The Next Campaign

[DMDarcs]

I'm throwing this out so we can start havng discussions on what happens next

I'm still really cool with the idea of hving people writing up their ending storylines for their You've defeated Karzoug. I know there are still ends that people want tied up, and I want to make sure everyone gets the closure that they need for each of their ends.

I would like to start a discussion about which adenture path you'd like to do next. I'm putting up some options. I figure we'll have a discussion and then we'll do a ranked voting type situation.

Please don't read spoilers. I haven't completely read through all of these adevnture paths, but I know that some of the big plot tists have been somewhat spoiled - even right on the Paizo websitse. These all take place prior to 2E, so the "end result" may be spoiled in the Core Rulebook, but the process of how we got there is left out, so that's ok. I'm skewing towards earlier paths because (1) I've read those already; (2) I think there'something to be aaid for having things prsented in the manner in which the creators originally intended them to be presented

I have also, for interest, put some information as to why I'm offering each opton.

Curse of the Crimson Throne
This adventure path takes place primarily in the Varisian port city of Korvosa. We will begin by seeking revenge on a small crime lord within the city, but other events will take place as well. The Harrow deck will be a significant theme in this adventure path. This adventure is primarily urban. (2nd AP; has some connections with characters/events from RotR but nothing crucial.)

Second Darkness
A strange shadow lurks in the sky above the city of Riddleport, and the doomsayers take it as a sign of the approaching end of the world! You'll start off as an urban adventure, but there are wilderness and Darklands/dungeon-crawl aspects as well. (3rd AP; some characters from RotR return.)

Legacy of Fire
This is the Arabian Nights -type adventure. It's set in the desert nation of Katapesh. Expect caravans, gnolls, and genies. There will be some extraplanar travel involved as well. (4th AP; a completely different change of pace.)

Jade Regent
This one will be a world-spanning adventure. You thought you went everywhere for RotR? That ain't no part of nothing. Prepare for a long journery. (9th AP; some recurring locations and characters)

or something else?
i mean, I've got them all. If there's a particular one that is way more interesting to people, let me know. I know that "Return of the Runelords" has been mentioned, but storywise that relies on some of this other stuff first.

[Tahlvin]

I'm up for anything. From the little I know of them, Jade Regent would be an interesting sequel to the adventure we just finished, but I'm not sure if people want more of a clean break away from that sort of thing. Legacy of Fire sounds interesting, but I'm not sure if it's "play for 8 years" interesting or "play through 1-2 out of 6 books" interesting. And I don't know if I'd know for sure until we get into it. And then my attitude will likely end up depending more on the people we're playing with (an awesome group!) than the details of the adventure itself.

I believe most of these are PF 1st edition paths, so is the intention that you'll be converting them to 2E to run us through them? Seems like a lot of work on your part. And with Crimson Throne and Second Darkness being earlier 1st ed paths, would they require more conversion work than some of the later ones?

[Mike]

I am up for anything. Anything! And lucky me: I know nothing about any of these.

Just looking at the list above, Jade Regent and Second Darkness both call to me right away. However... while Legacy of Fire is a little intimidating, due to it being different from the boilerplate LotR-based culture I'm used to in my fantasy gaming... the more I think about it, the more intrigued I am. Especially considering Katapesh's proximity to so many fascinating lands that I've never even touched on in my years of Pathfindering. The Mwangi Expanse. The Impossible Lands. The Obari Ocean.

But I'll do anything.

[DMDarcs]

I believe most of these are PF 1st edition paths, so is the intention that you'll be converting them to 2E to run us through them? Seems like a lot of work on your part. And with Crimson Throne and Second Darkness being earlier 1st ed paths, would they require more conversion work than some of the later ones?

Yes, intention is to convert to 2E. I don't really care if it's not a perfect conversion - it will be close enough for story reasos. I don't think it's necessry any more complicated than anything else.

[Mike]

I believe most of these are PF 1st edition paths, so is the intention that you'll be converting them to 2E to run us through them? Seems like a lot of work on your part. And with Crimson Throne and Second Darkness being earlier 1st ed paths, would they require more conversion work than some of the later ones?

Yes, intention is to convert to 2E. I don't really care if it's not a perfect conversion - it will be close enough for story reasos. I don't think it's necessry any more complicated than anything else.

The amount of work put into converting RotR to an 8-player campaign AND getting all the assets into Roll20 had to be enormous.

