(CSRHoD) CS's Red Hand of Doom [OOC]

This will be my first game on enworld in a couple years. I'll be running the pretty well known published module Red Hand of Doom. I've run it once at my tabletop game all the way from beginning to end with a 2 player party of Gestalts. I've ran a dozen odd PbP games on these boards in the past.

I'm going to leave recruitment open for 2 days, then pick through the players that have applied. My goal is 6 5th level pcs. I would appreciate it if the characters are somewhat standard, and without too much overlap between 'roles' in the party if possible.

My ideal pace is somewhat slow, only updating once every day or so. I generally make use of graphical tools a lot for my pbp games. Also there are a couple house-rules that I may need to point out.

Players that have been through the module before, or DMs that have run the module before should be fine for my game.

Adventure Background and Setting
Straight out of the book. Some of it appended to keep secrets for anyone that hasn't actually seen the module.

For centuries, the dry and dusty Wyrmsmoke Mountains have been home to dozens of goblinoid tribes. Travelers skirted the goblin-infested hills by a generous margin, but the Wyrmsmoke tribes posed no significant threat to the nearby human townlands and settlements other than the occational bloody raid. Yet deep within the mountains lay hidden something that would spell doom.

The setting of the adventure is a thinly populated human frontier known as Elsir Vale and the surrounding wilderlands. The vale stretches almost 250 miles east to west and averages about 70 miles north to south. Several small mountain ranges and dense forests form the vale's borders.

The scattered human towns and villages of the area grew up along the Dawn Way, an important east-west trade road linking the heavily settled lands that lie northwest across the Endless Plains with the exotic kingdoms and goods of the coastal lands lying to the southeast. Much of the Dawn Way was built by an ancient dwarf-kingdom that spanned the Wyrmsmoke and Giantshield Mountains more than a thouasand years ago. While the dwarves are long gone, their roads, bridges, and cisterns remain in use to this day. After the dwarf-realm passed, the presence of various monsters and raiders kept traffic along the Dawn Way light for many years; few caravans dared the long and dangerous trek. Few humans lived in Elsir Vale during those years-only scattered settlements of druidic folk who left behind little more than grassy barrows and stone circles on the hilltops.

About five hundred years ago, the nearby city of Rhest came to control the vale and a large swath of land north of the Giantshields as well. Soldiers from Rhest secured the roads all the way to Dennovar and beyond, creating a safe passage for trade. More and more traders traveled the Dawn Way, and the kingdom of Rhestilor grew wealthy on the tariffs exacted from the passing merchants. Under the Kingdom's shield, the towns along the Dawn Way-Brindol, Talar, Terrelton, and the rest-grew up from tiny hamlets or lonely soldiers' posts to flourishing human settlements.

The kingdom of Rhestilor eventually collapsed under civil strife, monstrous incursions, and magical blights. Almost two-hundred years ago, the city of Rhest was burned by a savage horde out of the Wyrmsmoke Mountains. Although the warriors of Rhestilor killed many of the goblins and their kind, the city was abandoned and the already weakened kingdom broken. The locks and canals surrounding Rhest fell into disrepair and the Blackfens swallowed the ruined city.

In the years sincet he Kingdom's fall, the towns of Elsir Vale have come to look after themselves. Most of the local lords, such as Jarmaath of Brindol, still hold titles derived from the old kingdom of Rhestilor. While everybody knows that the kings of Rhestilor are long dead, no new realm has arisen in the vale.

This adventure is being ran "out of the box" without being tied to the Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Eberron, or any other published setting. Deities will be stolen from Greyhawk for most of the setting, however also expect to see some other pantheons even from different settings popping in.

Character Creation

Ability Scores:
32 Point Buy.

Hit Dice
Maximize 1st.
Average on all others.
(4 = 2.5, 6 = 3.5, 8 = 4.5, 10 = 5.5, 12 = 6.5)

Races
Aasimar*, Dwarf, Gray Elf, Goliath*, Halfling, Human, Tiefling*.

