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Oh, I missed one: Change the scale of the maps? If I don't have the map recommended in the scenario, or don't want to print it, but I have a suitable replacement; or I think the Flip-Mat or Gale Force 9 game map I have looks or works better. Maps are eyecatching when running a game, particularly when running games in public, it's always good to present your best maps.
Hi Bob, I wasn't sure where you were going with this, but that last post helps, so here's my response: I always aim to run a scenario as written, but I like to think I remain fair, flexible and entertaining as a GM and storyteller. Some specific examples: Definitely never increase the number of creatures or swap feats/spells, no matter how much of a walk-over I think the encounter will be for a given group - I run as written.
I played in a scenario in which the GM increased an underwater encounter from one giant squid to two, because he thought it would be a better challenge for our party.
I try to use the tactics provided with each encounter, even if it nerfs the opponent, because there may be good reason to do so, eg the creature may be too powerful at that tier without using sub-par tactics, or there may be story or flavour reasons for the tactics used. However, it's also important to remain flexible and adjust tactics to player actions accordingly. Tactics are the one area I will adjust to be more forgiving to a group of new players struggling through an encounter, or strictly unforgiving to a group of experienced 7/20-optimised encounter destroyers. While I don't mess with the stats as written, I do try to breathe personality and life into NPCs, social encounters, and even combats.
Faction missions? I run them by the book. I will reward creative solutions where appropriate, and allow other characters to assist, but I don't indulge players looking to cheat their way around a required skill DC. You don't want players at one table gaining their PA, and those at another table failing theirs, on the whim of a GM. As a GM, I try to play by the same rules as the players. I roll my dice in the open for all to see, and expect my players to do likewise. I play by the book, whether it be encounters or faction missions, but try to remain flexible to the situation, and reward creativity, as long as the player isn't using it as an excuse to circumvent the rules. I don't think this is being hypocritical.
Fellow Pathfinders, This Sunday, we take you back to the mission that started it all ... #0-01 Silent Tide - Tiers 1-2, 4-5
When: Sunday 12th February
Where: Good Games Blackburn
Please RSVP to Ryan or myself via email if you would like to join us on Sunday, so we might prepare a second adventure if it looks enough players arrive. Hope to see you there! Cheers,
This is a great idea! The new Pathfinder Battles minis look wonderful, and many players will be using them to represent their characters during PFS games. I'd love to see some character builds based on these minis for inspiration, not just for the current set, but ongoing. Any 1st-level character is suitable for use as a pregen for new players without a character, so go for it! Note: however, that only official Paizo pregens can legally be used as 4th or 7th level pregens. It would be an interesting creative exercise, and give new players some idea where they might take their character beyond 1st-level. I know one player in my local store group is already using the Human Ranger to represent his character, maybe he could share his 1st-level (and now 4th-level) stats on this thread? Maybe someone could layout some of the best as downloadable PDFs, or a webpage, such as Shisumo's impressive range of first-level pregens, one race for every class:
also appearing as Pathfinder Society Quick Start Characters on d20pfsrd.com.
Jonathan is correct - although I think(?) the documentation states you receive PA after playing all three, it's a little impractical to enforce this, for the reasons you've described. You should receive PA/Fame/XP/Gold for each First Steps scenario you've completed, and your paper Chronicle sheets are your official record - the online reporting, while a useful backup, is mostly so Paizo knows where and how often PFS is being played. So carry over your totals from First Steps Parts I and II over to your next Chronicle sheet played. Note: If your character plays a different scenario next, he can never return to complete First Steps Part III, because you must use a starting character - playing any other scenario excludes that character from First Steps. You could, however, play First Steps Part III with a new secondary character, and it's not a bad idea to have a back-up character in any case, just keep them two or three levels apart, and you'll find you have more options when scenarios of different Tiers are scheduled.
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS! Hi Sean, thanks for a most enjoyable scenario! Defenders of Nesting Swallow released bang in the middle of our four-day Arcanacon 2012 Melbourne, Australia. We already had two tables of players each game through Quest for Perfection Parts I and II on day two, so my only chance was to download and read Nesting Swallow overnight (arriving home 1am after the con), ready to run two back-to-back sessions beginning 9am the following day. The final day was already booked solid with the Blood Under Absalom special, so it was now or never. It was desperate preparation, but I'm so glad I did! Coincidentally, both tables had a Tengu character playing (boons from a previous con), so I roleplayed the villagers terrified of feathered characters, which played well into various scenes. If you have any players with Tengu boons from cons in your region, STRONGLY ENCOURAGE them to play this series! Spoiler: - KestlerGunner, our local character artist, tagged every blackboard/whiteboard in the classrooms in which we were playing with sketches of his Tengu, Kuro Po.
- the intial scene, a family fleeing their village being terrorised by Tengu bandits, were terrified more seeing PC Tengu;
- one PC Tengu used the festival mask boon to transform into human for an hour while the other players tried to prepare the villagers for a Tengu within their village - much roleplay convincing the villagers not all Tengu are bandits, some out-of-town Tengu live more civilised lives working among human allies; - I allowed PC Tengu a +2 circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks to push the villagers during combat training due to their fear of Tengu; - final encounter boss-Tengu caw caws at the PC Tengu calling him Traitor and attacks him ignoring all others - he won initiative and struck twice, then his Axebeak critted, killing Kuro Po before he could act - the PCs then took down boss-Tengu and axebeak, and pooled resources for Kuro's Raise Dead - I don't think I could have showed my face again at our local Blackburn store had Kuro not been raised. It was a very fitting end to a great scenario. I'm still not 100% sure if I could have been burning defense points to have boosted my AC to make sure I was safe. Defence points can be used as a dodge bonus to your AC, which may have helped avoid the first two hits - unfortunately, not much can be done to avoid the GM rolling two 20's in a row (20's always hit). I loved the Seven Samurai feel of this scenario (even though I've never seen the referenced movie - I'll have to track it down now). The scenario featured very engaging village defence routine, was rich in roleplay opportunities, and it's definitely scenarios like Nesting Swallow that I enjoy a broader range of races within the campaign.
