Clyde's page

I am curious how many free actions per a character's turn my fellow GM's allow.

Does anybody know if the Free Day adventure, Dawn of the Scarlet Sun, is going to have a PFS Chronicle sheet like We Be Goblins does ?
I am running this next saturday and several of my PFS regulars have asked and so far I havent found anything.
Thanks for any replies in the right direction.

I have a group of players that make rookie mistakes and poor choices that lead to TPK's on a regular basis. Sometimes they play well together and other times they dont. I always hear the scenarios are too hard, keep in mind that they are designed for 4 players and they have 6 and before you ask, I am running them on the proper tier.

They have taken over twice the amount of time then other groups I run to reach 3rd level, due to restarting at 1st after TPK's and on thier first run through a 3rd level scenario, another TPK happened due to thier poor choices. My other groups do not have this problem.

Then the whole "its too hard" and "are you sure you running it right" comments start. I just flat out tell them "this is not 4th ed or a board game, death will happen if you do foolish things". Ticks them off, then I get told I should adjust things to make it easier for them. To which I reply you are running in a scenario designed for 4 with 6 and I dont change anything, thats advantage enough.

Anybody else have similar groups ? Im curious to see how you handle it if you do.

I have 2 quick questions about being prone: are you actually able to perform an att of opp while prone and are you flanking with an ally while down ?

I know the core says you cant perform att of opp if denied your dex bonus to your armor class so in effect if you cant make an att of opp while prone you dont have your dex bonus either to ac and flanking is based on your threatened squares so if you dont have threatened squares you cant perform any att of opp and arent flanking or am I reading too much into the rules ?

I am going to vent for a minute or two so please bear with me then add your comments if you feel inclined to do so-good, bad, or indifferent-I would like other perspectives on this issue.

As the title states, I am so tired of hearing "Thats not the way its written". Some background-I began running games back in the late 70's during the ad&d days before I even had peach fuzz. Took a 15+ year break, missed the whole 3/3.5 editions, walked into a flgs one night and was introduced to 4th ed. I almost gave up then and there as the 4th is such a system shock from what I had run with 1st & 2nd, I even made the comment that what we where playing was not d&d but a pen & paper video game. I then found Pathfinder and the voices in my head where happy again.

So I bought the books, learned the rules, and began running games at the flgs. One-shots, open world campaigns, and organized play. I kept hearing thanks for doing this its hard to find somebody to run a game let alone a good table/fun session, etc time and time again.

I soon realized that with the internet, pdf's, and file sharing that pretty much any published adventure (including organized play sessions) where and are readily available. Not a problem I thought at first as it gave me a lot more options for adventure hooks and story ideas.

Then thats when the whole "thats not how its written" started. I have several players that no matter what happens in the game world always want to debate every little thing that they feel isnt "as written" in the adventure. I stopped telling them the name of the module long ago but it isnt that hard to locate it if you have a few key plot points Ive found out.

Examples-they feel they should be able to rest after every fight to regain abilites without any consequences in any room of a dungeon, that the creatures they come across should always be mindless and walk right into flanking for them, that if 4 players show I should take half the challenges out but if 7 show I shouldn't make adjustments either, that no creatures should ever be able to make a perception roll to notice the fighting in an adjacent room, or come out of that room to investigate or for whatever else reason, and it goes on and on. Most the time I just blow it off.

Recently a player made a huge mistake that set off a fight that resulted in a tpk. Later that same night I started to get text messages from the same player saying he didnt think it was right the tpk happened because it wasnt written that way in the module. I pretty much blew it off and told him does it really matter ? If you went and found the adventure after the fact and read it, which you apparently did, the creatures are in that area and a fight would have happened anyway, you just gave me a creative way to start the fight other then "roll perceptions, sorry you all failed to spot the creatures now roll initiative".

I figured he was just getting it out of his system and let him vent but it now has carried on for weeks and spilled over into the new season of Encounters that started tonight as well. I am done dealing with him and if he shows and starts again with the "as written" I will tell him to leave if he doesnt like the way I run games as Ive got a waiting list that keeps growing and growing of people asking me if spots have opened up. Keep in mind nobody else has complained about my games and many ask if I have other night/games open as well.

I was told after tonight's session that this guy had run a season of Encounters and he drove half the people away as he didnt know what to do most of the time and during the opponents/creatures turns he would sit there for minutes on end trying to figure out what to do. They said it seemed like he was playing a boardgame and had no clue on how to adjust on the cuff or keep flow going. Sessions on average had lasted a minimum of an hour longer than any season before.

Is this what playing rpg's has come to ? Not so much as an rpg but just a fancy boardgame as it appears he thinks it should be ? What has happened to the creative license that I learned to run games with ? Part of being a dm/gm is keeping the flow going and adjusting on the fly if need be, changing the story arc as characters act/react in the game world, the so-called outside of the outside of the box as my mentors back then would say. Has the way 4th plays really tainted noobs as to how rpg's in my opinion are meant to be played ?

Im looking for some information or rule set on the effects of gunfire in close combat, so far I havent been able to find anything on the effects the sound does to nearby creatures let alone muzzle flash, at the very least it should be similar to a thunderstone every time a gun is fired. What about fouling the barrel after "x" many shots or the effects a dirty gun has on accuracy ?

I also have questions on reloading, take a feat then use alchemical charges and you are allowed to take a full-round reloading muzzleloader and fire in 6 seconds or less ? I shoot weapons including blackpowder rifles and even with modern tech and a pre-measured load an on-target shot in the heat of combat in that amount of time is almost impossible and Ive been shooting for over 30 years.

The next problem I see is the use of gunsmithing to make gunpowder, ammo, alchemicl charges, etc. A gunslinger is allowed to automaticly craft such things with the correct tools at a percent of the cost of the items and doesnt require a craft check ? If it doesnt require a craft check shouldnt it be limited as to how many he can have per day such as the alchemist's bombs or a skill check per item or batch if allowed unlimited uses ? Have you seen a reloading bench or a smelter and molds for bullets. Crafting ammo/powder is an involved process that the required tools are not something easily carried and require a great deal of skill.

Any ideas, thoughts, or points in the right direction are greatly appreciated.

Is a barbarian allowed to use power attack while under a rage ? Under the description of rage it states "cannot use anything that requires patience or concentration" while under rage. The way I see it a combat feat such as power attack requires concentration since you have to state you are using it before an attack. If the power attack was feat that automaticly applies and you didnt have to state you are using it, I wouldnt see a problem. Thoughts ?

I have been looking for an answer on the following question in the core book but cant find it. Question is if a character is at a negitive hit points and a potion of cure wounds is used (which does stabilize the character) but does it put the hit points at 0, put the hit points at 0 then allow the roll for effect amount, or do you roll for the effect amount and apply the result to the negitive value ? This may be a no-brainer that Im missing the answer right in front of me but as I havent played any RPG's since the AD&D days (back in the 80's) and just started up again Im alittle out of practice. Thanks for any replies.