Recruitment: Pathfinder 2E Isekai Game

It started off as a typical day. You were going about your life as you always had, facing your expected struggles, be they big or small. There was no way to know that this would be your last day on Earth.

The tunnel appeared in different forms. For some of you, it may have been a literal tunnel that you crawled through. For others, it might have been a tunnel of darkness around your vision as the life faded from your body. And yet others might have been sucked bodily off their feet, hurled through a wormhole, a tunnel in space and time.

Some of you may have emerged from the far side of the tunnel exactly the same as you had entered. The rest may have felt themselves changing, bodies shrinking or growing, features shifting about as they transitioned into something different than they were before. But for all of you, your lives will never be the same again...

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Hello! I’ve got the itch to start a new campaign for Pathfinder 2E. This will be an isekai game! I ran a version of this several years ago on a different site, but it sputtered out after less than a year due to players leaving or not posting. I’m hoping this time around, it will last longer!

You’ll be starting at level 1, having just found yourselves drawn into the world of Golarion, the core setting for Pathfinder. You’ll be playing fictionalized versions of your real selves, but the magic that brings you across worlds has the power to transform you as well, so you can make a character of any ancestry or gender to represent your new body. (This game is explicitly LGBTQ+ friendly!)

The game will be heavily influenced by player’s choices. I have some broad plot arcs in mind but largely I will be reacting to the decisions you make, the plot hooks you choose to follow, and the NPCs and factions you choose to make friends or enemies with.

I’m looking for 4 to 6 players who can post reliably at least three times per week. Let me know if you’re interested or have questions!

Good afternoon! This has always been a favorite concept for me, even though I don't have a lot of experience with the genre in media as a whole. I have run a couple one shots around the concept of the players becoming the characters.

How will recall knowledge checks be handled, given that we aren't from Golarion are we being fed information from some sort of 'Akashic Library' type scenario, or can our characters not allowed to take Lore skills that don't match our (the players) knowledge sets?

You mentioned any ancestry is on the table, does that include things like Battlezoo?

Are there any variant rules that will be used in the game? (like free archetype)?

Your characters will get snippets of knowledge from a mysterious source, so you’ll still be able to Refall Knowledge and take Lore skills.

I’d prefer we keep things limited to first party books, but uncommon and rare ancestries from those will be available to choose from.

We will likely use the free archetype variant once you hit level 2. I am also toying with the notion of potentially implementing the rules for mythic characters in War of the Immortals. Other variants may be available if the players all agree to them.

Hello!

I'm interested in joining this campaign, the premise sounds like it will have fun opportunities for rolepaying. I'm new to the PF2E system but I'm a fan of what I've read so far and look forward to seeing it in play!

Very interesting idea. My very first question, since we are all gamers, do we realize it is the world of Pathfinder?

Reminds me of that old D&D cartoon - although I do not think any of them were gamers who recognized the game. Very 4th wall breaking potential.

Awesome, I'm in if you'll have me!

I’m of two minds on it. My initial inclination is to play it straight, with the characters having no knowledge of the "game" world and just treating it as an unfamiliar and strange place. But I also can see the appeal of having a somewhat less serious, 4th-wall breaking meta game. I suppose I would put it up to a player vote as to which way you all would want to experience it.

Both options have exciting implications. I, as a player, find it interesting the thought that I would be transported to a world that I love and upon arriving I have to pick up on clues, and ask people where I am and then from that figure out that I am in Golarion. But having an 'amnesia' like effect to the world also seems interesting, like getting to roleplay seeing your favorite movie again for the first time.

I am down either way but my vote would be 'amnesia'

I would be extremely interested in playing. I'm fairly familiar with the system.

About the knowledge thing... Well, we would have needed to gain a lot of knowledge entering Golarion just to function in our Classes, even at level 1. Wizards spend years of studying to just learn to cast a Cantrip. Even an extremely experienced LARPer is going to have a tough time using a real sword and real armour against real monsters that are trying to kill you.

Maybe we all have a lot of subconscious knowledge that we use without thinking but maybe can't access it directly unless we're good at making the necessary Recall Knowledge rolls?

While it's not something I feel that strongly about, but I'd like it if our characters have no knowledge of Golarion. Maybe Pathfinder doesn't exist where we come from, or we just never played it.

Nice concept, i heard about this a lot in Japanese and Korean fictions.

I can easily imagine myself to have a meltdown, realizing everything i lost, stuck in a medieval world... :D

I like the concept. I would be interested. Would you allow free archetypes ?

I have a character concept that might fit the campaign but it would need some DM input :)

@Kristian, yes to free archetype. Let me know your concept either here or via private message, and I'll weigh in on it. :)

I just sent you a PM

DID you ever read "The Guardians of the Flame" series? It's about a group of college Kids being sucked into the game world by their DM who is an evil Wizard. They wake up as their own characters.
The other option is that it's just random people being sucked in and starting as level 0 characters trying to figure out what happened. The issue with knowing spells could be simply solved by having a sorcerer character whose knowledge come to them instinctively.

Oh and yes before you ask. The book was published in 1983 so yes I am old

Damn, it seems like I am late! If there is a free spot, I would love to play PF2e. I am more familiar with PF2e remaster rules, so I prefer using those as I don't know much about the original PF2e rules.

You're not too late! I'm going to wait a few days before selecting players for the game, so you still have a chance.

We'll use the remaster rules. You can still use the legacy rules for things that haven't been converted yet.

To help me organize things, if you are interested in playing in the game, please make a post with the following information:

Character Concept: I don't need a lot of details yet. Something a simple as "elf wizard" is enough, though of course, if you have a more solid concept in mind, feel free to include that.
Familiarity with Pathfinder 2E Rules: I'm okay with taking players with all levels of familiarity, but I'd like to have a baseline of where we're all starting.
Familiarity with Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Again, just want to get a baseline.
Should the Characters Know They're in a Game?: Yes or no.

Oh this looks and sounds like a lot of fun! I'd love to go along for the ride, if you'll have me. The self-insert fantasy is something I've never gotten to play with before.

Character Concept: Human, either Investigator or Kineticist
Familiarity with Pathfinder 2E Rules: Very familiar - I'm running Blood Lords atm, and have played in 4 other PF2e games
Familiarity with Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Very familiar - I live and breath Golarion
Should the Characters Know They're in a Game?: No

Character Concept: Human Aiuvarin Summoner (beast) or Rogue, both with Sorcerer or Medic dedication, mostly depending on what is lacking in the party.
Familiarity with Pathfinder 2E Rules: Very familiar with the rules, played 1.5 campaigns.
Familiarity with Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Familiar with the basics, but never looked deeper into it.
Should the Characters Know They're in a Game?: Yes and no. It's nice if they know they are in a fictional world, but less so if they are in-character aware of game mechanics. But I have no strong feelings either way.

Character Concept: Monk, not sure on race or other details, just think it would be cool to wake up one day with a martial arts body :) Would like to add a little magic with arch type if possible.
Familiarity with Pathfinder 2E Rules: Newb. I've played in 3 P2E games, none of which lasted more than a month. Been playing D&D since the red box, played lots of other systems, just have not found a good P2E game yet. PbP is slow enough I can research as needed to figure stuff out.
Familiarity with Pathfinder Campaign Setting: None
Should the Characters Know They're in a Game?: No