Basically, Paizo (and any of it's volunteer representatives) are not allowed to run We Be Goblins Too! before July 1st unless it is at a Free RPG Day participating venue.
Also, it may be run as a PFS table starting June 15th 2013.
I'm sure Paizo would appreciate anyone else, only running the module at a participating venue until July 1st, but once you have a copy of the module it is yours to do with as you please.
Who made up that rule, somebody with Free RPG Day? That has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard of.
I went to Free RPG Day (Heck I even ran at a Free RPG Day Venue), I picked up my hardcopy of the module, and if I want to run it at Moe's Game Shack down the road, there is zero that anybody can do about it. What are they going to do, send out the RPG police?
I'll preface my remarks by saying that I have no intention of running WBG2 again before July 1st, and even if I did run a table it would almost certainly be at one of the two nearby stores that did participate in Free RPG Day. If I were asked to run at the third (non-participating) store I wouldn't agree to run until after the module became freely available.
But that's just a personal decision. I think it would be a stupid 'rule', because its all but unenforceable. Most of the players at the three stores I know about where WBG2 was played (those two nearby ones, and one a bit further away where I was running) walked out of the store with a hardcopy of the module, and a good number of those players were GMs. The event reporting allowed my wife to create an event for WBG2 without asking whether this was at a participating store (it was). And the rules for running WBG2 as a PFS-sanctioned module (downloaded with the chronicle sheet, and available before Free RPG Day) make no mention of any such date restriction.
Actually, any store that participated in Free RPG Day by buying a kit, can run We Be Goblins TOO! as often as they want as a PFS-sanctioned event. You just can't run the module at any other location (including at home) until after July 1st due to the rules the Free RPG folks have.
Are you sure about that?
The only way anyone can have the module (until July 1st) is by having picked one up from a participating store, where anyone who walks in the door is free to take one (at least while there are any left). There are no restrictions I know of that say you can't take the module home and run a game that very evening for a group of your friends, so the only limitation would be whether it was possible to run the game for PFS credit.
Anyone know of a medium-sized owlbear mini? Gonna need one, or start carving up my Large...
25 years ago Ral Partha had quite a nice one. A quick Google search turns up several images. They're not easy (or cheap) to find now, though.
We've still got one of those figures. Unfortunately we've only got one, and my wife claims it is hers (well, it was bought for her back in the day). That could be a problem, as we've each got a GM chronicle from Saturday.
It's not a typo - it's a deliberate decision. It might not be one you agree with, but it's not something likely to be errata-ed.
Modules, etc., don't reprint stat blocks for monsters that are found in the 'core' bestiaries (originally just bestiary 1, but now widened to include other volumes). This means the limited page count can be used for new material relevant to the adventure, not on reprinting material available elsewhere.
One could argue that a Free RPG Day module should be less dependent on other source books, but where do you draw the line? You still need the core rulebook.
One final note - you'll probably find full stat blocks, etc., in the Shared GM prep area fairly soon.
I like the idea, but they have limited appeal to those who don't regularly play with a buddy/partner/child/etc.
And if you do play with a regular companion you already have the possibility of taking teamwork feats, which gives you options not generally considered by the bulk of PFS players.
For example, my wife and I have characters with both "Lookout" and "Outflank" feats, and have built a "first strike" team that has a fair chance of seriously inconveniencing many enemy spellcasters at the onset of combat (possibly even culminating in a full attack from the rogue against an outflanked, prone, and still flat-footed opponent).
I'm pretty sure the only characters legal for PFS play are the pregens as printed in the scenario (or downloaded from the Paizo site here), or any existing PFS-legal goblin characters created using the special goblin race boon. Other user-created goblin characters can be only be used in this module if it is not being reported for PFS credit.
Great on the whole, though was the goblin warchiefs mount's hind end and back legs supposed to be blue?
If so the product image needs to be replaced as it's very misleading.
