mearrin69's page

Never thought I'd be interested in running a pirate campaign...but I seem to be changing my mind and we're between fantasy campaigns at the moment. My players, however, have more than a few bad experiences with the whole "you've been captured and all of your gear stripped away" thing from past jerky GMs.

So. I was hoping for some advice from folks that have read the first issue more thoroughly than I: would there be any major upset to recruiting the PCs rather than having them get slipped a mickey and waking up in the hold?

The PCs all, theoretically, want to be pirates anyway. What about having a silver-tongued recruiter from Wormwood working the bars to grab up the most promising new swabs? Maybe he does some over-promising, so they're properly resentful and will follow the mutiny hook by the end of book one.

Most of their stuff could still be taken away when they come on board, I guess. "If you need a weapon, the captain will give you a weapon. Until then, here's a mop. Get swabbing!"

Any thoughts appreciated.
M

You might actually get me to play one...

I can't possibly be the first person with a thread on this? Didn't see any. Edit: Probably 'cuz I'm blind...
M

Anyone know of a good source of Next Generation-era Star Trek minis useable for gaming? I've looked around and found some TOS-era minis (from FASA, maybe?) but nothing modern except action figures. Any help would be much appreciated.

I'm going to be running a GURPS Star Trek game set in 2376 (post Dominion War, pre Voyager return) for a couple of players (playing three characters of varying skill each). If anyone's interested I've posted the deckplans and campaign maps I made over at the Cartographer's Guild. I'm also working on some 1" battlemaps of key areas on large paper, but image posting at CG is offline.
M

Hi guys,
I know it's not a tech forum but figured I'd see if anyone here has had a problem like mine and successfully fixed it.

Last night I dropped my iPad (first generation, wi-fi) and the sound (speakers or headphones) no longer works. Everything else seems fine. I stripped off the case (one of the Apple thin ?neoprene? ones) and notice a small dent on the corner nearest the headphone jack.

I did some searching online and have tried toggling the mute button near the volume control to no effect (this is a common problem because apparently the screen rotation lock has become a mute button in the latest iOS).

Also, whether headphones are plugged in or not, the on-screen volume indicator always says "headphones". I *think* that "headphones" used to go away when nothing was in the jack.

My suspicion is that some of the hardware around the headphone jack has gotten borked so that 1) the jack itself no longer works, but 2) the iPad thinks headphones are plugged in so switches into headphone mode.

That said, I'm no Apple engineer so I'm hoping someone out there has some idea how to move forward without a complete replacement or a visit to a costly repair shop.

I'd be fine if (assuming I'm right above) the headphone jack was just permanently busted and I had some way to force iOS to always use speaker mode no matter what.

Any help? Thanks!
M

Hi all,
Just started a new Star Wars game out with a discussion about what sort of characters the players wanted to run. Turns out they wanted to try being on the other side (at least to start) and we eventually decided that they'd play privateers working for the Empire shortly after the destruction of the Death Star. It was completely unexpected but I like that they want to try something new.

I had prepared some rough outlines of possible games set during the Old Republic and Rebellion eras...but this isn't something I had even considered. It was completely unexpected but I like that they want to try something new.

So, in the first hour of introductory play they were staking out a system in revolt that the Empire didn't have enough naval assets to cover. They spotted a small freighter and, since the system is under Imperial interdict, they went after it. Its engines are down and the ship is adrift. Next session they'll board it and we'll go from there.

The ship is indeed carrying weapons and supplies for the rebels on the planet (who are currently outmanned and outgunned by the Imperial garrison there). Unfortunately, they're part of a shipment from Jabba the Hutt and payment has not yet been received. I figure, if they take the stuff (and they will), that may get Jabba interested in them. The traders themselves will be in prison so his best shot at getting his money or goods is by going after the privateers.

And...that's all I got. Anybody have some suggestions for expanding this existing thread or some thoughts on how to eventually turn the campaign toward the characters seeing the evil of the Empire and considering pitching in with the Alliance? It's okay with me if they stay on the Empire side but I want to bring it in as a possibility.

