Saberfan

GETE was definitely a character that required a lot of playtesting to fully figure out and I consider myself more familiar than most with the Wraith class. There are more moving parts with that character than entire D&D 3.5 parties and I found it exceptionally fun to separate its components and see how they worked individually, then put them back together and use them as a functioning whole. I'm very interested in seeing if my playtesting of that mechanical marvel reflects its true capabilities down the road. To be fair, I am one of those lunatic GMs that likes additional complexity and stretching my brain until it breaks. As for how Biara would interact with GETE mechanically, Mister Doctor has the right of it. A decent amount of the playtesting I did with her and GETE was done without her possessing them since actively engaging in possession would essentially leave Biara in some sort of inactive state until she ended the effect. Possession and wraith collectives interact in very weird ways.

Also, I'm really enjoying both the in-character reactions I'm seeing and these fun 'what if' scenarios being discussed. I will admit that the idea of Spark sprinkling fairy dust on GETE and turning them into an entire harem of high CHA heartthrobs gave me quite a chuckle.

Most of the various ancillaries worked fairly well at their job based on my playtesting pre-selections, although they'll never obviously reach the same degree of efficiency at their job as a single character built specifically for a given role. Still, GETE's biggest strength is being a one paracausal entity army that's able to lay down the law with suppressing fire, being able to throw multiple semi-expendable bodies at a given task when necessary, and having a great deal of non-magical flexibility. I'm almost 100% certain Paizo ruled that most corporeal undead count as corpses for the purposes of Carrion Eater and we'll operate under that assumption unless an official ruling can be found that contradicts it.

A wise choice seeing as how many of the ship's rooms and corridors are going to be on the smaller side outside of two fairly large areas and one that stretches nearly a mile.

You aren't fundamentally changing your character's basic concept or party role, so I'll allow you to change it now. Most of the changes you have made are more tweaks to how you go about expressing those things. Also, I appreciate the extra effort you put into showing what changes you would make and where since it made looking over things much easier.

It looks like I was correct in assuming that the Orpheus contract would be the most appealing to the majority of the party! I can certainly understand why though, as it's not every day that you get to explore a haunted penal colony ship drifting through a 5th or 6th dimensional hellspace filled with demons who do not conform to accepted reality.

A few hours late due to getting distracted with a few things, but I have posted the currently available contracts in gameplay! I removed a few options because I want to upscale them to suit the more advanced concepts they have, so you have ten options as opposed to fourteen. The too long, didn't read is that you have the option to pick: Hunting a crazed colossal beast in a harsh environment filled with danger Solving the murder mystery surrounding a late yokai empress Fighting in Mortal Kombat a friendly island tournament hosted by an advanced dragonblooded people Going on a rescue mission in a penal colony ship that has slipped into a hellspace Trying to lift a curse that is slowly killing a world of faeries Going into the tavern's basement and exterminating "(?)rats(?)" Accompanying a fallen angel as he treads a path of guilt and penance Hopping aboard a spelljammer and sailing the Deep Astral to investigate a mysterious cosmic egg Journeying to a near-Earth to investigate the harrowing tales of witchcraft, human sacrifice, and dark entities Becoming the arm candy and political tools of an elemental lord for a social function he is attending. If you do not see one of the options I have talked about in the original threads, it's because those are either too high of a level or because I am folding them into the potential plot-centric parts of the game.