All the product images could do with being replaced - they show the original paint scheme (from the earlier figure sets) for the figures we've seen before, and pre-production versions of the new miniatures.
The final paint scheme has changed quite a bit. The most obvious difference is that the base colour of the goblins in now quite a bit darker, but there are a few other differences as well (one example is Vorka's hat).
That's pretty much the case anyway if you want to train your companion to be fully effective in combat; now that flank, etc., are separate tricks, you probably want more than the six that an INT 2 creature can learn.
Fair use. Failing that: on a copyright claim, the publisher would have to demonstrate that it caused them financial harm. Have a nice day.
That is factually incorrect. I can require you to cease and desist from publishing my intellectual property (such as a photograph, say) with no need to demonstrate financial harm - that is only necessary if I am trying to obtain monetary recompense from you.
(And you'd be better served to leave off the snide comments - remember the "Don't be a jerk" rule)
I just tried to submit a product review for the new "We Be Goblins" miniatures. I spent around half an hour composing the review, then clicked on the "Preview" button to make sure everything looked good. But instead of seeing a preview of the review, I ended up back at the main Paizo products page, and all my effort was for naught.
Now look at PFS tables in those locations/areas that are lucky enough to have 'big' gaming Conventions. You get tables that approach the 'zoo' that some alarmists are worried about.
I've yet to see one, and I live in an area that has three fairly big conventions a year (over 100 tables; maybe not as big as PaizoCon or GenCon, but still quite sizable). I GM at all those conventions, too.
I do see the occasional Tiefling or Aasimar, but I probably see just as many wild-shaping druids. But about the only time I see more than one non-core-race character at a table is when my wife and I are playing our kitsune characters. And, for the most part, the only reason I know that a character is non-human is because it says so on the character sheet; I've rarely seen a character played in a way that makes a big deal about what race it is (with the exception of a certain gnome spellcaster, and a lizard I've adventured with a few times ...) I don't really count Tieflings using a prehensile tail as a kind of third hand; those characters are quite often chosen just to get that ability, not because they want to be Tieflings for any other reason.
Admittedly kitsunes haven't been around all that long, so there aren't that many of them that are high enough level for it to make that much of a difference. I do know of one other player with a kitsune built much like mine; from about 5th level onwards things might get a bit more interesting ...
I think the OP (and Jeraa) are reading too much into the quoted text.
The class ability you gain is an additional (restricted) feat slot.
Saying that you must fill that slot before filling any regular feat slot (and thus possibly satisfying pre-requisites for the bonus feat) seems to me to be going out of your way to read the text in the way least favourable to the player; that's contrary to the way things are usually done in Pathfinder.
So what do you do as a player when a fellow Pathfinder turns out to be a Psycho?
Here's a slightly less extreme example, which actually occurred recently.
At one point in a scenario I was GMing at a recent convention, the two main front-liners (a barbarian and a cavalier) were attempting to put some serious hurt on a definitely evil opponent. Unfortunately for them, as they very soon discovered, their opponent could teleport (and they could not). Even worse - their ranged weapons didn't seem to have any significant effect on the opponent.
At this point the (CN) raging barbarian just lost it, and started lashing out at anything that was within sword range. This included some other NPCs. They might have been in some way contributing to the opponent's power (although probably not willingly).
The (extremely LG, Silver Crusade) cavalier stepped in to restrain the barbarian at this juncture, protecting the ?innocents?, leaving the remaining members of the party to take care of harassing their opponent. Only after the barbarian had been brought to her senses did the cavalier return to the fight against the powers of evil.
Fortunately the party prevailed (although the NPC that was attacked was not so lucky; a power-attacking barbarian taking a full attack against a prone, unarmoured, flat-footed opponent can reduce an NPC to scattered parts faster than you can swing a greatsword!) Not only that - they had an experience that was a lot more memorable than the usual "see monster; hit monster; repeat until dead" interchangeable encounter.
