• Rules: We use the Pathfinder rules. 3pp will be considered on a case-by-case basis, assuming the rules are on d20pfsrd or in my library - though some things will be restricted to certain races for flavor purposes. Note the special rules in effect below.

• Setting: The Chultan peninsula, Forgotten Realms. The first module is primarily a dungeon crawl, but later on there will also be city/wilderness elements.

• Level: 3

• Abilities: 15 point buy. Min.7 after racial mods, Max.18 before racial mods.
  • For an additional 5 points (20 total), describe two positive qualities and two negative qualities of your character, and why they have them. Incorporating your Feats/Traits is encouraged (the positive and negative qualities are purely fluff, which you can tie to traits or feats as a way of explaining why the character has them).

• Race: Core, featured and some uncommon. No race building. I'll consider 3pp on a case by case basis. Some races may take certain classes and options forbidden to others, see the house rules below.

• Class: Summoners must be unchained. Gunslingers must be either gnomes or worshippers of Gond.

  Most Paizo archetypes are fine; 3pp archetypes can be thrown into the arena of public discussion to see which survive (may the odds be ever in their favor).

  Potentially useful favored enemies for rangers when the game begins include: humans and undead, though you'll probably get more use out of human.

  No psionics.

• Alignment: Any non-evil. Look here for how I'm using the alignments.

• Traits/Campaign feats: EITHER: 2 traits, no drawbacks; OR: one Tashluta district feat from the Player's Guide, which is located on the group under Files.

• Feats: Most Paizo feats are open (but see House Rules: Banhammer below). 3pp can be considered, but will be weighed against how much of the spotlight they steal and how likely they are to unbalance the game and/or the party.

• Skills: We'll use background skills, but only for the existing skills, not the additional new ones.

• Hit points: Hit point progression: Full at 1st, average (half +1) thereafter.

• Hero points: 3 at 1st level, max. 5 (Though HP feats are allowed).

• Equipment: Max starting gp. Characters joining after level 1 will have half WBL. If you want to be a local, there are cost of living expenses at the bottom of this page.

  Special rules in effect:

  • Feats: We use the expanded feats from TPK Games' Feats Reforged line (I'll pass on the expanded information from the feats you choose to you if you don't have those books), which is extensive and covers a lot of feats (bonuses to nearly all Core, Advanced Player's Guide, Ultimate Combat and Ultimate Magic feats).

  • Skill unlocks: Skill unlocks will be available to unchained/legendary rogues and anyone who takes the Signature Skill feat. The unlocks can be found here, under each individual skill.

  • Variant channeling: Channelers may choose whether they channel normally, or use the variant channeling rules here or here.

  • Cantrips: While wizards (and some other casters) are assumed to have all cantrips in their spellbook, this only covers Core Paizo material - and two Paizo supplement/3pp spells. Other 3pp might be found in looted spellbooks, if I know you're interested in a spell.

  
  
  
  
• Posting rate: As often as possible (minimum: once a week). If you're in the game and you realize that you're going to be unable to post for a while, please let me know ASAP, so I can arrange to sideline or bot your character (ESPECIALLY if we're in the middle of a combat encounter!). Remember, you get out of the game what you put into it, so make those posts! :)

• Descriptions: Please don't skip any of these, or just slap a photo under Appearance and call it good. This is where you describe what others notice about you, and introduce yourself in a way that characterizes you. I don't need a novel under Background, but a few short paragraphs is good.

  Please include in your background a recent act of heroism that would have made it into the local rumor mill.

• Character sheet: Please fill out the entire RTF file ("Pathfinder PC - blank.rtf") under Files on the main Groups.io group, and send it to me. Please fill out everything, and don't change the format/delete whatever. I don't have HeroLab, I know where to find things on this sheet, and filling it all out lets me make copious notes everywhere. Please do not send me a note telling me that you can't be arsed to fill out everything. A smiley does not improve that message. Everything you don't fill out, I have to, and if it's a pain for you, imagine how much of a pain completing EVERYONE'S sheet would be for me.

  TL;DR: Don't piss off the DM before you're even in the game.

• I won't accept any "lone wolf" characters. Teamwork = good. Please remember to consider that teamwork when building your character. If a few are far more powerful than the rest, not only will it be more difficult to balance encounters, but the underpowered characters will have unhappy players. We're here to have fun together, yeah?

