<LightWolf> post the OP already
Hosted by Aura Guardian and Agape (note host timezones!)
The Crunch (PSW IV specific character reation info)
This info does not have the basic information on creating a Pathfinder character. Refer to the old Newbie Guide in the later FAQ section.
Mana:
You may create two mana fountains per day. Creating a fountain takes 15 minutes. Each fountain generates 100 mana daily which expires after the day. Maximum of ten fountains produce mana each day, excess mana is wasted. Fountains last until destroyed. Monk can sense rituals at double distance. An area with rituals can be sensed from one mile away per ritual in it. An area is never more than a 1 mile by 1 mile square, but can be less, as reasonable (this is a host call).
There are few leylines in Atlantis. Placing a fountain on a leyline makes the fountain produce 200 mana daily instead of 100.
Destroying a fountain takes 15 minutes and gives you 100 envy mana which never expires. You may have a maximum of 300 envy mana.
Wrath Mana:
May NOT be spent on mana/round effects.
Cap 300 Wrath Mana.
Gain 1 for killing a civilian.
Gain 50 for an opponent successfully flees from you after a bona fide fight of at least 5 turns each (surprise rounds count half).
Gain 100 for claiming an order spell
Gain 150 for killing an enemy Master
Gain 250 for killing an enemy Champion
Gain 50 for every five rounds in combat
Crafting:
-Banned.
--This includes crafting feats
--This includes the craft skill
--Perform and Profession skills, while generally not useful, are allowed
Summoner class is now:
Level 10 Summoner, HP +50%
15 point buy for stats, Human
6 feats (one per odd level, then one at level 1)
Summoners know all Summoner spells from this list up to the level they can cast, barring Eidolon-relating spells [(Lesser/Greater) Evolution Surge (Lesser) Rejuvinate Eidolon, (Lesser) Restore Eidolon, Summon Eidolon, Transmogrify, Purified Calling].
Champions are level 20 and have 25 point buy. They get +2 to one stat of their choice but NOT a bonus feat at level 1.
Newcomer FAQ - courtesy of Raikage and jumpluff from PSW III - ANY GOOD QUESTION ASKED ON IRC WILL BE ADDED HERE
Q: Why is there so much to read?
A: Well, it’s because it includes the Newcomer Guide, which is really, really long. Never fear, however. You don’t actually need to know everything in the guide. LightWolf, the winner of the first edition of the game, didn’t even understand how half the things worked until the end of the second. Just ask the hosts for help if you’re not sure. It does help to save time if you read the guide carefully, however. If you must skip, I recommend you at least read the ‘PSW-Specific Features’ section.
Q: Do I need to know how to D&D or pencil & paper games to sign up?
A: No.
Q: What requirements do I need to sign up then?
A: You need IRC, commitment, a creative mind, and the ability to prioritize having fun over winning at all costs. A single Philosopher’s Stone War usually lasts about 3 months and a single player is usually involved in about 5-10 encounters which last about 2-5 hours over IRC, depending on how long they get to stay alive. Also, while we’ll try our best to help any newcomers to D&D, you still need to learn at least a few aspects of the system, and the game is pretty complex even compared to other games like Mafia. Lastly, due to the nature of these games, you are not allowed to sub out. So make sure you are absolutely committed. We will devise a fitting punishment for people who default on their responsibilities!
Creativity is highly encouraged because of the open nature of pen & pencil games. You can literally try to do almost anything that would be possible if the situation occurred in real life. Also, the game is heavily myth and lore based, so it helps if you have some knowledge on those subjects (or have Wikipedia).
There will be a few times in the game where you might have to compromise on your chances of winning for the overall benefit of the game. For example, sometimes people with clashing timezones can’t both be on at the same time to have an encounter, so one of them will send me a battle plan and I’ll run their characters for them instead.
Q: How exactly is this game run?
