Geek Related

Chris is known for his ass-kicking characters.  I mentioned the campaign would probably move south along the coast to the pirate kingdoms of the Shackles and venture into the Mwangi Expanse, Golarion’s Africa analogue.  The Mwangi are thus the world’s Africans.  As in the real world, that’s a meaninglessly general and imprecise term that’s only useful to white people an ocean away; Sindawe is specifically a Bonuwat, a seafaring people who live mainly along the coast of the Fever Sea.  He’s a monk, but not a “kung fu” type of monk; he’s using the Sinister Adventures “Way of the Warrior” pdf rules for a more Polynesian/Samoan inspired type of hand to hand combat.

Sindawe

Sindawe H’Kilata Narra has an exotic appearance – green eyes, bald, jet black Fu Manchu-style moustache, Mwangi, scar tattoos (right arm – beating anatomical heart, left arm – a tiger’s paw raking, various tribal markings on chest and face). Wears a vest stylized to look like a tiger’s head and britches adorned with colorful shells, pieces of glass, and coins (yes, there are streaks of rust). He has a quiver of javelins across his back and many knives in his belt and vest. His feet are bare.  His hobbies are scrimshaw and collecting maps.

Due to a blood feud with the Okeke clan, most of the adult males of Sindawe’s family are dead, presumed dead, fled, or in hiding. The women folk have fled or are living with other families.  His father, Mogaba, was an infamous pirate widely feared for his brutality and cunning and supposedly was slain by the crew of a Chelaxian Q-ship. Mogaba left his family when his sons were still young. His sister and brother-in-law stepped in to help raise them. His mother, Manyara, was slain during the blood feud with Okeke family.  His uncle, Samanya, a reasonably honest merchant, was slain by business rivals from the Okeke family. He taught the brothers sailing during an extended multi-year merchant expedition.

Three members of the Okeke clan slew Samanya and Manyara for reasons unclear even today; some have speculated “ruthless commercial rivalry” or revenge for various acts of piracy by Mogaba.  The feud ended immediately after the Okeke extracted promises of peace from Bolade, Sindawe’s aunt.  Bolade, a famous and honored monk, fled to a remote area of Mwangi interior where she maintains an extended family enclave.

Over the next 8 years Sindawe and his brothers, Mosi and Ochiba, learned martial skills from various sources, sometimes far from home. They re-united on the anniversary and hunted down the 3 Okeke directly responsible for murdering Samanya and Manyara. In the process they slew 2 other members of the Okeke family. Then they hunted down 4 more that were likely to carry on the blood feud.  None of these fights were remotely fair.  Mosi was killed during the final fight. Ochiba and Sindawe and most of the remaining family fled to avoid reprisals.

Sindawe owns a treasure map and pages from a journal showing the secret location of an El Dorado island in the far most western oceans. One of Mogaba’s men delivered the map to Sindawe shortly after Mogaba’s death. To Sindawe this island represents wealth enough to restore his family and a connection to his estranged, dead father. However, he doesn’t fully understand the depths of Mogaba’s evil for the island’s full wealth can only be truly realized if its inhabitants are slain or enslaved.

• Sindawe Narr, Monk 1

I’ve known Kevin for years and gamed with him occasionally, but this is his first time joining our gaming group.  Like many older gamers with jobs, families, etc., he sometimes goes for years without really being able to swing regular campaign participation, but then gets fed up with it and makes the time.  Welcome aboard, Kevin!  Here’s his character, the halfling rogue Tommy Blacktoes.

Tommy Blacktoes

Thomas Burrowbank (aka Tommy Blacktoes for his penchant for painting his toenails with black polish) was born to a small family indentured as cooking servants to one of the minor noble houses in Cheliax.  Accused of theft, Tommy’s father was executed and he, his mother (Tish Burrowbank) and his twin sister (Sara Burrowbank) were exiled to survive in the streets of unforgiving Cheliax.  At the tender age of 9, Tommy slipped away from his mother and sister and gained passage on a small trading vessel that ultimately put in at Riddleport.

Tommy has spent the last 4 years of his life living by his wits on the streets of the debauched city.  He is driven by his lust for adventure (fueled by the natural curiosity of his race) as well as a passion for things material.  Tommy also has a burning desire to one day return to Cheliax and exact his revenge against the noble house that destroyed his father.  He envisions finding his mother and sister and taking them away from their poverty, but secretly fears how they will view him (if indeed they still live) for his desertion 4 years ago.

