Dragnmoon's page

Maybe I'm just too soft :-)

Yes

Off topic...
On the subject of what counts for completing an encounter.

During GenCon I was playing in a group that was running long and near the end of the slot we had only completed 2 encounters and were fighting in the third. The encounter was going very poorly and we grabbed our dead comrades and ran. We ran out of time and were not able to continue. We asked Mike if running away from a combat encounter counted as completing. He said No, so we were not going to get any exp for the scenario.

We did end up finishing it later in the hotel, but if it was left at that according to Mike running away does not count as completing an encounter.

There is a loophole I believe they specifically left in to encourage upgrading the the starting weapon, instead of getting the more powerful firearms or a second weapon

character must possess enough Fame to purchase any firearm not found on a Chronicle sheet or granted by a class feature

The starting weapon of a gunslinger does not fall under the fame requirements therefore it can be upgrade to a +1 weapon not depending on your fame.

The idea of the rule was to slow down Gunslingers from getting an exuberant amount of attacks with duel firearms/Dual barrel or a mixture of the two at low levels, and not to handicap them from lack of a magic weapon.

Do you have an estimate release date?

There is a much easier thing to do then to figure out a complicated method of difficulty of a Scenario or adjusting how scenarios are written, provide more resources to teach GMs how to deal with different types of players in a group.

By far the greatest impact of the perceived difficulty of a scenario is based on the experience/knowledge/skill of the GM. Providing advice/tactics/training for GMs would go much farther in providing enjoyment of all players no matter the type of player then working on a complicated near impossible rating system.

I think a much better project that Mike/John could work on is to provide the next level of the GM 101 training and finding methods of encouraging GMs to attend/read them. Also a Monthly PFS GM Advice Blog would go a long way as well.

Looks like Gen Con got first dibs on showing the world Season 5 Pathfinder Society Logo.

Seeing the same thing, hoping it is an error.

I actually use it to help come up with character names

I am stealing this idea...

In short, here is how it works.

You figure out the cost of special material ammunition the normal way (or look it up on the table of page 141). If you have the Gunsmithing feat you can craft non-alchemical cartridge ammunition for 10% of the cost. If you have at least 1 rank in Craft (alchemy) you can craft alchemical cartridges for half the price of the cartridge.

Mike can you clarify this post?

I originally read it as you first figure out the price special material ammunition (10%) then add it to the price of the alchemical cartridges (50%).

But the second time I read it I noticed it could be read as you add the normal price of special material ammunition + alchemical cartridges and then half it which is a much higher price then my original read.

Which is it?

ugg, I re read that post from mike... hmmm... maybe I am wrong...

Let me try to figure this out..

Edit: Ok that post is not as clear as I originally thought it was. I will ask for a clarification on the clarification.. ;)

its half the total cost, not half the bullet plus the special material cost.

Actually it is Half the Alchemical Cartridges cost plus 10% the special material bullet cost.

Mike clarified that here to answer the OP in that thread.

This is how you Figure it out.

You can craft bullets, pellets, and black powder for a cost in raw materials equal to 10% of the price.

So all bullets are 10% of the price of the bullet

If you have at least 1 rank in Craft (alchemy), you can craft alchemical cartridges for a cost in raw materials equal to half the price of the cartridge.

So as long as you have 1 rank in Craft (Alchemy) alchemical cartridges are half the price.

So when you are combining the 2, you first figure out the price of the special material bullet and add that to the price of the alchemical cartridges.

