[PF-1e] Troubles of Tarn

[Vaerdis]

Game Name Troubles of Tarn

Game System Pathfinder

Theme Occult Investigation

Flavour Crime Solving, Mysteries, Occult and Quasi-social

Plot Summary Tarn, as a nation, is secluded in the multiverse. A veritable island founded a millennia ago by planar wanderers but now exists as a town and a collection of villages by their descendants and those that have found the waystones by mistake. But the story is not about this flotsam of a demiplane. No, our tale is about the people whom exist there. The creatures of order and good that make this realm their home, and the happenings that are out of the ordinary, crimes that no laymen dares chase down. Youths as you are find boredom in the listless peace of Tarn that no mortal nation can feasibly war upon, you gather to hear the pleas of the traveling merchant by the name of Tobias Woodwurm. For his daughter has gone missing a week after traveling to the northern village of Mistbrook, a settlement of more than two hundred where no less than four persons have gone missing in the last month and the local militia lack either the manpower or expertise to follow any clues on what occurred. With the Duchess Seleca and her Wayfinder soldiers coming to town in a week to clear up the mess, there is only a brief window for you townspeople, you fledgling adventurers to find Tobias's daughter and discover the secrets of Mistbrook, and perhaps Tarn itself. This is a homebrew adventure to tide over anyone that wants an extra game to play over this season. This adventure should end around fifth level, but if need be can extend to later levels.

