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Post by Cadic's Devoted on Jan 22, 2010 11:59:58 GMT -5
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For as far back as time has existed, the age old question has existed. Which is stronger...Good or Evil? Mixed into that question have always been the undertones of Law versus Chaos as well. Wars have been fought under the presumption that the enemy was Evil and Good must triumph. Evil has always thought itself the stronger, not holding to codes of so called 'honor' and the like. But never has there been a definitive answer. Never a chance to say "For once and For All, here is the answer." The gods have argued over this issue for as long as they have existed, and Mortal, following in the footsteps of those Gods, has done the same, and will it seems until Time ends.
But why should that be? Why not test the theory. It would require a sterile environment....and an impartial judge. And there couldn't be one of those? Could there? And so it has never happened, and the arguing has gone on.
Until the Gods themselves, unthinking, took their quarrel into the domain of one more powerful than the Gods themselves. With a cold fury The Lady of Pain, warden of the city of Sigil, a power capable of destroying even a God on whim, decided to end the conflict between Good and Evil... Once and for All.
In that instant she created the City of Balance. It was a massive place, each exterior wall 2 miles in length. It was quartered directly down the middle, both ways, by two roads that lead to the walls and end.... just as does everything else. The city, if one could see it from the outside, had what was essentially a giant box encompassing it. Two miles high. Each individual quadrant of the city, for starters anyway, was exactly the same, made to give no one faction an advantage over the others. With little thought the Lady decided that humans were to be the test subjects. Their short lives would mean that they would struggle towards the goal most fervently, not having the ability to wait for centuries as might the longer lived races, meaning that the test would take less time. Humans of every sort, from every plane. Some Psionic, others more finely attuned to the energy of the Soul, every type of humans imagineable. Included in that were many of the other short lived races. Halflings were brought, being simply short humans, in the eyes of the Lady anyway, and only slightly longer lived than humans. A few other such races got brought along, but mostly humans.
Now, 1000 years after the experiments start, it continues. The inhabitants know nothing of the experiment. In fact they know nothing of anything outside the city. Few even realize that they are trapped in the city, their will not strong enough to break through the mental blocks set in place by the Lady. Over the years the city has been developed and built up. All in all it is what you would expect from a city this size....except for the undercurrent of the factions vying for power... except for the back and forth between the forces of good and evil, law and chaos....except for the struggle to dominate the city and thereby answer the age old question.....
Once and for All.
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Post by Cadic's Devoted on Jan 22, 2010 13:07:57 GMT -5
This game will take place entirely within the bounds of the City of Balance. I will have a full city map in place before the start of the game. You will be inhabitants of the city, born here and knowing of nothing else. Following is information on the game itself. Unless otherwise noted, standard 3.5 rules apply.
Level: 17
Starting Gold: 340,000
Whoever is chosen the Leader has access to the Guild Coffers, which is currently worth 200,000 + 10,000 per PC that plays. This is to account for dues payed to the organization, money gathered from 'insurances' and other such funds. This can be used however the Guild Master sees fit.
Stats: 40 Point buy system. Standard point buy from DMG, with the addition of being able to buy a 19 for 20 points, and a 20 for 24 points.
HP: Full first, Roll all others.
BackGround feat: All characters get 1 Background feat. Can be most anything that fits as a background feat, pending approval by me.
Traits: Each character can have no more than 2 traits.
Flaws: Each character can have no more than 2 Flaws.
Races Available: Human (PHB), Halfling (PHB), Azurin (Magic of Incarnum), Rilkan (Magic of Incarnum), Skarn (Magic of Incarnum), Xeph (Expanded Psionics Handbook).
Other Races will be considered on a Case by Case basis, if none of the above appeal to you. Keep in mind, if their Venerable Age is more than 150 years, it is likely it will be denied.
Classes: All Psionic and Incarnum classes are open for use. All standard classes allowed, which includes the PHB and the Complete books. Other classes will be allowed on a case by case policy.
Posting requirement: I will be posting at least once every 2 days, possibly more. You will need to be able to keep up. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Alignment: Evil (tentatively)
Leader: Nate (Possibly subject to change if everyone who voted apathetic suddenly decide to turn on Nate. Lol)
The group will need to come to a consensus on Alignment that they will champion. Good or Evil are the two defining factors, with law and chaos playing smaller roles, though there is a strong showing for Law to take the win through sheer force. Good and evil will need to be decided on, but Law/Chaos is still an individual choice.
There will be much opportunity to do as you wish, the group does not even have to necessarily be a cohesive party (you can each play in the world, but seperately if you wish. The good Evil choice is just to keep you from being at each others throats. The group will need to decide if they know are working together or just aquantances. There is one other possibility that I will put out there (And I'm borrowing it from an old game idea) If the Players wish you can be your own faction vying for power. If this is so, choose one of you to be the Leader. If you cannot choose who will lead you, you can leave the decision to me if you wish, but no one can be forced to lead whom does not want the job. This would work very similar to the way that Anasylum worked, with the PC's reporting to the Leader for jobs and the like, being his right hand men, his best people, or whatever you want to call it.
This will be a fairly difficult campaign, as there will be many things going on in a very small space (relatively speaking).
Feel free to ask questions.
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Nate
Senior Member
Posts: 487
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Post by Nate on Jan 22, 2010 13:40:55 GMT -5
I vote high level as well, over 15 if possible. I do not care what alignment but if we choose to have out own faction, I will take the leadership role. I am unsure as to what class but I have some good ideas. Most likely a caster.
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Deej
Senior Member
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Post by Deej on Jan 22, 2010 14:59:04 GMT -5
This is just too tasty to pass up. I'm totally in, and have an inkling of a build to try.
