Welcome to Aurea

Hi, and welcome to Aurea!

We hope you come, enjoy and have fun with us. This article is to give you some idea of what to expect and how to behave on our little corner of reality.

A Beginer's Guide to Aurea

You don't know exactly why you ended up here. Perhaps you were fleeing the consequences of your choices. Perhaps death seemed certain. Perhaps you sought an escape.

But the how doesn't matter. The where does.

The portal deposited you on Aurea, a planet in the Plane of Aur, on the continent of Aurelia. You're safe, somewhat. The place is...strange. You're not the first person to show up like this, that's for sure. Almost everyone here seems to be from a similar background, or the child of someone from a similar background.

But what now? Where now? There was once a city, Aurelian, but it's...gone now. The older pirate cove of Anfortas seems to be blossoming, however, and the newer city of the Crossroads could always use more people.

Really, though...it's up to you.

You could do anything.

If you'd like to know more about what has come before, you can see a brief summary of some of the world here.

Rules of Aurea

0- Do not be a jerk. This covers a lot of topics, but in general try and remember that we're here to play the game with everyone and have fun.

1- Keep your role play and posts Safe for work. This should be a PG13 environment; meaning language is fine but explicit content is not. In other words if the movie Little Nikki didn't get away with it you won't either.

2- Keep off topic conversations regulated to the off-topic channels and areas, avoid political topics, Real life Religion and topics involving sensitive issues. This isn't mandatory, but causing problems by continuing to talk about sensitive issues or political topics after being asked to stop will be considered a violation.

3- Avoid Power-gaming. Building a strong or optimized character is fine, but we're all here to have fun and if your killing the fun for others then you may be asked to change your character.

4- Keep Arguments civil, and argue at the right time. If you want to sit down and discuss things with someone do so, but don't do it during an encounter while a GM is trying to run a session.

5- We reserve the right to add new rules as time goes on, but we would rather not.

6- Player versus Player is allowed, but not mandatory.
PVP is any action or ability that would harm, impede, or otherwise remove the players agency in regards ((Includes Scrying directly on PC's)) to their own characters. It needs to be agreed on both players before it starts as well as the GM allowing it to happen in their quest or Admin or builder outside of quest. If you are unsure if an action would fall under it, Ask the gm first.
PVP causes to much IC and OOC issues to not have to be okayed beforehand, or to just be like "Well that happened" if it isn't.

7- If you are playing a hard good aligned character, or a hard evil character please understand that your character is supposed to be a hero or adventurer and not someone who murders everyone at the drop of a hat, or a cartoon supervillain.

Most violation of the rules will lead to warnings, so long as the violation isn't severe. If someone has been given multiple warnings:
That will lead to a kick, and the removal of tags.
Lastly, if necessary, that will lead to a ban.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What system is being used here?
Answer: We play using Pathfinder 1st Edition rules, most easily found at the d20 Pathfinder System Reference Document and the Archives of Nethys. For more details, check our the character creation page.

Question: What sheets do you use?
Answer: We use the Pathfinder 1st Edition Sheet on Myth-Weavers.com, the standard version. Please do not use the experimental version. To keep all the sheets standard, please use this sheet.

Question: Which Pantheon do you use?
Answer: We use the standard Golarion Pantheon, found here or here. In addition, we have a few of our unique deities, and some normal deities may be just a little bit...different. Or, uh. Dead.

Question: Do I have to be from Golarion or Aurea?
Answer: No. We have characters from any number of planes and places. Even characters from the same world, such as Golarion or Earth, often come from alternative versions of the one most people know - we have a number of characters from a version of Earth currently under the control of the Archdevil Mammon.

Question: I saw you guys use Automatic Bonus Progression rules, but without the weapon and armour attunement. How does that work?
Answer: Exactly as it says. You gain the Resistance, Deflection, Toughening, Mental Prowess and Physical Prowess gifts as normal, and Legendary Gifts once you reach level 19, but never get the Armor and Weapon Attunement bonuses. It was decided to do it this way as too many classes would lose out on there class abilities...and really, it's not that exciting to find a new Belt of Dexterity, but finding Luxferrum the Holy Avenger is more exciting.