As a GM you need to know the fly rules. If you take damage fly checks need to be made etc... It's a nice build though and he plays it well... Your average GM isn't going to be familiar with most of the fly rules (myself included), but the player knows the rules intimately, and makes all the necessary rolls before you even realise they're needed: Grolshmir: (rolls dice)
It's a killer build, but as a player, he makes the GMs job easy, because he knows his rules, and doesn't hold up the game. He does indeed play it well. Re flying mounts, as a GM, you're never too sure whether your better tactic is to aim for the mount or aim for the rider? I wonder if The player with the baby Roc knows he's become popular enough to be talked about in the forums. Oh, I think he knows ... ;-)
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS !!! Relevant Experience?
Note: Year of the Shadow Lodge and Blood Under Absalom have also run in Sydney, Australia, Overseer - VC Sydney, Al Rigg. With PFS groups growing around Australia, hopefully we'll see Specials run in other States soon. How does Year of the Shadow Lodge or Blood Under Absalom compare to standard PFS scenarios?
Note: that Blood Under Absalom contains NINE combat encounters! When we slot-zeroed this, it took us eight hours to play and we bypassed one encounter. By the time we realised we'd need more time, we had already scheduled sessions for PaizoConOz Brisbane, players had signed up, and it was too late to move things. Players enjoyed the event, however we did run short of time, had to rush some scenes and cut the final two encounters. At Arcanacon in Melbourne, we ran it from 9am through 7pm with maybe an hour to muster players between tables of appropriate levels, and an hour break for lunch. I figure you'll need eight uninterrupted hours to run this - unless your event runs into the evening hours, allow a full day to run this. Multi-table events run very similar to regular scheduled tables running alongside each other, except you'll want to try to keep each table synched to run the same encounters, so run with a stopwatch so you can keep everyone on track and stand on a chair to read the required box text to all tables between each encounter. What elements do you enjoy the most about the Specials?
Assistance (usually healing bursts, but occasionally a breath-of-life) from a higher level table can often SAVE players struggling at lower-level tables. Players should generally be encouraged to focus on play at their table, and not play other tables games for them. However, if one table finishes early and waiting for other tables to complete, if it makes sense to do so, they could come to the aid of another table that might be struggling. Eg, a dwarf becomes incapacitated and thrown into the harbour - a character from another table with ranks in Swim could notice this, and leap to his rescue. This helps players realise there is more going on than just what you see at your table, and encourage a sense of cooperative play. After the Special, everyone has a sense of a shared experience, and there's much discussion between players from different tables regarding how they dealt with each encounter. What elements do you enjoy the least?
Normally, I prefer statblocks appearing throughout a scenario rather than collected together at the end. However, in the case of a 40+ page special with statblocks repeated for Tiers 1 through 11, it becomes too much, especially the theatre scene where GMs were required to combine roles from one page to stats on another page. If you're GMing a Tier 3-4 table, you only need bring the Tier 3-4 stats with you, throw out the rest. This is a case where an appendix of NPC stats, each Tier starting on a new page, would have been VERY useful! If you played both Year of the Shadow Lodge and Blood Under Absalom, how did they compare?
Spoiler: The encounters in YotSL seems a little random for my liking, whereas I quite enjoyed the Tian Xian flavour running through Blood Under Absalom.
Goblins riding dragons just didn't come across as credible to me. I didn't mind that some scenes all tables occupied the same space, where other scenes they separated - it meant that low tables couldn't always assume they had the support of higher tables for healing bursts and such, which could lead to reckless behaviour if left unchecked - instead they had to fight through to the next section, providing challenge and keep players on their toes. I ran GMs through a single table of both Specials prior to each event, and I'll agree that Blood Under Absalom runs particularly well as a single-table event. In fact, given the number of encounters, I did wonder whether Blood Under Absalom was originally two standard scenarios (cf. City of Strangers Part I and II) that had been edited together to form a Special? Though definitely try to catch one of these at a convention to enjoy the multiple-table experience. What's your most vivid memory from one of these events? A memory I'm still trying to wipe from my mind:
Spoiler:
On two occasions - a wet naked gnome/halfling running screaming through a crowded inn;
Thanks for the acknowlegement and kind words, Mike. It's been a long journey to 5 Stars, but every journey begins with but a single step. For me, that first step was taken 23rd June 2007, offering to GM Hollow's Last Hope at my local game store for Free RPG Day. Players arrived, it was a fun adventure, and we had a great day. I had been enjoying Living Greyhawk and Living Arcanis at Melbourne conventions for the previous five years, but those campaigns were winding down with the announcement of 4th Edition, so it looked as though Melbourne's convention community, at least for the next season, would be without D&D. This was around the time Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path hit the streets, and I started GMing Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings, and soon after, Crimson Throne Chapter 1: Edge of Anarcy, for some of my friends. I knew Pathfinder was a winning formula in need of players, so inspired by all the GMs who had run convention games for me in the past (truly thanks guys!), I decided to give back to the community by GMing Pathfinder Society events at Unicon, Arcanacon and Conquest, in fact last weekend was the fourth year we've run Pathfinder at Arcanacon, and our next Conquest is just around the corner (Easter long weekend). I have since run PFS at GenConOz and PaizoConOz in Brisbane, and met players from all over Australia, many of whom have become good friends over time. Last year when I was appointed Venture-Captain, Melbourne Australia, I figured I needed to step up my game, so I started GMing PFS not only at four conventions per year, but also at Good Games Blackburn every Sunday, and this year, I aim to start up a new group among game stores in the city. Slot-zeroing scenarios with other GMs in preparation for upcoming conventions on Saturdays, while running public gamedays on Sundays, soon clocks up your GM Star rating. It's also encouraging to see PFS groups starting