Sunday Pathfinder Adventure Game

[Ebiris]

I've decided to try my hand at running another game, and to give the Pathfinder system a shot to see how it goes. The game would run on Sundays at a time suitable for whichever players I get - I'm around from noon to 11pm GMT so if you're interested figure it out from that and say when you'd like it to run. The game would start at level 1 with no preset end point, going on as long as we need, and will take place in a homebrew setting I'm working on that in all honesty is a lot like Eberron.

I'm usually in #elysium on IRC, so come along there to chat over things if you're interested.

[Carthrat]

oh no my chatroom is made public

Desire to be in stated.

[Corwin]

Going by GMT, I can be around from 3:30 and onwards. Technically, it's possible to even be around from 3, but it'd be nice to have some buffer between work in case of small emergencies.

[Ebiris]

Planet: Aldremir
Moons: Celestis and Firmenta
Continents: Athnas, Pranneria, Cimmeria (Abilestir), Hildspir

Athnas: Large Southeastern continent, connected to Pranneria. Dominated by the ancient Dragon Empire of Jovar which is bounded on its Southwestern extent by several smaller tribute states, and the island nation of Verra off its Eastern coast. Primarily arid climate, although far South has more tropical environment. North gives way to inhospitable tundra, while West leads to steppe plains followed by cold desert, finally reaching the Pinnacle Mountain range which marks the joining of Athnas with Pranneria.

Pranneria: Smaller continent joined to Athnas on its Northwest. Numerous small but vibrant kingdoms frequently engaged in trade and war with one another, and several colonial empires in the process of exploiting Cimmeria which was discovered a little under a century ago. Notable powers here are Anowia and Tonghm which are both the foremost maritime powers and most involved in colonising Cimmeria, and Tanagra, which is landlocked to the centre of the continent but holds a powerful role in monopolising the overland trade routes. Climate here is primarily temperate except to the far North and South where tundra and prairie begin to dominate.

Cimmeria: Isolated island continent roughly halfway between Athnas and Pranneria, only recently discovered by Prannerian explorers who named it as the birthright of their people. The natives insist on their own name of Abilestir, but the new name has stuck in most of the rest of the world. The theocracy of Kal-Krusad is the only real country here, dominating the Southwest reaches and as yet has had little firm contact with the colonists spreading out from the East coast. The rest of the land is filled mostly with nomadic tribes and isolated settlements under no consistent banner. Primarily jungle around the interior and swamp on the coasts, only the far north gives way to more temperate plains and forests.

Hildspir: Island continent far to the Southeast of Athnas. Once was dominated by the Hildian civilisation, who were strong even when ancient Jovar was being united from warring barbarian tribes, but the entire civilisation was wiped out in a tremendous cataclysm nearly one and a half thousand years ago. Since then the continent has become a blasted and inhospitable ruin, strange magical phenomenon and still extant wards and automated defenders placing it as a grave danger to exploration.

Player Races

Humans: Humans are common everywhere in civilised lands, and make up the bulk of population for Athnas and Pranneria, and are quite common on Cimmeria both as natives and colonists. Humans generally don't live past 80, but some individuals have reached a century.
Elves: Elves were unknown until Cimmeria was discovered, where they make up a significant majority of its population. Since being opened to the world they have started to appear on other continents, but remain a rarity. Elves are unlikely to live much past 200.
Dwarves: Once made up the majority of Hildspir's population, now only small minorities on Athnas and Pranneria, but somewhat common on Cimmeria. Dwarves tend to live to about a century.

No half breeds, and no gnomes/halflings unless someone really wants to play one.

Religion

While clerics and druids may freely call for miracles and divine blessings to lend weight to their creeds, to the common eye this does not seem dissimilar to the great works of wizards and sorcerers. Certainly no almighty deity has ever manifested itself, but this does nothing to dampen the desire to believe in something greater than one's self, and so many religions flourish on Aldremir, fuelled purely by faith. And has not stopped more than one powerful being from declaring themself as a God in order to bask in the worship that follows.

The Divine Emperor: The current Emperor of Jovar is considered a divine figure himself, just as his father and all of the other Emperors stretching back to the nation's founding were. The fact that the Emperors are manifestly mortal does nothing to quell the faith given to him as steward of their ancient civilisation, and indeed all of the deceased Emperors are considered much like patron saints, giving due deference to whomever currently holds the throne. Adherents believe that upon their deaths they shall serve the spirits of all the dead Emperors in the celestial empire, just as they served in the living.

Ancestor Worship: Not an organised religion so much as a system of belief in the spirits of one's ancestors looking after them, and requiring placation through offerings and supplication. It traces its roots to Jovar and is quite enmeshed there alongside the cult of the Divine Emperor, but many natives of Cimmeria hold similar beliefs of their ancestors becoming part of the natural world and requiring respect, and even in cosmopolitan Pranneria it is not uncommon for some particularly established families to hold devotions to their forebears. Some take this belief to its logical conclusion and have the spirits of their ancestors called back or animated through necromancy, but such is generally regarded with horror and revulsion by most civilised peoples.