*Aasimar, Goliaths, and Tieflings are modified.
[sblock=Aasimar]Aasimar as Characters
• Planetouched Subtype: Aasimar are humanoids with the Planetouched Subtype.
• +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma.
• Medium size.
• An aasimar’s base land speed is 30 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on Spot and Listen checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Celestial. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Sylvan.
• Favored Class: Paladin.[/sblock]
[sblock=Goliath]Goliaths as Characters
• +2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Intelligence, -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma
• Medium Size.
• Goliath base land speed is 30 feet.
• Monstrous Humanoid: As monstrous humanoids, goliath are proficient with all simple weapons, but they have no proficiency with any armor or shield.
• Powerful Build: The physical stature of goliath lets them function in many ways as if they were one size category larger.
• Whenever a goliath is subject to a size modifier or special size modifier for an opposed check (such as during grapple checks, bull rush attempts, and trip attempts), the goliath is treated as one size larger if doing so is advantageous to him.
• A goliath is also considered to be one size larger when determining whether a creature’s special attacks based on size (such as improved grab or swallow whole) can affect him. A goliath can use weapons designed for a creature one size larger without penalty. However, his space and reach remain those of a creature of his actual size. The benefits of this racial trait stack with the effects of powers, abilities, and spells that change the subject’s size category.
• Mountain Movement: Goliaths can make standing long jumps and high jumps as if they were running long jumps and high jumps. A goliath can engage in accelerated climbing without taking the -5 penalty on the Climb check.
• Acclimated: Goliaths are automatically acclimated to life at high altitude.
• +2 racial bonus on Sense Motive checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Gol-Kaa. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Giant, Gnoll, Terran.
• Favored Class: Barbarian.[/sblock]
[sblock=Tiefling]Tieflings as Characters
• Planetouched Subtype: Tieflings are humanoids with the Planetouched Subtype.
• +2 Dexterity, +2 Intelligence.
• Medium size.
• A tiefling’s base land speed is 30 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on Bluff and Hide checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common, Infernal. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Orc.
• Favored Class: Rogue.[/sblock]

Classes
Barbarian, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Spellthief, Swordsage, Warlock, Wizard.

[sblock=Barbarians]Barbarians gain Diehard as a bonus feat at 1st level even if he does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat. In addition, a barbarian's death threshold increases by 1 per barbarian level. (Ex: A 5th level barbarian would die at -15.)[/sblock]
[sblock=Clerics]Clerics lose their ability to spontaneously cast cure/cause wounds spells and their bonus domain spells per day. Instead, Clerics can spontaneously cast spells from their domains. All Clerics of good deities can select the Healing domain. All Clerics of evil deities can select the Destruction domain.[/sblock]
[sblock=Druid] Unaltered. [/sblock]
[sblock=Fighter]Fighters of 6th level and higher can change their favored weapon as a full round action. This means that a fighters weapon focus, improved critical, weapon specialization, and similar feats can all be changed in one full round action.[/sblock]
[sblock=Paladin]Unaltered.[/sblock]
[sblock=Ranger]Rangers of 6th level and higher can switch their combat styles as a full round action.[/sblock]
[sblock=Rogue]Rogues can trade their sneak attack for fighter bonus feats at levels other than 1st.[/sblock]
[sblock=Spellthief]Unaltered.[/sblock]
[sblock=Swordsage]Unaltered.[/sblock]
[sblock=Warlock]Unaltered.[/sblock]
[sblock=Wizard]Wizards use a d6 hit die instead of a d4.[/sblock]

Skills
All classes recieve more skill points.
(2 + int modifier) becomes (4 + int modifier)
(4 + int modifier) becomes (6 + int modifier)
(6 + int modifier) becomes (8 + int modifier)
(8 + int modifier) becomes (10 + int modifier)

Feats
All non-core feats are by approval.
Dodge just gives a +1 dodge bonus to AC.
Item creation feats are prohibited. Item creation is allowed regardless of feats, and it does not cost additional experience. The primary limiter during this game is time.

Prestige Classes
All prestige classes including those in the core books are by approval.

Wealth
All characters start with 9000 gold worth of equipment. Non-core items will need approval.

Rogues Gallery: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=3748608#post3748608

I'd like to play a favoured soul of Kord, if you are allowing Complete Divine(if not, cleric). Still not certain on race, but I have a few questions about this game before I commit to it.

1. What books are allowed and what is the starting gold?
2. Is this going to focus on roll or role?
3. Is this in Grayhawk or a different world?

1. Starting gold is up now in the char creation post. The "books" question is a bit vague. I intend to allow the classes and races detailed above, and any necessary feats/skills/spells/abilities that are required to make those classes work. I have a large collection but I may or may-not allow certain things on a case by case basis.

2. Because of the nature of the module, I think roll is going to be pretty important. However, that's not to say that it is the only focus.

3. Generic fantasy game #81939183. I have some interesting ideas for some elements, but I'm not subscribing to any particular campaign philosophy and I also wouldn't go so far as to call this a whole home-brew game.

I'm potentially interested- my first thought is a tiefling warlock. Do you want concepts first, or full sheets?

Your choice. I love either. Some characters I build for myself one way, some the other.

Alright, I'm in if you'll have me. I'll play an aasimar cleric of Kord. I'd like the aproval of one feat from Complete Divine - Spontaneous Healer. It would allow me to swap out my prepared spells for cure spells.

That would be fine by me.

I'd like to go for a dwarven barbarian, specialised in cave-fighting. Maybe belonging to one of the older clans that still lives deep inside the mountains? He'd be interested in exploring the old dwarven ruins, maybe dreaming of one day reclaiming them.