Aurora Nocte 2: An Adventure Anew

Please note: This listing is only up for the off-chance someone really REALLY impresses me. I'm not really planning to invite another player, but I decided that I'd at least look to see if I am missing the "right" person. No offense meant to all you I won't pick :)

The party looks to make it's fortune in the continent of Iatica.

What happens when a world is torn asunder by a chain of killings followed by demonic invasion and then rumors of a much more mundane, but also more terrible, invasion?

What happens in an open world, rife with adventure, where free-roam is encouraged and ambiguity stretches further than the eye can see?

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, shapes, and sizes, that... THAT is what we gather together to answer. Sit back a moment and let me spin you a tale of the intrigue, desperation, and adventure that is the life blood of my pride and joy campaign: Aurora Nocte.

In the far west, the many nations of the continent of Iatica are in turmoil. The vicious northern tribes of the Curac Skal are said to have been unified by a monstrous creature known only to a few as "the Hettman", though most refer to him as "Skal-lord". In the frozen wastes of the Innsko tribes, old feuds are set aside as new threats loom on the horizon, hurtling the old ways on a collision course with mysterious new technologies from the East. In the hills and plains of Kivgorvski, the Tsar-Citizen readies his Hussars to send a punitive force to the Freeholds in response to whispers of a terrible threat, the "Aurorian Empire". In their mountain kingdom of Avidya, the monk-worshippers of Madroben ready their zealots in silence, looking towards the revolt-wracked and decaying Tenma Authority, who cannot seem to decide whether Man, Emperor, or the Dragons themselves grant the right to rule. Ebatana and Freuc Scioncia face off again in another batch of the endless dispute that seems to forever keep them in the shadows of their larger neighbors, though they are more alike than they ever desire to admit. The Grandmaster-Inquisitors Kimbrobad eye the excesses of the Matvarran Rajas with distaste, and start long conversations behind locked doors.

It is the excesses of the Rajas, however, that have caught many an adventurers eye. There are nine ruling dynasties, forever competing to be named the Chakavanraja, Supreme Leader and Avatar of all Matvarran peoples. This is a land ripe with opportunity for those with the right mindset, and a certain amount of skills. Whatever brought you to this land, be it gold, fame, opportunity, or the sheer ill-fortune of being born in the region, here you stand, caught in the deepening clandestine maneuverings between the nine mighty houses and their endless sycophants.

The story so far:

A lot of shit has happened, and a lot of people have sadly come and gone through the campaign. I'm going to skip the past year's worth of wandering and minor-questing and get to where the current party is at right now:

At level 9, the party is now one of the strongest independent forces that have no guild, national, or political alignment in their current region. While many paths lay open to them, there is little binding the party beyond a lack of better company, and some shared experiences. They are at a crossroads of deciding who they want to be, and what they want to do.

Here are some of the options the party have:

1) Help the Kivgorvski Tsardom destabilize the Matvarran Rajas in preparation for an invasion.

2) Reforge the 3000 year old undead King Alrin's kingdom, taking land from both the Tsardom and the Rajas in the process.

3) Find a new homeland for the Curac Skal tribesmen/women, who have fled thousands of miles to escape the clutched of a tyrannical and mystical "Hettman"

4) Help the enigmatic, cannibal, socially inept Lord "Crackle" find the Horn of Wonders, said to grant any wish (even if it is probably cursed).

5) Go kill a LOT of orcs. Cause I mean, that never really gets old. And before y'all go "das wacist" half the Tsardom's officer corps are also orcs, so there.

6) Go monster/bounty hunting. I.E. the party discovered the very first werewolves.

7) Travel to a different continent and see what sights there are there.

What you need to know:

1. You will be ECL 10. Level Adjust buyoff is allowed.

2. No BoEF allowed, sorry. You bloody pervs...

3. You will be able to use homebrew. Run it by me though.

4. This is open-world sandbox with a LOT of extensive lore. As such, there will likely be a lot of information. Each city can hold a campaign if you want it to, and there are hundreds of cities. Most of the stuff I will make up as I go from a base-lore I have of the region, but no matter what, if you guys travel a bunch, which you will, you are going to generate a lot of information. I will try to make handouts for everything, but it might not be timely... I've a life to live as well :)

5. I am comfortable with a lot of topics, but this isn't murderhobo sexslave land. If you want to start a brothel chain, fine. If you want a hardcore RP session on what goes on IN said brothel, wrong place.

