Ptolus: City by the Spire
Ptolus: Monte Cook's City by the Spire, the classic and much beloved campaign setting now returns for 5e.
Ptolus is meant to be fantasy role-playing in microcosm. It embodies all that is fundamental to the genre,
but it does so in the space of a single city. That means there are dungeons to explore as well as townsfolk to
interact with. There are strange magical mysteries to discover, demons to fight, and even dragons.
Ptolus is truly a city of adventure—player characters don’t have to leave it to embark on amazing adventures.
THE BASICS
Theme: Sandbox (dungeon, urban, political, intrigue)
Starting Level: 1st
You are just arriving for the first time in Ptolus, and you have heard a few things about this city, that is why you have come — for Ptolus is not without a reputation, to say the least. To call Ptolus a dynamic place with a strange and varied identity is to understate the situation greatly. Only now are explorers truly discovering how ancient the city really is and unearthing details of its varied history. Ptolus is where that strange breed that calls itself “adventurers” congregates. It’s a place where people are as concerned with what lies below the ground as they are with what’s above. This is like no place else in the world.
Ptolus lies in the world of Praemal within the bounds of a very old Empire unsure of whether or not it has toppled. Three different emperors claim the throne, and portions of the once great realm cleave off like icy shards from a melting glacier. This decaying society looks upon previous centuries and sees grander, more civilized, and certainly better days. Progress seems on the decline—skills and lore that people possessed just a few hundred years ago are lost now.
This is not a time to lose hope altogether. Older than our own 'real-world' cultures, this civilization is more sophisticated in some ways, but less so in others. A myriad of races and peoples have come and gone, creating an intricate (and sometimes confusing) amalgam.
Good struggles against evil, and law against chaos. So far the shadows only threaten the light— they do not yet consume it.
Not so long ago, the first men and women who would one day be called “delvers” returned from exploring the catacombs below the city of Ptolus laden with gold and magical treasures. Today, hundreds of new would-be delvers pour into the city each month, hoping to strike it rich like others before them. Most never crawl up from the realms below, but adventurers keep arriving with dreams of gold and fame. Those who do emerge back into the light bring with them tales of surprisingly vast reaches of natural caverns and ancient hewn passages. Perhaps dating back to the dark days when this area lay in the thrall of the terrible Skull-King, Ghul, when the region was pocked with winding warrens and subterranean chambers created by his dark armies.
They also tell of the horrors that dwell outside the life-giving reaches of the sun: unknown monsters and devious demon-minded things with a cunning unknown to human-, elf-,or dwarf kind. In the city, entire industries have evolved quickly to service the needs of these adventurers. In the shadow of an unnaturally tall, ancient spire with a very dark past, a whole new form of economics, politics, and social structure struggles to be born.
Creatures and individuals (good, evil, and otherwise) that normally remain in the shadows are drawn to this large gathering of adventurers and magic. The needs of the delvers prompt renewed devotion to magic, science, and religion. As the Empire of Tarsis dies, Ptolus—for years a backwater town on the edge of civilization—is quickly becoming the center of something much larger than itself. Omens and prophecies of children born with strange birthmarks surface in the city with increasing frequency. No one yet knows exactly what, but something is happening in Ptolus.
Something new seems to be stirring in this city . . . something that is ancient beyond mortal measure.
Mechanically, this will be standard point-buy with 27 points. I strongly disfavor stat dumps, especially Charisma, without appropriate story justification. I also disfavor gimmicky characters. Considerably more effort should be on the personality, flavor and behavior of the character than on the mechanics themselves. During the selection process I will look for characters whose personality and story stand out that I think would make for some good story telling. If you plan on just scribbling some numbers on a piece of paper then this game might not be for you.
The only house rule in effect will be the PHB +1 rule, which means you can use the PHB plus one supplement of your choice for your character. Supplements can be any WotC Hardcover (i.e. Tasha's, XGtE, Volo's, etc.) but you get only one.
There are also new options in play due to the technological level of Ptolus, you can find new spells, new domains, firearms, and new technological equipment by browsing the Library folder in the game forum.
The posting rate for this game will be an average of two to three times per week. Some days there will be more posts than others, but this campaign will be run at a leisurely pace. If you do not post once within 48 hours during combat, actions will be taken for you (usually the dodge or assist action). I reserve the right to eject from the campaign anyone who has not posted in a week without prior warning of absence.
I expect players to engross themselves in the roleplaying element and contribute interestingly to the story and for this campaign I also favor longer posts with detail and emphasis on the growth of the characters over just posting to meet the requirement.
I also travel occasionally, but this rarely affects my posting. I will be selecting a total of four to six players. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
APPLICATIONS
Available Books: All WotC Hardcovers (PHB, Sword Coast, Volo's, etc.). NO UA (Don't Ask). This campaign uses the PHB +1 rule, allowed races do not count as your +1.
There are also new options in play due to the technological level of Ptolus, you can find new spells, new domains, firearms, and new technological equipment by browsing the Library folder in the game forum.
Allowed Races: All common and minor races listed in the Races of Ptolus folder which is located by Clicking Here.
Alignment Requirement:All alignments allowed except Chaotic Evil
Starting Equipment: Based off class and background selection.
Ability Scores: Ability scores can be generated using the 27 point buy as featured in the PHB.
