Welcome to Parhelion

Hi and welcome to Parhelion!

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 Beginner's Guide to Parhelion

Have you ever wondered about the things that slip through the cracks? The people that just...vanish? The places that fall into myth?

There is a place where many of them go: Parhelion. The currents of the Maelstrom drag things from reality. From all realities. It takes the forgotten, the lost, and it keeps what it takes.

When a person falls through the gaps, well, sometimes it's just they've been forgotten. And sometimes it's more. Something you're about to find out.

You awake on the train, confusion and horror. Outside is the void, endless, infinite, colours and darkness and smoke and cloud. Through the shadows and the mist a structure comes into view...an island, floating in nothing, thread-like train tracks running from into the nothing that surrounds you.

The doors open and you feel compelled to step onto the platform. You don't recognize the writing on the signs, but you know what it says anyway - 'Welcome to Olympia Station'.

Among the bustle of the station the train is now...gone. Doesn't seem like you'll be home for a time.

Or maybe you came on purpose. Maybe you sought out the void, sought out it's secrets. Working endlessly, devising machine and magic to hunt for the secrets lost in that place, working tiresly until one day...you were there. On a train car, riding through the void.

And maybe you've always been here. Your family stayed, made something of themselves, and this is just your commute to town.

But however you came to it, you're in the void now. Some seek to slip out of reality to escape, as a fresh start, or just curiosity, others fall in by chance - or were pushed in. However one falls through, there are ways out - though it's often said they always come back to the void whether it's after a day, maybe months...but once you enter into the void, you always come back eventually. There are rumours of ways to permanently escape, unique for each person, though some have chosen to embrace the void, building lives, even growing families in Parhelion. You'll meet all sorts here...

Rules of Parhelion

0- Do not be a jerk. Don't treat people like they're just words on a screen. 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. See the Etiquette section below or an admin if you'd like further information on that.

1- Keep your role-play and posts safe for work. This should be BBFC 15/PEGI 16 content environment without explicit description.

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. Additionally, please do not make commission-related or spam posts or send unsolicited images, commission requests, ads, or the like via private messenger.

3- Avoid Power-gaming. Building a strong or optimized character is fine, but we're all here to have fun and if you're killing the fun for others then you may be asked to change your character. If you are concerned your own or another character is powergaming, feel free to submit a feedback form to staff to review.

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 other players' agency in regards ((Including Scrying directly on PCs)) to their own characters. It needs to be agreed on by both players before it starts as well as the GM allowing it to happen in their quest and an Admin outside of the quest. If you are unsure if an action would fall under it, Ask the GM first.
PVP causes too many 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. GMs may alter a character's alignment towards another direction at their discretion, however, if this change is great enough for a character to lose class abilities them please ask a member of Staff to check that it is warranted. And if you disagree with a decision please use the Feedback form to explain why, with as much supporting evidence as possible, and we will work to decide if the judgement was fair or not.

Most violations of the rules will lead to warnings, so long as the violation isn't severe. If the violation involves conflict with others, staff may time out all involved in an effort to calm things down and impose requirements to remain separate from someone else on the server including not being in the same games, not posting after each other, not being in the same conversations, and similar to keep the peace for everyone.

If someone has been given multiple warnings that are an on-going detriment to the server or a severe violation, that may lead to a staff vote on kicking from the server, and the removal of tags.

Lastly, if necessary for severe violations, staff may vote to ban a player.

Parhelion Server Etiquette

It is important that everyone at the table is both comfortable and having fun within the BBFC 15/PEGI 16 content limit of the server - if it's beyond "That Time I Reincarnated as a Slime" or "Bloodbourne", then it's beyond this server. Within that content rating, it's important to be respectful and avoid inappropriate social behaviour. Generally we hold the adage of 'If you wouldn't like a random stranger doing it to you, don't do it to someone else here', and we always include demeaning or sexualising other members of the server without consent as inappropriate social behaviour. It's one thing to make a joke about the horned dragon, it's very much another to make another person unwillingly part of your kink joke. GMs should make sure to warn players of any themes or likely difficult, sensitive content so players can actively choose if they want to play with that.

The GM controls the world, its events, and its people. This control is absolute. In equal measure the player's get control over their character's action. The GM cannot control these characters, with the sole exception of 'botting' a missing player's character so the game can move forward, and the same is true of other players. While the dice and their own choices will have consequences the GM cannot say 'this character does such and such' without consulting with the player. The players must not dictate the events of the game including the flow of time, NPC reactions and strategies, or demand mechanical details.