I'd be only too happy to GM any table where the barbarian's player was seated - she defined the encounter. (I don't get any choice about the cavalier; that's my wife's character :-) I don't feel anybody acted out of character or contrary to their alignment, so I felt no need to take any action from behind the screen.
So as long as the velociraptors don't eat the goblins (or vice versa) my wife and I should have minis in our hands for GMing "We Be Goblins Too!"
Now we just need to work out how to clone ourselves - there are three local game stores wanting to run Pathfinder on Free RPG Day!
(One store has just confirmed that they received their Free RPG Day box today, so I'll be picking up a copy of the scenario tomorrow so that we can prep it)
WizKids' goal is to have it in stores prior to June 15. Hopefully the gods of shipping and customs will play along.
Any update on how those gods are behaving?
If we're going to have the goblins in our hands for Free RPG Day, they'll pretty much need to be shipping out of the Paizo warehouse by the end of this week!
While I'm not, as yet, quite at the point of cancelling my subscription, I probably won't be buying a 2nd or 3rd copy (which I have done for every issue so far); I was doing that so I had at least one copy of the map I could use at the table without worrying too much about it getting scratched, torn, or otherwise beaten up.
I enjoyed playing this, and am looking forward to running it tomorrow.
A heads-up for prospective GMs: there is a mistake in the stat block for the BBEG at the low subtier.
BBEG:
Aglorn Desimere, (only a 5th-level sorcerer at subtier 3-4), is incorrectly show as having Dimensional Steps. This is a class ability he only gets at 8th level.
According to the scenario's author the appropriate correction is to remove this ability from the low subtier stat block (and, therefore, from the listed tactics)
Note that, of course, you only get to apply the chronicle to an out-of-tier character if you GM the scenario. If you play the scenario, you must do it with a tier-eligible character.
Funny how this thread turned into a build contest for 'core-only' monks (although for some reason non-core feats are allowed).
You can add non-core feats to an existing character, so those can be useful suggestions to people who already have monks. You can't add an archetype half way through a character's career.
The most expensive item, by far, is the belt of dexterity (36,000gp)
Only 2 problems I have with this build being posted for comparison. 1) You blow WBL for level 10, should be 62,000. 2) The belt costs 36,000. Which is more than 50% of your WBL, blowing WBL guidelines again.
In that case, just knock it down to a +4 version; that takes 20K off the total. He's only just picked up the upgrade (when he made level 9 he still only had the +4 belt). It's a PFS character, and he's got the appropriate amount of fame to buy the item, so AFAIK it's PFS-legal.
OK - I'll post a level 10 version of Brother Brian.
This is my 2nd PFS character; I could do somewhat better nowadays (for a start, I'd probably use the Maneuver Master archetype, and maybe some style feats). But I've had a lot of fun playing him for the last year.
He's conceptually more like a more nimble Friar Tuck than a martial artist, and he's built to adventure alongside my wife's rogue (which is why we have teamwork feats). When he levels up after two more tables he'll be:
Brother Brian:
STR 14
DEX 25 (16, +2 human, +1 at level 4, +6 from belt)
CON 10
INT 12
WIS 16 (13, +1 at level 8, +2 from ioun stone)
CHA 10
HP 63
Fort 7
Ref. 14
Will 10
AC 27 (31 with Mobility)
CMB 17 (19 Trip)
CMD 34 (36 Trip)
Flurry +15/15/10/10 for 1d10+7 (unarmed)
Acrobatics: +20 (25 if using daredevil boots)
Perception: +16
Initiative: +7
- - - - -
Monk Bonus Feats: Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Trip, Mobility
Teamwork Feats: Lookout, Outflank
Other Feats: Weapon Finesse, Vicious Stomp, Agile Maneuvers, Step Up
Extra Feat: Blind Fight (ioun stone resonant power)
Traits: Child of the Streets, Dirty Fighter
Magic Items:
Amulet of Agile Fists
Belt of Incredible Dexterity +6
Bracers of Armor +2
Daredevil Boots
Ioun Stone (Incandescent Blue Sphere) in Wayfinder
Ring of Protection +2
Pearl of Power (2nd level) to lend to spellcasters
and a grab-bag of potions (fly, gaseous form, good hope, haste, ...)
