[PF-2e] Rondo of the Stolen Moon

[briar]

A traditional 'our story begins in a tavern'-style adventure in a homebrew world. ‎ In a small, out-of-the-way corner of the Divine Kingdom of Ashrim sits an inconsequential town that has seen its fair share of problems. Thanks to the disappearance of the guardian beast that once dwelt in the area, monster attacks have become frequent, and strange stories have been cropping up along the countryside. Missing people, strange howling at night, and even rumors of the dead roaming the land! With the domain lord too embroiled in court politics to care for 'rumors', and the local knights too busy scrambling to fill empty bunks with cheap soldiers, it seems there'll be no peace for the sleepy little hamlet. The only joy locals and travelers alike have can be found at the bottom of a pink in only watering hole for miles: Turnabout Tavern. And it is here, in this seemingly ordinary tavern, that adventures hitherto unsung are about to begin. -ˋˏ ─────────────────────────────── ༻❁༺ ─────────────────────────────── ˎˊ- ‎‎⚔️‎‎ Classic Adventure Fantasy A tale of swords and sorcery, of dungeons and dragons. Mystery, adventure, fame, and fortune await at the end of this road, with many challenges to brave along the way! Expect a variety of challenges, including both simple combat and advanced encounters, traps and puzzles to solve, and social situations to navigate. We'll visit dark forests, deep dungeons, and fantastical locales, and meet all sorts of people and creatures! Will you make more friends or more enemies? Will you slay monsters, or become dungeon fodder? Are you destined for fame and fortune, or for an early funeral? -ˋˏ ─────────────────────────────── ༻❁༺ ─────────────────────────────── ˎˊ- 🧩‎‎ An Episodic, Exploration-Based Adventure This game's purpose is three-fold: to learn a new system, to explore a part of my homebrew map that I haven't filled in much, and to run a mix of random adventures with some of my favorite classic content, including one or two classic and notable dungeons. Players will level up at the end of each major quest, which I expect to move fairly quickly (at least in terms of pbp) so we can play with more of the rules. -ˋˏ ─────────────────────────────── ༻❁༺ ─────────────────────────────── ˎˊ- 🧭‎‎ A Foray into Pathfinder 2nd Edition While I am a veteran of running both D&D 5th Edition and Pathfinder 1e, this will be my first attempt to try anything Pathfinder 2e. As such, I expect it will be a learning experience for me and others. This would be an excellent game for anyone who else new to the system who wants to dip their toes in.

About This Game System: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Posting Rate: 1-2 Posts / Week. # of Players Sought: 2-3 ( I have 2 players who are pre-accepted, which will bring our party to 4-5 total. They are: magicaltoadhunter (Harrow, the Halfling Ranger Outrider) Xyza (Character Options Undecided).   +2) App Due Date: I reserve the right to close down the advertisement early in the event of a lack of activity or too many applications to effectively deal with (~15-20). Feb. 15th, 11:59 PM PST Themes: adventure, classic, dungeons, episodic, exploration, fantasy, medieval, monsters, mystery quests Other Notes Downtime Options, Inclusive Atmosphere, LBTQIA+ DM, Newbies and First Timers Welcome, Plot-Driven ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────‎‎‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ Character Creation Application Requirements: Basic character details (name, ancestry, class, and background choices), as well as at least 1 paragraph of backstory and two personal contacts. More content is encouraged and I'd prefer that your character have a portrait. Other Information: Characters may have a history with each other, or can be independent, but must be willing to form a party, work together, and stay together. In the same vein, you can be a local or from Ashrim in general, or you can be from some other place, but you should at least be from one of the three continents of Versae. About Me Hi, I'm Briar, or something better known as Kae. I've been playing games for over 20 years, having made my start with Dungeons & Dragons 3.0. I've played and ran D&D 3.0, 3.5, and 5e, as well as Pathfinder 1e, and a handful of other systems. This will be my first attempt at playing PF2e. In terms of DMing style, I tend to lean more narrative focused and flexible. I like players who push the letter and do interesting things to players who race the enemy to zero HP or rely on the rules to make everything work. I like to think I'm fair, open, and rely more on interpretation and RAI than RAW. About Me ✿ World Lore ✿ Death Rules I'll be blunt: characters dying is super boring and incredibly inconvenient. I seriously dislike writing characters out, changing story elements to account for missing characters, or writing new characters in. Ergo, in this game, death is 'optional'. Rather, in the event of a character failing their death saves, players will have the option to choose that the character survive, but with some kind of debilitating/negative aspect for their trouble. I'll be the one to decide what this is, but examples might be that you lose an eye or a limb, gain a grotesque scar, receive a new mortal fear, lose a valuable piece of equipment, etc., or perhaps some other bad event occurs, like getting captured or something. Players can still choose to have their character die at some point, but please save it for something cool/important. Don't be obnoxious and give me extra unnecessary work, I make plenty of work for myself without your help.   Death Starting Level: 1st Options: Common Only Character Sheets: Optional Feedback: Per Request Do Not Roll Dice In This Thread ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────── ‎‎ ‎ ‎ Applicants Character • Player • Prog. Reeve ❀ Kaigen ❀ ✓ Ivora (Ivy) ❀ Europa ❀ ✓ John ❀ delpinator ❀ ✓ Dyrchaldr ❀ Amarga ❀ ✓ Omar ❀ Kepheren ❀ ✓ Meridus ❀ Soulstalk ❀ ✓ Morag ❀ wodine ❀ ✓ Fillian ❀ Vathe ❀ ✓ TBD ❀ Inuvash255 ❀ ? Skrittle ❀ abc123 ❀ ✓ Vesper ❀ DahliaHawthorne ❀ ✓ Mitzi ❀ ekidnu ❀ ✗ Moriel ❀ The Rat Queen ❀ ✓ Gartholomew ❀ MoldyNolds ❀ ✓ ✗: Withdrawn ?: Still Working ✓: Complete!