And I vote for higher level.
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Post by cOMMUNISMISFANCY on Jan 22, 2010 15:01:08 GMT -5
Higher level is fine with me
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Post by Cadic's Devoted on Jan 22, 2010 15:01:44 GMT -5
Ok, since I can only make 1 poll, here are a couple questions that I have for anyone interested.
1: Do you want to be your own faction, as a group?
2: If yes to 1, Who would you nominate (or vote for) for group leader. If you want to PM that to me because you don't want to say it here for whatever reason, feel free.
3: What level would you like to see this be?
4: Vote in the poll! lol
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Nate
Senior Member
Posts: 487
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Post by Nate on Jan 22, 2010 15:51:20 GMT -5
I did vote in the poll, but alignment doesn't matter to me as long as we are not lawful. I would like to play as our own faction and I would like to be leader. I would like level to be at least 16.
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Kiirnodel
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Post by Kiirnodel on Jan 22, 2010 16:32:34 GMT -5
This seems to be an interesting idea, I'll give it a try 1. I don't really mind one way or the other. If we are members of a larger faction that gives us a decent safety net as well as an easy way to get nudged in the right direction. While being our own group gives us the full freedom. I think this is more a choice for the DM, do you want to be able to reign the group in when you need to or are you prepared for people doing crazy stuff. 2. No opinion 3. I can go anywhere on this, minimum level 5 though if we are in a place with lots of outsiders 4. Just did, I voted Good, but I don't honestly care that much. (why didn't you put an apathetic vote, and what was with the "straight lawful" option?)
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Post by joelocaust on Jan 22, 2010 16:52:53 GMT -5
If it won't be a bother, I'd enjoy playing. I won't be offended if youse guys don't want me around though.
1. I want to be in a faction. 2. I want Nate to be the leader. 3. Levels are good. But it won't matter since I'll be straight fighter probably anyway. Good ol' rock, nothin' beats rock. 4. I'll play any alignment. If anybody is neutral, I kill them, because they snuck in. I guess that means I prefer evil, lol (To clarify, I won't be at the party's throat if we're evil. I'm here to play, not screw around and kill people that I'm teamed with. Unless they earn it... and then I totally will.)
Question 1: If we are entirely self-contained, do we have resources? Obviously we get food and such from somewhere (or maybe we don't and just never eat, whatever), but do we have metals and wood and such? If not, we pretty much have no choice but to play casters then, right? Question 2: Do clerics, paladins, monks, and other classes that very specifically hail from larger organizations exist here?
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Post by Cadic's Devoted on Jan 22, 2010 17:04:16 GMT -5
Tally so far (Just to keep track): I've got 2 votes for nate being the leader of your own little faction.
Joe: You're more than welcome to join my game, Why wouldn't we want you around?
And to answer your questions:
1: While the city is self contained, its not an issue that comes up. Because of the mental blocks in place no one ever considers leaving, or even contemplates how things happen that manage to keep the city going (Like where does the food, metal, wood, etc etc etc, come from?). Its the sort of thing that just doesn't cross too many peoples minds. The traders come, people buy what they need, the traders leave. And yes, there are very steady numbers of traders coming in from 'out in the country' bringing various goods such as food and raw materials, and made products..... it just never crosses anyone's mind to ask where exactly they come from.
In essence the city is just like any other city in existance. There is trade, commerce, etc...just the inhabitants can't leave. And the traders come in and leave, they never stay for more than a day.
2: Yes they do exist here, just like anywhere else. In fact one of the largest factions is made up very heavily of Clerics and Paladin type characters.
Ben: I didn't put an apathetic vote because i forgot (and can't edit it), and the Straight lawful option was because of the Lawful faction that I mentioned. It has a very strong showing and controls a good portion of the city. Was putting it out there as a choice for the party to choose (In case you all wanted to be a bunch of stick up your ass law enforcing pally's or something)
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Deej
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Posts: 342
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Post by Deej on Jan 22, 2010 17:33:57 GMT -5
1. Indifferent
2. Not me.
3. level 15+
4. already voted.
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Post by Cadic's Devoted on Jan 22, 2010 17:39:57 GMT -5
As a note, because I want to make sure there is no confusion here, when I say 'your own faction' I dont mean just you X number of PC's. You would have your own network of people working for you, your contacts, your resources, etc etc. This of it like a gang or a Mafia, with whoever you vote as leader being the Mob boss, and the rest of you his immediate, most trusted (most likely) Subordinates.
Just wanted to make sure it was clear what I meant by that.
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Deej
Senior Member
Posts: 342
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Post by Deej on Jan 22, 2010 17:49:30 GMT -5
That makes sense.
I'll change my vote for #1 to 'indifferent'. The above post will be modified to reflect this.
#2 is undecided.
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Post by joelocaust on Jan 22, 2010 19:08:59 GMT -5
Heh, I am just an AoE antagonist. I don't try to bother people, but I worry that some people get pissed with me (and I'd rather you guys had a good game then get pissed at me all the time).
Cool, so we're totally Truman Show-ing it. Nate, did you have a faction in mind? I've been trying to brainstorm an more unusual than being a crime syndicate (since the game is kinda funky, there's gotta be some kind of faction that would exist because of our situation, even if we don't know it), and nothing as come to mind.
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Deej
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Posts: 342
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Post by Deej on Jan 22, 2010 19:49:45 GMT -5
A good-aligned faction that actively seeks out evil ones would be akin to a team of vigilantes (*ahem*superheroes) or just a glorified neighborhood watch.
That, or possibly some kind of militia.
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