I guess the most important question before we get started is how you want to handle ability scores.  I usually go with 20+, but if you have a preference I'm all for it!

As for other house rules I like, I think the main one is something to make sure that gear is meaningful and enjoyable, rather than just stuff to haul around.  As a GM, there are several fixes I've used for this.  I don't know how important to the SA campaign gear is, so if you see an indication that specific artifacts or gear are super important, we can bypass this.

  1.  Wishlist: This is pretty straightforward.  I can put together a list of items that I particularly value or think would be fun for each character.  You're obviously not confined to these, but it would help you know what sort of things I'm looking for.  While it can be very specific, most frequently it would be like "items that increase mobility" or "something to resist elemental damage."  Very tailorable.

  2.  Character-Specific Enchantments: This one would probably be the most work, and the hardest to explain.  Essentially, every character has a magic item that, like some artifacts, gets stronger as they get stronger.  This one item is tied to the character's narrative/background, and would replace any in-game items that grant abilities/spells.  Essentially if the benefit of an item is something other than a numeric bonus, it is replaced by these items.  While powerful, all its abilities are defined by a single theme initially, with the possibility to add another theme around level 9-10.  The player picks the theme, but the GM picks the actual abilities.  Sorry if this is unclear; it's a way I run things for my players so it seems intuitive to me, but I realize as I try to verbalize it that mechanically, it's hard to communicate.

  3.  Automatic Bonus Progression: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamem...c-bonus-progression/  I really like how this eliminates many of the uneven hurdles of gear, but admittedly it has its own snags.  Essentially, it's the inverse of #2, where all numeric bonuses are standardized, and all the random/bought gear reflects abilities rather than raw +x bonuses.  It can be combined with 2 to really cut down on all gear, but that's not necessary.

Tl;dr - Wishlist is probably the easiest?

I can work with wishlist!  I'll get a quartet of sheets started so that you've got a place to record your characters.

If you've got a preferred sheet template, or a link to a myth-weavers or google sheet, use whatever works best for you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:10, Thu 01 Sept 2022.

Wishlist sounds good.

I did mean to ask about alternate favored class bonuses.  Are those on the table?  Particularly, I tend to rely on the human/half-human bonus for spontaneous casters to learn additional spells known.

Yes, absolutely, alternate FCBs are fair game.

I love hybrid classes, but I recognize in a 4 character party, there may not be ton of room for them.  I'm tinkering with them to see what I can come up with, so it might be a minute before I can flesh them out.

I hear you. They do have a 9th level arcane and a 9th level divine caster in the arcanist and the shaman, and a couple of replacements for fighter and rogue to mimic the classic four adventurer party.  There's no rush at any rate, so take as much time playing with concepts as you need.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:15, Sat 03 Sept 2022.

Something I hadn't really considered until now (when I was looking at a Shaman archetype) was the possibility of psionic classes.  How would you feel about that?  In a sense, it would be fitting to have a party of psionic classes if the PCs are being wrapped up in a story of madness and the mind.

If you don't much care for them, I would probably go with a party of:
  Alchemist - Trapper, some buffs, variety of energy damage, supplemental healing
  Magus - Melee, magical damage, knowledges.
  Paladin - Melee, social support, supplemental healing.
  Shaman - Buffer, debuffer, divine magic.

If you're open to it, I would likely go:
  Psion (Metabolist): Primarily striker/buffer, but also a backup battery of healing for the Vitalist.
  Vitalist: Combined with the ability of the psion for burst healing, these would result in a robust ability to survive.
  Cryptic: Trapper, striker
  Psychic Warrior: While they would lack the accuracy of a standard fight/pally, the party as a whole would have a huge ability to buff and be much more versatile compared to standard parties.

  The only problem I see with this build is a lack of front-line fighters.  The cryptic's equivalent to sneak attack is a 30 foot ranged touch attack, but I don't see any way (feat, archetype, class ability) to adjust it to melee touch attack.  If you were open to that, either by having me take a feat, or by just converting it to only be usable as melee, I think I could make this all work.  Alternatively, I can see if there is a way for another psionic class to pick up trapfinding.  If that's the case I could probably figure something out.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:17, Sun 04 Sept 2022.

I like DDS psionics well enough!  And I'd be okay if you took a feat to make your cryptic strike in Melee.

Nice.  I'll probably start building to morrow.  Admittedly, I might be a bit vulnerable to no-magic zones, but I'll figure it out.

Could you please open a thread for me to keep notes for myself?  I know the scratchpad is a thing, but I like to organize my thoughts for things such as what each of my characters may be aware of at the start of the session (for instance, the Elan may believe they are actually human).  It's also a place I can track relevant things I discover through the campaign.

I've got a good sketch going for the characters, though I think I'm actually going to replace the Cryptic with a standard rogue or a slayer.  The idea is super cool, but the more I look at it, the action economy around Swift actions is a wreck, and the actual damage output is a fraction of the typical rogue-type class.  All-psionic classes was a neat idea, but I think that particular one would be really weak at mid-high levels.

Plus, this way at least one char has a poor Will save, which is good, since the player guide recommends having each character have a weakness that can be exploited over the story.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:45, Mon 05 Sept 2022.

Right on!

I've slowed for a bit, and have come down with something over the weekend, but I've got the next few days off of work so hopefully, I can bang out some work on my characters when I'm feeling okay-ish.

No rush at all.  My week is going to be jam packed.  I have 11 hour days 3 of the next 4 days, so I probably won't get much done before the weekend.

Names of characters are updated when you're ready.

Jarilye -> Tyksis Olante
Jarilye 2 -> Celtis
Jarilye 3 -> Seeker
Jarilye 4 -> Glenn Xiloscient

I'm trying to knock out the chargen today.  I may not finish inventory, but that's probably not super-pressing, as I don't think the chars start off with their gear in this game.

That's close enough to correct!  They start with 1d4 items and then promptly lose them before gaining access to their whole inventory.

Also just realizing I don't think I've done inventory for my characters either, probably because asta was the first I banged out and isn't really dependent on gear this early in the game.

I'm about 98% done with chargen.  Need to do some physical and mannerism descriptions, and inventory, and like one person's languages, but for the most part the numeric stuff and power choices are done.

I wasn't 100% sure whether this is pre fugue state or post, so I wrote as if the group is already in the fugue state.  If that's incorrect I can tweak it easily.

Inventory and descriptions are done.  Need to expand a bit on background, but broadly, the characters are finished.