Spoiler: What Is the Crimson Echo
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So, several years ago I took over a Curse of the Crimson Throne game run by Shizu. Rather than pick up right where Shizu left off, however, I decided to restart the game from the beginning so that I could put my own spin on events, and for fun rather than start the characters completely over again as blank slates I allowed them to essentially start over at the very beginning of the game again at their current level of experience (level three) and with their characters’ memories intact. Like some sort of twisted Groundhog Day mixed with Quantum Leap experience, they all simply woke up several weeks in the past, somewhat the same people but with slightly different backstories – the struggling playwright was instead a successful one, the disgraced Acadamae drop-out was the proprietor of a fledgling but profitable magic shop and with a man he had failed to save from Gaedren Lamm alive and well as a member of his staff, and so on.
Sadly, several of our players have stepped out of the game, and so we are now forced to seek replacements in order to keep the game going. I would like to extend the same opportunity I gave them to you, to not only get a second chance to play a character you submitted and played in a previous Curse of the Crimson Throne game that sadly died out, but also a chance to rewrite the history of their lives somewhat. Generally events within the course of the AP are off-limits – no retroactively saving King Eodred for instance, but if there is some failure that drove your character to start the AP, perhaps that has changed. Of course, just because the circumstances are now different (if you so choose) doesn’t mean that the same tragic end won’t still ultimately play out, and there are some things that are the same between your own universe and this new one (Gaedren Lamm still being an odious bastard, for one).
Likewise, some of the events of the AP may well play out very differently from how they went in your standard Curse of the Crimson Throne AP. For example, the party is currently on good terms with Queen Ileosa, and seems to be making a name for themselves as her personal team of problem solvers. Whether that particular development ends well for you all or not remains to be seen . . .
Note that while this gimmick works best with a character you have previously played in another Curse of the Crimson Throne game, that is not an absolute necessity. We'll happily take someone who's never played in a Curse of the Crimson Throne game too! You'll just have to come up with two slightly different backstories for your character! :smallbiggrin:
Spoiler: The Big Sixteen
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1. What game system are you running (D&D, Call of Cthulu, Palladium, GURPS, etc.), and if applicable what edition (Original, Classic, Revised, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 10th, etc.)?
Pathfinder 1e
2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be (i.e. "Shadow Chasers" or "Agents of Psi" for d20 Modern)? What is the setting for the game (eg. historic period, published or homebrewed campaign setting, alternate reality, modern world, etc.)?
A heavily modified Curse of the Crimson Throne AP
3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?
Looking for two, POSSIBLY three characters to replace the two that stepped out.
4. What's the gaming medium (OOTS, chat, e-mail etc.)?
Play by Post Forum
5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
Characters will begin the game at level 5 – expect leveling to be rather slow, and by milestone rather than exact XP count. The current party is level 4, but I expect them to level up by around the time you join the group.
6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
Standard wealth by level for level 5 characters.
7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
Any official material published by Paizo for 1e is allowed. I will note that we currently have a wizard and bard cleric, and a whirling dervish sound striker bard. So something capable of standing on the frontlines, fighting from long range, and/or filling in for the party’s trap-finder/stealthy scout/underworld expert will probably be most appreciated!
8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
Core races and featured races such as aasimar, tiefling, ratfolk, etc. should all be acceptable. Note that as a Chelish-colony, the people of Korvosa have inherited some of their motherland’s human-centric racism, so non-humans will be met with varying levels of curiosity, skepticism, and scorn depending on the person. Non-Chelish human ethnicities that are nonetheless common within the city, such as Varisian and Shaonti, also get to “enjoy” the benefits of Cheliax’s superiority complex.
9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
Ye olde 20 point buy. Max hit points at 1st level, and then you may either take the average HP/level for your class or take your chances at rolling. Be warned that gambling is a sin, and when the dice inevitably decide to punish your hubris with low rolls, your character will have to suffer for your poor decisions. :smalltongue:
Two traits, one of which should be a Curse of the Crimson Throne campaign trait. Feel free to make it a different one from the first go-around for this character!
10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
Characters can be of any non-evil alignment, and should have some attachment to Korvosa that motivates them. Getting revenge on Gaedren Lamm (again?) is all well and good, but without something else to keep your character going beyond that it may be difficult to justify why your character is sticking around. Particularly as Gaedren is now, well, dead (again).
11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Rules as written
12. Will you be doing all of the die rolling during the course of the game? Will die rolls be altered, or left to the honor system? If players can make die rolls, which ones do they make, how should they make the rolls, and how should they report them?
Players will roll their own dice, although I commonly try to roll hidden checks such as Perception and Sense Motive myself in a dice roller thread, and then narrate the results to you. You are welcome to call for rolling yourself for these checks if you wish, but if we haven’t worked out a standard policy on that beforehand then my roll will stand if it’s a one-time check (i.e. you don’t get to have the results of whatever I roll for you, and then declare you are rolling again to see if you can squeeze any more information out of the moment, unless it’s a repeatable check like Perception where you can stand around staring at something for several minutes if you so wish).
13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
Korvosa is a vibrant trade city with a magical academy present within the city and a magic-using order of Hellknights headquartered nearby. As such, magical gear according to a Metropolis is available for purchase during normal peace time (75% chance for any magic item worth 16,000 GP or less). Arcane spells 4th level and below are widely available for spellbook recording, generally requiring only the necessary ink and a very small fee to borrow an old spellbook to copy from. Higher-level arcane spells and divine spells are also available, although past 5th-level such services generally require connections as only the leaders of various organizations within the city are capable of such magic.
Expect a roughly Golarion experience with occasional significant changes to the lore as-written (much like the AP).
14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
Yes, and bonus points will be awarded if your character was previously used in another Curse of the Crimson Throne game that was never completed (a link to said game, if possible, would be appreciated as well for me to get a feel for your character). Ideally a game that stalled out in Book One so that your character has no more idea what’s coming next than the rest of the party, but I can work around that so long as you’re willing to not have your character run around screaming potential spoilers or trying to metagame their knowledge of Korvosa’s potential future beyond Book One of the AP.
Even more bonus points will be awarded if you can spitball some potential ideas on what is different about your character’s life in this alternate universe that led them along a different path from the one they walked the last time around. Everything else is different in this new universe, so why not your character’s backstory’s well?
Of course, I’m not the one you really have to impress here. My three remaining players will be getting serious consideration as to who they want or don’t want in the party with them, so you definitely want them advocating on your behalf instead of against it!
15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
I would say that you should expect a mix of all three, although with a slight lean towards roleplaying and finding other solutions to problems besides straight combat. Which doesn’t mean there isn’t a fair amount of bloodshed as well, just that it is currently a city game with a fair amount of intrigue afoot.
16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
As mentioned above, Paizo-only content please.
Selections will be made on Sunday, January 28th. Please try to have your character done and submitted by that time!