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Welcome to the Discussion!
1. This discussion thread is open for all OOC matters, so no ooc tag needed. For OOC matters in the gameplay thread, please use the [ ooc ] tag.
2. Please post at least once a weekday, and at least once on weekends. If you would be away, please let me know in advance where possible, and we can work something out. Otherwise, if you go missing, where necessary, I will bot your characters for the sake of the rest of everyone else. Thus, it is a good idea is to leave botting instructions for normal combat (with dice rolls), space combat and non-combat in your profile page beforehand.
3. If you have any disagreements over some of my GM calls or interpretation of the scenario, please take it to the discussion thread or, even better, pm me.
4. If you have played and/or GMed this scenario before, please do not metagame or spoil the plot. And please let me know.
5. It is the responsibility of the player to keep track of the game, including referencing the map on google slides and moving your token.
Normal Combat
6. Once surprise (if any) and initiative is determined, for the group of characters who can take actions, I would resolve actions in posting order, NOT initiative order. I used to do the latter but it doesn’t work that well in PbP, so am going with the former instead.
Space Combat
7. Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room. Space Combat.
In PbP, it's terribly slow and boring. So, this is how I propose we run it. If you have any suggestions or comments, please speak up. I'm still refining this.
I'll ask for the scan roll as the group enters the ship. Then, I’ll roll the initiative at the start for all ships based on the respective piloting checks.
Then, once it reaches your ship’s turn, everyone will post* but I will resolve the actions in the Engineering – Helm – Gunnery phase order. As such, while you can declare your actions in the open, please have your dice rolls in spoilers.
*There are two exceptions to this.
(1) Gunnery phase might need to wait for all the ship movement to finalize to determine which weapons are available for firing. So Gunners might want to hold your posting until then or set up a series of contingency actions depending on the final facing and positioning. (2) If the Captain wishes to buff the pilot’s initiative roll, please indicate this and roll for this in the previous round, or state if that’s your default for start of combat (in which case I’ll roll that as well.
Rolls and Skill Checks
8. I will do your initiative rolls, as well as perception rolls for surprise rounds.
9. On knowledge checks for general information, sometimes I use spoilers, sometimes I fill you in based on your roll. I'll let you know each time it comes up. (Don’t forget that you can make knowledge checks untrained for DC10.)
10. On skill checks where there could be team effort involved, please be explicit when making the rolls whether you are attempting the check on your own, or whether you are aiding. There might be situations where only one character is allowed to attempt the check (and the rest to aid) – I’ll state so explicitly if that’s the case.
11. On skill checks in general, if I feel you have roleplayed well, e.g. gave a good description of what your character does to search for a trail, came up with creative ways to befriend a hostile NPC, gave a very rousing speech, I often give bonuses.
Roleplaying Matters
12. The maps and handouts link (at the top of the page, and my statblock) will display all the maps, handouts, pictures, etc as the scenario progresses. (Incidentally, Android and IOS has the Google Slides app in case you work off mobile devices.)
13. Please have your full character information up on your character's profile page. Also, please have your stat block updated with the key information.
Feel free to chat here about character concepts and what not. We have three players at the moment, and I will start recruiting more soon. We'll start the game sometime in the next two or three weeks.
I expect this game to last 3-4 months, so don't plan to apply the credit before October. (Though this scenario can run short. We'll see how it goes!) We will be playing this in Campaign Mode for SFS credit. This means several awesome things. First, you can keep playing your official SFS character in other scenarios while we play this, as the credit for playing doesn't get assigned until the end. Second, we'll level up from Level 1 to Level 2 in the middle of the book which will make a TPK during the final boss fight far less likely! (Yay!) Third, it gives me a little more leeway in case you guys get "creative".
I'm not currently planning on running the whole AP, just book 1. But, if we have fun and people wish, extending the campaign may be a possibility.
