The Heroes Path

[Nickademus]

This thread is for the Tuesday game only.
Heroes Path Custom AP

System: Pathfinder (knowledge of system not required)
Character Creation: Custom (no character needed beforehand)
Slot: 7 pm-11 pm EST on Tuesday
Campaign Emphasis: role-playing and character development
Tools: FG and Team Speak

Out of the blue, a letter arrives from Uncle Ved. This could be your chance! A chance to get out of this backwater village and make a name for yourself. After all the storybooks you’ve read of knights and heroes slaying dragons and defeating armies of orcs, maybe Uncle Ved will bring you and your friends to the Frontier to adventure with him…

This game is what is called a 'Zero-Level Campaign' or Peasant Campaign. It takes place in a fantasy world where you play boys and girls just coming of age. No one has gained any PC levels or even experience traveling. The only source of character knowledge about the outside world is the stories of the peddlers and the storybooks they bring. An uncle of one of the PCs is a powerful mage out beyond the borders of the kingdom and has paid for the children to receive a higher grade of education than most peasants can afford. Thus your parents were not surprised when you received a letter at the end of your schooling requesting a visit. It seems the mage has plans for you.

Character receive a level of a custom NPC class to start and must work to discover and earn their first PC class. The Frontier area is wild with only a small population of well-fleshed out NPCs that offer more than just a place to rest and sell. They each have personalities and agendas and can potentially help the characters earn their PC class and more. Your characters become more than visiting adventurers. You become a part of the area, known by people and possibly even a part of the community.

The Frontier also just happens to be where the highest concentration of ancient ruins are. Perfect for daydreaming adventurers. The campaign is largely sandbox with periods of concentrated questing and downtime. There are several overarching plotlines that could be considered the 'main plot' of the campaign, as well as a plethora of optional content for the youths to adequately get in trouble.

This campaign also features some unusual changes and new optional content (for those bored with the standard fantasy fare). For instance, some of the changes are that there are no gods in this world (not to say there are no religions) and a new AC value has been added.

Some things I like to mention upfront. I have found that the style of this adventure path doesn’t suit everyone. There are some elements that veer away from a standard Pathfinder game. Below are some of the aspects of this game that you could find enjoyable or unenjoyable.

• Slower XP progression, similar to older versions of D&D
• Story-based group XP that focuses on accomplishments instead of just combat
• Lack of divine entities and thus a minimal presence of NPC divine magic
• Small, mostly wilderness campaign area with only towns and villages
• Deeper interaction with local NPCs and the ability for the PCs to make the Frontier their home rather than just a place to visit
• Over arching plotlines with large periods of sandbox exploration
• Low magic and technology level
• Low wealth per level and low wealth limit for NPC vendors (crafting is advised)
• Non-human races are much more reclusive with humans dominating the land
• Utilizes premade material from D&D 2nd and 3.x Ed., mostly from the Kingdoms of Kalamar setting (if you are a veteran of D&D you may encounter material you are familiar with)

There are a few new options in this adventure path that may appeal to a veteran player or someone wishing to try something new. Below are hints at these additions.
• a new standard race: half-hobgoblin
• a pair of new classes utilizing a new magic system
• an herbalism crafting system to produce tonics and poultices
• itinerant crafting and spell research system for mobile parties
• new fields of Knowledge to support mass combat

Joining the Adventure
If you feel this style of AP is something that you would enjoy, send me a private message letting me know of your interest. It will be about a month before the content is converted over to FG and then we will start.

[Bashido2]

Are we talking like RP based stat distribution? Or a daggerfall-esque way of classes?
I like playing wizard (pathfinder wizard to be exact), for the 20th level thing they get.
I really like crafting, aswell as casting/learning spells.
Im not the most problemsolving person nor am i the most wise person... or the most charismatic person.
Im what people say, "average joe" :3

My character idea would be a High int Elf, thats trying to be a wizard.

[Nickademus]

After the party attains 1st level, the standard Pathfinder rules will be used (minus the out-of-period/genre classes: Gunslinger, Ninja, Samurai). Stat distribution is a custom point-buy system that I've been using since before Pathfinder existed and have found my players like. It creates characters similar to a 25-point buy but more well rounded.

[Evloret]

Hmm. Maybe I'll join.

