OOC discussion: Diabolical Plots

mazzoli · May 18, 2012

Recruiting is now closed on this game.

Due to a combination of the recent release of Diablo III and Blizzard's apparent interest in keeping me from playing said game I am brimming with ideas for a Diablo inspired (that is, demons and angels and crazy folk, oh my!) Pathfinder game.

As far as the world goes I'm looking to have a slightly dark feel, but a genre savvy world that doesn't take itself too seriously despite the darkness. The world isn't very fleshed out at the moment, but I want this to be something of a sandbox and we can fill in the details as we go. I am a fan of player created content, so if you want to go visit some ruin that you decided was east of town, there's now a ruin east of town and I'd be glad to let the party explore it.

With regard to my style of GMing, I follow the rule of cool first and foremost. My inclination is to allow players to do what they want (though they won't necessarily succeed at it). This has worked well in my live games, but I have yet to GM a play by post game so we'll see what happens.

For a quick overview of what I'm looking to do:

Slightly dark fantasy world, but lots of lightheartedness

Sandbox type game

Player created content is welcome

Solid mix of roleplay and combat

Here's an introduction to the setting:

In the far reaches of the kingdom of Hallea lies the sleepy town of Perium. Perched upon the shores of Lake Banna the village is perpetually covered in the fog that rolls in off the water, penned in by the thick woods to one side and the highlands to the other.

Though used to being isolated, things have taken a turn for the grim in this quaint burg. Following a meager harvest, the fog has thickened making it difficult for the fishing boats to alleviate the food shortage. Strange things have been seen on the edges of the the village, hiding in the mist, and there has been no contact from the outside, not even the King's tax collectors, in a long while, longer than anyone can remember since the Troubles.

Rules:
As of right now, I'm thinking I will allow Core Rulebook and Advanced Player's Guide, plus Aasimar and Tieflings from the Bestiary. I'll have to look through what's in Ultimate Magic and Combat. If you want to make a case for something else to be included I'll be glad to consider it.

Ability scores will be point buy as in the Core Rulebook with 20 points. I got this from the Living Pathfinder group on this board and those characters feel pretty good to me.
I'm thinking we'll start at level 1 but use the fast progression, and I'll probably give out more experience than normal for the first level or two. I like letting players get used to their characters at low level but pushing through to around level 3 quickly, then settling into the pace of the game. I'm not decided if I want an end level with feat progression afterward, similar to E6 rules. We can decide this once we have all the players together.
Two traits from the above sources will be allowed, but you have to justify them in your character's history. If you want a custom trait, feel free to come up with one and I'll take a look at it, but try to keep it around the same power level as the published traits.
Please come up with as much history for your character as you want. I've set up an Obsidian Portal for this game here, so let me know that you're one of the players and I'll add you to it and we can get down to the nuts and bolts of what exactly will happen.

EDIT: I've decided to close recruiting, and so far the character ideas are looking good. I'm thinking that I'll privately set up an interesting introductory scenario with different roles for each of you.

Other than that, let me know if you have any suggestions for what I can do better.

HolyMan · May 18, 2012

I am current playing in know games and PF is my fav, so I would like to have at it.

Slightly Dark Fantasy huh? No idea what that means but if it means this may be a little gritter than most games I think a tough dwarf is needed.

Firtargath Tagon'gun - (know as Fir "fur")

"A naked dwarf that comes up out of the lake is sure to make a stir in any town, but in Perium it was just another odd day." - Jeslle, fisherman's daughter

But that was how Firtargath came too the small human settlement. Given the choice he won't have survived his ordeal but fate is cruel, and Fir tends to think it likes to laugh at him as well.

While traveling across Lake Banna with a small entourage of dwarven shield brothers to reinforce the garrison of Dagen's Hall, Fir and the others were set upon by a pack of demonic harpies. The creatures were part of the blockade to cut of the dwarven hall from the rest of the nation. The creatures weren't out for an instant bloodletting as that seemed to easy and not as much fun. They instead stunned those they could, making them immobile, and then stripped them to the skin. They tossed everything overboard and then waited. After the dwarfs could move the foul creatures swooped in for the kill.

Fir was about to die when one of his brothers pushed him over the side shouting that someone had to live to tell what had happened. Agreeing reluctantly the dwarf made for the fog and thus was the only one to escape.

I'm thinking cavalier(beast rider)/barbarian - just need to know a couple things:

- How to generate ability scores
- Starting level
- Will traits be allowed?
- And if you need a more detailed background

HM

Caim · May 18, 2012

I've never 'played' with you HM and I would love to so I'm throwing my hat into this game.

Slightly dark fantasy setting...I think of the Warhammer realm when the subject comes up.

I was thinking of inquisitor for a character which brings me to the question od deities. Would an established pantheon be used or have you made one up?

mazzoli · May 18, 2012

When I say slightly dark fantasy setting I meant similar to Diablo, which is the inspiration for this. Demons and angels battling each other and the world coming apart at the seams. That said, I don't want the game to take itself too seriously, which is why it's "slightly" dark.

-Terrible Swift Sword

I'm thinking we'll just use the established pantheon, unless you want to create a deity for your character. If you do that, just follow the template for the official deities in the books to make sure everything stays pretty much on an even footing.

-HolyMan

That's some good stuff there. I like how you took the setting sketch and added some pretty awesome detail to it. With regards to the rules I'll add some detail to the rules section in the top post because I forgot to specify some of that stuff.

Masrenzrik · May 18, 2012

Hey Mazzoli

Hey, I'm in on this.

mazzoli · May 18, 2012

HolyMan, I've sent you a campaign invite on Obsidian Portal.

dave_o · May 19, 2012

I've never played Pathfinder but it's so similar to D&D 3.5 I don't think I would have any trouble. Definitely interested, if you'll tolerate a noob!

I'll be editing in a character idea shortly...

EDIT: I'm digging the idea of a Elf Druid 1!

The Green Man, or Din as he is truly known, has been a fixture in Perium for as long as most residents can recall. Making his home in the nearby woods, the Green Man visits Perium on a need basis -- for supplies, to offer a brief word of advice in some act of healing, or horticulture. His lean dog, Toadkiller, is always at hand. Recent troubles have found the Green Man even spending a night or two within the town confines, posting up at the inn, perhaps lending credence to the strange shapes caught lurking at the edge of the fog...

Where do you want a character sheet? Obsidian Portal?

Starman · May 19, 2012

I'd like to throw my hat into the ring. I think I would like to play a human wizard, someone who is CG with some CN tendencies. He can be selfish and is obsessed with gaining power and arcane knowledge. I'll think about this some more and flesh it out if there's a spot for me in the game.

mazzoli · May 19, 2012

dave_o and Starman, you're both welcome to join. I'm thinking we'll just keep the character sheets on Obsidian Portal, unless anybody really wants them somewhere else. I'll also let you guys know that if you're interested there's a place for evil characters in this campaign. Not all evil is the same, and an alliance of convenience between evil characters and good characters would make for an interesting party and good story and roleplay fodder. Just throwing that out there if anybody is interested.

dave_o · May 19, 2012

mazzoli said:
dave_o and Starman, you're both welcome to join. I'm thinking we'll just keep the character sheets on Obsidian Portal, unless anybody really wants them somewhere else. I'll also let you guys know that if you're interested there's a place for evil characters in this campaign. Not all evil is the same, and an alliance of convenience between evil characters and good characters would make for an interesting party and good story and roleplay fodder. Just throwing that out there if anybody is interested.

May I have an invite to the game on Obsidian Portal? I'm dave_o on there as well...