Kane Eriksen |
Scott - Feel better and take care of yourself!
GM Granta |
I recently went from working 15 hours a week to 50-60, and as you'd expect, it's forcing adjustments and sacrifices in the rest of my life. I don't really have the focus or mental energy to GM after working 10 hours, and I currently have too many games to update them all in the morning.
So for the time being, I'll probably only be updating this game 4 times a week instead of 6. However, Cosmic Captive finishes in 10 days, and that will free up more than enough time.
I apologize for the inconvenience, but promise it will be over within two weeks.
Zyrethian Voninquel |
no prob
Zyrethian Voninquel |
I must apologize, I've been in a bit of pain and distracted the last couple of days. I have more I need to bring up but I'm off to bed shortly. I will explain more tomorrow.
Zyrethian Voninquel |
Apparently I have a little time before I can get to sleep so I will give a little more explanation. Next week Wednesday I will be having an outpatient Medical Procedure. They don't want me taking any pain meds or blood thinners until after then so I had to stop taking them as of yesterday. Of course, my body decided then to rebel and various old hurts have sprung back up again. Makes me tired, grumpy, and distracted.
Anyway, I'm not sure if I will be able to post at all Wednesday or Thursday, but I will try to get some BOT instructions up for me before then and I will try to be more attentive in the meanwhile.
Again sorry.
Kane Eriksen |
No worries Zyrethian...your health is most important, take care of that, games can wait. Hope it all goes well.
GM Granta |
The scheduled list of scenarios has been moved to the "Campaign Schedule" sheet of my Tracking Spreadsheet. The file is also linked on my GM profile, so you don't need to save this post or anything. Now, on to business . . .
All the AP discussion in Flaxseed has got me thinking a little more about our long campaign, mainly about mixing it up. Both to keep things fresh, but also to give us some rest. To that end, I would like to ask for feedback on two ideas:
- Inviting a guest PC to fill the sixth spot when we play scenarios from season 4 or later.
- Taking a break occasionally, which could range from just pausing play to having you guys take turns behind the GM screen.
Pavo: the Crimson Nuthatch |
Guest players seems like a cool idea.
I suspect life will direct the breaks. If we're introspective and confess to any feelings of burn out ASAP, we should be able to do whatever is needed at the time.
If you want to plan breaks, that's cool too.
Kirrote |
Are you thinking that the guest PC would be (potentially) different each time? I think it would be kind of fun to have different people.
I'm with Pavo in that I think that life will kind of indicate when we will need breaks.
Kane Eriksen |
In favor of the guests and will be glad to take a turn behind the screen from time to time and I'm fine with some breaks as needed.
Zyrethian Voninquel |
I am okay with guests and I think breaks will be a good idea. I am fine with others taking up the mantle here or there if you want, though I am not confident enough myself to take that on yet.
Pavo: the Crimson Nuthatch |
On breaks and GMing:
Did you mean handing over a scenario in your sequence to one of us or taking a break and one of us running something while the rest of us (and you) play with different characters (Core otherwise)?
The latter I'm definitely down for as needed. The former, I'll certainly go along if it's needed and be happy about it, but I was looking forward to a cohesive Granta run sequence. But that's just me being selfish because I like your GM style. :)
GM Granta |
Did you mean handing over a scenario in your sequence to one of us or taking a break and one of us running something while the rest of us (and you) play with different characters (Core otherwise)?
I hadn't gotten that far in the thinking yet, but I guess there's four possibilities:
- Nobody GMs anything.
- I GM something that is NOT part of the sequence.
- One of you GMs something that IS part of the sequence.
- One of you GMs something that is NOT part of the sequence.
GM Granta |
I might if I'm allowed to apply my GM Confirmation credit now. I won't spend the money, just the prestige to have a Wand of CLW.
Unfortunately, I can't allow that. But my records do show that Anastasia has 4 prestige unspent, and there just happens to be a Lodge nearby where one could request favors for the successful completion of past missions.
graywulfe |
Hey all, my procedure went fine and I am clearly able to post today. I am a little tired and lethargic but otherwise okay. Worst possibilities from the procedure have been eliminated and now I just have to wait for the test results to come back. Anyway thanks for the patience and concern. :)
EDIT: In case it isn't obvious Player for Zyrethian. :D
Kirrote |
Kirrote passes Zyrethian a small potion. After a moment's examination Zyrethian realizes it's a cure light wounds potion. "Hope you get well soon." Kirrote approximates a smile at the ailing elf.
