[PixelatedPixie]

Ixy
I can't speak to how long any game will last unfortunately.  I am probably fifty-fifty at best for games that are still running or that died (whether due to me, or losing too many players and as a result losing momentum).  The mention of a posting rate was an attempt to counteract that somewhat, but there is no telling if it will work.  I will also admit that I am not always great at bringing in the NC content, often because I scale things wrong either due to my own inexperience or a desire not to be too overwhelming, and the PCs breeze through the encounter (or otherwise outsmart the situation I had planned).

As for non-con content, my intent with any game is to have it intertwined with the plot and, as it is a system game, depend somewhat on the rolls.  The characters will be against harder encounters (at times) than might be expected in a normal game, but insta-defeat makes a system pointless.  That said, I am on this website because I want to explore smutty content.  So I do expect it to come up fairly often. 

The intent isn't to have the characters constantly being fucked by encounter after encounter, but neither is the intent to have a quick scene then return everything to normal.  If a character is defeated and captured by pirates, it is probably going to be a fairly drawn out scene/plot with them being fucked multiple times, enslaved, and so on.  The character would have to escape or be rescued, though I am not opposed to making that easier if things are getting boring for those involved.

I don't know if that addresses your concerns.

Chulanowa
It would depend what you mean by 'dips into.'  I intend for it to happen and to focus on it when it does, but the intent isn't to have every encounter end with the characters being defeated.

[PhantomPistoleer]

I am also interested.

I would like to play as a human wizard.

[Ixy]

Ixy

The intent isn't to have the characters constantly being fucked by encounter after encounter, but neither is the intent to have a quick scene then return everything to normal.  If a character is defeated and captured by pirates, it is probably going to be a fairly drawn out scene/plot with them being fucked multiple times, enslaved, and so on.  The character would have to escape or be rescued, though I am not opposed to making that easier if things are getting boring for those involved.

I don't know if that addresses your concerns.

Perfectly... thank you.

I'll have a concept together very soon for your review.  Should you accept the character into the game, I will be open to any feedback or discussion along the way to be frank about if we're going too deep or not dark enough.

[Re Z L]

[Norsegod1839]

I would like to throw my interest in as well! It looks like a ton of fun!

[Thorne]

Well. That helps... Might be I've got a ranger floating around the folder who might fit in. Or mebbe a druid..

How much of the Horror Handbook were you planning to use? Which bits should I be telling Herolabs /not/ to use?

[PixelatedPixie]

Everyone
Thank you for your interest!  If you are interested please post a paragraph or two on your character.  Class, race, and a bit of background.  It would also be helpful if you posted a bit about what you want out of the game, and your own interests/dislikes.

Thorne
I doubt I will get into the Sanity rules unless someone really wants to.  If any PC ends up with Fear Immunity it will probably be changed to Fear Resistance of some type.  I may use the Corruption rules but they wouldn't be suited to a new character.

In general I would prefer the characters are more traditional Pathfinder/High Fantasy (who are then thrown into the darker fantasy setting), so most of what is in Horror Adventures I would prefer is avoided.  Some of the archetypes could work if you really wanted though.  Likewise a few of the magical items might be fine.

[Thorne]

Everyone
Thank you for your interest!  If you are interested please post a paragraph or two on your character.  Class, race, and a bit of background.  It would also be helpful if you posted a bit about what you want out of the game, and your own interests/dislikes.

Thorne
I doubt I will get into the Sanity rules unless someone really wants to.  If any PC ends up with Fear Immunity it will probably be changed to Fear Resistance of some type.  I may use the Corruption rules but they wouldn't be suited to a new character.

In general I would prefer the characters are more traditional Pathfinder/High Fantasy (who are then thrown into the darker fantasy setting), so most of what is in Horror Adventures I would prefer is avoided.  Some of the archetypes could work if you really wanted though.  Likewise a few of the magical items might be fine.

Excellent; I can work with that. Let me just see what I have in the folder and I'll get a pitch sorted for you. ^^;

[PhantomPistoleer]

WIP

[Chulanowa]

Chulanowa
It would depend what you mean by 'dips into.'  I intend for it to happen and to focus on it when it does, but the intent isn't to have every encounter end with the characters being defeated.

