World Serpent Inn Sandbox [Pathfinder, Recruiting Players!]



So I've had this niggling notion in my head for months now for a sandbox-type game set in the World Serpent Inn, an Inn that is, in fact, a demiplane connected to all the planes, and, in this particular case, every conceivable Prime Material, from Eberron to Toril to Golarion to homebrews (information on the Inn can be found here and here for those unfamiliar with it).

I'm not entirely set on what I want to do with it yet, but that's where the sandbox elements come in. Either the players are free to come and go as they please from the Inn, or at the beginning of the game, the Inn can find itself cut off from extraplanar travel, the portals that it uses to reach other worlds rendered nonfunctional. It depends on what prospective players are most interested in.

Likewise, I haven't settled yet on what I want the game to be like, mechanically. 3.5, 4th, Next, Pathfinder, and even freeform are all on the table, as is level. It really depends on what prospective players are most interested in, so, if you're interested, please, speak up, tell me what you'd like!

I'll update this first post as more details get hammered out, so stay tuned!

Most importantly before I get this game off the ground, I very much appreciate if someone might be willing to step in as the DM in case I disappear.

Dark Archive

I would DM, but I do not have have my books, and time is limited as I'm deployed.

As a player I will be available whenever unless internet is shut down.

I'm intrigued. I prefer Pathfinder as that's where we are and my D&D is rusty.

FWIW, I've always thought level 10 is fun. It's enough to make you feel powerful and to get you into trouble as a result, but it isn't godlike.

For now, I'll hold off on making any decisions until we have at least four interested parties so we can gauge preferences. The interest is much appreciated, though!

I do love sandbox games. I prefer the pathfinder ruleset.

Dark Archive

Additionally I prefer the 3.5 ruleset, but Pathfinder works well too.

Just a heads' up, even if we do end up going with 3.5, skill points will work like they do for Pathfinder. Easier to just avoid all that cross-class headache.

I'm interested. I'd really prefer pathfinder, i hate 3.5 with a passion

Liberty's Edge

Well. since anything is on the table, I can hardly find an excuse not to express interest, at least. Lots of things you can do with an extraplanar inn...

And overall, I have come to enjoy pathfinder's ruleset somewhat over 3.5. A little less minutae when it comes to character creation and management, without the blatant sacrifice in depth that 4E had.

Four out of five to Pathfinder... Well, I'm not surprised, considering this is the Paizo forums.

Any Paizo class will be allowed. Any race from the Advanced Race Guide will be allowed. Classes and races from other sources will be judged on a case-by-case basis.

Does anyone have any preferences on power-level? Mythic- yes, no?

For power level I think around 12th seems good. As for mythic: no.

I would be intrested, 3.5 or pathfinder is fine. I have never played mythic before, is it up on the SRD yet? Anywhere I can catch up on its rules? If not then no mythic :P
Any character level is fine, same with any power level, I am not yet a vetrian that has preferences.

Grannie Bubbles would love to visit the Inn!

Regarding preferences: system wise I prefer Pathfinder and level wise medium: somewhere between 7 and 12.

Dark Archive

As to starting level 6-10 is good. You can deal with the low level enemies handily, but you can't become too cocky; you're in the area where big adventure opens up.

I would like to express interest. This sounds like a wonderfully exciting concept, and I love sandbox type games. I agree with lord Viper on the 6-10 spectrum, leaning a little more to the 10 side.

I also agree with Pathfinder, but could do 3.5 without much issue.

I would also be interested, I haven't been in a good sandbox game in a while. I would prefer pathfinder and I agree that something mid-level like 5-10 would be good. Though what is your preference for posting rates?

@Gobo Horde: The Mythic Rules are in open playtest right now; they aren't finalized, so they aren't in the SRD. However, they are available as a free PDF. However, no one seems very interested in using them for this, so I don't expect we'll be using them.

@Amazing Red: I don't have any strong opinions on posting rates at the moment. Still, if you will end up being out of commission for an extended period of time, say, a week or more, please show courtesy to your fellow players and give them a heads up in the OOC thread!

I meant that I would like a faster posting rate as opposed to a slower one. I'm usually good about being M.I.A.

If Mythic is still not released, then I'd rather not.

So far it looks like a range from 5 to 12, Pathfinder and probably not Mythic.

Sounds like the consensus. I also vote for a slightly faster post rate if possible.

