The Strange World of Volga

Print-friendly version  

Basic World Information

Campaign Start-up Rules:

Pathfinder Rules:  Start at Fifth level as that is where the previous campaign left off.  Start at maximum hit points for all of those five levels (rather than granting any sort of bonus hit points or bonus hit dice).

Ability Scores:  25 point buy for your ability scores using the Pathfinder rules on page 2.

Races:  Only those as listed in the Pathfinder rule book.  The monster races will truly be monstrous and evil, so playing a half-orc will involve much initial prejudice, just so you know.  It is not considered evil to kill orcs and goblins, though executing them without just cause or killing their children could get you a bit of a reputation.  Not necessarily of someone who is evil, but rather of someone who is ruthless.

Classes:  Any in the Pathfinder rules or any in the Complete books for 3.5.  Some alterations might have to be made if you choose one of these alternate classes, certainly to the skills list, so let me know if you are interested in one of them and I will figure out what needs to be changed.

Prestige Classes:  Any in the Pathfinder prestige class supplement, and any in the Complete books for 3.5, again some changes might have to be made.

Skills:  Again, use the Pathfinder rules.  For any prestige classes you might want (not already adapted to Pathfinder rules) class skills require 3 fewer ranks of the appropriate Pathfinder skill and cross-class skills aren’t changed in the number of ranks required.

Feats:  Any in the Complete books and the Pathfinder book.  If there is any contention or duplication, the Pathfinder book takes precedence.

Starting Equipment:  As characters are starting at fifth level, they will start with some equipment already.  Characters will start with 8000 gold worth of equipment which may be purchased only from the Pathfinder book, with no single item costing more than 3000 gold.  Characters will also start with some additional random equipment given to them by their GM.  This random equipment will be worth at least 3000 gold, but may not be anything you want or can use, or might not even be identified yet.  The problems of a random nature.  My thinking here is that if you had worked your way up to fifth level you wouldn’t have all of your equipment optimized, some of it would be of a random just acquired nature.  Queue my random equipment.

Spells:  Any spells from the Pathfinder book or the Spell Compendium.  Polymorph type spells from the Spell Compendium are subject to alteration or rejection if they don’t follow basic Pathfinder guidelines for this type of spell.

Experience:  We will use the medium advancement track on characters advancing in levels.  Thus all characters start with 15,000 experience points.  Characters will start with additional experience points given as a GM award based on their character background, see below.  This will not exceed 4000 experience, however.  As I have no intention of calculating experience point awards based on what you have killed, I will adjust my experience rewards up or down depending on whether characters are advancing too slowly or too quickly.

Training:  Characters will not generally have to undergo training in order to advance.  Like the warmage class in the Complete Arcane, when you finish your apprenticeship you will have received all the training you need to reach 20^th level.  You just need the experience to unlock it from within your mind.  As long as you don’t change your class after play begins, don’t pick up a prestige class after play begins, or start with at least one level in all of the classes your character is going to want before play begins, you won’t need any training until you reach epic level.  If you wish to pick up a new class or a prestige class once play begins, then you will need training, but it will be a single session of training which will again have you covered until 20^th level.  I did this mostly so that I could send the characters out on long adventures where they might not have access to any sort of training facilities, without them having to suffer from being experienced enough to advance but not getting to.  New levels kick in as soon as you have enough experience to advance, and after you have gotten a night’s rest.

                This does have some repercussions to game play, however.  As your character is continually trying to gain the experience he/she needs to advance to the next level, so long as your character is on an adventure you will not have any real free time.  That means no time to learn new spells (other than those that come with level advancement), create magic items, craft items, etc.  At least not while adventuring (though if the adventure requires it, that is a different story).  Whatever free time your character has he spends practicing, researching, praying, etc. in order to advance.  If your characters want to take a break between adventures, however, or possibly even during one, then you may spend your free time doing whatever you wish to spend your free time doing.

