A Lost Faith’s Shadow
Friends, I intend to run a Play by Post in the Midnight Campaign setting here on ENWorld. I am looking for 4-6 players to join me exploring the world of Aryth, fighting the Shadow, and having a good time doing it!
A Lost Faith’s Shadow will start in Northern Eredane in the small farming community of Caft, northwest of Davindale. Since this is a game and games are meant to be fun, I will accept non-humans in the party. Those familiar with the Midnight setting will realize the problems of non-humans in a Shadow controlled region. As scuh, a maximum of two non-humans will be accepted and are limited to Kurgun dwarves, Caransil or Erunsil elves, gnomes, halflings, orcs, and any half-breeds. Realize playing any non-human in Northern Eredane is extremely dangerous. Dwarves, elves and their half-breed kin are killed on sight by the Shadow’s forces while halflings are generally slaves or food for orc cooking pots. Since Caft is tens of miles from any major waterway, gnome characters may prove difficult to justify. However, I give you the opportunity if you desire to play these races. You must provide sufficient justification in your character background (see below). Obviously, playing human characters would make things much easier. I will let you decide amongst yourselves who will play any non-human characters (should you so desire).
Your character may be of any class described in MN11 (Midnight Second Edition). Characters should be created at 1st level using the 32 point-buy system and 3.5e rules. Starting equipment as described in Midnight Second Edition rulebook. All Midnight supplements are valid, but if you use anything from outside the Midnight 2E rulebook, give me a head’s up.
With your character, include a moderately detailed (no 5-10 page essays necessary) character background. Your background should end with some reason why your character is in the farming town of Caft. As an outlander, your character may have arrived for work or rest, a common situation when these small farms are so critical for the Shadow’s war machine coupled with lax security in an entrenched Shadow-controlled region. Regardless, villagers will treat you as outsiders, avoiding interaction with you outside of farming work. If your character is non-human, your background MUST include a reason why you have come to Caft in a Shadow-controlled region and why your heritage has gone unnoticed (or has been accepted).
Place your characters here.
Some information on Caft for your character backgrounds: 99 LA, Arc of Sennach. Caft is a small farming village 150 miles west northwest of Davindale with approximately 250 Dorn residents. Surrounded by the rolling, grass covered hills of the northern plains, Caft sits at the southeastern end of a broad valley along a shallow, rock-strewn river. A dark pine and oak forest covers the northeastern half of the valley. The weather is mid-60s to low 70s during the day and 40s at night.
Caft is one of many towns in Northern Eredane vital to Izrador’s war machine in the Kaladruns and in Erethor. The region surrounding Caft is blessed with rich, black soil. Already in early summer wheat and corn grow green in the fields and long-horned, shaggy cattle range the vale’s pasture.
Towns such as Caft occasionally do take in wanderers, refugees or even slaves to aid in farming, a necessity if the Shadow’s armies are to receive their supply of food. A minimal turnover in Caft’s residents is not questioned generally unless food production falls. This often works to the advantage of insurgents who use their false farming jobs as cover for their other clandestine operations. Orc patrols passing through towns such as Caft are fairly common, although legate or orc warlord superiors discourage prolonged stays. The brutal and ferocious nature of an orc patrol often means dead farmers and these skilled laborers are too vital for the Shadow’s war efforts.
Most of the farmers’ homes are located in Caft for easy defense. Many of the farmers also possess blacksmithing, tailoring, tanning, butchering, etc., skills that they use to barter with others in Caft and operate out of their own homes, sheds, or barns. The Plough and Stars is a small inn in Caft, a popular place for men of the village to lament over their lives when the sun goes down. The inn sees little business other than serving its decent ale. The inn and its ale are also mandatory for the orcs that routinely pass through the town.
Rules of Engagement and My Pet Peeves
1) Post at least once every two days. If you don’t post in this time, I will move things along and play your character to the best of my ability.
2) If you plan on being offline for some time or want to quit, show some courtesy and please post here and let me and the other players know.
3) Treat the game as R-rated. I will not be overly graphic in my descriptions, but Midnight does incorporate mature-themes.
4) I will handle all dice rolling to move this PbP along. I like PbPs that do not grind to a halt to squeeze out every last dice roll. However, I need you to explain your character’s actions in detail using an OOC tag, citing feats, skills, or special abilities your character wishes to use. Two simple examples follow. In both cases, I would resolve the outcomes. In some cases, I will not even roll dice and just rule what would be expected to happen. An example might be a seventh level fighter in melee with a first level orc warrior: the seventh level fighter wins.
Example 1: Wulfgar raised his bloody head to stare up at the massive ogre standing above him. Throwing caution to the wind, the mighty Dorn roared an ancient Norfall battle challenge and swung his greatsword with all his might.
OOC: Wulfgar takes a full-attack action and uses his Power Attack feat (subtract 2 from all attack rolls and add 4 to all damage rolls). If the ogre drops, Wulfgar will Cleave the nearest orc.
Example 2: Theor moved with great care across the open compound. On the ramparts, the orc sentries moved as black silhouettes against the full moon. He knew the trapdoor must be near, but it would not be easy to find in the dark.
OOC: Theor uses the skills Move Silently and Hide. Theor pauses every ten feet to use his Spot skill to keep an eye on the orc sentries in the shadows and his Search skill to find the trap door. If Theor can, he will take 10 on the Search check if he is hidden in ample shadows.
5) I would like this PbP to read like a story. I prefer narrative in the past-tense. Put a little effort into your narrative, but avoid page-length posts. Remember, I am not the only one who reads through these!
6) Never, ever, post an action for another player or NPC. Other players and I will judge the reactions of the characters your character interacts with.
7) Never use “I” to describe your character’s actions. When you write the narrative, use your character’s name. You are not the character!
8) You must have fun. If you are not, I am not doing my job properly.
The language color code I will use is stolen from the AgainsttheShadow.org boards:
Black Tongue: dark red
Orcish: red
Erenlander: orange
Halfling: white
Trader's Tongue: yellow
Jungle Mouth: green
Norther: olive
Old Dwarven: blue
High Elven: cyan
Dwarven Clan Dialects: lime
Colonial: Purple
Courtier: pink
Patrol Sign: gray
I would like to start this PbP in the next 2-3 weeks if possible. Once 4 characters have been added to the Rogue’s Gallery, we will start. An additional 1-2 characters may drift in afterwards.
So, who is interested? Any questions?
The Players
Toric Arthendain
Bobitron
Krug
maddmic
Thornir Alekeg
Alternates
Unkabear
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