In Riddleport Tommy has made a bit of a name for himself as a jack-of-all-trades.  He earns coin as a crewman to various trading ships that put in at Riddleport, and has developed a love for the open sea.  He is also for hire as a spy for rival merchants of the River District looking to gain a competitive edge, an appropriator of goods (typically lifted from their owner), and a person who knows the latest information – for a price.  His activities over the last couple of years and (his ability to seemingly disappear like a ghost) have unknowingly earned the attention of several of the “crime lords” of Riddleport.  Whether this is a good or bad thing remains to be seen…

Tommy is a rogue’s rogue and has few “true” friends, and only one person with whom he has a genuine, yet reluctant trust: Saul Vancaskerkin, the proprietor of the gaming establishment The Golden Goblin.  He is quite charming and attractive, but uses this to strategically position himself for his own advantage and personal gain.  He is however quite bright and smart enough to know whom to cross and whom to not…usually.

Tommy is 3’2” tall and weighs 32 pounds.  He has long, dirty blonde hair that he wears braided and drawn into a ponytail.  He has striking green eyes that flash when laughing or angry.  Tommy is usually seen wearing a dark blue, silken shirt under a black leather vest, black leather, knee-length pants with leather calf-wraps and spats (another curious fashion statement) over the tops of his feet.  Tommy wears a scarf to match the blue silk shirt wrapped about his head.  He is a fan of gaudy jewelry and trinkets, and his pointed ears sport many studs around their outer edges.  His favorite is a plain gold hoop (the only piece of jewelry with any real or sentimental value as it is the mate for the one his sister wears – or wore).  Tommy is very skilled with his sling staff and prefers to use this from a distance when forced into combat. If pressed, he does not hesitate to defend himself with his sword or dagger (which he keeps hidden in his right calf wrap).

I thought I’d introduce you all to the characters of Reavers on the Seas of Fate.  Here’s the first, “Ox.”  Ox is Bruce’s character.  It’s a bit of an in-joke among the group that Bruce likes to build useless characters – very low powered, and ideally crippled and insane.  Everyone was surprised when he came out with a Power Attacking barbarian!  Well, he is a slave, in a nod to Bruce’s masochist sensibilities.  Without further ado, here’s Ox!

Ox

Melako “Ox” Chaalu had the misfortune of being born to a desperately poor family of tenant farmers from the Gamadu clan.  The clan’s holdings are deep in the Rahadoum hinterlands, far up a tributary of the Uta River.  After the rains failed again the clan elders decided that ten of the clan’s children must be sold to a traveling merchant so the rest of the clan could survive.  His parents had no money and no standing with the clan, so he was among those selected.  From there he was trafficked through the slave-markets of Manaket into the hands of Captain Marcellano, a Chelaxian merchant captain and master of the Aroden’s Hand.

Captain Marcellano was cruel and relentless in both his business dealings and his attitude towards his crew.  Under his tutelage, Ox developed both the skills of a sailor and a persistent dislike for life as Chelaxian chattel.  But his time with Captain Marcellano had an ending; as the Captain gained wealth and power he retired to his estates in Westcrown and hired others to run his ships.  As part of these changes, Ox was traded to the crew of the Albers.

Ox very much lives up to his name.  He is dark-skinned with the sharp features typical of most Garundi, but he is built like a brick wall.  He keeps his head shaved, though under the harsh sun he may wear a keffiyeh wrap.  He normally wears a pair of canvas pants belted with wide leather and a red sash, though he also has light armor for when the occasion demands.  He will only carry his boarding pike and cutlass when they have been issued to the crew, but always has a utility knife and marlinspike handy.  On shipboard he never wears shoes, as he is often called to climb into the rigging.

Ox has always had an interest in rope-splicing, though his talents are clearly more functional than artistic.  Never one for unnecessary conversation, Ox has recently developed an interest in religion: it is obvious to him that Rahadoum’s decision to turn its back upon the gods has been instrumental in converting a once-bountiful nation into a sand-blasted wasteland.  He has yet to find one that really appeals to him.

• Ox, Barbarian 1

Our group is starting a new campaign, and this time I’m the gamemaster! It’s called “Reavers on the Seas of Fate,” and is using the Pathfinder RPG rules to tell tales of piracy and horror on the high seas of the world of Golarion.

As usual, we’ll be posting session summaries, character writeups, etc. on the campaign home page.  Since I’m GMing, I’ll also be sharing “behind the scenes” reports on how I design and run the game.  I’ll start by explaining how “Reavers on the Seas of Fate” came to be.

Well, we’ve been enjoying the Paizo Publishing Adventure Paths quite a bit.  We played through Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne.  Unfortunately, there we got stalled.  We have a large extended group of gamers and there are other campaigns underway with some of the same people, and so Legacy of Fire and Council of Thieves were already being used.  We evaluated Second Darkness but pretty much hated the latter parts of it.  Earlier Dungeon Magazine-era APs like Savage Tide and Age of Worms had been read or played or run by people in the group as well.

