The Word and the Way | Strength of Thousands | PF2e

Creating your character

Strength of Thousands is a level 1 - 20 adventure path that assumes that Free Archetype is used to give players either the Druid or Wizard archetypes. It goes so far to say a Wizard will have to take the Druid Dedication and the Druid must take Wizard Dedication. I allow for any archetype to be taken with Free Archetype as normal with one exception. Each player character MUST have the Cast A Spell activity. This is gained via your class or archetype. For example, a Sorcerer with the Champion Dedication will have the Cast A Spell activity from Sorcerer while a Rogue with the Champion Dedication will NOT have the Cast A Spell activity. Keep in mind, this adventure path has far less combat in certain areas, and often times when there is combat death is not the main consequence to worry about. While the Magaambya teaches offensive magic, they prefer their students not to kill if its not necessary. Many times in this campaign the consequences for failure, in and out of combat, are hits to your character's standing with the school. That being said, there are plenty of deadly battles and high stakes situations. Unlike something like Abomination Vaults or Gatewalkers, Strength of Thousands takes frequent and lengthy breaks from violence. Because of the importance of out of combat scenarios and the Cast A Spell Activity requirement, we will be building characters in Session 0.

Preparing for the session

Discord and Forge are the only two places you need to make an account. We use Discord for voice and Forge to run Foundry. If you are unfamiliar with Foundry, don't worry!

What Sam I M brings to the table

My goal for my players is to create an environment where their stories blend into the story of the overarching world. Small scale problems for PCs act as a backdrop for the main plot to shine. Tying your character's past and motivations to the rest of the world intertwines them with their environment in a way that makes them inseparable. That is my main focus. Everything else just enhances the stakes. Because of this, I stick to the rules like glue. The rules make the choices mean something. Without the rules there are 0 stakes. If the rules are lacking in an area or ignore choices the player makes, then I add to the rules in an ad lib sort of way. For example, some skill feats do not see a lot of play at most tables. If you would like to use a skill feat in a way that the text doesn't say, I will likely make some form of accommodation for that choice. Fascinating Performance used to impress a fellow student will likely reduce the DC to impress them rather than grant a bonus. Group Coercion being used to alert multiple townsfolk of a potential life threatening problem will be more effective than a normal Intimidation check to accomplish the same task. In combat, I have the enemies on a routine. They do what they are going to do, and I don't pull punches. If a monster is hungry it will try to kill off one PC and steal away with their body but run if it is at half health. Mindless undead may hit whatever is closest to them or sprint towards an objective, depending on what animating force may or may not be controlling them.

Homebrew rules

Free Archetype but you MUST have the Cast A Spell Activity. Gradual Ability Boosts to make leveling a more seamless transition of growth. Skill Feats have hidden perks decided in the moment. I am replacing the Downtime Study rules with a Bi-Weekly Course system. All this means is instead of one roll encompassing 3 months worth of pass/fail, the PCs will have a check every 2 weeks to progress in their classes. Optional; Ancestral Paragon. I like it because it gives more options, but this game has a lot of extra feats as is. This will be decided via veto-vote in Session 0.

How Sam I M creates a safe table

Veto rule! If you have a problem with something someone said or a choice that was made, veto! You can do this publicly and explain, or send me a private message and I will deliver the news. Often times this leads to a change to make it more comfortable for the veto-er, but eliminating the problem is on the table. Session 0! This lets everyone know what they and their new allies are doing. If things goe well during the session 0, I can get some of the introductary "quests" out of the way so session 1 starts in full swing.