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I'm not opening the recruitment tab for this yet, as I want to be careful about who we commit to playing with for four months. So the first question is, do any of you have anyone you'd like for me to invite to the game? If not, I'll reach out to some players who have GM'd for me before. And if we still have slots open after those two routes, I'll make it a public recruitment.
The best players I've run with yet are from our PFS game, so I got nothing.
Haven't read up on space combat yet, but your spoiler makes it seem interesting, if possibly slow in PFS.
Enjoying the rulebook even without hitting starships and the world fluff yet.
I'm now leaning towards an Android Mercenary Exocortex Mechanic going mostly ranged with a hint of switch hitter.
Not sold on the race yet, gotta read up on the fluff and see which appeals most yet.
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Alrighty then. I'm not really locked in to play something specific, but here is my original candidate blurb from our other campaign:
A burly solarian who opens a pilates gym with a groan-inducing name after several failed attempts at joining a local soldiers guild or union. He likes to build things for himself, and for a time studied physics in his free time.
He's brusque, proud of his self-sufficiency, but has an embarrassing tendency to sleep-walk.
Sidequest: as he embarks on his adventuring phase of life he has to hire an assistant that he can trust to run the gym while he's away.
I'll continue thinking on concepts and maybe work up the character sheet this weekend.
There is a 10-day stretch in July where I will disappear completely with no phone signal. Let me know if this will be a problem.
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Remnar, starship combat is a ton of fun in person. But in PBP a single round can take up to a week if you do it in order. So most GM's have everyone go at once, then the GM sorts out the order on the back end.
By the way: This AP has the Repeatable and Starship tags.
Paledim, that character sounds awesome! Solarions are cool. Just make sure you can fill a space combat role. Also, that break will be fine, we'll bot you when we need too. Just let me know before you leave.
Sounds like nobody has someone they want to invite?
Ok, now I'm getting excited. Starfinder looks really cool (I never really looked at it before).
I might just have to scrap my Magus for PFS idea and start playing SFS with a character plus this one.
I think I'm settled on a mechanic, if that helps any other character choices.
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Alright, I created the Recruitment thread, and I'll post it in Flaxseed in a few hours. If you have anyone you want to invite, speak now or forever hold your peace!
If you guys could decide on a class and let me know by Friday, that will help me decide who joins us.
Also, I'm aiming to start next week, when everyone has their characters together. So try to build them this weekend, if possible.
Will do, have my mechanic 80% built already. Should have it finished and dotted this weekend.
Here is what I have so far.
Not sold exactly on the languages as I have no idea which are more useful, also not totally sold on toughness over improved initiative or something else.
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Alright decision time for my character. These are my three ideas if the group has any input on what sounds cool.
Borai (Kasathan) Tempered Pilgrim Envoy
-Killed and "resurrected" during pilgrimage which shattered his naivety. He now ushers others through dangerous space talking down xenophobic or dangerous threats if he can...blasting them if he can't.
-Support/ranged attacker. Party face/captain.
-Retains most of his Kasathan appearance but with pale "dead" complexion.
Nuar Cyberborn Technomancer
-Viewed as an idiot savant to most due to a cryptic and aloof manner of speaking alongside his natural knack for technology and magic.
-Switch hitter caster.
-White fur with glassy blue eyes. A constant furrowed brow that makes him look more intimidating than he actually is.
Dwarf Mystic/Star Knight (Hell Knights)
-Stoic and grumpy. Has an extreme distaste for the youth and rulebreakers.
-Frontline debuffer/tanky.
Hi folks! Pippimi the Skittermander Soldier reporting for duty!
I have a bit more refinement to go on the character details, but the general concept for this alias is more or less done. Still thinking about skills, theme and backstory. As a soldier with 8 INT and so-so dex, I don't have many options for starship stuff. :/
This character is going to be trying to do something that I haven't yet seen in SFS: Combat Maneuvers (grappling and disarm to be specific)! It looks pretty bad, but I'm gonna try to make it work.
