* About Me and GMing Style *
For full disclosure, I'm relatively new to Pathfinder, to Play-by-Post play, to the Pathfinder Society, and to GMing, but I also hope to take suggestions and corrections well. I've now successfully run two PbP PFS scenarios, one of my own and one rescued.
My GMing philosophy is that the GM is not the head of the enemies so much as a partner with the players in telling a good story.
* Pathfinder Society-legal characters *
Characters need to be Pathfinder Society legal. The (free) "Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play" has most of what you will need to get started in PFS play. Most Paizo-created character options and equipment is legal - excepting creating items with Craft skills or Item Creation Feats - but be sure to check things on the Additional Resources page.
Beyond that, you will likely have to help explain rules to the GM if he doesn't have access to a source - you will probably have to explain things to this GM anyway. ;-)
* Other Resources *
Campaign Setting: The PathfinderWiki is unofficial, but very useful for material about the campaign setting of Golarion.
Rules and Character options: In addition to the online Pathfinder Reference Document from Paizo, two third-party sites that are helpful for game mechanics are the Achives of Nethys and the D20 Pathfinder SRD. Always check the original sources, however, for the subtle differences and context.
Character generation software: Two programs that people find useful for creating Pathfinder characters are:
* PCGen - a free, open-source, community driven effort - has a bit of a learning curve and may not be as completely up-to-date; and
* HeroLab - $29.99, but many people rave about it. Seems, though, that you could spend a lot of money to get all of the rule supplements you need, unless you are playing a very 'core rulebook' character.
* Posting Your Character *
Please post your character on here (Paizo's online campaign site).
How to do it.:
Click on "My Account" (https://secure.paizo.com/paizo/account) and under "Pathfinder Society" click "Make Changes",
and then you can "Register a New Character". From here, you can click "Edit" and reach an page where you can change your Character Image (avatar).
(If you click on the character's name, you will reach a different character information and editing page that is useful but where you can't change the Pathfinder Society faction or the avatar, to my knowledge.)
WARNING!:
For a PFS character, you need to do it as described above or it will be just an "alias" and not a real "PFS Character"!
There is no single best way to format it. Here is an example of one of mine and here is another, but you can do it your own way - perhaps using the export of one of the programs - and you certainly don't have to use all of the 'spoiler' tags. Just don't forget your Pathfinder character number (such as 92489-3) so that it can be reported and you get the credit!
One additional section that is useful is a "Spells and abilities used today; Equipment expended" section, so that you can remember over several weeks which spells you're used and whether you used two or three of the 5-times a day special ability, and whether you have one or two sunrods left, etc.
Finally, on "Classes/Level" line of the profile page, please put a mini-stat block after Cleric (or whatever) in the form Cleric 1 [spoiler =Stats]HP 11/11, NL 0 | AC 18, T 13, FF 16 | CMB +0, CMD 12 | F +4, R +2, W +4 | Init +2, Dex 14 | Perc +4, SM +2, LL vis. | Shillelagh +2/1d4+1/20/x2; Sling +3/1d3+1/20/x2[/ spoiler] (Fixed, of course, by removing the spaces in the tags.) The weapon information is optional, but useful to have on hand. This amount of information leaves about 50 characters for additional classes and levels or other information you would find useful. (Let me know if you have a better system or things that should be added/subtracted.)
Mini stat block meanings:
Hopefully fairly obvious, but:
HP 11/11 - Hit points (current, total);
NL 0 - Non-lethal damage;
AC 18, T 13, FF 16 - Armor Class, Touch AC, Flat-Footed AC;
CMB +0, CMD 12 - Combat Maneuver Bonus, Combat Maneuver Defense;
F +4, R +2, W +4 - Fortitude, Reflex, and Wisdom saves;
Init +2 - Initiative bonus;
Dex - Dexterity score (useful for resolving ties).
Perc +4, SM +2, LL vis. - Perception + 4, Sense Motive +2, Low-light vision;
Shillelagh +2/1d4+1/20/x2; Sling +3/1d3+1/20/x2 - weapon to-hit/damage/critical range/critical multiplier
* How to Format Your Posts *:
Via the GM "EndlessForms" and others, some suggestions:
(Click on "How to format your text" below the posting box for instructions on creating different posting styles.)
"Use bold text when for what you are actually saying in character," suggested the GM. [Quotation marks are used by some and not by others.]
