Level Up - Can be at any time, but most often will be at the end of a session to avoid spending time on it during game.
No Adventurer Left Behind - If a character falls more than 2 levels behind, they'll be brought up to the level that puts them 2 behind the highest level character.
Behavior and Expectations[]
Disruptive topics - We're officially avoiding politics at the table. Anyone can say "politics" and everyone at the table should check their current conversation/line of talk and be sure they're not into politics.
Player vs Player - (not to be confused with Character vs Character) If it happens, expect play to stop until we're all in a good spot.
Player Secrets - You can have them, but I think you'll find them more fun and interesting if the players know about them. GM will help with avoiding meta-gaming around character secrets, but he'll also let character secrets slip a bit intentionally, as it's a lot harder to keep a secret from someone that you're around 24/7, than it is from someone you're sitting at a table with 4 hours a week(ish).
Player Discomfort - If something comes up and you're uncomfortable about it, please speak up or send me a text (even in the middle of game) and I'll address it. More on this later.
Rules Debates - Generally, I make a ruling on the spot and check the rules later to keep things moving forward.
Meta-Knowledge - I have a pretty light hand about this. My wording on stuff is more careful than the average person (it's natural to me). You'll get hints or questioned if meta-gaming comes up. Don't sweat it.
Min-Maxing - I don't care until it disrupts party balance or starts being a "safety issue" for the party.
Murder Hobos - Expect repercussions.
Character Creation[]
Renown - We're going to play-test at least one idea I have to help with social/intrigue. It won't be a big deal for this campaign, as that's not a focus for this campaign, but that'll give us a chance to test it when it can't ruin a campaign.
We may include Communities as well, but they won't come up right away, and won't come up if there's no votes for them.
Campaign Length - The goal is to get to 10th level, not beyond. Maybe not quite that far.
In-Game Politics and Factions - They will exist and I expect them to be a fairly important part of the campaign. If this doesn't end being a political campaign, they may not be very important.
DM Style[]
Rules - I'll almost always rule in favor of "Rules as Intended" as opposed to "Rules as Written".
Attendance - If we have 3 players, game is on.
Player Narrative Authority - Because of the sandbox nature of this campaign, and my intention to run this as player driven, this will absolutely be a thing.
Pet Peeves - Having a character that's planned out to 20th level before the campaign starts. Let the campaign help dictate some of your leveling decisions. Be ready to take skills because the campaign is "suggesting" it. It's totally fine to have a feat that you're looking forward to, but to assume how your character will progress without being in the story seems silly to me.
Ethics[]
Attraction and Sexual Orientation - There is no in-game cultural stigmas attached to this. As a GM, I will not initiate romantic/sexual encounters with PCs, this avoids any discomfort. As PCs, you're more than welcome to initiate romantic/sexual interests. I'll largely handle these in 3rd person and at arms length, or "off screen", again to avoid discomfort.
Rape/Sexual Assault - I will absolutely NOT initiate encounters of this nature. I would request that players also not initiate encounters of this nature. If it's in your character background, that's fine.
Backgrounds[]
Backgrounds - There are currently no home-brewed backgrounds. That doesn't mean it can't happen. I expect backgrounds to play a role in this campaign, you should too. :)
Mounts - Yes. Exotic mounts may be available at higher level as well. If your mount is regularly a hassle for the GM or party, don't be surprised if they die. :(
General Rules and Mechanics[]
Ready an Action - Even if the rules don't make it this simple and straight forward, expect the rule to be handled like this; on your turn, you can spend an action to take yourself out of initiative (its the ONLY thing you can do that turn). You can then re-enter initiative at any time as an interrupt, to take your remaining 2 actions from that turn.
Repeated Party Rolls - Sometimes you all get to roll. If someone makes a roll and its not obvious that they fail by the narrative, then other people shouldn't ask to roll just because the first person's dice looks like they failed. If "Joe Smith" says they want to attempt something, and it sounds like something that you want to do as well, speak up and you can roll as well. We may use PF1E "Aid Another" rules to reduce the desire for some of this.
If a thief is trying to pick a lock and fails, they've taken 10 rounds for the attempt, and they can re-roll.
In some cases, the 2nd person attempting the same thing as someone else, will have a penalty.
Downtime/Crafting - There will definitely be downtime available. You can craft during downtime (you'll probably need an appropriate skill) and it'll save you money in the long run, or completely save you money if you already have the needed materials. There's lots of other things you can do during downtime as well. See Archives of Nethys - Downtime
Pets/Companions/Mounts - These can slow down the game if there's a lot of them. I intend to limit the number of Pets and Companions at the table. Mounts can be used to serve their purpose, but don't expect them to serve a lot of additional purposes. This is partially because we have (in my opinion) a somewhat large group at the table.
Magic Items[]
Attunement/Identify - You can attune with an item that you haven't identified (for better or worse). You'll only be able to gain the passive benefits of the item (if any). Attuning with an item does not help identify an item.
Magic Resize - Worn magic items will typically resize to fit the wearer of someone they're attuned to. Lesser items may not. It's not impossible to find an item that won't resize; this is typically a plot element.
Vendors - See House Rules on Riverwood Frontier page. (I'll move this rule to the House Rules for the new campaign, once we have one.)
Spells and Effects[]
Spell Abuse - Getting creative with spells is fine. Consistently using spells not as intended will draw (light hearted) warnings, and they'll stop working that way.
Material Components - Unless the component is meant to limit the spell in a real way (expensive component so the spell isn't so readily available) then I won't care.
Death and Resurrection[]
Character Death - This shouldn't be very common. I'd rather have a character death have dramatic significance than have characters die at random moments. Sometimes if a character dies, they may not actually be dead. Sometimes things happen, and the story doesn't allow for an easy out. If it does happen, the player can bring in another character at the same level. They won't be fully equipped however.
TPK - Hopefully this won't happen. If it looks like a TPK, RUN!! :) I'll try to salvage things without making anyone roll up a new character.
Resurrection - Expect this to be rare at best, if not outright unheard of.