So you get these prices for all bullets

Alchemical Cartridge, Dragon’s Breath = 20 gp
Alchemical Cartridge, Entangling Shot = 20 gp
Alchemical Cartridge, Flare = 5 gp
Alchemical Cartridge, Salt Shot = 6 gp
Alchemical Cartridge, Paper = 6 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Cold Iron, Paper = 6.2 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Silver, Paper = 8.5 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Adamantine, Paper = 12.1 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Blood Crystal, Paper = 9.1 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Elysian Bronze, Paper = 8.1 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Fire-forged steel, Paper = 7.6 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Frost-forged steel, Paper = 7.6 gp
Alchemical Cartridge Viridium, Paper = 8.1 gp
Black Powder = 1 gp
Bullet/Pellets = 1 sp
Bullet/Pellets, Cold Iron = 2 sp
Bullet/Pellets, Silver = 2.5 gp
Bullet/Pellets, Adamantine = 6.1 gp
Bullet/Pellets, Blood Crystal = 3.1 gp
Bullet/Pellets, Elysian Bronze = 2.1 gp
Bullet/Pellets, Fire-forged steel = 1.6 gp
Bullet/Pellets, Frost-forged steel = 1.6 gp
Bullet/Pellets, Viridium = 2.1 gp

the value of 0gp is for the purpose of selling the item only, not for basing the value of the item for purpose of upgrades.

Is poison (crafted or otherwise) even worth it in PFS? It seems like anything with a Fort save low enough to fail against the poison is going to get killed by the other PCs within a round or two anyways. Poison use sounds like a cool concept; can anyone who actually utilizes it give an example where it made a difference?

The best class for Poison is by far the Alchemist. There are discoveries that allow you to raise the DC, put 2 poisons togehter and other manipulations of poison.

Short Answer - No.

Long Answer - That would be considered "Crafting" which is only allowed by "Alchemists and rogues with the poisoner archetype and the Master Poisoner ability can use Craft (alchemy) to produce poisons", for poison per the FAQ.

The only way you can get poison for your character is to multi-class into one of the allowed classes that can purchase poison or to find poison on a chronicle sheet from a scenario.

So who is the Author?

Quick question, If more than one player activates an emerald elixir at the same time do they all have to pick the same mutation?

Other Link questions

The problem is that the prefix "non-" is missing from the first "1st-level" in the bolded text.

It has been noted for correction in the next version of the Guide.

I thought it read a bit odd. Has Mike posted that some where?

So here is the issue, I thought Mike changed the Module/AP rules to be the same as the scenario rules but it seems that is not the case.

You can only apply AP/Module credit from playing a pregenerated character to a newly created character if you played a level 1 pregenerated character.

For modules and Adventure Path content below 9th level, if you do not have a character in the correct level range, you may use a Pathfinder Society pregenerated character, available on paizo.com or the 1st- and 7th-level iconic characters on pages 275–297 of the NPC Codex. If you play a 1st-level pregenerated character, you may apply credit from the pregenerated character played to a newly created character of your very own, with the gp gained reduced to 1,398 gp (or 699 gp for slow advancement track characters). If you play a non-1st-level pregenerated character, you may apply the credit to your character as soon as she reaches the level of the pregenerated character played. Equipment listed on the pregenerated character sheet may only be sold to clear conditions, such as death, during the play of the module and any remaining gold does not carry over at the end of the module.

So for Module/AP play if you play a 4th or 7th pregenerated character you have hold the credit on a character until they reach the level of the pregenerated character played. You do not have the option to reduce the credit to apply to a newly created character.

Off Topic

Weapon Cord allows you to drop a weapon to cast (or channel).

I see this pop up a lot. Why do people think that clerics need a free hand to channel? Nothin in the description of Channel states that.

It just says "A cleric must be able to present her holy symbol to use this ability." Which can be done without a free hand.

Am I missing another rule somewhere?

If it is solely the motion that activates the magic, then why do you have to be a spellcaster to use it?

It is still a scroll, you could use UMD.

I don't think that is correct..

I don't see anything in it that states that it is still not treated at minimum caster level, other then for price.

I may be reading this wrong, but I don't think this does what you think it does.

So you have a spell with the Silent Metamagic feat.

It does not actually raise the level of the spell, that is what Heightened spell does not silent spell. Unless of course I am reading it wrong...

It does raise the level of the spell for the purpose of the price and has the silent spell on it but does not effect that it's actual level like Heightened spell.

Unless I am reading this whole thread incorrectly and that is not what you thought it does.

I stand corrected. The Reptile bonus for Nagaji would apply to Day Jobs if you are able to get Handle Animal as a Day Job.

Go Crocodile Farms!