I'd be interested, if you're still keeping spots open. Like most everyone I'd prefer Pathfinder and not Mythic. 5-10 also sounds perfect. 6 would be the sweet spot in that range.

@Proioxis By all means! The more the merrier!

At the moment, I'm leaning towards level 7, standard wealth, Epic Fantasy Point Buy (25).

Belltrap wrote:

@Proioxis By all means! The more the merrier!


So what races & classes would be allowed?

Liberty's Edge

Think she mentioned up there, any core+advance race and paizo class. 3pp case-by-case. 7th level, 25-point buy. LOTS of opportunities to be had here.

GM, how do you feel about templated races? Half-dragon, half-fiend, blah blah etc.?

Hey, assuming spots are still open I think this sounds like a great sandbox! If we are still voting I would say Pathfinder non-Mythic, somewhere between 5-10. I think it was noted that any Paizo race and class was permitted?

@Grand Moff Vixen: Daynen as the right of it.

@Daynen: I'll cautiously allow them, probably using their 3.5 LAs as a general guideline.

Liberty's Edge

I think the SRD has LA's listed for most of them, if that's suitable, for those who might not have 3.5 materials. Otherwise, DM fiat. Not sure if it's what I want to do with mine yet or not, just trying to scout the territory for the party, so to speak.

Belltrap wrote:

@Proioxis By all means! The more the merrier!


Neato. That's where my vote laid.

The hard part about making a character for a game where you can be from anywhere and do anything is that I don't know where to start. Any lingering ideas or advice you can toss out to help us get started? Areas you want to take the group to or themes you want to hit in the game.

"Sandbox" is a good way to say "choose your own adventure" more than "you can do anything!" in my experience. Sandbox games, like real sandboxes, are full of hooks-- and most of them are put there on purpose*. Any hooks you are interested in throwing?

*(Or maybe I had a traumatic childhood...)

I too would like to voice my desire to play in this. I had run a short lived more or less social interaction WSI game, as the concept is phenomenal.

I could easily see this being a game where any number of PCs are allowed in, and if you aren't in a current "adventure" can just hang out in the Inn, interacting with other PCs, NPC patrons, NPC staff, etc.

Could we custom make a race, within a certain RP limit(I'd say 25 myself), which then must be approved? Not saying I will, but much like the templates question, just making sure all options are thought of.

Yeah, the Race building options seem much more balanced than template. DM's discretion of course. But looking at a lot of the templates they can easily add a size category, or elemental immunity, or +8 strength, and it seems like a lot of those would be kinda unbalanced.

Should we begin building a character or should we wait for further info?

@Ice Titan: Keep in mind that the World Serpent Inn has impeded magic. However, certain backrooms may have different planar traits.

Perhaps your character has heard stories about the World Serpent Inn and have finally stumbled their way in; perhaps they work at the World Serpent Inn, either by choice or in indentured servitude for some wrong they committed; perhaps they seek to create their own demiplane, like the creators of the World Serpent Inn did; perhaps someone they knew disappeared into the Inn, never to return, and they're looking for them, either as someone important to them, or because they were hired to; perhaps they are a child of a serpent wench who chose to leave the World Serpent Inn; or perhaps they were born in the World Serpent Inn and have lived there for their entire lives. These are just a few possibilities, just to start you off. If you're interested in taking another direction, please, by all means, surprise me!

What character types, what races are possible here that wouldn't be available in normal games?

@Monkeygod: That's pretty much where I'm hoping this goes, yes.

re: player-created races. I'm going to set the limit at 20, for now. I think most paizo races, aside from Noble Drow, sit below there. (The highest I've seen, off the top of my head, is Aasimar at 17.) Obviously, they'll be subject to approval, however.

@ashern Creating your own race would probably be more evenly balanced, yes, but I would keep in mind that a half-dragon would be losing about half their levels.

@Grand Moff Vixen: If you want to start working on your character, by all means.

@Belltrap- I'm working in a character who is a Tiefling who fled to the Inn to escape his "mother"'s cult and has been working there in exchange for protection ever since. He is looking for a cure to his connection with the abyss and is terrified of ever falling into her clutches.

