The Spirit of Alkenstar | Beginner-friendly | Lv1-10
Pathfinder 2e | Campaign
About the adventure
On the run in a city recovering from civil war, fight gangs and corrupt lawmen to clear your name and get your revenge... as Outlaws of Alkenstar! --- Alkenstar is slowly rebuilding. A terrible civil war ripped the City of Smog apart in 4754, beginning with what is now called 'Espara's Night': an event where a once small-time gang calling themselves Espara's Paladins suddenly begin bombing key parts of Alkenstar's infrastructure - destroying the bridges that span the raging, mutating Ustradi River, assassinating the Duchess Trietta Ricia, and killing multiple figures of importance amongst the nobility. The civil war ended with most of the major players dead and a bloodied and battered, but not beaten, Alkenstar. Five years later, in this time of turmoil, a small group of Outlaws aims to make a name for themselves - as gangs scrabble for dominance, the underworld's major players are decided, the nobility play their Great Game, and strange, deadly undercurrents rise amongst the Grand Duchy's neighbours of Nex and Geb, eternally locked in their cold war... --- You are an outlaw. Through horrible decisions, questionable life choices, or just plain bad luck, you have found yourself on the wrong end of the law - and, in order to get back at the people responsible, you have all individually arrived at the Barrel and Bullet Saloon to talk to the dwarf known as Foebe Dunsmith - someone who has been promised to deliver vengeance, vindication, and perhaps even deliverance from your respective dilemmas. And perhaps, a little coin on the side. However, one must be careful in the City of Smog. Located in the middle of a magic-blasted wasteland, Alkenstar stands smack-dab in the middle of one of the worst magical disasters of Golarion - the Spellscar. Who knows what you may find, deep in the bowels of this city of unchecked capitalism and industry? Who knows what you may find out in the Mana Wastes? If you're lucky? Your fortune.
Game style
Rules as Written (RaW)
Games that are ran “Rules as Written” emphasize realism and stick to the letter of the rules, allowing players to explore creative solutions while still operating under a consistent rule set. Players have the ability to utilize the rules in creative ways to create awesome characters and moments in the game.
Roleplay Heavy
“Roleplay Heavy” games place the focus on the story, the characters, and the world they live within, and tend to lean hard into the various roleplaying elements of the game. These games will frequently find the party talking with NPCs, exploring the personal elements of their backstories, or even having emotional moments around the camp fire.
Session 0 is free. You only need to pay for session one onwards.
4.5
(4)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Creativity, Rule of Cool, Sets the Mood
Additional details
How to prepare
Players will need a relatively decent microphone, a Discord account to access the Discord server I will be using to organize the sessions, as little background noise as possible to prevent disruption during the session, and a computer capable of running the Foundry web client. Though this is a beginner-friendly game, I expect players to work with each other and learn their individual characters as well as learn how to play together as a group - I will not be adjusting difficulty on the harder fights in the AP. I expect players to have a character prepared by session one - with gear all sorted. Any character creation questions can be directed to me through Discord messages or the server itself!
What I provide
I have the VTT module for all three books of Outlaws of Alkenstar ready to go - with custom maps and tokens for any homebrewed content that I have ready. For any future homebrewed content beyond Outlaws of Alkenstar, the players have a choice of picking another adventure path, or pursuing any future ideas or leads that their characters may wish to - though the latter may require a little time for me to properly prepare. I use ambient music specifically used for this particular campaign, played through Foundry as well, with volume controllable by each player personally. I will also do my best to do character voices for every character, though this is something I have less experience with. I use a large amount of Foundry modules aimed at enhancing the experience for my players. I tend to stick to rules as written as I am still fairly new to GMing Pathfinder 2e, but should there be anything that I believe fits the narrative and flow of the situation better, I might deviate. However, I am not one to punish my players too harshly, unless the situation calls for it. I will bring 15 years of roleplay experience and writing to the table.
Gameplay details
Session 0 will be free for players, and we will discuss lines and veils then as well as any expectations, hopes and desires for the players. Feel free to DM me with any concerns before then, so we can easily cover all the information we need together! Players will expect to be sent an invite to the Discord channel where all game information will be displayed - including a link to said Lines and Veils document to add to as they see fit. The X, N, & Os will be digital, used in the Foundry VTT game as a module. I will go over the use of the cards in the game itself in session 0, as well as reminding players of their use during the game. Stars and Wishes will be performed at the end of every session!
Content warnings
Safety tools used
• Breaks
• Lines and Veils
• Session 0
• Stars and Wishes
• X, N, and O Cards
How will character creation work
Players will start at level 1, with PF2e remastered rules, with the Free Archetypes and Gradual Boost variant rules active. I recommend using Pathbuilder to create characters: https://pathbuilder2e.com/ I will be providing homebrewed, custom backgrounds for the players to pick as well - all the backgrounds provided by Outlaws of Alkenstar, in addition to these custom backgrounds, will be supported by the game's narrative with extra story content, sidequests and additions to main chapter encounters. These custom backgrounds will be provided as an extra module to Pathbuilder. Character creation will be finalized during Session 0, where I will perform a short initial solo roleplay session for each character (about 15 minutes) to ingratiate themselves into the narrative and introduce them to the world. This is an optional step that players can opt out of, if they wish!
Players can expect
Combat / Tactics
Medium
Roleplay
High
Puzzles
Medium
Experience level
Beginner
Platforms used
• Foundry VTT
• Discord
$15.00
/ Session
Each player will be charged when a session starts.
Details
Weekly / Tuesday - 6:00 PM UTC
3.5-4 Hour Duration
1 / 5 Seats Filled
Requirements
Experience required: Beginner
Age: 18+