I am curious why we added the extra restriction that does not exist, to the day job roll?

Has Mike or Mark posted it somewhere and not update the FAQ or Guide?

So let’s look at a couple of things here.

Using Common sense - This is an opinion thing but I always viewed that sentence as allowing the GM to use common sense to interpret a rule when interpretation is warranted and a rule is not clear and not an open invitation for a GM to change a rule because it does not make sense to them.

That said let's actually look at the rule for day job.

Permanent bonuses from equipment, feats, racial bonuses, and traits effect your Day Job check as they would any check for the rolled skill, but temporary bonuses such as those granted by spell effects do not contribute, as the duration over which the Day Job check is made is undefined and represents a longer amount of time than a spell’s duration would permit the bonus to remain.

Nowhere in that description does it state that the Permanent bonus needs to represent everything you can do with that skill. So where are any of us getting that idea anyway? Has that been stated somewhere by Mike?

The FAQ does not say otherwise and neither does Mike clarification posts. Based on that alone both the alchemist ability and the ability mentioned in the OP above should work since they are both permanent.

Lol... Has this become who can make that sentence better thread? ;)

"My point is, we can't give one and take away the other when it is the same thing."

Yes we can. We just shouldn't.

point taken.

I choose to apply the common sense rule that's in Guide 4.3.

That is fine, as long as you have no problem with the player above using common sense that since his pc has a bonus Handle Animal on reptiles that he makes a living with reptiles. It is only common sense since he is good at it.

My point is, we can't give one and take away the other when it is the same thing.

I have no problem with allowing it, as long as the rule is consistent.

To answer your original question about what else an alchemist could be using craft alchemy for in a day Job. He can be making Poisons, or make a living identifying poisons as an example. There is more to Craft Alchemey then just making alchemical items.

That's because what else would an alchemist be doing to earn day job money, if not create alchemical items?

Whereas, defining your farmstead as a lizard farmstead seems a bit over the top.

I don't find that argument sufficent enough to get over that fact it still does not apply to all Achemy Checks.

Your argument still does not change that important fact.

No, because it is not a generic bonus that can apply to anything.

We need to clear that up because the Alchemist class ability bonus is also not a generic bonus that can apply to anything for craft alchemy, but I get dirty looks when I mention that or enforce it.

You could always look at the "Faiths of" books to see if there is a deity that allows paladins and doesn't include the "no poison" in their code of conduct... I don't know if there are any, but there might be.

EDIT: Who knew a BIGnorseWOLF could be a ninja? ;)

Those codes are an addition to not a substitute.

Paladins of all faiths have strict moral codes by which they must abide or risk losing their powers: they must protect the innocent, be truthful, respect lawful and just authority, and live with honor at all times. However, paladins of individual faiths live by additional strictures, and draw on specific codes to seal their bonds with their gods— those who violate the codes of their faiths must atone for their deeds or lose their powers.

Since we have actually not seen the rules yet for the free faction change, at least I have not yet, I think it is premature for any of us to be able answer that question if the question is what pH unbalanced saud.

Also, As far as I am aware the free faction change will not happen until Season 5 which at that point you can't become Shadow Lodge.

Ok, I am trying to understand what you are saying here...

Are you asking if a Level 1 PC can change factions?

If so then yes, the Level 1 rebuild rules allow that.

Or are you asking about what will happen when the Lantern Lodge and Shadow go away as factions in a few months?

more stars are not an indication of better GMing, I mean have you SEEN what Dragnmoon posts? ;)

That's it! if you are ever at a table of mine all the monsters will attack you and kill you when you are down!

On Subject, In General Star can be an indication of Experience of PFS matters not GMing skill but one I don't normally trust. For that matter, VC/VL can be an indication Experience and knowledge of PFS rules and regulations but I have found it is not.

A GM that has GMed a 100 PFS games in his own little local game bubble and has never GMed out of his group is much more likely to pick up bad habits then a GM/Player that has GMed only 20 games but has gone outside their local bubble to conventions and other out of town game days.

