4–15: The Cyphermage Dilemma (Inactive)

Game Master TobiasBlues

In the shadow of the cyclopean Cyphergate that spans Riddleport's harbor, the PCs find themselves embroiled in a dangerous plot of deception that one could only find in Varisia's infamous pirate port.

"The Cyphermage Dilemma" was originally an exclusive adventure, run only by 4-star Pathfinder Society GMs, Venture-Captain and Venture-Lieutenant campaign volunteers, and Paizo staff for its first year, but has been revised and updated for public release.

Written by Patrick Renie.

This game is part of the Official Pathfinder Society PbP Game Day. For more information please visit: PbpGameday.com

If you are interested, please reply with your character.

I would be interested in joining, if you'll have me. Aetherys is a level 3 Elven Magus, either subtier is fine for me.

This looks like a neat scenario. Can't decide which character to play. I have a few in range. Talwin is level 2. One more XP for 3rd. Aetherys/GM Lithrac will remember him from a couple scenarios earlier this year.

Of course I remember you. A pleasure to see you join as well!

I'd be glad to have both of you. Potentially I have one other person from a game that is getting close to ending that might be joining us (lvl 2 or 3 depending on the character they bring).

So as of right now:
1: Reserved
2: Aetherys - Magus lvl 3
3: Talwin - ???? possibly lvl 2
4:
5:
6:

Sorry for the lack of clarity in my earlier pos!, Talwin is a level 2 inquisitor. That won't change by the 5th. I'm toying with bringing my 1st level dwarf barbarian as an alternate, but I'll wait to see who else is interested.

Talwin has a good STR score and is a reach fighter with his longspear. Limited casting at this point, so usually saved for CLW or the occasional bless. Judgement will almost always be justice (+1 to hit) and saved for the "boss fight" when one is obvious.

No real confusion there Talwin, just on the way I wrote my post more than anything. The ???? were for the character coming in, since you said you didn't know who you would be bringing. But It's no problem.

I am interested, but have a question about posting rate. How often do you require players to post and also, how long will this game run? Thanks.

Well I'd like people to post at least once per day, but if you can post more that's great. I'm usually on to check in the afternoon and also at night (I'm central timezone in the US).

As for how long this game will go, that I'm not sure on. From what I've been told, depending on how smoothly things run a PbP game usually takes at least a month to complete, possibly more.

I have a level 3 magus that would like to join.

Glad to have you Karasu.

1: Reserved
2: Aetherys - Magus lvl 3
3: Talwin - Inquisitor lvl 2 or Barbarian lvl 1
4: Karasu - Magus lvl 3

This is Aldrea

Sutekh Lvl1 Rogue, Lvl2 Ranger :)

Cool, welcome Aldrea/Sutekh

So we have a table of 4 atleast :)

1: Sutekh - Rogue lvl 1/Ranger lvl 2
2: Aetherys - Magus lvl 3
3: Talwin - Inquisitor lvl 2 or Barbarian lvl 1
4: Karasu - Magus lvl 3
5:
6:

Going to open up a discussion forum, so you guys can dot if you'd like.

I am an alt in another, are you doing tier 1-2 here? I would rather be somewhere with room than somewhere I might cost someone else a spot.

Will a level 4 be out of the question?

I've got a brand new lvl 1 character and I'm itching to try him in an official game.
Trox Vemonix, ready for action!

Oooh. I've never been to Riddleport and that gate thing sounds fascinating.

Level 1 Gnome Alchemist, if Clara and Trox don't fill the game.

@ Clara: Clara you are more than welcome to join in here. I have 2 spots open at the moment. Right now we have 3 lvl 3's and a lvl 2, so I'll have to see what the tiers are to see where we're at.

@Sutekh: A lvl 4 wouldn't be out of the question I don't think. But it would probably put the group above the 1-2 tier

@Trox: Be glad to have you, but I think we might be aiming at just above tier 1-2. I will see what the tiers are when I get my download.

@Kiyanetikert: Riddleport is a fun city (running the Second Darkness AP in a home game). Clara and Trox would fill up the group, but I'm thinking that maybe if people are up for it, Clara, Trox, and Kiyanetikert can do a second table and we can either hope one more person shows up or I can run a icon to fill the table out.

@ Clara: Clara you are more than welcome to join in here. I have 2 spots open at the moment. Right now we have 3 lvl 3's and a lvl 2, so I'll have to see what the tiers are to see where we're at.

