i will /out bc i don’t think i can do the game due diligence sorry arete
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yeah! (sorry, I misinterpreted what you were asking). I think @Geyde was also putting together some thoughts on potential ideas, but here are a few that I think could be generally interesting:
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Brevoy: Civil War
- Context: The country of Brevoy has spent the past couple hundred years being kind of two different kingdoms who hate each other in a trenchcoat. The royal family, House Rogarvia, had managed to keep the peace… until, a few years ago, every single member of the ruling family vanished for unknown reasons.
- The premise here involves the peace devolving into a civil war in Brevoy, primarily between the two “halves” of the country but with various smaller factions as well. The PCs can choose to side with one faction or the other, work with a smaller faction, or ignore all the factions to pursue their own interests; regardless, the PCs will likely end up doing a mix of ‘recruiting allies within Brevoy’, ‘travelling to Brevoy’s neighbors to recruit allies there’, ‘solving problems directly caused by the civil war’, and ‘solving problems caused by the fact that many of the people who would ordinarily be handling them are, instead, busy with the civil war’.
- I intend to keep the focus here away from mass combat (i.e. army scale), even though obviously there will be some mass combat happening offscreen as part of the civil war, because the mass combat rules are not great.
- (* The Vanishing happened in 4699. The “current year” as of 2026 in the Pathfinder universe is 4726, advancing at a rate of one in-universe year per real life year, but this campaign would be set a bit earlier, probably around 4704, with part of the premise here being that the civil war happened sooner than in “canon”. (I just feel like it’s not quite the vibe I’m going for if it’s been an entire generation since the Vanishing.))
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Cheliax after Aroden’s Death
- Context: About a hundred years prior to the “present day” of the Pathfinder setting, the god Aroden, an ascended human who was supposed to return and usher in an “Age of Glory”, instead died. This caused a number of problems throughout the world; in Cheliax, the country where he’d been scheduled to return, massive flooding destroyed the harvest, many clerics lost their powers, and the country eventually descended into a bloody civil war (which had a very bad outcome). Also, prophecy (magic enabling the gods and some mortals reliably predict the future) stopped working.
- The campaign would most likely start shortly before Aroden’s death, but it could also potentially be set a year or two later (after the most immediate disasters had been resolved, and before the Chelish civil war kicked off, but still with a number of problems to deal with). Depending on the party’s interests, it would likely include some political intrigue elements (as various ~factions vie for influence now that the Church of Aroden is collapsing). Either way, it would involve themes of trying to protect as much as you can during a cataclysmic disaster that by default is likely to go very, very badly.
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The Mortal Sciences of Lepidstadt
- Context: The country of Ustalav is, like, super haunted. Incredibly haunted. Most of the inhabitants are living (it’s not the country that’s ruled over by undead), but the undead are a frequent threat. The University of Lepidstadt, within Ustalav, focuses on the “mortal sciences”, especially medicine, mathematics, and science (though these include some things, like alchemy, that are not entirely standard on Earth). The basic premise here is that the PCs are hired on to conduct field research on various dangerous locations and creatures (with the very first introductory-level-1 plot partially serving to give a connection to the university) (although people who want to play university-affiliated characters could also do that). Will involve themes of ~scientific progress, except that (a) it’s, like, the fantasy late 1700s/early 1800s, (b) “science” is understood to encompass some though not all forms of magic.
- Explore various incredibly haunted ruins! Fight undead and also other things! Encounter conspiracies of vampires and so on!
- Although the premise here involves assisting with university research, the various places you visit would definitely have plenty of non-university-research things going on as well.
- There may be some steampunk elements here
- This would likely have somewhat more of a linear structure than the other options, which might be a minus or a plus depending on your personal preferences.
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well i wish there was a clear answer all of these are really cool
hm
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1>2>3 for me, but my main interest in 2 isn’t around aroden themselves
For me, it would be:
1 >> 3 > 2
I can work with anything, but I heavily favor the Civil War. It really feels like home to me, considering my interest in action scenes. One downside would probably be that -because I would have too much agency- I would probably have decision paralysis in the beginning. (Once I’ve set my mind on something though, then there should be no problem.)
