TWLD Dungeon Defaults
Purpose: This campaign is meant to provide many hours of comradeship, jokes (some good--some bad), and the spell binding weaving of all of our many stories (some sad, some happy and everything in between.) It is our combined responsibility to make this happen. I for one, will do everything I can to have fun with this. But--I expect you to have fun too--so if you are not, I need to know about it. Otherwise we can't fix the problem...
The Two Campaigns: are separate. And should stay that way. I highly recommend you avoid reading the events in Campaign B if you are in Campaign A. And vice versus. I realize that most of us searched our parents room for presents before Christmas. Can we assume everyone has grown up now? All you will end up doing is ruining the surprise... There are many other very interesting PbP's here--go read them if you have extra time on your hands. The 2 campaigns will evolve differently anyway over time--so you will just end up wondering why you didn't get that +5 Flame Blade...
Ceilings: Default to 20' unless otherwise noted
Doors: Here's some basic info that will apply throughout the Dungeon.
Unless otherwise stated, all walls are stone and all doors are iron-bound wood.
STANDARD DOORS (unless stated otherwise) 1) Are made of wood and bound with iron. 2) Open in one direction only and have pull rings on both sides, allowing it to be pulled open or closed. All doors push open into the Rooms from the hallway or from the previous Room, unless otherwise noted. 3) Although heavy, are well anchored on common hinges and can be opened by any creature of Small size or bigger simply by leaning on it. Any door can be pushed, but they may only be pulled by a creature able to grasp the ring. Creatures of Tiny size or smaller do not have the mass to pull the door open even if they have the strength. 4) Are neutrally hinged and do not swing open or closed on their own; a closed door stays closed and an open door stays open unless someone, or something, shuts it. 5) Have roughly a half-inch gap between the bottom of the door and the floor, allowing for air, light, noise, and smells to escape. Most prison/vault doors are sealed completely.
SECRET DOORS (unless stated otherwise) 1) Are made of stone, or whatever material the wall is made of. 2) Pivot on a vertical axis by being pushed on one or the other. Require a successful DC 12 Strength check to push open or closed (Large +4, Medium +0, Small -4). Creatures of Tiny size or smaller do not have the mass to push open a secret door, no matter how strong they are. In addition to these modifiers, any creature that is on more than two legs or is otherwise exceptionally stable gains a +4 modifier. 3) Unless noted, have no locking mechanisms and thus cannot be locked, nor do they have a return mechanism; secret doors remain open if opened, or closed if closed. 4) Are six feet high by seven feet wide. When fully open (the door is completely perpendicular to the wall) there is a total of two feet worth of maneuvering space between the secret door and the wall. This is large enough for a single creature of Medium size to squeeze through on either side simultaneously; creatures of large size or larger normally cannot fit through such a space (depending on the physical characteristics of the creature). The door sits one foot off the ground on a threshold to allow for the pivot. Keep in mind that when opened, there is a threshold one foot high that creatures must step over in order to pass through. 5) Are built to very tight tolerances, although there is a slight gap at the top and bottom through which noise or air might pass. Because of the thickness of the secret door, this gap is not large enough to allow light through. 6) Pushing it open causes the stone to scrape slightly and makes the same amount of noise as a person in medium armor trying to walk silently (DC 5 Listen check to detect the noise).
Individual Character Threads: Individual character postings (those with each Characters name in the Post) are fair game for others to read/think about/use in the game (this will not be considered metagaming). Any info that I feel should not be shared due to the circumstances of the main campaign (a combat setting for instance) will be shared via PM and then later posted to the Character's public post when it can again be assumed this kind of information would be shared between party members. Any info that a character chooses to not share will be removed as soon as I am aware of this decision.
In the normal course of a group of people being near each other, they share points of interest with the people around them naturally in conversation--specifically to get to know others and in many cases just habitually during the lull times of life when you are staring at someone and something needs to be said to keep people comfortable with each other. Naturally some are better at this than others.
In a PbP this natural form of communication is much more forced--the lull times tend to be truncated--so there is no easy way to share these day to day stories in a way that is fun (in relation to playing a PbP.)
This campaign is going to have individual communications going on in different situations that others in the party may not necessarily know about immediately--but that I would assume would be talked about over time as everyone learns to work together as team. So for these situations I am going to start threads for each player where we can communicate in settings not specifically related to the main campaign events. These will, in most cases, be situations that start out as private, but that I am assuming will not stay that way.
As I get to know the characters better and we develop a gaming relationship I will adjust what is shared based on what each character wishes to make available. Any items either I or the player would wish to be private will still be handled with PM's.
An example of what I am talking about is the post "INTRO: I was up above it--now I'm down in it." This is the intro description/focus of TWLD campaign. Not all players are going to have this information to start out with, but in the course of introductions during the first week of play, I am assuming that all these facts will be out on the table for whoever cares to know them. Some of the characters could care less, I am sure about the history and even about the why's and what's. There will be varied reasons why characters have chosen to work together and do this thing. But for those with an interest--you would be able to learn these things while getting to know each other. Trying to role play that would be boring as hell, however, so the best way to do this that I can come up with is just sharing all of it and letting each character pick what he or she cares to remember.
Ken-den and Kenken: Are two Celestial Living Constructs that are mostly level-based. I used a striped down Monk to create a class for them--as the party goes up in level they will too; using this modified class. The main exception to this is that their Hit Points are fixed except for the Con bonus. So each level they will progress with saves/attacks/skills/feats/etc as a PC would.