Total value of gear, etc., just a shade under 75,000gp
The most expensive item, by far, is the belt of dexterity (36,000gp)
He doesn't do a lot of damage, but if he and the rogue get through and flank the BBEG spellcaster in the back row they can really spoil his day.
I find it somewhat ridiculous just how much time is being spent copying data from one window on a computer screen (or from a piece of paper) to another window talking to a different database. Computers should be making things easier for us, not the other way round.
A few months ago I put together a spreadsheet to keep track of which scenarios I'd played with which character, and also which ones I'd GMed.
Then I expanded it to include the same information for my wife's characters, and to show what scenarios scheduled at local game stores or conventions we were considering playing.
I tried programming up the spreadsheet to make sure all chronicles were being assigned legally, to calculate the level of each character, and to keep track of chronicles being held until the character reached the appropriate level, but that was getting pretty messy. So I exported the data to a text file, and put together a C++ program to validate and process the data.
I'm now in the middle of changing this to be web-based, backed by a SQL database, and will then make it available to other local players. That necessitates a slight change in the approach - with only two players (and around 100 tables apiece) it's simple enough to recalculate everything on the fly, but that approach doesn't really scale well.
The next step will be to use the accumulated data of who has played what, and maybe even who has level-appropriate characters, to help in scheduling scenarios at our FLGS. At that point I'd like to expand to include something akin to a Warhorn front end, a way for an event coordinator to muster tables, and a back end that spits out pre-filled table signup sheets (and prepares post-game reporting data).
Beyond that I hope to grow to add other local game stores, and even to keep track of PFS events at our local conventions.
I've been playing PFS for 16 months. In that time I've averaged a little over four tables a month as a player, and around half that many as a GM (around 20% of which were repeated scenarios).
The numbers my wife has clocked up are very similar.
I knew we were playing more than the average PFS player - we're lucky enough to have three local 10-slot conventions each year, and two local game stores offering PFS (with another 4 or 5 an hour or so away). But I must admit I'm a little surprised to find out just how far we are up in the tail.
One wonders what the melee style bruisers on the enemy side were doing other than staring vacant eyed while you ran past them to claim your monk-ly victory over the wizard standing still on the ground.
Waiting for their first turn in the initiative to come up. We have a high initiative modifier due to DEX, improved initiative, and that handy Lookout feat. We can zip past them while they are still flat-footed in the surprise round, and usually get an attack in as well (which is when I try to trip the opponent). Then we get to act before them in the first round as well, so they are probably still flat-footed.
gnomersy wrote:
Now no offense but you have a Rogue and a Monk assuming a standard party of four you most likely have a divine caster and an arcane caster both of which probably wouldn't appreciate being left to the devices of several unpleasant gentlemen with large sticks and sharp pointy things. I'll admit it's entirely possible you have a non standard party possibly a group of 5 or more or one with a boatload of melee combatants in it in which case your group dynamic may be different and allow for people who aren't really doing their fair share, but in a standard group there just isn't any room for someone who isn't pulling their weight.
I don't know how it is where you play, but around here the typical PFS table is far more likely to be 6 (and often 7) players than 4, and we're lucky if we've got a single arcane or divine caster, let alone one of each. We're more likely to be the point team with a barbarian, fighter, or druid+pet or two (or three) as backup.
We more than pull our weight in most of the parties we play in. In one recent table the monk was out-damaging the barbarian (who was, admittedly, lower level). Suggesting that we aren't doing our fair share is insulting.
And lastly, the saddest thing I think. Made an unarmed striking two weapon style core ranger. Does almost the same damage as the monks with around the same AC, oh, but he gets spells, and that isn't including his favored enemy bonuses, or companion. Or anything else really.