A: If you’ve ever watched/read Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero, you’ll already have a general idea of how this game works. 8 players compete to be the last man standing. Each player will control 2 characters, their Summoner and their Champion. The Summoner character is a spellcaster who is much more vulnerable, while the Champion is the main battle unit. Everyone’s Summoner is the same class, but each Champion has a unique class. You also get 2 order spells which are basically extra lives. You work together with the DM (me) to create these 2 characters (this is especially true for beginners), and then each day you send in a day plan directing what you want to do. When a situation that requires more closer attention to detail (most commonly a fight) occurs, I will call the necessary players up on IRC and run it in real time.
Q: What changes were made from PSW III to PSW IV?
A: The weak mage in control of the players is now again called a Summoner, and receives stats as a level 10 character of the Summoner Pathfinder class (with boosted HP). PSW IV Summoners get no other class abilities of the Pathfinder Summoner besides spells, instead they get a few bonus feats.
Q: Where’s the map again?
A: Here.
Newcomer Guide
www.d20pfsrd.com, the site that contains the information you need, also contains the information you do NOT need. The site needs to be comprehensive and thus covers many things that you don’t need to know. We have thus written a newcomer guide for PSW. Reading this guide, coupled with assistance from us, should allow you to play this game with no problems.
Warning: this guide is pretty long, but not as long as it’ll take you to go through the SRD.
The guide is viewablehere. It is the collaborative effort of the hosts and several veteran players, and the collective knowledge gained from previous Philosopher's Stone Wars. We hope you find it makes immersing yourself into the game much less confusing!
PSW IV note: This guide is outdated, ignore the sections irrelevant to PSW IV like analysis of the Wizard class features.
Sign-ups are open now and will be for one week, possibly two depending on interest. Ask any questions in the IRC-channel #flamel.
Fresh players will be heavily prioritized but veterans will get in also.
After signing up, send a PM to Aura Guardian and Agape with a set of champions that you would like to play as, with the first in the list being the one you prefer most.
Playerlist:
- RODAN
- Eternal_Drifter
- theangryscientist
- LightWolf
- UllarWarlord
- ginganinja
- Walrein
- MrcRanger97
- Maxim
- DrunkenSniper
Hosted by Aura Guardian and Agape (note host timezones!)
Nicholas Flamel said:
This is a game of stealth and intrigue. Game strategy can pan around building defensive structures, discovering the identity (and powers) of the enemy champions, forming tense alliances, and attacking your enemy before they see you coming. Because this is Pathfinder, your options are limited only by your creative problem solving ability.
This is a roleplaying game. Half the fun is roleplaying as badass legendary heroes, accompanied of course by a wizard with whatever personality you wish. You are allowed to talk with other players about the game in character when contact is made. Otherwise, you are not. This is not a balance rule, it’s to immerse you in this isolated and dangerous world where another player could be lurking around the next dark corner, not “a pm away”.
Some flexibility is required in when you can play this game. On some days you can send in a game plan and be unimpeded. But sooner or later, players will meet up and these interactions must be run in real time with the DM as arbiter. These encounters should be swift (average an hour) and ran as soon as possible. An IRC channel will be set up to help the game run smoothly.
This is a roleplaying game. Half the fun is roleplaying as badass legendary heroes, accompanied of course by a wizard with whatever personality you wish. You are allowed to talk with other players about the game in character when contact is made. Otherwise, you are not. This is not a balance rule, it’s to immerse you in this isolated and dangerous world where another player could be lurking around the next dark corner, not “a pm away”.
Some flexibility is required in when you can play this game. On some days you can send in a game plan and be unimpeded. But sooner or later, players will meet up and these interactions must be run in real time with the DM as arbiter. These encounters should be swift (average an hour) and ran as soon as possible. An IRC channel will be set up to help the game run smoothly.
The Crunch (PSW IV specific character reation info)
This info does not have the basic information on creating a Pathfinder character. Refer to the old Newbie Guide in the later FAQ section.
Mana:
You may create two mana fountains per day. Creating a fountain takes 15 minutes. Each fountain generates 100 mana daily which expires after the day. Maximum of ten fountains produce mana each day, excess mana is wasted. Fountains last until destroyed. Monk can sense rituals at double distance. An area with rituals can be sensed from one mile away per ritual in it. An area is never more than a 1 mile by 1 mile square, but can be less, as reasonable (this is a host call).
