3.5e / Pathfinder- Two Experienced Players Seeking an Immersive Campaign with a Solid GM!

Hey all. I've been around Roll20 for about a year or so. I'm not sure how long my buddy has been playing - but he's a walking encyclopedia of all things DnD. We've been in several campaigns together, and are now searching for a new one! I'm good with 3.5 and Pathfinder - my buddy is really digging Pathfinder, too Here's a bit about me. None of the stuff below is really a must-have in a campaign. Maybe it can just be used as a guide to see if we'd be the "right fit" for a potential campaign. AVAILABILITY: - For this thread, I'd very much like to start a game as soon as possible. Saturdays and Sundays work great for me until around September, where I'll likely be travelling a bit more on the weekends. Monday - Wednesday is always a safe bet. - We both live in CDT Time Zone. GMT-5. Available for any time of day on the weekends, after 6:30 CDT on the weekdays. ABOUT ME: - Relatively new to D&D and Pathfinder (About a year or so). I'd say that I'm moderate in terms of experience. A good GM would make all the difference. I'm an immersioner / RPer in MMOs, so I have a lot of "experience" with my preferred character's personae. I'm aware of the potential in RP for Meta-gaming, God-Moding, etc., and feel as if I do a very good job at not coming across that way. - I'm over 30, but my inner child pretty much runs the place! :P PREFERRED CHARACTER: - I do love to use a Psionic class. I spent a lot of time preparing a starting a 3.5 and a Pathfinder Psionic, and I'm very pleased with it. It kind of ties into the "personae" that I've been RPing with in the past. Again - not a deal breaker. I've played several classes. - My buddy is also considering a psionic. If we end up going that route, we have two very different characters that compliment each other nicely. Of course, we're aware of the potential for exploits, and we're very against exploiting unclear RAW (e.g.: exploiting the action economy). - I'd be willing to message some proposed character sheets to whomever would like to see them. Obviously, some changes may have to be made depending on the GM's method of character creation / point allotment, and interpretation of the variable rules of the class. - I have a fully-completed Level 1 character sheet for a few classes, and a very detailed backstory for my characters. - I'm not interested in a pre-made backstory (details and such needed in order to fit into the campaign are fine, but no "You're the bastard son of a rich nobleman." "You've been in the guard for 20 years. etc.). Immersion is important to me. Should you allow some of my existing L1 characters, you'd find that Roelon's story is very much within canon, and is very adaptable. I'm fine with some changes for the good of the campaign, but I have a general template that I would like to stick to. PREFERRED PLAYSTYLE:- - I'd prefer that the campaign spans multiple sessions. I'm down with one-shots, too. I'd just hope that a GM is willing to put in the effort for an immersive setting. In my experience, not many one-shots get that level of attention. - I'm not sure if playing with a large party is right for me. I've been in a party of 12, and it was a charlie-foxtrot. - Having only played a few games in the past, I'm not sure if these even needs to be said - but I'd prefer an RP-style game. I'd prefer to play with MATURE people. That's a relative term, of course, but it's important. Twenty-somethings and up comes to mind, but I don't want to be so limiting. - I'm ok with homebrew rules - but nothing too crazy. I'd prefer to stick with "normal" stuff. GM: - Immersion! That's a big one for both me and my buddy. Draw us into your world! Make us want to explore / fight / whatever. - Put a little effort into it. I don't really care if you have dynamic lighting or high-res maps, but I'm not really interested in looking at a blank grid / hand drawn stuff akin to MS Paint 90% of the time. (This shouldn't even really need to be said, but sadly, that was the experience I had some time ago.) - Not that knowledgeable? No problem! Like I said before, my buddy is a walking DnD encyclopedia! Anyway - feel free to message me here. I'l make sure I receive email alerts, and should be able to respond quickly. - Thanks! "Roelon Geraux"

Let's play! Any games tonight?

Well, I do my best to use graphics on my maps, but because of my very free-form GM style, hand drawn maps are often the case for the many combats I don't plan. I like to think I give a good sense of immersion- I enjoy RPing and having persistent NPCs as opposed to kick-in-the-door type groups, but my number one rule as the GM is to make sure players have fun, so if there's a little bit of immersion-breaking shennagins happening, I'm willing to let them happen. Those are the problems I foresee on your end. On mine, the only real worry beside those listed above is if your friend is heavily invested in the rules? Rules lawyers get under my skin- I use the rules as a guideline and if bending or breaking them means more fun for the group, I'll do it. So, what do you think?

What version are you talking about Gray, 3.5e or Pathfinder? As for the hand-drawn content, it's understandable that all games will resort to it at some point, especially when players perform actions that are unexpected and haven't been prepared for. The big thing is just that the overall game looks polished as opposed to being a spur of the moment campaign with the DM showing up 2 minute before playtime and scrambling to get content onto the world. As for rules bending, I don't particularly object to modifications, so long as they make sense and are reasonable, though I would prefer the ability to add input even if you decide to disregard it. A DM who suddenly decides that you can't flank if you are a rogue unless the enemy is arbitrarily facing away from you, or who rewrites the AC rules, or allows a player to do something implausible like pick up an enemy and break his back over his leg can get under my skin. It's one thing to whip up some custom damage rules for armor breaking or perform minor variants like magical healing instantly places you at above zero. It's another thing entirely to rewrite large sections of core rules for the game like giving a party fast healing or letting a player modify significant portions of their class features to suit their play-style. However, I do get really annoyed in a situation where a player has a clever tool or trick based on their class and uses it to overcome a plot obstacle and the DM rewrites the rules to prevent that mechanic from working in that particular situation so as not to reveal the secret. I don't think that situation is fun for anyone. Obviously, rules sometimes need to be created on the fly, such as someone who wants to jump off of a building and come down slashing at someone with their greatsword. In those situations, I am more than happy seeing an arbitrary skill check combination created to let that happen, so long as with any action, there is a possibility of success and a possibibility of failure.

Oh, yeah, that can be annoying when it comes to the silly rule modifications. And you'll be happy to know that I actually encourage clever attempts to subvert me. xD But I'm speaking of 3.5, actually. Now, I am a DM that makes things up on the fly, but I don't scramble. Nearly everyone I've DM'd is surprised to find out that I'm making things up as I go instead of having an actual plan. I do think of the game outside of playtime, and I'll have an aim of where I want to go, but, importantly, I'm planning not to really plan- as I encourage players to go and do as they please. Does this sound reasonable?

The best DMs usually do improv. :P But yeah, this sounds enjoyable. I'm willing to give it a shot. How long have you been DMing by the way?

Seven years. Add me up on Skype: TheGrayEight