Hello, Paizo people! Winter War 47 will be January 24-26, 2020. It's the largest tabletop games convention in downstate Illinois, and Paizo Organized play has had a strong presence there for many years. This year it falls to me to coordinate our schedule of Paizo Organized Play events, so I'm reaching out to potential GMs. This time around we're in the unique position of supporting three OP campaigns. At Winter War we expect to offer over 60 tables of RPG play divided among 2nd Edition Pathfinder Society, Starfinder Society, and Pathfinder Society 1st Edition play. We need plenty of GMs for all three campaigns in order to make it happen. Our current schedule is on the Winter War convention web site at winterwar.org, and we need more GMs for all three campaigns. As an incentive, the con provides a free weekend badge for any GM who preregisters and is approved to run two or more slots. Please consider now whether you can GM Paizo Organized Play at Winter War 47. If you can help, contact me and include the following information. For those who volunteer, I'll follow up with a confirmation and more specific GM information.
General information about the convention can be found at the convention web site: winterwar.org. Thanks for your time and consideration, and good gaming!. Gregg Homerding
I've always liked Zarta but as a player I was slow to catch on as she evolved through Seasons 6-10. I've been trying to GM scenarios that feature her in the later seasons so I can read for myself how she's been described. I hope my portrayals of her through #10-08 do her justice and entertain and inform my players. IMO she had the most interesting and uplifting story arc of any faction leader in PFS1, and I hope we learn more about her personal journey in PFS2.
My 15th level CN gnome aerokineticist Wahnàmahnà Nàckle was very tempted. He's never been overly concerned about consequences, and the opportunity for Power and Rulership sounded like fun! Once he realized he'd have to give up his day job as a stuntgnome, he decided to pass. OOC I was even more tempted, since Spoiler:
I imagined Nackles everywhere flocking to worship Demon Lord Wahnàmahnà Nàckle. If I weren't planning to include Wahnàmahnà at my Siege of Gallowspire table at GenCon, this OOC temptation might have tipped the scales! Sadly, after joining the rest of his party in a shared beverage, Wahnàmahnà no longer remembers the happy day he thought he was falling to his death and suddenly started to float on air.
Bob Jonquet wrote: ... if they would have released a landscape version, I’d bet dollars to donuts a lot of existing owners would have bought the alternate format screen. I believe it was a missed opportunity. I'm ambivalent about the character sheets, but I agree with Bob about the GM screen. When I use the current screen I have to take it down about half the time in order to better interact with the players and run the table. Landscape format allows me to maintain eye contact and see the tabletop while sitting, which becomes more important as I get older. Some folks wonder why I occasionally GM from behind an old Call of Cthulhu screen, and while I sometimes like to frighten my players, the real reason is the landscape format it offers. I'd prefer to promote Pathfinder with my screen, but running a better game takes precedence.
I'm really pleased with the expansion of PFS/SFS space! Bob and Ali, thank you for working so diligently with the Winter War convention staff and the new venue to get us up to 16 tables per slot. For a change, my biggest problem at a con is choosing what to play rather than finding enough to play. I look forward to GMing/playing PFS in all seven slots, and I hope to see lots of my local and not-as-local PFS pals there!