There are few leylines in Atlantis. Placing a fountain on a leyline makes the fountain produce 200 mana daily instead of 100.
Destroying a fountain takes 15 minutes and gives you 100 envy mana which never expires. You may have a maximum of 300 envy mana.
Wrath Mana:
May NOT be spent on mana/round effects.
Cap 300 Wrath Mana.
Gain 1 for killing a civilian.
Gain 50 for an opponent successfully flees from you after a bona fide fight of at least 5 turns each (surprise rounds count half).
Gain 100 for claiming an order spell
Gain 150 for killing an enemy Master
Gain 250 for killing an enemy Champion
Gain 50 for every five rounds in combat
Crafting:
-Banned.
--This includes crafting feats
--This includes the craft skill
--Perform and Profession skills, while generally not useful, are allowed
Summoner class is now:
Level 10 Summoner, HP +50%
15 point buy for stats, Human
6 feats (one per odd level, then one at level 1)
Summoners know all Summoner spells from this list up to the level they can cast, barring Eidolon-relating spells [(Lesser/Greater) Evolution Surge (Lesser) Rejuvinate Eidolon, (Lesser) Restore Eidolon, Summon Eidolon, Transmogrify, Purified Calling].
Champions are level 20 and have 25 point buy. They get +2 to one stat of their choice but NOT a bonus feat at level 1.
Assassin:
Assassin’s Stealth: Assassin gains +5 on all stealth checks made at night, and in settlements. If both conditions are met, this bonus increases to +7.
Assassin, the Rogue: Assassin deals 8d6 sneak attack damage against flat-footed or flanked targets. Assassin gains five Rogue Talents, ignoring level requirements.
Assassinate: Assassin may spend a standard action to observe a target (and may follow her target each round). After spending 3 rounds doing this from no more than 60 feet, Assassin may then, when within 30 feet, perform Assassinate (If assassin has no ranged attack, then it is a melee strike). This attack is a standard action that automatically hits for regular weapon damage and 20d6 sneak attack damage. It also stuns the target for one round and applies Assassin’s Mark. However, in order to use this, Assassin must surprise his target and remain unseen up until attacking.
Assassin’s Mark: A target with this mark cannot recover normally and cannot recover to more than half their normal HP by magic. This mark fades after 24 hours.
----------------------------
Knight:
Knight's Defense: Knight gains DR 5/- and SR 26.
Knights Protection: Knight's Summoner gains SR 21 and takes 1/4 damage from all physical attacks and 1/2 damage from a champion's magic-only attacks
Knight's Power: Knight gains 5 bonus combat feats.
----------------------------
Berserker:
Berserker’s Revelry: Berserker is permanently under Mad Enhancement. Calming down takes 1 hour OR 200 mana, and leaves Berserker fatigued for 1 hour UNLESS the Summoner spends 100 mana to negate the fatigue. Berserker may NOT increase rage level when fatigued, but may decrease it. This has three levels.
Level 1: +4 to STR and CON, +2 to WILL saves (all morale), -2 penalty to AC. -4 penalty to all CHA, INT, and DEX based skills other than Intimidate, Acrobatics, Fly, and Ride. Under this, Berserker *can* function in society relatively normally.
Level 2: +6 to STR and CON, +3 to WILL saves, -2 penalty to AC. Cannot use CHA, INT, or DEX based skills other than Intimidate, Acrobatics, Fly, and Ride at all. Automatically attacks enemies, but is controllable for 50 mana per hour (can prevent attacking), and honors alliances his Summoner makes while controlled. Automatically uses Power attack if he has it, but can be ordered not to for 50 mana/round.
Level 3: +8 to STR and CON, +4 to WILL saves, -2 penalty to AC. Cannot use CHA, INT, or DEX based skills other than Intimidate (Demoralize only), Acrobatics (jumping only), Fly, and Ride. Automatically attacks anyone present other than his Summoner (prioritizing the nearest target first), though a Summoner may give reprioritization (attack the enemy, not the ally, or attack a different enemy) or combat orders (Prevent escape, etc.) for 50 mana per round applicable, and retreat orders for 100 mana (no timer). Berserker cannot use any hero-unique powers (such as PSW III's Loki's shapechanging) other than passives (such as PSW III's Guan Yu's bonus HP/AC/Attack+damage rolls when outnumbered), and passives on weaponry. Berserker automatically uses Demoralize as part of a move action or charge.
