Emerald Spire GM Credit Question

[Krell44]

I am planning on running family/friends through the Emerald Spire on a somewhat casual basis when we have our normal gaming nights. I am curious if the GM is locked into the level restrictions regarding assigning chronicle sheets. Specifically, if we run a level 10-12 level of the Spire, do I have to assign the chronicle sheet to a level 10-12 character? The reason I ask is because I am wanting to build out a fun character with GM credit, but if I have to follow the same level tiers I will never be able to play the character. Does this make sense?

In my perfect world I would end up with 2 characters at about 6th level after GMing the entire Spire.

[Belafon]

Krell44 wrote:

I am planning on running family/friends through the Emerald Spire on a somewhat casual basis when we have our normal gaming nights. I am curious if the GM is locked into the level restrictions regarding assigning chronicle sheets. Specifically, if we run a level 10-12 level of the Spire, do I have to assign the chronicle sheet to a level 10-12 character? The reason I ask is because I am wanting to build out a fun character with GM credit, but if I have to follow the same level tiers I will never be able to play the character. Does this make sense?

In my perfect world I would end up with 2 characters at about 6th level after GMing the entire Spire.

Yup same restrictions. Either hold it til you reach the minimum level or assign it to a level one. You can't assign an 8-10 chronicle to a level 3 character. (Well, you can but it won't do anything until you reach 8th level.) With judicious slow-tracking you could end up with a level 6.5 character after 8 floors but then you'd be assigning all the rest to level 1s.

[kinevon]

Or you could assign the GM credit on 2 or more PCs from the get-go, and see how that works out. Not sure, myself, how that would work.

[Woran]

You can always choose not to take a chronicle.

So, when your GM credit character reaches lvl 6 (or so) you just stop applying the chronicles. You still get credit towards your GM stars of course.

Then, if you GM the spire again, you can then assign the chronicles you skiped.

Also, remember there is no campaign mode for the Emerald spire. You said you wanted to run it on the normal gaming nights. Your players will need to make PFS characters to be able to play it.
Its weird, I know, but thats the rules for the Spire.

[Paz]

Krell44 wrote:

In my perfect world I would end up with 2 characters at about 6th level after GMing the entire Spire.

Assign credit for adventures 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7 to PC1. This will take them to 6th level. You could carry on assigning credit (e.g. adventures 8, 9, 10) to that PC but that would take them above the level you're looking for.

Assign credit for adventures 3 and 5 (held to be applied at 2nd and 3rd level respectively) to PC2. Apply a chronicle for a later adventure (e.g. the 11th one, or a slightly earlier one if not used on PC1) at 1st-level (reward reduced to 1398gp), meaning you then immediately apply the other two chronicles, taking PC2 straight to 4th level.

That's the best route I can see. As Woran suggests, you can either forego the later chronicles, or generate a bunch of new PFS PCs with 3 XP each.

Note that some people who've already run ES recommend skipping the 4th adventure (Godhome) which can screw up a player's advancement of their PC by only granting 1 XP. Skipping Godhome would mean your PC2 above could only get to 3rd level (as the credit for adventure 5 would have to go to PC1).

[Paz]

In case it helps, I'm informed that the following is the optimal route for players to take their PCs to exactly 12th level (33 XP) by the end of the module, in terms of normal/slow track:

01 The Tower Ruins . . . . . . . Normal
02 The Cellars . . . . . . . . . . . Normal
03 Splinterden . . . . . . . . . . . Normal
04 Godhome . . . . . . . . . . . . SKIP
05 The Drowned Level . . . . . Normal
06 The Clockwork Maze . . . . Normal
07 Shrine of the Awakener . Normal
08 The Circle of Vissk-Thar . . Slow
09 The Spire Axis . . . . . . . . . Slow
10 The Magma Vault . . . . . . Slow
11 The Tomb of Yarrix . . . . . Slow
12 The Automaton Forge . . . Slow
13 The Pleasure Gardens . . . Slow
14 The Throne of Azlant . . . . Slow
15 Order and Chaos . . . . . . . Slow
16 The Emerald Root . . . . . . Normal

[Krell44]

So, it appears I will build up 2 characters as high as I can feasibly get them and still allow them a handful of "playable" levels, and assign the additional chronicles to a first level character that I will create for later play. Question: how much gold is awarded on a high level chronicle sheet when you award it to a first level char? And can I go half XP on that as well to apply 2 chronicles to the same char?

[KingOfAnything]

PFS Guild Guide p.31 wrote:

If you play a non-1st-level pregenerated character, you may apply credit from the pregenerated character to one of your 1st-level characters, with the gp gained reduced to 1,398 gp (or 699 gp for slow advancement track characters).

It's not entirely spelled out that you can treat GM credit like pregen credit. But, this is what you would do.

[Woran]

KingOfAnything wrote:

PFS Guild Guide p.31 wrote:

If you play a non-1st-level pregenerated character, you may apply credit from the pregenerated character to one of your 1st-level characters, with the gp gained reduced to 1,398 gp (or 699 gp for slow advancement track characters).

It's not entirely spelled out that you can treat GM credit like pregen credit. But, this is what you would do.

A GM can apply chronicles to characters as a player, so yes, this works. Reduce the gold, and follow the same rules for boons/items as the players.