General Rules

This campaign will be using the Pathfinder Core rule book which is available from Paizo Publishing, with room for addition or modification at the DM’s discretion.

Character Races
You can use any of the races stated in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook for your characters except for elves and gnomes, which will be allowed if sufficient reasoning is presented (see below). There are several caveats to these listed below.

The vast majority of Dwarves make their home in the Great Halls of Kim-dulhar, carved deep into the bowels of the earth beneath the Skyreach Mountains far to the West. Peerless craftmen, they are best known as shrewd traders and excellent bargainers. The common folk know them from their massive caravans, which criss-cross the land peddling their wares. Some families seek to escape the endless politics, and set up small holds of their own outside the Great Halls, and are shunned as outcasts for it.

Elves are close to never found outside of their forested home known only as Elvendom. They are deep believers in their One True God, and shun all outside races. Extremely xenophobic, and protective of their hard earned harmony with nature, by which they come to their god, they are known to attack any trespassers on sight. Several generations ago, a group of like-minded elves, who believed there was more than one way to the spoils of heaven, split from their persecuting brethren and left the forest for the cities of man. Now their bloodline is so polluted so as there is not but half-elves remaining in the outside world.

Gnomes are exceedingly rare. So much so that most people don’t believe they exist. Some of the wisest sages know them to be the magical might of the dwarves after they were conquered generations ago and integrated into the dwarven society as a servant class. Small pockets of them still exist outside of the Great Halls of Kim-dulhar, but if they are found, they are ruthlessly subjugated or exterminated by any dwarf that hears tell of them.

Half-elves exist in the cities of men as the only link to Elvendom outside the forest to the north, and have been fully integrated into every facet of human society.

Half-orcs, while rare, sometimes can be found in the most destitute of human settlements. They all bear some sort of genetic abnormality, beyond their often hideous features, and are generally regarded as outsiders, to be pitied or shunned. They are born sterile and so their lineage cannot pass to the next generation, which may be why so many take up the adventuring mantle, so as to leave a lasting mark on the world.

Halflings are ubiquitous throughout the land, seldom holding high positions of power or prestige, as they prefer to remain below the notice of men. They have seen far too many wars fought amongst the bigger races and generally want no part in them. Their settlements are always small, be they in a big city or rural country. They have very little material possessions as they have found that it is easier to escape the notice of men if they own little of value. Besides, it is easier to get out of the way with less stuff to tote around, should they need to move along.

Humans dominate the cultural landscape. The current kingdom stretches from shore to mountain stone with few exceptions. There are pockets of “Free” societies that avoid the King’s soldiers and his tax collectors, but they are often stamped out soon after they declare their independence. The most notable is the aptly named Free City, the largest and most lasting of such settlements.

Magic Items
Magic, being rare to begin with, makes owning magical items a status changing event. Most magical items were created long ago, when magic was much more prevalent, and must be unearthed by the extremely brave or extremely foolish. Items can be commissioned from the powerful Consortium of Magi, but are never seen in shops, or if they are, at exorbitant prices.

Classes
All classes available in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook are available for use with your starting characters. I will exclude the playtest classes in favor of character flavor with basic rules, for now. Just one quick note about wizards: all wizards belong to the Consortium of Magi, and have been trained at their fortress-city, called simply Consort. The Consortium maintains an active log of each wizard that has graduated with notes regarding relative power, focus of study (school), and tendency toward good or evil acts. Sorcerers and other magical classes take their power from other sources and so are looked down upon by the Consortium.

Starting Out
gp – average for your class + one masterwork item not included in the total the reason behind this item is for you to have something that is special to you for some reason or another. It could be integral to your backstory, or it could be something that you have just found. Either way it is a hook for your character. Also, it is my intention for this item to become your signature, and something that you could perhaps pass on to another generation. In keeping with that idea the masterwork item you choose cannot be an item that you would not normally be able to afford with your starting gold, though you still do not have to pay for it. Now, if you give me a fantastic story, we can discuss this.

xp – on the fast track

hp – max at 1st level

Questions are encouraged, and this is meant as a living document, subject to change or modification.

House Rules
Treating Serious Wounds - (pg 99) - When treating deadly wounds, you can restore hit points to a damaged creature. Treating deadly wounds restores 2 hit points per level of the creature. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, add your Wisdom modifier (if positive) to this amount. A creature can only benefit from its deadly wounds being treated within 24 hours of being injured and never more than once per day. You must expend two uses from a healer’s kit to perform this task. You take a –2 penalty on your Heal skill check for each use from the healer’s kit that you lack. DC 15. A crit doubles the base healing.