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All the Creeping Things: An AIMhack Campaign

Lilith

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Lilith
Hatchling Cockatrice

Lilith

Posted
Posted

I write to you because I have heard tales of the great deeds you have performed in the name of justice. I fear that a terrible evil may soon be unleashed upon Mote, with grave consequences for the people of my town and perhaps beyond. I am taking steps to forestall this tragedy, but I need assistance, and between the ongoing war with Wireld and the actions of certain individuals closer to home, I have had no luck finding qualified help locally. If this letter reaches you in time and you are willing to aid me, please meet my representative at the west gate of Pelinora at dawn on the first day of spring as reckoned by the common calendar of Laessos. If you seek compensation, whether in the form of money or assistance in your own endeavours, I am able and willing to provide it.

 

Enclosed is a signet ring bearing the shape of a dragonfly. Wear it openly at the gates of Pelinora, so that you may be recognised, but try to keep it concealed at other times. Destroy this letter, and tell nobody that you received it unless they wear an identical ring. Perhaps this secrecy seems foolish to you, but I have reason to be cautious.

 

Yours faithfully,

Lady Arielle of Pelinora

 

***

 

Right, so that's the setup. This adventure will include some significant changes from the core AIMhack rules and assumptions, so read on carefully. Apologies in advance for this post's extreme length.

 

* The primary medium through which play will be conducted is AIM. MapTool may be used for some sessions if appropriate, with the prior consent of all players.

 

* This adventure takes place one year after the events of City of Hope, and some characters and events from that adventure may become important in this one. However, it's not necessary to be familiar with the events of City of Hope in order to participate.

 

* Consider the contents of the letter and what kind of person it would be sent to: an appropriate PC for this adventure should have a reputation, deserved or not, as a fighter for justice in some capacity.

 

* While your backstory should address the above point, it doesn't have to be very long: two or three paragraphs is fine, and if you send me a novella I will probably be a little annoyed at you.

 

* Here's the adventure's Same Page Tool, as seen in the metathread:

 

Click to reveal..
Do you play to win?

 

a) Yes, you totally play to win! The win conditions are…

B) Good play isn’t a win/lose kind of thing

 

Player characters are:

 

a) expected to work together; conflicts between them are mostly for show

B) expected to work together; but major conflicts might erupt but you’ll patch them up given some time

c) expected to work together; major conflicts might erupt and never see reconciliation

d) pursuing their own agendas – they might work together, they might work against each other

e) expected to work against each other, alliances are temporary at best

 

The GM’s role is:

 

a) The GM preps a set of events – linear or branching; players run their characters through these events. The GM gives hints to provide direction.

B) The GM preps a map with NPCs and/or monsters. The players have their characters travel anywhere they can reach on the map, according to their own goals.

c) The GM has no (campaign-spanning) plan – the GM simply plays the NPCs and has them act or react based on their motivations

d) There’s no GM. Everyone works together to make the story through freeform.

e) There’s no GM. The rules and the system coordinate it all.

 

The players’ roles are…

 

a) …to follow the GM’s lead to fit the story

B) …to set goals for their characters, and pursue them proactively

c) …to fling their characters into tough situations and make hard, sometimes, unwise choices

 

Doing the smartest thing for your character’s survival…

 

a) …is what a good player does.

B) …sometimes isn’t as important as other choices

c) …isn’t even a concern or focus for this game.

 

The GM’s responsibility with regard to the rules is…

 

a) …follow them, come what may. (including following house rules)

B) …ignore them when they conflict with what would be good for the story (which should be a rare occurrence)

c) …ignore them when they conflict with what “should” happen, based either on realism, the setting, or the genre

 

After many sessions of play, during one session, a player decides to have her character side with an enemy. This is…

 

a) …something that shouldn’t even happen. This is someone being a jerk.

B) …where the character becomes an NPC, right away or fairly soon.

c) …something the player and the GM should have set up ahead of time.

d) …only going to last until the other player characters find out and do something about it.

e) …a meaningful moment, powerful and an example of excellent play (assuming you've got a good reason for it).

