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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Jun 2015 : 23:32:25
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This is more of feeler to see what people may be interested in. I've been considering starting up a PbP game. It will be on Rpol.net.
First the setting, I am split between the Forgotten Realms (2E/3E era) or Midgard (from Kobold Press). Again, this is a feeler to see what people may be interested in.
If I get a lot of responses for an FR game, it will use a mix of AD&D 2E and Beyond the Wall and Other Adventures (Link), which is an old-school inspired system that borrows some elements such as playbooks (archetypal character sheets linking characters) from Powered-by-the-Apocalypse games (ex: Apocalypse World, Dungeon World) and some 3Eisms (unified stat modifiers, ascending AC, etc.). The 2E system will provide added depth in options, help fill in any blanks in the system, and the 2E magic system will probably supplant the BtW system as the latter system was designed to be more restrictive based on the genres that inspire it. I may also borrow and modify some of 13th Age's skills system for this.
Players are not required to own the BtW materials. Some of the playbooks are available for free from the company, which are the primary reason I am interested in the system.
The goal of using the Beyond the Wall playbooks is for the party to collaborate on the lore creation of a village or small town, the location/region to be determined by the interested players. We could even co-opt an existing location with our lore. The playbooks guide connections between the player characters and the town NPCs (who the players will also create) and to each other. The events of the playbook will affect the early life of the characters and shape their abilities and motivations.
The key to this is the characters will be very integrated into the game and local setting. The pace of this will be relatively relaxed. I'm prepared to stick with this for the long term and seek players of the same. I think this setup will build a great game, especially over time as the game tracks the PCs from novices to higher influence and renown with their strong local ties.
For a Midgard game, I'm tempted to give it a try with plain 2E rules, just to see how it's like. I may borrow the skills and ideas from other systems. In this case, the characters will be from any setting appropriate background they wish, much like a 'regular' adventuring group. Familiarity with the setting or possession of the setting materials is not required. There are summary materials available in free previews and regional players guides are available if players really want to get into it.
While I have all the Pathfinder related Midgard materials, I not sure I want to DM a game using the PFRPG system in a PbP game. I may be tempted to give the 13th Age system (or even 5E) a try if we go with Midgard.
We could also use the BtW playbooks for Midgard (the same as in the mix with 2E noted above), and there are specific places in the setting where this would work perfectly.
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Snow
Learned Scribe
USA
125 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2015 : 18:52:35
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Hi Dark Wizard,
This game enterprise of yours looks absolutely delightful! As a decade-plus veteran of PbP play, I have to say I'm impressed with your desire to do true collaborative storytelling and worldbuilding (especially the part about the lore creation of a given town/village and its NPCs). DMs like you tend to be extremely adept at deep immersion gaming, which is my fave way to do PbP RPGs (and it's fairly rare to find).
I would love to throw my hat in the ring, but I would first need to bone-up on 2E & Beyond the Wall game formats (BTW, kudos to you for shopping at indie online RPG stores). Besides my interest in creative writing, I also enjoy being expert at system mastery and character optimization. These initiatives help to ensure more seamless synergizing of a given ruleset within the storytelling evolution.
My extensive and preferred PbP gaming experiences are firmly ensconced in 3.5 & PF rules - and solely in the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk Campaign Worlds. My preferential focus and most powerful fanaticism is in the Forgotten Realms, though.
Anyhoo ... I hope you get some Candlekeep players on board with this game! Sounds like fun! |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 17 Jun 2015 : 23:25:18
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Thank you for your response and support, Snow.
At this point I'm waiting to see if we can get one or two more people to express interest. The rest we can find on Rpol and hopefully still maintain a solid core group if there are departures due to RL. |
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Hoondatha
Great Reader
USA
2449 Posts |
Posted - 08 Aug 2015 : 18:47:47
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Hi! Did this game ever get off the ground? If so, are there any spaces available?
Sorry for being so late; I don't normally look inside this sub-forum. |
Doggedly converting 3e back to what D&D should be...
Sigh... And now 4e as well. |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2015 : 04:35:14
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Nope, not so much as treading on tippy toes. You are interested party number two.
Will have to admit at this point I'm more personally interested in Midgard, especially after the release of Southlands, but will probably not veer the game that far south. Will either bite the bitter pill and try running a Pathfinder game over PbP or perhaps use Fantasy AGE, maybe even DCCRPG. I keep buying all this new gaming stuff I never get to use. Feels like such a shame to let great material sit gathering dust.
The starting location I had thought of starting the group in Midgard was the Domain of the Princes (more officially known as the Grand Duchy of Dornig). This location is the remnants of the elven empire before their retreat beyond the Shadow Roads. It is the most 'normal' (in terms of relatively genre familiarity) area of the setting. I believe it was the region Jeff Grubb had the most direct input in during the writing of the Midgard CS. I think that also lends itself for a quick grasp by Realms fans.
I wanted to start the group in a player generated hamlet and eventually have them grow with the location (and grow the location into a town), which starts to entangle them into the intrigues of court. There will be plenty of external threats as well since Dornig is not without its enemies or secrets better left buried.
I've also seized upon the idea of putting my own heavily homebrewed Realms inspired setting to Pathfinder by way of the KP/Midgard approach. Of course, I have a ton of irons in the fire and will probably never get to putting this down in text. It's no where near ready for use.