Berserker’s Rage: Berserker gains 5 Rage Powers, as a Barbarian. Level requirements are ignored.
----------------------------
Caster
True Arcana: Caster knows all spells cast and supernatural abilities used in his presence
Magic Sense: Caster may spend an immediate action to identify how much mana an opponent spent on an ability. This must be done within one round of the ability used.
----------------------------
Savior
Powers of the healer: Savior and his Summoner have fast healing 1 outside of combat, but only when at less than ½ health.
Divine Magic: Savior gains access to a set of divine spells that are refreshed each day. Savior does not have any infinite healing, but gains access to a secret number of Cure spells per day.
Resurrection: Once per game, when the Savior is killed he is brought back to life with half the health.
----------------------------
Sage
Theurgy: Sage gains two spell lists, one arcane and one divine, that may be cast each day.
Choice of Powers: Sage may cast spells as a Sorcerer/Cleric, Wizard/Cleric, or Wizard/Oracle for mental stats. Sorcerers and Oracles gain power from Charisma, Wizards from Intelligence, and Clerics from Wisdom. Sorcerer/Oracle is forbidden.
Leader: Sage gains access to minions under his command. Minions will be balanced competitively by the hosts. If a minion is killed, Sage may resurrect the minion for 200 mana after 24 hours have elapsed. In the event Sage had a horde of minions in the legends, then this may be changed. Sage knows where his minions are at all times, and may observe through one of their eyes for 10 rounds/day for free, and 50 mana/round for future rounds.
----------------------------
Monster:
Monster’s Base: Monster and her Summoner begin the conflict in a base of his own creation. While within a mile of this base, Monster cannot become fatigued, exhausted, or staggered. Fatigue and exhaustion have the caveat of lack of sleep working normally.
Pass for Human: Monster may suppress her powers (other than Monster’s Base and Monstrous Magic), and appear as a human, taking 20 to disguise herself as a human. In this form, Monster may not use ANY powers other than skill ranks, saving throws, Monster’s Base and Monstrous Magic. Monster may use manufactured weapons in this form. This disguise may be shed as a move action, but takes 10 minutes to apply. Dropping this triggers a surprise round (so turn not wasted), but under other circumstances, Monster may spend 100 mana to make dropping the disguise a swift action.
Monstrous Magic: Monster gains Spell Combat, a select list of combat spells, and automatically takes 10 on concentration to cast defensively or while grappled (may spend 50 mana for a +4 bonus). Medium armor and shields do not affect spell failure chance.
Monster’s Nature: When Monster is in her true form, she gains an aura radius 30 feet that gives all enemies a morale penalty of -2 on all attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws.
----------------------------
Monk
Monk’s Vision: For 25 mana, Monk may identify all beneficial spells in effect on one target as a swift action. By changing this to a move action, he may identify all buffs on 2 targets, but this costs 50 mana. Regardless of actions remaining, Monk can only use this once/round.
Monk’s Powers: Monk gains AC Bonus (adds Wisdom modifier to AC and CMD) and Improved Unarmed Strike.
Counterattack: Once per round, when the opponent misses an attack against the Monk she may make one attack against the opponent.
Combo: If the Monk successfully hit an opponent on her last round, her attacks do 2d10 damage until she goes a round without landing a hit. On her third round of attacking successfully, she may add any combat maneuver to her attack as a free action.
----------------------------
Archer
Archer’s Sight: Archer has Darkvision 200 feet, and may confer this to her Summoner 1/day for 4 hours, but limited to 100 feet. Archer may gain See Invisibility up to 100 feet for 10 rounds/day. Using this See Invisibility, or suppressing it, is a free action. These rounds need not be consecutive. Archer may spot any opponent not using stealth from double the distance anyone else would. In practice, this means that Archer doubles her perception roll against opponents not using stealth, and thus sees opponents at double the range.