Applications Are Closed. Thank you for the interest!

[DahliaHawthorne]

Gasp! A 2e game! I've been itching to try the system out for a while now - definitely interested!

[Kaigen]

EDIT: After thinking about it, I decided to swap backgrounds to Bookkeeper to represent the work Reeve did before coming to Turnabout Tavern. He still works at the Tavern now, though, aided by some Alchemical studies.

Application Portrait created with Stardew Valley Character Creator by Poltergeister and Jaz Name: Reeve (he/him) Ancestry: Halfling Class: Investigator (Alchemical Sciences) Background: Bookkeeper Backstory Reeve grew up in a larger town in the Divine Kingdom of Ashrim, one big enough to have a library. He was a voracious reader from a young age, a habit his parents encouraged. He was also excellent at reading people, which his parents were less keen about. They hewed close to the traditional Halfling idea that the best thing to do was to keep your head down and pass beneath the big folks' notice, and seeing too much risked drawing attention. This clashed with Reeve's sense of fairness, but he didn't want his parents to be afraid, so when he sniffed out trouble, he did his best to address it obliquely with a sly word here and there or a nudge to the right person in the right direction. Reeve got work as a bookkeeper with a merchant concern, and after a while he began to notice discrepancies that pointed towards nefarious activity. He began to carefully leak information to local authorities and thought himself terribly clever, but he wasn't clever enough to keep the crime boss behind it all, known as a Cormorant Fisher, that he was a common element in every fraud that went awry. Realizing that the Fisher did not need to prove that Reeve was involved to send one of his birds to silence him just in case, Reeve high-tailed it out of town, eventually coming to Summerside and the Turnabout Tavern. Reeve got a job at the Tavern, helping Lynette keep the books and serving drinks for a few years now, keeping his head down and trying not to get involved. He still sees and hears so much working at the Tavern, however, and he's begun dropping hints and nudges to the local sheriff (see below). He's trying to be more careful, but there's a growing frustration with staying beneath notice that threatens to boil over. Why should he be the one who has to hide? Personal Contacts Faeldon, the local sheriff, has a tendency to come into the Turnabout Tavern when some criminal matter is troubling him. Somehow, after a drink and a conversation with Reeve, he always has a clearer idea of how to proceed. Torra, caretaker of the shrine of the guardian beast, has been a bit at loose ends since said guardian disappeared, and has been spending a bit too much time in the Turnabout Tavern as a result. Reeve has been plying her with a variety of mixed drinks in order to lower her alcohol intake without her noticing, but he's running out of ideas.

