Keep in mind I will be working out of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting book, the one that came out before the Beta playtest, and way before the PFRPG came out. That said, I'm not entirely sure where it'll be, though certainly in a "humanocentric" area.
[sblock= DM rant starting with Characters] Well, I'm realistic and know that PBP is typically tunnel-vision for character level: if the game takes off and lasts years, you're still likely to cover only a one-or-two level span. Heck, the idea that 10 encounters is a level, getting through even one encounter takes several months, it's a great medium to run M&M games where your concept is static and going up in level actually makes it less likely you'll be playing the character you want (ie: you get more points and wolverine has to spend them, so he buys a pair of rocket boots; and is ontologically no longer Wolverine).
That said, I want to try out the PFRPG, AND I want to be able to do as much with the characters as possible, and have the freedom to tell some interesting stories.
I don't have any experience with higher level games, and the highest level game I've DM'd exploded in flames because I wasn't ready for 3e like I thought I was. That's why I switched to 4e for my RL game, as it's easier to plug in other characters than 3e was (and I admit now I'm lazy like the rest of you). That and I knew great ways to powergame in 3.5, and by level 7 I'd made a nigh-unstoppable Dwarven Fighter simply with Power Attack and weapon focus and some magical items (without NPCs having magic items, which meant the party would just have more gear when they beat every Orc... basically lots of issues)
Like I said, I want to give PFRPG a fair try, see if it did fix 3e. I'm finding 4e is good, but I want to try a less hard-and-fast system like SAGA or PFRPG, where some of the descriptions of powers are more open to interpretation.
I've been gaming for almost two decades, starting with AD&D Ravenloft basic set and the Van Richten's guides. I knows mah crunch, I likes mah stories. When I design games, I tend to want to challenge the players as much as the characters, and I try to do this with atmosphere.
That and I like Mythology. If you do also, that's a great start.[/sblock]
Character Creation: level 6, please. PFRPG core book, and the playtest classes of Oracle, Cavalier, Summoner and Witch are okay. No eeeeevil characters, thanks (so skip the baby-eating options), but an interesting dynamic is good.
Races should generally be human nationalities, but I encourage one or two non-human characters, but that's all. Human is the setting, with other stuff as add-ons to it.
PFSRD only, really, excepting the human races and setting information. I don't think anyone can manage a PrC, yet, though if you're gunning for it I want to know now (so I can know if we're going to level up or what you're hoping to be exactly).
No Emo characters, if you could, or destructive/pointless characters. And please give me character, as best you can, both in terms of living characters and in terms of entertaining to watch.
Also: how are you lot with folk tales? folk music? historical drama?
Stats: Hmmm...
Invisible Castle only roll 4d6, drop the lowest; AND if you want to use the same numbers as another player, you can (example: everyone rolls 1s, except marty, who rolls three 18s; everyone can take his rolls). NO RE-ROLLS and I WILL BE CHECKING!!!
I'm more interested in good RP than stats, and it bugs me when people just keep rolling and rolling until they get "magic". If everyone hates their stats (and honestly), we as a group will trash the last batch and start from scratch ACROSS THE BOARD.
Equipment: Let's start with basic stuff. I'll distribute magic later, and if you kids can find it, and survive to claim it, that's great. Keep it simple. Standard gold for 6th level, roll for it.
Where: I don't know yet. It's going to be mainland, somewhere cold at night but not snowy, and likely not too far from the western side of the continent. There's wolves, and the folk have white skin, but it's not the land of the Linnorm Kings either.
However, I'm hoping you lot get into the Realms and human nations. Create a character, then pick a nation and decide how that nation would have formed them for several levels. I don't care where you come from, but there's a story behind how you got to where you are; likely banal, but there you have it.
[sblock=THE MISSION]You're escorting a Scholar from one city to another. He's a bit funny, but he pays well and doesn't fuss too much. He's been a bit jumpy, and he says it's due to a card reading he got before he hired you. Now your party is surrounded by wolves.[/sblock]
[sblock=monsters]I'm taking the bestiary as a given. Monsters more powerful I'll be adding character levels to, for the most part. So if you run into a band of Gnolls, and their leader is bigger than most of them, I've added Barbarian levels to it. The king of the Efreet (Sultan, sure) is a high level Efreet warrior/wizard/sorcerer/somethingorother. The idea that a Lich is a master of the arcane is a given; therefore 12th level is considered pretty high.
In your experience, you mostly get wolves and bandits and thieves. There are more magical creatures for sure, but it tends to be in the shadows or far from civilization. For example, a Wizard's tower in a city is more than likely to have extraplanar creatures there, a king is likely to have a garden with creatures in it. A tavern won't, but there are were-rats in the sewers. People are superstitious for sure, and don't expect magic, but know it exists.
You can find it if you look, but it's not exactly in your face.
[/sblock]
[sblock=inspirational reading/watching list]Jim Henson's Storyteller series'. Clash of the Titans 1981 (but upgrade to the 2010's special effects; heh). HBO's Rome. The first Mummy film, not the others. PotC: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Kurt Busiek & Cary Nord's Conan series (Dark Horse Comics). Mike Mignola's Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser book. Bulfinch's Mythology. Greek, Norse myth. European Folklore.
And while you're at it, the Pathfinder CS. [/sblock]
