Introduction

Introduction to Dan's New Campaign

Welcome to the world of Golarion, the Paizo world created just for Pathfinder. The Pathfinder Wiki will give you a lot of information on the world in general. I have tried using other, company produced campaign worlds before with limited success. I am impressed with the depth and history of Golarion and I don't feel that I can compete with a team of writers. I am giving this world a try to see if I can make a richer game. I also want to try and use some Paizo modules; most of the ones I have read are of good quality (better than anything I saw produced by TSR). As with most of my games this is an experiment to see how something new works. I will be trying to stick close to the history written for Golarion and the Geography. I will also be using the Pathfinder gods. My goal is to get a more immersive and hence better game time. I can't promise to stick exactly to what has been written since I haven’t read all that has been written. I have read the Inner Sea Campaign Guide and the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Gods a couple of times. It should be noted that this website is under construction and the contents may be changed.

Iron Gods Campaign

My next game will take place in the area of Numeria and will be science fiction themed. It will use the same rules as Pathfinder only you may have the chance to come across and find high tech items. It is strongly suggested that you take the skill Knowledge (Engineering). There is a lot of trade in different kinds of metals often called sky metals because rumor has it that a long, long time ago the metals fell from the sky. These metals are unusual in composition and in finding them. Numeria has a unique form of money called silver disks. These items are small silver disks with etchings on them in no particular pattern, but identical in nature. One silver disk equals 1 gold piece in value, outside of Numeria though they are rarely seen. You can use high tech devices with trial and error. To properly use them you must have the Technologist feat. You cannot take this feat at first level, unless you have a background campaign trait that gives you access to it or a reason in your story background for it. For example you could have apprenticed to a Tinker who worked on robots and you learned about robots and hae the Technologist feat. Having this feat will help you IF you come across some high tech treasure. It is not necessary for the first module, it may be necessary later on.

I have a strange idea as DM, its called continuity; I like the same players and the same characters in the game adventuring from level 1 to whatever. If you character dies and for some reason can't be brought back then you will be allowed to bring in a backup character at the same level. If you just feel like changing characters then you can at any point, except in the middle of a game, they will come in at one level below that of the party. I will not be adjusting the toughness of the modules to allow for this lower level so you will be able to advance quicker. In my experience coming in one level behind is not a big handicap. If I see a habit of changing characters then I will start rewarding the player characters who stay with the game. If you are changing to a character different than your backup character I will need to be told about it prior to the game and see that character in the Dropbox>Dan's Game>Your folder before 10:00 pm on Thursday of the week prior to the game.

Character Sheets

I want players to keep a copy of their current character sheet in Dropbox under Dan's Game and the file with your name on it. After the first session things on your character may be changed if you don't like them. These changes and any future updates and changes must be made by 10:00 pm the Thursday prior to a game session. After the first game any changes made will be done according to the rules for leveling your character or the rules for retraining your character. You will find editable character sheets in the folder labeled Blank Character Sheets under Dan's Game in Dropbox. There is a sheet for primarily martial characters with little to no spell casting capability and a sheet for spell casting characters. Please keep a current list of your memorized spells on your character sheet. The sheets are editable PDF files accessible through either Adobe Acrobat Reader or FoxIt both programs can edit the files and both are free. I also strongly suggest you come up with a back-up character that can be a stand by for your character in case if something happens to your primary character.

The Four Food Groups of Adventuring

Since the game was first envisioned the party was meant to be composed of 4-5 characters; at least one a fighter type who could take and deal out damage, an arcane caster type, a divine caster type who could heal, and a skillful one who can sneak around and handle traps. The further you deviate from having these four food groups in a party the harder the game will be on you and the other players. For example I played a game with a soul knife; a psionic fighter. When that character died and couldn't be brought back to life I came in with a wizard for a replacement. The problem is that I was the only fighter type in the party prior to this and now I was just another arcane caster. The party had no fighter types and we all suffered because of that. In another example I played in a party of three with all hybrid characters and we had a hard time in the adventure. By 5th level my character had died 5 times because as a Magus I didn't have the ability to take a lot of hits in battle; I was a glass cannon. I could deal out the damage, just not take it. Also in an under-strengthened party we all suffered.

Allowed Alignments

Any alignments are allowed, but keep in mind that the party needs to work together.