This is done for now, but if there is anything you'd like me to flesh out, Briar, I'd be happy to take feedback!

[briar]

Always a pleasure to see you, Kaigen ^^ Looking forward to what you come up with @Dahlia!

[Europa]

Exciting! I've dabbled a little in PF2E, but never gotten very far in a game. I'd love to get a chance to dig deeper.



Initial application:

Name: Ivora (or Ivy)
Ancestry: Human (probably Kalystrian, but undecided)
Class: Wizard
Background: Teacher

Backstory: Ivora Ageshi (Ivy to her friends) had plans. BIG plans. Was everyone in her fisher folk family married to the sea? Yes. Was she expected to follow in their footsteps? Oh yes. Was she tired of mending nets until her fingers ached and bled? YES. Ivy was going to be something bigger. Something grand. Something mysterious and magical. She was going to be... a wizard. She'd read stories. She'd seen the street magicians. She knew -- just knew -- this is what she was destined to be. So one day, she ran away. Stowed away on a ship bound for grand, glorious Ashrim, where she could enter one of the academies of magic.

Except... everything went wrong. The ship was torn apart by the angry sea (your fault, Ivy... stowaways are bad luck, you know!) and she survived only because she managed to climb aboard one of the lifeboats and showed she knew a few things about the sea. When she reached Ashrim, she'd lost what little money she had and the letter of recommendation she forged was easily recognized as a fake at the academy she took it to. Miserable and just wanting to go back home with her proverbial tail between her legs, she met a student of illusion magic, Roka Rodang, outside a dive bar where she was begging for coins. Roka helped get her back on her feet. Put in a good word for her with their mentor at the academy. And Ivy got her shot.

She was good at it. Too good, as it happened. Before long, she'd surpassed Roka. Their burgeoning romantic relationship couldn't survive Roka's jealousy and the lack of sufficient gratitude Ivy showed, and they became rivals. Roka sabotaged Ivy's work, turned teachers against her, and before much longer, Ivy was expelled for crimes she never committed. She was sent away without even her spell books, confiscated for her supposed crimes.

It's been twenty years since then. She's over 40 now (but don't ask her actual age) and already turning grey. Roka's treachery was never uncovered, Ivy was never forgiven. She's managed to put together a small spell book with a couple of spells she remembered, but these days she's resigned to living her life in this small town in Ashrim where she teaches the local children how to read and write and do sums and other such skills. She writes stories in her spare time, and frequents the Turnabout Tavern in her off hours. Sometimes she writes, sometimes she drinks. Sometimes she does both. But she's happy... mostly. She and Reeve, the local barkeep, who seems to be a pretty interesting fellow, have started a book club. Even if they're the only two members most of the time, it's nice talking to educated people.

But some days, more days than she'd like to admit to herself, she wishes that she could have one more shot at her girlhood dream. Could have those adventures she imagined all those years ago. But honestly, how likely is that to happen to a middle-aged barely-trained wizard-turned-teacher with an impending drinking problem?

Personal Contacts:

Roka Rodang (they/them): It'd be delicious if Roka made another appearance in Ivy's life and gave her an opportunity to confront those demons. I'm not super picky about what's happened to Roka in the interim, but I'd figure they're suitably devious and powerful and unscrupulous. Or maybe they've always felt guilty for what they did to Ivy and would like a chance to atone? Or why not both?

Shera Farris (she/her): She and her husband own the local general store. Neither one is very good at bookkeeping, and it's keeping their business from succeeding as well as it could. Her husband Jad is too proud and stubborn to learn how to do the job and he's too insecure to let Shera do it, so Ivy's been teaching Shera in secret until she's ready to tell her husband to suck it up and let her take care of the business. In the meantime, Shera pays her largely in favors from the store. A discount on items here and there, maybe first pick of the summer produce, things like that.

[delpinator]

name john carpenter
ancestry human
class fighter
background laborer(farmer)
backstory
John Carpenter was born into the rugged life of a farming family, his days from childhood spent under the vast, open sky on a farm nestled at the edge of a dense forest. The land was both unforgiving and fertile, teaching him the rhythms of the seasons and the unpredictability of nature. Life was a daily battle against the elements, but it was the threats from bandits and forest creatures that truly shaped his path. These dangers were not just about safeguarding property but about preserving a legacy steeped in generations of hard work.

