Starting a short campaign in a few weeks, recruiting.

[The Scriven One]

This is not a Pathfinder Society game. I'll be using my own setting.

I'm not going to be able to give you much to go on in making a decision to join this game, as a lot of the information depends on the group, but here are my credentials:

I was the author of the Morningstar Campaign Setting, which was one of the top 11 out of 11,000 entries in the Wizards of the Coast Setting Search. I also wrote The Complete Guide to Fey for d20. Though they are older projects, they should give you an idea of how my mind works as a GM.

Logistics

I'm looking for one more player (to create a party of six) for a weekly game on Friday or Saturday nights, meeting at 7 PM Eastern Time (GMT-5) and playing by 7:30 PM for about 4 hours. At the earliest, we'll begin next weekend (3/28/2014) with a character creation and setting building session. The campaign will run for a few months, likely ending in June or July.

We'll be using Skype for voice chat. I don't have a webcam.

About the Campaign

The campaign will be a sandbox, with prepared content in the form of situations and consequences that arise naturally from play based on previous sessions. I haven't planned out a full campaign arc, as it will develop based on your actions. I will develop a starting scenario, however.

The setting will be as immersive as possible, but probably won't be particularly high concept unless your characters turn out to be strange enough that justifying their existence requires it to be. By default, it will be medieval fantasy. It will be a kitchen sink setting, with a few twists.

Rules

I will be doing my best to stick to the rules as written as a GM. I have a friend in the game who is a benevolent rules lawyer to help to ensure that I do. Any of you who have the same quality are welcome to help as well.

We'll be using any Paizo content that is available on the Pathfinder SRD, except for the Mythic Adventures Rules and the gunslinger class.
You'll have a lot of freedom in making your character.

What Kinds of Players I'm Looking For

Now the part that might sound harsh to some. I really don't mean it that way. I'm just writing it to make sure that we form a group that will play well together, and that everyone has fun.

I'm looking for players who are interested in mechanics only in service to roleplaying and immersion. You can be a character optimizing type, as long as you optimize towards a character concept rather than choosing the most optimal abilities regardless of what kind of nonsensical monstrosity your character becomes.

Combat will be a frequent feature of the campaign, but it's not the main point. There will be a lot more going on, and if you get bored outside of combat, neither of us will be happy. It's better to know now, I think.

For anyone interested, it would be great to talk to you on Skype any time before the first session so we can get to know each other.

Is anyone interested, or do you have any questions I haven't answered here? Post here or feel free to private message me.

[Nickademus]

I'm looking for players who are interested in mechanics only in service to roleplaying and immersion. You can be a character optimizing type, as long as you optimize towards a character concept rather than choosing the most optimal abilities regardless of what kind of nonsensical monstrosity your character becomes.

I really like this description. It's the best I've heard so far that explains how I make my characters. Several are over-the-top, but every one of them is designed around a character concept and story rather than just mechanics.

I've been looking for a game on Saturday nights. Might be able to do Friday, but I have an aversion to it since it is my busiest day of the week at work. Regardless, the time slot it good for me. I can play any role needed by the GM or party and have a handful of fun, effective PF builds ready.

I will be doing my best to stick to the rules as written as a GM. I have a friend in the game who is a benevolent rules lawyer to help to ensure that I do. Any of you who have the same quality are welcome to help as well.

We'll be using any Paizo content that is available on the Pathfinder SRD, except for the Mythic Adventures Rules and the gunslinger class.
You'll have a lot of freedom in making your character.

I too consider myself a 'rules advocate' (someone that knows the rules and will gladly quote when the GM asks but doesn't lawyer them). I am also knowledgeable about Fantasy Grounds and its inner workings. (I also recommend some of the extensions made by myself and others to bolster FG's capabilities.)

I do have one question about your phrase 'any Paizo content that is available on the Pathfinder SRD'. Does this mean:

A. all the content on the Paizo PRD plus any non-OGL content from other Paizo books
B. all the content on the SRD that is sited as coming from a Paizo book (the SRD has much more than just Paizo content and all the non-OGL Paizo content has been gutted of the non-OGL elements which has a chance of changing the mechanics of the content)
C. all the content on the SRD regardless of it having a Paizo source

[The Scriven One]

I really like this description. It's the best I've heard so far that explains how I make my characters. Several are over-the-top, but every one of them is designed around a character concept and story rather than just mechanics.

Excellent. I think you'd get along great with my friend, Greg, who is in the game.