I wouldn’t know what to protect in Cheliax, considering (1) I haven’t made a character yet and (2) I -the player- am unattached to Cheliax or any disasters that may befall upon it. I have the least ideas of what to do in this story.
University of Lepidstadt is okay. I recently finished my bachelor degree, but I guess I don’t mind going back to uni. (Especially since it’s fictional.)
Fighting undead… I can’t say I dislike it, because I know I will love having my character fight anything, but I can’t say I would choose this over Civil War either. The undead just feels… generic? In Civil War, you fight sentient humanoids who fight for a purpose, but typical undead are like… mobs in a game. It makes sense considering the intent of the plot is to introduce players to Pathfinder, but theme-wise… it’s okay.
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I feel like the reason why Cheliax feels unfavorable to me -despite it also having a civil war- is because the main context is not actually civil war. A lot was written about how Aroden’s death causes disasters, which is why the theme revolves around “protect whatever you can protect”. But uh… Why? Why should I care about the disasters that befell upon a country I am hearing about for the first time?
In Brevoy’s case, the context was given properly: Country was effectively split in two, but upheld by one House. House members disappeared, thus civil war ensues. I could (1) choose a faction to fight for; (2) discover the mystery behind the Vanishing; (3) recruit allies from neighboring countries. These are reasons why I would be invested in Brevoy. These are options presented in the summary. (Well, except [2]. That one is my personal option.)
In comparison, what does Cheliax have? “Disasters happened because of the death of the god prophesied to bring the Age of Glory. There is a civil war going on for reasons untold (presumably power struggle) among unknown numbers of factions. Your goal is to protect… ‘whatever you can protect’.”
…it just ain’t the same. The background context of the world is given, but otherwise there is no common goal shared among players –whom I assume will have different backgrounds. “Protect something” is too vague for me to get invested into Cheliax. I need prefer a clearer objective, e.g., protect the crops from future floods (somehow; probably through agricultural engineering); protect the citizens from the civil war’s power struggle; protect the clerics who have lost their powers; etc.
Given the timeline presented, this is Cheliax right before the civil war that ultimately leads to the current day ruling power, House Thrune, rising to power.
See, the issue with Aroden dying is as Arete said, prophecy became not 100% reliable - and Cheliax was destined to usher in an Age of Glory that is now Not Happening. And now that the King lost his legitimacy due to this, smaller noble houses begin challenging him, which is why the civil war sparks in the first place.
Given this civil war lasts 30 years I don’t think a hypothetical campaign would cover it all, but the main thing that does happen as a result of House Thrune rising into power is the presence of diabolism snaking its way through Cheliax. So, in short, the thing that’s going to happen is that people start turning towards various unholy benefactors and this Causes Problems, especially as it spreads among the clergy.
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admittedly, I am not Arete and don’t know how far we’d go into this, so I could be wrong on their plans for it
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for my two cents, I think I’m feeling 2 > 1 > 3
I think Cheliax is just a really interesting setting within the world (I mean… enough for me to run Hell’s Rebels for nerdcord) so
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this
See, these would have been good to know… if they were written in the original summary.
Personally I wouldn’t change my order though, because from these informations alone the main reason why I would choose Cheliax would be “if I really hate demons” …which I don’t. Because I see them as fine plot devices. (I.e., “These creatures are evil, so you go kill them.”)
On top of that, I don’t… feel much attraction towards a country where the king’s authority relies on prophecies.
imagine relying on prophecy and it not coming true. you must suck sooooooo bad.
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this is a good selection no notes on additions
1 & 2 are about equally good in my eyes
No see
Imagine relying on a prophecy and being the literal first guys for it not to come true for
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3 > 1 > 2 for me
I will still help people build their characters but this is a good reference
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while 39 pages may seem intimidating it’s an easy read
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Does anyone have any specific class ideas in mind? I’m fairly certain on my pick but I’d like it to align with everyone elses.
I was thinking of fighter
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