Freedom Landing:Freedom Landing

Explore a New World with vim and vigor. Try not to die.

Capsule

A New World to explore!

The Player Characters, outcasts from the war-torn Old World, will accompany a small colonization fleet to the newly discovered New World. Using either the new colony or a caravel as a base, they will explore, map, plunder, discover...and, if they're lucky, survive.

I'll probably migrate this to Obsidian Portal at some point.

System

Pathfinder RPG "Fifth Printing"
Official Site
Pathfinder SRD
Core and Base Classes and Races (no 3rd Party)
Start at level 1, as per standard.
Background bonuses TBD.

Concepts

Keep them in mind, as you make characters!

Scum of all Nations

There's a reason you came to the New World...
...the Old World sucks.

Scarcity

food, ammunition, and spells
We'll keep track!
Survival is a legitimate skill!
Wizards, hang on to your spellbooks!

Syncretism

it all comes together

These Genre Three

Survival Horror

This is going to be dangerous, as with all explorations. Not many characters live past level 3.
Try not to starve.

Picaresque Romance

'Romance' in the sense of adventure. Your character's lovers are up to you to obtain.
Anything goes, it is entirely player-driven. I'm a pro, I'll roll with you.
I've got a map, but you've got exploring of it.
(Like Skyrim, but with worse graphics.)

Low Fantasy

Even in Charn, magic is exciting and rare.

Setting

Old vs. New

Timeline

Pre-History –
Elves & Gnomes arise in Charn.
Dwarves & Humans arise in Mastier.
Halflings arise in Sync.
Farce is filled with barbarians and nomads.
500 Years Ago –
Dragons rule as kings in Mastier.
Their armies expand into Farce, pushing back the barbarian races.
They conquer Sync.
300 Years Ago –
Aa reveals itself, dragons overthrown.
The Temple of Aa constructed between the rivers.
Pax Mastier for 200 years –
After the Empire conquers Charn.
Roads, waterways, harbors, industry and trade develop. The Sync Wall constructed.
100 Years Ago –
The ‘Halves and Half-Nots’ of Sync revolt, secure behind their wall.
The mages of Charn follow.
Farce serves as a hundred year battleground for the two foes.
1 Year Ago –
While evading a privateer, a Sync merchantman is blown off course and discovers a new land beyond the sea.
Now –
The dispossessed and outcast, and the most ambitious scum, of the Old World scramble to escape, just ahead of the three nations.

The Empire

It was an Empire of humans and dwarves, for all that there were a few dragons. After they revolted, and killed their dragon masters, it was their show. And who better? Humans rule the ground, Dwarves rule the underground. Some Elves objected.

The New World

Just discovered, land rush amidst a land war. What's to find?

The Old World

Charn

Magic. Only lightly ruled by the Empire, Charn was the first bastion of rebellion.
Great value is placed on magic, and magic rules. Consequently, Charn's 'foreign policy' is aggressive, capricious. Magical ability trumps everything, and females are seen as more 'magical'. Perhaps they are, but in any case, they're in charge. Despite that, it's a meritocracy of sorts. Wizards take the established positions, but sorcerers are prized and revered, while being kept out of the way of anything flammable.
But it's not all magic. A respectable career for a non-mage is in the Charn Navy, which rules the seas. Although the captain and officers are often mages.
Deadly foe: Mastier. But you knew that.
PCs -female-ascendant
-more mages, sailors
-mildly religious
-madness? lack of planning? Socially acceptable, as long as it's violent.
-more elves/gnomes, few dwarves

Slaves
Anybody in Charn who's not an Elite (i.e. a mage or student or a ship's officer) is probably a fief-slave of one of the Orders or Universities or of an independent Elite. Alternately, he's a pressed crewman in the Navy, which may be worse. There are 'volunteer' or professional sailors, who have a better life, though. This is one of the only main escapes from fief-slavery.

Charn The Magisterium, all magic-users and officers of ships are members in council and entitled to vote and debate. Often, though, the votes are cast by proxy, signed to the head of Order or University.
Executive enforcement is spotty at best, given the feudal nature of the orders, universities and other magical fiefs.