Information on Tarn Tarn is a demiplane home to near five thousand humanoids and a densely-packed collection of biomes one would find in any material plane. This means that villages that have clustered outside of the influence of the central city of Tarnus are focused on specialty goods and materials more than general farming.   Tarnus Population: Around 4000 Biome: Mountains and Hills Point of Interest: The Skytower The Tower: Tarnus, as the capitol city of Tarn is built around the central spire of this realm that could be seen with one's own eyes anywhere in this world, affectionally known as The Skytower. This is said to be the tower of the Arcanist Tesselsia, one of the six founders of Tarnus and the creator of the realm itself. Built atop a rocky mountain with brilliant marble steps leading up to its base, the tower is constructed to be entirely windowless and tall enough to pierce the clouds above like a needle. Those that have been in the tower for any period of time claim that there is no physical way to reach past the twentieth floor as the stairway seems to stop there and general use portals have been no help getting higher than that. For now the tower serves as the headquarters of the mage's guild of Tarn, though they teach others the arts of magic elsewhere in the city below. The Town: A city without walls built upon many bluffs and uneven levels, the people of Tarnus are as diverse as they come despite the limited population on the plane's founding. Most that have come here built upon the plane's population by arriving on sheer luck, and such is shown in the architecture where there is no consistent plan for the city itself as it was hobbled together from "proven" designs from all over the multiverse. The only thing keeping this place cohesive is the family of royalty that date their lineage to the realm's founding but they do not exactly point to any named founder to attribute their ancestry to. While the realm is not in threat of war, these royalty took it upon themselves to construct a specialized military class known as the Wayfinders, denizens of the realm that, through study and training know how to defeat extraplanar threats under the strong suspicions that the Outerplanes wouldn't leave any nexus of travel to the material plane alone. So far the attacks that are known have never reached Tarnus. For that the townspeople are tentatively grateful.   Feystead Population: 70-80 Biome: Forest, Enchanted Forest, Lakeside Points of Interest: Faekind Waycircle The Village: A hamlet almost entirely inhabited by a population of elves in the realm. Those that live in the dense nearby forests are druids and shapechangers gifted by the power of the faefolk that had spontaneously appeared a couple hundred years ago in the forest on the northern border of the plane. The druidic circle made a collection of standing stones deep in the forest that plausibly makes a waygate for those races with a fae lineage like the gnomish kind. Mistbrook Population: 200 Biome: Forest and Swampland Points of Interest: The Mistwood The Village: Built near to where the plane's boundaries are blurred most. Close to the edge of the world there is a dense curtain of mist that dissuades common folk from finding the way out of the plane. Here, however, the mist of the border seems to seep into the forests to the north and east of the village, and on some dreary days, the village itself. It has always been a dark place to be, where rumor and superstition manifests. Some worry of werewolves or vampires, but few have seen evidence of such things seeping in to this world.   Glitter Coast Population: 160 Biome: Desert and Sea Points of Interest: Obsidian Isle The Village: On the western coastline of Tarn is the spread out settlements that together make up the village of Glitter Coast. One of the only settlements known that survives off of the import of food from other places in the realm as the sand surrounding their villages is incapable of growing things due to the high concentration of shimmering rocks of glass that litter this coast. Off from the coast itself is a somewhat volcanic island that holds some of the only soil for growing things, but due to the size of the island, it is better used by the locals to extract rare veins of obsidian to trade for richer sources of necessities. Baywatch Population: 230 Biome: Desert and dry fields Points of Interest: Oracle Hill The Village: Baywatch, a village born out of necessity to farm for Tarn, and provide a decent supply of trade between Glitter Coast and Feystead. To the south of the village is a forest's supply of trees and to the north is a veritable vineyard stretching almost to Tarn's largest lake. The character of the town, aside from its industry is a marble and obsidian pavilion carved upon a cliffside before the village gives way to long tracks of desert sand. The pavilion built by the orders of some of the nobility many years hence was to be a viewing platform for his own domain, but years later it had gone mainly unused by nobles and became a location for squatters and desert madmen seeking refuge from the heat. This pavilion is now called "Oracle Hill" mainly for the strange proclivity of men that have gone mad in the desert to obtain visions of the future when peering at the endless sands. While these oracles are not looked upon kindly by the superstitious lot, they have been abused frequently by the nobility of Tarnus to see visions of prosperity or ruin.   Johnston Population: 120 Biome: Barrens Points of Interest: Statue of 'Gunslinger' John Blackstone The Village: Founded three hundred years ago by another world's outlaw, John Blackstone. On wandering into the realm this man had a run-in with a black dragon that ended with him the victor via the use of what some call a "magic wand" that no wizard to this day could figure out that serves as a relic to all the occupants of the village. Though John was human, he founded this border town for he was much of an outsider to this realm like any monster would be. Keeping with tradition of the town's founding, Johnston is a rough and tumble place serving the interests of a diverse group of planar settlers, such as the half-elementals, half-ogres, catfolk and even warforged of more sinister design. Most of what sustains this town in trade or food is the rather rare addition of cattle to this world. Stromwel Population: 300 Biome: Grassland, Plains Points of Interest: Chapterhouse of Tarn The Village: The most temperate and populous village in Tarn, a great deal of grain comes from the fields around Stromwel, as does wool come from their pastures farther in the east. The key feature of this village is the Chapterhouse. Hundreds of wanderers from all over the planes all worshiping goodly gods of many names have gathered together to study the natures of their own divines and form a unified purpose for the defense of this plane as self-declared knights of Tarn. While less well known than the Waywatchers the knights had, on the occasion responsibility for defending the realm from smaller, more fiendish incursions. Though the Waywatchers do not necessarily trust them for dealing with any other threats such as celestials that have threatened to take root that have gone by completely welcomed.   Agrafel Population: 150 Biome: Mountainous, Snowy Points of Interest: Iron Labyrinth The Village: Built in the warmer portion of the southern frozen wastes, Agrafel is built upon the mountain entrance to the realm's greatest contributor to mineral goods all contributed from a labyrinth. The Iron Labyrinth as it was called was once an endlessly flowing seam of ores that grew out of the earth like a root plant reaching for air. But centuries of mining beat back the flow of he abundance that seemed to threaten the softer ground heated up by Agrafel's first settlers. The mine itself became a fledgling city and a maze built of the living metal that the peoples dug into. Medlovan Population: 100 Biome: Arctic, Snowy Points of Interest: Barren Coast The Village: As far south as one can walk on land is the village of Medlovan. A mad place that hardened manfolk had decided to settle for the strange flow of abundant sea life from the coast that remained unmolested by the curtain of mist about this land. Food has been abundant, but the harsh environment and the appearance of outsiders friendly to the concept of the cold. Truly this is the best place to test oneself against one extreme of nature.