I wish humans didn't require sleep to function. Then I might have time to get to all these projects. |
Edited by - Dark Wizard on 19 Aug 2015 23:10:24 |
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The Arcanamach
Master of Realmslore
1847 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2015 : 07:11:21
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| DW, sorry I can't join. Today was the first day this week I had time to do much of anything. I prefer tabletop gaming over PbP but jumped into it heavily because I had no group to play locally. Anyway, I'd join but I can't even promise I'd be able to do a decent post even once a week at the moment. |
I have a dream that one day, all game worlds will exist as one. |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 19 Aug 2015 : 23:17:48
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I get where you're coming from Arcanamach. Some big changes (positive, thankfully) happened in real life, but that leaves a lot of things on my to-do list.
My initial concepts for this game are a mess. Unless there's a big push for something, I might hunker down to see where I get with my PF pseudo-Realms project before coming back to this with a fresh perspective.
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Thieran
Learned Scribe
Germany
293 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2015 : 17:48:05
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| I would be interested, Dark Wizard, slightly preferring a Midgard game. I have been away from Candlekeep for a bit more than a year so I read this only now. |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2015 : 23:46:17
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Good to see you here Thieran.
Midgard is also the setting at the forefront of my mind, if only for a change of scenery and pace. Familiarity with the setting is not necessary. I can quickly fill players in on the important aspects.
The question left is which rules set?
Pathfinder has the most support, both from the published setting material itself and from the wider community. There is a wealth of variety to draw on, both in how players choose to mold their characters and in what I can put up to face the party. This is probably my preference at this point.
Rules are available for free from the PRD or d20PFSRD. Races are as per the Midgard setting: predominantly humans, dwarves, elf-marked (half-elves), kobolds, dragonkin, minotaur or gearforged. With an occasional (less common) gnome, halfling, tiefling, tengu, elf (full-blooded), centaur, gnoll, or goblin. The prominence of each race is slightly altered from standard settings (ie: Realms, Golarion), their history and integration as well.
Class-wise I'll allow any of the classes from core PFRPG, Advanced Players + UM (Magus), and Advanced Classes Guide (the hybrid classes), as well as KP's own New Paths Compendium. I'm open to others, but case-by-case.
AGE System is a lighter system and has support from KP. Green Ronin also released the Fantasy Age book and the Titansgrave setting, which adds resources I can use for this game. The only reservation is I'm new to the system, but it seems a quick system to grasp.
AD&D 2E as we've experienced in the Treasures of the Past game with Hoondatha, this works well for PbP. There will be some conversion involved on my end, but I could probably substitute something existent.
The premise is still to start out in a town aligned to the Grand Duchy and probably still use the Beyond the Wall playbooks for initial character setup. Unless players have a request for an alternate starting location. Examples include party concepts such as:
- A mercenary company seeking employ along the Crossroads or from one of the Seven Cities.
- A cadre of 'advanced' students on a self-study assignment for one of the magical academies of Bemmea.
- A team of operatives working for or against the Dragon Empire.
- A free sailing band (::cough:: Northlands reavers::cough::) plying their trade on the Nieder Strait or beyond.
- Or like above, but Triolan Corsairs.
- Street toughs and fixers in Zobeck or one of the other cities.
- Same premise as the town based concept above, but allegiance to another kingdom (Krakova, Magdar, one of the Seven Cities, Perunalia, etc.)
- Random strangers meet together in a tavern...
- An entire party of kobolds. Not altogether strange for the setting.
A couple of notes. I haven't GMed for years, so there will be a learning curve.
I'll borrow a few concepts from 13th Age. I may implement a limited form of their skill system depending on the system we end up with.
Their "one unique thing" rule is also interesting, I'll put a twist on it and use it to help acclimate players to the different setting. I'll ask for one thing you'd like to see imported from the Realms to Midgard, this includes any concept, such as a deity, an organization, a noble house, a mentor, or the like (possibly even a city). It may be adapted to the setting, so don't expect a one-to-one transfer. It will come up during the campaign at some point, so it will be relevant.
Otherwise, if the player has no desire to import anything, they can use it to add something "plot-based" to their characters as the 'one unique thing' is normally used for (ex: "I am a lost heir to X." "My mother was Baba Yaga." "My nightmares come true after a while." etc.).
Normally, the one unique thing can be used to completely change the setting ("I am the only living dwarf." "I strangled a god with my barehands at the age of five." "I'm the son of the flumph emperor."), but 13th Age deals with a more barebones setting. I'll consider each on a case-by-case basis (otherwise why not switch fully to homebrew).
What are everyone's thoughts?
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 06 Sep 2015 : 23:33:53
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| Bumping this thread. I have a few interested scribes here and interest from a Midgard community. I'm in a Midgard mood myself, so this will be a call to arms for players interested in trying another setting. Experience with Midgard not required, but I expect it will be a quick study for interested scribes. |
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Veritas
Learned Scribe
209 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2015 : 23:13:53
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| I'd be interested if the game starts up. |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 07 Sep 2015 : 23:56:32
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Welcome Veritas.
As of this post I have two other Candlekeep scribes interested, three counting yourself. As well as two Midgard fans from the KP community.
May I inquire about your experience with PbP and Midgard? Knowledge of neither are required, but if you've any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer best I can.
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Thieran
Learned Scribe
Germany
293 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2015 : 22:01:38
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| I would like to play a Gearforged, by the way :) |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 08 Sep 2015 : 22:05:13
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| Excellent. We're at one Gearforged and one Roachling. It will be an interesting group to be sure. |
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Dark Wizard
Senior Scribe
USA
830 Posts |
Posted - 09 Sep 2015 : 07:30:00
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We have a game forum: http://www.rpol.net/game.cgi?gi=64660
Interested players, please visit the rpol.net link and send me a join request so I can add you to the group. |
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Contemplating running a PbP Game