Akallas: The deity of Kal-Krusad, who's worship is mandated strictly by the ruling priest caste. He is a noble protector of his chosen people, and his faithful can be assured a happy afterlife in his land of Kal, where all the pains and troubles of life are left behind for an eternity of blissful contentment in his presence. The unfaithful are damned tormented loneliness in the Pits of Kali. In order to display their piety before their jealous God, the priests frequently perform ritual sacrifice of young worshippers. These sacrificial victims are of course assured the happiest of happy places in Akallas' embrace.

Nature Worship: Takes many forms, and in some cases can be easily confused with Ancestor Worship which sometimes ascribes ancestors to places in natural settings. Followers of such traditions devote themselves to the world itself, seeing it as a living entity that must be protected and respected. Some followers of these ways invent particular Gods for certain concepts or natural phenomenon, further muddying the waters with Ancestor Worship's own tendancies. While most adherents to this system are of equal mind on showing reverence to the trees and land, some are strict vegetarians while others are bloody carnivores, adopting a 'nature is red in tooth and claw' philosophy.

The Olympians: A pantheon of deities primarily worshipped in Pranneria, they are numerous and each embody different concepts and aspects, from Aphrodite the Goddess of Love, to Hades the God of the Dead, and Poseidon the God of the Sea. Adherents will typically pray to whichever one is most appropriate for a given situation, and larger temples will have space for each member of the pantheon.

These are some of the larger and commonly known religions on Aldremir, but small cults spring up all the time around philosophies and beings of interest, and just as often vanish as quickly.

On the nature of Outsiders

Who has not been impressed by a summoner calling forth a demon of myth and binding it to her will? Who could doubt the word of a cleric of Hera that has his words backed up by a formidable erinyes sent from Olympus to punish the sinful? Such beings surely speak clearly on the presence of entire worlds beyond our own, the very halls of the Gods themselves where such glorious beings serve them, and such terrible monsters defy them.

At least that is a common view, one that summoners and priests are certainly in no hurry to disillusion their admirers on. But recent scholarly studies and interviews with such 'outsiders' has provoked a counterargument that is gaining some traction among the intelligesia. Such an argument states that the beings called forth by 'summoning' magic are less teleported from fantastic realms beyond the one we see with our eyes, but instead crafted wholesale by the desires of the summoner, and the subconscious effects of folklore and legend. Unsurprisingly, the creatures often take great exception to being called mindless stereotypical dolls of their summoners. Debate rages, and often has turned ugly as fiends and heralds of the Gods have been turned to violent retribution on their doubters after pointed questioning and argument.

As for the dead souls who are pulled back from the hereafter by the pleadings of powerful clerics, they sadly are not able to provide word on what they saw on the other side and silence this increasingly heated debate, for to a man they never remember so much as an instant after their heart stopped beating.

[Carthrat]

Thinking of playing an agent from one of the Prannerian city-states, possibly on their 'diplomatic' service or something like that. Not sure about playing a colonist or not, what do people think?

[Corwin]

I could go for that. Though if we can just meet up 'naturally' without starting from the same place, I'd be interested in being from Cimmeria, with no particular association or religion. Agnostic elf, interested in traveling the world!

[Ebiris]

More information to follow the earlier post, I'm just tossing this stuff up as I go to give a flavour of the setting and hopefully whet people's appetite. This is an outline of the basic D&D creature types and how they fit into the world.

Creature types

Aberrations
A few creatures classed as Aberrations are known to exist on Aldremir, typically of the less powerful and intelligent varieties, and usually attributed to magical mutations. None could reasonably be considered civilised, and they are usually solitary and rapacious creatures, exterminated with prejudice when found.

Animals
Animals are common the world over, in all variety of forms from placid livestock and playful housepets to wild predators and beasts bred for work or war.

Constructs
Favoured as guardians for highly controlled places such as vaults and prisons, their use in the open is an extreme liability due to their strict adherence to simple commands. Only the most intensely private of individuals would ever openly display a golem guard.

Dragons
Dragons are found across all inhabited continents, but their forms and natures differ considerably. Prannerian dragons are the most physically mighty, sometimes boasting elemental or poisonous breath weapons, but somewhat simple-minded and impulsive. Wild Prannerian dragons either live on preserves where ample feeding ensures they do not trouble the population and their eggs might be taken to raise more tame dragons, or in remote places far from cities and farms. The vast majority are integrated into the armies of the various nation states, doted on by their handlers and used to great effect in war.
The dragons of Athnas that give the empire of Jovar its title are considerably more intelligent than their Prannerian cousins, and those gifted with breath weapons often possess more esoteric abilities such as disintegrating rays or gases suffused with debilitating magic. They play a full and equal part in the life of the empire, and the majority migrate to the civil service - indeed, the companions of the Emperor are the wisest dragons on Aldremir, and no doubt have a large responsibility for the ancient empire's sustained success.
On Cimmeria, dragons in some ways act as legends tell of ancient ones on Pranneria, malevolent and covetous monsters, inclined to pillage entire towns to sate their greed and bloodlust. While not quite rivalling the dragons of Pranneria in physical stature, the vicious wyrms of Cimmeria possess incredible control over the elements, and many are worshipped as local deities.

