Joshua J. Frost's page

Not sure when they were founded, but their operations are throughout the Inner Sea and likely to some extent beyond the Inner Sea as well.

Yep. :-) It's in the product itself.

Will you be providing dice, or should we bring our own?

Also, instead of dice, can we just roll a bunch of times, record the results on a piece of paper, and then use that?

...and dice.

I've given this a great deal of thought, I have discussed it, and there will be a change in v2.3 of the Guide.

Oh, and a print-out of the v2.2 of the Guide, a printout of the traits document, a print out of your scenario(s) and their respective faction handouts, and dice.

If you're GMing Pathfinder Society scenarios, you better bring:

Pencils
Dice
Core Rulebook
Dice
Miniatures for monsters; extras for PCs
Dice
Bestiary
Dice
Seekers of Secrets
Dice
GM screen (optional)
Dice (not optional)
Flip-Mat: Basic
Dice

and dice.

Ultimately, it's my fault for not wording it in a way that satisfies all angles of approach to the topic. I have new wording, we will see it in v2.3, then we can start another thread and talk about why that choice was also bad. ;-)

Erik's already coming.

So the discussions I've taken part in re: this topic for the past several months was what? Me not discussing it?

I sort of feel like you came late to this conversation and are making assumptions about my approach to it. Correct me if I'm wrong.

You might as well ask, "Well, if you're not allowing the permanency spell in Pathfinder Society, why don't you just remove it from PRPG?" It's a silly question. The needs of the game as a whole are different from the needs of the game in an org play environment. For nearly two years we've made no bones about that.

What sucks is that I've never TPKed anyone with my own adventures. :-(

As for level 1s--75% of the Society play will be levels 1-3. No worries there. :-)

stuff

This is no longer the thread to debate "house rules." That thread is here. Thanks! :-)

Question about legal sources for the campaign - Why is the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazeteer excluded?

Or, more specific to my case, why was I lied to by a Paizo representative when I asked whether it would be (back in '08)? ;)

The rules bits in that book were replaced by a book in 2009 called the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. :-)

They became unnecessary "fixes" for the 3.5 classes since the classes were essentially fixed with the new game.

PDFs will be out to the GMs tomorrow as promised. :-)

Given that the bearer of the macguffin was unconscious and that the cleric was a long way from the other PCs, I would not have expected you to force the cleric to make the roll. I would have expected a roll with the other PCs nearby or the bearer awake.

Also, from pages 26-27 of the Guide:

Reward Creative Solutions
Sometimes during the course of a scenario, your
players might surprise you with a creative solution to
an encounter (or the entire scenario) that you didn’t see
coming and that isn’t expressly covered in the scenario.

...rewarding the creative use of skills and roleplay
not only makes Society games that much more fun for the
players, but it gives you, the GM, a level of flexibility in
ensuring your players receive the rewards they are due.

Nothing wrong with that. That sounds fun. :-)

Josh, if you're reading this -- I know you're probably not going to change your mind on this issue. But. Please, in the future, think twice (and maybe three times or four times) before tossing this kind of house rule into the PFS guide. And maybe discuss it with Jason first to get his opinion; if he thinks it's errata-worthy, then maybe do something about it.

Assume this is what happens, because it's what happens. I don't make unilateral decisions--I work with the editorial and development teams on all aspects of the Society. Don't assume that because I'm the face of the Society, that I'm also its despot.

I'm also mildly offended that you think I didn't think about this--this had a great deal of thought that went into it. I feel it's the right choice--I also feel that it's not clarified as well as it could have been and that will be rectified in 2.3.

You disagree with me--I get that. But posting something that both implicates that I don't think about the Society's decisions and that I ignore the entire editorial and development teams as part of my daily routine with the Society is both silly and frustratingly offensive.

Yeah, that's a slight map error. There should be one more square to the south of each of the B9 stairs to indicate that you come down to B9 from B8 under the stairs from B7 down to B8. I hope that makes. It looks right now like those stairs come from nowhere in B9, but with a little 1 square 90 degree turn and the addition of one box to those stairs, it makes more sense.

Good catch!

I may have to sit in on this panel if my schedule permits. It is cool to see my little baby all grown up like this! :)

-Lisa

I just talked to your schedule, and he says it's cool, you'll be free. ;-)

No guarantees, but it's highly likely. :-)

Joshua J. Frost wrote:

I expect we won't start seeing our first waves clearing the Tier 12 until Gen Con. In fact, I know of a group that's specifically waiting to play the first two Tier 12s at Gen Con.

So should I plan to sleep in on Saturday?

You should plan to show up. :-) If I cut you loose, I'll need you back for the next slot, though.

If it comes with 6 pregens, then great! I'll make six. :-)

This adventure must be played with a fresh, never-before-played, level 1. It's a lead-in to joining the Society, which wouldn't make any sense if you were already a member of the Society ...

That spell is ... weird.

And it's not a Paizo product--so no. :-)

I expect we won't start seeing our first waves clearing the Tier 12 until Gen Con. In fact, I know of a group that's specifically waiting to play the first two Tier 12s at Gen Con.

He's secretly Cayden Cailean.*

Yay! Adam Daigle's first scenario!

I had a lot of fun designing this one. I hope everyone enjoys it. :-)

To be clear, you don't need to register as a GM. If you want to sign up for a Pathfinder Society ID # before you run the session, you can. If you want to run the session and then later decide to report it, you'll need a Pathfinder Society ID # in order to create the event and report it and your players will need Society ID #s in order to be part of the reporting.

Hope that helps!

First and foremost: stop thinking about the day job roll as a skill check--it's not a skill check.

