Matthew Pemrich's page

I have the guide to organized play.

There isn't a separate faction list for magic items in there though, just the list of what cost of magic items you can buy via fame.

So does this mean if I have 45 fame, which allows me to purchase magic items up to 41,000 gp, then I can crack open the Core book and buy a Belt of Physical Might +4 (which costs 40,000gp) at any time?
Or just when I finish a session and a GM can sign off on it it?
Or is there some other Faction list of Magic Items that I am only allowed to buy magic items off of? If so, I can't find this specific list.

There is no faction-specific list. Your faction will sell you anything legal (in the CRB or Additional Resources book that you own) that you have the fame to purchase.

Hi, everyone! Thanks for all the welcomes and congratulations.

So yes, my name is Matthew Pemrich and as Mike said, I'm the new VC of New Mexico.

Some of you may have met me when I was at GenCon last year. I know I met a number of VOs for whom I have a lot of respect, and I had a lot of fun running PFS the whole weekend.

I've been with the Pathfinder Society since 2009 and the coordinator here in Albuquerque since March of last year.

I would tell my story, but I just wrote the whole thing out and it's very short and very boring. Suffice it to say that things have been running a little rough, and I hope to smooth things out and get more game stores and players.

If anyone plans to be in the area, we will be having Pathfinder Society Organized Play both at Bubonicon (the weekend after GenCon) and at Battle in the Bosque (the last weekend of October). I'm still looking into more annual venues, too.

Oh wow, thanks for the warm welcome. I'd like to say something profound... but I think I'll wait until later.

Edit: Actually, truthfully, I don't have time to say anything profound. I just learned about this now and I'm on my way into work. xD

Running a game this week. I like the idea of collecting some secrete rolls from the players before the adventure begins, especially the knowledge, sense motive, and willpower saves. These sort of rolls are not always good for everyone at the table to know are being thrown around. Think of how bad the meta gaming gets when a sense motive roll is asked for. What worries me is that if a player has a reroll, shouldn't they be allowed to know what type of roll it is before deciding to use that reroll? I would expect to know what I was rolling for when I have a re roll available. So should I just not ask the players to write down a few rolls on a chart for me before the game so I can reference it at the right time. Advice?

Making secret rolls for players can indeed keep them, in some instances, from using their shirt- or Character Portfolio-rerolls. Rolling secretly has been something I've been tempted to try, but in the heat of GMing (usually cold) the thought just isn't there. Plus, most of the players in my game are taking an active hand in their own dice. Taking that away from them might cause trouble.

About the only rolls I have players make beforehand is Initiative. And I often ask them for ten of those and their Initiative modifiers. That way I don't have to go around the table at every combat and ask them what they rolled, and when numbers match, I only have to bother them for roll-offs. I've never really mused about the effects of keeping Sense Motive or Willpower saving throws secret, but given the opportunity I can see that in many situations it would be very useful to do so.

As a further addendum, I might use the above method but let the player know that I'm rolling for them. When I do so, I ask if there are any non-pass/fail conditions that they would like to use for a re-roll. I've had players tell me, "re-roll it if you got an 8 or lower," or "hey, just use your judgment and let me know if you triggered my re-roll." If performed honestly and respectfully, it gradually builds not only the GM's integrity but the integrity of the community.

This is a brilliant idea and I think I may try it out in my games if I do things like secret rolls. And it clearly appears to be a good way for you to let the players know what types of rolls they are and to give them some choice. That said, most all of my secret rolls are for the initiatives and skill checks of the baddies, and then, again, I pokerface about the results.

Please clearify the fate of the earlier Chronicle "Boons".

I have for example several characters who have the Chronicle for "The Worldwound Gambit". On this is one of the selections "Demonic Scholar: You gain a permanent +1 bonus on Knowledge (planes) checks when making checks regarding demons."

Do I remove the current chronicles for Worldwound Gambit when the new chronicle comes out? Does that mean my PC looses the "...+1 bonus on Knowledge (planes) checks when making checks regarding demons."?

Several PF Tales chronicles have permanent bonuses, and as I have a number of PCs, and own all the PF Tales so far published (except "Pirate's Honor" - but I'll get that soon), this will effect a number of my PCs.