Details: there are four players with equal shares in a slightly modified YT-1300. They're operating under a letter of marque and reprisal granted by the Empire. The terms are: captured ships are impounded by the Empire, crew takes spoils less 25% share of equipment or proceeds (with the proviso that the Empire may confiscate particularly dangerous items, with compensation), and the ship has onboard an Imperial "advisor" to ensure compliance (if he fails to report in on an unknown but regular schedule a bounty will be placed on their heads). The Empire has recently nationalized the Bank of Coruscant, which holds the note on their ship, and is not requiring payment or accruing interest during their service.

I think that's about it. Any advice will be appreciated!
M

Hi all,
To the GMs out there: If given a stat block for a city in a published product, using the new city stat format presented in the Game Mastery Guide, would you prefer to see something like "Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 2d4" or be presented with a pre-generated list of specific items (as was done for Ravengro in volume one of the Carrion Crown AP)? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks!
M

Hi guys,
Just wanted to share this, Roleplayers Chronicle's new "Designer's Diary" column. The editor at RC asked me to put together one for my upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone.

One highlight is at the bottom, a two-page preview of the adventure intro (link). The layout's not final but the text likely is. Posting the direct link to that here...hope you dig it!
M

Hi all,
I might try to get a game on the schedule this year but I'd also like to do some off-schedule gaming.

1) My friend and I won't be attending the banquet this year and I'm sure some other folks missed out on tickets as well. We'd like to try to get together a 1920's Cthulhu game (Chaosium, 6th edition) during the banquet time slot - and probably continuing a couple of hours afterward as well.
2) I've run Star Wars games (Saga) at the last two events and might like to do it again this time if anyone's interested.

All details TBD. If you're up for either of these feel free to post here - but drop-ins will certainly be welcomed. As we get closer to the event I'll post a time and tentative location.
M

We just got back to Rise of the Runelords after a long break, the first session being the Battle of Sandpoint at the beginning of chapter 4 (Fortress).

So, I had planned that Longtooth, seeing the giants jump the gun at the north gate, would come hauling south along the road, flying low to avoid any AA action. Shortly after he starts his run (and loses sight of the wall because he's hugging the terrain) the party's wizard casts wall of force to protect himself and the guards hunkered down there (it extended about 5' over the top of the wall).

The battle proceeds apace, with the fighter and rogue heading out to fight the stone-throwing giants in the woods north of town and the wiz and cleric heading toward the new incursion east of town at Tanner's Bridge. Longtooth didn't see him cast the spell, so he's flying in like a cruise missile at 400'/round. At the last minute he pops up to clear the wall and...BAM...into the wof that he didn't see cast, couldn't detect, and therefore didn't know about.

(note: I did give LT a Perception check to notice the spell as it was being cast and a Dex check to maybe notice it at the last minute and swerve to avoid the worst of the damage. He badly botched both.)

Unless I did something incorrectly that's 20d6 falling damage and a nice cartwheel to land somewhere near the northwest corner of the Sandpoint Cathedral. Nualia (who survived chapter one and hooked up with Mokmurian) was riding Longtooth, packing heals to keep the little guy in the air. She took a fair chunk of damage as well.

By this time, they've more or less handled the Tanner's Bridge incident so the wizard and cleric come back around to see what's up and, just as Longtooth had dusted himself off and taken to the skies again (toasting the wooden wing of the Cathedral at least) there's the wizard with an empowered lightning bolt to finish him off. Nualia had not much offensive in her arsenal (except a miserable negative channel) so she went down shortly thereafter.

It was an ignominious end to poor Longtooth but a pretty happy-making outcome for the players. Even if I botched a ruling somewhere along there I'm okay with the way it turned out.

Of course, the PCs think they've won the battle and aren't that concerned about the three or so giants that crossed Miller's Pond and are wandering around Sandpoint unchecked. They've only recently given chase and Teraktinus has made it to the Old Light and is rooting up a stone as I type this. Only the fighter is heading his way so it's possible that he'll still get away and complete the mission (the rogue and wizard are each chasing down a giant and the cleric is riding her magic carpet up to check out the fire at Scarnetti Manor).

That's where we ended the session...so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns up. Anybody else have something like this happen?
M

Hi all,
Been a while since I've posted an update here. Those of you who've been following the site or roleplayerschronicle.com have probably seen some of this but those who haven't may be interested in some of the recent updates to the Acacia Games site (link).