Question: With ABP, does my animal companion/familiar/eidolon/phantom/other get it too?
Answer: No, although you are free to split each bonus in half and give half to your companion, in much the same way you'd split your supply of gold to equip them in a traditional system.

Question: Hey, have you guys considered switching over to Pathfinder 2nd Edition or Dungeons and Dragons 5e?
Answer: We have. We have decided we don't want to.

Question: How is time dealt with outside of quests?
Answer: Aurea's time is a little bit...broken. One character can experience years of travel and adventure and another will have seen them last week. There is an in game explanation for this, but in short: time is handwaved except on quests.

Question: How do I tell if my sheet is being reviewed?
Answer: The staff will have someone review your sheet. To avoid several of us doing the same thing an eye emoji will be put on your post. The staff member in question will send a message regarding any changes that need to be made to get approved.
If your sheet simply vanishes without any messages, rejoice! You are one of the rare few to not need to fix anything. The staff approving the sheet should send you a quick message anyway, explaining it's been approved, but we are human, theoretically, and occasionally forget.

Question: I noticed a lot of strange ranks...what do they mean?
Answer: Yeah, we like to have fun. The ranks are pretty easy to understand, however.
Hoardlings - General members with no other responsibilities.
Hatchlings - Our Trial GM's, those just starting to run games.
Dragons - Full GM's, allowed a certain level of world-building authority.
Solars - Administrators, responsible for enforcing rules, checking sheets and voting on rule amendments and changes.
Balors - As the admins, only with additional world-building and event running responsibilities.
Displacer Beasts - The owners. Know fear.

Question: Hey, I see people in the quest voice channels and need something...can I swing by real quick?
Answer: Unfortunately, no. We use a system that grants players coins the more they roleplay - including in the quest voice channels. Because of this, to avoid abuse of this system, we don't allow anyone but those playing in the quests to be in those voice channels.

Question: Since we get hero points, and we start at level 3, how many do we get?
Answer: Unless you decide to be an Anti-Hero you gain 3, one per level of your character.

Question: Since you're using Elephant in the Room, and my class or archetype grants me one of the feats given, what happens?
Answer: If your class or archetype gives you a feat that Elephant in the Room replaces, you may get a bonus feat in it's place, to a max of one per level. Please note this does not apply if you take a Background and Occupation that would grant some - it's an optional bonus, and you can choose a background that doesn't have one of these feats if you prefer.

Question: I saw I can suggest stuff! Wow! Can I suggest -X-?
Answer: Generally speaking, yes. However, please keep in mind if you make a suggestion that is already allowed - for example, suggesting we allow the Background Skills rule - and the staff, for whatever reason, vote no then the previously allowed option will be removed. We suggest checking to be absoloutely certain the option you want isn't already allowed before making a suggestion. In addition, please do not try to push through something by changing the wording a little and trying again - it will simply be deleted.

Dice Bot Basics

The dice bots are useful, but occasionally fiddly tools. Here are some basic, but potentially useful commands you'll want to know.

First, how to do a basic roll. Type the following into Discord;

!r 1d20

And you should roll a 1d20. You can roll any size dice, including non-traditional ones like d9's, and the like. Adding your modified and a description is as simple as adding a + or - to the roll, and adding what you're doing. So an attack with a plus six to hit would look something like;

!r 1d20+6 To Hit

While this will cover most of your day-to-day dice rolling needs, if you decide you wish to be a game masters, you'll also need to know how to start combat. Even if you don't, knowing how the turns work and the commands to end a turn and move things along are useful.

To begin combat, use the code;

!init begin

This will cause the channel to enter combat, and monsters and players can enter the turn order by entering the following:

!init add (Character Initiative) (Character name)

So, let's say Steve the Mighty has a +2 to his initiative, his roll would look like this;

!init add +2 StevetheMighty

When you're done with your turn, you can end it with;

!init next

!i n

Finally, to end combat, use the code:

!init end

It will ask you to confirm, which you can do by typing and entering yes.

For more complex uses and commands, check Here.

Roleplaying Formatting and Etiquette

For ease of understanding and reading, we have a few requirements for how to format your posts.

