Demortuan, the Future of the Ancients

After a global Ice-Age that nobody remembers the cause of and magic starting to become regulated the world has been split. Drow, having arose from the Darklands, now inhabit the lands of Catacan threatening the regulation of magic and absence of free-will. Their first target is the Elves of Aquim, possibly the only race powerful enough to stop this threat. Those that oppose power often end up dead or worse, enslaved. Can the heroes cut down the Drow and take the powers from the enemy? In order to do so, they will need to brave the wastelands, cross no man’s land and enter into Catacan undercover. They must forge their own equipment, survive the wilds and become an elite unit. The forces against the heroes are limitless and ruthless, capture will almost certainly lead to death and the Drow are the best at finding out infiltrators and traitors in their ranks.

The ‘Defenders of Peace’ begins in the Elven Woodlands nation of Aquim, where the heroes must first fight back the front line of a village against an onslaught of Lizardlings. From here they must find the motive behind the Lizardlings, meet with an undercover agent in the Drow homelands, push into an overrun Citadel deep underground retaking it from the enemy without any of them escaping to alert the high-powers of the rebellious group. What is causing the Drow to become power hungry? How are they planning to embrace world domination and magic regulation? Why are Elves weakened on the battlefield? The heroes must plot to take down the Drow leaders, after all, what you kill is what you keep amongst Drow kind.

Things you should consider about the regions involved in war:

Like most other settings, there are ways in which Catacan and Aquim fits into normal expectations of the game of Pathfinder, but it defies more of these conventions.

1. Catacan has a strict no Magic policy unless you’re in the military, are a doctor or a member of the high council. Magic is believed to bring power and with power comes disturbance amongst peace. This is controlled and can be learned more of in game.
2. Resources are often recycled into new items. A dagger may be melted down so that is can be smithed into a new weapon and such. Due to the war efforts, metals are running low and weapons even more so.
3. Aquim is run in a chaotic and abrasive manor, tactics change and politics are often overthrown if they are not working out. The country / region is run via diplomatic means and the Elves have embraced the ancient times’ buildings.
4. Knowledge is precious, especially in Catacan. Almost no one is educated beyond what they need to farm or work a trade. Literacy is far from the norm. Medicine is unreliable, and any injury can be fatal. Aquim is better off, however it’s advised to still remain cautious.
5. Resurrection is unheard of but plausible and injuries do affect a character. It’s often heard of limbs being lost in battle so think about how much you love your arms and legs before attempting something.

Important underlying themes of the game:

In addition to the text above, the region and its history, there are a few other basic ideas which will always be prominent in the game.

1. Nobody is born a hero. Nobody is used to war, the world hasn’t seen war in so long that it is gory, scary and uninviting. People who have been fighting the front for a prolonged amount of time can grow a blood lust, but the heroes aren’t a cut above common folk. They have strengths and weaknesses, it is what they do with them that defines who and what they are and what they become. You’re not a mercenary.
2. There is no good or bad people. Ideally everyone would start at a true neutral alignment, unless class states otherwise, and as the characters develop their alignments are changed into what suits their play style. There are harsh consequences for criminal activity and evil acts, from imprisonment, loss of appendages and without question death.
3. Survival and suffering. With war tearing through the lands of both sides, resources are scarce and food is rationed. You can make a living selling food, killing wild animals and such, but do so at a price of spent ammunition and so on so forth. Food needs to be prepared properly and if not poisoning can occur, cleanliness is a must due to the diseases that follow non-hygienic practices. Unless you’re in a city, you’ll feel these effects.
4. Judgement and deception. First point to be made, following on from the previous one, is if you want to get a good reputation with people and places, be clean. Nobody respects a gore soaked character, much like people in the real world. Your characters are liable to racism, prejudice and bigotry. If this makes you uncomfortable at any point please speak to the Gamemaster respectively.
5. Peace and War. Although the strongest of all aspects of peace and war are time and patience, this is the first major conflict in the world since the ice-age. Up until now the Drow have lived in peace, making deals with the Elves who they have always resented at the best of times. Conflict has been unheard of for a many generations and nobody in the current world has seen anything like the horrors that follow it.

What to expect from the Gamemaster:

Being a Gamemaster is not easy, especially ones that make a homebrew world and let their players run wild in their creation. However, here are a few things a Gamemaster of ‘The Defenders of Peace’ should be:

1. To roll with your choices. In game there will be events and such that are scripted, but there will also be times that you as players can have freedom of choice in what you do. The Gamemaster will do their best to roll with these choices you make, adapting the game appropriately so that it becomes yours.
2. Roleplay. The Gamemaster will get into the roles of characters and monsters. They will use voices, accents and noises to best depict the living and undead around you. This also means that the enemies will aim to kill a downed person.
3. Play as the dice fall. Some Gamemasters like to use a screen to hide the fate of the dice and make sure the players live to tell the tales, but in ‘Defenders of Peace’ death is a constant and very real threat and thus if the dice decide so it’ll be so.

