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I am opting for a 12-ish week delivery schedule. That gives the PCs a chance to place their orders (and Ramona provides colony updates), the ship heads back - orders are placed in Almas and then the goods can get on the return ship (almost certainly a different vessel) which departs Almas a few days later. So, about 4 supply ships per year, but only every other ship is bringing colonists. Of course, some ships might get delayed, or encounter...challenges.
I will be running my Azlant campaign from the perspective that, while they may not send the very best and brightest, neither is this intended to be a penal colony of murder-hobos. The Bountiful Venture Trading Company is investing to make money and they are going to prefer colonists whom they believe will advance that aim for them. Additionally, Andoran is a co-signer on the whole affair and wouldn't willingly sponsor obvious criminals or malcontents. Additionally, I have decided that there is great interest in this venture and so the Company is using a lottery system to choose from the hundreds of potential applicants before conducting more detailed interviews (which are time-consuming overall) until they have selected the correct number of colonists with what they believe is the best distribution of skills. Feel free to disagree with either of those two premises and run your own campaign according to whatever assumptions best suit you and your group. To kick off my campaign, my players will be getting a letter from the Company, something along the lines of the text below. Steal any portions of it that you find helpful. Application Letter: Congratulations, applicant!
The Bountiful Venture Trading Company would like to thank you for your initial interest in the Andoren colony of Talamandor’s Bounty and we are excited to tell you that your name has been selected in the lottery draft for consideration to join the second wave of settlers. At this time, you are formally invited to submit your full application to be reviewed for advancement to colonist selection interviews. The thriving new colony of Talamandor’s Bounty is located on the lush subtropical island of Ancorato, approximately 1000 miles due west of Mediogalti Isle in the Arcadian Ocean. This proud colony will be a bastion of Andoren ideals of freedom and the benefits of democratic leadership. Ancorato boasts a treasure trove of natural resources and a favorable climate for raising a variety of crops, including some luxury resources, year round and the ever-present ocean provides a rich bounty for fishing, whale and shark hunting and diving endeavors. It is even believed that a few remnants of ancient Azlant may eventually be found by industrious archeologists, especially those that can succeed on aquatic expeditions. The colony’s eventual success will mean land grants and profit-sharing for all of the early residents of Talamandor’s Bounty! We are seeking hardy, resourceful and determined applicants who can contribute to our foundling community. Skills and experience related to: utilizing natural resources, farming, animal husbandry, fishing, hunting and carpentry are especially desirable at this stage. We are also seeking individuals who can provide goods and services to the colony such as: weaving, pottery, medicine, furniture-making, weaponsmithing, fletching, basic alchemy and other crafts. Musicians, scribes and storytellers will provide welcome distractions from the rigors of island life and should also expect to contribute in other areas. Trustworthy and capable explorers or scouts will be carefully selected to help map the island’s interior and deal with any minor natural threats that may be found in the wilderness. Regardless of specialty, prospective colonists should demonstrate a commitment to cooperation and community. Organizational, communication and leadership skills are desirable and willingness to abide by the rules of the colony is a must. We sincerely hope that you can see yourself in the description above and that you can help us see you as a second-wave colonist bound for Talamandor’s Bounty! Applications are due by Gozran 15 to post office box #52499, Liberty District, Almas. Thank you again for your interest, we are looking forward to hearing from you. Sincerely yours,
Disclaimer: Although there are no known major threats present on the island of Ancorato, colonists assume all risks associated with participation, including the approximately 10-week sea voyage which departs from Almas on Desnus 5, weather permitting. There is no guarantee made, express or implied, of the eventual success of this endeavor and loss may be incurred by colonists, up to and including loss of life, which is not reimbursable in any way by The Bountiful Venture Trading Company (the Company) or the nation of Andoran. Applicants will sign the colony charter upon selection and work according to their ability for the best interests of Talamandor’s Bounty, Andoran and the Company. Supplies from the mainland will arrive by ship approximately every three months and prospective colonists should be prepared to make do with the colony’s stores and resources found on the island between shipments. Upon signing the charter, applicants will officially become colonists and will be granted Andoren citizenship and be bound by the laws of this great nation. By signing the charter, you will agree to indemnify and hold blameless the government of Andoran, her citizens and/or the Company and its employees. Colonists who are not aboard the ship provided by the Company when it departs, will forfeit their colonist status and will be liable to the Company for a 150gp re-processing fee. The Company will make selections for interviews and colonists at its sole discretion and all decisions are final. By submitting your application, you agree to abide by the terms laid out in this letter.