Eric, I usually enjoy playing/GMing on Sundays at our FLGS, but I know I can't always make it. If I can play it's often a one-shot with no guarantee that I'll be there next time. At a con I usually commit to play several sessions over the course of a weekend, often with a pre-selected group of players, so playing a multi-part series or a module is better there. Our FLGS game days just can't match that setup. I do choose older, higher-tier, or multi-part play at cons when I have an option, but the many small cons in our region tend to schedule all the newest scenarios, so often that's my only choice. In a previous OP campaign I was lucky to enjoy the kind of local group play that you're trying for now, and it was a great experience. That campaign had regional play, so many of the cons I attended did not offer the same scenarios that our local game days did, and it was easier to get play continuity in both venues. PFSOP is different, and in central Illinois we're lucky to have local cons in addition to local game days. For FLGS play with continuity you may want to identify the group who plays most regularly at the FLGS and determine what they want to play, and then schedule accordingly, even if that leaves some of the rest of us out sometimes. And, thanks for organizing games. Organizers never hear that too often IMO :-)
Before I met Mike I knew his reputation as a passionate and diplomatic leader and a fine community organizer. At Winter War 2015 in Champaign IL USA I put a face to the name and learned he also is a friendly guy and a great GM. Playing the resurrected Hands of the Muted God at his table was the highlight of my con even though his evil monster killed my Nackle. I dabbled in PFS in the early years, but the time under Mike's leadership is when the campaign became compelling for me. These last four years have been a period of growth and innovation under stable campaign leadership, and chief among those leaders has been Mike Brock. He will leave PFS better than it was and ready to go forward under his successors. Mike, thank you for everything you've put into this campaign and community. You will be missed. I hope you enjoy your farewell tour the next few weeks.
Urath DM wrote:
This. I've lifted stuff from this AP for home brew 3.5 adventures set in Greyhawk, but it has a ton of Golarion flavor. If it ever got a Pathfinder revamp I would buy it the first day. If it ever got sanctioned for PFSOP I would GM it for my local group.
Bardez wrote:
Thanks, Bardez! I had a blast at our last table. Leading monsters on a merry chase while the rest of the party escorts villagers to safety is a very Nackley way to be a hero. I'm glad Skeezer Nackle contributed to party success as well as player fun (except for the one player in the world with Permanent Enmity of the Nackles ;)
Partho wrote: Gregg mentioning the family reunion at the fair reminds me of one of my favorite Nackle stories. The fair included the typical stations to visit for different rides or events. One was bungee jumping. Another Nackle attempted the jump, but mistimed his jump and went splat. One dead Nackle, luckily a friendly Druid reincarnated him. Krackle and another cousin insisted we could do better and jumped together on the same cord. All seemed to be going well. And then halfway down, we began argueing over when to pull up, this distraction proved our undoing. We bounced. High. Very high. Count with me... three Dead Nackles. The kindly Druid reincarnated us also. Nackles never learn. That friendly Oerth Druid was family, none other than Gnarley Druid Timberdoodle Nackle, who thrice in one day successfully reincarnated his cousins. (There was a fourth reincarnation, but even a Nackle don't brag much about turning a dead cousin into a live kobold :-) My eternal thanks to the interactive GMs who encouraged us to play "fully Nackled" for that interactive -- it remains one of my favorite Organized Play memories. Any far-flung PFS Nackles who get to central Illinois are likely to get a warm welcome from Zappy Nackle the sorcerer, Pumper Nackle the rogue (and baker -- get it?), or Coronel Uberto Umford del Mumford de la Nackle the bard, among others. Nackles love family, the bigger the better.
During LG there were Nackle players from Mississippi to Illinois, with the geographic heart in CapeG where P. Diddy and companions started the whole thing. The annual Brewfest convention usually brought the most Nackles together in one room, and GenCon hosted some "Five Nackles and a Sap" tables. I have fond memories (and a t-shirt) of the Nackle Family Reunion at CogCon 2006, in which 15 Nackles joined forces in the "Fair Compensation" interactive. A product featuring Poppy Nackle even made it onto a Verbobonc AR, although his name was altered so the shady sellers could avoid paying royalties. Pathfinder gnomes are true Nackles in spirit, so naturally clan members exist on Golarion. They seem to be scarcer on Golarion than Oerth, as I've yet to play with more than three in any party, and often there's only one. On the other hand, some Nackles don't learn they are Nackles until later in life, so maybe there are more of us around than we know. While there is some consistent player-created flavor, there are no official requirements to be a Nackle, other than being a self-recognized descendant of Poppy Nackle. The best Nackles contribute to their parties and are generally well-received by fellow players and GMs, at least after any initial stereotypes are overcome. For players who enjoy a little Role with their Roll Playing, adding some Nackle to your Pathfinder can be a lot of fun. |