So I decided so step in and run one myself, cobbling an AP together from various bits.  An aside on my terminology – a “campaign” is any game with the same characters progressing through multiple adventures, but those don’t have to be linked.  You could run a long campaign with completely unrelated adventures, or composed of mega-adventures (like if you ran through Temple of Elemental Evil, Scourge of the Slavelords, and Queen of the Demonweb Pits).  The meaning behind calling this an Adventure Path is the assumption that there will be an overarching plotline that covers all levels of play.

I knew I wanted to do something pirate-themed.  My first 3e game was a pirate campaign set in Green Ronin’s Freeport and we all loved it; that gaming group, Wulf’s Animals, is still active in Memphis, TN to this day!  I mentioned “Pathfinder Pirates” to the group and got good response.  So I went off and came up with two different coherent  options to run by them.  One was a traditional pirate campaign, somewhat sandboxey, with an equal focus on the life of piracy and more organized adventures.  The second was an Eastern pirate, or “wako,” campaign, where we use Asian races and creatures, with more of a supernatural spirit-hunter aspect to it.

I wrote up two potential premises and sent them to our group mailing list.  If you don’t have a mailing list for your gaming group, you need one.  I like Yahoo! Groups, they’re straightforward to use and besides the mailing list has calendars, polls, a file repository, etc.

Anyway, the two options presented for comment were:

Option 1:  Wako (Asian Pirates)

“A fate like that can kiss my ass.  I believe in one thing.  A better tomorrow.”

Rules:

Humans (Japanese, Chinese, maybe other SE Asian, Indian) and maybe spirit folk and/or hengeyokai (none of the standard races).  Probably not really use variant classes, just make some cosmetic changes and call clerics sohei, wizards wu jen, etc.  Often not using typical Pathfinder/Golarion stuff so would mean more work for DM and the players – Eastern weapons, races, culture, etc.

Setting:

1.  Go to Western lands and do “fish out of water” feel; could use Freeport, Riddleport, and other published stuff

2.  Use Tian Xia in Golarion (basically homebrew, as there’s nothing published for Tian Xia yet)

3.  Use Rokugan; there’s lots published for this, but a lot of it isnt really helpful.  Very into all that L5R clan crap which I don’t like.

Plot:

An ancient puzzlebox created by evil alchemists has opened a gate to the spirit realm, letting in all kinds of bizarre Asian monsters. The box broke into 108 pieces each of which is now embedded in a phantom/demon, and they all need to be reassembled to close the gate…  The evil spirits have taken over and influence the leaders, so the players have become pirates out of necessity, but are righteous rebels working to banish the phantoms and restore the Empire.  (I am even now stealing this plot from an anime called Tokko I’m watching on Chiller.)

In this option I can use some published adventures but not that many.  This would be more rural+ocean+maybe undersea. Dark horror/action.  There would be general reaving and a “dimensional crossrip” thing (like the Worldwound or Shadowlands) letting in loads of bizarre Asian monsters to fight.

I expressed concern about taking on new rules *and* immediately “going Asian” with them, but was willing to if people wanted to.

Option 2: Western Pirates

“At them mateys!  No quarter!”

Rules:

Pathfinder stock, some house rules

Setting:

1.  Pure Freeport.  Freeport is cool and theres no end of Freeport adventures.  (Is anyone too familiar with any of them?)
2.  Pure Golarion.  Use the first two Second Darkness adventures (if Paul doesn’t have them memorized) and then perhaps head to the Shackles and Mwangi Expanse areas.  Is Golarioney and I can strongly leverage written adventures.
3. Combine Golarion’s Port Peril, Riddleport from Second Darkness, and Freeport into one uber pirate city and do both.  Probably the most material rich option!

Plot:

This would work best with the players being more general pirates.  I’d have a lot of adventures but with no real “AP” I could do it sandboxey at the same time; you could expect getting a ship, losing a ship, having to join the crew of a pirate that beats you, getting pirates you beat to join you, empire building…  Depending on what you go and mess with, it could be really easy and you get to slash fools or really hard and you have to flee or get owned (traditional sandbox play, not APL=EL play).  This would be more urban+ocean+hidden treasure dungeons.  Gritty swashbuckling feel.

Decision

Everyone chipped in with their thoughts.  People did not like the “fish out of water” option, wanting to stay in the Orient if they were Asian.  They saw that doing Asian (when many of us didn’t even have the PFRPG book in hand yet) might be too much to bite off at this point, though it was intriguing.  There was strong response to the “Tokko” puzzlebox plot, however.  Players were concerned about running too sandboxey and then just kinda drifting aimlessly around sometimes.

After thinking about it, I decided to go with Western pirates, mixing Golarion and Freeport, but to adapt the Tokko plot somehow as well.  I only had a couple weeks to prep and the Asian thing would need a lot of pre-work on setting and rules.

Next time, developing the campaign!