Court of Ravana

The party camped under the bridge, resting and also wondering if their enemies might appear in the forest clearing. The square surrounded the gallows, a crooked stone structure dedicated to Crom. Along the stone wall were valuable magical stones, inserted cleverly into the wall for some unknown purpose. A twist of each popped them out, but the party left them for now.

Sure enough, a group approached the square. A large, elephantine creature and two cyclops brought a young woman, a prostitute from town. She was docile and climbed the steps on her own, where the cyclops were about to place a noose around her neck.  The elephant creature examined the stones for a moment before they continued.

Before the noose was placed, however, the party emerged from the woods after sneaking up on their enemy. The verrik sorcerer cast Dispel Magic upon the woman. She blinked a couple time and shrieked, jumping off the small platform and landing hard on the ground.

The battle went on in earnest from there. The cyclops closed on the party, one nearly killing the large eidolon with a single blow of its giant great axe. The elephant creature attempted to charm the fighter, but without success.

The verrik fireballed the entire lot of them, killing the prostitute, who he deemed too late to save and badly injuring the cyclops and elephant creature.

The fighter bashed his shield into one of the cyclops, knocking him against the wall and onto the ground. The little halfling evoker cast Black Tentacles on the area, which grabbed the injured prone cyclops. The eidolon unleashed on the standing cyclops, disemboweling him with a flurry of blows. The cleric, always healing from the back, cured the eidolon of its grievous injuries.

Finally, the eidolon, now enlarged to huge size, stepped up and wailed on the elephant creature, finishing it off. As it died, it reverted into a different form, a well dressed, evil looking gnome like creature. The party knew of this creature to be Trikuta the rakshasa.

Celebrating their victory over the rakshasa, it slowly dawned on them that this was far too easy. Was this the rakshasa that impersonated them in town. Could there be two rakshasa?

They proceeded to probe the defenses of the fortress, and while showing off the severed head of Trikuta, the cyclops door guard yelled at them that "the master would not be pleased." The master?

Using Door Sight on the walls, the party looked in on the fortress. Then they pummeled the forlarren tower guards with ligtning bolts and fireballs until they retreated below. The eidolon then bashed at the towers until it made a large sized hole to squeeze through.

The enemy partied safely in their fortress, licking their wounds. Meanwhile, the party rested and did a more thorough search of the perimeter. The verrik, an expert tracker, found a cave that she believed might lead into the fortress.

Now it's an issue of how this battle will proceed.

Standing Stones

Legend: One day, the (now) god of magic, Math Mathonwy, agreed to take on a new student, despite his better judgment. Arianrod had a deep reserve of power, that if properly focused, could make her a wizard rivaling the power of Math himself. However, she had a cruel streak that worried Math, but he found her deeply attractive. What's the worst that could happen? Math taught her what he knew of magic, along with the dangers inherent with such power.

Arianrod was unstable, however, and a tad evil. For example, she once gave birth to two children and decided to love one and reject the other, just to see what would happen. She took what Math taught her and performed forbidden experiments, such as sacrificing sentient creatures for their mana. She loved the moon, and one such experiment involved creating a second moon, a reminder in the sky to everyone that she was a powerful wizard. Like Arianrod, this moon was dark and prone to random behavior.

The dark moon flew in an unstable orbit around the planet, throwing off tides, impeding travel and preventing teleportation magic from working properly. Many who tried to teleport during these early days died horrible deaths, until the source of the disruption was determined. Math was furious at Arianrod for disrupting teleportation, but mostly because he thought he had a shot at her. It turns out she was using him for his magical knowledge. Math cast out Arienrod, who finding Math's infatuation amusing, went on to cause havoc messing with the romantic destinies of men.

Math Mathonwy created the standing stones in response to Arianrod's actions, so he and his students could travel. He could not undo her creation, but he could counter it the best he could, for his own convenience. As for the tides that capsized countless ships and destroyed hundreds of settlements, he cared not. Let Manannan figure that one out. As you may have guessed, Math was kind of a dick.

It's believed the standing stones focus magic by compensating for the peculiar, difficult to predict, lunar variations  through astronomical tracking.

