[CLOSED] Strange Æons - Pathfinder 1e

✅ The Game System and Rules Version: Pathfinder 1e, utilizing Elephant in the Room's Feat Tax fix and some other minor modifications.

✅ Setting: A majority of the game takes place in Ustalav, a fog-shrouded nation of countless horrors, and a once-proud realm that suffered under the clawed hands of the an evil lich for centuries. Ustalav now finds itself a strongly divided country, struggling to reclaim a semblance of its former greatness and burdened with a history of darkness few nations can equal. In recent history, the country has had to deal with some massively disruptive events, including political scheming and civil war.

✅ Adult Content or Controversial Themes: This is horror. There are creatures that are meant to be nightmarish. There are elements of body horror, so expect severed limbs and similar content. There is at least one of these creatures, though there is no focus on the unfortunate details of how it was created. There could be romance and intimacy, though we will fade to black at appropriate times. Lines and Veils will be used to make sure the GM is handling content appropriately for the players involved.

✅ Character Restrictions: Core Races only. Classes available include: Core Classes, Hybrid Classes, Alchemist, Gunslinger, Inquisitor, Magus, Oracle, Witch, Occult Classes (warning: psychic spellcasting might be rough in this adventure - but thematically, they could be fun), Unchained Class Versions. Chaotic Evil alignment is restricted. Everyone will start with the True Neutral alignment and their roleplaying choices will dictate their alignment from there. All characters should be motivated to stick together and help one another, regardless of alignment, to overcome the Bad Stuff.



✅ Game Duration and Post Frequency: 3-4 posts per week would be great. This is the start of a full Adventure Path and will take at least two years to fully complete. Because of the special nature of how this game is set up, it will be rewarding for the same players to stay around for the long term. Life happens, that's fine, but please do apply only if you feel reasonably comfortable with a long-term commitment (even if that may later change).

✅ Player Experience Requirements: I am open to a mix of experience!

✅ Welcome Marginalized Groups This game is explicitly friendly to LGBT and any other minorities or marginalized groups. All are welcome, and all should expect to have FUN (that's what we're here for, right?)

✅ A Special Note About Player Agency: Player agency is important in any roleplaying game. This campaign, however, is unique in the sense that the GM will have a large amount of control over the most recent 5 years of your characters background, which will be unknown to you at the start of the game. I understand that this take a certain level of trust. My commitment to you is that I will work hard so that the eventual reveal of your 'missing 5 years' benefits the story and your characters, hopefully allowing an opportunity for your character to grow as a result. I will attempt to find ways to be inclusive while designing your backgrounds, but you won't know much about them for a long while. If you choose to apply, please be okay with this.

✅ How to Apply: Post a character pitch here, including a proposed race/class and a blurb about your character to highlight a little about them and how they're unique. Please also include your level of experience with the Pathfinder rule system. I will select 5 from those submitted. I will be looking for interesting character concepts that will form a decent party together and have a good fit for the tone of the campaign.

I look forward to seeing what you all come up with!

A copy of the player's guide can be found FREE, here.

Æ is a part of my alphabet, so it is odd to read in an English context

Had it been 2e I would have been interested, but with 1e is a rule mess, where I can't make a character without fearing that I paint my character into a corner with wrong choices

Hope you have fun, and I am happy to pathfinder getting some love

This is a cool module that goes a bit beyond your heroic fantasy and into CoC stuff! I did read all the books as I tried to run a modified version of it here (never actually played PF1e)

Are you trying to do all the books or just the first one?

I'm interested, I've played 1st edition before so I have a working knowledge of it.

I'd like to bring in a Human Monk. As for his pitch...he's I've got a couple ideas. The first is that he's on a quest to find what can't be found. The second is that he collects stories and legends and thus is walking the lands in search of the greatest story of all

All, if able!

T
Feral Human
Roil Dancer (Fusion: Aether/Void)
Aether Primary

"I can heal better than anyone. Believe it!"

Divine Touch: T can stabilize a dying creature with a touch.

