Introduction to Kestrillon

Greetings Pioneers and Opportunists!  

Welcome to Kestrillion.  Having been recruited from the seven nations around Lake Encarthian, you have arrived at Fort Landing, a small settlement recently planted by a mysterious sorcerer on the Isle of Terror.  The ancient civilization here was destroyed years ago by the Whispering Tyrant, and as a descendant from this civilization, the Sorcerer wishes to restore this land and reclaim it’s treasures.  It was once known as the Shining Isle or Inteper Isle, and boasted a large population of wizards and artisans, but now is awash in magical disaster, negative energy swamps, and dark secrets.  The Isle itself is located at a prime spot, a natural fortress, and is the home of several rare resources.  Adventure and treasure are at every corner, it just falls upon you to seize upon it.

This is a homebrew sandbox, integrating the campaigns we've done before, and possibly acting as a bit of a hub for retired adventurers.  There are seven diverse nations within a short boat ride, and an isle filled with danger, mystery, artifacts, undead and unholy monsters, ancient Thassalonian ruins, and even planar rifts.  Multiple characters are encouraged, and you will be able to use them whenever and for whatever you choose.  The fledgling settlement will have little that your characters don’t build, so be prepared to make a difference.  

There has been a recruitment drive far and wide to have various places send their talented, if not problematic people his way.  There is need for businessmen, artisans, performers, and laborers as well as researchers and developers.  The city will be populated with many people, some of whom will do things that need doing if they’re neglected too long so opportunities won't last forever.  There is the overarching story of Reclaiming Kestrillion, but you only have to be near it, the characters can be as involved or uninvolved as they wish.  

The enigmatic sorcerer has already reclaimed and restored a stunning cathedral to Lissala, celebrating the seven virtues of rule; Charity, Generosity, Humility, Kindness, Love, Temperance, and Zeal.  He’s not strict about religious practices in the new civilization, but generally people and faiths that can agree to most of these terms will be on friendly terms with the people here.  There will also be opportunity for espionage and political intrigue as well as religious conflict within the confines of the game, but having fun at other's expense will not go well for the instigating character. Please remember that this is a cooperative game, and in this wild west style pioneer village, taking the law into your own hands can happen, so be considerate of the group for your own good.

Lake Encarthan is a fresh body of water about one and a half times larger than Lake Superior, and situated very close to the middle is a large isle where it's one harbor is where the game will begin.  There is a beachhead and one large temple amidst the ruins of the trading port of the island, where the river pours into the lake.  Within two days of sailboat travel lie seven nations, and four capital cities.  Absalom is about two weeks by boat down the Sellen River.  

The nations are worth looking up information on, feel free to check out the Pathfinder Wiki page on them.  Their names are Druma, Multhune, Nirmathas, Last Wall, Ustalov, Razmiran, and Kyonin.  Down river you'll pass the River Kingdoms, Galt, Andoran, and Taldor within easy reach.  Your characters will most likely be from those places, or at least traveling in them for the sake of recruitment.  

The language of trade is Taldan, also known as Common, but other languages that may be useful are Kellid, for the local tribesmen, Draconic, Planar languages, Undercommon, Azlanti, and Thassalonian, although that last one is not available to starting characters.

With the significant amount of undead in the campaign that you will have to deal with, animal companions may be difficult to play with, but not impossible. Ranger favored enemies that may be useful but not limited to, are: Undead, Humanoid (Human, Dark Folk, maybe Elf or Dwarf), Animal, Construct, Evil Outsider and Ooze

So, you're ready to make a character or two? You can make several characters for this game, for the first part of the game will be focused on individual missions that should be able to be finished in one evening session. You can mix and match your characters with others, trying out combinations of characters until you find groups that may have common purpose or uncommon synergy. Characters within town will level at a slower rate than the ones you play each night, but they will all still level somewhat.

Anyway, here's the build rules.

1. Any race (subject to approval) or class is allowed, but stay away from evil alignments without special exception please.
2. 20 point buy, or this array- 15, 15, 14, 14, 13, 10
3. Normal progression rules for stats (+1 every even level, +1 to every fourth level to a different stat)
4. No Rolling HP. Max at first level, half HD +1 for every other level, including multiclass. (4,5,6, or 7)
5. Level 2 or 3 start.
6. Level 2 players gain an extra feat from this list that they qualify for: Point blank shot, Power Attack, Weapon Finesse, Combat Expertise, Weapon Focus, Spell Focus, Improved Initiative, Toughness.
7. Starting gold is max starting gold for your class plus a skill check of Profession or Perform times 100. (1d20+your modifier x 100g) Or 50 for other skills (100 if you can give me a good reason to allow that skill to make you money)
8. Two Traits + Campaign Trait. You may take a drawback. Trade in any two traits for another feat of your choice.
9. Background Skills are in play
10. Characters with a decent backstory will receive a free Story feat. You may have one thrust upon you if you don't pick one.

Any further questions can be made on Discord, I reserve the right to edit this.

Campaign traits are based as to where your character was recruited. They don't have to be from that nation, but having lived there for at least a little time helped define their character. Note that Campaign traits are not required because of my trade in deal, but they are here if you want to look at them.

