Hey there

I am going to be running a Rappan Athuk game set in the FR. Not sure yet where I am going to put the dungeon, but it will be within a day and a half's ride of a major city and 2 hours from a small town I am pretty sure. I just got the dungeon and it is pretty awesome, really looking forward to running it. If you have an idea of where you would like to see it go, please let me know, I am open to suggestions.

One thing I am going to do that is a little different, as the gold and magic come out of the dungeon, I am going to have its effect on the local economy be inflation, influx of bandits, etc. All the things that would logically happen if someone starting dumping a lot of "new" money into an area. This is for two reasons, realism and RP. Players will have relationships with the local townfolk and as they grow in power, the town's people will view them differently and treat them differently, for better or worse.

It will be about 75% dungeon crawl and 25% in town RPing if you want the "mix" of the game. PCs are expected to stay in character during the session, if you have to say something out of character please use (( ooc stuff )).

Starting level will be 4th or 5th, I really haven't decided. Assume 4th for now. Most of the races and complete books' stuff will be allowed, ditto with Spell Compendium. Anything not in the core books that you really want, you should run by me first though, since I reserve the right to de-cheese the game. If this is confusing to you, please stick to the core books and you won't go wrong.

No magic items to start, a minor item like a +1 weapon or a wand will be assigned to you so you won't be completely helpless. You start with 300 pp to buy equipment at standard prices. Anything core will be allowed. MW is fine. Strength bows are fine. If you for instance have an archer, and you have a MW strength bow, I will likely make that your +1 weapon unless you have something else you would rather see it go towards for RP purposes. Regardless of what you get, it won't be more than 2-5k gp in value.

Abilities will be rolled, 4d6 take the top 3, reroll 1's, so you should get a "decent" character. I have the dice roller, just see me when you want to roll. I do allow you to subtract 2 points from one ability to increase another ability by 1. This means if you get all 13's for example, you could subtract 2 from 5 scores to reduce them to 11's, and then add the +5 to one score to bring it up to 18. I do this so you can customize your character to a particular class, even if the dice bot is feeling mediocre that day.

We will be playing Mondays, from 1pm to 5pm EST, which is 10 am to 2 pm PST, my time. I have to pick up my daughter from school at 2:18 my time, so the 2 pm PST is really a final time. I will probably run it on Mayhem or Blackstar, depending on what is up, Mayhem being my first preference since it is usually quiet during the day. I have skype, and like it for RPing as well as out of character humor and such, but it is not required for this game. I will save the game logs and post them, so everything will need to be typed that is going into the log as history.

You can PM a character here on the forum, or email me one at drboals at yahoo com... I will likely start running next monday the 15th with whatever characters I have, I know I have one for sure, and likely a second. Although neither has decided on class at this point. I can run between 2 and 8 for this game, so I am going to start with the 2 I have and if you can't make it on the 15th, don't sweat it, I can work you in down the road, you won't be that far behind. Everyone will start at 5th level maximum though.

If you want to play but don't have the time or experience to make your own character, I will have between 2 and 3 "premade" NPCs that will be able to accompany the party when PCs are in short supply. You are welcome to drop in and play one of these... they will have pre written personalities, etc. that you can read and roleplay. One will be a cleric of Pelor, one a dwarf barbarian, and then if a third is needed it will be based on what the PCs don't have.

If you know what you want to play, but don't have a lot of 3.5 experience, that is no problem, please just get with me between now and monday and I will help you create and flesh out a character that will be just what you want.

Whew...

Finally, I am thinking of making the characters a little "unique" in some way or other, not sure yet how. One player has asked if bloodlines would be allowed, and I am considering that. Ditto for templates and races with LA. FR is a generally non-judgemental place and other races and such are fairly well tolerated, so I am considering allowing them. Once again, I am not sure on this last point. I will probably be basing it on what the players think will be more fun, a conventional game or a more unconventional game as far as races and such.

Thanks for sticking with me through all this, hope its answers any questions you may have,

Athos

Ok, the player that needed it to be at 1 pm EST, can no longer make it, so if you want to play earlier, say 11 am or so EST, please let me know, I can make the game earlier. 5 pm EST is still a "hard" finish for me, have to pick up my daughter from school, so I absolutely can not go later than that regardless of start time.

I'd like to join but have no 3.5 experience. I've played 4e and want to learn 3.5, so I've been applying for a few games and the time for this one is great for me. My Skype is ookaminowolfkin. Let me know what times are good for chatting so that I can get help with my char. I was thinking a Druid or Wizard since those appeal to me. Char traits are being fleshed out in my mind.

Starting at 4th level will probably be ok for someone with limited to no 3.5 experience. I will do everything I can to help you create a good character and get you going, and the progression will be at a pace that you can learn as you go. Anything higher than 3rd or 4th level though, and I would recommend you play one or two low level games to get a feel for how a character starts off. I have been playing for years, I am old , and don't like the very low levels personally, so I don't make my players go through them. My main complaint with 1st and 2nd levels is that you can do everything perfect and one bad roll of the dice and you are dead and gone, and the party will not have the resources to bring you back, so end of game, roll a new character, hope you got kissed first . Either that or the GM has to "cheat" (fudge the dice roll) to keep you alive, and I hate that even worse than dying.

From a role playing standpoint, you will be fine though if you have played in 4th ed or some other RPG. Coming up with a background, a personality, etc. is the hardest thing for a lot of new players...

In 3.5 there is a PrC, prestige class, called arcane hierophant, that allows you to play both a wizard and a druid. They tend to be weak to start off with, but they grow in power as they progress, having both wizard and druid spells, they can be great at buffing others, especially their familiar/companion. Which, is one of the interesting things about them, they combine their familiar and animal companion in one beast, and believe me, it can get quite tough (personally I like the dire wolf at higher levels, but others go with the dire tiger at very high levels). This may be a bit of a step for a first timer, but I have played the class and it can be fun.

Druids are a lot harder to role-play than wizards. Wizards have a reason to go into a dungeon, look for magic and power and knowledge. Druids, in my mind anyways, are supposed to be more concerned with life and the environment, and not in gold and such. I know that 9 out of 10 people who play the druid use their animal companions as cannon fodder and could care less about anything other than shape changing into a troll or something wacky, but I try to reward players that stay in character, and not ones that just try to abuse the system.

Look forward to gaming with you, let me know when you want to build a character,

Athos

depends on the day Athos. I would love to play a shadow weave enchanter (that is if you would let me).

I'm a bit busy tomorrow, but maybe we can work on my char Saturday or Sunday? What times are you available?

We can either meet Saturday from like 3pm to 8pm if you are available, I am generally on the Mayhem server for a Rifts game I have been playing in, or we could meet Monday if you are available then. Sunday, I am not sure what my schedule will be yet, but we could play that by ear if you want.

Saturday should be good. What time zone are those times for? And is Skype okay for you?

I am in PST, but I always post times in EST, since that seems to be the defacto standard for the US. I normally post time zone, especially for a "daytime" game where it is more likely to draw players from other countries, guess I must be spaced out today

My skype is "drboals", just put a note that you are from the board here.

I am on Blackstar now if anyone wants to roll up a character for the Monday daytime game