Awakened From Stasis: T gains the benefits of 8 hours of rest in 2 hours.

Feats-
Human: Kinetic Defense(Void)
FIRST: Kinetic Talent(Kinetic Healer)

T is a Human with a wild look in his eye. Rich black and red hair cover much of his nearly naked body. He wears a loin cloth for modesty, heavy gloves and boots, and a length of chain that floats about a centimeter over his flesh.

When looking at T one feels lighter. When around him but looking elsewhere one feels heavier. Gravity and Magnetism don't work exactly correctly around him.

While certainly not invincible, T is incredibly durable. His skin is hard as Iron, and it feels like he has steel in his bones. Yet he moves around as nimbly as a cat.

T isn't stupid, but lacks experience and his critical thinking skills are somewhat lax. His brutal demeanor makes him easy to hate.

He can throw a ball bearing hard enough to break the sound barrier. The resulting effect can clamshell armor, and liquefys soft tissues.

He can also heal debilitating injury, and restore people to life from the brink of death. This combined with his extreme durability make him very difficult to kill.

Level of Experience with Pathfinder:

I've never played Pathfinder outside of playtests.

I'm not usually a horror person, but the very specific instance of you mentioning wanting to maintain player agency is something that creates a link of trust enough for me to be ok with it. [my previous horror DMs usually wanted to remove -all- agency up to the point of forcing characters to be 100% randomly generated, extending to all player choices including personality and background information]

I would love to play an Human Alchemist, who is struggling with some physical or spiritual abnormality and the way it makes other people treat him [I'm sure I can find a trait or feat that makes someone 'weird' enough for people to be wary of them despite them not having done anything wrong yet]. Personality wise I was thinking of someone who is timid by nature thanks to the poor reception they normally receive, but with a little hidden iron in them when it comes to actually protecting themselves and the people who have treated them fairly in the past. The sort that seems more scared than they actually are, as a defense mechanism.

Female, Human, Draconic Heritage, Alchemically Enhanced, Supersoldier Slayer.

She's more than immediately meets the eye and someone's pet project. Although she doesn't remember a thing about it. Yet!

Forever GM here. I have a ton of builds I have sitting on the back burner that I've been wanting to play for a while, and some of them seem like they'd be great fits for the campaign. Would you allow multiple character submissions from one player?

I'm okay with multiple character concept submissions...lets say 3 max per person, but one is certainly ok too. Still only one character per player in-game.

I thought about a Witch for a character, but I don't see anything about starting level. No way to judge possible multiclassing and such. That and how to deal with Patron and Witch's Familiar with no memory?!?

Thought about a Ratfolk for a race and a male witch (warlock really due to being male although in the witch class). He became a witch since as his race being generally unliked worked. He has always been much in the background in life probably and has depended on others. His Patron will have more major effects on him as well as choice for Familiar. But all and all could be rather interesting. Twitch whiskers twitch whiskers. :)

As a proud Cthulhu cultist, I've wanted to play this adventure path for years but the last game I was in here didn't last very long. I'd like to play a human Void-Touched Sorcerer more attracted to the darkness between the stars than to the stars themselves. Cautious and a bit detached, he wants to stand under the night sky again more than anything but he can't remember why... and that scares him even more than the asylum. He has old scars on his face and body which are far too symmetrical to be random, hinting that he's been through a lot and survived. That gives him hope, and he hopes his luck will hold out.

I'm interestded.

Excellent! Please see the 'how to apply' section above. I plan to keep this open for a few days to allow a decent pool of applicants.

Thank you for bringing these points up!

Starting Level is 1

Only core races are allowed, so unfortunately no ratkin.

Witch is a wonderful class for this AP. The Witch's familiar and patron are unhindered by the memory loss and work as normal, except that there is still a veil over the last 5 years of your life. The events of that time period are unknown, but you still wake up with a core understanding of who you are and what you can do.

I have these character concepts in mind.