[Mike]

For the record, I just found a map of the world of Galorion overlaid with 12-mile hexes. Turns out that every location we visited over the last 8+ years fits in an area about the size of Iowa.

There is SO MUCH world left to see.

[Tahlvin]

That just can't be. I could understand if it was about the size of the upper Midwest, but just Iowa?!?!

[Mike]

The two furthest points were that final mountain and Magnimar, if I remember locations correctly, and that's about the diagonal distance across Iowa: 350 miles.

But that also relies on the map hexes being at the correct scale, since it was a fan-made overlay.

But that would make our longest single trip about 300 miles when we had to go around the forest, so 30 miles a day if that was a 10 day trip? That seems about right. It's been a long time.

[Phoebe]

Just weepy and maudlin over here because the game will go on. Pick any game Sensei, I will do any setting, any plan!!

[zen]

Jade Regent sounds like a fun ride. Second Darkness and Curse of the Crimson Throne are also intriguing, however, I would probably not use the character I've had been working on (Woodland Elf Druid with Ancestral Longevity) as for either of those. I'd probably go with either a bard or rogue. (I might keep the Ancestral Longevity concept and make the character an old vagabond type or something who hadn't been serious about his craft.) The Legacy of Fire also sounds fascinating, though I'd probably try to do something along the lines of a swashbuckler for that if 2ed has something like that in the base book. I haven't looked. (Don't know if that would be under rogue or fighter?)

[Mike]

No official swashbuckler class or path, but lots of classes can make great swashbucklers if you choose the right path/options. My personal take...

Bard: any Bard can buckle swash, but one with the right mystery or maestro as a muse could work particularly well.

Champion: The Liberator champion is (in my mind) best as a Chaotic Good hero of the people. Robin Hood. Zorro. I find this one really appealing.

Cleric: like the Liberator above... if you pick the flashiest of CG God's, this would be a super interesting fit.

Fighter: this is essentially what I'm doing. I think there's a few fighting styles that lend themselves to this as long as you have the swashbuckling attitude.

Ranger: another good way to make Robin Hood.

Rogue: the Scoundrel racket seems the closest to an actual swashbuckling path, as long as you take the skills to support the swashing.

Runners up: they'd take more work IMO, but a Bomber Alchemist or a Barbarian or a Sorcerer with an appropriate bloodline could maybe work too.

[zen]

The duelist fighter seems pretty close. I just tossed together a quick duelist... you might notice the name and lack of gender... (haven't found out yet...)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/grc6rg7ssucr6 ... d.pdf?dl=0

Of course, he or she might be too young for this campaign...

[Mike]

Solid.

[Phoebe]

I'm pretty sure I want to play some type of healer - I've been fighting and I'm in the mood to do the opposite, but the question is whether it would be healing through the traditional means of divine inspiration or if it fits better with an alchemist or witch or something. Does anyone have a sense of which path leads to more powerful healing powers just in terms of game mechanics?
In other words, could I get to the places I want to go with roughly the same degree of success regardless of whether it's a person making potions or infusing the Divine into the foodstuffs, or doing some incantation to make them healing instruments? One goal but different possible routes that make sense of a Chef's story.

[Mike]

I haven't looked at specifics, but I can almost guarantee that a cleric following the cloistered cleric doctrine (with the cloister presumably being a bakery) taking the healing domain would be the most effective healer under core rules.

But I haven't specifically compared different healing capable classes side by side.

[Phoebe]

OK, I think you have enough experience with it to make a guess without having to look at the specific pathways. Let me start from here and see how this goes. Are we doing this thing? When are we starting? I need a week in an isolated cabin for writing. My God I have just stumbled upon the greatest idea ever: I could intentionally schedule a cabin for this time next year just for writing purposes. Okay let's put that aside. Are we doing this thing? Are we thinking roll 20 or are we going to try to do zoom meetings or something?

[zen]

Slight change to the Duelist/bounty hunter character I started working on:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hdfcjeswvzbrv ... a.pdf?dl=0

She's named Kiara now. I'm thinking I like her a lot and would like to play her. If this game is placed too close to the time period of RotR, she won't be Kiara Eldthorsdottir, in any case, she won't use her surname, just using her first name in the "elven" tradition, like her mother always did before marriage... and because having famous parents sucks. I switched one of the skills from the "Naturally Skilled" feat to "Thievery", because it seemed natural and, if you're going to chase after criminals, you should have a good idea of what they do, right? And you should know how to escape from those manacles you carry, ya know! Just in case someone tries to use them against you! (Currently, the thieve's tools are listed as in the backpack, but I'll probably change them to being hidden on her person somewhere... EDIT: Fixed it now. Also, I had changed one of the skills I selected from "Society" to "Performance". She likes to sing.)