@Sutekh: A lvl 4 wouldn't be out of the question I don't think. But it would probably put the group above the 1-2 tier

@Trox: Be glad to have you, but I think we might be aiming at just above tier 1-2. I will see what the tiers are when I get my download.

@Kiyanetikert: Riddleport is a fun city (running the Second Darkness AP in a home game). Clara and Trox would fill up the group, but I'm thinking that maybe if people are up for it, Clara, Trox, and Kiyanetikert can do a second table and we can either hope one more person shows up or I can run a icon to fill the table out.

Or I can pass on this and jump in a different game. I'm easy. :)

If it makes the tiers work out better for people that would be great. Otherwise I can do something else.

Well, Kiy, right now we have 3 lvl 3's, a lvl 2, 3 lvl 1's, and possibly a lvl 4. So if we split into 2 tables of 4 we could have a low group and middle group.

But it's all up to you guys. I'm pretty flexible for this.

It seems we are too big for only one table anyway. As for subtier, even if we regrouped the level 2, 3 and 4 in the same group, we'd still play low subtier. APL = (2+3+3+4)/4 = 3, which means we have to play low with four characters. A fifth 3rd or 4th-level character would push us up in the high subtier. Since we are expected to start tomorrow, maybe it would be wiser to split the groups according to class roles and not levels. Season 4 and 5 scenarios have a reputation for being harder on four-character parties, so a good balance in group composition might help us overcome this challenge. As for myself, I have no objection playing the low subtier.

If we were to be only six, then we'd play low subtier as well.

By the way, are there kobold race boons now? Last I checked, that race wasn't PFS legal.

I can take my alt position if it keeps you to one table, or if you want to split to 2 tables, I would be happy to play Lini the Pregen Druid at either tier to keep the numbers even, or to help tilt the level to the tier you like.

Any room left?

Well, depending on the ELs of the campaign, we might be progressing fairly fast, if the EXP distribution. If a couple lvl 1's take part in an EL 3-4 encounter and come out on top, that's some serious EXP being doled out.

Assuming I'm doing my math right (which I'm probably not).

Well, depending on the ELs of the campaign, we might be progressing fairly fast, if the EXP distribution. If a couple lvl 1's take part in an EL 3-4 encounter and come out on top, that's some serious EXP being doled out.

Assuming I'm doing my math right (which I'm probably not).

There is no math. It's PFS. One third of a level for a successful scenario. Whatever level you are.

Ford C. Benett, I highly encourage you to read the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. It contains all the information you need in order to play in a PFS scenario, including experience rules.

Sorry, definitely doing my math wrong (which is to say, shouldn't be doing math at all). Still going by Pokemon exp rules.

Here is the breakdown as I see it right now:

Subtier 4-5:

Aetherys 3
Karasau 3
Sutekh 3
unknown 4

Subtier 1-2:

Talwin 2
Trox 1
Clara 1
Kiyan 1

I may have misunderstood Sutekh, who was perhaps playing a level4 character in place of the level 3.

I have only level 1's and 2's free, but I'd be interested in playing a level 4 pregen if we have more low-tier folks and it will make a table.

Here is the breakdown as I see it right now:

Subtier 4-5:

Aetherys 3
Karasau 3
Sutekh 3
unknown 4

Subtier 1-2:

Talwin 2
Trox 1
Clara 1
Kiyan 1

I may have misunderstood Sutekh, who was perhaps playing a level4 character in place of the level 3.

I have only level 1's and 2's free, but I'd be interested in playing a level 4 pregen if we have more low-tier folks and it will make a table.

That is kinda what I was thinking Talwin. I'm not sure if Sutekh knows a lvl 4 that wants to play or if he wants to bring in a lvl 4. But if you'd like to keep in the higher tier by using a pregen you can. I believe Szath was looking to jump in.

Unfortunately, I still have not gotten my copy of the scenario. Hopefully they will get it to me tonight. So we might not start right away tomorrow. But I am happy to have this much interest.

Okay got he scenario and the subtiers are 1-2 and 4-5. So it looks like it if we split the table both are going to be lower tier. And going a full table of 6 is going to be low tier also.

So I guess it's kinda up to how you guys want to go.

DM, I don't want to be a pain. But one of my PFS "regular" groups just finished a game that I was GMing. Long story short, we did have a person volunteer to run a game now. Would it be OK if I withdrew Talwin to use in that game? It seems like you'd still have at least six for the table.

No pain at all Talwin, I understand. Thank you for your interest and I hope you have a great time gaming.

