Necrotic Cowboys [3.5]

[Stratovarius]

So, thinking of starting up a 3.5 campaign (and the name will probably change. I chose this one for fun). There's a fair number of details in the various spoilers below, but I've put the most important bits and pieces up top:

• Desired Players: 3-5
• Would like to have a Co-DM
• Optimization: Moderate
• Class Tier: 3 and below
• Starting Level: 3

If there's anything missing or in need of clarification, please just ask.

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Marleath is a buried kingdom, long since lost from the sight of those who live on the surface. Hidden deep within the earth, it is by no means a dead kingdom, for it is ruled and run by those of an undead persuasion. The patriarch of this foul estate is a lich called Ve Angau, and it was his magics that drove the kingdom deep underground, and have transformed it into what it is today. Brutal and uncaring, even his undead children are little more than tools to be used and discarded.

Beneath him lay the rival factions of mages and priests, civil servants and defenders of the kingdom, each with their own petty rivalries and disparate desires. Their infighting, and Ve Angau's absorbtion with creating ever more powerful undead creations, has turned the eyes of Marleath inwards. Lost behind unlit tunnels, the undead of Marleath have all but forgotten the surface world, aside from a few who look towards it for leverage in their constant struggle for power.

Those among the living who served Marleath were divided at a young age, taken from their breeder parents and given into the cold and heartless care of certain intelligent undead, who would teach and prepare the children for their appropriate task in the great necrotic machine of Marleath. Many of the least intelligent were taken to the mines and the tunnels, constantly forced to dig and build and carve the heavy, heartless stone of the caverns. They would be worked until they died, and then transformed into zombies and skeletons, idiot creatures that could work yet longer hours. Those with a special spark were gifted into the ranks of the defenders, sacrifices who could die and be reborn into a new, higher, state. Once drafted, those children would be trained and forced and beaten and abused until they had learned all that was necessary for their given duties. From the age of fifteen, they would take up their role as sacrificial lambs and carry that weight until their death upon their fiftieth birthday.

The tunnels surrounding Marleath are a barren wasteland, stripped clear by the depredations of both Marleath itself, and the clusters of undead that have been lost, discarded, or otherwise escaped from the clutches of Ve Angau, only to make what living they can by scraping it from the barren rock and hideous vermin that inhabit those regions. It is through these tunnels that any attempt to scout the surface would have to take place.

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Open to discussion.

The players are a group of undead, tasked by one of the various factions of Marleath (players' choice) to make their way through the tunnels and to the surface, to examine the land above. They are given three months for this task, and told to return either with valuable information, or valuable loot. Both is preferable. To assist them in this, they have been provided an ancient map of the surface world, and a slightly more recent one about the tunnels. Neither should be considered particularly accurate.

General Info:

• It should take roughly one week to pass through the tunnels
  
• Players can travel in any one of eight directions from Marleath (North, North East, East, South East, South, South West, West, North West)
• Each one will result in arrival at a different kingdom on the surface
• Upon return home, the players may be embroiled in internal politics, or sent outwards again for more information (and/or raiding).

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All of these are open to discussion, so please nudge me if you'd like.

Big one: If a player wants, he can, instead of playing using only classes, choose to start as any undead creature that fits within the restrictions above (moderate optimization, Tier 3, level 3). Undead Monster classes from Libris Mortis, are, of course, open. If it's an unintelligent undead, Awaken Undead might be lying around waiting to be used...

• No PHB Classes (I think they're terribly balanced)
• No Unearthed Arcana
• Homebrew allowed - talk to me first, even if it's one of mine.
• Player race must be undead - see the setting info for reasons why
• Point buy or array will be determined once we have enough PCs to start the campaign.
• Any WotC book is allowed, just ask me first about the specific material desired

Libris Mortis will be used liberally throughout this campaign, for obvious reasons.

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I prefer giving XP at the completion of a scene/mission, and having all the PCs level up then. Likewise, I highly prefer it if the players give me a list of treasure they desire.

