So... I've been tossing this around in my head for a long time, and I'm not remotely ready to actually run it, but... I've decided to just go for it. However, I have several issues; most primary being: I'm not familiar with Pathfinder, and I've been building the setting/campaign around 3.5 (only switching to Path because of a friend's recommendation, and I need to learn the material anyway.) As such, I wouldn't actually be able to run the campaign as it is. Remuthra has agreed to assist me... to a degree, as he also wants to play. =|
The game will be ran as Post by Post, as that's the most relaxed environment, which I think is a major requirement for Pen and Paper anything. It also helps alleviate time issues; I'm GMT-8, and I know we have several people who are GMT, so they'd be eliminated as possible players if I ran it as an mIRC game or Maptools or anything similar. Which brings me to another point; there won't be Maptools. My very few forays into Maptools has not been kind to me, so I've somewhat given up on it. I'm fairly... illiterate when it comes to art; I can do portraiture if I'm looking at something, and that's it. If I had a Co-GM who was capable of creating maps for the players, that'd be a bonus, but I hope that my storytelling ability is close enough to par to maintain player interest.
I'm looking at 6-8 players. 4 would be ideal, but since I'm recruiting a Co-GM, I hope to be able to handle more.
You're all Orcs or half-breed Orcs. In addition, you're all Feral Orcs (using a modified version of the somewhat overpowered Feral template from Savage Species, the 3.0 material.) On top of that, noone is allowed to build a Spellcaster or Psy-user, or anything similar to those systems. If a class has Spellcasting as an extra, we can find a replacement for it and you can use the class otherwise. Examples of that are the Ranger, Bard and Paladin. The reasons I'm eliminating Spellcasting are that, first of all, a character who casts spells are usually much more versatile than one who doesn't, and the plot/campaign I'm doing removes Spellcasting from the Player Characters' society.
Stats will not be rolled; instead, characters will be created using the Point Buy system. You can spend 25 points. Each ability increase costs 1 until you reach 13. For 14 and 15, each costs 2 points, for 16 and 17, each costs 3, and for 17, it costs 4 points (total 17.) You calculate stats with the Point Buy system first, then add the Feral Template. The version of the template we're using does the following:
Type: Monstrous Humanoid
Speed: Land speed +10 feet (this means 40 feet for most subraces.)
AC: +4 natural armor bonus.
Attacks: Two claw attacks (1d8 medium, 1d6 small).
Special Attacks: Gain Improved Grab when hitting with a claw attack (so long as the opponent is of a smaller size category.)
Special Qualities: Fast Healing 2 (only until half health.)
Abilities: +4 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, +2 Wisdom.
Level Adjustment: +1
After you've applied the Feral template, you then apply your race modifications. You might think this is a bit odd, since you're all going to be Orcs or half-breeds, but just bear with me for a bit. I've dumbied up a handful of Half-Orcs that are somewhat similar to the more common base races. Those will be included in a second spoiler in a bit.
Characters will start with 2 Class Levels. With the level adjustment (+1), this effectively makes them Level 3 characters, and encounters will be prepared with that in mind. All characters are also illiterate; this is tied into the background plot. We'll get into this in a third spoiler.
While the players will not have Spellcasting, they will encounter creatures that use spells. This would probably seem fairly unfair, but we have the following rules modifications: All spells have saves. Spells that directly debillitate use Fortitude saves, spells that deal direct damage have Reflex saves, and illusion and other spells that target the mind have Will saves. If a spell qualifies for two different saves, roll one D20 and apply your different bonuses to determine which saves you succeed on. Reflex saves still allow for half damage, unless you have Evasion. As an additional bonus: If you beat a save by twice the DC, you can ignore all of the effects of the spell. You can also target a caster and make a special Will save as a standard action that will remove any buffs that the caster has used on himself if you beat twice the Save DC of the spells (a separate roll for each spell). This will probably be extremely difficult, but I'm sure somewhere down the line, someone will figure out how to do it.
First up, your races.
Orc:
+4 Strength, -2 Charisma
Base land speed 30 feet.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity: Dazzled in bright sunlight or daylight spell.
Power Attack feat for free.
+2 to Intimidate, +2 to Survival
Half-Orc (Human) :
+2 Strength
Base land 30 feet.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity.
Bonus non-Fighter feat. +1 skill point per level.
Half-Orc (Elf) :
+2 Strength, +2 Intelligence, -2 Charisma
Base land 30 feet.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity.
Weapon Finesse feat for free.
+2 to Listen, +2 to Spot, Hide is always a class skill.