I was thinking of playing a dual wielder, but I kinda like the idea of the duelist. Using your free hand to mess with your opponent just sounds fun. I'd say this character works well with any of the modules listed, but especially Curse of the Crimson Throne or Second Darkness.

[Mike]

I was thinking of playing a dual wielder, but I kinda like the idea of the duelist. Using your free hand to mess with your opponent just sounds fun.

This is the exact line of thinking I went through with Mazmud. I thought dual welder, but as a sailor, the idea of always having a free hand when moving about a ship made sense, and then using that hand to fuck with people seemed pretty awesome. Although, he's more a skirmisher and less a duelist. But taking a good look at the full recommended duelist path, I see that working particularly well for Kiara and is suited to your style. I am inspired, and I think I'm going to change Mazmud and make him follow something closer to the Bully path, if I can work out the weaponry I want.

[Eliahad]

I was thinking of playing a dual wielder, but I kinda like the idea of the duelist. Using your free hand to mess with your opponent just sounds fun.

This is the exact line of thinking I went through with Mazmud. I thought dual welder, but as a sailor, the idea of always having a free hand when moving about a ship made sense, and then using that hand to fuck with people seemed pretty awesome. Although, he's more a skirmisher and less a duelist. But taking a good look at the full recommended duelist path, I see that working particularly well for Kiara and is suited to your style. I am inspired, and I think I'm going to change Mazmud and make him follow something closer to the Bully path, if I can work out the weaponry I want.

Warhammer, please. Because.... Reasons....

[Mike]

I thought dual welder

I just saw it. Dual welder would be AMAZING!

[Mike]

I was thinking of playing a dual wielder, but I kinda like the idea of the duelist. Using your free hand to mess with your opponent just sounds fun.

This is the exact line of thinking I went through with Mazmud. I thought dual welder, but as a sailor, the idea of always having a free hand when moving about a ship made sense, and then using that hand to fuck with people seemed pretty awesome. Although, he's more a skirmisher and less a duelist. But taking a good look at the full recommended duelist path, I see that working particularly well for Kiara and is suited to your style. I am inspired, and I think I'm going to change Mazmud and make him follow something closer to the Bully path, if I can work out the weaponry I want.

Warhammer, please. Because.... Reasons....

I was actually thinking of finding a scimitar/falchion equivalent of a bastard sword to allow me to switch between one and two handed.

But I'm on board with warhammer.

[zen]

So... next question... Alignment? I have Kiara listed as NG right now, but I'm not sure if that feels right. I mean, she's a Bounty Hunter by trade, so that suggests a bit of a lawful nature, but I wouldn't say Lawful Good with all of the baggage that entails... Perhaps True Neutral? But I'm kind of leaning Lawful Neutral... Opinions?

[Tahlvin]

So we have two melee fighters and a cleric/healer. Dave had said in the other thread that he was going to play a sorcerer, but not fill the sorcerer role, so we may need an arcane caster, and could use a rogue, and possibly a bard for buffing. If all eight of us play, we should be able to have some overlap in roles for when people are absent. So I could play the elf rogue I was considering earlier, or the goblin wizard and fill the arcane magic role. Although, if Zen goes LN on the bounty hunter, I may alter the CN goblin wizard to a different race and NN for less intraparty conflict.

[zen]

I'm leaning more true neutral right now. Kiara also has a few rogue skills, though having a full-on rogue would be good. She can pick locks at least.

[bralbovsky]

Just lemme know what's missing when we're close to done, and I'll be happy to fill in whatever we need. Might take a second to fill in a backstory once Darcs decides the adventure, but I'm up for anything.

