Arkhandus
First Post
I'm recruiting some new players for my T13K (The 13 Kingdoms, a 3.x D&D setting available online) campaign that runs on OpenRPG (the freeware virtual tabletop program), each Sunday from 6 or 6:30 pm Pacific until 9 or 10 pm Pacific (we occasionally end early or go on an hour longer, but only based on how long the players are able and willing to stay online each night). I am looking for 2 or 3 new players to beef up the party's roster, as work and other obligations have required some of our former players to bow out of the game.
The campaign has reached level 4 for the PCs that are still in it, but we've lost a few players over time and a new PC will enter at 3rd-level with 5,000 XP (so close to 4th, but not quite). The last PC to join this group who's still around, Zoe, has only just reached 4th-level, so new PCs won't be far behind; I just don't start them off at exactly the same point as those PCs who've worked their way up the levels through play. Slassz is technically ECL 5 at this point, but his +1 Level Adjustment is slowing his advancement (only his long stay in the campaign and good roleplaying have gotten him 1 level ahead in ECL, and I don't intend to let the gap grow further).
New PCs will join with 3,000 GP to spend on their starting gear and such (you can spend any amount of it on one item, if you please). As noted in the Player's Handbook, you get a free traveler's outift, explorer's outfit, entertainer's outfit, monk's outfit, artisan's outfit, or peasant's outfit. Besides that one set of clothes, the rest of your gear must be paid for with starting GP (of course, a wizard gets his spellbook for free, but any extra spells he or she has researched beyond their free ones will cost them as normal).
The party's current composition is noted below, but for ease of reference, we have two frontline melee folks and one blaster/utility-mage. The dragon shaman also serves as a minor healer, but is first and foremost a tank, with almost no ranged combat ability (he just gained a breath weapon, but it's so mediocre, short-ranged, and rarely-useable that it doesn't amount to much). The fighter is decent at range, but primarily a melee tank. The sorceress has only a bit of offensive magic and a bit of utility magic, and although she's not as terrible in melee as most mages, she's still very much a ranged combatant and something of a utility caster (she's chosen a strange mix of spells though, so she's not as effective as the others, but more versatile).
At this point we could use something like a rogue, some kind of healer, some kind of ranged combatant, and/or some kind of social master (strangely enough, the closest thing we have to a social PC is the lizardman, who's devoted to the Death Dragon and his own race above all else.....). I won't dictate what kind of PC you play, though, but I'm noting this for anyone who feels like filling in a gap. Previous PCs, who had to drop out at one time or another, included a half-dragon ranger, a human telepath-psion, a human soulknife, and a hanara cleric.
The party is currently in Kyuden Shosan Misho, capitol city of the Shosan Prefecture in Rinkai Tsukari. They're investigating the Husagi Clan's activities and fighting some Husagi villains along with the minor demons that the Husagi have apparently summoned to aid in their plot against the Shosan Clan, a plot that seems geared to destroy Kyuden Shosan Misho and perhaps even more than that. The PCs have only been in town for maybe two weeks, after having their first few adventures elsewhere. They likely won't be in Kyuden Shosan Misho for too long, but it still might be a few weeks in-game before they're finished there and move on.
The PCs are very neutral-oriented so far, and it's not clear yet what path they'll take in the future; they may end up trying to save Rinkai Tsukari from the threats arising within it, or may end up fighting against it in the end. The party is currently sort of working for Faushu Hashimi and Shosan Jaerlen, simply on a mercenary basis; Hashimi met them in a smaller town and hired them for a dangerous job, they completed it, and she asked if they would check on the prefectural capitol to investigate some rumors about disappearances and growing unrest. Once they got there, the group searched for clues and for Hashimi's contact, but after a while they had to settle for a different one of her contacts in the city, Jaerlen, proprietor of the Ivory Castle gambling hall. They didn't know until after meeting him that he's actually related to the ruling family of the Prefecture, though apparently no longer living in the palace. He's paying them to investigate and deal with the Husagi problem in town, for now.
Read below for more detail on the campaign. Following this post will be a posting of some setting info for the game's region (the area in the setting that it takes place in), then another post containing a copy of the character sheet format we use.
