Setting Specifics
House Rules
Level: Start at level 5.
Races: Using the Pathfinder Advanced Race Guide is perfectly encouraged! There are races beyond the core races listed Here and here.
Class Restrictions: The following classes are not common and typically disallowed: Wizard, Druid, Cleric.
Class Allowances: Psionic classes from Psionics Unleashed are fine. Swordsage and Warblade from Tome of Battle are okay, but lower Warblade health to d10 and remove the Weapon Aptitude ability. Replace uses of Concentration for these classes with Perception instead.
Other non-pathfinder classes are allowed as long as there is a conversion I like for them. For instance: Pathfinder Converted Classes
Class Changes:
Paladins and Antipaladins: Paladins can be Any Non-Evil and Antipaladins can be Any Non-Good. You may only possess levels in one class or the other but you may transform all of your levels from one class into the opposing class if you break the alignment ban for it. Doing so forces you to choose new Mercies/Cruelties and a new Divine/Fiendish boon. Your class abilities change to the abilities of the opposing class at the same levels.
Both classes lose Detect Good/Evil and Smite Good/Evil and instead gain the following abilities.
Detect Transgression (Sp): As Detect Evil, usable within 60 feet, except that the power detects objects and creatures that have brought harm to your people. Your people include your relatives through marriage and through blood, your personal friends, your loved ones and the members of a specific nation or social group selected at your first level of the class. (Members of a country, guild, ethnicity or demographic. Whoever you decide your ancestors favor most.) Harm always counts physical damage or attempted physical damage. It also counts social action that directly threatens the lives of your charges, such as ordering people to kill someone or including them in the area of an area of effect attack or military action or the like. A transgressor must have commited such harm willingly and be capable of understanding their choice, so unintelligent creatures and those whose minds are under control are not transgressors. A transgressor remains a transgressor until their violence and resentment towards your charges is gone and they have earnestly repented for their misdeed, which generally involves legal or personal restitution. The paladin/antipaladin is never counted as 'their people' for the purpose of detecting or punishing transgressors, they can't use their powers to take personal revenge, only retribution on behalf of others.
Smite Transgressor (Sp): Once per day, a paladin or antipaladin may strike out with the hand of their ancestors. As a swift action, the character chooses one target within sight to smite. If this target has transgressed against your people as described in the Detect Transgression power above, you add your Charisma bonus (if any) on your attack rolls and add your paladin/antipaladin level on all damage rolls made against the target of the smite. Smite Transgressor attacks always ignore any DR the target possesses.
The smite effect remains until the target of the smite is dead or until the next time the character rests and regains uses of Smite Transgressor. Only one use of Smite Transgressor can be in effect at any time, using Smite Transgressor again on a new target cancels the previous usage.
Aura of Justice/Vengeance works as normal except it grants Smite Transgressor and can be used on allies of any alignment.
The weapon bond of Divine Bond/Fiendish Boon changes slightly. Both Paladins and Antipaladins can choose from the following weapon qualities instead of the ones they normally receive for bonuses: brilliant energy, defending, flaming, flaming burst, keen, merciful, shocking, shocking burst, speed, vorpal and wounding.
Any DR the paladin or antipaladin receives is not good or evil, but rather becomes silver or cold iron, their choice.
The level 20 ability for both classes becomes the following:
Ancestor's Champion (Su): At level 20 the paladin/antipaladin becomes a host for the power of their ancestor ghosts. Their DR increases to 10/silver or cold iron. Whenever they lay on hands or channel energy they always heal or deal the maximum amount of damage possible. Using Aura of Justice/Vengeance now only costs one use of Lay on Hands. Channel Energy now only uses one use of Lay on Hands.
Abilities: 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 10. Add racial modifiers as normal.
There can be no more than 2 Arks. Having an Ark at all is optional.
Technology: Guns are at the Common level in this setting. Advanced firearms are still prohibitively expensive to acquire and are not manufactured en masse. Gatono has the most manufacturing capability but the Trade Princes suppress the creation of advanced firearms so they can use the inefficient powder burning of older guns to keep sales on gunpowder high.
Classes and Templates
The Ark - A flexible spellcaster that can grow in many directions or focus all in one. Is far more powerful with their guardians and friends known as Passengers than they could be alone.
The Passenger - A Template that adds onto any other class, drawing greater power from the Ark. Choose one class at character creation and designate it as a Passenger (class name).
Characters
Herr Doktor Viktor von Krupp - Master of Magic Science!
Lady Nysara of Kerak - The Mourning Bride.
Tressial 'Tress' Baledhel - Fist of the Unbroken Tide
Gwydion Valasa - Conduit of Magic
Ashar - Hellfire Gunman
A Catalogue of Notable Persons and Events
Travellers
Captain Tilar *DEAD*
Young Elven Couple: Lord Nassim and Lady Saleh
Two Boys and a Robot: Kota, William and Nasher.
Tithma: Catwoman bodyguard.
Three gobbos: Hord, Gord and Nord.
Persons of Silk
Merchant Sultan: Nassim Minayla
A haggard assisstant: Melina Minayla
A kindly hostess: Carlotta
A waitress, Kota's cousin: Miyuki
A drow Ark, the Conduit of Blood: Livia Katrakova
Police Chief Rammak
Sultan Azamel Shirak