[Phoebe]

If I wasn't going to be a cleric The Bard is the next choice because I tell you Dothan was so amazing, it just completely revolutionized the whole bard category for me. But the thing is I would rather heal with cookery than sing and buff people with cookery, if that makes sense, although I do think it would be kind of amazing to give people food that is somehow activated through song. If nobody else is going to be a bard, we really should consider this. Or let's put it this way: if someone else prefers to be a cleric then I could tell the story I want to tell through singing about food. Y'all are still going to have to drink my strange fermented concoctions. But suppose you did and then there was something about those concoctions that singing made functional? Okay, so it could be like this. I've been learning how to make my own vinegar and sprouts and stuff so that I can translate it into medicines in the game. Not even joking. I'm obsessed with fermentation for so many reasons. Being a cleric with vinegar would be pretty good; there's going to be some goddess who turns out to be the uber mother of vinegar. It's just too much, how amusing this is.

[Tahlvin]

Shit, Phoebe is going to be the mom from Encanto, that heals with food!

[Phoebe]

What?! Do I need to see this? My kids saw it but not me. I DID get the whole we don't talk About Bruno no no for a few weeks.

[Mike]

What?! Do I need to see this? My kids saw it but not me. I DID get the whole we don't talk About Bruno no no for a few weeks.

Yes. You should watch Encanto. It's wonderful.

I would highly recommend watching it with one or more of your children. I would also recommend that you devote 2 hours to doing nothing but watching this movie. The movie moves fast, and the visuals are incredible, the music is very very good, and there is a lot of background and character development and plot information conveyed in those songs.

Bruno, by the way, is a great song, and certainly the catchiest, but it is not the best of the lot by a long shot.

[zen]

I made some slight tweaks to Kiara:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1r6rrw6a5xxk0 ... a.pdf?dl=0

For one thing, I realized that I was shorting her one language. (I always seem to forget that half-elves get both Common and Elven as a given, so the two bonus languages based on her INT needed one more. Whether she's Kay's daughter or not, I added Thassilonian. If she IS Kay's daughter, she would have taught it to her if she was capable of learning it while growing up, that's certain!)

EDIT: I switched the final language to Undercommon to match Kiara's backstory as a contemporary of Kay raised in a small elven village that has a historic problem with drow attacks.

I also filled in height, weight, and some flavor text in the appearance and personality section. Since it is TINY TEXT, I'll share it here so it's easier to read:
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 130#

Appearance:
Her reddish-chestnut hair is cut to shoulder length, styled in a single braid to the right side. This is the side she wears her rapier since she's left-handed and draws crossbody. Her hand-crossbow is secured on her left hip and the quiver hangs next to it, with a quick-release flap of leather over the top keeping the bolts in. She has unusual hazel-violet eyes that normally are light brown with a ring of violet around the pupil, but sometimes, based on her mood it seems, they turn all violet. Her face is heart-shaped and she's muscular, yet still has a feminine figure.

Personality

Attitude:
Kiara is a pragmatist. She prefers to deal with facts and tasks instead of lofty ideals. To many people, she comes across as cold and calculating when they first meet her, but she's a loyal friend to those who don't betray that loyalty and she certainly knows how to have a good time, either through sharing a song, a game of chance, a tankard of mead, or chatting up the barmaids at the tavern.

Beliefs:
Kiara's basic belief is that one should be compensated for the work they do. She does not believe in doing good for good's sake. This is part of the reason she was drawn to the Bounty Hunter line of work. She recognizes that there are good and evil in the world and is somewhat experienced in law, but those are not motivating factors in her life that would drive her to face danger without the promise of adequate compensation.

Likes:
Singing, dueling, getting paid for a job well done, good mead, a friendly game of cards or dice, cute barmaids, cute lasses in general, magical artifacts, travel, learning new fighting techniques

Dislikes:
Do-gooders, people who take advantage of do-gooders, cheaters, welshers, staying in one place for too long, people who make assumptions about her based on being a half-elf or a woman or anything else, people who make a big deal about her parents

EDIT:
Changed the last part to: "people who ask about her parents too much"

Catchphrases:
What's the pay?
TANSTAAFL!
Don't go expectin' somethin' for nothin'!

[Tahlvin]

So what's the next step? Are we going to have a poll to choose an adventure? Are we going to play again sometime soon?

[Mike]

Dave was just in New York, and apparently they all started playing already. We've been excluded.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the group (Andrew) confided in me that Pat agreed to let them all get a head start, and the rest of us can join when they hit third level.

Jerks.

[Phoebe]

Ah, well, it is the norm.

[bralbovsky]

If it makes you feel any better, I'm ten minutes down the road and didn't get a call either.

