Starting An Epic Homebrew Campaign, Need Players

[anvalin]

Let me start off by saying that I have not yet bought the full version of the Fantasy Grounds software. That may seem odd to be posting looking for players, but the input and the feedback for a game of this type are what will either tell me yes I should buy it or no it's not worth it. I have played with the free downloadable version and must say the client will work very well.

With that being said I would like to start an epic campaign that I've already planned out to as much of an extent as I can with player non-compliance figuring in. I have ran the first parts of it sucessfully with two groups, only to have players either move or not be able to consistently make it. The campaign will run in a homebrew setting which has likewise been mostly flushed out. I have left several things open so that players can fill in and dictate how citys will grow and organizations will fill out. The world is high magic, high psionics, and high science (tied in with the magic) in as much as it can be and retain the full fantasy feel.

The campaign will focus around the group of players (6 tops) and their workings in an organization that plays a key role in the political and religious struggles in the world of Anvalin. Each of the players will have been invited in relation to their backstory (and backstorys, however small, are a must) and grouped for reasons I will disclose as the adventures unfold. I hope to be able to get everything transferred from paper to files so that everyone can get a feel for the makeup of Anvalin before we start.

So with all that being said, I would love to get feedback from players on whether they're interested or not and what other info they would like to see. I hope to run the game on either Thursday or Friday nights at 7pm EST. I have some flex available in that schedule. The standard 3.5 ruleset from Dungeons and Dragons will be used, with nearly all expansions accepted for use. Character creation is largely up to the player, in that any race will be accepted with approval and also any class. I would love to see a wide variety of players getting to gether, from hack-and-slashers (I love a good hard fight) to role-players ( I also love a good story).

[Straken]

This sounds like something I'd be really interested in. I'm an east coaster as well and have been looking for a fresh campaign on a schedule I can manage. If you want to contact me on AIM at Str4k3n or on MSN messenger at [email protected], I would much like to talk more about it.

[Lerithyn]

Sounds interesting, can you provide us with some more info on your campaign setting? Something like a webpage with more info, or perhaps a sorta story to set the scene?

[translucentwolf]

I'd like to join. I have a few ideas for characters, that I'd be happy to discuss. You can IM or email me at the following:

AIM translucentwolf

Email [email protected]

[Blue Haven]

Hi :) i´d like to join but i´m from europe (time GMT+0) can i join to play?? send me a IM ok?
Bye

[anvalin]

I just wanted to throw up a quick reply for the day before I went to bed. I plan on putting up a more detailed explaination since there's such an interest for this campaign. I can't spell worth anything it seems, but hopefully you'll get the idea. Thanks for the great response, and tune back in here for the updated story when it hits.

[anvalin]

All right, now that I've been able to get some sleep and don't actually have to work tonight, let me go a little more in depth on how to set up your character for this adventure, and then when I get back later from running chores I'll do a more thorough background on the main theme of the world.
First off we will be starting at 1st level. Go ahead and max out your hitpoints and your starting gold. Buy whatever you can with the money that you will have on hand. Even grab some magic stuff if you can afford it, although this will probably be limited to potions or scrolls.
Next, go ahead and give yourselves an additonal feat called Adventurere's Toughness, which will give the PC an additional 20 HP at first level only.
Now we're going to try something different to see if it'll work in the way that I see it working. If your a caster, for every 1st level spell that you can cast give yourself 10 points. For every 0 level spell give yourself 2 points. Therefore at first level a sorceror with an 18 charisma will have 50 points. That would allow him to cast 5 1st level spells a day without the Mental toughness feat. Spells cost 2 pts for 0, 10 pts for 1st, 15 for 2nd, 20 for 3rd, etc. Mental Toughness gives an additional 10 pts at 1st, 5 pts for each additional and can only be taken once. This system should even out the imbalance between casters and psions. It will also allow higher level casters to cast more spells of lower levels and be more effective in a combat situation and not have to worry about using some spells in role-playing situations and be useless if something should break out. If we find that this system isn't going to work, we can go back to the basics. Just let me know.
Hopefully this will give you an idea of where to start developing your characters on the basics alone.
Now for the backstorys. I would like everyone to do at least a short one. Nothing too in depth. However there are a few questions that I would like answered about your character.
1. Who are his/her parents?
2. Who are his/her closest friends or friend.
3. What town did he/she grow up in and name it.
4. What was that town like?
5. What would he/she like to accomplish?
6. Where did he/she learn his/her skills in the class he/she has chosen?