Backgrounds

Order Magisterium

reqs: Wizard, non-generalist
elites carry the weight of experience...
+2 to Spellcraft
+1 spellbook spell from specialization

Charn University

reqs: Elf or Gnome
training the mind...
+2 to any two knowledge skills
Bonus ‘skill boost’ feat.

Charn Naval Officer

rule the seas...
+2 Acrobatics
+2 Knowledge (Nature)
A magic weapon (+1)

Mastier

You're the remnants of the Empire. And you want it back.
-humans and dwarves; humans rule the land, dwarves rule the underground, but firmly allied one to another for mutual POWER and Empire
-male-ascendant
-Soldiers, Military (adventurers)
-"Mastierwork"
-Old Empire

Maisterwork equipment

Mastier
Only humans and dwarves can be citizens of Mastier, and are represented by:
The Imperial Senate in Draconis, consisting of citizen representatives from:
Regiment Councils, the leadership of the military units, from which executive fasces are also drawn.
Each council sends one representative to the Senate, for a term of two years.
The Circle of Veterans, the assembled body of all those who have taken the dragonscale, and who decide strategy (with advise and consent of the Senate) and inspect the standards of the regiments.
Members of the circle rotate by lottery through two Senate seats, for a term of six months.
Surname Courts, which judge on in-clan (same surname) Dwarf disputes and organization
Diocese Courts, which judge on local Human disputes and organization.
For interclan matters, all interested dwarf Surname Courts sit together and judge.
For matters between Humans and Dwarves, the interested Surname and Diocese Courts sit together.
Each court sends one representative to the Senate, for a term of one year.
This system, refined over the course of half a millenium, naturally leads to some overlap in representation for most of the citizens of Mastier and, of the three nations, is the only one to represent a majority of the population.

Slaves
de jure: no slavery in the Empire, there are no slaves.
de facto: non-Humans, non-Dwarves have, legally, no rights, no representation, no recourse. Whether that means they're 'property'...

Backgrounds

Mastier citizen

reqs: Human or Dwarf
A Mastier citizen is always ready for action...
Mastierwork equipment
+2 to Athletics and Acrobatics
bonus language(s): Dwarven

Draconis scion

reqs: Human or Dwarf
as the scion of a Senator, you have certain advantages...
Mastierwork equipment
1.5x starting gold
bonus languages: Dwarven, Draconic

Sync

-New Aa, solid, dependable
-Trade, and War, and Technology, and Exploration
-No universities, rather independent professors teaching students
-Sneaky
-Concept: 'halves' and half-nots, gnomes and half-elves and halflings and half-orcs (oh, and humans)
-Allied with Charn

Sync
Direct Democracy (the ‘Halves & Half-Nots’), albeit with a strict property requirement.
Appointed tyrants for specific executive functions.

Slaves
keenly aware of their own status in the other lands, the Halves & Half-Nots maintain a reasonably fair society, and don't suffer slaves to be kept. Nonetheless, representation and seats in the informal courts have a property requirement.

Backgrounds

Sync Merchant

Let’s make a deal...
2x starting gold
1 bonus language
+2 to Appraise
Use Magic Item is a class skill

Sync Spy

Shh...
reqs: class skill Move Silently
Often a halfling
Move Silently +2
Hide +2

Sync Professor

We are the university...
+3 to any one Knowledge Skill (or Linguistics)
1 Wondrous Item

Farce

You're not a nation.
You're the survivors.
Your 'country' has been fought over for 200 years. Old Aa, New Aa? It's all the same to you. Nobody bothered to ask your opinion. You're just in the way. A buffer state, between the tattered remnants of the Empire and the upstarts.
Warlords and strong men rise and fall, and mercenary companies settle.

PCs
-You are probably an orphan.
-You are scum in the eyes of everyone. If they even bother to look.
-The only advocate for you is Aa, and his representatives, the Aacolytes.
-There are not enough representatives.
-Very democratic. Any race, class and sex gets equal amounts of filth.