First, we ask that everyone write in Third Person rather than first person.

Next, please use basic capitalization, grammar and spelling. We don't ask for perfection, but please do make an effort.

When making out of character comments, please use (Brackets like this) to denote which comments are out of character, and please keep OOC commentary to a minimum.

When conveying information another character wouldn't know, such as using a Sending spell to talk to someone a distance away of speaking in a language other than common, please use the Spoiler tags and make sure to note what is being sent/spoken.

Channel Guide

We have quite a few channels on the Discord, so here is a brief description of some of the more useful ones.

General - General talk about the game and the server.

Off-Topic - Where everything unrelated goes.

Character Images - Where you can post a image of your character once they are approved. Please note, there are no discussions allowed. All other pictures go in Images and Video.

Questions and Answers: Where to go for singular 'how does this work' style questions.

The Bounty Board is where you'll find games to join, reacting with your character level. Make sure to check the Bounty Board Key to see how to react when over level 10.

Sheet Submit - where your completed character sheet goes! Make sure yo follow the handy-dandy guide found Here.

Build Help - For when you wish help in how to construct a character. Note, if it's busy, please use Build Help 2.

We also have some voice channels! General is for general chatter, off-topic for when someone wishes to have a conversation and general is too busy, and Gaming is for when a member wishes to stream a game to others.
In addition, we have Voice Quests 1-3. These channels are for roleplaying: please do not go in unless you're part of the quest, even to ask a quick question or the like. Thank you.

Running Games and NPC Encounter

GMs and Trial GMs can run NPCs (Non-Player Characters) for other players outside of quests.

You cannot grant rewards, discounts for services below 70%, etc. while Running an NPC - the only time that granting rewards is allowed is if you turn that NPC Encounter into a true Quest Encounter. Thus, the rules for running a Quest Encounter are applied.

Gm's are required to try to take the new players first. But a lot do random rolls to see whom they are taking for a quest. So if you see a quest is full it doesn't mean you can't sign up you may get lucky and taken.

While running an NPC Encounter, you cannot have any of your own character participate. The only time this would be allowed is if that character is tied to the NPC and is not participating in the Encounter.

GMs can run only two encounters at the same time. This can be two quest, two interactions on a roleplay board, or a combination of the two.

Rules for Questing

Once the quest has started, you cannot buy items or add gold or experience to your sheet until after the quest is finished. The sheet that you began the quest with will be the sheet that you end the quest with - sans any items or gold obtained, bought or given mid-quest. If you were to level up from the experience gained as part of a quest, ask your GM before levelling up during their quest.

During a quest, the GM determines the price and value of items for buying and selling to NPCs.

If you are unable to make it to the quest, please let the GM know as soon as possible so they can either sub in a new player or balance the quest accordingly.

GMs and Trial GMs can turn you away for any reason, they do not have to run for you. In turn, players are allowed to drop from a quest at any time, however this will usually mean forfeiting quest rewards - unless the GM specifies your rewards.

To join a quest, first go to the bounty board channel and check to see if there's an available quest within your level range. Once found, click the interested button on the event tab (if there is one) and react to the quest with your level.

You will not be quest-locked (having a character in an ongoing quest be unable to take downtime, roleplay outside of the quest channel or be on other quests) unless the GM specifically mentions that is the case, however quest-locking can be overruled by the staff in specific circumstances.

PVP Quests must be done in the formal duel channel and you must grab an Admin or Builder for these to be ran, so fairness is applied accordingly. These will never be placed on the bounty board. Terms must be discussed out of character and experience will be rewarded; items must be agreed on unless a steal build is being ran.

GM’s are free to modify the experience granted per player by participation. If you feel a GM has been unfair, please contact an admin or builder.

Any alt and homebrew rules are up to gm discretion and may vary greatly GM to GM.

If you would like to become a Trial GM, ask the staff how.

Welcome to Aurea!

A Beginner's Guide to Aurea

Rules of Aurea

Frequently Asked Questions

Dice Bot Basics

Roleplay Formatting and Etiquette

Channel Guide

Running Games and NPC Encounters

Basic Character Creation

Other Character Creation Rules

Item Modifications and Clarifications

Weapons