Half-Orc (Halfling) :
+2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, -2 Constitution
Base land 20 feet.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity.
Point Blank Shot feat for free.
+1 to hit and damage rolls with thrown weapons.
+2 to checks to move silently and Stealth is always a class skill.
Half-Orc (Woodelf) :
+4 Dexterity, -2 Intelligence
Base land 40 feet.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity.
+3 bonus on attack rolls when flanking (replaces +2.)
+1 to hit with One-Handed weapons.
+2 to Listen, +2 to Survival, +5 to Jump when standing still.
Half-Orc (Merfolk) :
+2 Strength, -2 Intelligence
Base land 20 feet, base swim speed 30 feet.
Darkvision 60 feet.
Light Sensitivity.
Persuasion and Negotiator feats for free.
+2 to Charisma-based skill checks
Next: I will be vetoing certain builds if they are unbalanced. I don't just mean overpowered, I mean glaringly large weaknesses too. As an example, an ubercharger from 3.5 could do 500 damage in a single attack, but has such low AC when trying that that it might die before ever being able to do that. I don't want any player feeling like he's strictly inferior to another player, just that he has different choices and options. Keep this in mind. As I'm not familiar with Pathfinder, I'd be trusting my Co-GM to keep watch for this sort of thing. If they and I both miss what you want to do at the start, I reserve the ability to veto it in the future; if such a thing would happen, you would have 2 choices: either your build cannot progress in that direction any more, or you can redo your feat selections.
That also means no Massive Leadership build, but I have a caveat for that instead: Leadership is still permitted. It is softcapped at 25 (where it is normally hardcapped); every 2 points above 25 provides a +1 bonus as if you had the Epic Leadership feat. As an example: If you have 39 Leadership score, you have (39-25=14, 14/2=7, 25+7=32) 32 effective Leadership score as calculated against the Epic Leadership chart. This has more potential strength than the Massive Leadership build, but players are expected to know what they're getting into! I'm also expecting that, if someone does this, the campaign will halt for a time while I organize things with the player who's doing the Leadership build.
Starting gold: Nothing! Players can acquire any number of stone Axe-type or Spear-type weapons (-1 to damage rolls, half health of regular items) and regular Club-type weapons. Swords are unavailable, as are bows, cross-bows, and anything predominately metal. This is tied into the plot, but essentially: you're primitive creatures without your own society, and therefore no infrastructure to support real equipment! You can also start with hemp rope, because that's a fairly simple object that you can reasonably assume primitive societies could produce if they had access to the plant. Basic leather and hide armour are available, but no other armour. You don't really need anything better anyway at the start, having a bonus +4 to natural armor.
Every class has a minimum of 4 skill points + Int per level. With the feral Template reducing your intelligence, this is really just bumping up a few classes to their "normal" levels.
The apocalypse happened! The weaker races died out, unable to support themselves, but the Orcs managed to survive, hiding in caves deep in forests and hunting to support their tribes. Where the half-breeds came from we'll leave up to the imagination; perhaps Orcs helped protect some species, perhaps they kidnapped them, who knows. That's a long time in the past. For a long time after the apocalypse, life was brutal, and the few survivors had no time to pass on their knowledge of writing. Now, much of the continent is covered in forest, giving more creatures to hunt and more places to hide. Incredible monsters like Dragons haven't been seen for so long that they aren't even told about in story any longer. It has been safe enough that villages have popped up outside of the homecaves. Now, trade is possible. Now, society can be rebuilt. But there is noone who knows what a society is. As well, rumours of strange lights in the night have been spreading around, and weird creatures preying on hunters. Every village has seen the lights, but noone can say exactly where they are shining from. Which is why they have gathered you, the exemplars of the villages, to a council meeting. You are all led to a clearing, far away from any village, where the elders of each village sit, waiting for the last of you to arrive. They explain about the stories of falling fire of the mountain, about the brutalized bodies of their hunters. They ask you to discover the nature of these predators, and protect their people from what natural disasters have started.
There are none. After the apocalypse happened, they left, having seen no creature to bless, no wars to lead, no strife to sow. The light lost, but in their defeat, the dark lost their purpose. Noone has ever heard of a god, and no evidence exists that there ever was one. At least, not that you've found.
Edit: Pfft, I get the thread up and forgot to include how to character sheet.
Here.Edit2: I'm going to try and remember to be in mIRC as often as I can, so if you're looking to get my attention, hopefully that's where I'll be.
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Topic: Pathfinder; A feral foray. (Read 22555 times)