Please join me in congratulating 'Mr. Pirate Queen' himself, Chris Schweyer, upon is attainment of an official rank within the fleet! Having been a stalwart champion of the ACG since its launch and a loyal cabin boy as well, Chris has been promoted to the lofty role of PFACG Venture Lieutenant. He will retain his cabin boy duties. Avast! Yar! Also, Happy 13th Anniversary! :-)
Congrats Dom! Well Deserved. Thank you for all that you do for our community. <3 The Pirate Queen
It is my sincere pleasure to announce that my esteemed Venture Lieutenant, Dominick Trascritti is now my esteemed colleague and the Venture Captain of Tampa. I am maintaining my admiralty over Pinellas County and points north while Dominick will be leading his own scurvy crew in Hillsborough County and East towards the badlands of Orlando. Please join me in a hearty "Congratulations!" to Dominick, or a "Yarrrrrrr!" if you are more pirate-inclined. Roll for initiative!
The time of The Gathering is nearly upon us! Come join us for the largest RPG and PFS experience in Florida with 9 epic slots of gaming madness!! Amongst the awesome things you can look forward to: 6-00: Legacy of the Stonelords (this year's interactive special), all three murderous levels of Bonekeep, featured Season 6 scenarios, favorites stretching back to Season 0, modules galore, Paizo prize support, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game - Guild Play & demos and more to be announced soon. Don't delay! Now accepting GM signups at our Warhorn, player sign ups open soon!
Actually, since PFSACG is new, they are creating new VOs for this.This whole adventure card guild thing is very frustrating to read about as a store owner. We still haven't heard anything about how to get involved and the local venture captain is unresponsive. There are new dedicated VOs just for ACG play. In some areas, responsibilities will be handledby the regular VO crew. In all cases, we are feeling our way as this type of guild play is a new thing and is not really analagous to PFS organizing. The release delays have jacked up the best laid plans and we are doing our best to roll with the punches. Your local VO may not be very knowledgeable about the ACG yet or even have given it much thought. He or she could also be overwhelmed with 'real life' issues at the moment. That said, you can always contact Mike Brock if you dont have success with your local VO. I expect that the entire VO team will have more to offer after the official launch once our pioneers blaze a trail.
Ran this 5 times at GenCon (including Fromper's table) with two parties playing at tier 3-4 and 3 playing 6-7. Every party had a tough time with the first room and I almost killed one player with an (un)lucky crit at the beginning of the first fight. Kids take note - do not let the wizard go in first, even if he rolls a high initiative. Two parties nearly TPKed in the first fight (one should have - I incorrectly (although not intentionally) allowed adamantine blanch to overcome hardness. It doesn't. I learn something new every time I GM.) Every single group, including the one with the barbarian with an adamantine weapon, found the entire scenario challenging. I think every table had fun, but there was some frustration in the less balanced and/or less prepared parties. I like this one - but it can be brutal. For the first fight - electricity damage output is helpful, as is Create Pit (two parties employed this technique to great success). Knowledge Arcana and/or Knowledge Engineering are a plus throughout the adventure. Creative tactics should be rewarded and given a chance to succeed if they make sense. The robots are intelligent, but limited by programming. They should not pursue the PCs, nor should they coup de grace. In my mind, they are capable of limited threat assessment and will attempt to disable targets of concern first, but they are not bloodthirsty. For me, their 'programming' was something like: "Anyone who comes through those doors is an intruder. Subdue any intruders in this room." Their basic logic had them address high damage output threats first, based on perceived ability to deliver damage (size, armor, weapon, etc)or based on actual damage dealt. Clever parties can use limitations like this to their advantage.