World:  I want this world to be one that the players have some connection to.  With that in mind, I am not creating a world, or at least I am not creating any more than I need.  Other players are free to contribute to the world and their pieces will be added to it as is appropriate.  If you want your starting character to be from a country that is a matriarchy whose primary god is the god of fire, so be it.  Give me a name for your starting country, a brief description of the country and its lands, tell me about the god of fire and the clerics who worship him/her, and subject to some editing from me, that will become a part of the world.  If you have an idea for a secret society that your character belongs to, no problem just write down the society’s goals, mission, rules, etc.  I’ll take it from there.  Want to be from a country that worships elves but has never actually seen one?  Write it up.  Want to worship the god of prostitutes?  No problem, just create one.  Are you a spy from another country checking out this one?  Fine, just tell me about the country you came from and what your goals are in this country.

Religion:  The gods are wide open because I haven’t created any yet.  I do plan on creating at least one before play begins, that being the god of home, hearth, and herbs.  So those spheres of influence are taken.  When it comes to players creating gods and the clerics that worship them, it is first-come first-served when it comes to spheres of influence, though all are subject to my editing, and utter rejection if it gets ridiculous.  I will be creating gods as I need them, though I will most likely spend my time creating gods that are opposed to the current actions of the party.  If your character needs a god to worship, whether it is because you are a member of a divine class (ranger, paladin, cleric, etc.) or just because you want one to worship (god of gambling and good fortune, god of travel, god of wealth and greed, etc.), you will have to create it.  This will give you a lot of leeway in creating the god you want, though I will be looking for game balance and sensibility in the gods and their clerics that you create.  Having clerics of the god of fire getting access to the water domain probably doesn’t make much sense, though if you have a good explanation for it in the story of the god I will allow it.  When creating clerics and choosing the domains they have available, don’t look at the domain powers.  Don’t pick a domain to be available to your god just because you want it, pick the ones that make sense for your god to have.  And do the same with your god’s background story.  Your god should have a theme of some sort, try and stick to it.

Character Background:  I want to see a character background on your characters.  This should tell me where your character is from, why he/she is where they are (see below), what gods they worship (if any), their goals for the future, their likes/dislikes, flaws and quirks, what they look like, etc..  Perhaps most importantly, tell me how your character reached the glorified level of 5 in their profession.  And yes, it is a glorified level.  90% of the population would fall in the 1-4 level range.  What have you fought to get where you are, what adventures have you been on?  Were you in a war?  Have you seen a dragon before?  Have you fought undead?  I don’t expect pages and pages of background material, though the more the better.  As I mentioned above, I will be awarding experience of 0-4000 depending on your background story.  This experience award is also influenced by the write-up you give me of any gods you create and/or your home country.

Save Points:  Each level your character will get two Save Points (though I wouldn’t mind a better name for them).  Basically I don’t want the characters dieing all the time, party cohesiveness is better maintained without characters dieing, and generating adventures that tie in with a character’s background also work better if that character is still alive when the adventure begins, so save points are a way out, at least to a limited degree.  At anytime that your character is killed, or would be killed, for whatever reason, you may use 1-4 Save Points to keep them from immediately dieing.  Save Points will do various things depending on why your character was about to die, but the following can be used as an example.  If your character gets critically hit with a great axe, going from +20 hit points to dead, you can save him thusly:  For one Save Point your character is instead at –9 hit points after the attack, but still bleeding to death.  For two Save Points your character is at  –5 hit points after the attack and already stabilized.  For three Save Points your character is at +1 hit point after the attack.  For four Save Points the attack is not a critical hit and does minimum damage, with your character having at least +1 hit point after the attack.

                Characters will start out the game with four Save Points saved up, having had to use the others to get where they are.

Party Cohesion:  To the best of my ability, I am not going to favor any single character over the group.  That means that if your character can’t get along with the party (most of the time at least), I don’t even want you bringing him into the game.  Keep this in mind when creating your characters.  Whether your character is good or evil, I don’t really care.  Just remember that you need to be able to get along with others who might be good or evil.  For all, keep the extremes to a minimum.  Also keep in mind that the party will need to travel together on adventures.  I don’t currently have a reason for your characters to do that, so you will need one.  Discuss this amongst yourselves.