Scanning over the Wall of Contracts is no small feat, as nearly a hundred contracts are posted and not all of them are particularly exceptional; after all, the Realmwardens will take on most any contract that seems aboveboard. A few contracts, however, stand out. To Hunt a Godbeast Client: Ven'ga of Tribe Ourmos World of Operation: Iss'tal the Worldmountain Contract Details: The tribes of Iss'tal have long survived the harshness of their snowy home by hunting the colossal fauna known as godbeasts, whose flesh and bones provide the tribes with both food and raw materials for clothing, weapons, and armor. Several bands of hunters have been massacred and evidence suggests that a frenzied godbeast is to blame for this. The client requests the aid of the Realmwardens in hunting the godbeast before her tribe succumbs to either the beast itself or starvation. Death of the Eternal Empress Client: Imperial Onmyouji Yasuo Wagami of the Jade Phoenix Clan World of Operation: Tenrasu, Seat of the Eternal Empress Contract Details: The Eternal Empress who has ruled over Tenrasu and its yokai denizens for thousands of years has been murdered in her own palace. The imperial court's magical divinations are being foiled and tensions are high among the various clans and factions as each seeks someone to blame for the murder. The client has managed to help negotiate a temporary truce, but requests the aid of Realmwardens as a neutral party to help investigate who was responsible for the Eternal Empress' murder and bring them to justice before the world of Tenrasu sinks into a bloody civil war. The Grand Tournament of Palas-Eja Client: Guildmaster Blade World of Operation: Malkari Contract Details: The dragon-blooded inhabitants of the Drakvanastra Archipelago recently made their first foray into the planes and wish to hold a friendly competition of martial and magical prowess to all who wish to participate within the temple-city of Palas-Eja. The Guildmaster has had pleasant dealings with the people of this world and wishes to foster good relations between them and the guild. As such, the Guildmaster is looking for those willing to participate in the tournament and its surrounding festivities. Hell Comes to the Penal Colony Ship: Orpheus Client: Guildmistress Yuki Kuro World of Operation: Penal Colony Ship Orpheus, now drifting in a hell dimension Contract Details: The Guildmistress is prone to having premonitions and she has recently had one of a young girl aboard the Orpheus penal colony ship who has the potential to become a Gatewalker. The girl was exiled into darkspace along with hundreds of thousands of other souls labeled as undesirables by the United Earth Government of Earth 157 just six months ago. Recently, the Orpheus has slid into the darkness between worlds and is now drifting through a hellish dimension. The situation aboard the ship is rapidly deteriorating and the guildmistress is looking for those willing to rescue the nascent Gatewalker and as many innocents as possible. Fallen Leaves, Faded Dreams Client: Aisling World of Operation: The Gloaming Lands Contract Details: The Gloaming Lands were once a place of twilight beauty as timeless and vibrant as the fey that called it home. A terrible curse struck the Tree of Beginnings from which all life on the world sprang and both the land and fey alike wither and fade in its dark grasp. Many among the fey aristocracy have begun turning to necromancy, diabolism, or worse in order to stave off the curse, while many of the common fey have begun to perish or turn into undead abominations. The client has come seeking the help of the Realmwardens in discovering the roots of the curse that has infected the Tree of Beginnings and lifting it in order to save both her people and homeland alike. It Always Starts with Rats... Client: Ruvas World of Operation: The Nexus Contract Details: The Worldsong's Hearth has long served the adventurers of the guild with exceptional goods and services. Certain information has come to the attention of the client and he is looking for adventurers willing to delve into the labyrinthine basement in order to solve a certain problem. The client requests that any and all who accept this contract swear an oath of secrecy before disclosing further information. The Road of Penance Client: Malvikel the Fallen World of Operation: ??? Contract Details: Malvikel the Fallen was once a mighty archangel before he fell to evil and became a lord of the dark realms. In the eons since his fall, the client has come to regret his deeds and seeks to walk a path of penance. He has made many enemies over the millennia and has requested the Realmwardens protect him on his journey of penance due to sealing his own powers away as part of his contrition. Mystery of the Cosmic Egg Client: Captain Bazran of the Astral Maiden World of Operation: The Deep Astral Contract Details: The Deep Astral which surrounds the Nexus sees many spelljammers and voidships sail through it's planar skies. One such ship, captained by the client, happened across an unusual phenomenon while out in the Deep Astral: a giant egg of amber-like crystal as big as his own ship. The client and his crew reported experiencing strange dreams both a day before and a day after coming across the strange egg and it seemed to emanate a magical pull that began drawing in the ship as the two drew closer. The client wishes for the Realmwardens to investigate the strange object and, if possible, determine whether or not it is dangerous or merely a strange, yet harmless planar phenomenon. Stained Hearts and Black Magic Client: Annika Straussland and the Yshnari Mindmenders World of Operation: Riesenwelt Contract Details: The client is a young woman from the rustic world of Riesenwelt who was found years ago in the Nexus, branded with a dark sigil and near-catatonic with terror. She has spent the last three years convalescing with the Yshnari Mindmenders in the city and her condition has improved enough where she can string together a few sentences a day. The Yshnari Mindmenders have managed to piece together a harrowing story from her words: a sinister tale of witchcraft, dark sacrifices, and a dark figure known as Mann des Schattenwald. The Mindmenders have pooled together a sum of money for anyone who will journey to the client's homeland, investigate what could have broken her mind in such a way, and bring back some proof that the problem has been dealt with so that Annika's mind can begin to heal. A Ballad of Flame and Frost Client: Lord Krassik of the Court of Flame World of Operation: The Solstice Court Contract Details: The client is a recently-minted elemental noble in the Solstice Court and is looking to hire interesting beings to serve as his retinue while attending the pageantries of the court. Non-elemental beings are a looked at as rare and wondrous diversions in the Solstice Court and the client hopes to use those so contracted to boost his own prestige by being seen as a powerful, avant-garde figure by associating with such outsiders. While the client insists that the job will not be dangerous in the slightest, the Realmwardens believe that caution is warranted by any who choose to accept the contract since the politics of the elemental courts can be extremely dangerous.