** spoiler omitted **
Admittedly my monk is level 9, while your ranger is level 8.
But my base damage is 1d10+6, not 1d3+6,and my AC is 5 points better even if I don't have a druid around to cast barkskin on me (I have a pearl of power for him to use). Your fort save is significantly better, but I have the edge in will and reflex.
The rogue is very much my problem - she's the other one with outflank. And we actually try and get through to the back row ahead of the heavy damage crowd so we can shut down the main threat there. Then we trust that the troops can get to us in time :-)
Admittedly hitting with every blow in a flurry is unusual. But with +4 from outflanking, +4 from prone, and +2 from a chronicle boon, I was at +23/23/18/18, which gave me a fair chance to hit a spellcaster. And a TWF rogue can do a fair bit of damage in a round just from the precision damage dice, which is why my job is to set up the flank (ideally on a tripped opponent).
We've put a lot of feats into this pair - lookout, outflank, improved trip, improved TWF, improved initiative, and a few more as well. But when everything comes together they are a joy to behold.
Edit: I've just realised we missed something. I confirmed a critical during my flurry, so my outflanking buddy should have got an AoO.
Back to my original question, why would I want to play a monk?
I don't know why you would want to, but I know why I tried one as my second PFS character.
He's pretty much a straight-out-of-the-core-ruleboook character, and I avoided all the eastern fluff (he looks a lot more like Friar Tuck than Bruce Lee). He's a DEX build, with an Amulet of Agile Fists.
He's just made 9th level. While he doesn't come close to dishing out the amount of hurt that a Barbarian or Fighter can manage, he's pretty good at zipping around the battlefield while dodging AoOs, setting up flanks for the rogue, tripping the bad guys, and generally being a nuisance.
On his last adventure he had the enjoyable experience of running up against a member of the Aspis consortium while adventuring inside the Hao Jin tapestry. Yes - he's got the chronicle that gives him a bonus for that. On one round, against a prone and (out)flanked opponent all four of his unarmed flurry of blows hit (one was even a critical), which was 5d10+40 without haste or using any ki points.
I currently have two sets of the Pathfinder Battles Builder Series "We Be Goblins" pre-ordered (order #2567529). I have two questions about this order:
I notice that the order status has now changed from "pending" to "back-ordered". Do you still expect this order to ship in time for Free RPG Day?
If I order a few extra minis, and put them in my sidecart, would they normally ship with the goblins? If not, is there any way to make this happen?
I'm going to try and make it around to all the BAPS and friends stores before I go, but there's so many of them and many are behind on their June schedules. (Probably due to KublaCon)
We've had the Game Kastle June schedule posted for a few weeks now here.
We play on Mondays, and are running
Storming the Diamond Gate
The Blakros Matrimony
The Disappeared
Fortress of the Nail
At present three tables of each are scheduled, but we may just run two tables of those scenarios and a Tier 1-5 (especially for the last one; not everybody has a character they can play in a Tier 5-9).
There is no reasonable way to justify a 3rd level spell being able to trump a 4th level spell.
IMO there is no reasonable way to consolidate the existing patchwork of rules, exceptions, light type classifications, etc. into a simple, predictable, consistent, and easy-to-understand system. From the previous discussion it did look as though there might be such a way of interpreting the rules, but the recent FAQ postings put paid to that.
Apparently I survived Kublacon (and, after 13 1/2 hours last night, am making some inroads on the sleep deficit).
I started off on Friday by running "Thornkeep: The Accursed Halls". That went quite smoothly, so I was beginning to think this might be a bit less hectic than cons normally are. I was soon disabused of this idea. We even thought we might be getting ahead of the curve on Saturday morning, when we were playing in "Thornkeep: The Forgotten Laboratory"; we got through that in only a little over five hours. This meant I could help out by running an extra table; there was a long line of walk-in hopefuls trying to find a seat. I was glad that my third slot was on the PFS HQ desk while almost everybody else was playing Bonekeep. This did mean that I didn't get to bed until around 1:00am, though.