The day job roll is a skill sub-system, established just for Pathfinder Society, so folks can get a little extra money from their non-Pathfinder "career" (assuming they have one). To that end, we keep the roll balanced across all classes and races.

:-)

What they all said. :-)

A wizard needs to spend the time before the scenario group ends to make the appropriate checks for any scrolls found during that scenario. He may not do that for a previous scenario.

Are the pregenerated characters from Master of the Fallen Fortress considered acceptable for Society use? After the scenario is unveiled, will they be permitted as pregenerated characters for other scenarios?

This is a weird question to answer since the pregens for Society play are different than the pregens for normal play.

So I'll say, for the purposes of playing Master of the Fallen Fortress, the pregens in the back are playable for that adventure for Society play. My intent is to have those four pregens statted out for Society play and online for download when Gen Con starts. That way we'll have 8 pregens to choose from instead of 4.

I just want to know when we'll see Grandmaster Torch's stat block ...

I guarantee* you'll see his statblock as soon as you see Drandle Dreng's statblock.

Yup! :-)

That's pretty awesome. We've never seen a picture of Torch before, though. Was one provided to the sculptor, or did they just go off the description in the adventures?

One was sort of provided. The ending of that long story is that we have a kick ass mini!

Core Rulebook is the standard.

Campaign setting is 3.5.

Just got my hands on a copy!

I'm very impressed!
(Nice work Mr.McCreary!)

A few questions (before I dissect it):

1) Where does this story land in the chronology of Season 1 (if at all)?
2) Is it in the PFS system for event creation/reporting?
3) Is it a normal 5 hour slot?
4) Cake or Pi? ;)

Thanks in advance.
Now to the Nom-Nom!

1.) It doesn't. It serves as a beginner adventure for any season.

2.) It's not supposed to be in anyone's hands yet. So no. :-/
3.) Yep.
5.) Both.

How many levels of Mercenary constitutes as "enough"?

Lisa's character sheet says, "Epic" on the top.

No, but scenarios will start hitting your downloads tomorrow.

Thank you, I would love to play in them except I've (as far as I could tell) already played in or run all the current Tier 1-2 scenarios from #24 on.

There are many more coming! :-)

Still seriously, thank you. Getting a response like this even if nothing changes for this character means apparently a lot to me.

Your use of "apparently" right there made me LOL. :-)

Seriously, though, don't wait 3 weeks to say something. Just let me know if something isn't working for you--who knows, maybe it isn't working for a lot of people and there's something there to be looked into.

It actually is in the guide already(p21):

I feel like I should just record this response and then hit play whenever necessary. ;-)

*clears throat*

While that rule is in v2.2 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, folks such as James Maissen and others have pointed out some ways in which it could be perceived as a confusing ruling. As such, in v2.3 of the Guide, that section will be further clarified to make the rule easier to understand.

/end recording

I also strongly disagree that our modifications to the rules to keep our OP balanced is a house rule, but that's an argument I'd rather not have in the 2.2 FAQ.

Could you please make it clear that watermarked pdf's displayed electronically, such as on a Laptop or iPad are legal in a future version of the Organized Play Rules?

Yep. In fact, it's already on my to-do list to add to v2.3.

As the OP I did download the free guide before asking questions.

Good to know! Sometimes folks don't know that PDF exists. :-)

Don't hesitate to ask any other questions you might have. This is a great community for question-answering! :-)

Welcome to the Society!

To be totally fair, Blazej, you're complaining about scenario #11 and I'm right now working on 51, 52, 53, and 54. I've learned a lot about sub-Tier 1-2 design for an org play environment in those last 40-44 scenarios. When I developed #11, I really like it. I thought it added unique and challenging encounters for the PCs who were begging for that. In reality, I think each one of the encounters is probably too complicated and its the complication more than anything that makes this scenario hard. EDIT: And I can't imagine playing this scenario in play-by-post. Yeesh, that would hard!

I think all of the scenarios that include sub-Tier 1-2 from about #24 and up are well-balanced and fun. I've heard tale of some TPKs in #29, but they nearly always seem more about either the GM ignoring the tactics section or the PCs trying to tackle a challenge in multiple split-up groups (I've run it several times for sub-Tier 1-2 and haven't seen a death yet).

You'll notice (or maybe not and I'm telling you for the first time) that we've retired several scenarios: #9, #10, #15, #18, and #21. Over the course of the next year, it's my goal to either retire season 0 scenarios or update them for Pathfinder RPG. Updating will, of course, involve another development pass and for the scenarios I want to survive, that will include re-reading their associated threads on these boards and making the corrections folks have pointed out.

So while I under, Blazej, that you're frustrated, I would encourage you to play more sub-Tier 1-2 scenarios #24 or higher (though #29 and higher are actually for PRPG and not 3.5).

Regardless, I appreciate your feedback and encourage it whenever possible. It's that feedback that's made the scenarios better.

Thanks!

It is not, no.

It doesn't add much to Jalmeray beyond what's in the campaign setting hardcover and it does not have a map of the island.

Ooh! Ooh! Me next!

Str: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 5) = 14
Dex: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 2) = 12
Con: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 2) = 9
Int: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 5) = 11
Wis: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 6) = 14
Cha: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 1) = 7

Battle Cleric FTW!

I would highly recommend the OP click here and download the free Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. All of the above questions are answered there. :-)

To be clear: your inbox will contain a notification that your scenarios are in your My Downloads. :-)

I just wanted to correct a recent review:

Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossible, while being one of the worst named modules to date (it neither involves the impossible or a kingdom for that matter), again delivers his unique module design mix.

This scenario takes place on the Isle of Jalmeray, which is known as the Kingdom of the Impossible.

Just sayin'. :-)