Starting Location:  Your characters will be starting in the Hamlet of Blue Granite.  Blue Granite has a current population of about 150 people.  It is a walled hamlet, though the wall is much larger than the population could possibly ever protect from invaders.  The wall is mostly just to keep wandering dangerous animals from entering the town.  Blue Granite’s original claim to fame was its mine where they got the coveted blue granite that the town was named for (rare and therefore valuable and popular with the rich, but otherwise mundane).  The vein of blue granite ran out about ten years ago though.  The town probably would have died out without the Dumsen family.  They keep people coming to Blue Granite.  Ardith Dumsen is in his fifties and is a gifted sage, knowledgeable in history, languages, and magic.  His wife, Lorren Dumsen, is in her late forties and is a powerful wizard (i.e. over tenth level, though her exact level is naturally not for public knowledge).  She spends most of her time researching new spells or making magic items, usually on assignment.  Their son, Canton Dumsen,  is a ranger and hunter knowledgeable of the local terrain, and their daughter-in-law, Hestia Dumsen, is a highly gifted herbalist and healer (mundane, not magical).  She is often sought out for her rare herbs and her knowledge of the healing arts.  While magic is much quicker, not all poisons and diseases can be cured with magic, and few can afford magical healing anyway.  These four (though Canton least of all) are usually why people come to Blue Granite.

                Blue Granite is situated at the base of a tall cliff, just into the Wildfire Type Mountains.  The cliff and the mountains are to the east, with the mountains stretching to the north and south as well.  To the west about a thousand feet away is another cliff, this one dropping three hundred feet to the Name Ring Ocean.  The ocean near Blue Granite is rough, there are no nearby coves or bays, and there are lots of rocks and reefs, so ocean travel doesn’t come to Blue Granite much.  There is a staircase carved out of the rocky cliff that leads down to the rocky shoreline of the ocean, where a single rowboat can be found.  A local, Mad Gregor, often heads off into the surf in his rowboat.  He hasn’t crashed or capsized yet, and usually brings back some fish that he has caught, but everyone thinks it is only a matter of time before he is lost to the sea.

                North of Blue Granite the Wildfire Mountains take over and there are no roads.  Beaches are likewise not to be found, though there is a rocky shoreline and lots of caves exist near the ocean.  The Name Wildfire Mountains are heavily wooded, are mostly north-south, ending about eighty miles to the south.  A poorly maintained road leads south from Blue Granite, eventually joining up with a much better maintained road after about fifty miles.  That road heads both south and east.  The road to the south passes through a few other hamlets and villages before eventually reaching the city of Geanavue, the capital city of the country you are currently in, Volga.  To the west of Blue Granite there is ocean, and about twenty miles out there is a fog shrouded island with a volcano rising up through the fog.  Throughout the history of Blue Granite that volcano has always been spewing lava, though mostly just a gentle pour.  Only rarely has the lava ever been thrown from the volcano.

                And that is the world as it currently exists.  How far east or north do the Wildfire Mountains go?  I don’t yet know.  Why are they called the Name Wildfire Mountains?  Don’t know that either.  The well-maintained road that goes both south and east, where does the east portion go?  Someday we’ll find out but for now it is a mystery.  The world is open, as are the adventures you might choose to go on.  And speaking of adventures, if there is a particular type of adventure you would like to go on at some point in time, let me know.  I can’t promise anything, certainly I can’t promise any sort of a schedule, but I will do what I can.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Characters:

Andy:  character background, country background, random other stuff, playing a half-elf rogue I believe.

Gary:  character background, hometown background, country background, playing a dwarven cleric

Name: Marmor Mountainbreaker, Battle Cleric of Hrothgar Sparkshard

Hometown: Treppe zum Himmel (a dwarven village in the Pical Mountain range, background on the village coming soon)

Marmor is adventuring to further his knowledge of the world, and to seek out other dwarf clans outside of the Pical mountains.  A quiet dwarf, he keeps mostly to himself, studying the surroundings around him.  He is fiercely loyal to his clan and his friends.  Those who tend to cross him often end up on the flat surface of his mattock. 

