[Campaign Fail] Failing at Creation

So recently, I asked to join a Pathfinder 1e group to try out a classic PF Module I never played. Met with the GM who seemed like a good guy, experienced, with a lot of takes that vibed well with me. Quirky but not in a bad way (aren't most GM?). We had a long chat about the game and I was definitely on the hook. He was looking for people to refill his group after life happened to many of them. Nothing to worry me. He was well-organized and made great use of online tools, exciting. Definitely things I may use for my own campaigns.

Then came character creation... "Make a character" he said... I built myself a cleric - which the party did not have (they only had melee thugs).

I started asking questions to round out my character.
- "What creation method?" No answer. I used 20-points as a type of default.
- "How much money/equipment do I have?" A question particularly important since he spoke of integrating me while I was in jail with half the party. And 7th level! No answer.
- "When/Where do you want me to come in?" No answer.

I gave him a background, using the following guidelines for myself: since I did not participate in the opening segments of the game, having someone from the outside would allow me to play that I didn't see/know everything they did. I sent him four concepts that could fit the above, and he liked 2 of them, so I merged them into one, ending up with this:

Henry von Garabet is a low-tier noble from Cheliax. Charming, he drew the attention of a Countess and they started got into an affair. Captured in the throes of love, he fled. The husband accused him of rape (which it wasn't), and placed a bounty on his head. Escaping, he swore his allegiance to whatever gods would save him. He received help from Shelyn - goddess of love and beauty. From there, he came to [adventure location].

And that's pretty much where the shit hit the fan. He got annoyed that I changed from Taldor to Cheliax, giving me a paragraph why Shelyn made no sense in Cheliax and sent me to the Pathfinder Wiki to "read up on Golarion"...

After back and forth that yielded none of the answers to my questions (I still don't know how much money I should have). He began asking me for an extensive family history (about my siblings) and I said "whatever you need, I'll go with it."

After a week of this back and forth, he told me I was not longer welcome in his game. Funny because I was about to say the thing due to frustration to get the character done.

Now, what *REALLY* happened? There was clearly a breakdown in communication here. Instant messaging is great but it is important to ask the questions you need. And answer them. Massive multi-paragraph answers are not good for Q&A-type discussion. Keeping replies short allows for replying to particular elements.

Also, answer the questions.

So this post is about Pathfinder, but not really. In fact, my biggest gripes would've happened regardless of whether we played PF or 5e or Call of Cthulhu.

[Olympia Novel] One Hundred Daughters Released!

One Hundred Daughters is the second book of the Olympia Chronicles and a loose sequel to The Bloody Notebook. Although knowledge of the first book is recommended, this second book is also a self-contained story.

The writing for this novel was a completely different experience than The Bloody Notebook, whereas I started with a clear idea of the ending of TBN with a vague idea of how the characters would get there. For 100d, I had a strong starting point, and a vague idea how the characters would reach the ending. Whereas TBN has a small cast, this book has a much larger one and features a sea voyage in the tradition of the Argonautica or the Odyssey with a wide cast of colorful characters. Several known faces from the first book return, including fan-favorite Melita. Others make cameos, while most of the crew of the Endoxos are brand new characters that explore the world of Olympia.

So this was a fun, unique experience for me to create and discover this story. When I re-read it, and really had a blast. This story has so many twists and turns as it builds towards it inevitable conclusion. And the secrets each member has and keeps from the others.

One Hundred Daughters

A Prince without a City

Miltiades is the last prince of Ekkos, a city destroyed by a Titan over five years ago. To reclaim his crown and his homeland, he gathers a band of heroes—including the demigoddess-sorceress Melita, a drunkard captain, a dancer, a priestess, and a handful of dregs from the docks of Athenion. Together, they sail aboard the Endoxos, an old, rickety penteconter, to seek the aid of a distant nymph-queen. The gods watch their journey closely, for their own entertainment.

But will secrets and prophecies tear the crew apart before they even reach their destination?

One Hundred Daughters is available on Amazon and DriveThruRPG

For a full PDF experience of the world of Olympia, you may get One Hundred Daughters as part of the Olympia Bundle.

[Crown of Tears] Lady of the Whip and the Old Man

The Knights of St Edras having accepted Sir Garrick's offer of assistance, accepting subjugation to the king in return for troops, servants, and supplies.

Dame Sabine de Marivault, a knight of the Order of the Whip arrived at the head of a force of outriders, servants, and archers to man and defend the Tower of St Edras.

After a short discussion, the Knights left because the Mists were going to part to open to a place called the "Hanging Glacier" to find another piece of the Crown of Tears. One held by the dragon Galdavantrix.

The world beyond was a plain filled with ice-looking crystals with snow whipping in the air. Lucky for them, Tera obtained enough cold weather gear for all of them to travel to that cold land without issue.

In the distance, they saw only one dark point over the snow haze. They headed that way and encountered a walled village. Wolf, the guard at the gate refused them entry, but showed them the way and reminded them of the presence of slaadi.

As they traveled to the Hanging Glacier, they encountered three red slaadi which led to a massive battle among the crystals.

After that, they found themselves at the base of a 600-foot cliff to reach the monastery where they wanted to meet the old monk master Vantrix. A few sheninanigans and abilities used later, and they were all up there sporting a few bruised.

Vantrix admitted that he could get the shard, but that he would not ask the dragon until the other shards of the crown were brought to him. When asked what the effects of reforging the crown would be, he replied "Not what you expect."

He also gave them the location of the two other shards:
- The Hanging Tower in the Underdark of a place called Faerun
- The Tomb of the Frost Giant Yarl in a place called Rhym

Now in possession of the locations they needed to visit to reassemble the crown, they made their way back to Tarsyn.