I've just posted the final couple of pieces of art from James Sinclair for Curse of the Emperor's Stone. Also is a pic and the artwork from the new Acacia Games bookmarks...if you're going to PaizoCon I'll be more than happy to take care of all of your bookmarking needs! I think there are also some older art previews on there that I haven't show off on these boards yet.

So, lots to see if you're interested. Thanks!
Michael
Acacia Games

Guess I was slow this year - PaizoCon's getting like a rock concert.

If anyone bought banquet tickets and finds out they can't go to the show I'll buy them from you. Would be willing to pay a reasonable 'mark up' given the scarcity of this apparently prized commodity. If you've got a pair of tickets you don't plan to use please contact me: michael at acaciagames dot com.

Thanks!
M

Hi all,
I've just posted some preview art for our upcoming adventure, Curse of the Emperor's Stone. Take a look at this great finished illustration from 14-year comic industry veteran James Sinclair here. I've also included a sketch from another piece in the works from James.

I've been a little slow about getting playtest notes up on the development blog but they're coming soon. We're going to be concluding the playtest this afternoon...though we'll be going back to play through a couple of changed encounters next week to see if they were tuned up properly.

Looking forward to getting this put to bed in January or February (highly dependent upon when I get all of the finished artwork) so I can get into the Haibianr city setting book and the next adventure: The Tomb of Le Wushi!
M

[edit]Oh, just wanted to mention that I've been "leaking" artwork and other previews to Aaron over at Roleplayers Chronicle prior to posting it on my own site. He's putting together a nice news site for gamers and I'd like to support it...and hopefully other 3PPs will do so as well.

Hi all,
I'd like to provide customers of our upcoming products with downloadable extras that are useful in their games. The first thing that comes to mind is art (maps and illustrations) for use with VTTs. Unfortunately, apart from a few sessions with Fantasy Grounds, I'm not terribly familiar with these great tools. So I'm asking you guys, the experts: What do you need or want from downloadable assets?

* What VTT software are you using?
* Are there any requirements (format, size, etc.) for maps or images used with your VTT?
* What else would be useful? Plain-text statblocks? Box text? Something else?
* Besides VTTs, what other uses do you have for downloadable assets? Handouts formatted for easy printing? Condition tracker sheets for NPCs? What else?

I'm open to suggestions here...and I'm sure other 3PPs would benefit from your advice on the subject as well. Fire away!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
If you've seen any of my posts you probably know that I'm working on a couple of products for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Unfortunately Acacia Games is currently a one-man show (me) and I don't do art...which leaves me looking for budget to hire freelancers.

I do make a pretty good map, however, so I've put together a small portfolio [link] and figured I'd share it here. If any of you fine folks are looking for cartography help on any of your projects and like what you see please get in touch. There's a contact link on the portfolio page but you can also reach me directly by e-mail at michael at acaciagames dot com.

Money's great but, frankly, I'd also be interested in swapping services with another small 3PP...trading maps for character portraits and other illustrations, for instance.

Appreciate your time. Feel free to get in touch to discuss, heap praise, toss insults, or whatever. Thanks!
M

[edit]Ahem. Yeah, not just for 3PPs I guess. Paizo, if you want a map from me just ask. I'd be honored! :)

Are there any codified rules for haggling over the price of goods or services? I can't recall ever having seen any and I didn't turn up any with a search of the PFRPG core book, the GMG, or this site. Seems like something that should exist...so am I just missing it?

In our home games we generally just roll diplomacy checks with situational modifiers to improve shopkeeper attitude (usually indifferent unless the heroes have done something good or bad that has influenced them already). Anyone do anything else?

As I write this I have a sinking feeling that I've just been missing something (i.e. the presence or absence of real rules for this) for many years... :)
M

Final cover artwork is awaiting delivery but this (link) is a pretty-close-to-final mock-up of the front cover for Curse of the Emperor's Stone. The figure at the right is the eponymous Emperor's Stone, the artifact at the center of the adventure. The final artwork will, hopefully, be an action scene showing the adventure's PCs running headlong into an allyway ambush by the Lushou. Hope you like it.
M

Acacia Games

Hi all. We're going to be getting back to Runelords in the next couple of months and I've begun to do some background prep. We left off at the end of Ch. 3/Hook Mountain so we'll be starting up in Sandpoint with Ch. 4/Fortress.

