Iron Gods

This is the Iron Gods adventure path, starting with part one, ending with part 6. I currently have parts one and two in my possession, and have a subscription to get the rest as they are released (appears to be monthly). This adventure path takes 1st level adventurers to start, ending at 4th level by the end of part 1. Given that there are six parts, there is plenty of room to go from there :).

What to expect

Iron Gods is somewhat of a archaeological dig environment, where you are digging up long abandoned advanced tech (approximately 9000 years old) rather than forgotten ancient treasures. Technology is known, but very rare and sometimes very fragile. I don't mean your objective is to dig, but that the general environment is that there is ancient technology scattered about that nobody knows anything about yet

Do I need to own the appropriate rule books to play?

I'm not Paizo... I don't really have the ability to enforce such a rule, either. Personally, I'd rather you support Paizo and buy whatever material you're going to be using to build and maintain your character, but I can't enforce that in this environment.

What materials are allowed?

All core rulebooks (Adv races, classes, ult combat, magic, equipment, as well as the technology guide and "people of the stars"). Beyond that, I won't disallow it without taking a look... so if you have an idea, float it by me, and if it doesn't break things - go for it! I will say, though... with People of the Stars, the races there are off-limits with the exception of the android. They seem a bit unbalanced (Lashunta with 30' telepathy? ). The android I'll allow because you will be dealing with them, and if you deal with them, you can play them as far as I'm concerned. Also, Paizo has generously provided some free goodies (a Player's Guide) for this AP, which you can download here.

Will you use Hero Points?

Absolutely. It always sucks to lose a beloved character due to a bad dice roll. Hero points give you the ability to save your bacon when you really need it. Personally, I'd also like to see how the various HP feats work (should you choose to use them).

How many games have you run?

I'll be honest - I haven't run Pathfinder before. I've run a few 3.5 games, though, and would like to get my hands dirty with PF. I've played a bit as a player (a few weeks with PFS), so I'm starting to get the rule changes down, but it's possible you may need to let me know if I'm doing something wrong because I expect it to work one way in 3.5 and didn't realize PF changed it.

GM Style:

I tend to play a challenging game. I encourage clever solutions to any problems, and you may well run into encounters you are not likely to fight through. Sometimes it could be smarter to talk or bluff you way out of something than to fight, or to simple run away and avoid the area. If you encounter something beyond your potential skill level don’t expect to kill it just because you think I will go easy.

Quote

“If it looks too powerful to kill it probably is”

I am still kind of new to pathfinder but have many years of RPG behind me for 3.5. I try to stick to the rules as close as possible there will be times I Have to make judgment calls if I don’t know the immediate ruling, but if you are familiar with the ruling please inform me and provide me with a link to the rule so I can review it for further gaming experience.

What if I'm joining late?

You will join with a level and equipment value matching a random character from the party (could be lower than others if effects like raise dead are used, otherwise will be about the same with everyone). Take a look at the starting gold section of the player's handbook for whatever level the party is at. Purchase material from the allowed books above with that starting gold, with total value of any single item not to exceed some amount to be decided prior to joining.

Additional Notes

• Starting Level: 1st Level
• Level Progression: Medium (Experience is awarded normally per encounter rating)
• Class Restrictions: None
• Alignment restriction: No Evil
• Campaign planned level Progression: Level 15+
• Race Restrictions: Core books are guaranteed, float ideas from other books by me first
• Traits: As usual (two traits, core books allowed, plus the AP player's guide traits (highly recommended - specific to this adventure, bonuses possible, etc :)))
• Starting Stats: Rolled in roll20.net using "heroic" method (2d6+6) for three stats, standard (3d6) for the remaining three (hopefully to produce "good" characters with possible drawbacks, and nobody is a carbon copy of anyone else)
• Character Wealth: Standard rules
• Background: All players are required to provide a brief story of around 100-250 words and relate to the world as close as possible. A good background may grant additional Hero Points as per the core rules.
• Hero Points: Each player starts with 1 hero point per level. No player will have more than three unspent hero points at any time. Familiars, animal companions, NPCs, and similar will not have hero points.
• Template Restrictions: Core rules allowed within level limits (ie, if someone joins at party level 3, a level+2 template is allowable)
• Missed sessions: Experience is awarded each encounter, so missed encounters translate to missed experience (and bonus experience for those that participate). Bear in mind this may also make some encounters more difficult, but hey - we've got Hero Points, right? :) Division of the loot is up to those players participating to decide (meaning I will not get involved).
• Treasure: I award treasure each encounter. Players are responsible for tracking their treasure (if nobody writes it down, then it was left behind).
• Resurrection Spells: Core rules apply
• Downtime: This game will continue on its normal progression; however, there will be times when characters level up and other non-essential portions that gives players a chance to craft items or go through training to level up. Average downtime depends on players motives, and there is a minimum of 2 weeks for each level obtained. This is in game time not real life time so it may actually take less then an hour to pass time unless there situations that players need to address in game, e.g. crafting, leveling, planning etc.
• Macro Commands: Please use macros to help increase efficiency of the game. You can find additional information on macros here. Easy rolls are made by adding brackets [[1d20+number]] Shortens most large numbers taking up chat area.
• Token Labels: Tokens are Green= HP / Black = AC / Blue = Elevation from ground