I wasn't sure what to write first to inaugurate my new website, so I figured I would just dive in and tell you about the tabletop game I'm currently running. I may want to turn this into a series - even if only as a place where my players can find recaps after sessions. Hopefully you will find this interesting as well though! The campaign I'm currently running is called Tempest Unbound and we play using Pathfinder Second Edition.

wait, pathfinder?

Yes, I'm one of those insufferable tabletop gamers who is always trying to get people to stop playing D&D and branch out into the wider world of RPGs. The reason is simple - Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, is a terrible company! From the OGL scandal to the Pinkerton debacle to their attacks on creators (who promote their game for free!) it's just not an entity I wish to give my limited funds to.

Of course, there are also many D&D alternatives that are not Pathfinder. I have tried a lot of them! Most recently, I ran a campaign using FATE, a rules-light(ish), setting and genre independent, flexible framework for running games. There were a lot of things I liked about FATE. It emphasizes collaborative storytelling, taking some of the creative load off of the game master and sharing it with the players, who then have a larger stake in the game. It doesn't take very long to learn (especially if you're using the even lighter FATE Accelerated) and it is insanely flexible, letting you run pretty much any game you imagine. I used to run a game set a couple of centuries in the future in a colonized solar system but sticking to known science, but you really can do anything with it.

Unfortunately for me, I found the rules to be too light for my taste, leading me to have to make a lot of on-the-fly decisions and generating a lot of cognitive load, especially during combat. I think it might also demand a little too much from some players, especially those who are used to relying on a GM for the content of the game.

So I knew going in to this game that I wanted something a lot crunchier and Pathfinder seemed like the perfect fit for that. Pathfinder has rules for EVERYTHING and although it is harder to learn, I'd rather be able to look up a rule than try to make a ruling on the fly most of the time. The characters are a lot more customizable and above all, balanced. That means that you can't just win the game at character creation and you can make fun and interesting choices without necessarily having to worry about making the optimal one. A lot of people may call it Mathfinder derisively, but all of that math means that you can throw a monster at the party and have a pretty good idea of how much of a challenge it will be. More importantly, you can actually challenge the party no matter what level they are, unlike D&D which becomes largely unplayable (in my opinion) past level 15 or so.

I could go on all day about Pathfinder and why it's a much better game both for players and GMs than D&D, but let's move on to my campaign.

Tempest Unbound

Tempest Unbound is a campaign I created myself with the following basic premise:

The lands of Zephyria are home to many races - orcs, goblins, elves and dwarves being the most numerous. Generations ago, humans came from across the sea from a place called Enolia and coveted the land and its bounty and so they took it by force, playing the different peoples against one another. After many years, human rule began to chafe such that those people were able to set aside their grievances, rise up to form the Red Tempest, and depose their human rulers. In the aftermath, however, the fragile coalition broke apart and chaos ensued. So the Enolians used subterfuge and economic power to put Zephyria back under their thumb, but with a much lighter touch. A century later, most Zephyrians enjoy a measure of self-rule, but the wealth always seems to flow out of the land and into Enolian pockets. Their traditional ways of life are under constant assault, they are forced to work for employers they did not choose, and they struggle to survive. Finally, though, a small party of determined adventurers has a chance to complete the uprising. They'll need to reform the Red Tempest, build new alliances, and grow their influence in order to pose a threat to Enolian domination.

As you can see, I'm finally putting that history degree to good use. Thus far, the players have proven themselves to understand the assignment even better than I did. During their very first adventure they stumbled across an old Red Tempest hideout infested with kobolds and promptly allied with them. Those kobolds remain some of the most beloved NPCs to this day. Most of the players are new to tabletop games, so they don't come with any preconceived notions about which races are friendly and which are villainous. This does make it difficult to come up with villains, but I think the stories are better for it. Thus far the biggest villains have been a group of mercenaries called the Fianna Coill, but they are finally starting to get entangled in the plots and schemes of something much more dangerous - a group of religious fundamentalists called the Lightkeepers.

Most Enolians worship three deities to various degrees - a god of wealth and trade called the Current, a god of war and protection called the Sentinel, and a god of diplomacy and propaganda called the Beacon. The Lightkeepers, however, have come to see the Beacon as the pre-eminent power and they see the conversion of Zephyrians to their sect as paramount to expand its power and influence. They specifically proselytize among the downtrodden and dregs of society, promising to allow them to rise once they unlearn the dangerous and primitive ideas they've been taught by their people and embrace the ways of the Beacon. The party has encountered a handful of Lightkeepers thus far in the campaign - mostly normal decent people. Everything is changing now that they've journeyed to a town entirely dominated by the sect - Providence.

Providence

Providence is a sleepy little village threatened by frequent monster attacks. Luckily, they have the Lightkeepers to protect them. As long as the Lightkeepers defend the town from ghouls and bugbears, the townsfolk grow more accepting of their presence and influence. So ardent has their support become in the past few years that Prelate Guillaume has been able to build a temple to the Beacon - a massive lighthouse with a room at the top made entirely of glass and mirrors that allow him to surveil the entire village and surrounding areas. The townsfolk have largely acceded to his rule and begun to internalize the necessity of Lightkeeper protection, which of course includes a hefty dose of martial law.

The party have come in search of Freya, a little girl and budding druid who was kidnapped, and the trail has led them here. Soon after their arrival, however, a monster attack happens in the night and the Lightkeepers are insistent that druids and their barbaric rituals are to blame. The party leader Siorc being a druid herself makes it even more tense. Will they be able to avoid being run out of town with pitchforks before they can ensure the safety of little Freya? Or could the Lightkeepers be right - does she have anything to do with the attack?

Closing Thoughts

I hope this little tour of my campaign was fun to read. The game has been a lot of fun to run and I can't wait to see how the party takes my plans and shreds them next. Let me know if you want to know anything else about Tempest Unbound - I may post a primer on the PCs some time soon. Also feel free to argue about Pathfinder in the comments.