How they Work: Standing stones have three functions.

First, they enhance or augment something inherent in the environment. They're usually placed on planar conjunctions or ley lines. They can allow for planar travel to the plane on the conjunction or draw power from ley lines for other purposes. For example, they can be used to augment creativity, ward a region against certain enemies, or harness the power of the earth for a magical purpose.

Second, all standing stones can be used to teleport to another set of standing stones claimed by its caretaker. Once a set of stones is claimed, no force on the planet can retake the stones without the original caretakers permission or the death of the caretaker. A caretaker who is reincarnated or raised must reclaim the stones, possibly over the dead body of the new caretaker.

The exception to this is the primary power can be activated or deactivated through a high difficulty Spellcraft check (DC 35), while the caretaker is away.

Many druids control standing stones, with the stipulations that defeat in (non lethal) druidic combat requires they  relinquish the stones to the challenger. This is not a voluntary thing; it just happens upon their defeat.

Third, through a lengthy and expensive ritual, standing stones can be "networked" together to focus the power of standing stones for a particular purpose. This third use is inherent in every set of stones created by Math, but is rarely, if ever used.

Known Standing Stones

Notes:
Blackthorn: You know of this, but it's controlled by Blackthorn the druid.
Tara: You have a makeshift teleportation circle in your headquarters in Tara.
Dead Gods: You're a caretaker, but the stones are unstable, requiring magic to stabilize them.

Tara: Small City (16 months)

TARA

LN Small city

Corruption +1 (from 0); Crime 0 (from -8); Economy +1 (from 0); Law +3 (from 0); Lore +0 (from +2); Society +6 (from +4)

Qualities insular, rumormongering citizens, superstitious

Danger +5; Disadvantages cursed (Doppelganger Murders)

DEMOGRAPHICS

Government Council

Population 5,500

MARKETPLACE

Base Value 4,000 gp; Purchase Limit 25,000 gp; Spellcasting 4th (down from 5th)

Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 1d6

There is a 75% chance that any magic item up to the Purchase Limit price (25,000 gp) is available. There are also these items easily accessible:

potion of stabilise	25 gp	Potion / Oil
oil of arcane mark	25 gp	Potion / Oil
oil of open/close	25 gp	Potion / Oil
oil of mending	25 gp	Potion / Oil
arcane scroll of level 1 spell, protection from chaos (caster level 1)	25 gp	Scroll
potion of enlarge person	50 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of owl's wisdom	300 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of aid	300 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of blur	300 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of resist energy (Sonic) 20	700 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of shield of faith +5	900 gp	Potion / Oil
arcane scroll of level 4 spell, modify memory (caster level 10)	1,000 gp	Scroll
+1 medium sized heavy steel shield	1,170 gp	Shield
cloak of elvenkind	2,500 gp	Wondrous Item
ring of jumping, function indicated by an inscription in elven	2,500 gp	Ring
lesser ectoplasmic metamagic rod, function indicated by a design	3,000 gp	Rod
wand of level 2 spell, knock (caster level 3), with 37 charges	3,330 gp	Wand
+2 studded leather armour	4,175 gp	Armour
wand of level 2 spell, shield other (caster level 3), with 50 charges	4,500 gp	Wand
wand of level 2 spell, shield other (caster level 3), with 50 charges	4,500 gp	Wand
horseshoes of the zephyr, function indicated by an inscription in abyssal (reduced price)	4,000 gp	Wondrous Item
wand of level 3 spell, rejuvenate eidolon [APG] (caster level 7), with 50 charges, function indicated by a design	15,750 gp	Wand
+5 medium sized heavy steel shield	25,170 gp	Shield

Changes in Town (Month 8)

OVERVIEW

Tara is on the cusp of turning into a small city, as the population swells and once abandoned parts of town are inhabited once again. Foreigners have swelled the marketplace, selling wares, including those once forbidden. They tend to hide in the shadows and keep a low profile.

One Phoenician wizard, Azmelqart, has begun selling powerful wands, rods and staves. He also sells items considered "evil" and other questionable magic items (like items that protect from Good). He does not seem malicious as much as indifferent to the consequences, an attribute shared by most Phoenician merchants. 