 

* There will be the potential for combat. There will be ways to avoid combat. There will also be problems that combat can't solve. Having a way to be useful in combat is a good idea, in case the rest of the party drags you into a fight. Having ways to be useful outside of combat is an even better idea.

 

* Expect to run into difficulty. I'm not going to be actively trying to kill off the party, but I'm not going to pull punches to save you if you get in over your heads. Don't fight to the death for something that isn't worth dying for, and think carefully before fighting to the death for something that is; it's harder to take revenge when you're dead.

 

* A modified skill list will be in place. Some skills have been added, while others have been merged or removed. Significantly modified skills have their names bolded in the list below:

 

Click to reveal..
* Acrobatics: Your reaction times and general bodily coordination. Allows you to keep your balance on narrow or slippery surfaces, dodge traps, squeeze through tight spaces, escape from bonds, catch objects in midair, etc.

* Alchemy: Your knowledge of the science of alchemy. Allows you to identify alchemical reagents and craft potions or other useful mixtures.

* Arcana: Knowledge of arcane lore relating to magic, religion and ancient history. Allows you to identify the significance and function of magical, religious or historical objects and locations, decode arcane texts and forgotten languages, and recognise and counter magic that affects your mind.

* Artifice: Knowledge of engineering, crafting and construction. Allows you to identify weak points in structures, set up traps and build or repair tools and equipment.

* Athletics: Your muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness. Allows you to lift and carry heavy objects, climb ropes, run or jump long distances, hold your breath underwater, etc.

* Composure: Your mental resolve and emotional stability. Allows you to sound sincere when you speak, intuit the feelings and intentions of others, and resist hostile mental effects.

* First Aid: Your ability to treat injury and illness through non-magical means. Allows you to restore some of a party member's lost HP after a fight or encounter, and to diagnose and mitigate the effects of poisoning and disease.

* Magic: Your skill in using a particular school of magic (Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, Enchantment, Evocation, Transmutation or Vitaemancy.) Using magic targeted against an opponent in melee range will normally provoke an attack of opportunity, if the opponent is skilled in melee. Magic specifically designed to be used primarily at short range is an exception to this rule.

* Melee: Your skill with a melee weapon or unarmed combat technique. Melee attacks cannot generally be used effectively at long range, unless you have a technique allowing you to do so (with associated Stamina cost or other penalty).

* Missile: Your skill with a missile weapon. Missile weapons can be used at melee range, but will provoke an attack of opportunity if your opponent is skilled in melee and you do not use a technique that prevents attacks of opportunity.

* Nature: Knowledge of the natural world and how to avoid its potential dangers. Allows you to identify animals, plants and other natural objects or phenomena.

* Perception: Your sensory acuity and awareness of your surroundings. Allows you to hear and identify noises, and find hidden objects, tracks or other irregularities.

* Stealth: Your ability to avoid drawing attention to yourself. Allows you to hide, move quietly and cover your tracks as you travel.

* Streetwise: Knowledge of current events, politics and common social conventions. Allows you to gather information, find people and locations quickly in urban environments, and behave properly in both high and low society.

* Thievery: Sleight of hand and manual dexterity. Allows you to pick pockets, disable locks or mechanical traps, and perform similar tasks involving fine motor skills.

 

* Major rule changes, additions and elaborations to the core AIMhack rules:

 

Click to reveal..
* There are no primary stats (Str, Dex, Int). Your character is defined by your choice of skills and techniques.

 

* You have a base maximum HP of 10. This is increased by 2 for every point you have in your highest Melee skill, and 1 for every point in either your highest Missile skill or your Athletics skill.

 

* You start with 90 skill points to distribute in the usual way. Your characters are likely to be well-trained, competent professionals with significant experience in their fields of expertise. They may or may not be wealthy, but they will have access to the resources they need in order to do their jobs: give your character a reasonable inventory and I'll probably approve it.