to spring up all over Australia, including Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Rockhampton, Sydney. Many people consider GMing a chore, and I must admit, I was more than a little daunted at first, but the more you GM, the better you get at remembering the rules, and can start to focus on telling a good story. Everyone starts somewhere, so don't be afraid to give it a try, even 5-Star GMs need an occasional break or a hand organising extra tables. You don't have to GM every week, if you rotate with other GMs - you help grow your local community, while still getting opportunities to play. I've GMed four games for every one I've played. I probably enjoy GMing now more than playing. It's like setting a stage and watching the actors play their parts - no two games are alike, and the players will entertain you every time! I'm a firm believer that long after you've left a table, the things you remember about a game aren't who critted the goblin in Act Two, or who has the higher damage output - your lasting memories will be the people you gamed with and the stories you tell. That's why I game, and I hope that comes across in the scenarios I run. I'd like to thank every player who has ever gamed at a table with me, because I achieved these Stars with your help. If you'd like to congratulate or help celebrate with me in person, I'll be rolling dice at Good Games Blackburn from 11am tomorrow (Sunday 5th February, 2012) - Frostfur and Sewer Dragons - should be lots of fun! I hope to see a few of you there :-) Cheers,
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
Hi Brent, Paizo staff have stated that while the Beginner Box is necessary to help new players enter the hobby, they don't wish to support two rules systems (eg Expert Box) going forward - supporting too many product lines, means spreading customers thinner across each line, and therefore making each less profitable, which has been attributed to the fall/bankruptcy of TSR former publisher of D&D. The intent of the Beginner Box is to ease new players into the rules of the game, once players become familiar with the rules presented in the Beginner Box, gaining an understanding how concepts like race, class, skills, feats, spells etc fit together to build a character and the effect they have on the game, then players looking for more variety will hopefully find these options among the many other Pathfinder soucebooks available, which are perfectly compatible with the Beginner Box rules. The fan community is also a great place to find classes and other elements from the Pathfinder RPG Reference Document reformatted Beginner Box style. EdOWar in another thread has done exactly this, posting Beginner Box style classes for download on his Blog: http://edowarsblog.wordpress.com/downloads/ - they look rather good!
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
If you want to make a more Christian-styled monk for a Western setting, you could simply rename Ki, calling it Grace. Then replace some of the self-mastery themes with themes revolving around charity and improvement of the community, and you've got a different sort of monk that mechanically is no different than the Eastern one.That is a good enough idea I will probably steal it. Agreed! I would add to that, that you might want to swap out some of the monk weapons for more western ones. The quarterstaff is fitting, but kama, nunchaku, sai, and siangham. would probably get replaced with dagger, spear, etc. for flurrying. Noodles vs Pasta, works for me.
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
Using real-world history and culture as an example, there have been karate, judo etc schools/gyms in our western cities, television cop shows etc, popular in our culture for as long as I can remember (at least the 70s). Marco Polo brought noodles and other eastern influences back from his travels and introduced them to the western world as pasta etc, even if the ingredients were changed to local ones (eg, wheat flour instead of rice). So as long as your world has an eastern continent, even if your players never get to see it, game in it, or even hear about it, there are likely eastern influences (unarmed combat styles) even if they don't recognise them as such (pasta). I think people stress unnecessarily about monks in a western setting.
I think the 1st-level pregens are fine for new players. They're really only pregens for their first game, after that the player makes their own skill, feat, weapon, spell choices, and breathes their own life into them. Also, be careful to remind players of the Gunslinger, Ninja, Samurai pregens that they will be required to bring Ultimate Combat with them to the table. The Beginner Box rules are a lot easier for players to get into and follow, and the Bash! demos give them brief adventures to test-drive their characters. When I GMed the Beginner Box Bash! I noticed that players would swap the pregens among themselves between the four demos, and experiment by swapping out the Cleric's god, or building a Barbarian using the Beginner Box Players Pack - they worked out for themselves what classes they enjoyed or what options worked for them - so this might give you what you're looking for, assisting new players with their character choices before an actual PFS game.
Fellow Pathfinders, #3-02 Sewer Dragons of Absalom
IMPORTANT:
When: Sunday 5th February
Where: Good Games Blackburn
Hope to see you there! Cheers,
Arcanacon 2012 begins tomorrow!
Further details: Arcanacon website Scenarios will be chosen on the day, based on character levels present, and who has played what, but there will be intro scenarios for new players, new releases and old favourites of all levels, single adventures and series, set in the City of Absalom and surrounding nations, even as far as distant TianXia, so basically something for everyone! Based on current numbers, we'll probably be running three tables per session, but this could easily increase if un-registered players arrive on the day. Not a problem, as we're prepared with a team of GMs for every session, so even if you've missed pre-registration, bring a friend along, introduce them to Pathfinder, and let's see if we can't make this the biggest Pathfinder event Melbourne has yet seen! The Blood Under Absalom special on Sunday has been hugely popular, with three tables already booked out. We still have room for a couple more tables of players, but I wouldn't wait long to get your name on the list, because once players start arriving tomorrow, these will also book out. If you can't attend registration tomorrow (doors open at 2pm) you can email me if you want to get your name on the Sunday list for Blood Under Absalom (or any other session). Having spoken to several of the GMs over the last few days, I know they're getting excited to meeting and running these scenarios for you all at Arcanacon this weekend. I hope to see you there! Cheers,
Were they by chance Shisumo's impressive range of first-level pregens, one race for every class:
They are indeed an awesome resource.