They let Nualia escape in Ch. 1 so I want Nualia to play a part in the battle that happens there...she promised to see Sandpoint burn and will be returning to town on the back of a red dragon. When we last saw her she was in the process of becoming a demon thingie. How do you think that would have progressed over the last few months? How can I represent it in-game or should I even bother and just make it flavor?

Any advice appreciated!
M

Hi all,
I've just posted a new map on the Acacia Games site (article here). This is a battlemap for the upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone, detailing the site of an ambush by the heroes' enemies, the Lushou crime organization. Hope you all like it!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
I've just posted a new map on the Acacia Games site (article here). This is a battlemap for the upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone, detailing the House of the Four Winds - the site of the adventure's climactic battle, where the PCs will fight alongside the Sifeng monks against agents of the Lushou and their allies for possession of the Emperor's Stone. Hope you all like it!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
I apologize if any of this has been discussed before but my forum-fu is weak. I have a couple of specific questions about playing RotRL with the Pathfinder rules. First some background:

We started the AP using the 3.5 rules and rolled stats (4d6, drop lowest). Some of the PCs ended up with crazy-high stats and I adjusted a couple of the weaklings upward toward the range of the tougher ones, just so things weren't too off kilter (I know, play 'em as they lay, but I was feeling sorry for them.) Switched to Pathfinder rules around the beginning of Skinsaw Murders.

We've had between five and seven PCs for the first few books and just finished up Hook Mountain a while back (on a break now). With their high stats they've been pretty well breezing through the encounters, which I have not really been beefing up too much. BUT, because there is a larger party than expected, the PCs are behind in XP going into Fortress (8th and the adventure calls for 10th, IIRC.) Some of the assumptions about what the party has at hand are, accordingly, a little off-base because of this.

When we get back to it I'd like to offer the players a deal: rebuild your character (or create a new one) using point buy but starting at 10th level with level-appropriate wealth (they're actually quite a lot behind that curve as well). I want to allow anything from the core book as well as the new APG.

The main question, for those that have played using the new rules from the beginning, is what's the best point buy value for me to offer? I'd like to go with 20 points but wonder if that's good enough?

The secondary question, is are there any problems with the wealth-by-level guidelines in the core book? Is it enough? Is it too little?

Anything else I should be thinking of?

Appreciate any advice you guys might have!
M

Hi all,
I've just posted a new map on the Acacia site (article here). This is an area map for the upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone, detailing the docks area - which serves as an introduction of the PCs to Haibianr and to the mystery of the Emperor's Stone. Hope you all like it!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
Just posted a small preview of Curse of the Emperor's Stone, an upcoming adventure from Acacia Games. You can read it here.

Curse of the Emperor's Stone is an adventure about an artifact: The Emperor’s Stone. While this long-lost treasure of the First Emperor offers its bearer, over time, great power, it often brings more woe than weal. When one of the adventure’s heroes, through an unfortunate series of events, winds up becoming the artifact’s “Chosen One” he and his associates quickly find themselves on a run-away rickshaw ride that just won’t end…at least until they find a way to rid themselves of the Emperor’s Stone once and for all.

Also recently posted a brief introduction to Shijie, the campaign world where this adventure is set. You can read that post here

Hope you like it!
M

Hi all,
Small moves, but I just wanted to drop a note that the Acacia Games site (link) is now up and running. Two in-development products have been announced so far:

1) Curse of the Emperor's Stone is an adventure about an artifact: The Emperor’s Stone. While this long-lost treasure of the First Emperor offers its bearer, over time, great power, it often brings more woe than weal. When one of the adventure’s heroes, through an unfortunate series of events, winds up becoming the artifact’s “Chosen One” he and his associates quickly find themselves on a run-away rickshaw ride that just won’t end…at least until they find a way to rid themselves of the Emperor’s Stone once and for all.