Nowhere in the blog does it mention that those existing chronicle sheets need to be destroyed. Do they?

And if so, some of the Pathfinder Tales chronicles also include purchasable items that are quite expensive. What happens to those items when we remove those chronicles from our characters?

Mike, I am still on the Tier 1 waiting list, right?

I can only hope that this change will require a different mandatory $20 softcover MUST HAVE AT THE TABLE book to replace the Society Field Guide.

As I understand, the Core Assumption doesn't mean you necessarily must own the book. It means that you are assumed to have it so that you can use any of the material in the book without having to have a copy of it on hand, and your GM won't fault you for not having it with you.

That said, it's always recommended that you pick yourself up a copy of whatever the Core Assumption lists, even if it's only the PDF, so that you can take advantage of those rules during character creation.

Edit: Upon further reading, I could be very wrong...

We have a player at our tables who has his character feed his camel potions of flying. The local nickname for this character's camel has become "the camelcopter."

I dream of a day when faction points are gone completely, and all factions can live in peace and harmony.

Imagine there's no factions
I wonder if you can
No freeing slaves or macguffins
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all pathfinders, sharing all the loot...

You have brightened my evening with this. :)

Nelith wrote:

"You will never guess who I am." The intruder's voice was a sneer behind his golden mask.

"Prince Kasiya of Osirion."
He choked. "How—?"
...
"Vampire."
"How could you possibly—?"

Too bad this dumbs down the villain too much: it seems exaggerated. Otherwise, a good story.

Couldn't disagree more. My absolute favorite part of this story.

Kasiya was never the brightest light spell in the enchantment shop.

This is a sticky one,

I would say that since the rules state to get XP you'd have to complete 3 encounters, if he completed only one, he gets the chronicle, but no xp for it. Would get one fame for completeing the mission but not for the faction mission as I'm assuming that the "live" character did this before the pregen came into play.

This is generally why I never allow a player to join when there are less than 3 encounters left in a scenario. I do warn them if they join late or leave early that they will not get full gold or full PA if they can't complete their faction mission because they'll miss it.

A while back, here in the PFS messageboards somewhere, there was a link to an external blog post regarding haunts. I remember it being a list of quotes from famous persons, both factual and fictitious, describing hauntings and giving examples of how to deal with them.

I really wanted this list this past weekend, so I could hand it to a new player at Battle in the Bosque. I tried to find it, but my Search-fu is weak. Could someone help me out?

First of all, this is a work in progress. If you do see that I'm missing convention, make a post and I'll do my best to make sure it gets added. If you see a way I can make it better let me know. Oh, if you know of a con, and have a direct link. Please provide it.

FYI the only editors of this list I intend to add are Venture-Captains and related Paizo staff that are interested.

Convention List

Please add Bubonicon (www.bubonicon.com) to the list.

Also, please add Battle in the Bosque (I have joined convention staff for next year and will provide a website when I have created it). Battle in the Bosque happened November 2-4, 2012, here in Albuquerque, NM, and we expect next year to happen around the same weekend.

... did i get in?

I believe Vic said that all the responses have been sent out for this playtest round (if there are to be more rounds than one, I guess we'll learn later).

I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing future playtest openings. I'm interested in this game for several reasons:

• It sounds like it's quick to pick up and play
• I love the Rise of the Runelords AP
• I love the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game
• I love the idea of what sounds something like "deck-building with a plot"
• I -really- want to see the cards and determine whether or not they can be directly translated into Pathfinder RPG game aids.

Event page updated! http://paizo.com/events/v5748mkg0a7db

I must not have read that all the way through, then. I assumed that it was only one per book, not one per character per book.

there's plenty of Pathfinder Society in the Appleton and Green Bay areas. Sean, our Venture Captain, is based in the Marshfield area. Where exactly are you located?

I have family in Appleton who might be interested in playing Pathfinder Society if they knew where it was being played. Is it held at Chimera or at another location?

Drat. I just read this the other day... and I have a group interested in playing and participating. I fired off the email just this morning. I'm a touch disappointed.