Adventure Name: Fall of the 14th Kingdom
DM: Arkhandus
Campaign URL: None, all necessary information will be posted in this thread and the original recruiting thread
Level(s): 3rd/4th level (began at 1st), ending level uncertain
Region: The Island Kingdoms, actually the Eastern Sea and abroad
Kingdom: Rinkai Tsukari, the lost 14th Kingdom, on the Rusa continent
Date/Time: Sundays, 6-10 pm Pacific Time
Expected Duration of This Session: 2-4 hours each week
Format: Campaign
Adventure Plug:
"In the early years of the thirteen kingdoms, during the Age of Gods, there was in fact a fourteenth kingdom that history has since forgotten.... The kingdom in the eastern sea, upon the small Rusa continent, where outcasts and heretics built the most unusual kingdom in the world. One that reigned only a few centuries before it collapsed in war, sinking beneath the sea when Brand himself struck down the crazed infidels. A kingdom steeped in sin and witchery of every sort, corrupted by its pursuit of power over the western kingdoms, destroying itself through the invasion of Aerde."
"Only the gods remember this short-lived kingdom, purged from all records. The gods, and I, who was there the entire time. I, who took part in the rise and fall of the fourteenth kingdom, an orchestrator of its sublime corruption and ultimate destruction. I, who reaped so many fallen souls from the ruins of Rinkai Tsukari, until accursed Aohalim sealed me within this stinking shrine of His Most Disgusting Benevolence."
"Now, mortal, you find yourself on this obscure little island as well, and you wonder what it is you've stumbled upon. Behold Threzyk Nos Kyirneth, the Demon of Ruin, greatest of the Glabrezu, forever cursed to the confines of this wretched shrine by thrice-damned Aohalim. Fear not, pathetic mortal, my power is confined to this circle. Stay and hear this tale, perhaps even spread word of it to the lands of far-off Aerde, so that I might be freed ever so slightly from this infernal obscurity....and perhaps someday, a mortal like you will free me from this place, to gain the power I can offer to whosoever breaks this seal...."
Fall of the 14th Kingdom is a campaign for 3.5 D&D in The 13 Kingdoms, and the exact nature of the campaign is partly dependent upon the group makeup of the Player Characters. You will either be part of the 14th Kingdom's defenders, or traitors who will aid in its downfall. However, that is for the later parts of the campaign to determine; we start with a band of adventurers, heroes as far as the 14th Kingdom is concerned.....
Restrictions: See below, in Campaign Info and Minor Houserules
Official Participants:
Slassz Verazzyn, LN Male Lizardfolk Blue Dragon Shaman 4 of Naeron
Zoe Yami (Yami Zoe in Tsukari), LN Male Human Fighter 4 of Brand
Phyi, N Female Wood Elf Sorcerer 4 of Targran Lithmoor
All approved as checked-in
(the group has fluctuated a bit over time, and a few people have had to drop out; note for those unfamiliar with the setting: Aerde Lizardfolk call themselves Saurians and are weaker than those in the Monster Manual, with a +1 Level Adjustment and no racial HD, Hanara are monkey-folk, Nagans are serpent-folk, Naeron is the LN god of death, knowledge, evil dragons, and lizardfolk, Brand is the LN god of war, courage, and strategy, and Targran Lithmoor is the CG god of elves, music, and revelry; I've indicated the PCs' patron deities for ease of reference, since it gives some indication of their inclinations)
Campaign Info
This is a campaign for 1st-level characters, with an unknown but potentially far-reaching campaign length. Level advancement should be reasonable; there will be XP awards for roleplay and general participation, in addition to the standard combat XP. Characters may be of any race from the T13K Setting Guide, though living in Rinkai Tsukari of the Rusa continent, instead of the mainland or island kingdoms where those races are usually found.
The campaign will run on OpenRPG, usually in the OpenRPG Dev II server. If that server isn't available or working well, we'll move to the Roleplay Refugees server I suppose. One game session per week, at a day and time to be determined; most likely Sunday evenings. Depends on the group's input.