All of these questions will help me develop a part of the campaign for you. i want you to feel like your characters are making an impact on their lives and the lives of the people around them.
When you get these characters finished you can go to campaign-blog.com and put them in a character sheet format and send the links to me and the other players so everyone can get a feel for everyone else. In my next post I'll show everyone how you all arrived together where you are and how it happened. And I'll write up a quick overview of the world and how it got to be in the state it's in.

[anvalin]

Ah, dang, forgot one more quick thing. With Straken, Lerithyn, Translucentwolf, Bluehaven, Mr Void, and one other that escapes my mind we have a full party.

[neceros]

Me, me!

By the way, you should look into https://groups.google.com/ for communications. Really cool deal.

[anvalin]

Sorry Neceros, didnt mean to forget you. and I checked out the link but didn't find a whole lot there. Maybe I missed something.

[anvalin]

Also if you dont have the client wait to get it and we can get it at the group discounted rate. let me know so we can coordinate to get it at the same time.

[neceros]

Oh it's a group system. You can invite people or have people join the group and then have discussions, emails, pictures and whatnot. I figured it would be useful for a campaign, or a blog.

[anvalin]

Sorry I wasn't able to get a post up about the backstory on the world. I started doing it but without a map to go by it didn't make nearly as much sense as it should have. So for the past 2 days I've been forming the main parts of the map. I should have it up in Geocities soon so that everyone can see it. I'll also be doing a full website on it where we can post and put our info in. There will be links to the cities being developed, major features and the like.

[neceros]

Sounds good

[Blue Haven]

Can i be a Ranger? or you choose our class? i´m a little confused sorry...

[neceros]

Can i be a Ranger? or you choose our class? i´m a little confused sorry...

Send him a PM with what character you want to play, including backstory and stuff. Read a few posts up.

[Maguis]

Any room left in the group?

[neceros]

Do you allow flaws from Unearthed Arcana?

Also, my character is up here:
https://www.campaign-blog.com/view.php?id=3867

[anvalin]

I dont have Unearthed arcana, so you'll have to give me a quick overview of what you'd like to have implemented.

[neceros]

Sure.

Flaws basically give the character a deteriment in exchange for a bonus feat. The flaws include -3 to a Save, -2 to a stat, -6 to initiative, double penalty to concealed attacks, etc.

I was contemplating -1 to all saves for a bonus feat at 1st level.

[neceros]

So what's up? I really want to try out FG soon.

[anvalin]

In that case I would say yes. They sound balanced enough to not cause a major issue. So if you want to do that it's fine with me.

[neceros]

Okay, boss :)

[Blue Haven]

I´m very confused with all this things can someone explain me what the hell is going on??? lol when do we play and what type of game is this?? lol
Hugs

[anvalin]

All right, lets set this up so that we can play either this Friday (if work doesn't run too long) or next. This is a 3.5 D&D Campaign. Set up your characters through www.campaign-blog.com and post the link back here. everyone is 1st level. See neceros' setup if you want to see how it will look. Post back as soon as possible so I can get everything set up.

[neceros]

I can't run on Fridays. I have RL gaming then. Saturdays are open..., Thursdays are open...

[anvalin]

Ok, nevermind, next Thursday will be our first game. I hate to alienate the guy who's been sending stuff to me nearly every day.

[neceros]

Oh good, thanks man

[neceros]

So, we gaming today? Haven't heard from anyone else.

[Blue Haven]

No one tell me the time of the day...how can i guess...