I made it clear that it would be very difficult to investigate overnight - in terms of hearing rumors etc., but I did allow them to skulk around and check things out if they didn't mind fatigue. One party used that opportunity to scout the mayors house and attempt to contact the prisoners, the other group opted to sleep. If they insist on investigating - trying to harangue one or two drunks at the beer garden, for instance, or create some other nighttime disturbance I would probably bump them up on the town sentiment track. In Mendev, bad things happen at night and only bad or desperate people go around making trouble at all hours.
Ran this twice over the weekend, and adding to the good notes already in this thread. This cannot be overstated for this scenario: DO NOT RUN THIS COLD. Details you will want to understand for yourself that are not provided in the scenario: *who the victims are* - good info above, I stole it directly for my games
The evidence against the Pathfinders is flimsy at best. For an audience used to CSI, innocent until proven guilty, etc, it doesn't stand up in the slightest. GMs will need to frame the legal environment to help them understand how an anonymous note of accusation counts as 'evidence'. *Where Ekira is staying and what she is doing when she is not in a specified encounter. Same thing for the Mayor.* The PCs are going to try to 'look these people up' and not in accordance with the script of the adventure. *More clues/red herrings about Krunne. It doesn't take the party too long to figure out that someone else is involved here, so they naturally start trying to track him down. Aside from one true rumor and the specified encounters for when things heat up, Krunne has been in town for a month with no trace. Obviously, it doesn't work for the PCs to find him ahead of schedule, but there should be a few observations, hints or at least suggestions of his presence if they follow up on him specifically. *More townsfolk. I am not criticizing the author here - page limits are page limits, but as this plays out with heavy investigation, the world wants more people. Have names and/or personas for the innkeep, other merchants, interesting personalities, etc. Otherwise the town feels very empty. Don't get too crazy with it though - the adventure may run long as it is, if the PCs start chasing red herrings about the guy with the crooked nose who gave them rumor #4 you'll never finish playing this.
If the person doing the reporting was also a major organizer at the con (usually the case) and has a full time job outside of organizing PFS at cons (also usually the case), I recommend allowing one month before asking. This recommendation is based on my own personal irritation level when people ask me two days after a major con "Why isn't my stuff reported yet?" Possible reasons why your stuff isn't reported yet:
TL,DR: Because there is other stuff that is sometimes more urgent than reporting PFS sessions and because deciphering reporting slips requires at least a +5 in Linguistics. After a month, however, an organizer should be able to field those questions, provide a timeline and get stuff done (barring real life catastrophes). If the organizer doesn't respond, reach out to your local VC - they may be able to offer some assistance if the task is overwhelming.
Not sure if the OP is bragging or lamenting. Hopefully, everyone had fun? Seems a shame to me though, this is such a good module with so many good RP opportunities AND some tough combats. I ran this for a group of friends and actually had them jumping out of their seats at one point. Lots of 'oh gross' comments too. Love this one.