2) Haibianr - The City of Ten-Thousand Alleyways is a city setting book covering the cosmopolitan city of Haibianr - an independent city-state, located on the northeastern coast of Dazhou, that is the “Gateway to the West” for Shijie’s eastern civilizations. It details all facets of life in Haibianr, information on the city by district as well as surrounding areas of interest, people and organizations, the city’s long history, as well as secrets for the Game Master’s eyes only. The book also includes a collection of generic and named NPCs that can be found within the city, random encounters by district, a Haibianr-specific bestiary, and a pronunciation guide.

There's not an ETA on these but I'm hoping CotES will be ready in the Fall, at least. Until then, please come by the site for a quick look - and then check back for news and previews as they become available. If you'd like to register I'll put you on our mailing list, but will bug you for only important stuff...promise! :)
M

Well, we don't have everyone onboard yet but I'm late
getting this started so: let's roll!

A revolution just isn't without guns. The newly established Alliance to Restore the Republic needs a reliable supplier of weaponry and thinks it might have found one in the person (or, rather, slug-like creature) of Lorga the Hutt, an up-and-coming crime lord that lairs on the Smugglers' Moon, Nar Shaddaa.

Major Jander, chief of procurement for the Alliance, recently invited a motley crew to board the Nebulon-B frigate Republic Rising for a briefing on this sensitive matter. His goal, to arrange the acquisition of an initial lot of 50 BlasTech DL-75 blaster rifles or similar weapons, would be furthered by reaching out to Lorga. To accomplish the mission he made available to the group a total of 100,000 credits - 50,000 for the weapons, 25,000 for expenses and bribes, and another 25,000 just in case Lorga decided to drive a hard bargain. He also authorized the use of an old, but reliable YT-1300 freighter, the "Shortcut".

After an uneventful trip through Hutt Space, the group reached Nar Shaddaa and berthed in Bay 42 of the Doree Sector Spaceport - near which was located "The Down Low", the spacer lounge supposedly frequented by Lorga's agent, Hleb. He wasn't present though a Black Sun representative, a bith named Zax Leem, was. After brief negotiations it was determined that the Syndicate's prices were likely too high and the group managed to locate Hleb, who gave them directions to Lorga's estate.

All was not well, however, and it soon became clear that the group had stumbled into some sort of criminal turf war. Syndicate thugs tailed them back to the spaceport, where they rented a speeder. Despite some excellent navigation and piloting, Black Sun agents soon picked up their trail and gave chase though they were shaken quickly by some Boonta Eve Classic-style airspeeder piloting. Against all odds, another group located the group and gave chase. It was a hairy race through the airways of Nar Shaddaa, but a combination of good piloting and shooting along with miserable collision avoidance on the part of the thugs soon had the bad guys' airspeeder plunging into the foggy depths of the undercity.

After the excitement of the journey the arrival at Lorga's estate, high atop a city spire, was almost an anti-climax. The hutt's majordomo, a twi'lek named Cravon Deimos, introduced the group to Lorga and they made a subtle pitch. "So, you want weapons?" said Lorga, "I don't sell weapons to just any nerf herder from the Outer Rim. We'll have to get to know each other first; learn to trust each other. In the meantime, enjoy the hospitality of my palace."

It's doubtful anyone had a good feeling about that but everyone made themselves at home while the zabrak businessman in the group chatted up the suspicious hutt - and, through force of charm, managed to win him over at least a little. Lorga's mood somewhat improved, the hutt called for servers to bring in a feast for him and his guests!

Yum. Now for dinner with a hutt. Where's Judith Martin when you need her?

For those of you new to this, check out the tags you can use in your post (formatting, out of character - ooc, and dice). Please post an ooc description of your character and just the basics on who he/she is for the readers at home and to refresh everyone's memory. When everyone has done that we'll have some refreshments and entertainment - gangsta hutt style. Lorga da OG yo!

Oh, yeah, still no word from two of our players. I'll make another query and then we'll call them MIA and either play them as NPCs or find a couple of new players...we'll need both a mechanic and a pilot, methinks.

Hi all,
Hopefully I'm not jumping the gun here but just wanted to promo an upcoming event, as it seems that one of my fantasy maps (link) will be appearing in it.