Use normal text to describe your character's actions, etc.
Italics can be used when your character is thinking or talking to themselves internally.
"Bold italics in quotes can be what the character is whispering, gurgling, or otherwise saying in a strange way."
Bold italics not in quotes can be telepathy (combining thinking and communicating).
~
"Εάν αισθάνεστε δημιουργικοί, χρησιμοποιήστε το Google Translate για να κρύψει τις γλώσσες που δεν είναι ο καθένας μιλάει και να θέσει τη μετάφραση σε μια αεροτομή."
[spoiler=Celestial]"If you're feeling creative, use Google Translate to hide the languages that not everyone speaks and put the translation in a spoiler."[/ spoiler]* *But, you can't put a spoiler inside a spoiler :(
~
Out-of-character text should be reserved for out-of-character comments and should ideally be kept to a minimum in the Gameplay thread. If it doesn't have to do immediately with what's happening in the game or if it's a particularly long comment, use the Discussion thread.
And, of course, always make sure your posts are easy to read and understandable. Breaking things up in smaller paragraph chunks (as I've done here) makes big blocks of text a lot easier to read.
Finally, use the "Preview" button a lot to check that all of your tags are working, you are posting as the correct character, and everything still reads well.
* Helping the GM *
Include the DC and save type when you cast spells, use bombs, etc.!
* Keeping Things Moving * Choosing a Leader or Leaders
It would be helpful if the group either chooses one or more leaders who can make some mostly-trivial decisions for the group, such as going east or west at a fork in the dungeon, or allows anyone in the group to make such a decision, so that polling the group doesn't take up too many days. It might make sense to have someone who is able to post frequently take such a leadership position, rather than someone who can only post once a day or less.
Initiative
To make things go quicker, I'll be rolling initiative for everyone. We'll use a "block initiative" system, where characters will be going somewhere in a block either before the monsters or a block after the monsters. (Sometimes, the boss will have a different initiative than the minions, etc.)
You can also use some "if/then's", like "I fire an arrow at Goblin #1 and, if I drop him, fire the second arrow at Goblin #2."
Other Rolls
Most rolls I make will be public and you will make most of your own rolls, but I will make a few privately (with real dice, even!) for various GMing and/or PbP reasons, such as keeping things moving.
Typically, you will make a roll and the result will be viewable in a spoiler, so that it is up to you what and how (or if...) information gets passed on to other players.
A Little Back and Forth...
A little 'back and forth' in the campaign chronology is allowed and will likely happen so as to help people posting at different times (and from different time zones). For example, most players may have finished a conversation with an NPC and moved on earlier in the day but you could still ask a further question when you chime in at what is a reasonable time for you to be posting.
Posting frequency and DMPCing
It is expected that you will be posting at least once or twice a day most days (and some will post much more often), although everyone has lives and unexpected things happen. If you are unable to post for a period, let us know and either you can pre-post some actions and not wait for a post that won't be coming. With extended absences (and at other times to move things along) you may need to be DMPCed to the best of my ability.
Likewise, I'll promise to post at least that often most days and I'll keep you informed of delays.
* Game Mechanics * Maps
Maps will be made using the your chosen icon, the source material for the scenario, and the (free) MapTools software, but you will be seeing them as pictures posted online.
Chronicle Sheets
Chronicles will be filled out by me, scanned, and posted to a DropBox account. I'll then PM each person the link to their Chronicle sheet.
Chronicle sheets from past events should technically be available... but it is hard to do online. If you have a special boon or unusual item, you might need to explain where you got it and what it does.
* Other Rules * Circumstance Bonuses and Creative Solutions
Although the DCs in sanctioned play are part of the game mechanics that can't be altered, I do believe in using Circumstance bonuses and Aid Another - especially with good role-playing - and in allowing creative and well-justified alternative solutions.
Free Rerolls
I will be implementing the "free reroll" rule of PFS play, found on page 26+ of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play (version 5.0). "Once per session" will here be interpreted as once per scenario. Since we are online, I will just have to take your word for it that you are wearing your Pathfinder shirt or are using a physical copy of the Pathfinder RPG Player Character Folio when you call for the reroll. Perhaps we could have online photos of the item in question... if someone protests.
If you've read/played/GM'd this scenario before:
This is probably OK, but let me know ahead of time and try to leave the limelight to other players.