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I'm thinking of just going human with my solarian.
In addition to the above, my character will be super enthusiastic (he likes "themes"), and perhaps a little too trusting. His businesses are often not successful but he keeps trying. Building computers. Driving ride-shares. Guard work. Failed to elevate from that to a local mercenary company. And now his greatest idea yet, a "gym": Pilates of the Caribbean (yes, I just heard you groan).
He's feeling like a "Lenny".
So what do we have so far:
- soldier
- solarian
- mechanic
and whatever Eclipse picks.
I can swap my skill focus around depending on what our final group turns out to be.
Esp in regards to Starship, it looks like I can be solid in any role but captain.
Right now it's in computers because hacking and I've probably been watching too much Ghost in the Shell.
Eclipse, those all look Great!
I'm guessing our Solarian (as well as the grappling skittermander) will be front line?
So we might want the caster or face?
But what do I know, this is my first foray into Starfinder.
@Paledim: Love the concept (even the Pilates of the Carribean lol, bring on the groaners).
@Remnar: Computers is probably the second most important skill in Starfinder after Perception. Its used for so much. You can't go wrong with focusing on it (and Mechanics make great hackers). Having a party well rounded on skills is pretty much as important and effective as Pathfinder.
For the sake of a silly backstory, Pippimi is going to be a Corporate Agent theme and have a point in Diplomacy. For Starship stuff, that'll make her a gunner (or mediocre Captain). If it looks like we'll end up with too many gunners, I can switch to maybe doing piloting instead.
Pippimi will definitely be frontlining! I'm looking forward to getting in there and having her do her best impression of a face-hugger on unexpecting enemies.
Never played with a grappler before, looking forward to it!
Dotted into Gameplay.
Still wrapping up my gear, feat, and description.
All done minus backstory.
Also hopefully one day soon we will see some Starfinder Avatars showing up in the choices.
Yeah, those avatars are way overdue. There is nothing appropriate for Skittermanders in the current list.
Still working on my back story/personality yet. Keep going back and forth between a few.
Probably will be a game time decusion.
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Alright! So we've got:
Agent Eclipse - Zoran Duvahl - Envoy (Ranged)
Cellion - Pippimi - Soldier (Melee)
PaleDim - Lenny Shiroyuki - Solarian (Melee, Weapon)
Remnar - z45719 - Mechanic (Ranged, Exocortex)
Kuey - ??? - Operative
Wolfspirit, let us know what you're bringing! Looks like most people's characters are ready to go, so we'll tentatively start on Monday!
Huzzah! I'm out gaming at the moment but will post character thoughts later. I'm generally pretty flexible to fill in whatever gap we have in the party
Greetings Wolfspirit, who ran my very first PbP game (a we-be-goblins sometime last fall).
Yep. I recognize a few names from the group :)
If you were interested Lenny, one thing which could shore up your space combat would be using the bonus from Solarian for Diplomacy and taking a rank in Diplomacy. That would make Captain an option, even though an envoy is usually better
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Hey GM Ewok, thanks for the invite! Like I mentioned in the recruitment thread, I'm actually going to bring one of my existing PFS character event though this is campaign mode, 'cos I want to take the opportunity to flesh them out wherever I can. Of course, I can tweak him further to match the team. Although I have level him DOWN as he's level 2 now. :)
Meet Davrin Emalon, the courtesan operative. He uses his dextrous body and nimble hands to explore the world... and other things. I imagine him a bit of a cross among Inara, Malcolm and Wash (of Firefly). Mechanically, he's of the ghost operative and ace pilot theme, but those are flexible depending on the party needs.
One thing though. I'm actually on vacation now until 17 Jun. I did bring my laptop (from where I'm posting this) so I'm still keeping up my posting but likely slower than usual.
I do think it's a bit ridiculous that so often conversations about Starship Combat start out with <Strength or Wisdom based character>: "So, my character has nothing they can do to meaningfully contribute to the Starship..." <Party>: "They can be Captain. They would cause the least amount of damage to the party there..." Unfortunately I don't see that changing anytime soon, so...