Farce
Warlords, strongmen, or anarchy.
Aacolytes serve as wandering judges.

Backgrounds

Farce Mercenary

money is everything...
3x starting gold

Farce Survivor

Try not to die. +2 Survival
Dodge, or one bonus combat feat

Aacolyte

Bonus feat: “Touched of Aa”

Temple of Aa

-special enclave in Farce
-Aacolytes

The New World

You'll make the map!
note throughout that all the names are DM references. You can make up your own, being explorers and all.

Wheat

-ancient civilization, underground.
-they've got lots of cool stuff for you to steal.
-they live underneath cool ruined cities.
-everybody likes ruined cities.

Tares

-undead, and their minions.
-handle with care.
-vampires, lich lords.
-these guys are creepy.
-undead tree? Oh no!
-What the heck is this thing...

The Five

-friendly, open
-smarter than you
-confederation

The Seven

-not
-who are these guys?
-ambivalent
-Dark Secret (Dun dun DUN)
-Dragons?!?

Wolves

-riders
-raiders (sometimes)
-lots of farms!
-hate undead.
-well, more than most, I mean.

Shades

-spooky

Mothers

-cannibals
-they'll eat you up.

Children of the Dove

-nomads
-traders

Other Colonists

what, you thought you were the only ones here?

That Wizard

The Shabbiest Vampire
Oh, man, this guy is a dick.
He's got ICE powers
DM Avatar
Not actually a vampire

Religion

Old World

Aa, the great and powerful

Old Aa

The Aa of Empire
-Mastier

New Aa

The Aa of Commerce
-Sync
-Charn (ostensibly)

True Aa

TBD

New World

The Dove, peace
The Hawk, war
The Vulture, death
The Eagle, power
The Owl, wisdom
The Sparrow, helplessness
The Phoenix, hope

Syncretism?

Old World clerics may find their effectiveness decreased in the New World, until they do their homework.
...and vice versa.

Special Rules

as these are non-playtested, homebrew rules, the DM reserves the right to make modifications as the game progresses, in a fair and sane manner.

Feats

Touched of Aa
You have been called directly by Aa and trained in the Temple of Aa. You have renounced violence and gained understanding. You don't have to be nice, but you have to be Good.
Bonuses:
+5 to all social skills (Diplomacy, Intimidate, Bluff, Sense Motive)
+2 to all knowledge skills
can speak and understand (but not read and write) all languages
Requirements Cannot Use Violence
Violence is defined in game terms as 'causing damage to a living creature'. If an Aacolyte damages a living creature, he loses all his bonuses until such time as (1) one month has passed and (2) he completes an Aa-given quest of redemption.
In extenuating circumstances (i.e., the absolute defense of others and self), the Aacolyte can elect to inflict non-lethal damage, and lose his bonuses until after an extended rest.
Interpretation: Undead are fair game.
Culture Note: Attacking, harming, hindering, or otherwise inconveniencing an Aacolyte is a serious taboo and offense. Mobs will form, deaths will occur. Don't do it. What that means in the New World, though...who knows?

Rules

Level Cap

Max Level is 12
We're using the 'Slow' advancement.

Death

Resurrection is very difficult (not impossible) ...perhaps with syncretism...
On Death, start over at level X, where X is the lowest number on the 'average PC level' range:
1-3
4-6
7-9
9-12
At start, you're all in 'range 1', so if you die at level 3, you roll a new character at level 1
But if you all managed to survive and break into level 4, thenceforth you'd roll a new character at level 4.
DM reserves the right to change this system if it's too annoying.

Degradation of Items

Items start with 3 boxes
OOO
Mastierwork with 4
OOOO
Magic, no worries.
'active' equipment (i.e. 'a sword') degrades one box per Critical Miss, broken at full.
'passive' equipment (i.e. 'armor') degrades one box per Critical Hit inflicted on it, broken at full.
Replace or repair as per armourer skills.

This is in addition to the regular 'sunder' rules, not a replacement.

Know Your DM

I'm a pro
I'm a professional liar, storyteller, and writer.