Awesome, this is right around when NeonCon used to be, and while nothing can really replace that I am looking for a replacement convention in the Southwest (live and mostly game in LV, NV), have always wanted to visit ABQ, and need a vacation. Hope to be there.

Look forward to meeting you! We've just today confirmed prize support and are still ironing a few other things out.

Battle in the Bosque will take place on November 2nd through 4th at the Albuquerque Garden Center.

While we are as yet working out the details of our involvement at the event, we already know what the schedule will be for tables. We are always looking for more GMs and we know there will already be Paizo support for the event.

In addition to the scenarios listed below, we are going to attempt to run Ambush under Absalom roughly on-demand for new players who maybe don't have time during the convention to devote more than an hour.

Pathfinder Society will run in five slots, each slot housing three tables.

(For a list of scenarios being run and their schedule, please see the event listing for this event)

There will also be an HQ table where GMs can return reporting sheets and players can ask questions and get pregenerated characters. Pregenerated characters will be available for most of the scenarios so players who do not have their own at the start of the convention will have something to use.

Active Imagination Family & Arena and Twin Suns Comic Books & Games, two local game stores, are supporting this convention, and there will be a rather large Magic tournament on Saturday, as well as numerous war games and other board games, drawing in players from all over.

More on this as it develops.

thats what I figured ...

One of the trade-offs of no-risk credit, I'm afraid. A fair trade-off, I think, especially considering the new policy with regards to how GMs handle boons.

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Jiggy wrote:

kinevon wrote:

This time, you get to explore the attic.

Already done that, interestingly enough.

Quote:

The title of the scenario, of course, is The Blackros Museum Quandary - Loot or Burn

Definitely burn. The things you would loot are usually the source of the trouble.

I'm not sure burning will fix the problem.... just saying. It would be worth a try though.

Considering that the walls of Blackros are made of stone, the entire place is filled with magical artifacts and oddities, and is linked in at least three ways from Sunday to other planes, I'm betting burning the place down would be a bad idea... you'd probably destroy Absalom in the process, and the museum would still be standing. Intact. Or what passes for intact given its current state.

To begin with, the Core Rulebook is not listed in the Additional Resources page because it's not an additional resource. For information about what's legal in the Core Rulebook, you'd actually have to turn to the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play ( http://paizo.com/products/btpy84k4 ).

Since Deflect Arrows is a feat from the Core Rulebook, and because it is not mentioned anywhere within the Guide, it is legal for play.

Dragon Style, however, is a feat from Ultimate Combat. According to the Additional Resource list, Dragon Style is not a restricted feat:

Ultimate Combat

Feats: The following feats are not allowed in Pathfinder Society Organized Play: Expert Driver, Field Repair, Master Combat Performer, Master Siege Engineer, Performance Weapon Master, Performing Combatant, Secret Stash Deed, Siege Commander, Siege Engineer, Siege Gunner, Skilled Driver,, and all performance feats.

Back from GenCon? Yup, that I am. Going right into Bubonicon like a boss? Yup, that I am. Folks, Bubonicon is TOMORROW, Friday the 24th. The doors open at 3:00, and the Pathfinder Society tables open at 6:00 for muster.

Be there or the Aspis Consortium will steal your car keys and enchant them with a curse that makes them slip from your grasp and tumble into the sewer when you go to unlock your car door!

The problem with hinting that an unavailable archetype, PrC, magic item, et al... might be available sometime in the future as a Chronicle sheet item, is that every month when the new Chronicles release, I receive several hundred emails asking when the unavailable items will become available. If I don't answer each of those emails, then people think I'm ignoring them. If i tell the, in the future, they think im blwoing them off. It's a catch 22 I am trying to find a resolution for.

In the Additional Resources list you could provide at the top (and at the top of each page in the PDF version) a message stating something to the effect of, "There are many features of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game system that are available in our additional sourcebooks. Some of these are only granted for legal Pathfinder Society use to players who participate in certain events or scenarios. If something is not legal according to this list, it may later become legal for play through the use of a boon. Please do not contact the campaign coordinator with questions as to when something will become legal, and if you feel you must discuss the legality or illegality of certain features of the game, please visit the Paizo messageboards at (url)."

Maybe that's a little wordy...