After the campaign has started, another thread may be made for roleplay between sessions. The DM will announce this once he's opened the Tavern thread for Fall of the 14th Kingdom. An Out of Character (OOC) thread will be opened in News & Views later. A copy of the T13K character sheet template will be posted immediately following this post; use it.
NOTE: This is from the original posting. The OOC thread and the Tavern thread for RP are already up in EN World's The 13 Kingdoms section (must be logged into EN World to see the T13K forums).
The standard character creation/advancement rules from the T13K Setting Guide PDF apply. However, due to the peculiarities of this campaign, characters made for this campaign may not be viable for transfer into other T13K campaigns (since this campaign takes place in the distant past, and utilizes many supplements that are not normally 'canonical' for use in the current period of The 13 Kingdoms' timeline). The DM can e-mail a copy of the T13K Setting Guide PDF to anyone who needs it. Refer to Appendix III of the PDF for character creation guidelines.
Alignment may be any of the nine, but the party cannot include a paladin if any other PC is evil-aligned. Your alignment does not determine whether or not you will eventually be a hero or a villain of the 14th Kingdom. It is a kingdom of grey morality, and one that is both defended and brought down by forces of various alignments.
This campaign will run on the D&D 3.5 ruleset, primarily that found in the online Hypertext SRD, but also allowing some content from other, non-OGC books, such as the Player's Handbook II, Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords, Oriental Adventures, Arms & Equipment Guide, and so on. The OA update for 3.5 from Dragon Magazine will be used for any appropriate material from Oriental Adventures (the Complete Arcane version of the Wu Jen and its spells, for example, will not be used).
Check with the DM regarding any specific material you want to use that isn't in the core rules or the T13K Setting Guide. Some material may be banned (including Frenzied Berserkers, Ur-Priests, and material from the Tome of Magic, Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, or Magic of Incarnum, for example; the DM just doesn't have all this stuff and doesn't want to read pages upon pages of unfamiliar rules material just for a single character). But it never hurts to ask, as far as other material goes (excluding what I've just mentioned as banned).
Information on Rinkai Tsukari and the specific events around the start of the campaign will be added later, I wanted to get this posted before I wound up distracted or procrastinating more on finishing the details for each part. -_- At least the necessary character info is present.
Minor Houserules
There will be some houserules, implemented where necessary to maintain a loose semblance of balance, sufficient to keep everyone from getting totally outclassed by one PC or another (this applies to NPCs as well, for the players and DM alike).
1) Crusaders and Warblades receive only d8 hit dice in this campaign, instead of their normal d10 or d12 hit dice, respectively. Crusaders do not receive Furious Counterstrike in this campaign. This is to keep core warrior-types viable, and still leaves these two fairly strong.
2) The Fighter class now gets a bonus feat at every single level in that class, instead of just 1st, 2nd, 4th, etc. Skill Focus and Toughness are added to the Fighter's list of bonus feat choices. They add Listen and Spot to their list of class skills.
3) Spellcasting classes with 0-level spell slots receive bonus 0-level spell slots equal to their key spellcasting ability modifier. This helps them be useful more often at low levels.
4) Sorcerers receive Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at 1st-level in the class. They add Diplomacy and Gather Information to their list of class skills.
5) Druids cannot spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally in this campaign, and receive only d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d8s. They're still the second-best at almost everything, and still the best shape-shifters, scouts, and minion-wranglers.
6) Rangers do not receive Endurance, Camouflage, or Hide in Plain Sight in this campaign. They instead gain Skill Mastery at 13th-level, as per the Rogue ability. Also, use the 3.5 Ranger from the Player's Handbook or SRD, not Monte Cook's Ranger.
7) Ninja (from Complete Adventurer or Dragon Magazine) add their Constitution bonus or Charisma bonus, whichever is higher, to their maximum number of Ki Power uses per day, alongside their Wisdom bonus. In addition, they receive a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves as long as they have one or more unexpended Ki Power uses, alongside the +2 to Will saves.
8) Wu Jen learn 2 additional spells for free at each level in the class (scribed freely into one of their spellbooks). If they turn lawful in alignment, they are considered to have violated a Taboo, until they return to any nonlawful alignment.