 

* There are no experience levels. You'll get a certain number of skill points after every session depending on how much the party has achieved. You can spend these immediately, or save up some or all of them for later.

 

* For every 2 ranks or part thereof you have in a particular Melee, Missile or Magic skill, you may memorise one technique or spell related to that skill. In addition, you receive 2 bonus spells or techniques that you may distribute freely to skills of your choice. For example, if you have 2 ranks in Magic (Evocation), 3 ranks in Magic (Transmutation) and 6 ranks in Martial (Axes), you may memorise 1 Evocation spell, 2 Transmutation spells and 3 Axe techniques, plus 2 extra spells or techniques of your choice. Feel free to use the handy Spell Compendium as inspiration in developing your character's spells and techniques.

 

* Your defence against most physical and elemental attacks is equal to the highest of your Melee, Missile, or Acrobatics skills. Your defence against mental attacks is equal to the highest of your Magic, Arcana or Composure skills. Having more than one skill trained in either of these categories will give you a small synergy bonus to the relevant defence.

 

* Untrained skill checks (checks made based on a skill of 0) will normally receive a -2 penalty, and you can't take 10 on them.

 

* If you roll a skill check to see how well you perform at a task, that roll represents how well you do it unless and until the situation changes significantly. You don't get to reroll for the same task unless you either spend a Stamina for the right to do so or approach the task in a different way (using a different skill).

 

* I can't promise that every skill will be equally useful, but whatever skills you choose, there'll be situations where they're useful, and whatever skills you don't choose, there'll be situations where you'll wish you had them.

 

* There is some overlap between different skills. In a situation where multiple skills are equally applicable, you may use your highest skill and receive a small synergy bonus for other skills you are trained in.

 

* Each race starts with its own racial perk:

 

Click to reveal..
Dragonborn Breath: By spending 1 stamina, you can breathe out a short-ranged stream of fire (or another element or substance at DM's discretion). You may incorporate this ability into combat techniques. You also gain a +1 bonus to First Aid checks, and can make First Aid checks as if trained even if you have no points invested.

 

Goblin Metabolism: You receive a +2 bonus against all poison and disease-based attacks, and can safely eat some things that are toxic to other races, including most rotten or mouldy foods. You also receive a +1 bonus to Nature checks, and can make Nature checks as if trained even if you have no points invested.

 

Lacewing Flight: Your wings allow you to glide short distances or briefly propel yourself up through the air, giving you a +4 bonus on checks to jump, break a fall or perform other feats of physical prowess that involve being airborne. You also receive a +1 bonus to Arcana checks, and can make Arcana checks as if trained even if you have no points invested.

 

Dwarven Stoutness: Your sturdy build and thick layer of body fat give you a +4 bonus to stay afloat in water, or to resist attacks or forces that would push you, knock you down or otherwise move you around against your will. You also receive a +1 bonus to Artifice checks, and can make Artifice checks as if trained even if you have no points invested.

 

Elven Wits: You receive a +2 bonus to resist Enchantment-based magic or other mental attacks. You also receive a +1 bonus to Streetwise checks, and can make Streetwise checks as if trained even if you have no points invested.

 

Human Survival: You receive a +1 bonus to Perception checks, and also to any one of the following three skills: Stealth, Athletics or Acrobatics. You can make checks in any of the above four skills (even the ones you didn't choose to put a bonus point in) as if trained, even if you have no points invested.

 

* A version of the extended debate rules from the metathread will be available for the players' use in this campaign. I won't require you to use them at any point, but whenever the PCs are involved in a social interaction with an audience present, the players can ask that it be played out as a debate. The rules are as follows:

 

Click to reveal..
Rules:

 

Each round of arguments is an Exchange. Both players roll and add either their Composure or Streetwise, whichever is higher. Stamina can be spent to adjust a roll, at a rate of +3 per Stamina point. After all adjustments, the roll must meet a threshold, called the Burden, which increases for each new Exchange. The Burden increases more slowly for one side if that side has a different character arguing for it in each Exchange.