1 - Human Lawful Good Ranger Infiltrator Aberration Hunter. This is the least mystical and most combat oriented character. He has Aberrations as his main favorite enemy, knows how to kill them, and has good resistances against their attacks.

2 - Human (Tian-xi) Lawful Neutral cleric of Nalinivati ​​with serpent blood (alternate Human Trait). This character plays the role of an oriental mystic and is an expert in Rituals (Ritualistic Trait and Praticed Ritualist feat). I see this guy as a Rasputin wannabe.

3 - Human Neutral Sorcerer Dreamspun Bloodline. Character inspired by the Sandman comics. He is an expert in Rituals and Dreams (will have the Ritualistic trait, Praticed Ritualist and all the dream feats). He is very mystical and is always searching for the the unknown.

Although I have thought of a story for each of these characters I prefer not to develop the story so much and focus on the personality, because we will start the adventure in a fugue state.

I have been playing Pathfinder RPG for 10 Years and Play-By-Post for almost two years

Putting together my list right now. Is Variant Multiclassing allowed?

First I've read about it, but it looks reasonable. I'm okay with it.

Fantastic!

Well I guess then I will go for Half-Orc... Tusk. Tusk. (But I did like Twitch Whiskers better.)

Was thinking about elements or stars for a patron and perhaps a spider or rat for a familiar.

Final Thoughts: Definitely go with stars for a Patron. Half-Orc Borus is a sewer/bad street boy with his rat. He has always looked to the sky/star for guidance. Of course, he is now 5 years later. Rat gives the Twitch Whiskers... :)

1. Baertig Ironfinger
LG Dwarf Unchained Rogue (Eldritch Scoundrel), eventually Evangelist
A middle-aged locksmith and devout follower of Alseta, Baertig is man of some repute from the defunct Sky Citadel Kravenkus. Having to deal with constant threats from the Darklands in such a small community made it difficult to support his wife and 5 children, but he has since built a comfortable life for himself and his family after moving to Cassomir and plying his trade along with his myriad of lesser talents. He's a generally kind man who keeps his wits about him, and although he's not the type to go on an adventure of his own choosing, he nevertheless will take on the role of "party dad" like a fish to water.
Feats focused on Disarm, has lots of utility with skills and spells. Campaign trait: Foe of the Strange

2. Nikael "The Lawyer in Iron" Listenov
N Half-Orc (Varisian) Inquisitor (Living Grimoire/Royal Accuser) of Gorum
A recent graduate from the University of Lepidstadt, Nikael believes that the most important battles to be fought are in the courtroom. A fierce barrister known for wearing his heavy armor to court, he's also a skilled investigator (as befits his alma mater) and has found that getting to the real truth of things in Ustalav is the hardest battle of all. His family consists of his mother and younger sister, and he was inspired to get into law after seeing 2 farmers come to blows over a land dispute in his hometown of Ravengro. The Lawyer in Iron is a stern man who approaches every matter with seriousness and gusto.
Feats focused on Intimidate and Vital Strike, good at navigating intrigue. Campaign trait: Enduring Stoicism

3. Iosef Cosmol
NG Half-Elf (Varisian) Restoration Shaman (True Silvered Throne/Benefactor/VMc Bard)
Iosef is nominally a professor of medicine, the planes, and history at the Sincomakti School of Sciences, but is secretly a valuable member of the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye. Since being inducted into the Order like his father before him, his natural academic ability has led to him uncovering dangerous secrets, and burying others to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands. His support from the research and ritual side of the various hidden conflicts the Order is embroiled in has turned out just as valuable as his mystical healing abilities. Normally a stoic man of few words, he can sometimes flip to excited rambling when listing off bits of history and esoterica, but finds a nice center when offering words of mentorship and encouragement.
Feats focused on healing (Signature Skill [Heal], Healer's Hands), a primary healer and buffer with some potential for crowd control, also very skilled with Knowledges and Rituals. Campaign trait: Ritualistic

I would like that the Cleric guy would be able to take the Divine Scourge archetype, but It isn't in the players guide. Hex have a very Mythos feel. Is it allowed?