Elementals
Physical manifestations of the four classical elements, along with occassional rare mixes, these beings only tend to exist in isolated places where their element is dominant, except when summoned. Their alien modes of thought make civilised contact difficult, as a fire elemental desires for all to burn and holds little understanding of the pain this brings to other beings, and the other elementals are little different, although less immediately threatening.

Fey
Fey are exceedingly common all over Aldremir, the vast majority living quite happily in remote places far from any contact even with others of their kind. In general they act as stewards of the land, and encourage nature worship in others. A rare and powerful few even take on the roles of local deities to serve as a font for such worship. While they generally disdain civilisation, they are nonetheless quite amiable in most cases except when threatened. The one exception to this is in the case of Outsiders, which fey possess an instinctive hatred for which is entirely reciprocated, and even the most sweet tempered nymph and patient angel can be roused to vicious conflict when presented to one another.

Giants
While extinct on Pranneria and Athnas for many thousands of years, giants remain present in scattered enclaves all across Cimmeria, where they range the gamut from industrious architects of sophisticated cities, to near feral savages little better than wild animals. In recent years, many have found their way across the ocean to Pranneria, where they earn tidy livings as labourers and mercenaries by virtue of their prodigal strength.

Humanoids
The main civilising force upon the surface of the world (although the dragons of Athnas might argue the point), humans, elves, and dwarves are responsible for all the great nations of Pranneria and Athnas, as well as the proud but isolated cities and tribes of Cimmeria. In addition, the continental shelves of Pranneria and Cimmeria are inhabited by merpeople and sea elves, respectively, who while less organised than their terrestrial neighbours nonetheless are happy to share in the fruits that civilisation brings.

Magical Beasts
An extremely diverse classification, it is most simply said that these fulfill many of the same niches as animals do, for the line is often a blurred one.

Monstrous Humanoids
Derogatorily referred to as Beastmen, and their condition ascribed to ancestral relations between humanoids and animals, these unfortunates have a hard lot. Rarely accepted in civilised society except in the lowest of jobs, many instead eke out savage lives on the frontiers of civilisation, little better than tribes of brigands. The exception to this are the Sahaugin who dwell upon the continental shelf of Athnas, and are peacable subjects of the Divine Emperor.

Ooze
Not so much a type of creature as a type of refuse, and best considered as such.

Outsiders
Outsiders do not ever naturally appear on Aldremir, the only ones here present by the will of a summoner. This limits the vast majority to very brief stays where they simply follow the agenda of someone else regardless of their own will. However, sometimes one will break free of its summoner before being banished, and be left to fend for itself. Their reactions to this generally vary, some trying to blend into society while otherwise carrying forward the cause or ethos that motivates them, while others attempt to foster cults, setting themselves up as divine figures in their own right. In either case, they will try and take opportunities to free other Outsiders of similar mindsets from the control of summoners, sometimes forming entire hierarchies as more are added to the organisation.

Plants
Animate plants are rare, and intelligent plants rarer still, but they do exist, most often in areas where Nature Worship is strong - whether this is cause or consequence is a subject of debate. Unintelligent ones are simple predators, most often acting in the ambush mode. The intelligent ones typically serve the interests of fey, but are more disdainful of civilisation.

Undead
Those that walk beyond death are a wretchedly common blight across the civilised world. Whether ghosts tormented by unfinished business, ghouls prowling the carrion fields of battle, vampires that seamlessly blend with society and leave trails of dead and deluded victims in their wake, or the myriad unpardonable forms a necromancer might sculpt the leavings of a crypt into, the undead can be found on every corner of the planet, and without exception are a deadly threat to life and civilisation everywhere.

Vermin
Much as animals but even less worthy of note. Rare specimens can grow to prodigious size, but such is exceptionally rare, and commonly considered more of myth and exaggeration than fact.

[Dracos]

...what a simple, yet truly cool step to take.  *claps for the defining of what various animal types are in your specific world*

[Corwin]

I intend to be skeptic on religion and work on solving the debate on the nature of outsiders. Clearly lesser men have tried, and the world has been waiting for my appearance with baited breath.

[Merc]

I'm interested, and I can do the 3:30+ GMT schedule.

Not really sure what to play yet though. I'll think on it, though I'm slightly leaning to some kind of inexperienced mercenary/guard for traders and travelers in Pranneria.

[Carthrat]

We're team mage! Play a mage!

[Merc]

I -could-, I guess. =p

[Yuthirin]

If this is still open for discussion, I might be interested.

But what's Pathfinder? :D

[Dracos]

I think Eb had his full group, but who knows?

Pathfinder is a 3.5 clone in a sense.  It's a rewrite/retake of the rules with its own direction that some refer to as D&D 3.75.  Of course, your mileage with those may vary :)

[Yuthirin]

I've got enough books on 3.0 and 3.5 to choke a horse several times over...for what it's worth. :P