I do have one or two voices for various NPCs. Drandle Dreng = Sean Connery Talkssh in a low, deep, sshlow voissh and pronounsshessh all hissh "ssh" sshoundssh like "ssh" Dakar, Commerce League Talksssss in a ssssslow measssssured voisssss and pronounsssssesssss all hisssss "sssss" sssssoundsssss like "sssss" Yiddlepode, opera buff Tawkths width a thsweet thsawft voiths width an awbviouths lithsp. Awlthso haths twrubble pwronawnthsing "awr" thsoundths thsutch aths "wreleaths thadt wrathscally thscawndwrel wroddewrwick"
Thanks Andrew, I notice you're also trying to start up some Pathfinder gaming in Rockhampton - good luck with that too! PFS is really starting to spring up all over Australia - I'm aware of groups in Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney - I'm sure I'm forgetting one or two. I really encourage everyone to support these local gamedays and events. If you know of any PFS being played in your area, or would like to start a group up, or would like to get in touch with a local group, please post about it here, or let me know via email - eg, is anyone playing Pathfinder in Adelaide, Darwin, Tasmania? we'd love to hear about it! Cheers,
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
Hi Harles, I have Photoshoped some colourful flyers to promote PFS gamedays, ideal for pinning to store noticeboards or attaching to emails. You can download them from my Picasa web albums: [ Pathfinder Society flyers - US Letter page size ]
Some helpful advice:
Once you've saved a copy, open these flyers in Photoshop or [ http://pixlr.com ] to add details of your event - eg location, date, contact info etc. There's a couple of examples of these in my web albums to give you an idea.
Pixlr is a free online Photoshop look-alike, built in Flash there's nothing to install, just visit the page and start editing, perfect for quick tasks such as adding a layer of text to a graphic flyer. Once you have the text laid out the way you like, and maybe your store logo in place, you can save it in .pxd format which keeps all the layers editable for your next gameday. Just save a .jpg copy out for printing or emailing to your player-base. I recommend the Papyrus font for that authentic lost treasure map look, though you could use a marker if you've got clear handwriting and/or no computer/graphics savvy. I printed several of these at A3 size (double normal page size) and laminated them at my local Officeworks. They're pinned to my local gamestore's noticeboard, and I can write-on/wipe-off scenario/date details with erasable pens each week. I also attach a down-sized flyer to my emails to Pathfinder players on my store mailing list each week to advise players which scenario is being played next. I'll add and replace flyers to my Picasa web albums from time-to-time with new characters/creatures from the [ Paizo Blog ] (as per the Community Use Policy) for variety, though there's already plenty to choose from. I hope these flyers help attract more players to your event. Cheers, Stephen (DarkWhite)
Arcanacon 2012
Further details: Arcanacon website Hi all, It's that time of year again! The 2012 Convention season kicks off in Australia with Arcanacon held over four day on the Australia Day long weekend! Each Pathfinder Society game plays for 5 hours duration, and therefore requires two standard Arcanacon sessions to play, please refer to the timetable below for Pathfinder session times: Thursday 26th January 2012
Friday 27th January 2012
Saturday 28th January 2012
Sunday 29th January 2012!
Note: Sunday is a special event: Blood Under Absalom, which requires three standard Arcanacon sessions to play! Thursday, Friday and Saturday sessions will be chosen on the day, but will include intro scenarios for new players, new releases and popular favourites, so something for everyone! Players may arrive and sign up on the day, however pre-registration enables us to anticipate player numbers and provide sufficient GMs to run tables. Note: Sunday's Blood Under Absalom special is anticipated to book out - pre-registration is strongly recommended! You may join the Pathfinder Society without any prior game experience by playing one of seven pre-generated characters - Kyra human cleric, Valeros human fighter, Merisiel elven rogue, Ezren human wizard, Lirianne half-elven gunslinger, Reiko human ninja, or Hayato human samurai. Alternatively, if you’re already familiar with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, you can create your own first-level character and bring it with you to the game. If building your own character, you will need to refer to either the Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box or Pathfinder RPG Core Rules and the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organised Play which describes the point-buy system, starting hit points, factions and traits, and other rules important to building a character for a world-wide shared campaign. Most Pathfinder sourcebooks contain options you may use for your character, including new classes, archetypes, feats, traits, equipment, spells etc. If using a rule from a source outside the Core Rulebook, you must have a legal copy of that book with you at the table for the GM to refer to, and it must be listed as allowed on the Additional Resources page, otherwise your character won't be permitted to use that class, feat, spell etc during play. Useful links/resources:
If you've already been playing Pathfinder Society at previous events and have a higher-level character (make sure to bring along your Chronicle Sheets!), every opportunity will be made to group higher level characters together at one table. However, due to player numbers and character levels, it won't always be possible to play a scenario at your preferred character level, so players should be prepared to play a back-up, lower level character, if a higher level table is unavailable for your session. You may continue your character's daring adventures at Pathfinder Society gamedays held every week at Good Games Blackburn and Geelong stores. If you have any questions about character options or Pathfinder Society events, please don't hesitate to contact me or post your questions or comments right here. Hope to see you at Arcanacon! Cheers,
If players were meant to know how injured they are, what is the purpose of the spell deathwatch? http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/d/deathwatch I agree. Players should call out if they're hurt, and remain silent if they're below 0hp. Having a comrade fall in combat should be a tense situation, not knowing if they're dead or alive? A heal check will tell you whether someone is dead or unconscious. Players shouldn't metagame how many rounds they have to remain in combat, and then feed their fallen comrades potions after - they should treat this situation with urgency and uncertainty - I even continue rolling stabilisation rolls after I've actually stabilised, because players shouldn't know the difference without a heal check. Players should never refer to their characters hps to other players in game.