If it isn't allowed I would go for a True Silvered Throne Shaman with Druid Variant Multiclass . Same feel but a more complicated build. But it woul be better at rituals.

I have 0 experience with pathfinder. I wanted to try it few years ago, but ... don't remember why I never did.
So here is my submission - I would pick any class/race/background a DM or other player design for me and would expect guidance on lvl up

I'll go with a LG Human Paladin that took an Oath against Corruption.

I've been debating with myself about whether I should join this or not ever since you put this up. I know I shouldn't because this isn't really my type of game. But I do sometimes get the urge to play something like this. And Pathfinder is pretty nostalgic to me. Especially druids. I love druids.
Also, I'm always curious to see people who I know are great players as GMs.

Still, I'd probably apply to this as a "If you don't find enough players" thing, but you obviously did get enough applications, so consider those before me. Otherwise, I might put in a halfling druid

Hexes are a part of the Witch class typically, which is an approved class choice for this Adventure - so Hexes are 100% okay. I agree they fit the tone of the story well, and will allow the Divine Scourge Cleric archetype for that reason.

I decided to change the cleric to Shaman to restricted my choices to the Players Guide anyway.

Here goes my characters:

Durken, human ranger (infiltrator)

Durken is a 6'4 tall and 220 lbs Khelid man, with very dark hair, light brown skin with deep tans and brown eyes.

He was born in the River Kingdoms and is a descendant of ancient Kellid conquerors who long ago lost their land after an old silver mine that connected to the Darklands was reopened. The lands became the target of intellect devourers, and their people have since been fighting a no-win war against the creatures.

Seeing the inglorious struggle that his people are fighting to retake their lands, Durken decided to seek help in other lands. His last memory before waking up in the asylum is of saying goodbye to his father.

Durken is a devotee of the Green Faith and was trained by his father, a druid. His mother died when he was 4 years old, as did his two older brothers. His only relative besides his father is a younger sister.

Durken is wise, tough, cunning, resourceful and perceptive, as well as a skilled warrior. However, he lacks social skills beyond his intimidating presence.





Tsoai Thulsa, human Shaman (True Silvered Throne) VMC Druid

Tsoai is a bald, 6'1 tall and 165 lbs Shoanti man, with brown skin and brown eyes.

He was born in southern Varisia near Khorvosa, having received training to become a shaman according to the traditions of Lyrune-Quah, his clan. Tsoai has always been eccentric, having a strange bond with snakes and serpents. During the Black Walk, his clan rite of passage, these peculiar traits manifested. Tsoai was supposed to connect with the spirits of his clan, usually his ancestors or the heavens where the moon spirit resides. However, he connected with the spirit of the darkness between the stars.

This type of connection is considered taboo in your clan, fearful of attracting the attention of the creatures that inhabit the Dark Tapestry. Therefore, he was condemned to anathema, having to wander the world alone in search of his own way.

Tsoai is not a hunter, having been trained to be a religious man and a scholar. After two weeks of wandering, Tsoai was on the verge of death when he was saved by a Druid named Eòran. Tsoai served the druid as his apprentice for many years but was never able to fully master the druidic skills, as her bond with the spirit of the Dark Tapestry was always very strong.

He would have continued his life among the druids had they meet a wandering mage. This mage spoke to Tsoai of the Sincomakti School of Sciences, a university in Ustalav that has an impressive collection of ancient tomes, many of which have in-depth studies of the darkness between the stars, their inhabitants, and it’s arcane and spiritual characteristics.

The last thing Tsoai remembers before waking up in the asylum is arriving with a caravan in Rozenport.

Tsoai Thulsa is intuitive, sensitive, and slightly eccentric. Those who talk to him always have the impression that he is not revealing everything he knows, like a snake setting up its boat, ready to use the information precisely when it is most advantageous for him.





Basil Corvinus, Sorcerer

Basil Corvinus is a 5'7 tall and 143 lbs Taldan man, with very dark hair, dark brown eyes and fair skin.