Character Creation Information Resources Allowed: All pathfinder resources on d20pfsrd, 3pp on a case-by-case basis, ask first Houserules: Here. Characters: Start at level two, with one trait, two if you pick a flaw. Stats are 20 point-buy. Start with 1500 gold for equipment. I am looking for 3-4 players, one of which must be a divine caster. Application Name: Race: Non monster races. The founders of Tarn were three humans, an elf and two dwarves, there should be an abundance of half-elves not typically found in the normal world. Pure elves are more rare, as are any of the other races. Goblins, orcs and drow that have wandered in were very unwelcome Alignment: Any non-evil (preference on good characters so the story doesn't fall off the rails, your character legitimately wants to help Tobias) Class: Description: Personality: Background: Your character is not an experienced adventurer, they do not need to be from Tarn as the waystones that could bring one person here require no magical skill to activate and are scattered about the material plane of the multiverse, so a warforged of Eberron can even be friends with a Tengu of Golarion. Leaving is a bit trickier but is achievable at any level so your character has at least found a reason to stay. Deadline: November 30th

[Touketsu]

Long time no see Vaerdis!

Fun concept; seems like RPGX is sorely lacking in Pathfinder games at the moment too. I might throw together an app for this over the weekend.

[ImperialProphet]

Application (WIP) Name: Dabri Race: Half-Orc (Overlooked Mastermind) Alignment: NG Class: Runesinger Fighter Description: Standing 6ft tall and weighing 250 pounds, the half-orc known as Dabri could absolutely pass for a typical member of his race, and the tattoos covering most of his body do little to discourage the notion. His physical fitness is evident at a glance, the short, loose pants and vest that he wears show off as much of his body as he can while maintaining dignity (and the utility of pockets.) He stands at ease, making eye contact and grinning at passerby. Personality: Dabri is a curious sort, driven by a sense of adventure and wanderlust constantly tugging him around the next bend or towards the next horizon. He is an optimist, greeting each challenge hopeful and upbeat. He is honest and responsible, despite the occasional rash decision. His reckless streak, warm disposition and forgiving nature, coupled with a tendency to be talkative and downright candid leads some to believe he is somewhat dull, and assumption the shrewd half-orc is all too happy to foster. Background: A relative newcomer to Tarn, Dabri comes from a remote part of the Material Plane. Called Gerne, Dabri's homeworld had a history of long dominance by one faction or another, periodically falling into an Age of Strife during the transitory times between ascendant factions. Dabri was was born to a human sorcerer and a half-orc paladin during the twilight years of the Age of Altanis, where his father's people held dominance over the world. He grew up in a small community, his parents responsible for the local inn. His mother taught him to fight and instilled in him a sense of what was right and wrong, and his father attempted to teach him the arcane arts and not to be so rigid as his mother. Soon after his sixteenth birthday the Age of Altanis ended and the Fourth Age of Strife arrived with the Great Blue Wyrm Ni'aphuhrsusunzursi'asuhirsiasusuhni'asi'anirsuhus irsuhrruhni'aili'asuhrsassi'asarun, The Queen of Storms. A pirate of the planes, Ni'a and her army razed the Altanian capital before the Wyrm cast it adrift across the planes. Recognizing the threat was beyond the scope of a pair of retired adventurers and their overenthused son, Dabri's parents led him on a journey away from the blue and her armies, and it was entirely by accident that the trio discovered a waystone and wound up in the woods north of Mistbrook on Tarn. The family settled in Stromwell, and for the better part of the last four years made the village their home. Dabri is less than enthused about the arrangement; fleeing war, a chance to use what his parents had taught him, to open another inn as far from conflict as mortally possible hardly seemed like the right thing to do. Dabri resolved to make his way back to the material, but upon arrival in Mistbrook he learned of the disappearance of the Woodwurm girl, and set aside his own desires to assist in the search and rescue.

3PP request: Drop Dead Studios Spheres of Might, specifically the Runesinger Fighter archetype.

edit: My post rate is 1/day Thursday-Sunday, and I try to post at least once Monday-Wednesday but it can be iffy.

[Vaerdis]

Originally Posted by Touketsu

Long time no see Vaerdis!

Fun concept; seems like RPGX is sorely lacking in Pathfinder games at the moment too. I might throw together an app for this over the weekend.

Hopefully this won't turn out like the game I picked up and had to re-invent on the fly. No more splitting the party.

Originally Posted by ImperialProphet

3PP request: Drop Dead Studios Spheres of Might, specifically the Runesinger Fighter archetype.

I will have an answer for you in roughly 9-10 hours, sleep is calling now. As a fighter the class wasn't as complicated as it could have been. I give the class a pass, you can use it and any materials needed related to the functionality.