Jiggy wrote:

JeremyK wrote:

In Indy they've started a GMing 101 class which was also run at GenCon. It'd be cool to see that spread a bit.

You know, different GMs have different strengths. Why not have GMs start offering advice/training/whatever on their own areas of expertise to other GMs?

For example, my local VC is a great organizer/preparer. I'm sure folks could learn a thing or two from him on organizing games or prepping scenarios. My local VL is great with voices, getting in character with the NPCs, and smoothly bringing the organic parts of a scenario to life. What if he wrote a Top Ten Tips sort of thing for that particular skill and posted it on the boards?

Conversely, how about if we started asking each other for help with our weaknesses? Everyone seems very ready to be the first to admit their imperfection, so how about we start saying "I'm not just generally imperfect, I actually have a specific weakness in area X; who can help me get better?"

What would folks say to that?

I believe it was Nani (or maybe Kyle/John) that asked that exact question at the GM 101 seminar I attended at PaizoCon this year. "What questions or concerns do you guys have? What areas of GMing do you want help with?"

There was a ton of Q&A and people were even taking notes on improving their various GM weaknesses. I know I got a lot out of it, and I can't imagine that anyone walked out of there with nothing useful to add to their proverbial "GM toolbox."

I REALLY wanted to take part in GMing 101, because I know I could grow in a lot of areas... but I was slotted to run every time GMing 101 was going on.

Two Haunts e have faced recently, I and I am going to spoiler tag them are bth against 1st level characters. I do not recall the names of the adventures off hand so I do not want to mislead people by guessing.

In the first ** spoiler omitted **

For the second, the DM literally had to kick us out of the room or we would have lost characters, and he honestly couldn't think of a way t justify it otherwise. One to the room itself and everyone else likely to the rest of the adventure. This ** spoiler omitted ** In the game though, he basically said as we opened the door and walked in, "all of the sudden the room gets very hot, and almost dusty, as if something is drawing away all the humidity and moister from everything. Seeing nothing at all in the room, you decide to turn around and shut the door." ** spoiler omitted **...

Honestly, I know both of these haunts. I can tell you where they are in what scenarios.

I like the idea of haunts, honestly, but the rules governing how to run them feel very clunky. Either that, or I just don't understand the rules at all.

Edit: HONESTLY!

I love the name of this con

You should try to come! We're going to have a blast!

Ah, another state where Pathfinder Society may be hard to find. Thanks for posting.

For future reference, announcements like this should go into the Pathfinder Society Grand Lodge subsection of the Pathfinder Society Messageboards. :)

Only a couple more weeks until Bubonicon #44! You can sign up for games at Warhorn (the links are available here: Bubonicon #44).

We have been locked in for prize support, so boons and prizes will be available at the show! And yes, they will be Season 4 boons.

There's also a special treat for those in attendance: Colorado Venture-Captain JP Chapleau will be present to GM a session of NeoExodus, his own published setting based on Pathfinder RPG rules.

I've been getting a lot of questions from out of state gamers, so get your seats while they're still available, 'cause with only two weeks left, I can't guarantee availability.

bugleyman wrote:

One change I've not seen discussed is the expansion of the core assumption, which seems like a big deal. Unlike players, who know ahead of them what they will need, GMs either have to bring ALL of the hardbacks or some kind of electronic device. Either way, the GM buy-in has greatly increased. We need more, not fewer, GMs.

No it hasn't. If we use a monster from Bestiary 3, a GM can now print out the monster info from the PRD and we don't have to print a full stat block in the scenario.

If we use an archetype or class from UM or UC, we don't have to reprint those in every scenario we want to use them in. The GM can print one or two pages from the PRD that covers those rules.

Where does it advise a GM has to bring every hardcover, or even buy them for that matter?

What it does increase is the assumption that a GM will actually pre-read a scenario before running it. This is something we should be doing anyway (and something I am often guilty of not doing).

On the other hand, it neither raises nor lowers the monetary bar for entry into the world of GMing. What this ultimately means is that anyone can GM as long as they have a copy of the Core Rulebook, a copy of the Pathfinder Society Field Guide, a copy of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, a copy of the Bestiary, and access to the PRD, which is made freely available to players and GMs via the magic of the Internet. This is a concession Paizo are making in order to be able to use more appropriate and flavorful material for their Pathfinder Society scenarios without requiring every GM to buy a copy of every book they might use.