Run the same scenario for different groups of players, and you'll soon find that what one party thinks is a walk-over, another finds a TPK. What varies from encounter to encounter is the percentage of the party's daily resources that is assumed to be used up. I can point to a number of scenarios where the purpose of one encounter is to deplete a party's resources, whether that healing, fire damage etc, prior to the next encounter, leaving the party exposed to that need. This artificially increases the difficulty of an encounter beyond it's CR. Fair challenge or dirty tricks? Again, that depends on your group.
If a group utterly fails an encounter, eg starts a brawl in what was supposed to have been a diplomatic social encounter, and gets hauled away by the town guards to spend the night in the lockup, then I do take the trouble to remove the GP and items for that encounter (if any) from the chronicle sheet. Otherwise, I simply award full GP and all items listed, because it's too much bookkeeping for the GM at the end of a scenario when all the players are in a hurry to leave the table. Ie, I favour the reward creative solutions approach (as long as creative solutions don't include insulting allied NPCs and spending a night in the lockup).
What would be the best way to start the group off? Which adventures would be best to initiate them? You'll probably get a different answer from everyone you ask, but the First Steps intros seem like a logical place to start. From there, I'd probably jump right into Year of the Ruby Phoenix so players feel they're contributing to the current adventure arc right from the get-go - you can always back-fill with scenarios from previous Seasons when you get stuck for something new, depending on how frequently you're gaming. Quest for Perfection would be the first low-tier scenario in this Season's arc. After that, you'll probably start receiving suggestions and feedback from players, as well as a growing knowledge of the campaign yourself, that may steer your course - eg, Frostfur Captives is very popular, or you might want to run We Be Gobins! for a change of pace one week. And good luck running Pathfinder Society gamedays at your new store!
These currently include the Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard, Gunslinger, Ninja, Samurai. While we're waiting for more iconics to be added to the list, Shisumo has created an impressive range of first-level pregens, one race for every class:
Fellow Pathfinders, This Sunday 15th January, we have THREE GMs seeking brave adventurers to complete their missions. Which mission you accept will be up to you. We're anticipating two tables to run this Sunday, so you have a choice between:
The next couple of weeks are a great opportunity to play a character through a scenario or two and maybe level up prior to Arcanacon - four days of Pathfinder awesome from Thursday 26th through Sunday 29th July over the Australia Day long weekend - [Don't forget to pre-register for the event] - I hope to see you there! Please RSVP by [emailing me] if you'd like to join us at Blackburn this Sunday. The store opens at 10am allowing plenty of time to arrive and prepare characters before the game starts at 11am sharp. Good Games Blackburn,
Cheers
Hi Harles, I'm glad to hear that first experience hasn't put you off entirely, though it seems to me that the problem was with the players, not with Pathfinder Society. If you run a Beginner Box demo, who's to say those same players aren't going to show up and cause the same kind of trouble and disrespect? I think it's wise to put some distance between that first experience and your next session. I hope venting here has helped, and provided you with a few ideas to take away. Whether it's Pathfinder Society or Beginner Box demo, the same advice applies. Contact your local Venture-Captain / Venture-Lieutenant, and bring a friend or two with you to your next session - your VC/VL may even know someone in your area looking for a game or prepared to help, or feel free to email me, and I can ask around. Cheers,
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
I'm sure you already have ideas of what you'd like to run. The adventure included in the Beginner Box would be an obvious choice, but you might want to leave something for players who purchase the Beginner Box to explore themselves. The Beginner Box Bash Demos were quick and fun to play. We Be Goblins! while not using characters from the Beginner Box, is also crazy fun! And although it's 3.5 and not yet converted to Pathfinder rules, I think Hollow's Last Hope might be good to run using Beginner Box rules. I'm sorry Society didn't work for you, as there are some really fun scenarios, though as a GM you might need to reach beyond Beginner Box content for some of the monsters/opponents. Anyway, I hope your Beginner Box game days run well. I'd be interested to hear what you run, and how it goes.
