Pilot: Deus ex Arca
You were paid to protect a sealed crate. Now demons want it, the Church of 7 Stars will kill to keep it secret, and losing it could doom humanity.
Free
Details
Once / Tuesday - 8:00 PM UTC
Sep 29
Session Duration / 4–5 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
An escort mission gone wrong. You are veterans of Narvisko’s Adventurers’ Guild, with dozens of successful quests behind you. Your reputation has earned you a job from the Church of the Seven Stars: Escort a sealed wooden crate to the front line of the Crusade against the demon army, deep beneath the Holy Empire of Grandia. The pay is absurd. Enough for each of you to retire comfortably, with even more promised upon delivery. Naturally, you accepted. The Church gave you a wagon, supplies, and one very clear warning: Never open the crate. No matter what. For a month, the journey went surprisingly well. You fought goblins, orcs, and monsters twisted by the chaotic mana of the Rift. You rescued travelers, saved villages, and kept the crate safe. Then the wagon took a fireball. ----- This is the pilot for a high-fantasy, medium-magic campaign. The story follows a party of adventurers who find themselves stuck escorting a very important item. Survival will come at a cost, and humanity may be the one to pay it. ----- Note: This is a "3-shots". Will require 2-3 sessions (4 hours each) to finish.
Game style
Combat Heavy
Dungeon Crawl
Roleplay Lite
Rules as Written (RaW)
Tactical / Crunchy
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(5)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Storytelling, Beginner Friendly, Creativity
About me
I'm a Pathfinder 1e Game Master with 15+ years of experience and 1,000+ hours on Roll20. I only run and play PF1e. I run campaigns using my homebrew worlds, from classic medieval fantasy adventures to anime-inspired and wuxia-style stories. I like building worlds with active factions, hidden histories, strange ruins, and choices that matter. I do not run premade APs. Your character's backstory will not just sit on the sheet. I look for ways to weave it into the world and connect it to the events happening around the party. Most of the maps I use are made by me via Inkarnate and Dungeon Alchemist, though I also use maps from other mapmakers when they fit the game. I love unusual dungeons, dramatic battlefields, and locations that feel like part of the world. I'm new to StartPlaying, but I'm not new to Pathfinder.
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
Point Buy: 20 points Race: Humans only - Ability Score Modifiers: +2 racial bonus to one ability score. - Bonus Feat: Humans select one extra feat at 1st level. - Skilled: Humans gain 1 additional skill rank at 1st level and 1 additional rank whenever they gain a level. Spellcaster Restriction: Only minor spellcasters with up to 4th-level spells are allowed. (Paladin, Bloodrager, Ranger) Hit Points: PFS rules 1st Level: Full HD + CON + other bonuses 2nd Level and Above: Half HD + 1 + CON + other bonuses Classes: Any Paizo class or archetype. Alignment: No Evil alignments. Starting Level: 5 Starting Wealth: 9,000 gp Church-provided equipment (Pick one from below): https://www.d20pfsrd.com/traits/equipment-traits/well-provisioned-adventurer-equipment/ Traits: Pick 2 PFS-legal traits. No Rich Parents or campaign-specific traits.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will need a Roll20 account to play the game; and Discord for voice chat. Webcam is not required; I will have mine on. Character sheets will be on Roll20.
What Tiger brings to the table
I run player-driven games focused on exploration, meaningful choices, and tactical combat. My campaigns use original settings and story hooks, but players are free to approach problems their own way. I generally stick close to Rules as Written, with quick rulings during play to keep things moving. Strong character builds are welcome as long as everyone plays cooperatively and knows how their character works. I use battlemaps made by me or curated from other mapmakers, and combat is accompanied by fantasy background music. Expect a relaxed table, challenging encounters, unusual settings, and plenty of room for player agency.
Homebrew rules
Healing Potions: Healing potions (CLW, CMW, CSW) are subsidized by the Church and can be purchased for 1/5 of the RAW price in Church-controlled towns. (Including your starting equipment; buy lots, potion is your main source of healing.) Optional Rule: Rolling 1s on healing potions sucks. Instead of rolling, you may choose to take half + 1 on each healing die. Examples: CLW, CL 1 (1d8+1): Heals 6 HP (4 + 1 + 1). CMW, CL 3 (2d8+3): Heals 13 HP ((4+1)*2 + 3)).
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Tiger creates a safe table
This is a short pilot to my campaigns. If you have issues with the game or other players; please send me private messages (via Discord) and we can take a short break to figure things out. We won't have a session 0, but we will have an hour before the game starts to set some boundaries.
Content warnings
Safety tools used