[Touketsu]

Application Name: Halgrim Frieden Race: Dwarf Alignment: LG Class: Monk (Zen Archer) Description:   Standing at 4' 4" and weighing 180 lbs, Halgrim has a surprisingly lean build for a dwarf, though his overall appearance remains somewhat stocky. He otherwise possesses very few of the typical dwarven traits; with his high cheekbones, sharp nose, and shortly cut beard, he could easily be mistaken for a human if it weren't for his height. Halgrim has long, dark brown hair, which he keeps pulled back in a braid, and keeps his head shaved on either side. His eyes, a slightly dark and intense hazel, almost seem to light up when he's thinking, which is often. He has numerous tattoos; symbols of Halgrim's lineage, of which the dwarf is very proud. He is otherwise very plainly adorned, with no jewelry except for his silver earrings and a simple woven bracelet that once belonged to his grandfather. Personality:   Halgrim is a dwarf of singular focus and discipline. He is slow to anger, but quick to action, particularly in the defense of his allies. Whom Halgrim considers to be an ally may sometimes vary depending on the situation, but generally speaking, the dwarf will never abandon anyone who has proven themselves an honorable soul. He dislikes being in the debt of others, and takes his promises very seriously. Halgrim dislikes wanton violence, and believes in solving conflicts with words. At the same time, life experience has taught him that there are just some problems that all the discussion in the world cannot fix. To that end, Halgrim will never stand idly by when injustices are being carried out in front of him. Still, he is always willing to bide his time for the right moment; in his experience, the battle is never more important than the war. Background:   Disenfranchised in his youth by constant war that plagued his homeland and took the life of his father and mother, Halgrim bounced from place to place as a troubled orphan, until he eventually found peace at a monastery. What made this place different from the many homes and shelters he'd come to know in his travels is that his emotional turbulence, and therefore the root of his troubles, was met with wisdom and teaching instead of paltry soothesaying, or blind reassurance that the world wasn't all that bad. Halgrim was raised by monks; men and women of peerless vision who shared his distaste for tyranny, but equipped him with the mental and physical tools to do something about it. So it was that the young dwarf trained, learning to quell the anger in his heart through discipline and work ethic. There was a certain purity in his combat training in particular; taking something he'd only known to hurt, and making it about protection and enlightenment instead. About a decade passed, and Halgrim had come along nicely in his training, but there was still something he felt he lacked. So much of his formative years after childhood had been spent in the insulated environment of the monastery. He was happy, but he wasn't complete... he felt he lacked the world experience he needed to be capable of real, transformative wisdom. Besides, it seemed rather pointless learning to right wrongs and protect those in need when he was accomplishing precisely none of that. With the blessings of his new, old family, the dwarf departed on a journey of discovery. He spent many of the months that followed passing through villages that had been torn apart by conflict, helping the needy, and if necessary, unseating bullies, but there was still much of his training left incomplete; Halgrim had none of the real power or experience yet that his brothers at the monastery possessed. It was around this time however that the most remarkable thing happened. Halgrim discovered a waystone, and by way of its magic, he found himself in a new plane wholly unfamiliar. Coming to terms with the shift was an adjustment, but the dwarf couldn't help but marvel at this wonderful, mysterious little pocket dimension he'd wandered into. After exploring for a small time, he eventually settled down in the town of Stromwell. While there wasn't much work for a monk there, he enjoyed hearing tales of minor heroism from the knights of Tarn and their compatriots. Besides, he found he was able-bodied enough to help protect the various wagons of grain and textiles that found their way to some of the other towns and settlements in the realm, his favorite of course being Tarnus. Possessing a great deal of admiration for the Waywatchers and what they stand for, Halgrim felt driven to help Tarn and its citizens in whatever way he could; to devote his mind and body to walking a path in line with real heroes.

Post Rate: 5+ per week

[danab]

This does seem like fun. I may be new, but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring as well. How does a transmuter wizard sound?

[Vaerdis]

Originally Posted by danab

This does seem like fun. I may be new, but I'd like to throw my hat in the ring as well. How does a transmuter wizard sound?

Transmuter isn't a powerful choice, but at this level range it doesn't need to be.

[Shylocke]

Posting interest. Looking at making some sort of boiler-plate Cleric.

What sort of post rate are you expecting from your players?
Are the PCs expected to have any relationships with each other for ease of party unity or will that be handled in the intro? (Friends, acquaintances, co-workers)

[Vaerdis]

Originally Posted by Shylocke

Posting interest. Looking at making some sort of boiler-plate Cleric.