More GMs means a greater potential for more players. More players means more games. In the end, everybody wins.

I like the new layout. 4.1 was passable. 4.2 is eye candy.

Edit: Ohwait... rules? I like just about everything. I'm particularly glad that they now offer three additional races (pushing those book sales, too, no doubt), and first-level rebuilds. Honestly, I was waiting on picking up the ARG, but now I have to buy a copy.

Also, Matthew, it will be just one re-roll, from either a shirt or the folio, not one from each.

Yeah, got that. Which is why it's "Some Other Universe" saying it. ;)

Edit: Also why it contains a couple of non-existent products. The d20 exists, but doesn't grant a reroll. The bookmark and the mini don't exist.

Thanks for that clarification Mike. I need to undelete my copy of the previous guide. Good thing I hadn't emptied the trash folder...

I've got both copies on my computer. I simply date new files. For instance, this one is "Pathfinder Society - Guide to Organized Play (Month 20xx).pdf".

So I have 4.1 labeled as January 2012, and now I have 4.2 labeled as August 2012.

As I understand it, the idea with the free re-roll is to reward players who visibly support Paizo by wearing or using a qualifying shirt or PC folio. As in letting others see you using the product. I imagne having the folio out even if it is not for the PC you are using for that game would work. But leaving it tucked in the back of a binder or backpack wouldn't. Just like with a shirt hidden in a backpack. The rules say it must be worn.

I'm just a little glad that they aren't doing the Munchkin thing.

• T-shirt reroll? Check.
• PC Folio reroll? Check!
• Paizo d20 reroll? Check!!
• Pathfinder Society Status Cheat-sheet Bookmark reroll? Check!!!
• WizKids-brand Pathfinder Society Organized Play Munchkin Crossover Pre-Painted Pathfinder Battles Miniature reroll? Check!!!!

(And how bulky is it? I haven't seen one in person yet.)

I have seen these in person at my FLGS. They're not bulky at all. Same thin covers as all of their perfect- and staple- bound products. I don't think you'd be too burdened, actually, bringing the whole thing with you.

Instead of punching it, though, consider first one of those plastic page sleeves. It may be about the right size for that.

2(?) days!

Patiently waiting. I want to see what the changes ultimately are so I can inform my players.

Does this solve some of your problems

Spell-like abilities can be dispelled but they cannot be counterspelled or used to counterspell.

Let me source this for folks:

Spell-like abilities can be dispelled but they cannot be counterspelled or used to counterspell. (link)

You might also be interested in knowing that there are various play be email pfs groups around. Particularly good for a wonky schedule.

If, on the other hand, you can find enough (read: four to seven more) people in your unit who would enjoy playing, you can play Pathfinder Society there. It'd be a great way to kill four or five hours if you have it to spare.

Subject says it all.

LOOOOOVE the new logo! Truly bringing in a modern look.

Go season 4!

I agree wholeheartedly. The new PFS logo is gorgeous!

I have heard it said in my local gaming scene that PFS assumes our money is in the form of various gems and such that make it nice and portable. The phrasing (which I can't recall at the moment) is so common that I assumed it was a quote from the guide, but now I can't find it. Is this the case? I mostly need to know if I should track coin weight on my character sheet. (Not that I usually have huge gold reserves, but hey, you never know.)

I've never heard anything about gems and that's one mechanic that I'd been hoping to learn about. The thing about gems is that they add a whole new swath of mechanics to wealth. They reduce weight, but at the cost of higher-value gems being useless in smaller towns (which can't afford to convert them back to their coin value). Plus, gems actually have a purchase value. Unless that part is being hand-waved (and I haven't heard of it before), they sell to shops for exactly half their value.

I assume that your wealth (all of it) is in gold pieces or platinum pieces. If you're one of those who keep track of weight (I salute you), yes, it's assumed that you have a place to store the bulk of your gold. You can even store some of your items you don't want to carry around with you on your treks. Make sure your GM knows what you've left behind because you don't have any access to it.