I've been looking for a game on Saturday nights. Might be able to do Friday, but I have an aversion to it since it is my busiest day of the week at work. Regardless, the time slot it good for me. I can play any role needed by the GM or party and have a handful of fun, effective PF builds ready.

I'm actually leaning towards Saturday as well. It had worked for the other players in the past, so it might be the best choice.

I too consider myself a 'rules advocate' (someone that knows the rules and will gladly quote when the GM asks but doesn't lawyer them). I am also knowledgeable about Fantasy Grounds and its inner workings. (I also recommend some of the extensions made by myself and others to bolster FG's capabilities.)

I'm just getting back into Fantasy Grounds, and I have several extensions in a folder waiting to be installed. Which extensions do you recommend?

I do have one question about your phrase 'any Paizo content that is available on the Pathfinder SRD'. Does this mean:

A. all the content on the Paizo PRD plus any non-OGL content from other Paizo books
B. all the content on the SRD that is sited as coming from a Paizo book (the SRD has much more than just Paizo content and all the non-OGL Paizo content has been gutted of the non-OGL elements which has a chance of changing the mechanics of the content)
C. all the content on the SRD regardless of it having a Paizo source

Rules advocate, indeed. ;D I'd say "B" fits best. Content listed as coming from Paizo on the SRD. I don't have a full Pathfinder library to draw from, just the core book and monster books. My contact with the rest of the material comes from the SRD. If there's an FG module for the material, I'd be willing to consider broadening these requirements. I want to make sure I can see the material for myself when an issue arises.

As for why I don't want to allow third party content, I don't have time to ensure that it's balanced enough to use. As I personally have to focus quite a bit to think mechanically, a first read will almost never allow me to notice major issues that a class or race may have. For example, I was excited about a third party archetype on the SRD the other day until it was pointed out to me by someone with a deeper grasp of mechanics that it gave you everything it replaced and more... essentially being better than the original option with no drawbacks. I would have eventually noticed if I was using the material for something I was creating on my own, but it might have resulted in a lot of lost time.

I don't have a bias against third party material on principle; I'm actually writing some more. It's mainly a policy to prevent myself from making mistakes when I write, and in this case to prevent issues of broken characters at the table.

I am aware that some of the Paizo material could be seen as having major issues, but it's mostly very well done.

And thanks for your interest. Is there a good time to talk on Skype?

[The Scriven One]

Actually, it would be option A when it comes to the core book and to a lesser extent the monsters (I reserve the right to describe them differently in a physical or behavioral sense than they appear in the books), and option B when it comes to other material.

[Nickademus]

Which extensions do you recommend?

I suggest grabbing the latest versions of the following: Tenian's Language extension, Expanded Effect Tags, and Ability Damage Action. As a GM you may find the following interesting or useful: Shop and Town expansion (might still have 3.0 problems), Unlocking and Moving Dice Tower, Enhanced Items, and Expanded NPC Weapon Damage Types. As a player I recommend the ModulePlus extension.

Rules advocate, indeed.

I ask because there are a lot of people that don't realize the PRD and SRD are not the same and that the SRD has a lot of 3rd-party material. You are not running a Golarion campaign so the gutting of non-OGL isn't really an issue for you. But just keep in mind that some assets have requirements in Golarion that were removed in the SRD versions. Not sure if this could cause an imbalance or not. If in doubt, feel free to ask me. I have almost all the Pathfinder content and can look up the actual asset to see if anything important was removed. It's rare at any rate.

As for why I don't want to allow third party content, I don't have time to ensure that it's balanced enough to use. As I personally have to focus quite a bit to think mechanically, a first read will almost never allow me to notice major issues that a class or race may have. For example, I was excited about a third party archetype on the SRD the other day until it was pointed out to me by someone with a deeper grasp of mechanics that it gave you everything it replaced and more... essentially being better than the original option with no drawbacks. I would have eventually noticed if I was using the material for something I was creating on my own, but it might have resulted in a lot of lost time.

I completely agree. Third-party companies don't have the accountability that Paizo has for ensuring the content is balanced for GMs. They may be well-intentioned but I as a rule don't trust them.

Is there a good time to talk on Skype?

Meh, when I turn it on in a few.

[The Scriven One]

Cool. I'm scott.kennan on Skype.

[ThePirateKing]

I'm interested in your campaign, I've played with Nick before and we get along quite well.

[The Scriven One]

Excellent. Is there a good time for you to talk on skype to get to know each other?

[ThePirateKing]

Anytime is good for me.

[The Scriven One]

Anytime is good for me.

Great. I have to pick up my son in a few minutes, but how does 3 PM or so Eastern work for you?