It's an exhibition of digital cartography at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art (link) to be held from July 16th through the 29th (free to the public). The maps are displayed in digital frames and will be available for purchase as prints on canvas or paper (apparently pretty high quality).

Still working out the details for the appearance of my map but, unless something goes horribly wrong, it should be there...along with a whole mess of even better cartography from *real* artists. I'm just a hack but some of these cats are world-class. Hope you kids living in the NY area can stop by and see the exhibit. Wish I could make it out.
M

NB: I put this in the "Compatible Products..." sub-forum because the map in question is for a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatible setting product I'm working on...and because I couldn't find another section other than "Off Topic" where it might fit. Mods, if you think this belongs in that section please feel free to move it.

Hi all,
So, I've decided I must make time to finish off our Paizocon Star Wars game. Let's use this thread to discuss starting it up again and for OOC discussion during play. We'll at least finish this adventure...but maybe we can keep something going if everyone's having fun and has time to do it (no guarantees there, but I'll try).

If I recall, attendees were: mearrin69 (Me/GM), Attic Whisperer, Zylphryx, Laughing Goblin, senshi_shinri_teki, and EL-EL. If I've missed someone please let me know. Give me a hand raise to let me know you're onboard with continuing PBP and we'll pick up where we left off. If we don't get everyone back I may recruit someone from the boards to fill a role.

A brief refresher:

Hopefully we can get it going.
M

I'd definitely be up for playing if so. If not maybe I'll try to put a game together...but I'd rather play. :)
M

Hi all,
Apologies if I've put this in the wrong place, missed some important change, etc. Haven't been very involved in the messageboards lately and I can't get search to do no kind of tricks for me...I thought I sucked at the Google machine but Paizo's search functions are a complete mystery to me. Okay, caveats out of the way:

Is there an error in the oracle's lore mystery entry, specifically: On p.25, under the "Class Skills" header it says "An oracle with the lore mystery adds Appraise, Spellcraft, and all Knowledge skills to her list of class skills." BUT Spellcraft is already a class skill (noted on P.18) so that doesn't make a lot of sense.

The logical fix here seems to be swapping Lore's Spellcraft addition for Linguistics, which is really a needed/wanted class skill for an oracle with that mystery. This is what we've done temporarily, pending clarification from someone in the know. So, is it a booboo? Did we intuit the correct fix for it if so?

I played on Saturday for the first time using this character and had a good time with it. My guy's a halfling oracle 3 (lore) with funky stats but a nice high score in Cha and Int. The two revelations I picked are the Sidestep Secret (trade Cha for Dex on AC) and Automatic Writing. Chose the Clouded Vision curse and that has been fun too.

Oh, further question: with Sidestep Secret does the oracle keep his Cha bonus to AC when flat-footed or otherwise "denied his Dex bonus to AC"? Thanks!
M

First, please don't take this post as griping. Just looking for information.

I've been waiting around *forever* for the Bestiary because I have my RPG shipments bundled with my AP shipments (and part three of Council of Thieves is off schedule). Received a "shipping soon" notice the other day and my wife told me this afternoon that my credit card has been charged for this shipment...but I have received no shipping notice and the downloads aren't available in "My Downloads".

So:
1) How much of a delay between being charged and receiving my downloads should I expect in this instance...and in the future if this is a special delay for some reason.
2) Is it at all possible to be charged and receive the PDFs of products I have ordered even though the physical product won't be shipped for some time to come? I realize you can't charge until you ship (or at least that's how it is with my cc acceptance agreement) but I would count giving me access to the PDF as "shipped" and be happy to pay you for the book in advance in that case.

Okay. That is all. :) Thanks!
M

Oh, order number is #1270220 in case you need to check it out.

Hi all,
Apologies if this has been asked before but are there any good guidelines for the minimum and maximum number of players at a PFS scenario table? At PaizoCon, Joshua seemed reluctant to have a table with less than 5 players. I didn't note a maximum, but we weren't exactly full up.

I'm running an event that has 8 confirmed attendees (including myself and a DM for a possible second table) and a few (3-5) maybes. If only 8 of us show up can I run a scenario with 7 players? If we get ten can we run 2 tables with 4 players? Ideally we'll have twelve or more so we can have 2 tables with at least 5...but I'm not sure that'll happen.

