Rise of the Runelords PF2: The Second Rising

Creating your character

Character creation can be done using HeroLab, Nexus, or Pathbuilder, as long as we have a stat block we can build from. Each has it's strengths, but regardless I will be typing each character into Pathbuilder for legal balancing, and keeping track of your stats as you level. You may use any Pf2e book. I am not terribly concerned about the Remaster, because Foundry can adjust spell names and feats and such with internal updates. You can use *some* Third Party stuff too, I might add, subject to approval by me. One 3pp that will always get my go-ahead is any of the ancestries from Battlezoo's material. They are very imaginative, and let you play things like Dragons, Doppelgaangers, Slimes and more, and all of their ancestry abilities are already in Foundry. Starting level for this AP is ONE. I do not offer the Free Archetype option, but you CAN take one when it is level-appropriate, if you want. The only thing I might advise about character creation is that this is a dungeon/wilderness adventure. If you have a stealthy city rogue or a socialite aristocrat in mind, that probably won't work too well for the story, and there won't be many places you can flex your abilities.

Preparing for the session

I put this up at the top, because we will be audio only: I AM A STICKLER FOR GOOD MICS IN MY GAMES! :-D Please, for the love of Aroden, DO NOT use your laptop's built-in room-mic. Not only will it pick up your roommate flushing the toilet, but your voice will cut out constantly, and sound like you're talking from the bottom of a well. No phone/earbud mics, either in your PC or talking over the discord app. No bluetooth mics. Not your webcam mic. Not your phone's external mic. A decent USB Headset is like $25 on Amazon, please get one for the game. $50+ wireless gaming mics, like those from Turtle Beach or Corsair are OK, if you happen to have those... they are already *very* high quality. I don't mean to sound overly intense here, but it was it *rough*, going into COVID lockdown and trying to play online with those kinda mics. Trust me: good, clean sound is *absolutely essential* with 5 or 6 people in the voicechat. Speaking of hardware, please have a relatively modern PC upon which to play, with a solid internet connection. FVTT content will not run on a Chromebook, so make sure you got at least 8 gigs of RAM and a quad core processor. You should use Firefox, if possible, as Chrome sometimes has issues. Do not use Opera, it doesn't like FVTT, in my experience. The game will be hosted by an online service called Molten Hosting, meaning it's in the cloud, and should serve you the content as fast as you can receive it. Foundry is FREE for you to use, and only requires you to log in to my game, when I notify everyone that the server is up in the Discord chat, on game nights. I DO want you all to know your characters! Read the feats available to them, know what they can do. Literally every rule, class and monster that Paizo has published will be on the Archives of Nethys website for your perusal, FOR FREE. You will need to create your character ahead of time, and submit it for approval before Session Zero, so we can all do proper introductions. I want my players to be fully knowledgeable and *excited* to share and run their creations! As mentioned, I will set up a Discord server for us to check in with each other, leave memes between games, etc. I will have a few side channels as well, for things like art and story, specific world lore, common rules we need to reference, etc. The game will take place with voicechat in a channel on that server. It is my greatest hope that these standards of excellence are easily attainable for my players, and that by adhering to them, we will all have a stellar gaming experience!

What Andrew brings to the table

We will be using FoundryVTT, the best VTT for PF2! I will create custom tokens for characters in the game, if provided with character art. I would like to play ambient *and* battle music, but that will be up for discussion, as some find it distracting. I tend to run combat by the Rules as Written, as PF2 has very specific and well-balanced rules, but with a few exceptions. I will be giving a Hero Point at the beginning of each session, and then one per hour of play, as demarcated by the actual intro to the game ("When we last saw our intrepid adventurers...!"), because there is always some pre-game banter. If you roll a hero point and it is exactly the same number as your original roll, I allow for players to roll again. I tend to be a little loose with exploration effects, letting each character take one action in whatever order they want, until everyone has moved. If you roll well for Stealth, I usually begin a "surprise round" by giving each player 1 free action before combat starts. Most combats in PF2 are set up to drain resources over time, and occasionally drop a character in combat... down, but not dead. I am not, in most cases trying to kill your characters, just hurt them very badly. :-) However, at the ends of chapters, and at the end of the Books, I WILL try to kill you. Not that I will run an unbalanced combat, but that the critters will be smart, and use every tactical advantage I can put into play. Most of these will be on the higher end of Severe, but I will adjust it down from Extreme, if the conversion calls for it... We're here to have fun, not die from one critical hit. All this being said, you will know when that combat is coming, and will be able to prepare for it. To paraphrase Captain Mal from Firefly, if I were to try to kill you, you'll be facing me with a gun in your hand. :-) The only time I would cancel a game is if two people couldn't make it, or I myself have a family emergency or am sick. Otherwise, my promise to you is that The Show Must Go On, and I will make the game my top priority. You all are paying for a good game, and I aim to treat that relationship with the respect and dedication it deserves. This is probably already listed in my bio, but I run a game with players who respect other humans. No racism, sexism, transphobia, etc. It doesn't make you edgy, it just gets you kicked. Play whatever character you want, but this is a Good campaign, so no Evil characters. While there is a time and place for such a game type, it is not here. I encourage good roleplaying! I love it when players are proactive and engage, by following the story and clues offered. If you think a certain story element serves as good flashback material for your character, let me know! Maybe we can do a little scene that lets the other players know more about you. The more you give me to work with, the better I can spin sidequests and bring certain NPC's to the front. Try to keep it to one written page, if you can, though.

Homebrew rules

Only a few! 1) If you roll the same number on a d20 when rolling to do better with a Hero Point, you may re-roll! 2) Negotiable, but flavorful: Construct characters use Crafting checks for non-magical healing instead of Medicine! 3) You can draw a weapon as part of your Stride action if you move 10' or more.

How Andrew creates a safe table

I think a lot of lines and veils can be discussed in Session Zero, and are different for each group of players. I appreciate that SPG has provided guidelines, though, and I will make notes of what players want and don't want in the game, with the understanding that this particular game does have some pretty gross horror elements. That being said, I always approach players needing a break from a scene with kindness and concern. This conversation does not have to happen in front of other players, I'm perfectly fine one-on-one.