Zoran is going to be a better captain than Lenny, but if Zoran invested in Piloting they would be a significantly better backup gunner than Lenny would. That would be up to you two on what tweaks (if any) you would want to make to your character.
For myself, at this point I'm pretty sure I'm going to run a Technomancer. It would be between that or Mystic, and I've never gotten to play a Technomancer. I could be convinced otherwise, though.
With that, here's my brief look at Ship Roles:
Agent Eclipse - Zoran Duvahl - Envoy (Ranged): Captain (Backup gunner?)
Cellion - Pippimi - Soldier (Melee): Gunner
PaleDim - Lenny Shiroyuki - Solarian (Melee, Weapon): Backup Gunner (Captain?)
Remnar - z45719 - Mechanic (Ranged, Exocortex): Science or Engineer
Kuey - Davrin Emalon - Operative: Pilot
Wolfspirit: ?? - Technomancer?: Science or Engineer
Hi Wolfspirit and kuey!
Looks like this is shaping up to be a pretty solid party. Davrin sounds like a lot of fun.
Looking forward to starting on Monday!
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Lenny would make a pretty bad backup gunner (only +1 ?!?). So it's even worse than that, a backup engineer (yes, I see z is twice as good at that too). The sad thing is that this partially feels like the result of picking skills that matched the character I've outlined above (vs usual minimax strategies). Soooooooo, I guess he'd better be really good at melee when the time comes :)
Yeah, starship combat is in a weird place where it is such a specialized job that even some spacers just wouldn't be good at it. I don't think it is a bad thing to pick skills for the character rather than the role as it lets you flesh them out more. Sometimes a crew member is just trying to get people to do pilates to help our aim.
Thematically Zoran would be a good captain for the various actions but I do not mind taking up another role.
Well, I'm 95% settled on playing a Space Goblin Technomancer. Only a few things to iron out, such as whether or not to do a Soldier dip (mostly for the hilarious image of a goblin carrying around a Heavy Rifle as big as he is.) Given that it isn't certain how far the campaign is going to go, I'll probably go the simpler route.
On Starship Combat, you would still be better off as a backup gunner with a +1 assuming their are two guns to operate. A +1 still crits. Overall, having bases covered is important, but I anticipate there being a lot more non-starship than starship combat.
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Not wanting to throw out to many spoilers but... Starship roles was not part of the recruiting process at all. For a reason.
I'll probably post an introductory post today, to let everyone introduce themselves.
I will say, the Borean and Goblin, while technically equal citizens in the Pact Worlds, will probably see some racism on Absalom Station. I'd encourage you both to think about how your character will react to that, and/or how they've coped with that previously.
Oh, yeah. I fully anticipate there being some -long- looks in his direction.
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Sometimes a crew member is just trying to get people to do pilates to help our aim.
Lol. This I could get into.
On Starship Combat, you would still be better off as a backup gunner with a +1 assuming their are two guns to operate. A +1 still crits. Overall, having bases covered is important, but I anticipate there being a lot more non-starship than starship combat.
True. And being honest is this the role of "doing least damage"? TBH I'm not too set on any specific role there, so I think I can have Lenny fill in wherever.
I'm still trying out the name (I hate coming up with names), but here is the rough draft of my character! Other than the name, the only thing I'm thinking about is switching him to an Icon over Xenoarchaelogist.
Cool, I like Pippimi's spot up front. The sooner to get to the enemies!
BTW, I replaced her token with a skittermander image I found online. Hope it shows up correctly for everyone.
Although I'd already planned on having Clank be a somewhat atypical goblin, I decided to keep him to an '8' and let Pippimi take the '11' on the hyperactive energy scale ;)
Well, I sure am surrounded by a lot of incredible writers, that's for sure :) This promises to be a really fun game.