Kane Eriksen |
Good to hear it graywulfe...hope you continue a speedy recovery.
Zyrethian Voninquel |
Token moved.
GM Granta |
Shifty and Hmm have done a good job of scaring me about overseeing Solstice Scar, so I want to make sure that I don't fail at this responsibility. One of the things I'd like to do is delay the start of Consortium Compact.
If overseeing the special turns out to be an absolute nightmare, then I would wait to GM anything else until Solstice Scar finishes. But if it ends up being easy to manage, then we would start the next scenario just a week or two late. Either way though, I do intend to finish our next game during GameDay VI.
Zyrethian Voninquel |
Sounds fine to me. The last thing you want to do while doing overseer duty is overwhelm yourself with other tasks. Hopefully I can find a Confirmation session to slot in that space...
GM Granta |
For Anastasia, and anybody else who might be interested:
Here are spell templates for circles, cones and lines.
And I've updated the arrow tutorial to include curved arrows.
GM Granta |
Some of you may have heard me rant and rave about spending prestige, and I've finally started writing up something about it. So, please let me know what you think . . .
Let’s imagine a couple of 19 XP characters, Chilon and Semach. They both bought a wand of cure light wounds with their first 2 PP, but then followed different strategies. Semach saved all of his prestige in case of death, while Chilon bought these items:
- potion of cure serious wounds
- potion of fly
- potion of gaseous form
- potion of remove blindness
- scroll of align weapon (5)
- scroll of death ward
- scroll of delay poison (5)
- scroll of glitterdust (5)
- scroll of lesser restoration (5)
- scroll of protection from energy (2)
- scroll of remove paralysis (5)
- scroll of see invisibility (5)
- scroll of spider climb (5)
- scroll of true form
- wand of comprehend languages
- wand of endure elements
- wand of identify
- wand of remove fear
In the first scenario, they bump into a couple of spectres in the second-to-last fight. The cleric activates Chilon’s scroll of death ward for him, but Semach isn't so lucky and has to fight the boss battle with three negative levels. He dies, but 16 PP and 2,560 gp later, he's back to full health.
But our story doesn’t end there. Next scenario, the big bad evil guy drops a quickened black tentacles and empowered cloudkill on round one. Chilon chugs that potion of gaseous form right away and escapes, but Semach dies--again. Once more, he has to spend 16 PP and 2,560 gp to recover.
They’re both level 8 now, and have earned approximately 40,000 gp in their lives as adventurers. After restoring his negative levels, Semach is worth about 35,000 gp. Chilon is quite a bit wealthier though. In addition to the original 40,000 gp, he still has 32 PP (or 12,000 gp) worth of magic items.
So, would you rather be Semach with his 35,000 gp or Chilon with his 52,000 gp?
Semach gets blinded in the penultimate fight, but thanks to Chilon’s potion of remove blindness, the poor fighter doesn’t have to battle a duergar clan in their home without his eyes. Which is a really good thing, because he probably would have died for real this time.
Pavo: the Crimson Nuthatch |
The underlying idea seems valid, but the examples are biased. You know what challenges you want your Chilon to overcome and what items to overcome them he has on hand. It's impossible to prepare for every eventuality, so some of that 12,000 gp of magical items will actually be worth 0 gp. Your example also assumes using the get-out-of-jail-free item is the best use of actions in the scenario and everyone else covers the slack and leads to victory.
There are some clearly advantageous things on your list (e.g. Lesser Restoration), but what if Chilon never needs to use Spider Climb or 50 uses of Remove Fear (and the two times he did, he didn't have anyone who could or wanted to use it).
So, there is an advantage to using Prestige to buy certain common condition removal, but the magnitude of the advantage is not accurately measured in your example.
GM Granta |
The underlying idea seems valid, but the examples are biased. You know what challenges you want your Chilon to overcome and what items to overcome them he has on hand.