What can be even worse is that most likely/possibly that 100 game GM has picked up bad habits and being such a prominent local GM has passed them along to all the other players.

When it comes to rule knowledge Stars usually means nothing.

When it come to PFS specific knowledge I have found that those that have traveled afar more often and are active in these forums are more likely to be reliable no matter how many stars they have.

I have learned more about GMing from Gms I have met at conventions out of town then I ever had from GMing locally.

I am saying I can do that for 6 players in 10 minutes, not 10 minutes each.

If you can't do that, reduce it to what you can. Just do a quick look to make sure the Chronicle sheets are good, or whatever you feel comfortable with. Figure out what you can do in 10 minutes and do that. Whatever it is will be helpful for the players, which is the goal.

Remember the goal is to do it quick and be helpful, if you are not doing either or especially if it is not helpful you need to adjust it.

And for me since I am meticulous in how I organize my characters, if a player does it like me it is even quicker.

10 minutes is less than 120 seconds per player.

1/2 hour is 5 minutes per player.

Try this with 6 players you don't know at a convention and a timer... 1/2 is closer to how long it takes.

Nosig, if it is taking longer than 10 minutes then it is not a quick audit and you are describing something totally different than what we are recommending for convention play for Audits.

Here is the quick check list for a quick Audit. Granted this does require rule knowledge and GM experience, and if you don't have either of those you should not be auditing other pcs, or just limiting the auditing based on your own experience and knowledge.

Checklist

1. Does the Player have filled out chronicle sheets - I don't care what is on them I just want to do a quick thumb through to see if they are there and the majority are filled out and a quick count maybe.
2. Tracking encumbrance? Too many players skip this and it is a big deal, losing 10 ft. can make or break a combat especially for martial characters.
3. Abilities scores look good? This is where experience comes in, an experienced GM can just glance at the scores and see if they are odd (High/low)
4. Quick look at Magic items, for anything that may beyond the cost of the PC. Once again experience needed to have a general idea what is expensive or not.
5. Cursory glance for class specific abilities (alignment restrictions, Deity restrictions stuff like that)
6. Cursory glance at everything else - I don't care what is there I just care if it is there.
7. You might have picked up other stuff during cursory glances.

That is mostly it, I might have missed a few things that I might do if it is going quickly.

That will take less than 10 minutes for 6 players.

Things that will slow you down.

Poorly organized characters sheet will kill this process. If you come with a character written on scratch paper I will skip most of the above and just see if issues pop up during the game.

Problems! If I see a problem in any of the above then I have to ask questions, in general you just accept the answers giving. Remember you are not trying to catch cheater you are trying to help players. Now if the answer is not satisfactory and the issue will not cause problems during the game, you give a quick explanation on how the character can fix it later and move on.

If the problem will cause problems during the game then what you will do depends on what the problem is and what the fix is.

In general unless there is an extreme case the above will be 5-10 minutes for 6 players.

It took me longer to type this up then it would have to do the audit.

Other GMs may have different checklists, depending on their experience or what they find important. But a proper audit check at a convention as described above is quick.
You also need to know when not to run the Audit. If the game is starting late, then skip the audit. If you have already done an audit on a player and his stuff was straight before most likely his stuff will be straight on his other PCs, skip him. This last bit is a bit harder to explain, and not every person will be able to do this. Sometimes you can just tell when a player by the initial table talk if they don’t need an audit, if a player falls under that category, do an even shorter version of the above.

My GM has 4 stars but he lost his pw to this site. He said people don't listen to him when he posts on his new account without stars.

I'm noob here but is that what this post is about?

A couple of things you should tell your GM.

Paizo does not allow people to have more then one account, once they realize he has 2 they will ban one of the accounts.

He can get his password reset on the log on page.

If he is using a different email address then the one he made the first account with he can email customer.service@paizo.com about his password problem.

Slightly more than half an hour into the slot

If he took more then 10 minutes he was doing it wrong. What I think most of us that are talking about "quick Audits" at conventions are quick glances that take 5-10 minutes.