9) Shamans add the spells Magic Fang, Greater Magic Fang, and Animal Growth to their spell list, at the same spell levels as a Druid. Shamans may deal lethal or nonlethal damage with unarmed strikes or grapple checks, at no penalty to the attack roll or grapple check.
10) A Samurai (from Oriental Adventures) of 4th-level or higher treats his or her Ancestral Daisho as honorable, good, and lawful weapons when wielding them, for overcoming Damage Reduction. Samurai receive d12 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s.
11) Dragon Shamans add Diplomacy, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), and Sense Motive to their list of class skills. Also, Dragon Shamans get double the normal bonus from their Natural Armor class feature. Many choose Naeron or Trandim as their patron deity.
12) Duskblades get only a medium Base Attack Bonus, as per a Rogue, in this campaign. They receive one copy of Weapon Focus at 1st-level, one copy of Improved Critical at 9th-level, and one copy of Greater Weapon Focus at 17th-level, as bonus feats, regardless of prerequisites. However, these feats must each be applied to a weapon the Duskblade is proficient with. When a Duskblade uses Arcane Channeling, the touch spell affects each target only once per casting, unless the spell itself normally allows otherwise. Regardless, the touch spell is discharged after the attack action or full attack action in which it is used.
13) The Knight's Shield Block class feature applies regardless of how the Knight obtains a shield bonus to AC, but he or she must already have an armor or shield bonus to AC in order to benefit. Test of Mettle is a supernatural, mind-affecting, compulsion, enchantment ability. Loyal Beyond Death expends two uses of the Knight's Challenge instead of one.
14) The Intimidate skill's use in combat, to demoralize an opponent, now lasts 1 additional round per 3 ranks in the skill.
15) The Whirlwind Attack feat cannot be used to trip, disarm, grapple, sunder, overrun, or bull rush, nor to attack objects (not even if the attack form would normally allow it, such as a wolf's bite attack).
16) The Enlarge Person, Righteous Might, and Divine Power spells last only 3 rounds now, instead of 1 round per caster level. The Expansion psionic power likewise lasts 3 rounds now, or 10 rounds if the appropriate Augmentation cost is paid. Other spells and powers might be houseruled later if necessary to maintain some semblance of balance.
17) The White Raven Tactics maneuver no longer gives an extra turn when the affected individual has already taken their turn in the round. The Iron Heart Surge maneuver functions only against unwanted effects that would be subject to Dispel Magic or Negate Psionics, and only against the most recent such effect afflicting the initiator each time. The War Master's Charge maneuver provides no cumulative bonus in this campaign, and the stun effect is negated on a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 19 + the number of allies charging with you, up to a maximum of DC 29). The Fortitude save DC against a Swooping Dragon Strike maneuver's stun effect is 17 + your Strength modifier, instead of its normal DC. The Martial Spirit stance has the same restriction for healing as the Crusader's Strike maneuver regarding enemies.
18) The psionic powers Crystal Shard, Hail of Crystals, and Swarm of Crystals are subject to Power Resistance, but ignore Damage Reduction since they are psionic powers, not weapons. The psionic powers Energy Missile and Energy Stun only increase their save DC by +1 per 2 power points spent on augmenting their damage, not for every single point spent that way. Each time you learn a psionic power that allows choosing an energy type (except Energy Conversion and Energy Adaptation, Specified), such as Energy Missile, you must choose that energy type at the time you learn the power, not each time you manifest it. You may learn such powers multiple times, once for each energy type. Energy Missile only affects 1 target, plus up to 1 additional target per 2 manifester levels above 1st, to a maximum of 5 targets at the 9th manifester level onward. Empathic Transfer, Hostile only transfers up to 20 points of damage, before augmentations are factored in, and each augmentation for a greater transfer only increases the number of transferred hit points by 5, to a maximum of 60 hit points transferred. The Astral Construct power lasts only 3 rounds at maximum (before metapsionics are factored in), and cannot be manifested again while it is still active.
19) The Soulknife class gets a full Base Attack Bonus in this campaign, as per a Fighter, but only receives d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s. I may tweak this a bit later if it turns out to be underpowered.