Works for me then; I've been in a game like that, where victory was always upsended one post later, "suddenly there's four more bands of gnolls!" oh boy... 

So long as there's a victory option - inasmuch as you can have a 'victory option" in a horror game at least...

[Ixy]

My rough character concept is of a girl from one of the fallen kingdoms of the sodden lands who, without understanding the motives or reason, was spared from tragedy to become a Blade-Bound Magus, learning from powers she cannot fathom, being led toward some end beyond her comprehension-- a pawn in a game of some beings greater and darker than the mortal world can reveal.

For all she knows, her family may have been important once... they certainly cling to documents, crests of arms, worn-out furnishings and worn-out customs as if these were some remnant proof of their nobility, or their significance in the world.  But the stone and bare-beamed keep she called home was so worn that it sagged with each season, murmuring of its own death, bearing down on her like the weight of a tomb.  Portraits and tales of relations and events of an ancient world perhaps sparked her imagination before she had her first signs of womanhood, filling her with grand notions of knights and armies and fluttering banners under radiant skies, or princes and lords and dances and feasts.  By the canvassing song of frogs on a still night, there in the oak bed with its sagging mattress-- the same mattress upon which generations of her forebears had slept, conceived, been born and had died-- it was easy to stare out at the gray-washed sky, roiling with breaks of star shine and moon glow, and imagine that the kingdom's greatness still beat in her breast, still flowed in her veins, and that some day she would have command, or dignity, and never have to sleep with a switch in her hand against the invading rats. 

None of the relics made complete sense.  There was always an explanation of how Lord Charlets had been a knight for this lord or that, and thus they were entitled... and yes, that crest was from a different family, but its lion represented the Varadin line of Wolcott, and that was the line that had impregnated her great grand-aunt who died mad you know, but was acknowledged heir at one point so they say... and the quilt she mustn't use, only look upon was not just old, but old-old, and was a gift from Lady Magritte to Polister Frieden for his service which made them entitled to carry a sword, but only the men not the girls, and any who looked at them dirty could be challenged to a duel... and that dinged-up frame in the attic was actually an astrolabe or part of one that was once used by royal astronomer Odicus of Wolcott's line... no no, this was before the Varadin line, and no don't touch it.

Not just the relics... None of it made sense.  They lived in a swamp, in a crumbling stone edifice that couldn't keep out snakes or worgs or the... thing... that stole her eldest brother and left only his boots behind covered in blood.  Yet they would not leave.  They worked the gardens out of a prideful humility and swore that they would hold the keep of... someone, the explanations were variable... and her hands still ache to remember the pulling of rotten potatoes from the sodden ground after another blight killed the crop, as it did most years, with some mold or fungus from the encroaching swamps.

Things changed on a holy-day, when they were celebrating the feast by hosting other officious relatives from other crumbling stone boxes in the swampy countryside.  She and her cousins and brothers and sisters had been hunting snakes with pointed sticks and snaring fish with stick-drawn nets, their dresses and breeches rolled all the way to their thighs to try, unsuccessfully, to keep them from the green-speckled water.  She saw it first-- a tower, its neck emerging from the marsh, new to them as they never ventured this far without the bolstering encouragement of arrogant cousins to spur them to such courage.  And of course, being young and immortal, they sought to investigate.

She still remembers it in her nightmares-- the dares, the teasing.  A rotting door intact though the hinges and latch had rusted to clay-like brittleness in the marsh air, the promising that no monsters or bandits would be able to restore it without leaving sign.  The spiral staircase, the flooded floors.  The skeleton within, a few bones still recognizable, the ruined remnants of armor and other iron bits cluttered at its base.  The smell of rot as they all took turns pawing about for treasure in that murk, gradually daring each other to dive deeper and deeper.  The sound her brother made when something in that water caught him and would not let him go, and the moment when she, in pitch blackness, felt his slender body thrashing against whatever it was tugging him down but refusing to relinquish the weight in his hand-- a hunk of some strange metal like black glass, taller than any of them, oblong and covered in grass.  She and her cousins could not haul him free until he no longer struggled.  The burning of her lungs when she could hold her breath no longer and swallowed water.  The thing in his hands, the treasure that cost his life, so heavy and unwieldy and dangling from his death-gripping fingers.