As John grew, so did his resolve to protect his home. He adapted farm tools like pick forks and axes into weapons, learning combat from travelers and mercenaries. His turning point came during a fierce winter raid, where his defense of the farm redefined him from a simple farmer to a guardian. Now, his life is split between tending the land and preparing for conflict, his reputation growing as both a cultivator and a warrior. His journey from laborer to fighter was driven by necessity, ensuring the Carpenter name would continue to thrive under both sun and stars.

John Carpenter has a younger brother named Samuel Carpenter. Samuel also grew up on the farm but took a different path, focusing more on the intellectual aspects of farming like crop rotation, soil science, and animal husbandry. While John became the muscle and shield of the farm, Samuel became its brain, ensuring its sustainability and growth through knowledge rather than force.

John has a romantic interest in Elise Miller, a woman from town. Elise is known for her healing skills and herbal knowledge, often visiting the Carpenter farm to trade remedies for farm produce. She's become an integral part of the farm's community, helping not just with John's injuries from his battles but also in keeping the family healthy during tough times.

[Kaigen]

@Europa I'm always happy to build connections with other PCs! I would imagine that Ivora and Reeve are two of the most book-educated people in town, so I could see them having intellectual discussions over drinks.

[Kepheren]

Oh, interesting. I've not tried Pathfinder 2E yet. Let me look over the rules for character creation and work up a concept for this. Thanks for posting it.

[Amarga]

Dyrchaldr Name: Dyrchaldr (often just called Dyrch, pronounced like Dirk) Ancestry: Wood Elf (Sindallarii descended sylvan elf) Class: Barbarian Background: Hunter Backstory: Ever since Dyrch had first opened his eyes, the sylvan elf had felt a fire in his veins and a fury in his soul. His people were a wandering folk, haunted by an ancient and distant heritage that few could even recall, they walked the wild places of the world with rage slumbering in their hearts. Dyrch may be a distant descendant of that ancient Sindallarii, but he felt the same fire in his core. He had walked his days restless and plagued by a sort of anger that he always struggled to sate, the sort of things he saw etched into the faces of his kin as clearly as the markings that were etched into their skin. He began to hate them. The bitterness that lurked in their hearts, as deep-rooted and powerful as the fey magic that left them so often at odds with the settled lands around them stirred all the stronger in Dyrch as the years passed. Dyrch began to hate that, too. He left his folk to be free to their constant bitterness, their lost expressions and desperate clutching for meaning. The elf wandered the forgotten roads until he became weary enough of his travels to stop for a few years. So he haunts the woods around the Turnabout Tavern, bringing in wild game and only occasionally harassing travelers. Personal Contacts: The Locks: The Locks are a local butcher family who often take Dyrch’s wild game. Dyrch has gained a grudging respect and affection for the family. The mother, a pleasant matronly woman named Elda, is joined by her husband and five children. It’s gotten to the point where a couple of the younger children, the sons Poplar and Dirk (Dyrch is aware of the name and avoids acknowledging how proud he feels to have been honored in this way), have started to range further into the woods in imitation of the elf. Dyrch struggles to manage this strange relationship, feeling a debt to the kindness of Elda and her family, while trying desperately to avoid becoming too attached to the humans.

[Soulstalk]

Hello, new player here. Is this game filled up? I would love to join if there is a free space. Also, I don't have the PF2e corebook, but I have read the PF2e remaster book. Can I use the remaster book for this game?

[Kepheren]