Azmelqart is known to be the possessor of Batnoam, a magic ring with a minor power but with a very strong personality. The ring is of note in that Batnoam speaks a variety of languages, including some very ancient ones that were thought to have been lost. Unfortunately, it's a malicious thing and has sent at least one would-be adventurer to his death. Azmelqart has retreated to his small house since the event, wishing to keep a lower profile. Perhaps Batnoam has a bigger influence on Azmelqart than anyone knows.

CHANGES

Crime, which was out of control when you started your adventuring career, plummeted when you broke up the ring of cultist beggar-thieves. Now, with a population that's nearly half foreigners, it is simply low, normal for a town of its size.

The Economy of the town has improved only slightly, with the crime increase and the drain on the public coffers taking its toll. If more settlers arrive in Tara, and if there is not a way to pay for defenses, this will go down.  

Revenue from the salt mine might pay for this. In fact, it might shift Tara into the category of "prosperous." This would increase Economy by 1, but would greatly increase your magic item gp value. It's also likely to attract a lot of attention to the growing town.

Law, like Crime, has dropped down to a normal level. This was your modifier for getting help from the town guard or city officials using skills like Diplomacy. They've gone from incredibly helpful to somewhat indifferent.


Society was your ability to modify moods or get something you want using social skills from non-government officials. This number is much higher because people are in a far better mood and aren't in constant fear for their lives.

TARA

LN Large town

Corruption +0; Crime -1 (from -7); Economy +0 (from -1); Law +0; (from +4) Lore +2; Society +4 (from +1)

Qualities insular (fading)

Danger +5

DEMOGRAPHICS

Government Council

Population 5,000 (on the cusp of small city)

MARKETPLACE

Base Value 2,538 gp; Purchase Limit 12,690 gp; Spellcasting 5th






Magic Items:

arcane scroll of level 1 spell, hold porta	25 gp	Scroll
arcane scroll of level 1 spell, detect secret doors	25 gp	Scroll
divine scroll of level 1 spell, detect aberration [APG]	25 gp	Scroll
potion of guidance	25 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of protection from good	50 gp	Potion / Oil
potion of nature's exile [APG]	300 gp	Potion / Oil
divine scroll of level 3 spell, glyph of warding	575 gp	Scroll
manacles of cooperation [APG]	2,000 gp	Wondrous Item
lesser disruptive metamagic rod	3,000 gp	Rod
wand of level 2 spell, darkvision, with 47 charges	4,230 gp	Wand
wand of level 2 spell, darkvision, with 50 charges, function indicated by an inscription in Phoenician	4,500 gp	Wand
wand of level 2 spell, spike growth (caster level 4), with 44 charges	5,280 gp	Wand
wand of level 2 spell, flames of the faithful [APG] (caster level 4), with 50 charges	6,000 gp	Wand
+4 studded leather armour	16,175 gp	Armour
staff of fire, with 10 charges	18,950 gp	Stave
lesser quicken metamagic rod	35,000 gp	Rod
crystal ball with detect thoughts	51,000 gp	Wondrous Item
maximise metamagic rod	54,000gp	Rod

Return to Tara

It has been a month or so since Samhain and the slaughter of the satyr village. With the Curse of Tara lifted, word quickly spread throughout town that Tara was in a New Time, a potential period of prosperity thanks to the Heroes of Tara.

After the celebration, the town returned to normal for a few week. However, about 20 days after Samhain, the ships began arriving. Yan-Ki from Albion, the island to the west, showed up in ramshackle boats. The first group of around 100 people were rough adventurers, seeking an advantage in a safe, bounteous land. They quickly overwhelmed Tara, began squatting in abandoned buildings, and demanding what was promised them, an easy life, free from the curse of whatever town they had come from. As it turned out, The Curse of Tara, was not unique to your town, and other settlements in the region had similar, but different threats under which the population toiled.