What the Gamemaster expects from players:

So although the Gamemaster writes a lot of the game, without the players there is no story. I may as well write a novel and that’s nowhere near as fun. So here is what the Gamemaster expects from the players:

1. Know your characters. This includes know how your class features work, how your spells function, what to add to certain roles and so on. This is your responsibility and if found to be wrong there will be in game consequences. I.E. Spells don’t function properly due to not knowing how they work, feats are disabled for a round or so and so on.
2. Roleplaying. Have you ever heard someone telling you a story and then just say “word vomit”? So why is this okay through characters? They’re ‘real’ people in a ‘real’ world, that means you must convey information you have learned. This also means, you cannot use information another player has that they have not said in character.
3. Play characters an audience would love. This isn’t because you’re going to play on stage, this is because realistically nobody wants to work with an Evil character. This campaign is Good / Neutral based and once an appropriate alignment has been obtained the world will play to it. Evil characters will have a harder time making contacts, successfully encountering trade and can even see prices soar through the roof.
4. Take things seriously on occasion. Yes, the game is fun, but at the same time the Gamemaster has put a lot of work into the sessions in which you play. So if something is seemingly serious, take it that way as it may pay off in the long run.
5. Play as a unit. You’re a group working together to obtain the same goal, don’t play as individuals. Splitting the party and wandering off on your own will most likely result in your death, it is not the Gamemaster’s responsibility to nullify the encounter for one person because you walked off.

Technological Advancements and The Old Ones:

The world is built upon a pre-existing land that was once ruled by a multitude of diverse races, but since the ‘Great Freeze’ it has been survival of the fittest and only the toughest have survived. The ‘Great Freeze’ destroyed a lot of the now ancient world, and during the ‘Age of Birth’ this impact was clear. Homes laid in ruin, great towers were crushed and what remains of their presence serves as both landmarks for adventurers and a reminder of the destructive capabilities of the supernatural.

1. Weapons: Guns are unheard of in Aquim, nobody knows what a gun is. There are remains that can be found throughout the country, however, these are nothing more than mechanical looking parts. Almost everyone relies on a sword, shield or bow and in the areas it is allowed, magic. Yet, due to the strong absence of Magic through law enforcement in Catacan, weapons are more readily available.
2. Mechanical parts: Windmills, pulley systems, cranes and the typical medieval-ly things like this are all present. Siege engines, great constructions, weapons of war are also present, ships, horse and cart are also present. Guns are unheard of and airships are extremely rare.
3. Medieval Fantasy technology is available to all in game if the character can either find a place to buy it, or find the blueprints and parts to make it. Blueprints are often traded for, this is due to the desire to understand further into the technology realm and perhaps making life easier, especially in Catacan.
4. Know as The Old Ones, there are beings believed to have lived through the ‘Great Freeze’ and now roam the wilds. Some say they are irradiated, others believe it is magic whilst the common beliefs are usually they are the souls of those that never escaped. Contacting one of these beings is extremely hard, however, if successful the rewards can bring ancient knowledge and possibly futuristic technology to the present day, perhaps if unlucky though, death.

The Calendar is Past Crystalline, P.C, meaning after the Great Freeze

Starting wealth and gear:

• Only given a bed roll and blanket (6 Silver pieces)
• One outfit worth 10 Gold pieces or less
• Items from your backstory take from your character wealth

Races available in game / base stats / racial opinions:

Any race bonuses and negatives to stats can be exchanged for the same as a base human. All other racial features remain the same and any alternate racial traits need to be run past the Gamemaster. Everyone begins with Common, regardless of other rulings.

Fields of style that must be covered in class:

Attacker - high dps | Tank - high health or hard to hit | Healer - a dedicated healer |

Magic Based(s) - divine or arcane | Thief - stealth is a necessity as is unlocking things

Available classes:

Core, Base, Alternate and Hybrid classes are available to play, excluding Gunslinger. All prestige classes that are not occult, unchained or third party based are allowed.

Player absence and effects on Character:

• Characters of absent players will become unconscious, if the body is left behind then the character may start play from that point, be captured or worse. The player whose character is missing, if not in the local area, will play an NPC until a mission is sought to recover the character. You do no gain the xp for sessions missed.

Session Zero:

• Introduction to the World.
• Team Building, not character building.
• Character customisation + backstory planning.
• Rules, official and homebrew.
• Expectations from Gamemaster and Players.
• The basis of Meta, how to avoid it and when to use it.

