Kingmaker: A Kingdom of Your Own [🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Friendly]

Creating your character

Character creation will happen together at our free Session Zero, before the campaign proper begins. Kingmaker starts at level 1, so everyone builds a fresh 1st-level character. With an adventure of this scope, I prefer to build the party as a group rather than have everyone show up locked in. Come with a concept or two in mind, but be ready to adjust so the party fits together. Pathfinder 2e rewards characters who cover for each other and work as a team, so a little coordination up front pays off for the whole campaign, and it's a great chance for newer players to get help shaping their first build. We will be using the Pathfinder 2e Remaster rules. I'd suggest planning your character in Pathbuilder 2e (free, web and mobile) so we can look things over together, and there's a build tool right inside our Foundry VTT world that does the same job once we're ready to make it official. Stick to Remaster material: Player Core, Player Core 2, and other current PF2e sources. If you're working from older, pre-Remaster books, just check with me first, since some options have changed names or rules. I also ask that players plan out the next couple of levels, feats, skills, as the game goes on so that when we level up, it does not bring the session to a halt. This isn't written in stone; it's just so you're not stuck deciding on the spot, and we can adjust course anytime as the character grows. Finally, if you get a few sessions in and find you're just not enjoying your character, tell me. I'm happy to work with you and adjust the build, or allow you to change to a new character, as long as it is not abused. This is a long campaign, and you should be playing a character you have fun playing.

Preparing for the session

Before our first session, please get the following sorted: 1. Discord: We use Discord for voice chat, scheduling, and between-session talk. Make a free account if you don't have one, and I'll send an invite to our game server. A working mic or headset is a must; camera is optional. 2. Foundry VTT: This is where we play. It runs right in your web browser, so there's nothing to buy or install. I'll send you a link and a login for our world; just use an up-to-date Chrome, Firefox, or Edge on a computer, not a phone or tablet. 3. Pathbuilder 2e: Handy for planning your character before Session Zero. It's free on the web and as an Android app. Not required, but it makes building and leveling much smoother, and I can view your build to help. 4. Rulebooks: You don't need to own anything. All the Pathfinder 2e Remaster rules are free on Archives of Nethys (2e.aonprd.com), and our Foundry world has the character options built in. If you need assistance with any of this, feel free to reach out to me!

What DM Joester brings to the table

Here's what you can expect at my table: A fully set-up Foundry VTT world built on the official Paizo Kingmaker module, so we play with the adventure's professional maps, artwork, and handouts, all with dynamic lighting and fog of war. I also own the official Paizo token packs, so every creature and NPC shows up with its proper high-quality art instead of a placeholder. I've been running Foundry for years and write my own modules for it, so on top of that you get rules automation that keeps the math off your plate and quality-of-life tools that keep things running smoothly. Ambient music and sound effects run under most scenes to set the mood, and I'll drop in extra maps and art as the story calls for them. Combat is tactical and meant to be a real puzzle, terrain, positioning, and smart enemies, not just sacks of hit points. I build encounters to be fair but genuinely dangerous, and I run them by the Pathfinder 2e Remaster rules so outcomes are consistent and everyone knows where they stand. That said, I lean into the Rule of Cool: if you've got a clever, cinematic idea, I'd much rather find a way to say yes than hide behind the rulebook. Above all, I provide a friendly, low-pressure, inclusive table. I'll teach the system to anyone who needs it, back your wild plans, and make sure we're all here to have a good time.

Homebrew rules

I keep things close to Pathfinder 2e Remaster as written, with a few small tweaks that make the table more fun: - More Hero Points: everyone starts each session with 2, and earns another every hour of play, so you'll always have a little luck in your pocket when you need it. - Hero Point Deck: instead of only rerolling, you can spend a Hero Point on a card that gives you a fun, dramatic alternative, adding a bit of cinematic flair to big moments. - Automatic rune progression: your weapon and armor bonuses scale automatically as you level, so your effectiveness never hinges on finding exactly the right magic gear. You still get plenty of loot; it just isn't a tax on your math. - Honest rerolls: if a roll goes wrong in Foundry (wrong button, wrong target, that sort of thing), we redo it and take the correct result, for better or worse. This applies to me too. - Table rulings tracked and consistent: when a vague or ambiguous rule comes up mid-session, we make a call and log it in a journal everyone can access, then stick to it going forward. Your input is valued here; players have a voice in how we settle these, and once we do, it stays consistent for the whole table.

How DM Joester creates a safe table

Everyone should feel comfortable at the table, so safety isn't an afterthought for me; it's built into how the game runs. Before we play, If you would like to fill out an RPG Consent Checklist so you can privately tell me your lines (hard nos) and veils (things that can happen off-screen) I will provide a link to a google form. You never have to justify or explain any of it, and you can update your answers at any point in the campaign. At Session Zero we talk as a group about the tone we want, the kinds of content the adventure touches on, and how we'll handle anything heavier if it comes up. During play we use X-cards. I have safety tools built right into our Foundry world, so anyone can play an X-card with a click and it quietly alerts me, no reason needed and no need to speak up in front of the group. You can also just say it out loud or send me a private message on Discord. Whichever you use, we'll pause, skip, or back out of whatever's making someone uncomfortable. Call for a break anytime, too. If something's approaching a line, I'll quietly steer around it; if we hit one, we stop and reset, and it's never a big deal. I also check in during and after sessions, especially after intense scenes, so we can decompress, separate the story from real life, and make sure everyone left the table feeling good. My door is always open between sessions on Discord if you'd rather raise something privately. Above all: bigotry and harassment have zero place here, and I'll step in the moment they do.