Colona is a hybrid of Gothic Fantasy and Steam Punk fantasy adventure. Unlike other Gothic Fantasy settings, Horror is not the basic element of the setting. The goal is only to provide players with an abundance of mysterious worlds, dark beings, undead creatures, and forbidden lore. Not to scare or pit them against nigh unbeatable dark lords. However make no mistake the villains are the ones in control. With that said generally things are not so grim.

Like current day political leaders, not all are considered “evil” but they all do some manner of shady dealings behind closed doors but still try to improve life for the people. While others are considerably more sinister openly making packs with dark gods and consider their populace weak or even insignificant. In the end, everyone gets what they deserve eventually.

The average Steam Punk world is a place where technology and social advances milieu the standard fantasy setting (except maybe Eberron). Colona strikes balance between both. The world contains technology slightly higher than typical fantasy worlds (such as Forgotten Realms), including firearms. This technology to produce firearms is not available in every land and is often restricted by rulers in lands that can produce them. Because of this, swords, crossbows, and other weapons found in fantasy are always more prominent but firearms will always be present in the background.

Magic has its place in the world. However unlike other staple fantasy settings, magic is occasionally a major element (again not like Eberron). Magic is far less encountered here than in other settings (such as Forgotten Realms). Spellcasters are rare and tend to guard arcane secrets almost jealously. Magic schools are unheard of, and of those that exist usually are either in secret or are recruiting grounds for insular groups. It is not so rare that people think magic is superstition, most just never encounter anything magical in their lives. However the ones who encounter it and study it tend to be at best obsessed and at worst wicked.

The combination of rarity and the almost dark tone magic sets make it alien and unknown to the populace. Even though the average commoner will never encounter any magic themselves, it does not stop them from being afraid of its influence or anyone known who is a sorcerer or wizard. Those known to be a spellcaster expect to be encountered with suspicion, fear, and even perhaps hatred from anyone they encounter.

Heroes in Colona walk a lonely and dangerous road. Heroes need to keep their hearts pure and their mind focused or risk being weakened by the villainy who will stop at nothing to foment doubt and take every opportunity to gain sway over those who fight against it. If you are such a hero then welcome to the world of Colona!


WHAT PLAYERS NEED TO KNOW BEFORE PLAYING


This is primarily a 3.7 (Pathfinder) game. Materials from other 3.0 or 3.5 are allowed but 3.0 must be converted to 3.5 and 3.5 must be converted to 3.7 (Pathfinder). Pathfinder rules overrule any rule discrepancies found in other materials for similar rulings and above all any material must be sent for DM approval before it will be allowed.

The game setting is a home brewed campaign setting. A brief synopsis is posted above.

I am currently looking for the game to be no more than 6 players. I currently have 3 players but I will accept alternates and if the alternates can attend regularly extending the player group size could happen.

The games will be run on OpenRPG/Traipse. If you have tokens or pictures of your character you will like to use for the game maps are on a 60 px per square scale. If you cannot create a token one will be made for you.

Currently the group is level 1 but some players are almost level 2. We are currently 2 game sessions in this campaign

New players at level one start with average funds or rolled as per their class in the Pathfinder core book. New players higher than level one will start with funds equal to their level as stated in the Pathfinder core book for that level.

All character classes, professions, orders, etc are allowed from other settings but require DM approval before use and pathfinder rules overwrite other setting rules. As far as prestige classes go, all are allowed, however, multiple prestige class dipping for power gaming will NOT be tolerated. If you have a theme for a character that you need to do such talk to the DM first. (For prestige class conversion to Pathfinder [3.7] requirements subtract 3 from all skill requirements of 3.0 and 3.5 sources and do not add your class favored bonus of +3 from Pathfinder to determine new base rank requirements of the prestige class. Home brewed classes from other DM games will be allowed if approved by the DM and other party members.

Any race, sub race, species are allowed that do not have a ECL adjustment. All non-standard races must be approved by the players as well as the DM.