 

Making a Point: If one character meets the Burden in an Exchange and the other doesn't, the character who meets the Burden has scored a Point and the Burden increases for the next Exchange. A natural 20 is worth a bonus Point no matter what (for a total of one Point if your opponent meets the Burden or two Points if they fail), and a natural 1 means that an extra Point is scored against you if your opponent meets the Burden (so if you roll a natural 20 and your opponent rolls a natural 1, you immediately receive three Points).

 

Pressing Your Case: If both characters meet the Burden in an Exchange, neither character has poked a significant hole in the other's position, but the level of tension between the characters has increased. The Burden increases for the next exchange.

 

Compromise: A character can voluntarily offer a compromise to an opponent who has scored less than two Points. The opponent automatically receives a Point and does not need to roll to meet the Burden this Exchange, but in return the character offering a compromise receives a +4 bonus on their own roll to meet the Burden, and scores a Point if it is met. Compromise can be a valuable tool for a side in an advantageous position to quickly wrap up negotiations in their own favour, or for a side at a disadvantage to increase their chances of receiving at least a Point or two.

 

Winning and Losing: Once three Points have been scored against a character, they've lost the argument. They may or may not have been convinced of anything, but they've been outmatched conversationally and everyone can see it. Short of pulling out a weapon, there's no way they're getting what they want today. However, if any Points were scored against the winner, the loser can extract one meaningful concession from the winner per Point scored.

 

Breakdown: If both characters fail to meet the Burden in a single Exchange, either the negotiations or the characters themselves have broken down. In any case, a Breakdown means that the negotiation immediately ends on a hostile note, all Points scored are null and void, neither party gets what they want, and everyone wishes they just walked away a little earlier.

 

Walking Away: In each Exchange, a character may choose to Walk Away instead of trying to make a point. Walking Away is an attempt to end the negotiation peacefully by agreeing to disagree. The player choosing to Walk Away rolls no dice for this Exchange, while their opponent may choose either to let the negotiation end or to roll for a parting shot. If their roll meets the Burden, they score one last Point (potentially winning the argument); if the roll fails, a Breakdown occurs. In any case, the negotiation ends at the end of the current Exchange. If either or both sides have scored Points, but not enough to win the argument, they are converted to concessions in the usual way.

 

* To prevent unpleasant surprises during play, here are my rules on damage and healing for this adventure:

 

Click to reveal..
* Being reduced to 0 HP renders you incapacitated and dying. While at 0 HP, you are in no condition to attack or cast spells: you may groan out a few words, crawl around at half your normal movement rate (rounded up), and drink potions. If the mortal blow inflicted damage greater than or equal to your current HP plus 5, you must immediately spend 1 Stamina point for every 5 HP of damage taken beyond your current HP total in order to avoid death. Negative HP are not tracked: once struck with a mortal blow, you are at 0 HP until healed or killed.

 

While dying, you must spend 1 Stamina point to stay alive at the end of every party turn. Alternatively, you may spend 3 Stamina during your turn in order to immediately regain 1 HP and be able to act freely. Taking damage from an area-of-effect attack while dying will cost you additional Stamina, while an attack targeted specifically at you will probably kill you outright.

 

* Healing spells that cause HP recovery always cost Stamina when used. Schools that contain healing spells include Conjuration and Vitaemancy; other schools may contain spells that grant temporary HP, which will not normally cost Stamina. First Aid can only be used to restore HP once per user per significant hazardous encounter, although it can be used for other purposes (diagnosing poison, etc.) in addition to this.

 

* In order to ensure a player group with compatible schedules and a balanced and harmonious party, there will be a pre-campaign session where we'll organise a group of players and work together to finalise their characters. All interested parties should fill out this calendar. Expect this session to last one or two hours.