Yesss!...you can sign up on floridapfs.org - scroll down to the Tampa Bay Lodge and look under Serenity Games. If the forums aren't cooperating, contact the store organizer directly. Andy Berger
One: thanks for providing some context to address the concerns that some folks had. Two: for what its worth, I played this with the swashbuckler(in a party of 5 pregens and one non-healer regular PFS character)and I still had fun. I can't say that my character was terribly effective, but she moved around a lot and looked good doing it. I also really enjoyed the Osirion flavor. Three: There is no third thing. Four: The first encounter in the temple proper was very much enjoyed at our table, even as we came insanely close to a TPK :)
Resources. Paizo only has so many available and in the lead up to PaizoCon and GenCon they are stretched very, very thin. Even for regular season scenarios, you'll note that a LOT of the best guidance on errors, pitfalls and deadly encounters come from the community as the adventure gets run over and over again by lots of different GMs with lots of different PCs. There was time for GMs who were prepping to ask the questions, but not enough time for the answers to develop from either official or unofficial sources. Rob's reply, as you note, does provide some context and I hope that the community can also find some perspective. It was an imperfect free RPG day release, with some good bits and some tricky bits. GMs who run it from now on will be better prepared. Folks who played it or ran it on Free RPG Day and really hated the experience need to chalk it up in the 'would not recommend' category and move on with their lives.
I know there are some website...irregularities, so no worries if it takes a while to answer. I had also ordered a new deluxe Harrow deck, put in my sidecart, set to ship with next subscription shipment. Today we got the last pack of the ACG (thanks!) but the Harrow deck is now pending and waiting to go with the Skull and Shackles box set. I would prefer not to wait and would like to get that Harrow deck sooner if possible. Is there anyway to change my shipping option and get it on its way? Thanks, as always, for excellent customer service. You guys rock!
Thank you, muchly!
Please join me in offering a hearty 'Yar, har, har!' to the newest Florida Venture Lieutenants who are busy making things happen in Ocala and Gainesville. Joshua Robertson - PFS VL Ocala and Jack Ellis - PFS VL Gainesville Welcome aboard ye scurvy dogs! (I mean that in the nicest possible way)
Zefig - We are more than happy to benefit from your annoyance in this instance. Getting ready to run this on Saturday. Thank you, kindly!
Adventurers wanted! Interested in PFS somewhere close to Tampa Bay? Then I have good news for you! Pathfinder Society is booming in the greater Tampa Bay area. For instance: St Petersburg - Every Tuesday night at Serenity Games
Comics Invasion on May 24th at Emerald City in Largo!
SwampCon
Want to play? Check us out at floridapfs.org or on Facebook as Pathfinders of Florida Message me or post here for more info. We'd love to see you at the table.
/lurk off Small clarification - Andy mis-identified Unklbuck in his post. I do not believe he is a Florida resident. And I am certainly in agreement with your assertion that the giveaways, rides, etc are not a part of the GM/player unspoken contract and they are not a part of our expectations here. /resume lurking
If the PCs tactics have been observed beforehand, an intelligent opponent will take advantage of that to the best of his or her ability. Vampires dominate the fire sorcerer (he really should have made the save but his dice hated him). The instructions were: "Burn your companions to the best of your ability". So he breaks out his highest level fire spell and applies his best bonuses/tricks/equipment whatever and burns the party...and the vampires - because they didn't specify. Command issued by vampires next turn: "Continue burning your companions to the best of your ability, but do not harm any vampires." The player can always take the most advantageous interpretation of commands she is given and I never let the NPCS issue more than a single sentence command. Use your dominated pet to harm the party, disable the party, trap the party, inconvenience the party, destroy the macguffin or, get out of combat and disable themselves. Depending on the PC's previous actions I may or may not grant them a save if asked to harm the party or protect the bad guy. If they are asked to waste their turns or do non-harmful things, I usually don't give them a save with dominate.
Too many great events on the weekend my son is getting his scouting awards. This one has been on my radar for two years and both times now I have had to miss. I will put it on the schedule for 2015 and cross the fingers. We would love to have you here, Del. If your plans work out, let me know and we will give you a Pirate Welcome!
Hi Riftwalker- I don't know that I saw the original post, but I admire your ownership of the lapse in non-jerkness. RPG Superstar can be emotionally tense. Its easy to have raw, frayed nerves get stepped on pretty easily and respond in a less-than-ideal manner. Good on you for moving past it. We do have a good community here, just not perfect. :) Glad you're a part of it.
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