A while back I read that rebuilding the Advanced Player's Guide pregens was on the todo list and they were probably going to be ready at or just before GenCon. Is this still true?

ah... silly question, but why is this on the PFS board? shouldn't it be just over on the general PF board?

I agree: Silly question. He explains why it isn't in the general PF board in his post. ;)

Mists of Mwangi or Penumbral Accords might be good too.

To be honest, I'd thought about this, too. It might be possible to set up an entire scenarioscape in Minecraft... but none of the mechanics would be there. There are no dice-rollers, there's no way to represent monsters, there's no way to represent player-carried light sources or light-bearing equipment, etc.

Honestly, in order to make Minecraft suitable for Pathfinder RPG, you'd have to have someone write a ton of mods for it.

This one's pretty easy for me: HTML5 + CSS3 w/media queries.

I don't need an actual native app. Gimme a web app with flexible width. Especially one that allows me to connect using an iOS tablet or my eReader (an IRIVER Story HD) via WiFi and read the messageboards without having to scroll to the right, allows me to report my PFS sessions without having to navigate through five pages to get there, and gives me complete access to the PRD -- again without having to scroll to the right.

EDIT: Oh, and local storage for those devices that support it, which is many of the ones listed by other commenters... but sadly not the IRIVER Story HD.

Let's make that URL a link, shall we?

Pathfinder Society at Bubonicon #44

I previously mentioned this event here, but got no response. I'm going ahead with it despite that.

Fifteen tables, (potential) prize support.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/events/v5748mkg0a5iy

Pathfinder Society's going strong in Albuquerque.

Come play with us at Active Imagination Family and Arena! We play twice a week (Tuesdays at 7:00pm and Fridays at 6:30pm).

We regularly have two tables running two different scenarios.

For more information about Active Imagination, including driving directions, you can reach the store at (505) 299-2019. You can reach me (Matthew) at (816) 200-1334 for more information about Pathfinder Society in Albuquerque.

Here is the event listing on Paizo's website: Pathfinder Society at Active Imagination

No, no, it wasn't mine. I'm too much of a marshmallow, it seems, to TPK. Or even bring about a single character death. However, my friend and erstwhile GM is not. He followed tactics and several things happened that weren't in the party's favor. Very strongly not in the party's favor.

This GM felt pretty bad about it all, but interestingly nobody else at the table did. Many of them saw it as a chance to make new characters, but overall the reason was that they had fun, and that's really what I want to happen at my events. I shook his hand, congratulated him on being the first GM at my event to be at the helm when a character died, and called for a round of applause. He got a standing ovation from his table.

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Matthew Pemrich wrote:

gbonehead wrote:

I'm indifferent to whether I have a full set, but having some of the cards be foil will be really cool, so just a display is probably good for me; I never have enough item cards.

I also have to look into getting some small stickers so I can reuse them once I've written on the back.

Mini Post-it notes. Write them out (or if you're industrious and careful, you can stick them to a sheet of 8.5x11 and run the sheet through an inkjet printer). Stick the notes to the pages of your pre-written modules -- or scenarios, in the case of Pathfinder Society. When your group finds them, hand them the cards. When they identify them, take them back and stick on the notes. This sped up treasure delivery by a couple minutes each encounter at Albuquerque Comic Expo, when I did it for the Beginner Box.

I've got a huge engagement I'll be attending in Indy this August. I'm going to put this into practice there, too.

Not sure how you are doing this though. Can you show us pictures or describe it a bit better?

Thanks! :)

Sure! First, I made a bunch of box shapes on a blank document. The boxes should be the size of the mini post-it notes. My Post-its are 2" wide x 1.5" tall, but I think you can also get 2" square mini post-its. Next, I printed this document out and then filled the empty boxes with single post-its.

Finally, I typed in all the text for the items into the same document with the boxes. I wrote small so I could fit it all (for the Beginner Box, I wanted to put as much text as possible). If you're running for anyone other than beginners, you probably don't have to put as much text. With the notes firmly in place and the text ready to print, I inserted the paper with the notes stuck on into the printer and printed the document out.

That's really all there is to it.