So, advice? Thanks in advance! :)
M

Edit: If the scenario matters at all, we'll be running #24 Decline of Glory for one table and adding #14 The Many Fortunes of Grandmaster Torch for a second table if we open it.

Hi,
Would have posted here earlier but I keep most of my messageboard topics collapsed and I didn't realize the Grand Lodge was a gamer connection forum. Whoops! :(

We've got a group of 6-7 players (so far) getting together from 12pm-4pm on Saturday, August 1st at Guardian Games in Portland to play Pathfinder Society. Would love to have a second table and I have recruited a second DM just in case we have enough people sign up (or get enough drop-ins). We'll be playing scenario #24 and maybe #14 if we can field a second table.

Want to join us? Please let me know or RSVP at meetup.com. Here are the details for the "event" on Paizo and Meetup:

http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/events/v5748mkg09uh3
http://www.meetup.com/dnd-820/calendar/10851071/
M

Hi all,
I'm in the process of trying to get together a regular, multi-table PFS "group" hosted at a local (Portland, OR) gaming store (Guardian Games). So far, maybe because it's summer, it has been difficult to get folks to commit but I think I've finally got at least one table together for 8/1/09. I'd like to make this a monthly thing with multiple DMs running different scenarios...help spread the Paizo love in Portland.

So, the question: is there a Paizo program to get some sort of freebies to entice new players to come check it out? If not, could one be created? Would this have to go through the gaming store or do you guys "trust" local DMs enough to hand out some copies of the Bonus Bestiary or something similar as a way of getting players interested in PFS, and Pathfinder in general?
M

So. When are we getting some Tianxia love? You guys working on this? Need some help? What's up?

If it's going to be a long time coming, how a gazetteer covering Golarion's "Far East"?

In the meantime, I'm working on a Hong Kong-like city-state called Hai Bianr in which I hope to run a few one-shot adventures with my group. Hopefully I can just stick it on the coast of Golarion's "China" when it's introduced and use it as-is. Don't snag my name yo. :)
M

Hi all,
I made the following post on the Portland RPG Meetup site:
link

Boils down to, "is anybody in Portland/Vancouver interested in PFS gaming?" I'd be up for running the occasional PFS game for folks interested in advancing their characters in the Society. Also wouldn't mind getting a little "organized" with other DMs to the extent of maybe getting several of us together somewhere like Guardian Games on a particular night to all run PFS sessions and promoting it to attract new players to PFS/Pathfinder RPG.

So. Anyone?
M

Hi all,
I'm going to be running some scheduled Pathfinder Society (D&D) games at the show but was thinking about getting together a Star Wars game at some point too.

Been talking to a Zuxius (a *huge* SW minis fan - this guy's got quite an army!) about it so I think that's one confirmed player if we can get something going. Anybody else interested?

I'm open to running a game in any era...but I don't have a lot of experience GMing higher power levels so I'd probably want to go somewhere between 1st and 7th level.

Feel free to post here or e-mail me (michaela at acaciarg.com) if you're up for it. I'd be more than happy to play too...if someone else is thinking of running something.
M

P.S. If anyone's thinking about running a Dark Heresy game I'd love to join you for it. I've got the core book and have read through it. I'm not up to actually GMing the system yet but I would certainly like to give it a try as a player. I could probably help out with minis, maps (SW Galaxy Tiles, wet-erase map), and stuff for such a game.

Hi all,
I have volunteered to run some PFS sessions at PAIZOCON 2009. I have downloaded and read the guide and bought and downloaded one of the modules (#14 The Many Fortunes of Grandmaster Torch). I won't know what I'm running at the show until early June.