6. Be advised that this might turn into an Evil Campaign. It was based on the story of an CG assassin, but that guy is long gone and in a world I devise... a lot of things can happen, and you might find yourself fighting on the wrong side without even knowing it. I don't plan on an Evil Campaign, but I am prepared for Evil characters. You should be prepared too. And if the party does choose a warpath... well they say "war is hell" for a reason. (Obligatory MASH comment of "War is worse than Hell" here).

7. Any alignment is allowed except Chaotic Evil. The party is leaning more towards "running the thieves guild" than "arresting" or "murdering" the thieves guild. So pretty standard faire.

8. Character generation specifics to be handled later. What is most important is a great backstory.

9. RP/Combat ratio = Fluid. Depends on what the party decides. We finished part of a dungeon a while ago and the party has been on a mostly RP binge the past two months. I expect a lot of combat upcoming, though. Be prepared with a character that is useful in both situations, though don't feel forced to do anything!

10. IF I think a Great Wyrm should live in that mountain over there, a bloody great wyrm lives in that mountain over there. IF a bunch of level 1 PCs wanna walk into that mountain, the bloody Great Wyrm of DOOOOOOM will be there waiting for you. However, the opposite is true. You walk into an halfling home, it isn't gonna have frodo and the ring team waiting to fight you... probably.

11. We will be using an e10 system, where you level up to 10th level normally, then afterwords you stop leveling, but you can use EXP to buy feats, attribute increases, higher level spell slots, whatever we deem appropriate. Not sure how we feel about this, and we might go back to normal progression soon.

12. We've had a lot of people come and go. As such I'll just reiterate: I'm not looking for anyone in particular, I'm just opening myself to the possibility that some new blood may make the game more enjoyable.

13. For Posterity: We have 1 support caster, 1 necromancer, and 2 Melee DPS (one is tanky and one is more AoE damage). I'm not a big fan of sharing this info, but I understand some people only want to play certain classes, or will want to not "double up" on a role.

14. I'm leaving the country in April for 2 years, and I've no idea if I'll be able to DM while I'm gone. So expect this to only last 2 months or so, with a slight potential for longer.

15. While we've been going for about a year now, the party hasn't picked any plot to really follow. They've been more or less doing one or two missions then moving on. As such, my world is currently "wide" but it isn't too particularly "deep". I got a moderate amount of info about a lot of topics, in other words.

16. Time of the session is a tad fluid, sometimes we start a few hours earlier, sometimes we have to play a day later, but for the most part it is as it stands. (In case you don't know, it is 7pm Mountain Time on Fridays)

What I NEED from you:

1. Tell me something interesting about yourself.

2. Are you old enough to drink? If not, are you old enough to drive? (Simply for my expectation of your maturity, which may not be tied to age, but eh)

3. Why do you want to experience a sandbox world where you can literally go anywhere and do anything?

4. Example of a bitchin character you've had, a fun time you've experienced, or a cool character you've thought about playing.

5. WHO do you want to play? Don't give me Blah Race Blah Class; tell me about what makes your character tick. I want FEELING people.

6. Tell me a story. 1-3 paragraphs should suffice. Topic is whatever you want.

What I DON'T WANT from you:

1. "I want to play as a dwarf/human/whatever who is a [blah class here] that likes to do this and that."

2. "What are the character creation rules?"

3. "What are the other characters playing?"

4. "How long should my story be/what should my story be about?"

5. "[Obligatory mundane comment/question I haven't thought of yet]?"

Result you should expect:

1. I will respond to each and every post with at the very least a thank you. I will not respond with a "you are in/out" the first message, I will likely wait a day or two to pick anyone.

2. If I pick you I will invite you to discord and we can talk a bit, so I can tell if I like your personality. I could sugarcoat this with euphamisms like "interview" or "get a feel for you", but truth is as truth does. Please don't be offended too much if I don't pick you, most likely the problem is with me.

3. IF you get selected, you will be introduced to the team and can basically be all super proud and whatnot.