 

Thanks to all of you who stuck through to the end of this post; I know it was a bit of a read. If you have any questions, you can ask in the thread or we can cover them at the pre-campaign session.

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Lilith
Hatchling Cockatrice

Lilith

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I think I now have enough responses to set a time for the pre-campaign session. We'll set it for Wednesday 24th August at 1:00 a.m. UTC. As always, use this time zone converter to find out what that is for you. (Note that for Americans, it'll be some time in the evening of the 23rd.)

 

Originally Posted By: Nioca
Are old characters eligible?

 

Of course, as long as you feel they're appropriate for the campaign.

 

Originally Posted By: Dantius
Filled out the calendar. I have a character prepped and standing by, but I don' know if we PM one to you now or wait for the session.

 

You can workshop your characters with me over PM/AIM now, but don't consider them finalised until after the pre-campaign session.

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Lilith
Hatchling Cockatrice

Lilith

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I wish I could say "oh, it'll be fine, just sign up and we'll work something out"... but considering how many headaches scheduling gave me in City of Hope, if you know your schedule isn't compatible with a long-term commitment to a campaign, all I can really say is that your honesty is greatly appreciated. I hope those of us who are participating manage to put on a good show for you.

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Lilith
Hatchling Cockatrice

Lilith

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By the way, don't feel too pressured to flesh out your character at this point. The whole point of the pre-camp session is that that's where you'll be finalising characters in light of the party composition, so as long as you have a basic idea of what you might like to play we can help you with the rest.

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Rowen
Well-Actually War Trall

Rowen

Posted
Posted
Originally Posted By: Lilith
I think I now have enough responses to set a time for the pre-campaign session. We'll set it for Wednesday 24th August at 1:00 a.m. UTC. As always, use this time zone converter to find out what that is for you. (Note that for Americans, it'll be some time in the evening of the 23rd.)


After ten minutes of trying to find a time zone in Australia called UTC I figured out the time. Its 6:00 p.m. the 23rd for me in PDT time zone.

Time zones kinda freak me out when I think to hard about them. Talking to people from the future, let alone being in a AIMhack session with one blows my mind.
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Lilith
Hatchling Cockatrice

Lilith

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Originally Posted By: Nioca
Um, something just occurred to me: how are you going to decide who gets in and who doesn't with this pre-campaign session? Are you just taking everyone who shows up?


I'll look at people's characters and schedules, and select a group of about 4-5 players who I feel will play a good game together, based on my experience with their personalities and play styles. Yes, this probably means some people will be told that they're not getting in.

I am conscious of the potential for drama in this approach, so I'll state right from the start that I'm more interested in the quality of the game than in fairness or inclusiveness in the selection process. I'll choose people who I think play well together as players and who have created characters that have the potential to interact in interesting ways.
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Nioca
Understated Ur-Drakon

Nioca

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One last question, and one that probably reveals which character I'm intending to bring back. What rules is alchemy bound by? I'm guessing it's going by the system you created, but how many recipes can one have (considering one wouldn't need to memorize them, just have them written down)? Is it the same as martial and magic? Unlimited? Somewhere in-between?

 

(Personal note here: the way I intended to handle alchemy was to have a base number of recipes, like 5 or 7, and the character had to find any further recipes from alchemy books or willing teachers. Just thought I'd throw that out there.)

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Lilith
Hatchling Cockatrice

Lilith

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Originally Posted By: Nioca
One last question, and one that probably reveals which character I'm intending to bring back. What rules is alchemy bound by? I'm guessing it's going by the system you created, but how many recipes can one have (considering one wouldn't need to memorize them, just have them written down)? Is it the same as martial and magic? Unlimited? Somewhere in-between?

(Personal note here: the way I intended to handle alchemy was to have a base number of recipes, like 5 or 7, and the character had to find any further recipes from alchemy books or willing teachers. Just thought I'd throw that out there.)