House Rules

• Sadly, I've found it's necessary to emphasize this: Don't Be A Jerk. All your actions (and your character's actions) should be made with the rest of the players and their characters in mind. Let's keep it fun for everyone! (Also see the definition of griefing below.)

• "That's what my character would do!" is not a good excuse to disrupt everyone's fun. If you could go off and do something alone, find a reason to involve the other characters instead. In the same way, if your character could decide to act in a disruptive way (refusing to go on the quest, attacking harmless NPCs or other PCs, etc.), slant your actions to decide not to do those things.

• If you get frustrated or bored, don't start griefing the game. Tell me and I'll try to help you out. Note that if you feel you're stuck, you can use a Hero Point to get a clue of what to do. (A quick definition of griefing: Doing things that hamper other players' enjoyment of the game; causing trouble just to be contrary. This includes starting fights or feuds with other characters without clearing it with their player(s) first, or sabotaging their relationships with NPCs with the same caveat.)

• Put an empty line between your paragraphs. That way people don't get a huge wall of text, but manageable bits to read. It also makes archiving easier for me. Note that some mail programs remove the paragraph break; making two paragraph breaks instead of one usually fixes this.

• Please keep your writing in third person, past tense. Then when I put it in the archives it will read like a story. :)

• Please avoid extensive time-jumping when replying to posts, as it can be difficult to connect disparate bits and identify where a conversation should hook up again (as often two separate threads get mixed together and things are replied to in an earlier conversation that happen in a later conversation). If you do need to time-jump a little, please put three asterisks (***) between each time-jumped bit of text and the next/current text. This helps me to hook together the appropriate bits of conversation in the archives.

• On a related note to time-jumping, please do read all the posts available before replying, and adjust your post to include them. This also cuts down on the amount of editing necessary for the archives.

• During combat, tell me your intent as well as your current actions. This will help speed the rate of combat posts. Also, to reiterate, don't wait for your turn in the initiative order. Just post. That way, if someone doesn't post, we can skip their turn and move on. If a character is being botted, they will typically defend themselves, but take no offensive actions.

• Aid Another: If you can't succeed at the skill check when taking 20, you cannot aid another. Always explain how you are aiding, as in some cases a really good explanation is needed (such as for aiding Stealth checks) to even allow the action.

• Banhammer: Limp lash, reincarnation, Antagonize, and any other rules I find too cheesy will not be used in this game.

• Racial notes: Here are some house rules for the various races.

  • Dwarves: Alone among the races, dwarves may take the feats of runic might by Super Genius Games, or the Rune Magic options from Deep Magic, by Kobold Press.

  • Gnomes: Alone among the races, gnomes have access to the Gungineer class by Flying Pincushion Games. This is a gunslinger-like class that makes said gun modular.

  • Halflings: Halflings are more like hobbits than 3e's "well-adjusted kender with no topknots." They wear no shoes, have hairy feet, and eat as much as a human (if not more). Alone among the races, halflings may take the options from Legendary Rogues, by Legendary Games. [GM's note: This option is now open to everyone. The description of halflings is just fluff. :P]

  • Rolling on our Discord channel:

    If you have a Discord handle, you can join our channel and roll your own dice rolls. Send your handle to the DM and you'll be invited to the server.

    GM rolls Initiative, Secret rolls (e.g. Perception), and Knowledge checks. Players roll the rest via the Discord server. Players may choose and declare the use of any "use after the die roll but before the GM declares success or failure" abilities (ex: Greater Aid, Fortune, and Against All Odds abilities, and some Hero Point uses) after they make their rolls, but before posting and note such (and the final result) in the OOC portion of their posts. Such choices must be made and posted prior to the DM posting results of the player's rolls. If the player doesn't roll and post within (X period of time), the DM will roll on their behalf (and the player will forfeit the chance to use modification abilities referenced above). The DM also reserves the right to make any rolls needed to move the game along efficiently.