I do not like death hosing players, especially ones attached to their characters. Thus, for undead PCs, Animate Dead will bring them back unharmed, except one or two items on their person will be destroyed (as a result of their dying, not the Animate Dead).

I am also not hugely strong on mechanics, prefering to focus on story telling. This is the primary reason to need a Co-DM. As well as to keep things moving and help design the later parts of the campaign.

Current Players:

• Nanshork (might DM)
• Raineh Daze
• PhaedrusXY
• Risada
• Ketaro
• Oslecamo
• Gazzien

[Nanshork]

Well now, I remember playing something like this long long ago!

I'm willing to play or co-DM. 

Also, instead of Libris Mortis undead classes I'd suggest looking over/allowing Oslecamo's versions.

[Raineh Daze]

Os's undead gives more variety.

Playing a walking corpse appeals to me, if I can make them really annoyed that their millennial slumber was disturbed and their tomb looted. I want to play a temporally displaced corpse-monarch.

[phaedrusxy]

Holy crap I am so in!

[Stratovarius]

Well now, I remember playing something like this long long ago!

I'm willing to play or co-DM. 

Also, instead of Libris Mortis undead classes I'd suggest looking over/allowing Oslecamo's versions.

Well, like I said, homebrew is allowed. So if a player wants to use them, just pick the right one out and bring it to my attention 

And whether you're DM or player might depend on the rest of the people hopping it. And yes, you'd be right that Marleath is one of the Arhosan kingdoms, although I'm being slightly less ambitious this time and also changed some of the setting basics (there's no more useful living creatures, primarily).

Playing a walking corpse appeals to me, if I can make them really annoyed that their millennial slumber was disturbed and their tomb looted. I want to play a temporally displaced corpse-monarch.

Well, you'd have to come up with a really good reason for why you are level 3 and beholden to someone within Marleath's aristocracy...

Holy crap I am so in!

Welcome, mate 

[Raineh Daze]

Well now, I remember playing something like this long long ago!

I'm willing to play or co-DM. 

Also, instead of Libris Mortis undead classes I'd suggest looking over/allowing Oslecamo's versions.

Well, like I said, homebrew is allowed. So if a player wants to use them, just pick the right one out and bring it to my attention 

And whether you're DM or player might depend on the rest of the people hopping it. And yes, you'd be right that Marleath is one of the Arhosan kingdoms, although I'm being slightly less ambitious this time and also changed some of the setting basics (there's no more useful living creatures, primarily).

Playing a walking corpse appeals to me, if I can make them really annoyed that their millennial slumber was disturbed and their tomb looted. I want to play a temporally displaced corpse-monarch.

Well, you'd have to come up with a really good reason for why you are level 3 and beholden to someone within Marleath's aristocracy...

Holy crap I am so in!

Welcome, mate 

You stole all my stuff and woke me up after centuries of inactivity since the last tomb robber.. Surely it's forgiven to forget stuff when you only had to drive off a few rogues every couple of centuries?

[Risada]

How many people are in again?

If there's a spot available, I would like to join this game.

[Raineh Daze]

Tempted to go with Ghost. Ghost Sorcerer or something. CARRY ABOUT A COFFIN.

[Stratovarius]

How many people are in again?

If there's a spot available, I would like to join this game.

There's a spot, so you're good to go

Tempted to go with Ghost. Ghost Sorcerer or something. CARRY ABOUT A COFFIN.

As long as it's not a PHB Sorcerer, you're okay 

[Raineh Daze]

How many people are in again?

If there's a spot available, I would like to join this game.

There's a spot, so you're good to go

Tempted to go with Ghost. Ghost Sorcerer or something. CARRY ABOUT A COFFIN.

As long as it's not a PHB Sorcerer, you're okay 

Like finding homebrew sorcerers is hard. <.<

And they're often more dangerous.

I could always do a Ghost/Favoured Soul/Prestige Paladin, if you want. Like that makes sense.*

*I think it would land itself on 8th level spells.

... what is sad is that you've banned bards and thus I cannot play an undead rockstar. Well, unless you'd allow SirP's Powerbard. EVERYTHING NEEDS MORE ROCK.