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
Hi Harles, Running Beginner Box events for players at your local games store is a great idea. I find the Beginner Box easy to learn, easy to run, a lot of fun! and easy to teach new players. I think the Beginner Box is a great little game for home games, maybe families, or kids running games with their friends, or anyone gaming on their own without connecting with a wider gaming community. In these situations, players are free to play the game however suits their style, simplifying rules, or making their own house rules. However, when running public games, such as at a local games store, I think it's wise to stick with the script. One of the great things about community gaming is that players can travel from one event to another - local game store; school library; regional conventions; home games - and know the rules will be familiar wherever they choose to play. If you start changing those rules, someone attending another event doesn't know which rules are in play. Public games are one of the best ways for new players to learn about roleplaying and Pathfinder. Ideally you'll want to be teaching these players the correct rules, so when they purchase the game for themselves, or play at other events, they're not spreading misinformation. My views are influenced by running Pathfinder Society events at my local game store every Sunday, and at four game conventions each year, where I meet a large number of players, many new to Pathfinder, and many veterans of the game, all coming together to enjoy the game we all love! While you might be starting out small, over time some of your Beginner Box players may expand into Core Rulebook territory, and your group may attract other players who already have a PFS character looking for somewhere to play. Beginner Box rules are a subset of the Core Rules, so players can game at the same table regardless of which rules they build their character with, even mix-and-match from various sourcebooks. If running public games, you might want to check out Paizo's vast number of Pathfinder Society scenarios. They release one low-level (1-5) scenario every month, and the three First Steps intro series are free PDF downloads. You can download the Pathfinder Society Character Creation Guide which describes what Beginner Box players need to know when creating a character for Society play, and the GM will need to be familiar with the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organised Play. PFS organised play requires rules consistency so everyone is playing the same game, regardless of where in the world they're playing. If you start running games at your local game store, you might want to shoot an email to your nearest Venture-Captain / Venture-Lieutenant who would be interested to hear how you're going, and if there's anything they can do to help. Cheers,
Fellow Pathfinders, Pathfinder Society returns to Good Games Blackburn for the New Year with two scenarios: Sunday 8th January, 2012
City of Strangers, Part 2 - Tiers 1-2, 3-4 Quest for Perfection, Part 1 - Tiers 1-2, 4-5 Please RSVP by [emailing me] if you're able to attend. The store opens at 10am - the games begin at 11am sharp. Cheers,
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
Hi Yora, I think that even if you use the Core Rulebook, Bestiaries, Adventure Paths etc to GM games, the Beginner Box is still an excellent way to introduce new players to those games. If you often have players completely new to Pathfinder, showing them the 64-page Hero's Handbook is much less daunting than dropping the 576-page Core Rulebook in their lap. You could even loan them the Hero's Handbook and a new player should be able to create their own character step-by-step without too much trouble. Though Beginner Box characters are limited to Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard out of the box (and Barbarian with free PDF download), players can start to look at other sources for feats, equipment, spells etc, as soon as they feel comfortable doing so. They can also play side-by-side at the same table as Core Rulebook, APG, Ultimate Combat etc characters (if you have a mix of new and experienced players), because they're all built from the same core rules base, albeit a smaller selection of those rules. Download the various Free Beginner Box Resources and have a look over them for layout/presentation for an idea of how easy they are for new players to understand and follow, this may help you decide.
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
Hi Sans_Serif, I've run each of the Beginner Box Bash! demos a few times now. Here is some feedback from sessions I've run: Note: specifics of each encounter hidden behind spoiler tags, please don't read if you're not the GM and haven't yet played these. Wow, they were tough encounters! First time I ran these, I had one character death in Terrors, and multiple unconscious in all but Ruins. At the other table I heard reports of FIVE character deaths and multiple unconscious among his four demos, two of which should have been TPKs, but he had the creature in Tomes cease combat after the last character fell, allowing for unconscious bodies to be recovered. Terrors:
The character death at my Terrors table was made interesting as the candle was still burning, so the player asked "do I raise as an undead now?" I didn't see any reason why not? so I said "sure, you raise as a 4hp skeleton". At one point, the candle had been extinguished, and the skeletons were losing one hp per round. The skeletal champion charged the length of the crypt to reach one PC, raised his weapon to strike, and then crumbled to dust as he was on his last hp. At one table, a young player almost cried when his character died the first time, though he was more composed after his second character death in the next demo, so I guess the game taught him something - you can still enjoy the game even if you don't succeed. Players at my table all wanted to exchange pregen characters after the first demo to play a different class. By the third demo, they were wanting to build their own - one player swapped out his cleric domain, another player used the Barbarian class provided in the Player Pack. One player asked if he could re-roll his character, I said "sure", he picked up a handful of d6 and rolled 1,1,1,1 - I asked "do you still want to re-roll your character?", he said "no, I'll keep the pregen thanks" ;-) Initially the lethality of the encounters shocked players, but as this was a demo with pregens, and players could change characters between each demo, everyone relaxed after the first and took character death in their stride. Character death is an important lesson for new players to learn about the game, but if you're running Beginner Box Bash! demos for characters having successfully completed other adventures, such as Black Fang, you might want to a) take it easy on 1st-level characters; b) level characters up to 2nd after successfully completing their previous adventure; or c) run the Bash! with pregen or temporary or secondary characters, not kill off your player's favourite characters. Example of taking it easy on 1st-level characters:
Tomes:
Once the mimic reveals itself and starts attacking, having weapons stuck can be crippling.
If Professor Montrovale is conscious, have her recognise the problem and suggest that alcohol in her top drawer might weaken the mimic's adhesive properties, though she's quick to add the bottle isn't hers of course! but one she confiscated from a student in class earlier this morning. Second time I ran the Beginner Box Bash!, two more character deaths. Tomes:
When my players revived Montrovale and asked what happened, she said the last thing she remembers was being at her desk looking through some books - if something had attacked her, she didn't know what hit her? "C'mon, you must have seen something?" "No, it was just as I described to you".
Then one of the players approached her desk and started looking through her books = make a perception check = below 20 = surprise round. As always, I roll my dice in the middle of the table for all to see = natural 20! I roll again to confirm = natural 20! I roll for damage = 21 hit points = full-health to instant-death in the suprise round before I even had a chance to describe the creature = now they know why Montrovale didn't know what hit her! This group absolutely enjoyed the Bash! Being forewarned of the challenge ahead, they approached the game with a relaxed fun attitude from the outset and enjoyed some class experimentation - one player built a barbarian, there was one of each of the other classes, but two clerics. The cleric and wizard players rotated their characters among themselves each demo, and the clerics swapped out their domains each demo. I think six-player tables stand a better chance surviving these demos. Be very careful running a four-player table, particularly with beginners or kids at the table, as they're going to be unfamiliar with the game and make odd choices, they'll need all the help they can get. For example, at one table there was a young gamer playing the cleric who wanted to attack every round instead of doing healing. During one desperate moment the GM suggested "you could do a healing burst, and everyone would benefit" the kid thought a moment and said "and the fighter could stay up for one more round" and everyone was hopeful ... but then he said "so I attack it!" and everyone groaned "Noooo!" but that was how he wanted to play his cleric. Unfortunately, he was also the first character to go down in each encounter, which meant no healing for the rest of the party, who then fell like dominos. At my second Bash! event, there were two clerics, so not so much trouble there. It's often the odd things players do that stick in your mind, like the abovementioned cleric who wouldn't heal, or the rogue who stood a safe distance in the OPPOSITE corner of the room while another player did the searching: Tomes:
Other player: "hey, I think there's a safe behind these books."