Okay so that leaves 6 people (3 lvl 3's and 3 lvl 1's). Since it looks like any way we slice it we're going to be lower tier is there any objection to running a full table of 6?

Here is the link to the discussion board. Clara, Kiyan, Ford, if you're still interested feel free to head over there and introduce yourselves.

I will get the gameplay forum up so you can dot it, but due to personal obligations I won't have a full post up until later tomorrow afternoon.

Am I still in there somewhere? I would prefer to go ahead and play a preen to round up or down any of the other groups.

If you are at a full table of 6 though, I will bow out.

Aetherys (3)
Karasau (3)
Sutekh (3)
Sutekh's hypothetical friend (4)
Trox/Ford C. Benett (1)
Clara (1)
Kiyan (1)

I'm counting 7, which is still a legal table. Note that we haven't heard from Sutekh's level 4 friend, who may not be happy with playing low tier.

Since Trox and Ford C. Benett are the same character, I assume he wants to replace his illegal kobold by another character. Ford, you have to read the document I linked earlier to play PFS, since you obviously don't know PFS rules. It's not long (you only need to read the character creation and experience rules), but mandatory.

As for preference, I'd rather have a full table of six at low tier than two shaky split tables where a dropout would badly compromise the mission's success.

I'm ok with the table of six also.

3x3 + 3x1 + 4 = 17; 17/7 = 2.42

3x3 +2x1 + 2x4 = 19; 19/7 =2.71

If people want to play up, I will take a Level 4 Pregen since all but 2 are level 3. Better for the Level 3s, better for the level 1s?

In order to determine which subtier a mixed-level group
of PCs must play in, calculate the group’s average party
level (APL). Divide the total number of character levels by
the number of characters in the party. You should always
round to the nearest whole number.
Starting with Season 4, scenarios are designed for six
characters and contain instructions on how to adjust the
scenario for four-character parties. When the APL of a table
is between two subtiers (like APL 3 for a Tier 1–5 scenario),
a party of four characters must play the lower tier without
any adjustments for party size. A party of five to seven
characters whose APL is between two subtiers must play
the higher tier with the four-character adjustment.
For scenarios written in Seasons 0 to 3, when the APL is
in between subtiers, a party of six or seven characters must
play the higher subtier. Parties with four or five characters
must play the lower subtier. In the fringe case where there
are no players that are high enough to have reached the
subtier level (such as a party of six 3rd level characters), the
group may decide to play down to the lower subtler.

I think that being over 2.5, and having 6-7 in the party means we have to play up if I play a level 4 pregen?

Starting with Season 4, scenarios are designed for six characters and contain instructions on how to adjust the scenario for four-character parties. When the APL of a table is between two subtiers (like APL 3 for a Tier 1–5 scenario), a party of four characters must play the lower tier without any adjustments for party size. A party of five to seven characters whose APL is between two subtiers must play the higher tier with the four-character adjustment.

(...)
I think that being over 2.5, and having 6-7 in the party means we have to play up if I play a level 4 pregen?

I think so, yes.

Actually I heard from Sutkeh, the lvl 4 is actually him. He managed to level up.

So with everyone from the list above we have 2 3's, 1 4, and 3 1's, which leaves us at 2.2 for apl. Unless Clara wanted to play a lvl 4 pregen (i think that's the level) and that would put us at 2.6 that would round to 3. So we could go upper tier with the four-character adjustment.

Great! Which pregen are you going to pick, Clara?

One other thing I heard from Sutkeh, is that he was in an accident recently and is recovering a bit (he says nothing serious, just sore). So he says he probably won't post anything until monday. That gives us some time to figure out the group.

I will wait until I see the group. Probably Kyra or Seoni, depending on where the group needs a gap filled.

Currently we have 2 magi, 1 alchemist, 1 rogue/ranger, 1 fighter. Kyra might be better for this setup since we already have a lot of arcane power.

Kyra it is, though with that many front line fighter types. the bard might not be a bad idea either. Kyra at 4 so people can play up.

You're right, Lem could be great too!

Thinking overnight on it, I will go Lem, final decision. He can cast a little bit of healing, especially if someone can provide him with wands of CLW, and he will have a wide variety of skills that are likely missing, such as Social Skills. In addition, he can provide the Bardic Inspiration buffs.

If yous got room I'z livin in Riddleport.

Brox, I'm currently waiting to hear back from one person. If they don't reply back tomorrow I'm willing to let you in.

If that is acceptable to you.

oh I'm good with it, thanks!

If that was me you were waiting on, I'm still in.
Sorry Brox.