  

  

  Alignment

  LG LN LE \ | / NG - TN - NE / | \ CG CN CE

  Good - Neutral - Evil Lawful - Neutral - Chaotic

  Lawful A lawful character believes in authority and hierarchy. If a law is wrong, it should be changed in a lawful manner. Chaotic A chaotic character believes in personal judgement and freedom. If a law is wrong, it should be ignored. Unlike in most games, 'chaotic' is not another word for 'crazy' or 'evil.' Please read the section on evil to be clear on what is not considered "just being chaotic." Neutral "Neutral people draw the line around those people they know, those they care about and those whose lives affect them. A neutral villager will help out his neighbour if there is a bad harvest, but is less likely to help out the next village. He's likely to defend his home village with the other villagers, but you won't catch him volunteering to go fight someone else's war. The Neutral person is not indifferent to the suffering of others, he just looks after himself and his own first, dealing with the problems he can see rather than the ones he cannot. He might not send food to the starving village ten miles away, but he won't refuse a meal to a starving man on his doorstep. They see the people they know as people, but those they do not know are an abstract." - Dabbler Good A good character has compassion for others, sentient or not, and demonstrates respect for them (i.e. doesn't put his own good ahead of theirs). Good is defined as a willingness to go out of your way to aid and avoid harming others. "Good people know that the line has no boundaries. They know that the people in the next village are just like them and just as deserving of compassion and mercy. To the good person, there are no abstract people. - Dabbler Evil An evil character behaves selfishly and is willing to use and harm others to have their way; they always think of themselves first. Evil is defined as the willingness to harm others needlessly and deliberately. (Evil people rarely think of themselves as evil - they just think they're wise to the ways of the world, or that their actions ultimately benefit others, or that they have a right to do what they're doing, or that it isn't really their fault.) "Evil people draw the line much closer to home, usually just around themselves. Few evil people actively enjoy hurting others (though the worst ones do), they really are indifferent to it. They have no problem harming others because they are indifferent to such harm. The evil person looks after himself first and foremost. To the evil person, everyone else is an abstract. - Dabbler "Your goals don't have to change. Change how far you're willing to go to attain them. Because nothing is forbidden anymore." - Mikaze "I am Evil and generally it means.... ) I am concerned with my needs above the needs of others. ) I am concerned with my wants above the wants or rights of others. ) I have no personal issues with Killing/Stealing/Lying/Assulting/ect... to get what I need or want. Evil does not mean..... ) I ignore the concept that there are ramifications for my actions (going to jail, being killed, having people hate me). ) I do not plan ahead and refuse to look at the big picture. ) I do not care what people, even my friends think about me. As an Evil Individual, I know better than to flaunt my evil. That is a quick way to loose friends and allies. Even us evil people like to have friends and have feelings for people. Evil is capable of love and caring about people even if in a very selfish possesive way. I still value my companions company though never more than himself. I realize that I will sometimes have to do things these softhearted friends/allies of mine what me to do even if I dont get immediate compensation for doing it. After all I need those allies to cover my ass later when there is a large payment waiting for a task to completed. I care about my personal safety. Your damn right I surround myself with good aligned allies rather than evil or neutral ones. Good allies wont sell me out. Good allies wont murder me in my sleep and take my stuff. Good allies will risk their lives to rescue me. Heck even when I screw them over, my Good allies will not immediately kill me, their stupid morals say killing is wrong. They have to trap me and try to convience me to change or at worst throw me in jail until I have paid my debt. As long as I dont force them into a corner and threaten them with serious bodily harm they arent allowed to kill me. Even if I try to escape they have to try to catch me without killing me first. Why you ask? Cuz they are good. Heck if I can get them to like me and care about me enough I can even get them to cover for me when I do something bad that they know is morally wrong. Why? Because their sad little soft sappy hearts dont want something bad to happen to a good friend and they know that deep down in side I'm really just a confused scared person that needs love. Excuse me while a vomit. Basically, I am evil, I sure as hell wouldn't trust me and so I don't trust anyone like me either. So I make sure all of my friends and companions are sappy soft hearted saps. I sleep better at night knowing that." - FreelanceEvilGenius

  For the record: monsters in my game are not innately evil unless they're Evil outsiders such as demons or devils, or unintelligent undead and the like (see the entry on alignment in the Bestiary, page 5).

  

  Decide to React Differently: a clarification on slanting your actions.