If you want to play you must work with your DM and your party to create a character that will follow a few key rules:

1. The party has to know that you have their back. Almost every thief has been guilty of under reporting the amount of treasure they find and pocketing the profits for their own use. However, if the party is in trouble almost all of those characters are willing to do anything to help. If the party can't trust its members it will start a war within the party and cause the party to fall apart. One example of a way to start a war within the party is when chaotic characters pull "practical jokes" on other players. I have never found practical jokes to be practical and they tend to break down party trust. I have seen a party come to blows over a practical joke.

2. The party must be willing to follow the DMs Story Line. DMs are responsible for creating a reason for why all that happens in the characters' lives' does happen. The life of an adventurer is not a string of accidents, but a road to an eventual goal; usually one that saves the world or fulfills a similarly impressive goal. The DM may put up a lot of stories, they may disguise the story line, there will be random encounters, and the party may stray from the primary storyline from time to time; but you cannot have one group want to go here and adventure and another group that wants to go in an entirely different direction to do something else and still expect the DM to run both parties. This is why every DM hates it when the party separates, they can't do two things at once; they can't run two groups at the same time.

3. The party must get along, they don't have to like each other, but they must agree to work together. If the party members can't get along together then they will not have a legitimate reason to adventure together. There are reasons why an evil creature and a good creature could adventure together; mainly to defeat a foe that they have in common or to prevent the destruction of what they hold dear. Their ways of going about it will differ; as to their alignments, and they will argue over that, but if they can't agree to work together then there is no reason for them to do so and the game will fall apart. If the party won't stay together, working on a common goal then there is no reason for the party to exist. The goals may change, and the motives may vary, and everyone may not be working on the same goal at the same time, but they can't be working against each other or against the story.

The easiest way to ensure that these rules are not broken is to force the party to have similar or compatible alignments. If the players can come up with good reasons for the party to be together without sharing the same alignments, then they can work that out with the DM in their background story. Those party members must also insure that when the DM's plot unfolds that they will be able to keep with the party and the storyline. Otherwise they will not be allowed to play an unapproved alignment. I do not expect everyone will always work together, but I want the group to aspire toward that goal.

I don't want people to play evil, but I will allow it, provided you can work with your party.

It is not a situation of US "the party" vs. THEM "the DM." It is a situation of ALL OF US trying to resolve the problems posed by the DM. You must create a character who is willing to follow that goal. If it were US vs. THEM then I would simply drop a mountain on your heads, problem solved.

I need to know what you plans are for your character. I was told by someone else that a character in one of my games wanted to play a fallen paladin, and was trying to do questionable acts that would cause him to be a fallen paladin, then his personal story would be his struggle to redeem himself. This would have been a good story, if I had been clued in on it. In my opinion the character didn’t do anything to lose his paladin-hood, so I never took it. If I knew this was a character goal of his, then I could have watched his actions closer and maybe clued him in on some ways he could have gone to have achieved those character goals. The campaign was designed to be an exploration of a new continent and the foes were wandering monsters, diplomatic challenges, and finally a race of evil creatures that held a civilization occupying the land. The creatures were seen as evil, known to be evil, so it would be a “good” act to destroy them. The kingdom backing the players wanted this land and were willing to take out the rival civilization to get their land.

One last word; I will try to not “out” your characters. If you have secrets that you don’t want the party to know then make sure to tell me what they are, and I will do my best to keep them secret. However, I am going to assume that you want to trust the party for them to trust you. For this to happen you must be honest with them and tell them as much as you can about yourself. If you have a secret, like you are the exiled son of a noble who was killed, and you want to restore your place on the throne, then eventually you are going to start working toward those goals and you will want to get the party involved. A goal like that could be the focus for the campaign. If you have a secret enemy from your past and she shows up and attacks the party, then your character might want to keep his motives for the attack a secret. I would caution against this; the party needs to know as much as possible about what is going on. If you have a legitimate secret, then don’t tell the players. Assuming that the players will have their characters act ignorant of any secrets the player knows; is asking too much of the players. While we all can play without acting on player knowledge, it is best if we don’t have to make that distinction. With that in mind I will enact a general rule: “You say, you play.” Meaning that whatever you say at the table will be assumed to be words from your character’s mouth, unless you say otherwise. Not just in actions, but in deeds.