I have this great idea for a race that is intended as a slave race that I built for a different campaign. It is 30rp and has a few houserules that I would have to modify a bit and tone down, but you can see its preliminary build! I intend on building it as an Armiger and be a defensive support kind of character :)

Beast of Burden:
"We need these heart cubes moved onto those big red buttons over there and there is no way we are going to do that ourselves! As such we have built ourselves a slave race that it may carry out our every whim! Obedient and generally only capable of an animalistic intelligence these sturdy animals have been most useful! They do however posses this weird trait where they seem to care for each other. Odd."

Beasts of Burden were never given an official title as they were deemed too low for such an honor, referred to simply as "Beast" or "Slave" or "You" or other even more derogatory terms. These simple creatures are usually kind hearted despite their masters usual cruelty or dismissive attitudes and are loyal to a fault. Often pacifists, Beasts will rarely be the instigators in a fight and can often try and protect their would be aggressors even as they themselves are being attacked. They combine the loyalty and trust of a canine and the simplicity and obedience of an oxen or mule.

Beasts of Burden were created with very little regard for their own care or well being and as such have developed a sense of community empathy that borders on psionic. They can take on the pain of others and make it their own, lessening the pain the original creature feels in the process. This can have some rather odd implications when combined with the low intellect of the Beasts and there have been documented instances of Beasts using this on those that they are trying to attack, hurting themselves in the process or where an object might fall on one Beast in a group and all those around it suddenly die from the shock of the connection. Another set of reports tells of how a Beast herder would sometimes survive an otherwise fatal accident solely due to a faithful Beast nearby and one thing is sure, these Beasts can be incredibly durable when in large herds as you cannot kill any of them until you kill all of them as empathetic waves bounce and reverberate among the herd.

Description Despite being bipedal, Beasts tend to walk on all fours much like a gorilla as their overlarge front arms are long enough to reach the ground from a standing position. Their arms are often covered in a thin layer of light, silvery hair yet under this lies steel chords of enhanced muscles as they were created solely for hard labour. At the end of their long arms are a pair of roughly humanoid hands with amazing grip and they make for very proficient climbers, they are able to support their entire weight and the weight of a heavy load while clinging to small cracks or outcroppings with only a few fingers. In-between their large and hunched shoulders lies a head somewhat akin to a yak or minotaur, a large forehead, a thick, forward protruding brow topped with bushy eyebrows and small, dull grey and unintelligent eyes.

Standard Racial Traits

Ability Score Racial Traits: Beasts are bred for manual labour and only have basic animalistic intelligence. They gain +4 Strength, +4 Constitution and -2 Intelligence.
Type: Beasts are Magical Beasts.
Size: Beasts are Medium creatures and have no bonuses or penalties due to their size.
Base Speed: Beasts are slow and lumbering. They have a base speed of 20 feet and are never slowed by armor or encumbrance. They also have a climb speed of 20 feet.
Languages: Beasts, like their namesake are not evolved enough for a common language. Beasts without additional languages due to high Intelligence scores or ranks in Linguistics can only communicate with grunts and gestures. Beasts with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following languages; Common, Elven, Dwarven, Gnome, Halfling, Sylvan, and Undercommon. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Defence racial Traits
Stability: Beasts receive a +4 racial bonus to their CMD when resisting bull rush or trip attempts while standing on the ground.

Natural Armor Beasts are durable and hard to hurt. They have a +2 armor bonus.

Silvery Hide Beasts have silvery hides that are resistant to damage and gain DR 5/silver.

Feat and Skill Racial Traits
Durability: Beasts receive Toughness as a bonus feat at first level.

Empathetic Field Beasts are very empathetic, almost to the point of psionic, and can subsume the wounds of others around them. They gain Shield Other as a spell-like ability at will.

Movement Racial Traits
Expert Climber Beasts are extraordinary climbers and gain a climb speed of 20 feet and can cling to cave walls and even ceilings as long as the surface has hand- and footholds. In effect, Beasts are treated as being constantly under the effects of a non-magical Spider Climb spell, save that they cannot cling to smooth surfaces. They also double the normal +8 racial bonus on Climb checks normally granted to creatures with a climb speed (to a total +16 bonus).

Senses Racial Traits
Darkvision Beasts can see perfectly in the dark up to 60 feet.

Low-light Vision: Beasts can see twice as far as humans in conditions of dim light.