Basil is a cursed man, suffering from narcolepsy, hypnophrenosis and epilepsy among other strange manifestations. Basil was born in Rozenport and his father is a professor of history at the Sincomakti School of Sciences. Basil grew up at the university, where the various professors sought cures for the ailments that afflicted him.

When he became an adult, Basil himself began to study at the institution, having entered the university at the age of 15. It was around this age that his arcane powers began to manifest. Strangely, at the same time, his syndromes decreased in intensity, the epilepsy ceased, the episodes of hypnofrenosis became increasingly rare and his sleepiness much more manageable. At the same time Basil began to dream of a strange lakeside town, in an alien landscape with eerie winds whispering his name, as if the towns inhabitants were calling him.

Basil was convinced that his fate would take him to that town. The last thing Basil remembers before waking up in the asylum is falling asleep while reading a book about a play called The King in Yellow.

Basil is curious, vain, and mysterious, being intelligent and having natural charisma, despite not very skilled in the social aspect, due to his sheltered childhood and youth dedicated to studies.

Hello everyone and thank you all again for showing interest in this game.

I have sent invites to those selected. Everyone else, again, thank you and I will keep your names on a reserve list in case we lose anyone.

Those selected, I am working on setting up the forums, but please feel free to post in the Character Creation and OOC threads.

Necro-posting! (kind of appropriate for this game), but am down now 2 PC's.

The adventure is heavily reliant on a single core group of PC's due to narrative reasons.

I am looking for 1-2 people that are able to commit to playing either one of the two PC's already in play (a Shaman healer and an oath-bound Paladin). These players should be willing to commit to at least a quick review of the story so-far and post 2-3 times a week on average. I am open to these existing PC's to be rebuilt, as long as their overall features and characteristics remain close to the same (race/class/personality). I also ask that prospective players be relatively certain they wish to play in an ongoing campaign that would take a few years to complete. If you have a vision, let's talk about it and see if it's a fit.

If I get 2 players willing to come on, I would be willing also to let one of them take over an existing NPC as an alternative. She is designed to be a cleric, but could be designed to be another type of divine caster with some leeway.

Please let me know if interested!

I've been in this game from the start and I can honestly say it's been great.
5/5. Would recommend.

Can I play a 3.5e warlock?

Still interested.

Strange Aeons is one of the PF AP that I've always wanted to get in on (being a fan of both fantasy and CoC-style stuff. :) )

Concept is Darias Veshar, a Human Mindblade Magus...

Quoted and highlighted for emphasis...

Thanks Equinox! Spot on.

Ooh dang. There is no way I could do that justice. I can barely be myself let alone anyone else.

Gimmie the rundown on the paladin? Here or in DMs

EDIT: Actually both, though I'd likely request to rebuild the cleric to an Oracle if I played them.

The Paladin's name is Elias. He's a human. He was cut off from his wealthy family after he nearly killed the scion of a rival family in a duel. He found himself entangled with the Temple of Pharasma, becoming one of her paladins. On one mission, he was rooting out a cult. As he was finishing the task, the leader of the cult cast a curse on the town they'd been pestering. Everyone in the town either died or transformed into a nightmarish creature. Elias put them all down, but this has haunted him. From there his memory goes fuzzy until he woke up with the other PC's in the basement of an asylum. (he's a straightforward Paladin with the Oath of Corruption

The shaman's name is Iosef. He's an elf. He was raised around the occult. Since he was old enough, his father included him in strange meetings. He learned of powerful and secret knowledge. He learned his father was part of a secret order devoted to protecting others, and sometimes the world, from the evils that lurk in the darkness beyond. He himself joined the Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye where he excelled, becoming a professor. Things became fuzzy for him around that time until he woke up in the basement of an asylum with the other PC's. (He's currently built as a True Silver Throne / Benefactor Shaman w/ variant multiclass Bard)

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I'll keep this up for a little longer to see if the pool grows. Thanks for the interest so far everyone.