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[mainiac]

I've already got two players for this from another forum, I'm looking for another two.  I reserve the right to be completely arbitrary in deciding who gets in, so don't post "first post".

Spoiler: Backstory (click to show/hide)

Years ago, when the mortal races were young, the gods walked the mortal plane which trembled at their passing.  Their power and magnificance dominated the entire world and the very landscape itself was shaped by their whims.  In those days a mountain might be raised from nothing on one day and leveled into the sea on the next or a god might turn the barest desert into a garden or summon a personal island from the deepest ocean.  But eventually the gods tired of the mortal plane and bit by bit they withdrew.  Their dominance over the world faded and the mortal races came to call the past the Age of Tulmult while looking forward to the future as the Age of Mortals. 

First years, then decades would pass where the gods would leave the mortals to their own devices.  Kings and Emperors rose and fell as mortal ambition began to shape the world.  Those races that considered themselves civilized carved out parts of the world to their liking and came to believe themselves the masters of their own destinies.  Tales of the Age of Tulmult grew more distant every year.  But nothing lasts forever.

There are many explanations for why the Age of Mortals came to an end.  Perhaps it was the long recluse of the Gods.  Perhaps it was mortal hubris.  Perhaps it was simply inevitable with the passing of time.  But whatever the reason, the Age of Mortals came to a violent, sudden end.

Long before the Age of Mortals, before even the Age of Tulmult, there were the Old Ones.  Powerful and destructive, mortal races knew few tales of the days when they walked the world.  But after centuries of the Age of Mortals, the Old Ones returned from their place of banishment.

Once more the Gods walked the earth, but this time they brought with them destruction such that mortal eyes had never witnessed.  The skies were torn by strange forces and scorched by raw powers.  The landscape was twisted and tortured.  For eight years, war and destruction was visited upon every corned of the earth as mortal kind simply tried to avoid being squashed like bugs in the choas.  Then after eight years of destruction being wrought on the entire world, the Old Ones were banished once more.  The gods again withdrew from the world.

The Age of Havoc was ended and the Age of Rebirth could begin.  But the scars ran deep.  And they ran no deeper then in the eastern lands.  Once this was the home of mighty kingdoms, glorious cities, untamed wilderness and terrifying beasts of power.  Spiteful of all they saw, the Old Ones had sought to destroy all they saw.  Huge swaths of the world were submerged under a choatic and vicious sea.  All that was left were scattered patches that had escaped the wrath.  Once small pieces of lands in the Great Eastern Continent, now they were islands lost in the Great Eastern Seas.

Nine years have now passed since the end of the Age of Havoc.  Life is done adjusting to the new order.  Every year there are more children born who never knew the terrible destruction that came before them.  And for some, even boredom has lost it's appeal.

The small town of Havelock has had a quiet decade.  Inhabited by only a few hundred souls, it has been mostly isolated from the rest of the world.  But a couple years back the island was visited, briefly, by strange travelers who caught the attention of the more adventurous residents.  The travelers came in a strange contraption made of cloth, wood and magical aether.  In this vessel they were able to carry themselves through the skies, high above the deadly seas below.  They came from another island and shared news about the wider world, how there were many other islands out there with many other people.  An entire world awaited, in which more was possible then sheep herding, scratching a living from bare earth or cautiously fishing the waters close to land.  Adventure beckons.

Most of the people of Havelock were excited to see the travelers but were glad to get on with their lives.  But one small band of compatriots decided to follow the visitors example.  They banded together and worked diligently to create another of these strange vessels, these airships.  And now their work is complete, as their vessel is ready to take to the air. 

The travelers told you that the town of Kistful lies over the horizon.  From there, who knows?

Spoiler: Setting (click to show/hide)

Obviously, the biggest feature to this game is the fact that the known world consists of dangerous oceans that you can only get past by flying over them. 
Additionally, the setting will feature untamed magic.  By that I mean that there be dragons and other magical beasties over every horizon however there won't be many +1 flaming longswords because wizards have better things to do then make equipment for newbie adventures.  Like being dead for instance, very few wizards or clerics are still around.  Sorcerers, Bards and Druids are less rare.
The action is to be a mixture of combat and intrigue.  The balance of that mixure will be determined by the results of PC actions.