Race Points: Beast of Burden

Type: Magical beast: 3rp
Low-Light Vision
Medium: 0rp
Slow: -1rp
Specialized Stats: +2str, +2con, -2int: 1rp
xenophobic Languages: +0rp
Advanced Strength: +4rp
Advanced Constitution: +4rp
Stability: +1rp
Moon-Touched DR: +3rp
Static Bonus Feat: +2rp
Natural Armor: +2rp
Improved Natural Armor: +1rp
SLA At Will: 4rp, Shield Other
Climb: +2rp
Expert Climber: +4rp

Total: 30rp
Note: I made him a magical beast, and gave him both low-light vision and darkvision for 3 points. If you think this should be more just tell me :) I could also change it to humanoid (beast) if it becomes a problem. I also gave him the language options of a feral orc. Low intelligence Beasts are just that, beasts. He has shield other as a SLA which is both a blessing and a curse. Use it to much and I could get insta-gibbed by a fireball :)

Liberty's Edge

custom races...whole new can of worms there...wonder if I should try out my gatorfolk, dracotaur, or...the legendary OSTRICHFOLK.

Maybe...I'll think on it.

EDIT: believe it or not, I have had zero success finding example images of a humanoid ostrich. I may be on to something here...

I'd like to join up, perhaps as a halfling, elf, or human monk? Or maybe something more interesting...

It's 25 point build at level 7, yes?

Yea, if we're doing ARG custom races, I might tweak my race since my original choice(halfling) is so far under the 20 rp limit.

@ashern Oh, an excellent character concept.

@Gobo Horde Definitely going to need to be tuned down a bit.

@Winwaar Yes, that's correct.

Shadow Lodge

I'm interested, here's a custom race I made, let me know if it's ok.

Jidaijin (lit. Time people):

Outside (Native) 3 RP Ties to Dimension of Time
Medium 0 RP
Base Speed
Normal 0 RP
Ability Score Modifiers
Flexible (+2 Con, +2 Wis) 2 RP
Advanced Charisma 4 RP
Linguist 1 RP
Racial Traits
Defense Racial Traits
Lifebound 2 RP
Senses Racial Traits
Darkvision 60 ft — RP
Magical Racial Traits
Unfettered by Time (su) (X RP) Jidaijins have developed the ability to control their internal and biological clock. They are constantly under the effect of the spell Threefold Aspect, however they can switch forms as a free action once per round rather then as a standard action, additionally the stat bonuses are untyped rather then enhancement bonuses, finally true seeing has no effect with regards to this ability. A Jidaijin does not age normally, and has no maximum age (when it is time for them to die, they simply age themselves to the point of death.)
Total 12+X RP

The final ability is a little hard to put an RP value on, Threefold Aspect is a 4th level spell making it 4 RP for a spell-like ability once per day, however I made a few changes to the ability to represent the control of one's own internal and biological clock. Since Threefold Aspect normally lasts 24 hours and allows for the character to switch any time they could use a standard action, the main differences between casting the spell as a spell-like and this ability become the ability to change as a free rather then a standard and stacking.

I am looking to make a gruff & grizzled gunslinger (musket master) who was once a lawman and is now a bounty hunter. He is pursuing serial killers that killed his family. They were tried and were inexplicably found not guilty. On that day the gunslinger realized that there was no justice, only 12 opinions. He bitterly laid down his badge and went after them. No matter where they go he will eventually find them.

How common are firearms?

Winwaar's alias, here. I'm starting to build him up, but I'm mechanically challenged, so it'll take a bit of time. Hopefully not enough to waste the rest of yours.

Contemplating a drow gambler/barfly. She was sent to scout and somehow just never got around to returning to report. One of these millenia she may have to head home. But not now.

Belltrap, any particular way you would like us to do hp?

@Grand Moff Vixen: Emerging firearms is the default. I think that'll be fine.

As for hp, rolling's fine. If someone would rather take the average, though, that's fine, too.

Belltrap wrote:

How do you feel about my having an advanced firearm such as a masterwork rifle? I would pay all the costs for having it including ammo. If you want, I can make it part of the backstory as to why they have it.

Grand Moff Vixen wrote:

Not at default. You may be able to acquire one later, however, as treasure, or, possibly, design and craft the first for yourself with gunsmithing once the game begins.

I thought I recognized Mousestalker!

Funny you should mention gambler/barfly. I was thinking I'd play a Harrower, who would also be a bit of a gambler himself.

Liberty's Edge

Shall we include any traits?

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