20) Prestige classes follow the standard T13K guidelines; each must have approval by the DM and be integrated into the world of Aerde in some reasonable manner. So ask before using any, once we get far enough into the campaign for prestige classes to be an issue.
The campaign has reached level 4 for the PCs that are still in it, but we've lost a few players over time and a new PC will enter at 3rd-level with 5,000 XP (so close to 4th, but not quite). The last PC to join this group who's still around, Zoe, has only just reached 4th-level, so new PCs won't be far behind; I just don't start them off at exactly the same point as those PCs who've worked their way up the levels through play. Slassz is technically ECL 5 at this point, but his +1 Level Adjustment is slowing his advancement (only his long stay in the campaign and good roleplaying have gotten him 1 level ahead in ECL, and I don't intend to let the gap grow further).
New PCs will join with 3,000 GP to spend on their starting gear and such (you can spend any amount of it on one item, if you please). As noted in the Player's Handbook, you get a free traveler's outift, explorer's outfit, entertainer's outfit, monk's outfit, artisan's outfit, or peasant's outfit. Besides that one set of clothes, the rest of your gear must be paid for with starting GP (of course, a wizard gets his spellbook for free, but any extra spells he or she has researched beyond their free ones will cost them as normal).
The party's current composition is noted below, but for ease of reference, we have two frontline melee folks and one blaster/utility-mage. The dragon shaman also serves as a minor healer, but is first and foremost a tank, with almost no ranged combat ability (he just gained a breath weapon, but it's so mediocre, short-ranged, and rarely-useable that it doesn't amount to much). The fighter is decent at range, but primarily a melee tank. The sorceress has only a bit of offensive magic and a bit of utility magic, and although she's not as terrible in melee as most mages, she's still very much a ranged combatant and something of a utility caster (she's chosen a strange mix of spells though, so she's not as effective as the others, but more versatile).
At this point we could use something like a rogue, some kind of healer, some kind of ranged combatant, and/or some kind of social master (strangely enough, the closest thing we have to a social PC is the lizardman, who's devoted to the Death Dragon and his own race above all else.....). I won't dictate what kind of PC you play, though, but I'm noting this for anyone who feels like filling in a gap. Previous PCs, who had to drop out at one time or another, included a half-dragon ranger, a human telepath-psion, a human soulknife, and a hanara cleric.
The party is currently in Kyuden Shosan Misho, capitol city of the Shosan Prefecture in Rinkai Tsukari. They're investigating the Husagi Clan's activities and fighting some Husagi villains along with the minor demons that the Husagi have apparently summoned to aid in their plot against the Shosan Clan, a plot that seems geared to destroy Kyuden Shosan Misho and perhaps even more than that. The PCs have only been in town for maybe two weeks, after having their first few adventures elsewhere. They likely won't be in Kyuden Shosan Misho for too long, but it still might be a few weeks in-game before they're finished there and move on.
The PCs are very neutral-oriented so far, and it's not clear yet what path they'll take in the future; they may end up trying to save Rinkai Tsukari from the threats arising within it, or may end up fighting against it in the end. The party is currently sort of working for Faushu Hashimi and Shosan Jaerlen, simply on a mercenary basis; Hashimi met them in a smaller town and hired them for a dangerous job, they completed it, and she asked if they would check on the prefectural capitol to investigate some rumors about disappearances and growing unrest. Once they got there, the group searched for clues and for Hashimi's contact, but after a while they had to settle for a different one of her contacts in the city, Jaerlen, proprietor of the Ivory Castle gambling hall. They didn't know until after meeting him that he's actually related to the ruling family of the Prefecture, though apparently no longer living in the palace. He's paying them to investigate and deal with the Husagi problem in town, for now.
Read below for more detail on the campaign. Following this post will be a posting of some setting info for the game's region (the area in the setting that it takes place in), then another post containing a copy of the character sheet format we use.