Only in the sense that I chose to tell you about successes rather than failures. There's no point in saying that Huritt (the character those examples are based on) hasn't yet used his scrolls of dimension door, dimensional anchor, stone shape, tongues, and about a dozen others. But that's the whole point. I buy tons of different scrolls, because I don't know what I will need and when. I just try to cover as many situations as possible, and hope that one of my allies can take care of things I haven't gotten to yet.
Your example also assumes using the get-out-of-jail-free item is the best use of actions in the scenario and everyone else covers the slack and leads to victory.
Of course. If it wasn't my best action at the time, I wouldn't have used the magic item, and there would be no example. But as I said above, there's no point in listing all of the times I didn't use the scroll library.
There are some clearly advantageous things on your list (e.g. Lesser Restoration), but what if Chilon never needs to use Spider Climb or 50 uses of Remove Fear (and the two times he did, he didn't have anyone who could or wanted to use it).
There are definitely things that won't get used, but that doesn't diminish the power of a scroll library. The value of things that do get used is not reduced by things which haven't been used yet.
So, there is an advantage to using Prestige to buy certain common condition removal, but the magnitude of the advantage is not accurately measured in your example.
Correct, the advantage was actually ENORMOUSLY UNDERSTATED. Huritt is currently level 12 and waiting on Eyes of the Ten. In 11 levels of play, his scroll library has saved a fellow Pathfinder from potential death over a dozen times. But if three examples doesn't make the point, twelve won't either.
That said, Huritt is by no means the average example. Both he and his familiar are casters with ridiculously high UMDs, and very often it was actually Riddywipple who cast said scroll. But here is the ultimate point, and there's really no way around it:
If one person saves 16-24 PP in case of death and the other buys 8-12 scrolls/potions, all the latter needs to do is prevent one death. At that point, he has gotten full value out of the PP he spent, and all of the remaining magic items are a bonus.
Kirrote |
Just trying to understand. You (GM) are saying that it is better to use PP to buy scrolls rather than save PP for a possible resurrection? If I'm understanding that correctly, this is just a variation of the "ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Right?
Pavo: the Crimson Nuthatch |
You're better off not using as extensive a library as an example and not using real examples from your character's experience. Your character isn't generic or generalizable. Is a Fighter with no UMD served just as well with such a trove? You're glossing over sunk costs as well. A fighter may very well be better off hording PP.
None of that invalidates the point, but it does make the example not generalizable.
Pavo: the Crimson Nuthatch |
This is a question that should be raised. Given that the core lesson is prevention is more efficient than the cure, a concept generally understood my most adults if not practiced, what is the purpose of making a public argument?
Is it to provide examples of life-saving items that can be purchased with PP?
Or is it to argue that if you don't do this, then you're somehow doing wrong-bad-fun (and even if it's not the purpose, will your argument sound like it)? Because there are a lot of non-combat vanities than can be purchased with PP.
Kane Eriksen |
Sorry slow to weigh-in (super duper busy last couple weeks)
I think it's definitely a great option to spend prestige on prevention, and I like your write-up. It's great to see all the things you can buy, that's a pretty nice list! One thing I would change is I would not list the specific scenario to avoid spoilers.
All that said, I would present it is as "here's one way to manage your character's resources that has clear benefits...but always focus on what makes it fun for you!"
And just from personal experience, I didn't have a potion remove blindness for my level 8 wizard, got blinded and it ruined a big combat for me. Since we were in Absalom I was able get one before the next encounter, but I was kicking myself for lack of preparation.
Anastasia Antasarë |
In theory, I agree with the list. Consumables are very, very cheap for most tasks. There is no need to have a constant item for problems you face five times in your career.
It just is somewhat tricky to choose what to get. My only TPK was because of darkness, and your list does nothing to it. Maybe if everyone had had gaseous form, and run off at different directions, some would have lived. Other deaths, only one would have been possibly prevented with potion of fly. Rest have been criticals, stuff happening before I can use my tricks, or just so complete disasters I don't know anything that would have helped (like whole team failing saving throw against confusion).
Anyway, Anastasia will get quite an impressive scroll library if she lives. I just have to take time to prioritize the buy order some day.