Ruby phoenix question

[Wraith235]

getting ready to run either this or Curse of the Riven Sky to Normalize my regular group for Eot10 and ran into something and not sure if this has been brought up but

Additional resources:

Other: Unless prompted in a scenario or granted by a Chronicle, the rules for duels, performance combat, and siege engines, and all variant rules in Chapter 5 are not used in Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

now looking at the Ruby Phoenix chronicle

Chronicle:

If you used the optional performance combat rules when playing the adventure

is it a choice whether to use the performance rules or not ?

[Chris Mortika]

My understanding is that performance combat is not to be used. The Chronicle sheet is taunting you.

Which is a shame, really, because performance combat would add so much to the Rube Phoenix Tournament. Without it, the tournament is much more pedestrian.

[Alexander_Damocles]

Since the scenario makes it an option to be used, I think it can be used. We used it when we played it this past Pacificon. Good times, tho the folks with high charisma couldn't seem to roll over a 4 on the die....

[Justin Riddler]

Back before a chronicle sheet update removed the pages about additional rules used in Ruby Pheonix, the additional pages explained that you were to use the performance combat rules with the associated skill checks but that the Feats were still illegal.

IMO, without further word from campaign leadership, the presence of performance combat on the chronicle sheet and in the module qualify as tripping that additional resources rule, and I would use the performance rules in running it again.

[Wraith235]

was reading through this and am suddenly questioning my decision to take my group through it ... I may have to do curse of the riven sky instead ... Group has a life oracle ... - see healing effect

[Justin Riddler]

I had this too - the healing effect only triggers the first time an instance of healing is used... thus the first round the life oracle is active, but then the crowd will recognize that the oracle is being put in greater danger and will even out ^_^

[Wraith235]

1 encounter is confusing me to no end ... how are the animals supposed to attack while affected by that spell - they dont even give the DC they need to break it

[Eric Clingenpeel]

As soon as the challenge starts, the animals hold spells are dismissed.

I played in this, and I'd highly suggest pruning most of the tests & exhibitions. We were doing all of them, and it took us 3 sessions before I suggested we skip them. It took us another session before we finished, and that was with a grenadier alchemist that on-rounded most of the fights.

One of the big negatives I think of the exhibitions is several of them are single pc fights, which leaves the others waiting until the fight is over. The animal fight took forever for it to finish the fight lasted at least two minutes game time. If you really want to put everything in and everyone is ok with it taking 4-6 weeks, go for it, but that's a lot of time to put in for 3 xp & 4 pp.

[KestlerGunner]

If you get a choice, run the RP encounters with the Performance Combat rules. It'll make things far more interesting.

[Wraith235]

I appreciate the feedback any more would be appreciated

[CRobledo]

We just finished running this this weekend. Took us from 11 AM to 12:30AM (13 hours+). This was with skipping just one encounter in day 5, and a party of 4 level 10s. We used performance combat and loved it, although we kept forgetting to do some of them (such as when you deal max damage, etc...). I recommend keeping the performance combat rules in, as the boon of the chronicle for getting 3 VPs is pretty cool and otherwise they can't get it.

We ruled it that performance combat was only in play in fights and exhibitions that were in the main arena. So there are still plenty of encounters where the life oracle can shine. Even then, in the real fights, it will give the life oracle something else to think about instead of just channeling every turn. Make him really debate whether to heal or just wait one more turn and see if the party can finish out the fight. I dont think that's a problem.

I think only the animal fight is a single PC fight... The other tests/exhibitions the whole group can participate. Multiple people can do the archery contest, the iron maidens, etc... I think all the tests are cool for the item rewards you get. I did the archery contest and ended up with a dragon slaying arrow *grin*

[Justin Riddler]

When I ran this module, I had an assistant GM and divided the combats so that I was always running the main matches while he ran most of the side matches - we split some of the side matches and RP moments. This meant that one of us could prepare the next encounter while the other ran the game. It took us from 11am to midnight with an hour break for food.

We did not skip anything and included performance combat - which actually kept the party from stomping through things so that they could use flashier less damaging spells just to make Perform checks. We also said that Performance Combat was only in effect during arena matches, with the crowd effects resetting to indifferent between matches.

It was my understanding that the exhibition matches were mostly for the entire party (The Tiger & The Boar being the exception). And when tests came along everyone tried their hand even if they knew they'd be bad at it.

Because of the 2 GMs, only one of us could get credit, so I passed it along to my assistant since I'm sure I'll be running this again once another group of players in our area reach 10+

[David Haller]

We played this last weekend, and certainly used the performance combat rules - it would be a far less entertaining scenario without them.

Now, we happened to have a good party for performance combat (my sorcerer's performance combat bonus was +13, and we had two others with around +9 or +10 each), so we were mostly fighting at a +2 bonus ("helpful"), but that was well-balanced by a reluctance to use healing magic or (in the case of my sorcerer), invisibility. Performance combat is a very nice metagame thread running through the whole of the scenario, and really makes it feel like "a tournament".

I would never run the module without it.

As for time, we ran for about 14 hours - with an hour or so break for food - but we skipped *nothing*. Also my fey enchanter sorceress dominated eight NPCs during the course of the scenario, and dispatching them on various missions - plus copious roleplaying - gobbled up some time :)

Still, like all modules, it's worth having at *least* a good twelve hours to play.

I look very forward to running it sometime!