Adventure Name: Fall of the 14th Kingdom
DM: Arkhandus
Campaign URL: None, all necessary information will be posted in this thread and the original recruiting thread
Level(s): 3rd/4th level (began at 1st), ending level uncertain
Region: The Island Kingdoms, actually the Eastern Sea and abroad
Kingdom: Rinkai Tsukari, the lost 14th Kingdom, on the Rusa continent
Date/Time: Sundays, 6-10 pm Pacific Time
Expected Duration of This Session: 2-4 hours each week
Format: Campaign
Adventure Plug:
"In the early years of the thirteen kingdoms, during the Age of Gods, there was in fact a fourteenth kingdom that history has since forgotten.... The kingdom in the eastern sea, upon the small Rusa continent, where outcasts and heretics built the most unusual kingdom in the world. One that reigned only a few centuries before it collapsed in war, sinking beneath the sea when Brand himself struck down the crazed infidels. A kingdom steeped in sin and witchery of every sort, corrupted by its pursuit of power over the western kingdoms, destroying itself through the invasion of Aerde."
"Only the gods remember this short-lived kingdom, purged from all records. The gods, and I, who was there the entire time. I, who took part in the rise and fall of the fourteenth kingdom, an orchestrator of its sublime corruption and ultimate destruction. I, who reaped so many fallen souls from the ruins of Rinkai Tsukari, until accursed Aohalim sealed me within this stinking shrine of His Most Disgusting Benevolence."
"Now, mortal, you find yourself on this obscure little island as well, and you wonder what it is you've stumbled upon. Behold Threzyk Nos Kyirneth, the Demon of Ruin, greatest of the Glabrezu, forever cursed to the confines of this wretched shrine by thrice-damned Aohalim. Fear not, pathetic mortal, my power is confined to this circle. Stay and hear this tale, perhaps even spread word of it to the lands of far-off Aerde, so that I might be freed ever so slightly from this infernal obscurity....and perhaps someday, a mortal like you will free me from this place, to gain the power I can offer to whosoever breaks this seal...."
Fall of the 14th Kingdom is a campaign for 3.5 D&D in The 13 Kingdoms, and the exact nature of the campaign is partly dependent upon the group makeup of the Player Characters. You will either be part of the 14th Kingdom's defenders, or traitors who will aid in its downfall. However, that is for the later parts of the campaign to determine; we start with a band of adventurers, heroes as far as the 14th Kingdom is concerned.....
Restrictions: See below, in Campaign Info and Minor Houserules
Official Participants:
Slassz Verazzyn, LN Male Lizardfolk Blue Dragon Shaman 4 of Naeron
Zoe Yami (Yami Zoe in Tsukari), LN Male Human Fighter 4 of Brand
Phyi, N Female Wood Elf Sorcerer 4 of Targran Lithmoor
All approved as checked-in
(the group has fluctuated a bit over time, and a few people have had to drop out; note for those unfamiliar with the setting: Aerde Lizardfolk call themselves Saurians and are weaker than those in the Monster Manual, with a +1 Level Adjustment and no racial HD, Hanara are monkey-folk, Nagans are serpent-folk, Naeron is the LN god of death, knowledge, evil dragons, and lizardfolk, Brand is the LN god of war, courage, and strategy, and Targran Lithmoor is the CG god of elves, music, and revelry; I've indicated the PCs' patron deities for ease of reference, since it gives some indication of their inclinations)
Campaign Info
This is a campaign for 1st-level characters, with an unknown but potentially far-reaching campaign length. Level advancement should be reasonable; there will be XP awards for roleplay and general participation, in addition to the standard combat XP. Characters may be of any race from the T13K Setting Guide, though living in Rinkai Tsukari of the Rusa continent, instead of the mainland or island kingdoms where those races are usually found.
The campaign will run on OpenRPG, usually in the OpenRPG Dev II server. If that server isn't available or working well, we'll move to the Roleplay Refugees server I suppose. One game session per week, at a day and time to be determined; most likely Sunday evenings. Depends on the group's input.
After the campaign has started, another thread may be made for roleplay between sessions. The DM will announce this once he's opened the Tavern thread for Fall of the 14th Kingdom. An Out of Character (OOC) thread will be opened in News & Views later. A copy of the T13K character sheet template will be posted immediately following this post; use it.
NOTE: This is from the original posting. The OOC thread and the Tavern thread for RP are already up in EN World's The 13 Kingdoms section (must be logged into EN World to see the T13K forums).