Omar Name: Omar (he/him) Ancestry: Human (Gholic) Class: Fighter Background: Gladiator Description: A tall, powerful mountain of a man, Omar stands a little over six foot five and is broad across the shoulders and chest. His expression is usually careworn and suspicious since life hasn't been exactly gentle with him. There is nothing particularly handsome about him. He is built for power and endurance, not to be decorative. His body and face carry numerous scars from his previous life. Judging by appearances most people would guess him to be in his forties, though truth be told he hasn't yet turned thirty. The life of a gladiator wasn't an easy one and it seems to have aged him beyond his years. He is slow to trust but around those he trusts he is a stalwart friend and a gentle soul in a giant's body. History: Omar settled in the area a few years back. Before that it was said that he was a slave in the gladiator rings in a land far away. Gaining his freedom he traveled as far away as he could, using the last of his prize money to buy some land and a flock of sheep, hoping that the simple life of a sheppard would suit him better than having to kill people for a living. Things were fine for awhile till the most recent turmoils. His flock was lost to monster attacks and predators. His home has become rather run down since he can't afford upkeep without the flock. Now, with his money exhausted he needs to find a way to support himself and save his little plot of land and the pastures that lay beyond. The only option seemingly open to him is to gather his weapons and return to the warrior's life. Only this time on his own terms. Personality: He was taken as a slave while young so it was all he knew in his formative years. Growing up among the gladiators hardened him beyond what one of his tender years should have had to endure. Instead of becoming callous and cruel as so many did he instead withdrew from all but a very few whom he learned to trust. He killed when he needed to in order to survive but never enjoyed it as some did. Instead he regretted every death and dreamed of a simple life, far away from all the mindless violence. Deep down he is something of a philosopher with a penchant for pacifism when circumstances will allow. Sadly, this new turn of events wont allow him the luxury. Now the only option he seems to have left is to don his armor, gather his weapons and try to defend whats his and the rest of the village. If he must resort to violence again it will be because of necessity and to help others rather than to entertain the crowds. He seeks comrades with a similar mind set to join him in this quest. Personal Contacts: In his time here Omar has managed to make a couple of friends in the village: 1) Garvey Tuttle is a priest to Luca Lorei and operates a small shrine in the village proper. The cleric took notice of Omar and understood the large man's inner turmoil. Over time they got to know each other and became fast friends, drinking often at the tavern and discussing the recent chaos going on around them. Both have wanted to help both their neighbors and themselves and recent events are starting to force their hands in this direction. Due to Garvey's influence Luca is quickly becoming Omar's Goddess of choice if he had to pick one. 2) Amelia Weaver, a local widow and well regarded weaver, hence the name. She is semi retired but was still buying the wool Omar could produce from his sheep and weaving it into finished goods that she sold in town. Like many older ladies in villages of the time she loves to gossip, play matchmaker and play a mother figure of sorts to anyone that will listen. She is a good hearted soul and has taken a liking to Omar and will offer him advice anytime he is willing to sit still long enough to listen. He in turn has grown quite fond of her and will gladly spend what time he can in her company. She, and Garvey as well, have helped him feel a stronger connection to the village and that is part of why he seeks so ardently to defend it.

[briar]

@Amarga: As noted on the Elves of Versae page under the Sylvan Elves entry, True Elves are not a playable race. That would be like starting you out as an Elder Wyrm dragon. But you're welcome to be a Sylvan elf (ie a normal elf) descended from a Sindallarii, and might inherit some of their tattoo-like markings.

@Soulstalk: I see you're also new to the forum, in which case: welcome to RPGX. If no one has told you yet, then I'll explain what's going on. This game, like many others you'll find here, are advertisement/application-based, which means anyone can apply to it, and then at the end of the advertisement's run-date, I'll choose players/characters from that pool based on the party's needs and other preferences. It is not first-come-first-served.

If you're still interested, please feel free to post a character applications like others here have done using the information in the Character Creation section of the first post.

As for your other question, the 'Remaster' is fundamentally the same as the base form of PF2e, it just reoganizes and restructures a lot of things. I take most of the information I run with from the Archives of Nethys, which lists that it uses the Remastered rules, but I don't think there will be a lot of issues. We'll cross that bridge when and if conflicts arise between the two versions.

@Kepheren: I typically use Flickr to store images I plan to use here cause you can select to resize the image when you get the BBC code share link. (PS: you can copy just the file url by selecting it and hitting ctrl+c with the mouse button still held down).

@Kaigen: Saw your note requesting feedback. Will get some in tonight!

@Everyone: Please let me know when you're at a "finished" point, otherwise I won't know. I don't like guessing, so I need you to blatantly tell me.

[Amarga]

Whoops! I always meant for him to be a Sylvan elf, I've edited it to be more clear

[briar]

[delpinator]

Mine should be complete pending any feedback. I did vanilla mechanics hoping to learn the system. Even used the trope to be able to fully let the story help guide the character from basic life to learning of magic and monsters.