Archer’s Enemy: Archer receives +4 on all Attack, Damage, Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks made against Champions.
Archer's Terrain: Archer chooses four districts of the ciity to count as Favored Terrain, as the Ranger ability.
----------------------------
Rider
Rider’s Chase: Rider, Rider’s horse, and Rider’s Summoner all gain +5 on all checks made for a chase, and treat all skills as trained with one point if they would otherwise be untrained.
Rider’s Retreat: Rider, Rider’s horse, and Rider’s Summoner gain 10 ft/round movement (after all other modifiers) and start an extra 2 squares ahead of anyone chasing then on a retreat.
Assassin’s Stealth: Assassin gains +5 on all stealth checks made at night, and in settlements. If both conditions are met, this bonus increases to +7.
Assassin, the Rogue: Assassin deals 8d6 sneak attack damage against flat-footed or flanked targets. Assassin gains five Rogue Talents, ignoring level requirements.
Assassinate: Assassin may spend a standard action to observe a target (and may follow her target each round). After spending 3 rounds doing this from no more than 60 feet, Assassin may then, when within 30 feet, perform Assassinate (If assassin has no ranged attack, then it is a melee strike). This attack is a standard action that automatically hits for regular weapon damage and 20d6 sneak attack damage. It also stuns the target for one round and applies Assassin’s Mark. However, in order to use this, Assassin must surprise his target and remain unseen up until attacking.
Assassin’s Mark: A target with this mark cannot recover normally and cannot recover to more than half their normal HP by magic. This mark fades after 24 hours.
----------------------------
Knight:
Knight's Defense: Knight gains DR 5/- and SR 26.
Knights Protection: Knight's Summoner gains SR 21 and takes 1/4 damage from all physical attacks and 1/2 damage from a champion's magic-only attacks
Knight's Power: Knight gains 5 bonus combat feats.
----------------------------
Berserker:
Berserker’s Revelry: Berserker is permanently under Mad Enhancement. Calming down takes 1 hour OR 200 mana, and leaves Berserker fatigued for 1 hour UNLESS the Summoner spends 100 mana to negate the fatigue. Berserker may NOT increase rage level when fatigued, but may decrease it. This has three levels.
Level 1: +4 to STR and CON, +2 to WILL saves (all morale), -2 penalty to AC. -4 penalty to all CHA, INT, and DEX based skills other than Intimidate, Acrobatics, Fly, and Ride. Under this, Berserker *can* function in society relatively normally.
Level 2: +6 to STR and CON, +3 to WILL saves, -2 penalty to AC. Cannot use CHA, INT, or DEX based skills other than Intimidate, Acrobatics, Fly, and Ride at all. Automatically attacks enemies, but is controllable for 50 mana per hour (can prevent attacking), and honors alliances his Summoner makes while controlled. Automatically uses Power attack if he has it, but can be ordered not to for 50 mana/round.
Level 3: +8 to STR and CON, +4 to WILL saves, -2 penalty to AC. Cannot use CHA, INT, or DEX based skills other than Intimidate (Demoralize only), Acrobatics (jumping only), Fly, and Ride. Automatically attacks anyone present other than his Summoner (prioritizing the nearest target first), though a Summoner may give reprioritization (attack the enemy, not the ally, or attack a different enemy) or combat orders (Prevent escape, etc.) for 50 mana per round applicable, and retreat orders for 100 mana (no timer). Berserker cannot use any hero-unique powers (such as PSW III's Loki's shapechanging) other than passives (such as PSW III's Guan Yu's bonus HP/AC/Attack+damage rolls when outnumbered), and passives on weaponry. Berserker automatically uses Demoralize as part of a move action or charge.
Berserker’s Rage: Berserker gains 5 Rage Powers, as a Barbarian. Level requirements are ignored.
----------------------------
Caster
True Arcana: Caster knows all spells cast and supernatural abilities used in his presence
Magic Sense: Caster may spend an immediate action to identify how much mana an opponent spent on an ability. This must be done within one round of the ability used.