My take on alchemy is that the vast majority of potion recipes below skill level 10 are readily accessible to anyone with the appropriate skill level, much like spells are. Instead of choosing what spells to memorise for the coming day, you choose what potions to make from your stock of reagents, based on what you expect to run into. As such, I don't see a pressing gameplay need for a limit on how many recipes you can know, because the limited supply of reagents prevents you from making an infinitely versatile character.

We can talk about this in more detail if you'd like, and establish what you want out of your character mechanically and thematically in this game.
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Dintiradan
Easygoing Eyebeast

Dintiradan

Posted
Posted
Originally Posted By: Dantius
If anyone here is too lazy to follow the link, it'd be 8:00 Chicago time. Just FYI.
Originally Posted By: Rowen
After ten minutes of trying to find a time zone in Australia called UTC I figured out the time. Its 6:00 p.m. the 23rd for me in PDT time zone.
Chicago does not observe Daylight Savings Time, right? Anyway, it's 7:00 MDT for me, unless I'm doing something wrong.
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Dintiradan
Easygoing Eyebeast

Dintiradan

Posted
Posted
Originally Posted By: Like Tom Petty Said.
Originally Posted By: Lilith
And now you see why I always quote times in UTC.


To cause huge topic drifts as everybody discusses what time UTC translates to for them? tongue
I wouldn't have made a post, except seeing Dantius's post made me think that either he or Rowen and I were using the tool incorrectly. Again, herp a derp.

On an unrelated note: Ephesos, would you kindly post a link to the Spell Compendium on the AIMHack page? I don't think its existence is common knowledge.
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Dantius
Easygoing Eyebeast

Dantius

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Posted
Originally Posted By: HOUSE of S
Originally Posted By: Randomizer
Indiana and Arizona don't observe Daylight Savings Time.
Except for Northwest Indiana, which does.


NW Indiana is basically Chicago's unsightly industrial underbelly that doesn't pay taxes to Springfield like the rest of us. It really shouldn't be part of Indiana at all.

Then again, I don't exactly think Illinois would like it very much, either. Gary's pretty much a wasteland, however you slice it.
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Dantius
Easygoing Eyebeast

Dantius

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Posted
Originally Posted By: Dintiradan
What's so bad about Gary? All I know about it is that it's the subject of an entirely forgettable song in The Music Man.

It's a postindustrial hellhole with decrepit infrastructure and declining population, it's riddled with crime, has a sagging economy, it's polluted, dirty, and has just about no redeeming features.

There are disturbing numbers of cities like that in the Indiana/Ohio/Illinois/Michigan/Pennsylvania "rust belt"- Detroit probably being the best example. They were dependent on heavy industry and manufacturing and nothing else, and unlike Chicago never diversified out into finance, service, light industry, retail, etc. So when deindustrialization hit in the 70's and 80's, they basically collapsed under their own weight. Terrible story.
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Dantius
Easygoing Eyebeast

Dantius

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Posted
Originally Posted By: Dintiradan
Anyway, back on topic... I just noticed that all but one of the classic D&D magic schools are present in the current iteration of AIMHack. We've seen illusionists on Mote before; are illusions only available to NPCs in AIMHack?

I believe that Illusion magic was made a subschool of Enchantment on Mote- both get little enough use as is, and they're so similar it would simplify things greatly if they just got merged.
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Triumph
Easygoing Eyebeast

Triumph

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Posted
Originally Posted By: Tribe
It's Vitaemancy because bio- doesn't belong in fantasy and vita- will make us think it's all about magical vitamins.


Hmm...I guess I understand that approach...but the word "vitaemancy" makes me cringe every time I see it, so greatly does it offend my inner language nerd.
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Slawbug
Hatchling Cockatrice

Slawbug

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Posted
Originally Posted By: Tribe
It's Vitaemancy because bio- doesn't belong in fantasy and vita- will make us think it's all about magical vitamins.

Then call it something else entirely! If the idea is that it deals with life forces, "life" and "death" are hardly the only root options.
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