I'd need to know more about races; I don't want to be lynched for not being human.

It won't be TOO based on the new homebrew skills and stuff will it? I'm fine with crafting generally though.

Sorcerers allowed? If not I'll go for something like a Fighter or maybe a Magus.

[Nickademus]

Right now I have a full group, but we haven't started yet so there is still a chance of someone dropping out. I can put you on the reserve list if you like.

The races are the Core Rulebook races plus half-hobgoblin. The majority of the known world is human but the village of Dayolen where the character will start is a trade town on the edge of the Nation. So it has the large population of non-humans. A PC of any core race would be viable. Now, once you get into the Frontier, a non-human might find themselves less welcome with some groups. But that's part of the role-play.

Only a few things in the entire AP are based on the new content. The amount of focus it has in the game is up to the players. In my live game they were a prominent part of the AP due to the players wanting it to be so.

The only classes restricted are those from Ultimate Combat and the Advanced Class Guide, though some classes might be harder to discover due to the style of the AP. For instance, in the Frontier, melee classes are very easy to learn while divine classes are rare due to there being no gods to need promoting. If a specific class is desired by a player (other than the restricted ones) I can give the player some direction on how to make it so. The way this AP is setup to start is like doing the character creation as you start to play, so you can experience the world a little before making a choice.

[Snowpaw]

I'm interested in the new classes, and in the premise of this campaign. It sounds like I could really build a relationship with the party. I like stories where the characters develop relationships, and I don't get that in any of my previous campaigns. I would normally beg to be allowed to become a Martial Adept (from the Path of War book, by Dreamscarred Press, available on the PFSRD website, much less broken than Tome of Battle), but perhaps one of the new classes or a spontaneous divine healer would work. Always liked the idea of someone learning how to heal from scratch. I'm personally into Reiki and such so learning to heal that way would be cool, especially developing it from a teenager character on up to a full-fledged adventurer!

I'm totally in if you'll have me. Though...I would REALLY want to play a Kitsune >_< I'm just so comfortable playing one, and it would be fun to have to deal with being able to blend in as a human but have to hide my true form. I don't think having Kitsune would be breaking with the theme of things either, I mean, they have a Japanese origin, but in the context of THIS game's world, they don't have to have oriental flavor.

Hit me up with a PM, if you'd like to have me!

[Nickademus]

The party is full right now, but it is taking a while to convert all this material from my live game notes over into FG. I can put you on auxiliary in case someone bails.

The premise of this game is to be simplistic. In all my other games I'd allow non-core races (up to 19 RPs) but for this I'm keeping to the core races to match the flavor of the world. The characters are not supposed to be exotic, that is part of the point. They are supposed to be ordinary and learn that even they can aspire to greatness.

Nevertheless, I feel that the way this is designed offers a unique perspective that can revitalize even the most basic of class/race choices.

[Snowpaw]

I can be a human then. This is seeming like Log Horizon a little bit. The way one NPC wanted to be an adventurer so bad, they made new magic just to grant him that power. ^_^ I kinda hope I do get in...

[Bashido2]

If a person wants to get in, im bowing out due to multiple games colliding time schedulewise.

[Ferrin]

I am definitely interested in joining you guys. I'm pretty much around any time you want to go over details. Still new to the FG software but I am watching tutorials so bare with me, TS will not be a problem. Time wont be a problem. Let me know.

[Nickademus]

I have another spot free for this game. It is a few sessions in but still within the Prelude that is introducing the campaign elements. New characters can still be introduced using the glorified peasant approach and role-play through achieving 1st-level.

For anyone interested in join, send a private message to me and I'll contact you further.

[Andrepartthree]

Just wanted to chime in and applaud the heck out of the first post on this thread... what you've done here Nickademus is... beautiful, there's just no other word to describe it. Starting the characters out at zero level and letting them discover... through an emphasis on role-playing, something which I think is sadly left out of far too many campaigns (usually more "accidentally" than deliberately mind you... though on the other hand my feeling is if you bother to put enough effort into it it's kind of obvious you're doing so :P ) ... what the character's true strengths and talents are and therefore having them "evolve" into the character class they were meant to be. This is absolutely stupendous ! :) ... All my spare time is going towards ever so slowly putting together a campaign I probably won't have up and running until 3 or 4 years from now :P but.... again, sincere round of applause here!