Ability scores can be generated by any method in the Pathfinder core book, for point buy use the 25 point limit. All first level characters (or for characters above 1st level) will have maximum hit points. Any level after will be rolled or taken the average ([half the die number].5] per class level after first)

Alignment is used, evil is frowned upon but not restricted however players must function as a team regardless of alignment (The evil thief does not need to kill his team but can make back alley deals and use the party to further his advancement and status for example). I don't care if the party is a Paladin of Helm, a Necromancer who worships Vecna, a priestess of Shar, a Harper Mage and a Gnome Bard who never wears any pants as long as they work together and don't ruin the game for each other. This is why all character concepts and classes are discussed by all players before approval.

Multi-classing is allowed using the Pathfinder [3.7] core rulebook however dipping into bottom heavy classes or abusing the system to power game will NOT be tolerated. If you have a specific theme that you need to use several different classes to achieve ask the DM first. All classes must be approved by all the players and DM before they will be allowed.

The die rolls during the game will be used using the OpenRPG dice rollers in open chat. For character creation the honor system is used. If I can't trust my players and they cannot trust me then we do not need to play together at the same session. Most die rolls will be asked by the DM for a player to make such as “Make a Perception check to see if you find a secret door” or a player will declare their actions before they make the roll such as “I search the door for traps”. Try to announce your actions before you make them or if you forget to say what it is your roll was for. Always tell the group when you are finished your actions for your turn.

There are 5 variant rules that are in effect for this campaign. All are found in the 3.5 Unearthed Arcana book. The class defense bonus on page 109, the armor as damage reduction on page 111, damage conversion on page 112, fractional base bonuses page 73, and magic ratings page 135. If you do not wear any armor (other than a shield) you gain a defense bonus. Any type of armor (other than a shield) negates all defense bonus for a character. Characters can either be harder to hit (defense bonus), or be harder to be be hit (armor with DR and conversion). Spells such as mage armor do not count as armor and do not provide DR but do allow defense bonuses to stack. Any other questions on how this works in game ask the DM.

Character background is not required but it is encouraged for character specific adventures and rewards. The background does not have to include meeting other players or knowing them, but feel free to converse with other players to make a unique creative character origin.

The game does have hack & slash combat, however using your head is always better than using your sword. Finding a creatures weakness via populace or delving into ancient tomes might reward the players with unique and easier combat options than just charging in and attacking. Not all games are hack & slash. Some will require investigating and thinking to finish an adventure without combat but there will be combat to keep everyone happy. Their aren't too many puzzles and most hold valuable rewards. There are also “hidden” rewards for players who think outside the box as well. There is something for just about every playing style.

Players are not restricted by rulebooks however books they use as sources must be approved by the DM and they must be able to supply information from those books (such as information about a spell or item for example). All things outside of Pathfinder [3.7] core book must be approved by the DM before use.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the game.

When is it run? What classes are the players already playing?

Sounds like a neat campaign, what days would we play?

Definitely interested here. Would the Pathfinder Artificer be acceptable given that it's a third party class?
I'm thinking a steampunk skillmonkey/ranged combatant.

The game is currently being moved to a weekly game rather than a bi-weekly game. The game is scheduled for every Saturday between 2:00 PM - 10:00 PM Central Standard Time. 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM is usually the grace period for players to log in and for lurkers to ask questions about the game. We try to wrap up around 10:00 PM - 11:00 PM generally. If a player has to leave early we do copy the chat log post it (don't worry admins the log is not posted but a link to a PDF copy) so they can see what they missed or to recap for next session. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask me. Thank you.

For those that do join our group, our campaign forum board is located here.

http://s9.zetaboards.com/Mayhem_Gaming/forum/3006733/

Thank you.

I can't play on that night so I have to drop out; sorry.

I don't see a problem with it as long as the other players do not. If that is the case then by all means you are welcome to play that.

No one seems to have any issues with that class so go right ahead and start making him/her.

For anyone interested in playing, our next game session will be Saturday June 26 at 2:00 PM Central Standard Time. There will be NO game session on Saturday June 19. Thank you.