I had to make an edit to my post, as the kitsune co-guildmistress was supposed to be named Yuki Kuro (Black Snow), not Yuki Kuso (Snow Feces). I'm not sure how that substantial of a spelling error slipped past me, but that's a big gaff that anyone with knowledge in Japanese probably shook their head at. I know for sure that my old gaming friend who played as her in our planar games would probably bust out laughing at that slipup on my part! I'll have to relay this to her just to see what her reaction is later on. But yeah, it's a good thing that I decided to skim over the thread a few minutes ago and, thus, spotted that mistake before the edit window ended. That massive gaff aside of mine, I'm really enjoying the writing thus far. I'm about to head out and get a few things done- grocery shopping, helping my dad fill out a form that he cannot make heads or tails of, and doing my normal hour of gacha game grinding for the day (I play Fate/Grand Order, Honkai Star Rail, Genshin Impact, and Reverse:1999, if you're curious how deep I am in F2P gacha hell,) but I will be back in a few hours to give a substantive reply in gameplay. For those who mentioned looking over the Wall of Contracts, you can look forward to over a dozen options that you and the other party members can choose from at your leisure.

The first real gameplay post is officially live! Go on and mingle in the tavern; I'll leave it up to you all whether you come in as a group or go alone and simply meet up shortly thereafter.

ACT ONE: A Journey Amidst Starlight and Shadow The Nexus is a place that is constantly in flux and yet never seems to truly change. The City at the Center of the Multiverse's innumerable roads and alleys teem with beings both comfortingly familiar and disconcertingly alien that have come from elsewhere in the boundless infinity of the cosmos. Buildings constructed in disparate styles from a thousand worlds blend together into a dizzying patchwork collage. The scent of exotic spices mingle with otherworldly perfumes and a perpetual clamor of vendors hawking their wares in a thousand languages to all who pass by resounds within the Sidereal Bazaar at the edge of infinite city where the plane itself dissolves into the starry void of the Deep Astral. The Road of the Faithful rises from the city proper and its psalm-inscribed stone streets winds through the air like a ribbon that flows past the many floating cathedrals and shrines. The Toll Knights, mage-warriors clad in fortress plate armor of bejeweled precious metals and wielding weapons dangling with handcrafted charms of currency from many worlds, maintain and protect the network of portals that allows quick and easy travel through the plane-sized city. And from the impossible center of the infinite city rises the miles-high Glittering Spire, made of living crystal, where the mysterious ruler of the city known as The Throneless Sovereign and their Council of Seven Archons reside. Although there are many wonders and oddities from the Nexus that have become famous throughout the planes, there is one that has surged in renown and popularity over the years thanks to its services: the Guildhall of the Realmwardens. The Realmwardens as an organization were founded nearly five hundred years ago by a misfit band of planar heroes as a way to both extend a helping hand to the residents of countless worlds and help fellow adventurers find above-board work that pays well. What began as a humble grassroots organization operating out of a nondescript tavern quickly grew into a prestigious multiplanar guild patronized by some of the most wealthy and influential beings in the multiverse. Although many of the founding members of the organization have long since passed from the Nexus, two remain and serve as defacto guildmasters for the organization. One is a seemingly immortal man formerly from a reflection of Earth and he discarded his name long ago, becoming known by the moniker of the Fate-Severing Blade- or simply 'Blade' for short- given to him after he destroyed the avatar of a dark god and saved the world of Khae'inras; he rarely involves himself with the day-to-day matters of the guild and usually only hands down contracts that he has personally drafted, although he does take occasonal walks through the Guildhall from time to time. The other is Yuki Kuro, a kitsune princess and songstress who wields mystical powers tied to the frozen moon of her homeworld and once abdicated her place in the line of succession in order to see the sights of the multiverse after she awakened to her power as a Gatewalker; she is much more personable than the Fate-Severing Blade and has taken it upon herself to serve as the guild's face. Although the palatial Guildhall itself and its well-maintained gardens and grounds bustles with agents, handlers, and dignitaries, most of the guild's actual adventurers meet up at the Worldsong's Hearth Tavern that the founders once operated out of. The tavern first appears to outside observers be a small, cozy little tavern on the outside with a sign depicting a crossed harp and sword. But once a being opens the door and crosses the threshold to enter the tavern proper, it becomes apparent that the building's interior is a form of pocket dimension with an exceedingly large floorspace. A bar staffed by the well-dressed and bespectacled minotaur Ruvas and his stylish thriae companion Melisae has its seats filled with many adventurers deep into their cups with exotic alcohols of all kinds. A staff of attractive waiters and waitresses offer food and drinks with a smile to patrons at the many tables, but few bring home as many tips as the cute humanoid ooze woman Bwimblina- nicknamed Bwimby by regulars- whose bubbly personality and endearing antics have led to her massive popularity among patrons. The Wall of Contracts, a sizable board nearly fifty feet in length whose face is covered in guild contracts, occupies the wall nearest the tavern's entrance and often has at least one or two adventurers skimming it over looking for work. A set of stairs leads upwards to rooms decorated to suit a variety of tastes- including a few aquarium rooms for amphibious or outright aquatic patrons- that affiliated adventurers can rent for a pittance. It is with this backdrop in mind that you, one of the Realmwarden's contracted adventurers, have come looking for more work. What new quests await you on the Wall of Contracts, promising gold, glory, and the boundless thrill of adventure?