[Stratovarius]

Finding one isn't hard... Getting it approved, on the other hand...

And if you want to play a Dirgesinger or Bard or the like, I'm open to suggestions. Bard's not really one of the classes I really want to ban from PHB. The only one, more or less. Plus, I do have a bunch of homebrew classes with Bardsong.

[ketaro]

Idea: I want to play a Swarm Shifter of Undead Sand (Tomb Dust) that just 'rides' on some one unnoticeable via the Dust to Dust ability. Maybe a base race of Flameskull and I'm thinking of taking it down a bardic route, but it doesn't necessarily have to be Bard bard. But I'm definitely thinking a party buffer in the bardic sense.

Something's singing but nobody can find the source!

[Raineh Daze]

Aww, I want to play a Ghostly Powerbard...

[ketaro]

Let's all be undead bards!
We'll make it lore that the world hated bards back when we were alive and now we return as undead to bring about a cultural revolution through ROCK & ROLLUnDeath Metal!
(Oh ho ho, ketaro how are you so clever!)

Psychic Singer looks nice. But I've never really gotten into or used psionics before. If Raineh would really rather be the bard though, I could just go full psion and go learn the system finally 

[phaedrusxy]

I remember the zombie monster classes (Oslecamo's stuff, but written by Anomander) looked awesomely hilarious. I'm thinking maybe a zombie crusader, or maybe a morgh (although it seems a monster class hasn't been written for that one!).

[Stratovarius]

I remember the zombie monster classes (Oslecamo's stuff, but written by Anomander) looked awesomely hilarious. I'm thinking maybe a zombie crusader, or maybe a morgh (although it seems a monster class hasn't been written for that one!).

I'd be sooooo tempted to rule the crusader's healing is positive energy plane derived!  (I wouldn't, of course)

Let's all be undead bards!
We'll make it lore that the world hated bards back when we were alive and now we return as undead to bring about a cultural revolution through ROCK & ROLLUnDeath Metal!
(Oh ho ho, ketaro how are you so clever!)

Bonus points for dressing up in corpse paint and black leather!

Psychic Singer looks nice. But I've never really gotten into or used psionics before. If Raineh would really rather be the bard though, I could just go full psion and go learn the system finally 

Ah, do note Psion and Wilder are on the banned list (that whole Tier 3 and down thing). Psychic Warrior, Singer, and so on are perfectly legal though

Also, this is a lot of bardic enthusiasm... Maybe I should give bonus gear to anyone who somehow manages to sing some of my namesake songs in character in the game... 

[ketaro]

Well I probably would be leaning more towards Psychic Warrior just cause it seems easier to wade into for never having played a psion before.
If Raineh really wants to be the bard

If the Elementalist could also draw spells with energy/elemental descriptors other than those listed, I think I'd rather this. For example, the Wu Jen has [Metal] spells. 
I'd also reflavor the Elemental Form as merely changing the color of my flames (because I'm just a flaming skull ) rather than actually turning into an elemental, but of course still mechanically becoming an elemental. I want to burn with all the colors of the rainbow!

[phaedrusxy]

You know... this would probably be a great game to try out Osteomancy in... if I had time to read through it.

[Stratovarius]

If the Elementalist could also draw spells with energy/elemental descriptors other than those listed, I think I'd rather this. For example, the Wu Jen has [Metal] spells. 
I'd also reflavor the Elemental Form as merely changing the color of my flames (because I'm just a flaming skull ) rather than actually turning into an elemental, but of course still mechanically becoming an elemental. I want to burn with all the colors of the rainbow!

Hrmm. I've always considered that class Tier 2, mostly because it's an amazing blaster, has a wider than expected nine level spell list, and because the class abilities are city destroyers. And make a Warlock wish it could snipe at the same power level.

If you can somehow convince me otherwise, or tune it down, it's yours.

[Stratovarius]

You know... this would probably be a great game to try out Osteomancy in... if I had time to read through it.

If you snag it, you would have DM assistance... In so much as I'd be happy to hold your hand through learning it