The fever that followed killed much of her family.  They blamed a curse, they blamed the stagnant water for bearing poison.  She remembers the weight slipping from his hands to wait in that murk for someone to return. She remembers the fever-dreams, she remembers hearing it speak to her.  It was weeks before she could move about again, but when she did, she and that sad, now-fractured family, they finally had vowed to leave the old keep.  So before she had the strength to help them pack properly for the move, she had to return--- semi-conscious, still fighting the dehydration and weakness of muscle from that illness, and she brought forth from the cold gray stone cylinder the long shaft of metal, and she kept it secret, even as they moved inland.  And when the storms bore down and they could not travel, she swore that it spoke to her, and so she kept it...

Strange, the memories, staggering out into the swamps, with nothing to guide her.  Her fever had broken, but barely.  No food in her belly, no fresh water, she had no sense of what neighbors to seek, what sanctuary could be found.  She trudged across the swamps without bothering to salvage the inconsequential relics of her supposed forebears, or to bury the physical remains of the family she had known.  Still half-conscious, she thought that hunk of rust, veined with glossy black and riddled with inscrutable shapes like words or symbols, was perhaps guiding her.  For all she knew, it was the cause of the plague... yet this leap of reason was beyond her fevered mind, so she trudged on, listening only to the voice in her mind that guided her.  Sleep here, it said when she reached a hollow log... the kind of hollow log that one might find a pit of swamp-snakes in most days, but this time did not.  Drink here, it urged near a bubbling stream from a high rock, when any marsh-born girl knew to steer clear of any source of water not tested by time, or boiled, and even then not turned into at least ale first.  Yet she did not sicken worse.  Chew this leaf, it urged, and somehow a sprig she would never recognize again provided her enough energy to drive on.

Somehow, this fever-dream with the strange relic kept her alive, and it would be a long time before she acknowledged that it was no dream at all.  The relic had guided her, chosen to keep her alive.  But perhaps in doing so, in the infancy of their... relationship, was it?... had exhausted itself.  For it rarely has such perceptive insights today.  Nowadays it remains mum, except for to alert her of what it can observe directly and objectively, and demonstrates no further insight into herbalism or survival instinct beyond the presence and relative size of enemies.  Or perhaps it is testing her.

From camp to camp, she found the same thing-- plague had wiped out whole families... clans of families clustered together, but she could not fall to the same illness twice, and their stores provisioned and sustained her while she wandered the land, and gradually with work-- unexpert as she was in weaponry-- she managed to clean the relic with persistence and crude polishing.  The thing was, as she suspected, a blade-- a black-steel weapon of some style alien to these lands, its haft like many greatswords and its balance exceptional, but its size too awkwardly heavy to be considered a longsword.  The girl was no soldier, but the blade felt right to her, and as she regained her strength, carrying it in her hands felt more natural than on her back, and soon it felt less and less heavy and more an extension of her arm.

It whispered to her still, but as she wandered, it did so in her dreams alone.  It showed her things she could not understand, and scarcely remembered upon waking.  Huge things, vast shapes, faces and bodies, pleasures and terrors.  Such things that a girl half-dead with so few years behind her could not recognize, except in spirit.  The despair of lost loved ones was familiar, the lust for power was not.  The thrill of conquest was unknown to her as a man's touch, but the splendor of legend slept in her dreams like her childhood's fancies.  And she had hope, perhaps, that it would teach her.  That is when she found the city, and went among more people who had survived without cannibalism, and found that she could live among them a ghost of her old world and practice, learn from her blade, listen to its whispers of the arcane... that there was a spark in her capable of channeling magic that she is still harvesting, fostering, shaping and discovering to this day.