What sort of post rate are you expecting from your players?
Are the PCs expected to have any relationships with each other for ease of party unity or will that be handled in the intro? (Friends, acquaintances, co-workers)

I would love as high of a post rate as possible. I myself will be posting within a day of the most urgent player posts. But for the sake of other people's schedules and time I accept 2/week at lowest. This is supposed to be a game for people that have excessive amounts of time on the holiday season not being eaten up elsewhere. With any luck the adventure path would end by the coming of spring, or continue into a larger game thread thereafter depending on the players around at the time.

The player characters do not be friends with each other at the start. The intro to the game will be at Tobias Woodwurm's camp, all the players will be sitting around the fire hearing him recount the events of the day where his daughter went missing, as well as a description of the girl. It would make sense that the sympathetic strangers would group up there but if that doesn't happen I can improvise. But players certainly are not barred from having pre-game bonds.

[Tashakar]

Posting Interest as a Jotun with Jotun Paragon class, both from Rite publishing if allowed

[Touketsu]

Probably a dumb question, but you mention in the background breakdown that we aren’t playing experienced adventurers; should I take that to mean we don’t have much world experience at all? The history I have in mind for my character is that he’s sort of a war survivor who went looking for someplace tranquil because he was tired of pointless conflict, and he happened to find his way to Tarn. He liked it and decided to stay.

If that doesn’t work, I can rethink it a little.

[Vaerdis]

Originally Posted by Tashakar

Posting Interest as a Jotun with Jotun Paragon class, both from Rite publishing if allowed

I don't believe it will be useful in an investigation game, but if you aren't worried about being a low-priority pick, be my guest.

Originally Posted by Touketsu

Probably a dumb question, but you mention in the background breakdown that we aren’t playing experienced adventurers; should I take that to mean we don’t have much world experience at all? The history I have in mind for my character is that he’s sort of a war survivor who went looking for someplace tranquil because he was tired of pointless conflict, and he happened to find his way to Tarn. He liked it and decided to stay.

If that doesn’t work, I can rethink it a little.

As level 2, you neither have much combat experience or tumultuous social experiences. You've killed off some rat infestations by yourself, quelled some arguments, but your character has lived a somewhat peaceful life. It is possible that your character survived a war, but he likely wasn't a hardened veteran. He saw a battle and killed someone and had been running ever since.

[bookworm]

Sounds like a good game, I've been wanting try an oracle for a little bit and an investigative focused one will be fun. Availability is usually a post a day except Wednesdays.

Application Race: Aasimar Alignment: LG Description: Erida is slight of stature and stands a little over 5 ft tall. Her hair falls past her shoulders in red curls which she keeps away from her face with a loose headband. Her divine heritage can be seen in her amethyst eyes. She appears to have spent some time outside recently, going by the freckles and sunburn on her face. Personality: Erida is friendly person by nature and treats others with kindness. She views her powers as a gift and believes that fate guides her steps, towards she doesn't know yet, but it must be important. While her faith sustains her through hard times, it can make it difficult for her to relate to or comfort people who do not have faith. Background: Erida's birth was unexpected for her parents. They were not the most devout being primarily concerned with the affairs of their merchant business. They raised her in much the same manner as her older brother, though they did capitalize on the blessing of her birth to increase their business. As Erida grew and her powers as an oracle began to manifest it was clear that she would need the training and support of other divine servants as she grew in to her powers. After introducing her to the temple leaders in town Erida was insistent on studying with a cleric of Pharasma unable to offer a specific reason why, just that this was where she needed to start. Having recently reached adulthood, and been formally released from her training she departed her home town and headed south aiming for a well known temple of worship and study for followers of Irori. During this journey she stumbled upon a waystone to Tarn. Believing that fate would not have diverted from her studies unless she was needed she has remained in Tarn to see what work fate has in store for her.

[Morathor]

I'm interested and kinda digging the "restless youth" thing; I was pondering someone on the short-tempered and smashy side of things, but for the investigation emphasis would someone a little more thoughtful be more appropriate?

[Eviltedzies]

Just a friendly shout out, Vaerdis is an excellent DM with a strong penchant for social intrigue and a very active posting rate. (I'd say 1/day at minimum of all the other players post as well though I've had days were we went back and forth several times)

Whoever is chosen will not be disappointed I can assure you!