An orphan, Marmor was adopted in to the church of Name Hrothgar Sparkshard, by the clerics who found him.  Brought up with a strict study of the ways of the forge, and the respect that is earned through it glory.  A natural combatant, Marmor was urged to study with the Battle Clerics, a group of clerics who travel with the military, providing healing and inspiration to their fellow dwarfs.  Having served his clan for several years, Marmor received permission to seek out other dwarf clans outside of the Pical Mountains, he has since been traveling.  He has recently taken to traveling with a small group of adventurers, attempting to seek out the other clans, to further his quest for personal glory, and to honor his clan.

Also, I gave David the basis for the Dwarven Pantheon, and between the two of us, here is what currently exists

Hrothgar Sparkshard (Male)

Dwarven God of the Forge

Lawful Neutral

Symbol is a hammer striking an anvil

Domains – Fire, War, Law, Protection, Strength

Favorite Weapon: Any Hammer

Orik Stonesplitter (Male)

Dwarven God of Creation

Chaotic Good

Symbol is a swirling mass of colors, no two of which are alike

Domains – Earth, Creation, Good, Chaos, Artifice

Favorite Weapon: Unarmed Strike, Spiked Gauntlet

Heilen Earthmender (Female)

Dwarven God of Healing
Lawful Good

Symbol: Undefined at this time

Domains – Healing, Law, Good, Life, Community, Repose

Favorite Weapon: Quarterstaff

Stürmisch Hilletcher (Female)

Dwarven God of Acanum

Lawful Neutral

Symbol: Undefined at this time

Domains –Magic, Knowledge, Law, Protection, Rune

Favorite Weapon: Dagger

And, yes in case you are wondering, he is a front line cleric.  His levels are Fighter 1/Cleric 4, the reasoning behind this is that the Battle Clerics are trained with more fighting skills than the standard clerics.  Their first year of service is spent with the infantry, learning the ways of the military in order for them to better serve the combatants during an actual battle.  He is also Lawful Neutral, so yes, I am going to try and play lawful, should be interesting.

Dale:  ?

Adrian:  ?

Dominick:  country background, playing a halfling fighter/rogue, eventual warsling sniper

David W.:  monastery details, playing a half-orc monk

World:

200 miles southwest of the city of Geanavue is the city-state of Oristus. Just to the west of Oristus is a desert called the Great Bowl. This is because the desert is in a depression 50' or more below the surrounding land. West and north of the Great Bowl are the Pical Mountains. West of the Pical Mountains is the Empire of Haelthia, or at least the southeast corner of that empire. South of the Pical Mountains and the Empire of Haelthia is a jungle whose name I don't recall just now. And the Ring Type Ocean is just north of the Name Pical Type Mountains, and north and east of the Empire of Haelthia. The Name Ring Ocean is turning out to be either a very large bay or a very large salt-water lake. Time will tell.

Picture the Ring Ocean as a giant circle.  Technically I don't know what the top of it looks like yet, but so far it is a circle.  At the very bottom of the circle are the Pical Mountains.  They are sort of in the shape of an L rotated -90 degrees.  Inside of the L is where the Great Bowl is.  The very bottom of the Empire of Haelthia is west of the Pical Mountains and then goes north from there, following the western curve of the Ring Ocean.  On the eastern curve of the Ring Ocean is where Geanavue and Blue Granite are located, though Geanavue is about thirty miles inland.  The jungle starts just below the Pical Mountains and extends west from there, forming the southern border of the Empire of Haelthia.

Deities:

Pertian – God of terror and destruction

Hentara Homemaker – Goddess of Home, Hearth, and Herbs

Moandain Deathbringer – God of death and the undead

Hrothgar Sparkshard – Dwarven god of the Forge

Orik Stonesplitter – Dwarven god of creation

Heilen Earthmender – Dwarven goddess of healing and family

Sturmisch Hilletcher – Dwarven goddess of magic

Alastriel Talanka – Elven Goddess of the Hunt

Ringen Krig - god of conquest and tyranny.  Patron deity of the Empire of Haelthia