  This is a post Rich Burlew made on the Giants in the Playground site, related to the "slant your actions" article at Errant Dreams. He didn't make a link to this specific part of his post, so I'm reproducing the relevant section of it here:

  "Have you ever had a party break down into fighting over the actions of one of their members? Has a character ever threatened repeatedly to leave the party? Often, intraparty fighting boils down to one player declaring, "That's how my character would react." Heck, often you'll be the one saying it; it's a common reaction when alignments or codes of ethics clash.

  However, it also creates a logjam where neither side wants to back down. The key to resolving this problem is to decide to react differently. You are not your character, and your character is not a separate entity with reactions that you cannot control. I can't tell you how many times I've heard a player state that their character's actions are not under their control. Every decision your character makes is your decision first. It is possible and even preferable for you to craft a personality that is consistent but also accommodating of the characters the other players wish to play.

  When you think about a situation, ask yourself, "Is this the only way my character can react to this?" Chances are, the answer is, "No." Try to refine your character so that you can deal with situations that conflict with your alignment/ethos without resorting to ultimatums, threats, etc. This will often mean thinking in terms of compromise and concession to your fellow players, or at the very least an agreement to disagree.

  Here's another example: In a campaign I DM'd, the party's bard lifted a magical sword behind the back of the party's Lawful Good monk. The monk had basically decided that the bodies of several fallen knights would be buried without looting, and rather than argue, the bard just grabbed the sword. The bad news was, the sword was cursed; it was the blade that had belonged to a ghost that roamed the castle, and whenever the bard drew it, the ghost materialized and attacked him (and only him). Eventually, the bard 'fessed up that he had stolen the sword. The monk (and the monk's player) became furious, and declared that he could no longer travel with the bard. Either the bard had to leave, or he would. It became a huge argument between characters and players, and it was entirely unnecessary. The monk did not have to react with an ultimatum; the monk did not even have to be angry, no matter what his alignment was. The bard had already suffered the misfortune of having his Charisma drained by the ghost repeatedly; the monk could have chosen (for example) to lecture the bard on how his theft had brought him nothing but misery. He chose to create player conflict when it was just as easy to not.

  Personally, I blame the paladin for this. The original paladin class created the precedent for one player thinking he has the right to dictate the morality of other players. That drives me nuts. Ever since, players who select a Lawful Good character automatically assume it is up to them to police the rest of the party, and too often, the rest of the party lets them. As far as I'm concerned, no player has the right to tell another player how to act. Lawful Good is not the "right" way to be, and it is unacceptable to push your character's ideals on other players whether they want them or not.

  Another useful application of this concept involves accepting story hooks your DM gives to you. Try to never just say, "My character isn't interested in that adventure." A lot of people mistake this for good roleplaying, because you are asserting your character's personality. Wrong. Good roleplaying should never bring the game to a screeching halt. One of your jobs as a player is to come up with a reason why your character would be interested in a plot. After all, your personality is entirely in your hands, not the DM's. Come up with a reason why the adventure (or the reward) might appeal to you, no matter how esoteric or roundabout the reasoning.

  

  If the paladin is to blame for the last problem, this one belongs to the druid. Druids have such a specific set of principles that players often mistake them for being a free pass to demand that each adventure revolve around their goals. Raiding a dungeon for gold doesn't appeal to the druid mindset, so what are you to do if you play one and are presented with that goal? You improvise. Maybe the gold will enable you to purchase magic items that will let you protect the wilderness. Maybe the ruins contain unnatural monsters that need to be killed regardless of the treasure. Maybe, just maybe, the other PCs are your friends and you are willing to help them just because. Too often that last part is forgotten; I don't think anyone reading this has never spent the night doing something they'd rather not because a friend asked.

  So if you're really paying attention, you may be thinking, "Hey, don't those two points contradict one another? First he says to separate what your character thinks from what you think, but then he says your character doesn't have its own reactions." Well, no. Separate your character's thoughts from your own thoughts, but don't forget who is in control of both personalities. The division between your personality and that of your character only goes so far as it helps the game; once it begins becoming a disruption, a player has a responsibility to alter his or her character's decisions in the interest of the group. In the end, your relationships with the people you are sitting in someone's living room with are more important than your character's internal consistency."

  - Rich Burlew