What she has never learned from the blade-- not in the hours of her rented room spent alone practicing forms that it calls by strange names, not in the chanting of arcane words that spark lightning from her hands, not in the flashes of memory or the strange fits of need that it fills her with until she wakes, sweating in winter's nights, with the blade clutched in its leather sheath and her thighs squeezed tight round the pommel grip-- what she has never learned is its purpose for her, its purpose for anything.  If she is an extension of it, or it of her.

[Zenkai]

I'll toss in a favorite of mine. A real classic. Bad girl sells her soul for power, goes on rampage, runs from place of crime to arrive at the place of new crime!

Technicalities

Human Master Summoner. Probably on the neutral evil side of the spectrum. She chooses the extreme-NC door if offered the chance. Plot-wise, I'd like to have a chance at winning and character growth. If not, at least an interesting end would be nice. Bringing in her patron is a valid tactic, too.

Image-NSFW

Let's have some Vallejo. The arrogance and summoned pets should be a staple for her.

A bit of writing

It was more painful than being reborn. Her lungs were bursting as she finally clawed free of the loose earth of the shallow grave. Night air was sweet and cold against her face. The deep breath of air just what she needed to cough out all the worm infested compost.

"What a surprise. The worthless blonde cunt, still alive." The mocking voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Dark trees fencing the small graveyard seemed to move in the light of the full moon. The resulting shadows were everchanging and beautiful. Not that she had time to appreciate them, dry heaving earth and the remains of her dinner, fighting for breath, naked body still half buried.

"I guess, that makes you the winner." The other fresh graves in the clearing remained silent, their occupants seemingly having found peace. The inhuman, nameless speaker strode towards her, silver designs on his black robe blazing, growing with each step. "As promised, I'll give you the opportunity to gain power. In return, you shall serve me. Ah, the things people do to get even with their parents." He raised his thorned whip, and brought it down onto the helpless girl.

There was more pain as raw magic tore into her, and stitched something from the outside to her soul.  A demonic little thing, with smart eyes and lacking a smile. An army, eager for blood. She saw her family, ripped apart by beings that should not be. She saw herself, bathing in their blood.

There was more pain.

She laughed.

[Kathyan]

Ruby Miriyah
Roguish Oracle

Since she was young Ruby was never seen as more than another street rat in the big city, stealing whatever she could to survive and using her wits and agility to cheat the guards to make it through until the end day where she would then have to find an abandoned house to pass the night. She never paid attention to the small things that happened around her when she wasn't looking or why did she seemed to wake up with less stuff than when she had gone to sleep, be it food, coins or even clothes. Despite being distrustful of others she had a very straightforward way of thinking which lead her to be somewhat naive so she always attributed this(even her eventual lack of clothing) to other thieves that like her where just earning their living just as she did.

Things changed though when one day her magical powers manifested consciously, it was shocking at first but it was also the chance she had been waiting for to get a better life, to her the spirits that haunted her or that possessed her where not a curse but a blessing that granted her the means to get rich, she didn't give a damn about studying and finding out more about her mystery and she couldn't care less about the poor or the pious who begged for help or prayed at churches or temples, all she wanted to do was to fill her pockets and so embarked herself in personal quest to find a place where she would be able to do so.

Over the time she gained herself more power and more treasure although her curse also seemed to increase in intensity, but it was ok it was scary sometimes, awkward some other but it had also saved her life a few times so she tried to take advantage of it just as she did with other people. Now she was on the look for a new 'job' and some news just made it to her ears.

Looking at the Haunted curse and the Possessed Hand and Hand Autonomy feats

[Thorne]

Inerys Fireeyed. N/g Half-elf Ranger (Wild Shadow).

Inerys doesn't do people. She hasn't done 'people' since she grew up watching her mother have stones thrown at her, called names and used. Inerys herself doesn't get it much better, the moment someone sees her ears, or realises that her delicate features and vivid, slanted eyes are gifts from her elven father, she doesn't generally get treated very well either.
Animals are safer, kinder. Inerys has learned to trust animals far further than she trusts most humans. People who aren't human at least get a chance to prove they're not going to be like humans. Guiding soft-footed townies through wilderness does pay well, when she can be convinced to do it. She's earned a reputation for being skilled, if blunt and impatient...