[discussion between players] Me [hinting]: "isn't the rogue supposed to be good at that stuff?" Rogue: "no, you open it, I'm standing back here" (opposite corner of room) Whooosh! Flame trap destroys book and deals damage to two adjacent characters. You may need to prompt some individuals, why are you playing a cleric if you're not healing? why are you playing a rogue if you're not searching for traps or opening locks? etc. The Beginner Box Bash! highlights some important lessons. Every member of a group is important. Look what happens when the cleric goes down, or your fighter flees in fear, the rest of the group suffers for their absence. There are four classes for a reason, it's a team game, you need to support your party members to survive, and that's an important message to get across to new players. Overall, though, everyone really enjoyed the demos. For short encounters, they were interesting, challenging, flavoursome and a lot of fun!
Now we're talking!
Hi BQ, Coordinators have been in discussion regarding hosting Pathfinder Society at AusCon III in Brisbane to be held 5th, 6th and 7th May, 2012. There has also been some recent talk among GMs about running some regular Pathfinder Society events in the New Year, but I'll let them respond in more detail. If you'd like to be added to a mailing list to be notified of upcoming Pathfinder events in Brisbane, or have any other questions regarding Pathfinder Society, feel free to shoot me an email - my contact details can be found by following the the Venture-Captain link below, or on the last page of the current Guide to Pathfinder Society Organised Play. Cheers,
If you played a pre-gen for your first session, you could trade it in for a character of your own design before your next session, and still receive credit. According to the rules, no you can't do what you're asking. Off the record, I don't regard it much different than trading in a pre-gen after your first session. But you didn't hear that from me. There are going to be many instances during your character's career where you wish you had made a different choice. That's only natural, as you learn more about Pathfinder, the campaign, and see other character builds at your table that inspire you or give you new ideas. Often your second character learns from the experience of your first.
We all love our goblins. But even if it does get retired from official PFS sanctioned play, it's still available as a regular PFS Module, with pre-gen goblins, so it can continue to be played indefinitely, and I'm sure will remain a favourite at conventions, gamedays and homegroups, just maybe without crediting the session to a PFS character who wasn't physically there.
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
On Dec. 15, the Beginner Box Bash will conclude and the four demos will be released for free downloads. After that date, the PFS boons will no longer be made available. I wanted to make sure I gave a full month notice in case people have not had the opportunity to schedule or participate in the event. So, on Dec. 15, you'll be able to download the four Beginner Box Bash demos yourself, and GM them for friends, or at gamedays at your local game store, just as they have been up until now. The only difference is that the boon offer will have expired by this weekend, but don't let that discourage you, these are still a lot of fun to play and GM, and the short one-hour format are a great way of introducing new players to Pathfinder. As for who to contact? Apart from downloading the Beginner Box Bash demos here, you'll want to speak to the store-owner or whichever venue (school, library etc) you want to run these at for permission to game in their space and help spread word among their customers, student etc about your gameday. It's a good idea to print out a flyer to advertise your event and pin it to the store noticeboard, window, email among friends etc, so people will know about your event. Leave a sign-up sheet, to give you some idea of how many players to expect (just in case you need an extra GM to run a second table, or repeat the event on another day) though if players don't sign-up, you'll often be able to speak with interested customers who walk in on the day and get a table running anyway. It's also a good idea when running any public Pathfinder event to create a listing on the Pathfinder Event Calendar so anyone searching for events in your area will find your event. Unfortunately, the Beginner Box Bash isn't reported as a Scenario or Module, so you might have to fake it by adding a low level scenario or module (eg, We Be Goblins!) just for the purpose of completing the event registration. Once you have an event registered, you can add other dates for other Pathfinder scenarios or modules you might run in the future, especially if players enjoy the Beginner Box Bash! and are looking for more. The First Steps intro series make a good follow-up to the Beginner Box Bash! First Steps Part I - In Service to Lore
yeah, I just got to get someone to run it for me... Frostfur Captives is another great goblin scenario. In this one, your team needs to safely escort a group of goblins across the snow from one contact to their drop-off-point. You play your regular PFS character, not goblins, but nonetheless, hilarity ensues! We Be Goblins! and Frostfur Captives make great back-to-back scenarios for a weekend of goblin madness! Highly recommended.