Kerse- Capital of Druma, atheist city of wealth. People who are from here or have been here for some time have access to and know how to deal with money. +4 Trait bonus on downtime rolls to earn capital (or GP including starting money)

Detmer- Mercantile shipyard. Also in Druma, this port is the closest to the Isle's harbor. +2 trait bonus to crafting and profession checks and Knowledge Engineering becomes a class skill, +1 if it is already a class skill.

Greengold- Elven Port City. Many people want to get into this closed off country. +2 trait bonus to Diplomacy checks to influence citizens of the other six nations around the coast of Lake Encarthan.

Eranmas- Molthune Military Center and naval shipyard. Multhune has a strong millitary tradition. You gain a martial weapon proficiency of your choice, or if you are already proficient with all Martial weapons, you gain a +2 to Profession Sailor or Soldier

Tamran-Beseiged Nirmathas Capital. People in Nirmathas are used to clandestine warfare due to their resistance to Multhune's attempted subjugation. +2 trait bonus to Stealth or Survival, You also gain -5% miss chance due to concealment with a ranged weapon.

Thronestep- Razmir’s Stronghold. Deception is rife within this city, as they take after their godking. +2 to Bluff and Sense Motive, +2 to saves to avoid truth telling magic.

Caliphas- Ustalov’s Cultural Center, Their rich culture and history have prepared their noble classes for exquisite tastes. Appraise becomes class skill. With skill check of 25, +10% to sell off mundane items and treasures.

Vellumis- Gateway to Lastwall. The paladins of Last Wall have a large influence over the culture of the people who live so close to the front lines. +2 trait bonus to Will saves against fear and confusion

So you want to make a building, do ya? We’re going to be utilizing downtime rules. You know, the ones they used for the casino in Second Darkness and then promptly forgot about as you left and never came back until the end of the campaign? Yeah, those. Teams are people you can hire to help as well, and it all works under the same system. While buildings are unlimited, teams and managers are limited by your character level and charisma.

To summarize, there are five types of currency used to build buildings or recruit teams. The first you’re familiar with; gold. Easy enough. Then there are four new types called Capital, all of which can be bought with gold, but if you earn them in other ways, it can reduce your cost significantly. These are Goods, Labor, Influence, and Magic. You can earn them through your daily activities, or through recruiting teams to earn them for you, or after you build a building, they can earn these types of currency as well. You still have to pay gold to acquire these currencies normally, which is half the cost to purchase them outright. Most building prices are in the Downtime rules section, and modifying them to suit your needs or refacing them is not a problem.

Earning Capital can be done each day.by making a d20 roll. You can take 10. Then you add your relevant skill, as well as any bonuses from teams or buildings you possess. Divide the roll by 10, rounding down, and that’s how much Capital you earned that day. Pay half the amount in gold, and that’s your earning for the day. Detailing your teams and buildings will gain you up to a 50% increase to the bonus they provide. This will require at least descriptions of your people and buildings/businesses with minimal descriptions gaining minimal increases.

The thing that is a problem is supply. On the Shining Isle, you have to ship in all your Goods, and Labor is Expensive. Goods will be double priced, and Labor Triple, at least until certain parameters are met. You may also find Goods in stockpiles yet, but you haven’t uncovered any of those. These prices will be reduced when certain things are done in game, and might be bargained for if you are able to make the right connections.

Example time!

Dorian wants to build a greenhouse. This is just a room, not a full building, and we’ll need for there to be a modified farm eventually, but the greenhouse is a great place to start. There are two kinds, one can upgrade into the other, the greenhouse and the mystic greenhouse. The Mystic Greenhouse is really necessary for very exotic plants, so just a regular greenhouse would do.

Normally building a greenhouse would cost 8 Goods and 7 Labor, for 300gp, but since these cost a bit more, 7 Labor is now 420 by itself, and the 8 Goods will cost 320 for a total of 740. I’m not going to mess with building time, so it will still take 16 days to finish. Once finished, this room will increase earning rolls by 12, whether gold or Goods or Influence. Because Matt Loree came up with an amusing name for his greenhouse, as well as a brief description and location, I’ll give him a +25% bonus, so the greenhouse increases earning rolls by 15 instead.

The day after the greenhouse is finished, Dorian uses his day to make a roll to increase goods for future projects, perhaps more greenhouses. His profession Farming bonus is +9, the Greenhouse gives him a +15 for a total of +24. This guarantees a earning of 2 goods, taking 10 would get him 3, and a good roll will get him 4 per day. A second greenhouse with no extra description would increase this by +12 again, Five of them plus a manager and a team of laborers as well as a few more rooms that make sense could make the check without him every day with a +80 or higher depending on details.

In conclusion

I hope to help you through any projects you consider, so please ask questions and I will work with you from there. If I gave you any information earlier, I’m revising it to these rules.

Characters now will enter at level 6 and can not progress past 11 for the next section of the game. Characters that start at 6 will receive the bonus feat. The small town of Zaistrun's Landing has started being populated for a few months and adventurers are beginning to probe the Bone Forest just past the gate.