Inerys is tall, as half-elves go, slender and wiry. She wears her black hair loose, falling across her face and especially her ears, concealing them from casual glances.
Her clothing and armor is well worn and snugly fitted, and tends to be in earth tones. A flash of vivid red, intense blue or green or even a shard of purple can sometimes be seen, but as a rule, dull browns, greens and greys are Inerys' usual clothing.

(While I admit to having access to just about all the things printed, I don't use TPP material unless it's expressly allowed, so there shouldn't be any of that here.)

[Chulanowa]

I'll toss in a favorite of mine. A real classic. Bad girl sells her soul for power, goes on rampage, runs from place of crime to arrive at the place of new crime!

Technicalities

Human Master Summoner. Probably on the neutral evil side of the spectrum. She chooses the extreme-NC door if offered the chance. Plot-wise, I'd like to have a chance at winning and character growth. If not, at least an interesting end would be nice. Bringing in her patron is a valid tactic, too.

Image-NSFW

Let's have some Vallejo. The arrogance and summoned pets should be a staple for her.

A bit of writing

It was more painful than being reborn. Her lungs were bursting as she finally clawed free of the loose earth of the shallow grave. Night air was sweet and cold against her face. The deep breath of air just what she needed to cough out all the worm infested compost.

"What a surprise. The worthless blonde cunt, still alive." The mocking voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Dark trees fencing the small graveyard seemed to move in the light of the full moon. The resulting shadows were everchanging and beautiful. Not that she had time to appreciate them, dry heaving earth and the remains of her dinner, fighting for breath, naked body still half buried.

"I guess, that makes you the winner." The other fresh graves in the clearing remained silent, their occupants seemingly having found peace. The inhuman, nameless speaker strode towards her, silver designs on his black robe blazing, growing with each step. "As promised, I'll give you the opportunity to gain power. In return, you shall serve me. Ah, the things people do to get even with their parents." He raised his thorned whip, and brought it down onto the helpless girl.

There was more pain as raw magic tore into her, and stitched something from the outside to her soul.  A demonic little thing, with smart eyes and lacking a smile. An army, eager for blood. She saw her family, ripped apart by beings that should not be. She saw herself, bathing in their blood.

There was more pain.

She laughed.

Boris Vallejo art!


Ahem. Not quite sure what I'm going with yet, will have to plumb the ol' brain-meats.

[PixelatedPixie]

Everyone
They all look interesting so far!  Thank you all for writing up your concepts!  I'll probably close things sometime after Christmas, basically when I next have a chance to sit down and go through things, so still time if anyone else is interested!

Zenkai
She looks fun, but I'll admit I am not sure about an evil character in a non-evil character focused game.  It makes me a bit nervous.

[Zenkai]

A bit nervous is good!  I believe I can make my concept work within the oracle, ranger and magus equation on the purely mechanical aspect. As far as the arr pee side goes, it depends on how you plan to fuse us together. I could work within the "evil vs. evil" paradigm, and "helping others for personal gain". NE is just a shade more selfish than true neutral 

Plus, you have an obvious target for the bad stuff (tm).

[Kathyan]

Hey PAC are we allowed background skills and drawbacks too?

Meanwhile hand moves on it own and gives the NE character a slap in the butt for being a bad girl.

[Ixy]

I apologize that mine wandered and then just fell off a cliff.  I was falling asleep IRL.  (Sigh). Sorry.  I will update and and detail tonight... At least, that's the plan.  Thanks for the opportunity.

edit: ok, wrapped up the concept exposition a bit more.  If preferred, I can provide description, image, etc.  Whatever works best for you as GM, PerpetuallyAnnoyedCleric.

[PixelatedPixie]

Zenkai
Everyone is a target for the bad stuff. 

Kathyan
Yes.  I've updated the first post to reflect this.

Ixy
Looks good!  Up to you on the description/image.  If accepted one would be appreciated, but the character as is should be enough for now if you don't want to sort that out.