Hit Points: Maximum at 1st level, average each additional level.
The application process will be done in 3 phases.
Phase 1 (Hey we are already here!), here you will come up with an idea for a character and fill out a simple questionnaire.
Phase 2 You will finish a 10 minute (misnomer) background and fill out another questionnaire for your character.
Phase 3 Will see you create mechanics and actually roleplaying your character (while standing in line at the city gates awaiting your turn to enter), so that both you and I can get a feel for your character.
The deadlines for these 3 phases are as follows:
Phase 1 & II: Tuesday, March 16th 11:59pm CST
Phase 3: The number of applications received and how long the "in character" part goes on for will determine how long Phase III will last for each applicant. Upon completion, each applicant will be scored using the Application Scoring Process, after which the highest scoring six applications will be selected for the game.
I look forward to this epic campaign and hope you do too! I almost forgot, you will need the player's guide to understand the setting in order to create an application.
TECHNICAL STUFF
Make a thread for your application in this folder located by clicking here.
Then in your very first post in that thread answer the following questions in order.
1. Your experience with the 5e ruleset.
2. Your experience with PbP.
3. Expectations for playing and what you want out of the experience.
4. Philosophy as a PbP player.
5. Why you are applying to this game?
6. Define what you think good role-playing is in PbP.
7. What is your experience with Ptolus, if any?
8. What is the basic concept of your character? Sell me on the idea. Please include race, class, etc. but do not list any stats or mechanics.
9. Post some portrait art for a visual representation of your character.
That's it. Wasn't that easy? Once you have completed phase one then you can move to phase two.
Add the next questions in order to your application.
Remember, I do not want to see stats, or mechanics, or sheets. We are working with the story of the character, mechanics can be posted later.
The Questionnaire:
1. How does your character interact with the others within a group?
2. What is your character's role in a group?
3. What are some things that are counter-intuitive about your character? I want one or two skills that would surprise others if they found out he knows them. Also include personality traits, positive or negative, that would similarly surprise others.
4. What are your character's goals, conscious and, perhaps, subconscious?
5. How easily does your character love? Have they been in love?
6. Is your character racist at all, either now or in their past?
7. All people believe something that is not true, both about the world around them and about themselves. What lies/untruths does your character believe about themselves and the world around them?
8. How is your character about material possessions?
9. What does your character perceive their major problems to be?
10. What does he perceive the solutions to those problems to be?
11. What are your character's religious beliefs?
12. What does your character fear?
13. How much of a temper does your character have? What sorts of things set them off?
14. Finally use the information from the questionnaire to write a background based around the above questions. The background can be as short or as long as you like, as long as it covers or touches on all the above information and puts it into a cohesive background. By doing this, it also gives me a sample of your writing ability as a player.
Once you have completed Phase I and Phase II then please let me know and wait for further instructions regarding Phase III.
| Are you expecting any progress done on Phase 2 before the deadline of phase 1? Wondering the order of operations as this is probably one of the most thorough application processes I've seen yet. |
| Should each part of our application be public, or is private ok? |
| What kind of races might be allowed? |
| What method will be used for ability stats. |
| Can our characters be locals to Ptolus?. |
| Not sure if anyone else asked, are LE characters allowed? |
FINAL NOTES
GM Info: Hi there! It's Billy Watford. I’ve been GMing (DMing, Storytelling, what have you) for these last 35+ years (Or is it 37?), and gaming a touch longer. I’ve run what feels like hundreds of adventures via Paizo, WotC, TSR over the years and have currently many games running here on Myth-Weavers, some of which have been running for many years.
My GMing style focuses more on what makes a good story, and less on things like exploiting the loopholes in rules to their fullest. I like characters that are cards to begin with, but I LOVE characters that develop over the course of a game. Don’t make me deal with two-dimensional characters that have one annoying trait they exploit over and over, and I won’t have to make a tarrasque show up. Deal? Deal.
What kind of player am I NOT looking for?
Power Gamers (not sorry) and rules lawyers (really not sorry). Ptolus deals with a lot of new rules, new spells, firearms, and chaos tech. So I surely don't need players that want nothing more than to exploit new rules, or just to min/max their characters. Ptolus offers so much in the way of character development and roleplay.
What kind of players AM I looking for?
Ooh, this one is good. I am not really looking for players at all. I am looking for a cast of characters. I’m looking for someone who’s committed to not only a good plot progression (characters or players that stifle the plot make me want to scream), but character development. I want to see your character grow into their role. I want to see selfish street rat become swashbuckling hero! I want to see bored pencil-pushing acolyte become punishing wrath of an angry god! LET’S DO THIS. Welcome to Ptolus! Where your adventure begins.
I’m also looking for people who can follow basic rules of grammar. That being said, I can be pretty lenient about mistakes. BUT...for the love of god, in a system like this, where you can edit minutes, days, weeks later...take a little pride.
I look forward to your applications and good luck!
PLEASE READ THE PLAYERS GUIDE ALL THE WAY THROUGH AND THEN RE-READ IT PRIOR TO STARTING THE APPLICATION PROCESS!! IT WILL HELP YOU TREMENDOUSLY!!!
The 5e players guide can be found and downloaded here:
Files - Myth-Weavers
Sorry to scream but I do not want the thread cluttered with people that do not read.
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