----------------------------
Savior
Powers of the healer: Savior and his Summoner have fast healing 1 outside of combat, but only when at less than ½ health.
Divine Magic: Savior gains access to a set of divine spells that are refreshed each day. Savior does not have any infinite healing, but gains access to a secret number of Cure spells per day.
Resurrection: Once per game, when the Savior is killed he is brought back to life with half the health.
----------------------------
Sage
Theurgy: Sage gains two spell lists, one arcane and one divine, that may be cast each day.
Choice of Powers: Sage may cast spells as a Sorcerer/Cleric, Wizard/Cleric, or Wizard/Oracle for mental stats. Sorcerers and Oracles gain power from Charisma, Wizards from Intelligence, and Clerics from Wisdom. Sorcerer/Oracle is forbidden.
Leader: Sage gains access to minions under his command. Minions will be balanced competitively by the hosts. If a minion is killed, Sage may resurrect the minion for 200 mana after 24 hours have elapsed. In the event Sage had a horde of minions in the legends, then this may be changed. Sage knows where his minions are at all times, and may observe through one of their eyes for 10 rounds/day for free, and 50 mana/round for future rounds.
----------------------------
Monster:
Monster’s Base: Monster and her Summoner begin the conflict in a base of his own creation. While within a mile of this base, Monster cannot become fatigued, exhausted, or staggered. Fatigue and exhaustion have the caveat of lack of sleep working normally.
Pass for Human: Monster may suppress her powers (other than Monster’s Base and Monstrous Magic), and appear as a human, taking 20 to disguise herself as a human. In this form, Monster may not use ANY powers other than skill ranks, saving throws, Monster’s Base and Monstrous Magic. Monster may use manufactured weapons in this form. This disguise may be shed as a move action, but takes 10 minutes to apply. Dropping this triggers a surprise round (so turn not wasted), but under other circumstances, Monster may spend 100 mana to make dropping the disguise a swift action.
Monstrous Magic: Monster gains Spell Combat, a select list of combat spells, and automatically takes 10 on concentration to cast defensively or while grappled (may spend 50 mana for a +4 bonus). Medium armor and shields do not affect spell failure chance.
Monster’s Nature: When Monster is in her true form, she gains an aura radius 30 feet that gives all enemies a morale penalty of -2 on all attack rolls, skill checks, and saving throws.
----------------------------
Monk
Monk’s Vision: For 25 mana, Monk may identify all beneficial spells in effect on one target as a swift action. By changing this to a move action, he may identify all buffs on 2 targets, but this costs 50 mana. Regardless of actions remaining, Monk can only use this once/round.
Monk’s Powers: Monk gains AC Bonus (adds Wisdom modifier to AC and CMD) and Improved Unarmed Strike.
Counterattack: Once per round, when the opponent misses an attack against the Monk she may make one attack against the opponent.
Combo: If the Monk successfully hit an opponent on her last round, her attacks do 2d10 damage until she goes a round without landing a hit. On her third round of attacking successfully, she may add any combat maneuver to her attack as a free action.
----------------------------
Archer
Archer’s Sight: Archer has Darkvision 200 feet, and may confer this to her Summoner 1/day for 4 hours, but limited to 100 feet. Archer may gain See Invisibility up to 100 feet for 10 rounds/day. Using this See Invisibility, or suppressing it, is a free action. These rounds need not be consecutive. Archer may spot any opponent not using stealth from double the distance anyone else would. In practice, this means that Archer doubles her perception roll against opponents not using stealth, and thus sees opponents at double the range.
Archer’s Enemy: Archer receives +4 on all Attack, Damage, Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks made against Champions.
Archer's Terrain: Archer chooses four districts of the ciity to count as Favored Terrain, as the Ranger ability.
----------------------------
Rider
Rider’s Chase: Rider, Rider’s horse, and Rider’s Summoner all gain +5 on all checks made for a chase, and treat all skills as trained with one point if they would otherwise be untrained.
Rider’s Retreat: Rider, Rider’s horse, and Rider’s Summoner gain 10 ft/round movement (after all other modifiers) and start an extra 2 squares ahead of anyone chasing then on a retreat.