The ships kept coming, every day, bringing more people. One ship brought 230 cultists of the goddess Sulis, who heard rumors of hot springs somewhere near Tara. Their public nudity not only irked the folk of Tara, but resulted in several cases of exposure, due to the cooling Fall temperatures in the region. The Sulis cultists apparently come from a town of hot springs in Albion. The cultists now camp outside the city and hope to learn, from you the location of the rumored springs. Until then, they offer their healing powers to those willing to pay, along with curses for their patron's enemies.

After the "Sulis Incident," the king and authorities began processing new refugees into Tara, finding them relevant tasks either in farming or construction, often for the "legacy" projects that the party is developing. The squatters were evicted and new arrivals allowed to pay rent or purchase buildings outright. Those without skills were put into quickly formed apprenticeship programs. Some look promising, but a good number of arrivals are clearly cast offs from other communities. Trouble will surely follow.

Event: With the town in transition, each month is sure to bring positive and negative events that need addressing. This month was quite positive, as the Fall harvest was especially bountiful. In addition, stores usually reserved for the destruction of Samhain are now available to feed the growing population. What could have been a period of unrest has been avoided thanks to the bountiful harvest.

Sulis

Character Creation

Edition: Pathfinder

Books Allowed: All Pathfinder content, provided it fits theme.

Level: 6

Sandbox. This campaign has no storyline or ready plot hooks to bring you along. You determine where you want to go, what you’re capable of fighting and how you want to engage. NPC groups have plans and timelines and events happen with or without you – lots of people – lots of events.

Starting Point: You're in the stunted town if Tara on the outskirts of civilization. The town is in trouble. You can improve the lot of the town by removing its threats, improving its economy and culture, and helping it thrive.

Where You Can Go: It’s not an urban campaign, so my intention is you don’t stay in town. It’s also assumed that you don’t leave the island (The exception is The Calf, a nearby island that’s part of the same region). Using ships to get around is fine, but far more dangerous.

Hex Bonus: There's a 100 experience point bonus for each hex that's fully explored. This will be helpful early on, but you probably shouldn’t use this as an incentive beyond the first few levels. 

Hexes are 6 miles across. You can see across an open hex if there's no obstruction. The same generally holds if you can get a high view, like on an adjacent hill or other high vantage point. This doesn't mean you've searched it, but you can find or rule out things like structures.

Attributes, Traits and Hero Points: It’s 20 point buy. You get 2 traits and 1 hero point to start.

Races: You must start with one of the known races and cultures: Human (the standard would be the "yan-ki" Celts, but also Phoenician traders and the native peoples), Elves and Tengu .

Languages:
·         COMMON is the Yan-Ki Celtic.
·         NORTHMAN (Norse): Language of your predecessors on Redstone Island. Northman still populate areas.
·         FUTHARK is a runic language used by wizards and druids (useful, I promise).
·         PHOENICIAN Language of wealthy traders and wizards.
·         EARLY MAN (was Manx) are the native peoples of this island and they’re still around as well.
·         EUBORIAN (Cyclops, Greek) You only hear rumors about the civilization they once ruled.
·         ELVISH there are lots of elves


Magic: Dimension Door has the same chance of mishap as Teleport. Teleport’s chance of mishap is doubled.

Rituals: Can be used to combine power to cast spells. There’s no mechanics yet for this, but know it can be done.

Raising the Dead. Is considered blasphemy by followers of Arawn and most Yan-Ki, unless it happens on Samhain. Some followers (and creatures) of Arawn may come after you if you’re raised. Reincarnation is fine.

RESIDUUM: Another minor rules tweak borrowed from 4E is anyone with a Craft magic item feat can perform a ritual to disenchant an item to obtain it's magical essence, or residuum. This allows you to retain the gp value of a magic item for crafting something new, or even selling the condensed residuum instead of carrying around a golf bag of stuff.

THE META

When it comes to issues of player characters, the three major differences in sandbox campaigns is that: 1) the sandbox is lethal and a bit unpredictable, 2) GMs must be more impartial than normal because of this, and 3) the motivations of the character are subordinated to those of the world (over-arching story, or lack thereof) which is not designed around them. In other words, it's a cold, uncaring, lethal world out there that doesn't cater to your needs. How fun!