Not to sound like an arrogant *** or anything :P but did you mean "New characters can still be introduced" rather than "no characters?" ... Also as far as FG game sessions is it mostly voice-based as far as describing in-character actions? I've found a lot of gaming groups do that because they feel it speeds things up so to speak... other gaming groups are religious about anything in-character being typed out (which is good to know if you're a slow typist - sounds strange I know but I know of a few players in FG games I've participated in, in the past, who complained bitterly about all text games because they couldn't keep up with the typing :P ) .. personally I like the all-text option a lot even if it means going slower because it creates a more "immersive" experience for me but I can see how players who want things to move along faster (or who are slow typists) might not have the patience for it.... other times I've seen games where the GM starts out declaring everything in-character will be typed but it ends up going to all-voice anyways since everyone seems to unconsciously decide they want to speed the game sessions along or they just like talking or something :P ...

Also, what is your level of patience for rules lawyers? I'm not one myself and to be honest I have little patience for rules lawyers.. apologies, I know I probably just offended dozens of players by saying that but personally I would much rather the GM make a quick ruling and "get on with the story" then post any concerns about the rules in a forum or FG thread afterwards as opposed to dragging everything to a halt. On the other hand I know of indignant players who angrily insist it's their right to bring the game to a halt if they feel the "holy grail" (the rules) are being trampled on (Brian from Knights of the Dinner Table anyone? :P ) ... Just a few random thoughts I'm throwing out there ;) ... but seriously man I wish you the best on this , it's an awesome premise and a great way to run a campaign in my humble opinion! :)

[Nickademus]

Thank you for the applaud.


Not to sound like an arrogant *** or anything :P but did you mean "New characters can still be introduced" rather than "no characters?"
Yes, I meant 'New characters'.


... Also as far as FG game sessions is it mostly voice-based as far as describing in-character actions? I've found a lot of gaming groups do that because they feel it speeds things up so to speak... other gaming groups are religious about anything in-character being typed out (which is good to know if you're a slow typist - sounds strange I know but I know of a few players in FG games I've participated in, in the past, who complained bitterly about all text games because they couldn't keep up with the typing :P ) .. personally I like the all-text option a lot even if it means going slower because it creates a more "immersive" experience for me but I can see how players who want things to move along faster (or who are slow typists) might not have the patience for it.... other times I've seen games where the GM starts out declaring everything in-character will be typed but it ends up going to all-voice anyways since everyone seems to unconsciously decide they want to speed the game sessions along or they just like talking or something :P ...
The way I run it, conversation with an NPC happen in voice chat. Some of the emote interactions involved in the conversation happen in voice as well. Conversations between characters and most emotes generally happen in text chat. Only one voice conversation can be happening at once, but multiple text conversations are generally going while a couple characters are talking to the NPC(s). It is natural for people to accidentally talk over each other in TS so I also try to keep a watch on the chat window for any parts of the conversation directed at the NPC (or within their hearing so they can respond). I encourage my players to respect each other so it is natural for them to take turns using the voice chat. The setup is difficult but it works for me.


Also, what is your level of patience for rules lawyers? I'm not one myself and to be honest I have little patience for rules lawyers.. apologies, I know I probably just offended dozens of players by saying that but personally I would much rather the GM make a quick ruling and "get on with the story" then post any concerns about the rules in a forum or FG thread afterwards as opposed to dragging everything to a halt. On the other hand I know of indignant players who angrily insist it's their right to bring the game to a halt if they feel the "holy grail" (the rules) are being trampled on (Brian from Knights of the Dinner Table anyone? :P )
I can lawyer with the best of them, so it's rare for a player to bring something to the table I'm not prepared for. That being said, I explain to all my players, either in the first session or when they join the game, that I have a code of conduct for my games. I don't tolerate arguing or rudeness and when presented with a gray area of the rules or when someone believes I'm in error, I give them up to 30 seconds to state their thoughts and then I make a decision. The actual rules can be looked up later after combat or after the game. My rulings tend to lean toward common sense and game balance and I have yet to have anyone get upset about one, which might go back to the fact I tell the players coming in about my code of conduct. I've never had a problem with a lawyer.

[Ferrin]

I like Rules Lawyers they keep my crazy in check, otherwise Ill wipe every group I am in...