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
If you're looking for more adventure for your Beginner Box heros, you really can't go past the following FREE product downloads: for 1st-level characters:
On Dec. 15, the Beginner Box Bash will conclude and the four demos will be released for free downloads. After that date, the PFS boons will no longer be made available. I wanted to make sure I gave a full month notice in case people have not had the opportunity to schedule or participate in the event. . for Goblin characters: We Be Goblins!and when they gain a little more experience (5th-level)
They're not presented in Beginner Box adventure format, and you might have to swap out a creature or two if they're not included in the Beginner Box, but enterprising Games Masters should be able to use these adventures as a basis or inspiration for their own Beginner Box adventures. Some other Free product downloads that might contain some useful inspiration are the player guides to each Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords Players Guide
Hi PaulH, Speaking from the Australian experience - no, we don't advertise which boons are going to be available where ahead of time, and distribution isn't revealed until it happens. Boons are surprise rewards for those who attend certain events, typically the larger conventions in a region where they'll reach the most players - so support your local events and help boost attendance. If you think your event qualifies, then you should contact your local Venture-Captain for support, though not every event receives boons. The race isn't listed on the Available Resources page, because they aren't legal for general play. The boon is what makes the race legal for that character only, and the player must carry a copy of the relevant Bestiary (or an electronic or printed page with his name/email watermarked on the copy) for the GM to reference at the table.
The Beginner Box Bash! has proven extremely popular, so we thought we'd run it again, this time at Dungeon of Magic on Saturday 3rd December for anyone who may have missed it previously. The Beginner Box Bash! is a series of four short demos, one hour each, to introduce new players to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Drop in and give the game a go - no experience required, characters are ready to play, it couldn't be easier. So why not bring a friend! If you play all four demos, you'll be awarded a special boon. Should you wish to continue your adventures at one of the many games conventions or other events at which Pathfinder is played in Melbourne year-round, you may apply this boon to your ongoing Pathfinder Society character. Players who have already played one or two, this is your opportunity to complete all four before the boons offer closes in a couple of weeks. Pathfinder Beginner Box makes a great Christmas gift for young players, or an easy way to introduce new players to the hobby we all love, or to get involved yourself! You're welcome to drop in on the day, but it would help us estimate player numbers if you could [email me] or leave your name at the store, just in case we need to run an extra table. Beginner Box Bash!
-- And if you enjoyed your Beginner Box intro to Pathfinder, why not follow it up with regular Sunday Pathfinder sessions at Good Games Blackburn? First Steps Intro Part 3 - A Vision of Betrayal
Dispatched on an envoy mission overland from Absalom to port city Escadar, you must weather the harsh wilderness of the Isle of Kortos before you can hope to meet with the representative of the elusive gillmen, and only then come face to face with the greatest threat to the Pathfinder Society - for 1st level characters. Please RSVP by [emailing me] if you're able to attend so we can prepare a second table if required. Cheers,
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
The Beginner Box Bash! has proven extremely popular, so we thought we'd run it again, this time at Dungeon of Magic on Saturday 3rd December for anyone who may have missed it previously. The Beginner Box Bash! is a series of four short demos, one hour each, to introduce new players to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Drop in and give the game a go - no experience required, characters are ready to play, it couldn't be easier. So why not bring a friend! If you play all four demos, you'll be awarded a special boon. Should you wish to continue your adventures at one of the many games conventions or other events at which Pathfinder is played in Melbourne year-round, you may apply this boon to your ongoing Pathfinder Society character. Players who have already played one or two, this is your opportunity to complete all four before the boons offer closes in a couple of weeks. Pathfinder Beginner Box makes a great Christmas gift for young players, or an easy way to introduce new players to the hobby we all love, or to get involved yourself! You're welcome to drop in on the day, but it would help us estimate player numbers if you could [email me] or leave your name at the store, just in case we need to run an extra table. Beginner Box Bash!
-- And if you enjoyed your Beginner Box intro to Pathfinder, why not follow it up with regular Sunday Pathfinder sessions at Good Games Blackburn? First Steps Intro Part 3 - A Vision of Betrayal
Dispatched on an envoy mission overland from Absalom to port city Escadar, you must weather the harsh wilderness of the Isle of Kortos before you can hope to meet with the representative of the elusive gillmen, and only then come face to face with the greatest threat to the Pathfinder Society - for 1st level characters. Please RSVP by [emailing me] if you're able to attend so we can prepare a second table if required. Cheers,
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
I am also really hoping that they release the demo encounters from the Beginner Box Bash. If released, those could also be expanded upon to fill the XP gaps.Any word on this? On Dec. 15, the Beginner Box Bash will conclude and the four demos will be released for free downloads. After that date, the PFS boons will no longer be made available. I wanted to make sure I gave a full month notice in case people have not had the opportunity to schedule or participate in the event.
DarkWhite
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, Battles Case Subscriber; GameMastery Superscriber)
Any update on the BB Adventures being posted? On Dec. 15, the Beginner Box Bash will conclude and the four demos will be released for free downloads. After that date, the PFS boons will no longer be made available. I wanted to make sure I gave a full month notice in case people have not had the opportunity to schedule or participate in the event.
Pathfinder RPG Reference Document:
So no, Int 0 is comatose, incapable of thinking for themselves, not dead.
Fellow Pathfinders, Thanks to everyone who played at Good Games Blackburn last Sunday. With two tables, we're able to offer a little more flexibility each week, such as a low-tier table for new players, and a higher-tier table for regulars. Also, while there are many past scenarios people haven't played, everyone has played different scenarios, making it difficult to schedule something everyone can play. So two tables give players a choice of scenarios and a chance to pick up missions they missed the first time around. So please keep coming :-) This coming Sunday, we'll continue with First Steps Intro Part 2 (OR the Beginner Box Bash!) for new players or anyone who missed them the first time around. Secondly, RyanG will GM To Scale the Dragon for character levels 5+. Sunday 27th November, 2011
First Steps Intro Part 2 - To Delve the Dungeon Deep - Tier 1
Beginner Box Bash!
To Scale the Dragon - Tier 5-9
As always, the store opens at 10am. The game begins at 11am sharp and plays unti 5pm (sometimes 6pm) with a break for lunch. If you'd like to join us, please RSVP by emailing me to give us an indication of player numbers at each table. Cheers,
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