Spoiler: Mechanics (click to show/hide)

The game is DnD 3.5 ala SRD, starting off at level 1, unless someone hates the 1st level.  To foster a more swashbuckling settings, the defense bonus rule will be used and you'll be advised to leave armor at home.  PC classes are standard except for monks and wizards.  Also, I'm open to variant classes (such as these provided they aren't caster classes (i.e. they have the same base attack bonus as either a rogue or a fighter, not the same as a wizard.)
Stat-gen is point buy.
Spend 25 points to buy stats at a cost of:
Stat/Points:
8/0
9/1
10/2
11/3
12/4
13/5
14/6
15/8
16/10
17/13
18/16
19/20
20/24

Side note on skills:
It wouldn't hurt to give your character ranks in one of the skills: craft (carpentry), craft (sailmaking) or craft (alchemy) considering that you are one a vessel held together by wood, propelled by sails and held up with alchemy.  I'm not saying that your ship is gonna get torn up, but it sure would be nice to be able to fix it if it were.

Magical healing houserule:
I'm tentatively deciding that spellcasting healing grants temporary hitpoints (potentially above the natural limit) that last for 1 min/caster level.  Healing potions act normally.  Scrolls grant temp hitpoints too.

Spoiler: Starting equipment (click to show/hide)

Besides your totally awesome airship, you start with 200 gold pieces worth of equipment.  The abundance of gold pieces in fantasy settings is a pet peeve of mine however, so the currency is being changed.  All currency here is from before the Age of Havoc and the values are listed as they used to be.

The smallest coin was a ducat, made of bronze, this is mostly what people used day to day.  The ducat is worth one cp in the dnd price lists.
The other common currency was a drachma (plural drachmae), made of copper, worth 20 ducats.
A silver solidius (solidii) is real money, worth 20 drachma or 400 ducats.  This is the money used by wealthy merchants and the like and there aren't many in Havelock.
Gold coins were called crowns they are worth 20 silver (8000 ducats).  This makes them, very, very valuable.

Just to be clear, you get 200 gp in dnd value, that's only  2.5 crowns of value, still a lot.

Restrictions on starting equipment:
No magic.  Magic items are rare stuff.  You can't buy them in a shop and small town yokels don't have them.

[Humaan]

Shoot, I don't have enough time to make a character.

Oh well.

[mission0]

Gah, I'm interested but I only have the 4e books.

[tehstefan]

Well, I'll see if I can't get a character sheet up, though I've only really played clerics.

[mainiac]

Gah, I'm interested but I only have the 4e books.

Take a closer look at the "mechanics" section, and see what you can see whydoncha?

[Akigagak]

In before Neruz gets here.

Which books?

Just PHB 1 and 2?

[mainiac]

In before Neruz gets here.

Which books?

Just PHB 1 and 2?

Well, I'm open to most non-caster classes and you are starting w/out magical items... so I'm having a little trouble seeing why you'd feel the need for additional rulebooks at level 1.  But sure, whatever rule/homebrew you want as long as it isn't pan-pan.

[Rooster]

did i get in?
shoot

[Akigagak]

I think it's first come, first served, so if you get a sheet up fast enough, you'll get in.

And, yeah. Psionics? They're not really casters, especially not Psychic Warriors. And they're more like a sorcerer than a wizard.

*Cackles and flees.

I am of course, joking. I would never use Psionics, they're almost as bad as taint.

I'll get on to char creation in a bit.

[mainiac]

I get it, everyone is humorously pretending to have not read anything in the original post.  Very funny guys!

But yeah, I think psychic warriors don't really fit the theme, I should have been a bit more specific on psionics.

[Sannit]

mainiac, can I be a wizard?  I wanna be a wizard!

I kid.  Will have character sheet up soon.  And hello from that other forum.

[mainiac]

Excellent, our invasion has begun!  Soon there will be hundreds of elves masquerading as dwarves three people from that other forum!

[Sannit]

Ah, an actual question: what of potions?  Are potions considered magic items?  I like me my potions of cure light wounds....

[mainiac]

Given the nature of forum dnd, I'd prefer to keep potions rare.  Don't expect to get stuck in long fights or dungeon crawls where attrition wears through your supply of health potions which you drink like soda in between fights.  Going through those kinds of adventures over a forum would take weeks.

Edit: a thought occurs to me to reinforce the low magic feel without fundementally altering the balance of the game.  Healing spells give temporary hit points (over the natural hit point limit possibly) which wears off after 1 min/caster level.  The exception being healing potions, which would restore hit points normally, thus giving them exotic status.

[mission0]

Gah, I'm interested but I only have the 4e books.

Take a closer look at the "mechanics" section, and see what you can see whydoncha?

I apologize, I'm paranoid about clicking links. Hmm lets see if I can read alot of this and still get a char sheet ahead of others.