On Sunday, after playing "My Enemy's Enemy", there were the two tables I'd taken on only a few days earlier. The first of these (City of Strangers II) resulted in my first TPK. I'd already ended up with my first ever PFS PC death earlier on in The Accursed Halls (although fortunately the player had the Beginner Box boon). Then the second game - Heresy of Man III - ran long, and didn't finish until 12:45am. In that game I came within one HP of ignoring the warning I was given shortly before the session started by one of the youngest attendees, who strongly advised me to avoid killing my wife's character for the sake of family harmony. I don't know if this is the voice of experience speaking, but his father is a local VL, and his mother is a familiar face from many conventions. In the end, though, the party survived, but it was a close-run thing.
Then, on Monday, we started off with another five-hour-plus game at Thistledown's table (even though we took one look at the final encounter and decided discretion was definitely the better part of valour). So by the time the last slot came around I was pretty much hors de combat (and we hadn't even started packing up to check out of our hotel room); I apologized to the GM and to the event coordinator, and we backed out of that table.
But, overall, it was an exciting and enjoyable experience (and, with that one extra table, I'll end up with my second star once the reporting is complete). Thanks to Azmyth, Andrea, and the rest of the crew - see you at Pacificon!
Before then, though, we've got "We Be Goblins Too!" to prepare for at two local game stores (or maybe three), and tables we've signed up to run every week in June at our regular game store. The fun never ends ...
Are the PFS Chronicles going to be in the module or will they become available as a pdf closer to the June 15th? What about the pre-gens?
The original "We Be Goblins!" included the pregens; the chronicle was available (as a separate download) from Paizo. WBG2 requires different pregens (same characters, different level), so it's a good bet that they will be included; I'd expect the chronicle to be available as a download.
Themes86 wrote:
Will stores participating in Free RPG days really be giving a copy of the module to GMs who will be running it on Free RPG day in advance to prepare?
That's pretty much up to you and your local store. We weren't involved in PFS when WBG came along, but last year I did get my hands on "Dawn of the Silent Sun" a few days ahead of time so I could prepare for the event.
Themes86 wrote:
I hope to pull this together for the FLGS I have been gaming at lately, but just been so busy lately. Hope to talk to them Thursday at our next game session, but any answer in advance will be appreciated.
Bonekeep is running now. The first character deaths have been logged (two dead, one almost dead, and the remainder of the party elected to make a strategic withdrawal).
Well, we're (mostly) prepared for the important stuff (scenarios printed, faction missions and chronicles all ready, flip-mats and figures picked out). And our character sheets are up-to-date (even the one for the character who should level up between sessions during the con). Now we just need to pack clothes, snacks, and minor things like that.
Again at star levels I think is meh. But how much you DM in a time span.
That was my original suggestion, last year: every month that you run (and report) some thresh-hold number of games (let's say 5), Paizo would drop a map PDF into your downloads.
My initial reaction to this is somewhat negative. For a lot of GMs I'd guess that running five games in a month might happen if you're GMing at a con, but otherwise isn't that likely to occur; even if you're one of the mainstream GMs at your local game store you probably want to play occasionally. So a reward system that would exclude those guys doesn't sound like a particularly good idea - there are already enough complaints about boons, etc., not being available unless you attend a convention.
Ok here's a small spanner for the works, on page 553 of the CRB it says you can add abilities of different natures to an item for 150% of the second item. Now would that mean I can take a headband of inspired wisdom +4 and add a Phylactory of Postive Channeling (for a total price of 32500gp)? Assuming within fame constraints
I'm afraid not. No custom magic items (or crafting) are allowed for PFS.
If the item is mentioned by name in the rulebooks, then the 150% pricing applies (so a +2 STR belt costs 4000gp, and a +2 DEX belt is also 4000gp, but a +2 STR/+2 DEX belt is 10,000gp).