Rule Reminders:

• Firing into combat: Unless you have precise shot it is a -4 to fire into combat. If you’re firing through your ally’s square to hit the target the target has “soft cover” and therefore a +4 bonus to its AC on top of the -4 penalty. However a creature of two size categories or more than the ally grants a -2 to firing into combat. If the creature / opponent of the person in melee is at least 10 feet away from the ally (this includes the rear end of creature 10ft from the ally) then the -4 doesn’t apply.
• Torches: 1 Hour burn time.
• Component Pouch: Every week this will cost 5gp to refill. It holds components with a negligible price. Items with given values or rarity (hag’s hair etc) will have to be obtained.
• Critical 1s and Natural 20s. See official rulings please.

Friendly reminders:

Actions have consequences:

• Intimidating innocents may lead to a warrant for your arrest or negative reactions.
• Stealing things, if found out, will come with a fine upon capture and possibly jail time.
• Guards out number you in settlements, think before you act.
• Anything can kill you, from enemies, infection right up to the weather. You’re not invincible.

You will be given experience points for being resourceful. Take drawers apart for wood, use hinges from the chest, split the rope into small strands of fibre for fishing. The world is your playground and every action will benefit your level. This isn’t party wide, this is for players involved.

Respawns. New characters will come back at level 1. You will level faster due to less experience needed between levels.

You don’t automatically know the information another member of your party has.

You do not have a great deal of knowledge in game about the races outsides of the standard: Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Halfling, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Human.

You gain experience in the combats you partake in, aka you’re in the same area as the combat when it starts / ends.

Homebrew rules:

1. Rule of Cool. If it's cool but breaks a few mechanics and doesn't take away from the game or give any distinct advantage, let it happen. Kick things off ledges, throw people through windows, perform cool.
2. The art of storytelling. Sometimes the Gamemaster is able to change how mechanics work in sake of telling a story as long as it doesn't put any player at a disadvantage.
3. Death will result in either the character going into limbo and waiting to be resurrected (this is a rare event that happens so few and far between it is unheard of to be successful) or the player agreeing to dismiss the character. The controlling character can take control of an NPC if available until the player can make a character to whichever race and class they desire, or make a new character with which limitations may apply depending on the current plot line location.
4. Any rule or other disagreements will have a swift ruling by the Gamemaster and may continue after the session. However, the Gamemaster's ruling stands for that session without complaint. If the post session arguments change the rule it will apply henceforth. Appropriate research will be undertaken to correctly balance the ruling.
5. Character's have a passive perception (presumed to be taking 10 on perception at all times) and the Gamemaster can roll for characters in secret as to maintain secrets for any skill a character may possess.
6. If your character is to speak, you should ideally use their voice or indicate in game voice vs out game voice. Anything said outside of your character, even sarcastically can happen in game if the Gamemaster sees fit. Don’t fuel the Gamemaster.
7. It's not Meta-Gaming and therefore not punishable if you can roleplay it out or give a reason as to how your character knows / acts on information they are presumed not to know.
8. Critical hit cards can be used if the Gamemaster or player has brought them.
9. Good roleplaying in a Charisma based skill will grant a small bonus in NPC interactions as well as the possibility of more experience points.
10. The killing blow is to be narrated by the player who is performing the action. This won't be for all enemies, usually mini-boss and boss battles and the last kill of a mundane encounter.
11. Turn Timer. You have exactly one minute to make up your mind as to what you’re doing and know how it works. This includes spells, abilities etc. Know your spell before it’s your turn as after the one minute mark your turn is over if you’ve not started to do anything. This turn timer still runs if you move then have to look up a spell, ponder on what you’re doing or if your neighbour’s dog calls you.
12. Team play. Splitting the party sometimes is a necessity and cannot be avoided, however if you walk off for a reason that really cannot be justified please consider your other players and how much time it will inherently take. Wandering off in certain places will result in you fighting what was planned for the entire party alone, this will almost certainly end in character death.
13. Heroic, brave and daring actions will be rewarded heavily. I.E. The dragon flying past the edge of the cliff is trying to retreat, if you decide you want to run and jump off the cliff (which will result in certain death on failure) and plunge your sword into the dragon’s back as it flies past this will be a heroic, brave and daring act. You will be granted bonus experience (as much as an extra half of the encounter), possibility bonus loot and be granted a D&D 5e Inspiration dice (if the session ends before this is used, it is automatically traded in for 50 xp). If you fail a daring act you will not be punished and if death is encountered you will have a choice of level between 1 and ½ APL to create a new character at.
14. The Experience System being used will be run through at the Fast advancement. Due to the biweekly schedule and minimum hours played it’s ideal to optimise the time in which the characters are played.