"It's what my character would do" is a wonderful thing to say right before you do an exciting roleplay choice that will actively harm your own character to others benefit. It's less wonderful, but much more likely, to be heard when making a choice that negatively impacts everyone else. Keep in mind that this isn't a game you win by making everyone else mad, and if you really want to go deep into roleplay try to avoid a character that will screw others over.

It's worth noting that, in a living world, you have as much chance to play with a lawful good warrior of light as you do a chaotic evil monster. Your character needs to be able to function with characters of extreme alignments. Equally, those characters need to be able to play in a party of diverse alignments without disruption. The idea is for everyone to have fun, so please keep this in mind. That said, you are not obligated to join a party completely against your characters moral compass - leaving an adventure is an option.

It is also worth noting that this a roleplaying server with people from around the world with a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and personalities. Staff try our best to keep Parhelion an environment where everyone who can follow the rules and etiquette expectations can play and enjoy themselves. We understand that either through the game or real life issues, difficult emotions and conflicts can arise that can mean reminders to not be a jerk and arbitration are needed. As a BBFC 15/PEGI 16 server, we expect people to be mature enough to manage their own emotional wellbeing and conflicts with others. You are not obligated to play or otherwise with any player or character you do not wish to - you may even be asked to avoid certain player(s) if conflicts go too far. Leaving a quest or conversation is always an option and preferred to hostility or getting overwhelmed. Parhelion is a gaming space largely used to relax and have fun. It's great that many people feel comfortable discussing gaming and other issues in our off-topic areas. Staff try to create a fun and supportive space; however, while gaming and venting can be cathartic, Parhelion is not a therapy space and does not follow any form of safe space or other therapeutic guidelines. Staff or other volunteers can not and do not take responsibility for individual's feelings, including creating or mitigating certain emotions. We ask people to be mindful of our rule 2 on sensitive topics and that other members have not consented to help anyone co-regulate so please avoid intense emotionally dumping, lovebombing, or similar onto the community and if these occur, we ask the community to use feedback or other method to alert staff and not encourage or otherwise engage with these types of behaviours. If these happen to the point of a negative impact on the space, staff may ask for an issue to be taken to a better place for support and refrained from on server.

Roleplaying Formatting and Etiquette

It's polite when in an active game to inform everyone if you're not going to be around for a while, and expected if you're not going to be able to post for more than 24 hours.

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, and to include either character name (Brian), description (brown haired human) or other identifier regularly in posts to help with clarity. In busy roleplay, posts that have no identifiers or only use pronouns can cause confusion.

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. Some GMs prefer them and/or dice rolls to be in other threads and some prefer rolls and small OOC in the main thread, feel free to check.

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 by placing || on either side of text or highlighting the text and clicking the eye icon and make sure to note what is being sent/spoken.

Do not level up your character while in an active quest. An exception can be made by getting permission from all GMs of the games you are currently in. Do not make a copy of your character sheet that the GMs and staff cannot access to that you are using to actively play a character in a game. A GM can give permission to make a copy to remain at level for their game so you can level up elsewhere, but you must give the GM the link to that copy.

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 out 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 - and check out the character sheet creation guide.

Question: Which Pantheon do you use?
Answer: We use the standard Golarion Pantheon, found here or here. .

Question: Do I have to be from Golarion or Parhelion?
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.

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 their 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 grant as much of your ABP bonuses as you'd like to them.

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 do I find out about the setting?
Answer: The World Atlas section has information on how things work in this part of the Void along with our Inner Islands. There is also a link in the descriptions of Inner Island RP channels.

Question: How is time dealt with outside of quests?
Answer: Time is done relatively simply, in that each individual experiences it a little differently. 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, either a phoenix or eye emoji will be put on your post, depending on whether the person is a sheet check support or staff member. The sheet checker 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: Hey, I see people in the quest voice channels and need something...can I swing by real quick?
Answer: 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. There are appropriate channels to ask for help: .

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 absolutely 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.

Question: How do I make a suggestion?
Answer: Use the command ?suggest in the Player Rolls and Bots channel on the Discord, with your suggestion following the command on the same line.

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 of 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 master, 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.

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.

GMs 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 quests, 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 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 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 run.

GMs are free to modify the experience granted per player by participation. They are also free to ask you to leave a quest if you are causing issues. If you feel a GM has been unfair, please contact an admin.

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, click the button in resources on the Discord server or ask staff.

Welcome to Parhelion!

A Beginner's Guide to Parhelion

Rules of Parhelion

- Parhelion Server Etiquette

Roleplay Formatting and Etiquette

Frequently Asked Questions

Dice Bot Basics

Running Games and NPC Encounters

Basic Character Creation

Other Character Creation Rules

Item Modifications and Clarifications

Weapons