MummyKitty
First Post
“Jubal of Sanctuary seeks sell-swords and other men of talent to apply for his Hawkmasks, an organization that provides strength through numbers and allows its members freedom to pursue their business in Sanctuary. Those interested should discreetly congregate at the Vulgar Unicorn on the eve of the fourth Orulsday of Breen for further instructions…”
Thus begins my PbP Thieves’ World game, set in the “classic” time period of the original series, also known as the Rankene Age. Magic is more prevalent, and the epic characters that made the series famous – Jubal, Tempus, Lythande, Hanse, One Thumb and more are still roaming the streets of Sanctuary. Expect some gritty action… we won’t go into too much graphic detail but there may be some violent scenes, illegal activity and possible hints of mature subject matter. So, mature players would probably be best. Anyone interested in playing please post here or e-mail me.
Various and sundry details:
The adventure is currently full, but if you're interested in being an alternate, let me know.
You don’t have to know anything about Thieves’ World to play in this game! I have created some characters that you can choose from. If you want to create your own character, great! Here are some basic ground rules.
Allowed books: Green Ronin’s Thieves’ World PhB will be used for character creation. Other character classes and backgrounds from Shadowspawn’s Guide to Sanctuary will also be considered. I will also consider allowing fighting, thieving and poisoning skills and feats from other publications, if they fit with my vision of Thieves’ World and your character concept-- just let me know what you’re thinking. Magic will be restricted to what is allowed in the Thieves’ World PHB for now.
Character stats can be generated using a 30 point buy. Characters can have six levels in any base class or cross class mix of base classes. It’s possible that may allow qualification for prestige class levels (only Thieves’ World PHB prestige classes are allowed, of course). You get max hit points at first level, but roll your hit points for other levels on Invisible Castle (invisiblecastle.com) and provide the link to your rolls (you get CON bonus each level of course).
Recommended Classes: I’ll allow any class if you can come up with a background that would have your character wanting to work for Jubal, Sanctuary’s crime lord. Keep in mind that Jubal is mistrustful to downright hostile against those who use magic. Mages, Initiates or Priests, etc. should have some kind of cover story or be posing as rogues or sell-swords. Fighters, thieves, survivors, gladiators, rangers, barbarians, etc. are all ideal.
Starting possessions: Magic items are not common in Thieves’ World. I’ll allow a maximum of three special (or masterwork) items of low power, one of medium power plus one low, or one of high power. For example, one could have three +1 items, a +2 item and a minor item, or one +3 item. The more unique and interesting the description or history of the item, the more likely I’ll allow it. In addition, if the item is powerful, but difficult to use (or even cursed) that will also knock it down from high to medium or medium to low. I want to leave some freedom for players to come up with unique trinkets or weapons for their characters without being too restrictive, but I also don’t want any uber-weapons or items. Characters can have almost any non-magic (not masterwork) item within reason. Actual wealth, in terms of coins or jewelry, should be limited, otherwise there wouldn’t be an incentive to work for someone else. Let’s say you can start with your maximum that a first level character would have in spending money (you don’t need to use that to buy your starting gear).
Character background: I’d like players to come up with interesting backgrounds for their characters. This can include contacts as outlined in the Thieves’ World PHB. I’ll consider allowing the famous characters of the series as contacts if your character’s background warrants it. Again, I have characters you can use, who will already have contacts made up too. Your background can be as long or short as you want. Just a few sentences will be fine, and I can help you with this if you wish. Though certain details about your character will be public knowledge (after all, at sixth level you will be somewhat known within the city), you may want to keep some parts of your background secret until it’s revealed during the course of the game.
Thieves’ World experience: You don’t need to have any experience or knowledge of the Thieves’ World universe to play. However, please let me know if you do have experience playing in the setting (either the new Green Ronin materials or the old Chaosium / FASA materials) or if you have read the novels and short stories, etc.
Overall Campaign Background: Thieves’ World takes place in the city of Sanctuary, a backwater hive of scum and villany full of intrigue, crime and magic. It’s a gritty setting where just about anything can be bought and sold (including drugs and human slaves). Powerful religious cults clash, sometimes openly, in the streets. Powerful and mysterious wizards make their homes in or near the city. Spies and agents of two rival powers, the mighty Rankene Empire and the Kingdom of Ilsig, often trade daggers or sell secrets in the bedchambers of brothels or the palace. Currently Prince Kadakithis rules Sanctuary; a young, idealistic member of the Rankene royal family who was sent to Sanctuary to get him out of the way of the Emperor’s palace intrigues. Through his elite “Hell Hound” guards, he keeps the peace and cracks down on criminal activities as best he can. Jubal, an ex-slave who escaped and became a gladiator, then crime lord, is the unofficial “mayor” of the city and controls a vast network of informants, spies and sell-swords, including his “hawkmasks”. Hawkmasks are his elite fighters and wear actual blue leather hawkmasks as they make their rounds in the city. This brazen showing of force is usually enough to get them anything they want as long as they don’t clash openly with the city guard (or with rival gangs).
NOTE: There are no “alignments” in Thieves’ World. Players can behave however they like, however, just remember there is law in the city and there are consequences for various actions. Even though this is a city of thieves and other desperate individuals, you aren’t going to generally be able to get away with a murder spree or stealing from everyone in sight. Also, I’m not going to encourage player versus player combat but, hey, it could happen. In any event, due to the special combat rules (see next paragraph), fighting is not always the best way to approach a problem…
Game Mechanics: This game uses d20 rules (I’ll roll all dice and describe the results). We’ll be using a damage threshold system that will allow even a high level character to be taken down by a lucky hit (basically, if you take more damage than your constitution in one hit, you’ll be knocked unconscious and worse). Magic is also handled differently. Spellcasters use mana to power their spells, and while it is more prevalent in this time period, it can still make casting spells unpredictable and prone to mis-firing. Nevertheless, powerful magic can be wielded, though spellcasters are hated by some and feared by most inhabitants of the city.
PBP Timing: To give players a chance to create their characters and fill the group, I’d like to start up the game during the end of the year holiday week (December 26th) and keep it moving at a pretty quick pace. I will try to update with a post that moves the game forward every other day or so. If you aren’t able to keep up with that kind of deadline, it’s fine and I’d still like you to play, but I may have to make some decisions for your character (ie, NPC them). I’m looking for a group of five players to start, though could begin with fewer.
Any questions? Please ask! Thanks for reading!
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