I'm just looking for some general advice on running PFS scenarios, especially at conventions. I know pacing is going to be important, since there's only a 4-hour window. What else? Here are some specific questions (some are perhaps naive, or are covered in something I DIDN'T read):

1) I'll have minis on-hand for the scenario. Should I make sure to have a selection of minis to represent the PCs? Do people generally bring their own?
2) Any reason to create pre-gens? Do most people come with their own characters or are there a lot of first-time players? Is there time for them to create a character at the beginning of the session (I'd guess not, but it's good to know)?
3) I tend to roll dice openly and let the chips fall where they may - unless it's a roll players shouldn't know the results of. Does anybody roll them in private so they can 'fudge' if necessary? Is this frowned upon in PFS play?
4) I assume things like crit hit/fumble decks are out? I actually wouldn't use them on my own - but the players in my 'home games' always outvote me and I usually end up using them.
5) Is it customary to have a break during the session? Four hours is a long time to sit and concentrate - and I'd tend to give a break during a session that long. Is there even time for this?
6) Do I need to print out forms and things or are these usually provided? Does the organizer usually provide handouts from the scenario (things like the faction mission briefings)?

I'm sure there's lots of stuff I haven't thought of - so please feel free to point out anything I might have missed. I am a relatively experienced DM but this is completely new to me. Thanks in advance!
M

Hi guys,
Probably being dense here but need some help removing a 'dead' bank card from my account. My Pathfinder subscription keeps trying to charge a card from a bank account that no longer exists but I never seem to be able to delete the card when I follow the links to provide alternate payment information.

Could someone please tell me the steps necessary to access my list of payment methods so I can get that account out of there? Thanks!
M

Will Pathfinder subscribers be getting most of the details on Golarion as the series goes forward or will these be primarily exposed in separate products? Just curious. I'm anxiously awaiting details on Tian Xia, Minkai, and the rest of the Golarion 'Far East' - yeah, like whether it's to the east. ;)

The mention of Tian Xia in the first product has inspired me to create a character from there in our RotR campaign just starting up - but for now I'm just sort of creating my own vague history and geography. She's from Haishang, a bustling port city a la China's Shanghai a century+ ago. Other than that she doesn't like people from Minkai because of some not-so-long-ago war of aggression against her people. Sort of an analog to the Japanese invasion of China earlier this century. So, all in all, not that creative.

That's why I need teh P41z0 c0deZ!1!11
M

Hi all. Didn't get any advice on this over at WotC forums so I thought I'd ask over here.

A cleric PC in a game I'm running just used his fire domain powers to rebuke a magma elemental (fire and earth subtypes). He did enough 'damage' to command it. From my reading of the rules he now pretty much has control over the thing until it is turned, commanded, or destroyed by someone else. Is this correct?

They're 4th level (just) and the elemental is 6 hd - so it's pretty powerful to them right now.

If they get to keep it is it reasonable for me to make them take reduced XP as for a party of five (there are four of them) because of the help the elemental is giving? Should I track its XP and advance it? I'm pretty sure nobody else is going to be 'turning' it anytime soon.

My first time dealing with rebuke/command rules and I'm not sure I'm reading everything correctly.

Help! Thanks! :)
A Lost DM

Okay, so I know the 11 days of 5-11 days hasn't quite expired yet but I was just wondering if anyone could tell me if this order is looking good in the queue? If an item on there is going to hold up shipment for some reason I'd be willing to split the delivery into two groups. Sorry, control freak with no control :)
M

**also posted at WotC forums - sorry if you read it twice :) **

Heh. Gotta love the acronyms. So, I just picked up Expedition to the Ruins of Greyhawk yesterday and started scanning through it. I ran across a number of references to and people from the Age of Worms adventure path printed in Dungeon a while back.

Since I'm currently a player in an AoW campaign (we're 14th level so still a ways to go) I want to avoid reading this fully if there are going to be any spoilers in the book. My DM wants to avoid looking closely at EttRG because it's possible I might run it for our group someday.

So, can anyone tell me: should I keep my eyes off of the book until we finish AoW? Thanks!
M

Hi all. I was placing an order last night and noticed that these no longer say 'back order' so I threw one in my cart. It's showing in my order as 'pending' like the rest of my physical items. So, just wanted to know if anyone can confirm that these are indeed in-stock and will be shipping as indicated? Been waiting a long time to get my hands on one of these. :)
M

Hi all,
Just got Pathfinder #1 in the mail yesterday (got the download a few days ago) and I wanted to say thanks to Paizo for choosing to make this such a high print quality product. My wife says she'll bug me less for spending $20 a month on it - she thought it was a magazine and I was happy to be able to show her otherwise. Cheers!
M