They are intelligent/free willed beings. They have an agenda--as long as that agenda isn't circumvented they are essentially a second character for the two players who control them. I don't want to create a "see if he will do this" question every time you want to do something--so the best option I can see is to let the player control him as he does his regular character. As we all interact together I am sure there will be some comfortable patterns we will all begin to depend on. That's how real life and role play life works :) Some thoughts on this:
They are meant to be indestructible to the extent that can be done--otherwise the whole concept of what they are wouldn't work. They are the product of a hyper intelligent angel (who has a knack for invention, design and engineering) who had untold millennium to work on a specific problem (how to contain these damaged beings in a way that would not fail over time.) This means they have a unique position in a party doing what you are doing. They can scout ahead without fear of running into something they can't run away from--and chances are good they will be undetected when they do run away (did you notice the Stealth skill stat?). They can spring traps without fear of dieing (unless it is a REALLY dangerous trap.) So given these things--I am not giving you them naively thinking you won't realize that they have a huge potential to be a very useful member of the party. I am sure you will think of ways to play them that I never dreamed of--possibly to the point that I may have to adjust some things--but that is ok by me.
The same thoughts apply to the Lantern Archons too. They are a great asset to both parties--not just because they are a well full of knowledge about the dungeon--but because they are competent creatures in their own right with great skills and powers. One thing you may have not figured out about the Archons--you basically have a complete map of the dungeon through them--including all secret areas. This is basically going to be a great big treasure hunt--you know the area--just have to find the things hidden in it...
This campaign is all about character development and interacting with each other--that is, in my opinion, where this game(DND or Pathfinder or whatever) is so much better and so much more fun than most games out there.
Use them--it's like love--never gets used up, just keeps growing...
Capturing the "damaged ones": Ken-den and Kenken have Blindsight and the Scent abilities to track the damaged ones--each damaged one has a mark that they can sense to be sure what they are. The spell like abilities (Banishment and Soul Bind) are used to capture the beasts. Banishment has a chance of zapping them right away--right into the prison (but with a save that is fairly easy to make). Soul Bind is much more powerful, but the creature basically has to be destroyed (soul released from material body) for it to work.
OOC Box for Special Info: Just a heads up, I will always post any items of interest (Treasure, Magic Items, Level up, etc) in an OOC box to make it easier to go back and find things in the posts--so if you ever need to refer back to something, you can focus on looking for this kind of info in the yellow boxes, which should be a big time saver...
Time in Golarion: Time travels on Golarion much as it does here on our own Earth. Sixty seconds form a minute, sixty minutes create an hour, and twenty-four hours make a day. The people of Golarion measure time much like we do as well, with seven days to a week and twelve 30-day months to a year. Years are marked since the founding of the last great empire, that of Aroden, the Last Man. Although the empire has collapsed, its calendar remains in use to this day. At the start of the campaign, the date is 4707 AR (Absalom Reckoning).
Days of the Week: The days of the week are as follows. Each day has a general purpose that most people in the Inner Sea region follow.
Moonday (Work, religion [night]);Toilday (Work); Wealday (Work); Oathday (Work, pacts signed, oaths sworn); Fireday (Work); Starday (Work); Sunday (Rest, religion)
Months: The months in Golarion correspond to our own, with each new year starting shortly after the solstice. You'll notice that the name of each month is etymologically tied to a specific god—residents of Golarion see the gods reflected in the changing of the seasons, and their names for the months reflect this. (Gozreh's month, for instance, is a time of budding and new life, while Zon-Kuthon's is seen as the death of the old year.) Holidays in a given month are generally tied to their patron deity. In order, the months are:
Abadius (January); Calistril (February); Pharast (March); Gozran (April); Desnus (May); Sarenith (June); Erastus (July); Arodus (August); Rova (September); Lamashan (October); Neth (November); Kuthona (December)
Time Tracking: Barring unusual circumstances, looks to me like morning "stuff" is going to average about 2 hours. This includes prep, workout, meditation/prayer, and eating (keeping in mind that Hero's Feast takes an hour to consume properly--the spell fails if this is not done). So we have 2 hours morning, 1 hour lunch, 11 hours Supper and Evening break (time for people to have lives/knit stockings/etc); that leaves roughly 10 hours per day for work at the office (5 after breakfast and 5 after lunch.)
This is a huge generalization, of course, as there will be times when you will not be able to follow such a simple pattern; I am just trying to set up a basic guideline to help me track events over time and leave room for all the simple things of life that need to be done but don't need to be role-played.
So for tracking purposes, I should be able to fit in 2 five hour bits per day and keep track of time fairly easily (which is why I'm going here in the first place.) I will be tracking time as a header on posts once we get moving--so anyone doing a journal or using the wiki can use that as a reference. Current start date: 10 in the morning; Moonday, 1st of Rova, 4708.
Upkeep: Fun means not having to worry about logging that Pig you killed and how much salt you have left. Or going to the bathroom. Or sharpening your dagger. I will assume, as long as regular breaks are taken, that there is a "between game time" when everyone takes care of all the mundane aspects of staying alive. You found that hidden cache of salt the goblins left behind...You skinned the pig and had a fine meal with a few of those weird mushrooms the cleric said he eats "all the time." etc., etc. We don't need to log this stuff--just assume it happens. I will be providing a few choice items for players to take care of many of these mundane processes. The exception to this is if the characters are in a situation where it can NOT be assumed this is easy to do. Like if you are a prisoner, for example. Or in a maze naked with nothing but cold stone and a shiver up your back. That's not to say these things can't be talked about at logical places. I just want you to know that I'm not logging belt notches to see when you pass out from exhaustion because you haven't mentioned eating in a few days.