Newcomer FAQ - courtesy of Raikage and jumpluff from PSW III - ANY GOOD QUESTION ASKED ON IRC WILL BE ADDED HERE
Q: Why is there so much to read?
A: Well, it’s because it includes the Newcomer Guide, which is really, really long. Never fear, however. You don’t actually need to know everything in the guide. LightWolf, the winner of the first edition of the game, didn’t even understand how half the things worked until the end of the second. Just ask the hosts for help if you’re not sure. It does help to save time if you read the guide carefully, however. If you must skip, I recommend you at least read the ‘PSW-Specific Features’ section.
Q: Do I need to know how to D&D or pencil & paper games to sign up?
A: No.
Q: What requirements do I need to sign up then?
A: You need IRC, commitment, a creative mind, and the ability to prioritize having fun over winning at all costs. A single Philosopher’s Stone War usually lasts about 3 months and a single player is usually involved in about 5-10 encounters which last about 2-5 hours over IRC, depending on how long they get to stay alive. Also, while we’ll try our best to help any newcomers to D&D, you still need to learn at least a few aspects of the system, and the game is pretty complex even compared to other games like Mafia. Lastly, due to the nature of these games, you are not allowed to sub out. So make sure you are absolutely committed. We will devise a fitting punishment for people who default on their responsibilities!
Creativity is highly encouraged because of the open nature of pen & pencil games. You can literally try to do almost anything that would be possible if the situation occurred in real life. Also, the game is heavily myth and lore based, so it helps if you have some knowledge on those subjects (or have Wikipedia).
There will be a few times in the game where you might have to compromise on your chances of winning for the overall benefit of the game. For example, sometimes people with clashing timezones can’t both be on at the same time to have an encounter, so one of them will send me a battle plan and I’ll run their characters for them instead.
Q: How exactly is this game run?
A: If you’ve ever watched/read Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero, you’ll already have a general idea of how this game works. 8 players compete to be the last man standing. Each player will control 2 characters, their Summoner and their Champion. The Summoner character is a spellcaster who is much more vulnerable, while the Champion is the main battle unit. Everyone’s Summoner is the same class, but each Champion has a unique class. You also get 2 order spells which are basically extra lives. You work together with the DM (me) to create these 2 characters (this is especially true for beginners), and then each day you send in a day plan directing what you want to do. When a situation that requires more closer attention to detail (most commonly a fight) occurs, I will call the necessary players up on IRC and run it in real time.
Q: What changes were made from PSW III to PSW IV?
A: The weak mage in control of the players is now again called a Summoner, and receives stats as a level 10 character of the Summoner Pathfinder class (with boosted HP). PSW IV Summoners get no other class abilities of the Pathfinder Summoner besides spells, instead they get a few bonus feats.
Q: Where’s the map again?
A: Here.
Newcomer Guide
www.d20pfsrd.com, the site that contains the information you need, also contains the information you do NOT need. The site needs to be comprehensive and thus covers many things that you don’t need to know. We have thus written a newcomer guide for PSW. Reading this guide, coupled with assistance from us, should allow you to play this game with no problems.
Warning: this guide is pretty long, but not as long as it’ll take you to go through the SRD.
The guide is viewablehere. It is the collaborative effort of the hosts and several veteran players, and the collective knowledge gained from previous Philosopher's Stone Wars. We hope you find it makes immersing yourself into the game much less confusing!
PSW IV note: This guide is outdated, ignore the sections irrelevant to PSW IV like analysis of the Wizard class features.
Sign-ups are open now and will be for one week, possibly two depending on interest. Ask any questions in the IRC-channel #flamel.
Fresh players will be heavily prioritized but veterans will get in also.
After signing up, send a PM to Aura Guardian and Agape with a set of champions that you would like to play as, with the first in the list being the one you prefer most.
Playerlist:
- RODAN
- Eternal_Drifter
- theangryscientist
- LightWolf
- UllarWarlord
- ginganinja
- Walrein
- MrcRanger97
- Maxim
- DrunkenSniper
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