I would much rather keep the current defacto system of giving the character a quick glance to see if something is seriously out of whack or the occasional "how the hell did you do that?" check. Most of the time you won't find anything, when you do find something its probably minor (like a missing hp or skillpoint) that doesn't affect the game. While you do occasionally have a large glaring issue, I don't think a small number of incidents are worth dragging down everyone's fun.

I agree with this for conventions, any larger audit checks should be left for local play.

A quick check just to find jarring large issues takes up very little time for an experienced GM, and many times you will find the smaller issues as well depending on the experience of the GM.

Really I don't see quick audits at conventions as an issue, as long as it is not a thorough audit.

What I really think the issue is, and what we really should be talking about is what a GM should do when he finds an error in a character that would affect the game enough that it needs to be dealt with.

For a convention, there is not enough time to correct such an error and the GM should not hold up the game so one player can fix it, but at the same time if that error would actually affect the game the GM can't allow it to stand as is.

What I have done in the past was to give the option for the player to play a pregen, which has not always gone over well. The vast majority of the time the player will say cool I am good with that get a pregen and move on. I have had times where the player grumbled *Almost always saying "my Home GM has no problems with it"* but grabs a pregen and plays on. Twice i have had a player walk away, once to fix his PC during the slot the other in anger.

I would like to see advice for other options to deal with this issue.

Patrick Harris @ SD wrote:

Jason S wrote:

nosig wrote:

Anyone else notice that the two biggest threads on this board are expressing directly opposing viewpoints?

Has anyone noticed one of the threads was created back in 2011 and wasn't addressing season 4?

I'm going to resurrect a "Play Play Play" thread if this continues... followed by Replay.

PFS is too XXX? :) Soft and deadly? Hmmm...

What is this "play play play" thing? April 1 was the first I've heard of it.

no-no-no, please don't go there! ArrrrgH....

runs and hides before Dragnmoons head 'spolds

ARGH!!!!!! what is a spold?

Woot back in stock!

So six communities and 4 authors...

Are there going to be 2 more authors announced later or are 1 or 2 of them doing more the one town?

at least steel toed boots!

Maybe they are armored, but under the leather. And I think Mithral toed boots would be better ;)

I thought Bestiaries were not supposed to include playable race options. Am I mistaken or understanding this incorrectly?

You would be mistaken... So far every Bestiary has included a few playable races.

SCPRedMage wrote:

Dragnmoon wrote:

I had one guy whose method was that the order of the roll was based on the distance they landed from him. Yeah that was not going to work for me.

Why not?

I'd see that it could lead to bickering on the definition of nearest / furthest, depending on where the dice exactly landed. I think it's better to not leave that open to interpretation.

^This^

Mostly, this was for teaching beginners (thus the subject line - "Thoughts on things to teach newbies (and old dogs too)").

It is exactly your subject line gave me the impression this was not just for newbies..."old dogs too" implies it is for experienced players as well.

Dragnmoon, #4 was "Roll damage dice with the to hit dice...", meaning to roll the D8 with the D20. I'm not sure of anyone who would be able to switch the two after the roll... unless it was a D12 and a D20 maybe?

I thought you were talking about multiple attacks and multiple d20s at once as well.

My only issue with rolling all your dice at once is in my experience too many players do not distinguish what die is for what attack.

I had one player once roll all his attacks at once and when I asked him what die is for what attack he listed off the colors which happen to be the best possible combination of rolls. I told him now that I know that please re-roll, he was not happy about that.

I had one guy whose method was that the order of the roll was based on the distance they landed from him. Yeah that was not going to work for me.

I have also known GMs that have insisted that once you roll a die you can't change your actions. For example I have seen a player roll all his attack dice while attacking an opponent and it went down after the first attack, he stated he further attacks would go against the adjacent opponent but the DM would not allow him stating since he already rolled the dice he can't change his target. The rules allow you to change your attack/target in the middle of a full atack as long as they are legal attacks.

On table tents I am a huge fan of players taking up as little space as possible on a table, though I don't begrudge players using them I don't due to the table space they take up.

That needs to be added to his Compilation of message board clarifications for PFS Rulings. Was going to mention that in the thread itself, but it is locked.