Alright, it looks like everyone has officially finished preparations and are ready to rock'n'roll! I will get this game rolling tomorrow in that case, seeing as tonight is my girlfriend and I's date night. I don't really have any lines that could conceivably be crossed by ToS-abiding players and am fairly desensitized to more mature or serious subject matter. I've actually ran through an entire campaign set in lore-accurate Nidal at one point with a group of players who read through Nidal: Land of Shadows and thought it would be cool to adventure there with no warning labels, which led to a game that was as much Hellraiser as it was a Pathfinder game.

Oh no, that's not what I meant. What I meant to say was that I can only use Discord on my laptop, seeing as how my phone is so old that it's practically a historical artifact at this point. So, while Discord might be a good method to poke other people, it's probably less useful when it comes to getting in touch with me. I'd prefer to just keep things as they are with crafting, as it raises a few too many wrinkles otherwise. Do you all have any other topics that need hashing out pre-game? I just want to make sure that we have everything covered. It seems like the party more or less agrees on nearly every question I've posed thus far. If there aren't any more topics up for discussion, I'll go ahead and list the initial bout of contracts and get the first gameplay post down so that we can get this party started.

I have mixed thoughts about this and any answer I give would naturally come with many caveats. Still, I'm interested in seeing the discourse the topic is bound to bring up and will follow along so that I can observe what points crop up.

So the general consensus seems to be yes to Roll20 maps, a 4-5 day wait before nudging inactive players, 4-5 posts a week but more if we can manage it, and for the contract-based game to dovetail into a full-blown storyline at some point. I have been thinking of a few new things that I'd like to ask over the last few days as I've worked, spent some time on maps for each contract, etc. My first question is one that has been brought up in a few posts and it pertains to whether people consider the addition of Discord to be a dealbreaker or not. I myself haven't used it in years and generally only get online on my laptop, so it may not be as useful for contacting me. That said, I'm not against the idea and think it could probably be a useful tool for you all. Are you all wanting to dip into mythic or epic as the campaign starts reaching a crescendo? I'm very familiar with both of those and have a lot of experience crafting scenarios and antagonists for them, having converted large portions of the Epic Level Handbook and the Immortal's Handbook: Epic Bestiary to Pathfinder for my own personal use in home games. I know that reaching those fabled heights will be something several years down the road, but it's probably best to get that out of the way as early as possible considering that the consensus is for the game to gradually transition to something more story-focused. After all, it's hard to determine just how crazy I can get with antagonists and the stakes if I don't know where the projected endgoal of the game lies. Since Rudra brought up the possibility of tying in character-specific subplots into the greater narrative, would any of you like to take advantage of this? Maybe Danika would like to delve into whatever is causing planes to collapse or GETE may want to delve into the circumstances behind their birth, for example. Now these would be for later on, of course, but it's always best to plan ahead whenever possible. If you don't care to explore anything character-specific with your own character, that's completely fine as well. Next is a question that I like to ask every player, yet somehow neglected to ask my last post. What are three magic items that you would like to find before the game is over? Most people have at least one thing on their wishlist and, while I'm not Santa Claus, I do like to make sure that people at least get some of their non-artifact wishes fulfilled at some point. How would people like to handle initiative? The way I handled it in my old Discord games with my scattered player group was to simply roll for both PCs and NPCs myself, only applying modifiers as necessary. It saved quite a bit of time when I could just roll for everyone. Similarly, how do people want to handle more passive uses of skills, e.g. Perception, Sense Motive, or Knowledge checks? I could either roll for you and then you could choose whether to retroactively apply any bonuses you have to it or you all could handle those yourselves as normal. Is there anything in the way of content that you would consider out of the question in this game? Obviously there's the sort of things covered in the site's ToS being out of the question, but that doesn't quite cover everything. I'm not looking to add any Book of Vile Darkness levels of content or anything like that, but I just like to get those lines in the sand drawn before someone inadvertantly trips over them. Some of the contracts may have content that is not to some people's taste and I'd like to know if some need warning labels put on them for content that may not be acceptable. How do people feel about the occasionally fudging of a roll or two in your favor from my end of things? I normally have a policy of only fudging a roll every so often to prevent a senseless TPK, but don't really exercise my GM privilege much more than that and usually let the dice fall where they may. I think that's about all that I still needed to ask, but I'm off for the next week and will be checking back in multiple times a day, so I have ample opportunity to pose questions that may have slipped my mind.