I hate (running) combat'
My favorite combats are planned by the party beforehand.
...unless I ambush you.
My favorite combats MEAN something.
My favorite combats are meaty, but not exceptionally long.
In every combat, there is a way of escape.

I don't care about game balance
At ALL. There's really nothing you can do to throw it off. Stay in Core, though.

I love story XP I'll throw it around like delicious candy. Give me a good fifteen minutes of solid plot-chewing, and you'll earn your keep.

Story!
Story!

I haven't communicated primarily in English in 27 months!
If I sound dumb, give it a few sessions.

Race & Class Guide

in general,
Mastier is Lawful
Charn is Chaotic
and Sync is Neutral

Human & Dwarf
You probably hail from Mastier, or are a wretched offspring of Farce
There's no particular prejudice against you, but you are at war with the rest of the continent.
You distrust dragons, albeit you almost certainly have never seen one
A draconic bloodline is common

Elf & Gnome
Elves are almost certainly from Charn. Gnomes are from Charn or Sync.
In Charn, gnomes are a lesser caste to elves, but are still better off than every other race.
Nobody likes elves. Not even other elves.
Fey bloodline is common

Half Elf & Half Orc & Halfling
Half Elves and Half Orcs are either from Sync or Farce.
There is severe prejudice against half-races, except, of course, in Sync.
Halflings wander, so they can be from anywhere, albeit harassed throughout. The most prosperous will be from Sync.

Fighter
Barbarian
Rogue

Ranger
Gunslinger
Alchemist

Cavalier
Paladin
Monk

Sorcerer
Wizard
Summoner
Magus

Cleric
Druid
Inquisitor

Witch
Oracle
Bard

Player Characters

DUDES
[insert guidelines here]
1st level
standard starting gold
generate your ability scores by any of the methods given
etc

The PCs will have ownership (legal or otherwise) and access to a caravel, a small sailing vessel with a crew of 20, for their nautical wanderings. Presumably it will be captain'd by whoever takes the Charn Naval Officer background.

Exciting NOTE!
You should make a Primary character and a loyal patsy, a secondary character who is also part of the crew and can serve as a replacement when your Primary character dies.
You'll be able to play as both characters 'strategically' but will have to select which character to use 'tactically', i.e. in individual combats.
Game terms: Maximum PCs in a combat is X, where X is equal to the number of players. This will be strictly enforced, even if it makes no sense, because the DM is too lazy to juggle 10 PCs in one combat.

First

Gunslinger

Lieutenant Gaius Alonzo Ortiz II, AKA "Ol' Emberbeard"

A severe, dour dwarf from Mastier. Born the son of a Senator and later made a scion in his own right, his devotion to Mastier was second only to his devotion to Aa. His intensity of devotion made others nervous, and did little to improve his standing or his father's in the Senate. A dutiful and devoted son, he left the senate and took a commission in the Mastier Army with the 1st Longbarrels. The Longbarrels are Mastier's newest commissioned division - making use of gnomish firearms and invention - in order to match the forces of Charn. Primarily an ambush unit, the goal of the Longbarrels was to harass the enemy with shots while the Hammerhands or other heavier unit charged in.

The position was well suited to Ortiz, who picked up the art of gunmanship faster than his peers, and because it was a unit that was typically away from the main force (powder explosions scare even battle-donkeys, and make it hard for fellow soldiers to sleep) it meant that he didn't have to worry about what others thought of him.

Ortiz served with valor, dedication, and bravery - but due to his reputation as such a strict and severe devotee of Aa, he was never awarded medal or merit. He never complained, but then knew the truth of the matter - that most were just paying lip service to their God, where he truly believed - and that belief unsettled the common. He knew he would never be truly accepted - he had no calling into the clergy, where such a person might flourish. That was when he heard the call to adventure - tales of the New World and its bountiful opportunities that lie just out of reach of the more meek and timid of men. He knew that he had a chance there, in that brave new land, a chance to spread a purer faith of Aa - a chance to build glory for his clan and family - a chance at a new life.

He resigned his commission with the Longbarrels and set out to find the first ship bound West.

Second

Naturalist

Third

Cleric