So when it comes to player character design, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Make a versatile character, more so than normal. Usually, D&D/PF rewards power builds that are often one trick ponies. I think these are fragile in the sandbox. You don't need to match character power levels with encounters in the sandbox, so a slightly more versatile, less lethal fighter-rogue might survive longer than a specialized spear fighter, for example. You might not be as lethal as a party of the same level, but who cares?
2. Expect lethality. In other words, don't get terribly attached to your character, because the likelihood of character death is higher. This is a bit counter-intuitive because in the beginning, it's all about character motivation, but because of the lethality, the game quickly moves towards party motivation. This is old school and it's actually a lot of fun.
3. Coming back. I've created more opportunities than in my usual games for coming back from the dead. It's not more opportunities than a normal game, just more than my usual. I also suggest being flexible, such as taking on NPCs as PCs. Reincarnation is the spell of the day with Raise Dead being culturally taboo (but hey, there are other cultures too). I'll even let you roll twice on my custom table and choose the race you want. I'm nice that way. Also, there's no reason in the sandbox that you all need to be the same level.
4. Bring friends: There's nothing that says you can't find MORE people to adventure with you, like NPCs, animal companions, purchased guard dogs, or minions using the Leadership feat. Heck, create a forward base if you like.

The world has experienced near destruction, with the blame placed on wizardry that opened gateways to other worlds that were never meant to be opened. There is not much left of civilization from this Armageddon, leaving ruins, perverse monsters and the powers of nature to reclaim civilized lands. Everyone blames humanity and the "civilized" races.

The civilized races were laid low and scattered to the winds, losing much of their culture and in many cases, reverting to more tribal ways of life. There are no major cities. Towns and villages are beset by malevolent forces and fail regularly. Those that survive are stunted and stew in their own fears. Trade is hindered by an unknown, wild wilderness that seems bent on the destruction of humanity.

The three main civilizations that are making a comeback in this region: The Yan-Ki (Celts, AKA you), The Northmen (Norse) and the Phoenicians (known for international trade and high magic).

The town of Tara is on an island in the middle of a vast ocean. There are no major continents to speak of, just other islands of various size. When the people think of "outside" the city, they think of traveling to other nearby islands, rather than the wilderness outside their doors. Even that is perilous as the rogue moon Arianna unpredictably arrives at inopportune times to foul the weather, change the tides and lead ocean going travelers astray.

The characters are Celtic in culture, using the Celtic pantheon, dressing as Celts and having various restrictions on technology. They are the Yan-Ki. If they are demi-humans, they are outsiders living in the town with their own set of social mores. 

Celtic name generator: http://www.behindthename.com/random/

Classes The druids, witches and bards are feared but respected. Wizards are also feared but despised, as arcane magic is blamed for much of the worlds troubles. Clerics and divine spellcasters are well respected as wielders of the "good" kind of magic. 

Celtic gods: http://dcrouzet.chez-alice.fr/gaming/d20files/Celtic_Druids_and_Gods_v1.zip

Clerics can choose domain powers from their choice of Pathfinder compatible deities with the same domains.

Changes in Town

The sister city, Freyjaborg, has allowed Yan-Ki culture to flourish, although it is still quite early. Where there is suppression of creativity, the people tend to act out in unusual ways, such as crime, cultic worship and general unhappiness. Now they have an outlet, and although a portion of the population has left the city, the remaining people are in a more harmonious position.

Crime has also decreased as the network of beggar Crom cultists has been disrupted. The hag has escaped along with a beggar or two, but for the most part, petty theft and the leak of vital information has been stopped. Stopping a plot to embarrass the king doesn't hurt either.

So we have:

Corruption +0; Crime -7 (from -6) Economy -1; Law +4 (from +3) Lore +2; Society +1 (from 0).

MARKETPLACE

Base Value 2,538 gp (same)

Purchase Limit 12,690 gp (same)

The population decrease doesn't help the Marketplace numbers but it will eventually rise. Also, once the effects of the repaired lighthouses takes effect, there will be increased trade and population.