[Eliahad]

We played for about three hours on Sunday night. And it was Magic: the Gathering, so I hope you are all ready to be Planeswalkers! It's going to be epic. Also combats are going to take two to three years in our current format.

[Phoebe]

But didn't we start this campaign by having all of us play for a while and then we made Sam and Anna join us at a later level? I mean it is only fair! It is already our way! But if I was Bill, oh yeah, of course I would be mad.

[bralbovsky]

Not mad...although my take was that you cornered Darcs into spilling what he had been thinking, and by the time the evening was over you were third level lol. I get that it wasn't planned that way.

[zen]

Not having to survive as level 1 & 2 characters? I'd take that! LOL!

[Eliahad]

Let's post our vote for which campaign to do next.

I vote for Jade Regent.

[Mike]

If I have to pick one, Jade Regent was the first to call to me.

[Tahlvin]

Jade Regent

[bralbovsky]

Can I say as long as there is a next campaign ...soon, it doesn't matter to me what we're facing as long as we face it together.

[Phoebe]

Aww so true, so true! I am open to suggestion. I feel like I do not have closure with Dwyn's story and I'm going to need to do that as well, but I'm excited to see what direction could be next. Have been toying with the idea of making a healing chef character who has a few character flaws that need fixing. In particular I see him as provincial and a little bit narrow-minded. He has his way of doing things that has come down from his mother and others before him, and he allows his anecdotal experiences with people to support negative generalizations about groups. Joining up with a group of different people to solve something would maybe become a story of expanding horizons even after reaching a middling age.

The nice thing about role-playing campaigns is that they're like a random story generator where you honestly just don't know what might happen and only when you roll the dice of events and plot do you end up knowing the way it's going to go. Hobbit Cook is definitely still the driving concept here though.

[DMDarcs]

I have been in a very conflicted emotion state this past month. It has had absolutely NOTING to do with any Nerd Pride stuff, but I have had to take some to sulk and dwell on it. That is pretty much over with now. so I'll be up to doing some more things first.

We are definitely moving to 2E Pathfinder. I have some reading and converting to do.

I see 3 votes for Jade Regent so far. I will talk with those who aren't on the boards.

[Mike]

I am glad things are looking up for you. And YAY for a new game... whenever everyone is ready.

[Tahlvin]

We're in your corner!

[Phoebe]

Yep, you're also probably at a busy time of year, if your work is anything like those in similar roles here. So much action, so many events. When the good moment arises, we shall don the bells!!

[zen]

I'm glad you're dealing with whatever crap life's been dealing you. I've been pretty busy with work this past month myself, with a new contract for our company that has had us getting up to speed and starting on active "fortnightly" test cycles processing incoming high stakes tests. (Fortnight is such a handy word... the company we're contracting with is out of Australia and they actually use the term.)

Anyway, I am up for Jade Regent as well. And I'm building up a backstory for Kiara that is NOT related to her being Kay and Eldthor's firstborn of the twins... just s coincidence that her name is the same... (I've grown attached to it...) EDIT: (UNLESS that is, DmDarcs tells me that this adventure is far enough in the future that Kiara would be old enough to be rebelling against her parents and running off to join a caravan... in which case I say go for it... but with the NPC characters in the Player's guide below, I can't imagine that one of them, in particular, is supposed to be THAT much older...)

EDIT: For anyone interested, I found a "spoiler-free" player's guide to the Jade Regent adventure path:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6z13ozb10mwyr ... e.pdf?dl=0

[Phoebe]

Oooh, that looks like good weekend reading! I like the word Jade, which is not really a good reason to do something but it's a great word and why not? It's one of those words that has the exact color of the letters due to its meaning, so in my mind it always appears as an extremely exaggerated and extremely gorgeously green jade color. In fact, it's an awful lot like the green you would see in that fabulous painting of Mount Fuji Pete has ranked #8.

I have some basic complaints though, like why can't we have Stan? Obviously this is mainly a complaint for Stan. He's lying in a ditch somewhere and does not send proof of life.

[zen]

I would certainly like to have Stan as well...

And:

Submitted for GM approval... Kiara's backstory: which connects her to Sandpoint and Ameiko Kaijitsu, with a bit of extra connection to a certain group of adventurers who frequent Ameiko's establishment in Sandpoint...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/te9zuaho4gurd ... y.pdf?dl=0

This places her at the age of 25, which is what I had built the character as starting at... develops her tendencies as an incessant flirt... and her desire to not stay in one place for too long...