The standard character creation/advancement rules from the T13K Setting Guide PDF apply. However, due to the peculiarities of this campaign, characters made for this campaign may not be viable for transfer into other T13K campaigns (since this campaign takes place in the distant past, and utilizes many supplements that are not normally 'canonical' for use in the current period of The 13 Kingdoms' timeline). The DM can e-mail a copy of the T13K Setting Guide PDF to anyone who needs it. Refer to Appendix III of the PDF for character creation guidelines.
Alignment may be any of the nine, but the party cannot include a paladin if any other PC is evil-aligned. Your alignment does not determine whether or not you will eventually be a hero or a villain of the 14th Kingdom. It is a kingdom of grey morality, and one that is both defended and brought down by forces of various alignments.
This campaign will run on the D&D 3.5 ruleset, primarily that found in the online Hypertext SRD, but also allowing some content from other, non-OGC books, such as the Player's Handbook II, Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords, Oriental Adventures, Arms & Equipment Guide, and so on. The OA update for 3.5 from Dragon Magazine will be used for any appropriate material from Oriental Adventures (the Complete Arcane version of the Wu Jen and its spells, for example, will not be used).
Check with the DM regarding any specific material you want to use that isn't in the core rules or the T13K Setting Guide. Some material may be banned (including Frenzied Berserkers, Ur-Priests, and material from the Tome of Magic, Spell Compendium, Rules Compendium, Magic Item Compendium, or Magic of Incarnum, for example; the DM just doesn't have all this stuff and doesn't want to read pages upon pages of unfamiliar rules material just for a single character). But it never hurts to ask, as far as other material goes (excluding what I've just mentioned as banned).
Information on Rinkai Tsukari and the specific events around the start of the campaign will be added later, I wanted to get this posted before I wound up distracted or procrastinating more on finishing the details for each part. -_- At least the necessary character info is present.
Minor Houserules
There will be some houserules, implemented where necessary to maintain a loose semblance of balance, sufficient to keep everyone from getting totally outclassed by one PC or another (this applies to NPCs as well, for the players and DM alike).
1) Crusaders and Warblades receive only d8 hit dice in this campaign, instead of their normal d10 or d12 hit dice, respectively. Crusaders do not receive Furious Counterstrike in this campaign. This is to keep core warrior-types viable, and still leaves these two fairly strong.
2) The Fighter class now gets a bonus feat at every single level in that class, instead of just 1st, 2nd, 4th, etc. Skill Focus and Toughness are added to the Fighter's list of bonus feat choices. They add Listen and Spot to their list of class skills.
3) Spellcasting classes with 0-level spell slots receive bonus 0-level spell slots equal to their key spellcasting ability modifier. This helps them be useful more often at low levels.
4) Sorcerers receive Eschew Materials as a bonus feat at 1st-level in the class. They add Diplomacy and Gather Information to their list of class skills.
5) Druids cannot spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally in this campaign, and receive only d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d8s. They're still the second-best at almost everything, and still the best shape-shifters, scouts, and minion-wranglers.
6) Rangers do not receive Endurance, Camouflage, or Hide in Plain Sight in this campaign. They instead gain Skill Mastery at 13th-level, as per the Rogue ability. Also, use the 3.5 Ranger from the Player's Handbook or SRD, not Monte Cook's Ranger.
7) Ninja (from Complete Adventurer or Dragon Magazine) add their Constitution bonus or Charisma bonus, whichever is higher, to their maximum number of Ki Power uses per day, alongside their Wisdom bonus. In addition, they receive a +2 bonus on Fortitude saves as long as they have one or more unexpended Ki Power uses, alongside the +2 to Will saves.
8) Wu Jen learn 2 additional spells for free at each level in the class (scribed freely into one of their spellbooks). If they turn lawful in alignment, they are considered to have violated a Taboo, until they return to any nonlawful alignment.
9) Shamans add the spells Magic Fang, Greater Magic Fang, and Animal Growth to their spell list, at the same spell levels as a Druid. Shamans may deal lethal or nonlethal damage with unarmed strikes or grapple checks, at no penalty to the attack roll or grapple check.
10) A Samurai (from Oriental Adventures) of 4th-level or higher treats his or her Ancestral Daisho as honorable, good, and lawful weapons when wielding them, for overcoming Damage Reduction. Samurai receive d12 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s.
11) Dragon Shamans add Diplomacy, Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (religion), and Sense Motive to their list of class skills. Also, Dragon Shamans get double the normal bonus from their Natural Armor class feature. Many choose Naeron or Trandim as their patron deity.
12) Duskblades get only a medium Base Attack Bonus, as per a Rogue, in this campaign. They receive one copy of Weapon Focus at 1st-level, one copy of Improved Critical at 9th-level, and one copy of Greater Weapon Focus at 17th-level, as bonus feats, regardless of prerequisites. However, these feats must each be applied to a weapon the Duskblade is proficient with. When a Duskblade uses Arcane Channeling, the touch spell affects each target only once per casting, unless the spell itself normally allows otherwise. Regardless, the touch spell is discharged after the attack action or full attack action in which it is used.
13) The Knight's Shield Block class feature applies regardless of how the Knight obtains a shield bonus to AC, but he or she must already have an armor or shield bonus to AC in order to benefit. Test of Mettle is a supernatural, mind-affecting, compulsion, enchantment ability. Loyal Beyond Death expends two uses of the Knight's Challenge instead of one.
14) The Intimidate skill's use in combat, to demoralize an opponent, now lasts 1 additional round per 3 ranks in the skill.
15) The Whirlwind Attack feat cannot be used to trip, disarm, grapple, sunder, overrun, or bull rush, nor to attack objects (not even if the attack form would normally allow it, such as a wolf's bite attack).
16) The Enlarge Person, Righteous Might, and Divine Power spells last only 3 rounds now, instead of 1 round per caster level. The Expansion psionic power likewise lasts 3 rounds now, or 10 rounds if the appropriate Augmentation cost is paid. Other spells and powers might be houseruled later if necessary to maintain some semblance of balance.
17) The White Raven Tactics maneuver no longer gives an extra turn when the affected individual has already taken their turn in the round. The Iron Heart Surge maneuver functions only against unwanted effects that would be subject to Dispel Magic or Negate Psionics, and only against the most recent such effect afflicting the initiator each time. The War Master's Charge maneuver provides no cumulative bonus in this campaign, and the stun effect is negated on a successful Fortitude saving throw (DC 19 + the number of allies charging with you, up to a maximum of DC 29). The Fortitude save DC against a Swooping Dragon Strike maneuver's stun effect is 17 + your Strength modifier, instead of its normal DC. The Martial Spirit stance has the same restriction for healing as the Crusader's Strike maneuver regarding enemies.
18) The psionic powers Crystal Shard, Hail of Crystals, and Swarm of Crystals are subject to Power Resistance, but ignore Damage Reduction since they are psionic powers, not weapons. The psionic powers Energy Missile and Energy Stun only increase their save DC by +1 per 2 power points spent on augmenting their damage, not for every single point spent that way. Each time you learn a psionic power that allows choosing an energy type (except Energy Conversion and Energy Adaptation, Specified), such as Energy Missile, you must choose that energy type at the time you learn the power, not each time you manifest it. You may learn such powers multiple times, once for each energy type. Energy Missile only affects 1 target, plus up to 1 additional target per 2 manifester levels above 1st, to a maximum of 5 targets at the 9th manifester level onward. Empathic Transfer, Hostile only transfers up to 20 points of damage, before augmentations are factored in, and each augmentation for a greater transfer only increases the number of transferred hit points by 5, to a maximum of 60 hit points transferred. The Astral Construct power lasts only 3 rounds at maximum (before metapsionics are factored in), and cannot be manifested again while it is still active.
19) The Soulknife class gets a full Base Attack Bonus in this campaign, as per a Fighter, but only receives d6 hit dice in this campaign instead of d10s. I may tweak this a bit later if it turns out to be underpowered.
20) Prestige classes follow the standard T13K guidelines; each must have approval by the DM and be integrated into the world of Aerde in some reasonable manner. So ask before using any, once we get far enough into the campaign for prestige classes to be an issue.
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