Cottonseed PFS PbP (2E)

Game Master Redelia

Hi, PbP friends, and welcome.

We are a part of the Flaxseed Pathfinder Lodge.

Cottonseed is intended to be a place where we can try out the new rules during the playtest period. When the playtest rules have been released, I will create a recruitment thread and we can get some games going. Until then, we have this discussion thread in which we can talk, especially about any announcements about the playtest that impact our Play-by-Post community.

Great idea, Redelia.

This is a space that I think we'll all need for some time to come as we make sense of the coming changes.

Hmm

Thanks, Redelia, great idea.

If you build it, They will come.

I'm very excited to see where this playtest goes. I came relatively late to Pathfinder itself (in my mind) and didn't get to be part of the original Beta playtest or anything, but I have been part of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game's playtesting from day one, which has been a wild and amazing ride. I'm excited to be part of a playtest group for a new RPG edition from my favorite gaming company on Earth!

Here are a few important links:

Playtest main page

Blog post announcing second edition

FAQs about the playtest

Forums for the playtest

Those need to go in the short campaign description, along with a link back to Flaxseed.

Hmm

Thanks for adding this thread.

Hellooooo~

I think the MOST important thing looking forwards is to realize is that the new edition is a thing that needs to be built for endurance as well as flexibility.

It can't be one of these things where in our short-sighted 'playing today' mode we come up with a whole bunch of 'hot-fixes' for things that we'll then be tearing apart ten years from now because they don't work with future additions -- and it can't be so restrictive as to prevent growth.

A challenging and daunting task lies before us, and hopefully we can maintain courtesy, dignity and respect for one another while moving fowards in our Exploration, Cooperation, and Reporting on such matters.

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW COTTONSEED! DON'T YOU DARE BE SOUR! CLAP FOR YOUR WORLD FAMOUS NO STAR GMS, AND FEEL THE POWAAAAAAAAAA!

I'm in, let's do this thing

Willing to give it a try.....

Pros:

• Goblins
• Alchemists
• Simple, streamlined gameplay
• Combat maneuvers
• Wayne Reynolds

Cons: I dunno, goblins and alchemists? Depends on who you ask.

All in all, looks interesting and has promise. Let's see where it takes us!

I was trying to interpret one of the clarifications. Would race boons be able to transfer over...if that is the case I may have to hang on to the ones I have until the play test is over. Definitely will not be creating anymore until then...

I'm hoping for the Tien Xia races to make some of the cut and some of the 'traditional' races to be rotated out (perhaps not as wholesale as Starfinder).

GRIPPLI!!!

I am certainly willing to give it my best when it comes to the 2e. I will actually have a good talk with my players tonight during my Society Night. Any good VO should am I right :)

As I have done before for the PbP Community I too will continue through with 2e and assist with producing Slide Decks for ease of use, I have added a section to my Need a MAP link. I will also offer my assistance in running games and all around looking to have fun ^.^

Here's to a new adventure.

Cheers!

Someone moved my cheese! I've been through enough changes at workplace etc to know that despite how it looks at the time, some of these things are for the better.

As such, I am reserving judgement until I see how the 2e rules will work out and if I prefer it to what we have today.

I am game to run or play something in Playtest when we get that far along!

Yep, I think there is some responsibility for VA's to communicate with their players about the upcoming changes. :)

Just dotting in to hear the discussion as we get closer to playtest release. :)

Hey everyone. I'll be diving pretty deep into this play test. I was really active in the 1e playtest, and I found it to be rewarding in the extreme. There's a REALLY good reason Pathfinder first edition had twice the longevity of most other games in the family tree. It's people like you guys who gave feedback after practicum (as opposed to theorycrafted) play testing that built the base of the game.

So far everything has been awesome that I've seen (well, except goblins because I'm a serious grognard, which I know is oxymoronic in a playtester.) I'm exited for another round of this!

Hey everyone. I'll be diving pretty deep into this play test. I was really active in the 1e playtest, and I found it to be rewarding in the extreme. There's a REALLY good reason Pathfinder first edition had twice the longevity of most other games in the family tree. It's people like you guys who gave feedback after practicum (as opposed to theorycrafted) play testing that built the base of the game.

So far everything has been awesome that I've seen (well, except goblins because I'm a serious grognard, which I know is oxymoronic in a playtester.) I'm exited for another round of this!

If this is the approach the playtest takes then I have very little hope for it at all. Many of the issues we have experienced over the last ten years can be traced back fairly directly to ignoring theorycraft feedback in favour of how things "feel".

It's a very blinkered approach.

Greetings and salutations.

Chris Marsh wrote:

Hey everyone. I'll be diving pretty deep into this play test. I was really active in the 1e playtest, and I found it to be rewarding in the extreme. There's a REALLY good reason Pathfinder first edition had twice the longevity of most other games in the family tree. It's people like you guys who gave feedback after practicum (as opposed to theorycrafted) play testing that built the base of the game.

So far everything has been awesome that I've seen (well, except goblins because I'm a serious grognard, which I know is oxymoronic in a playtester.) I'm exited for another round of this!

If this is the approach the playtest takes then I have very little hope for it at all. Many of the issues we have experienced over the last ten years can be traced back fairly directly to ignoring theorycraft feedback in favour of how things "feel".

It's a very blinkered approach.

I'm not at all worried. The playtest that gave us Pathfinder for 10 years produced the most stable and longest serving edition since 1974. Don't get me wrong, I started many, many editions ago, and love older games, but this is definitely a reason to be excited.

Looking forward to testing the new system.

Pros:

• Goblins
• Alchemists
• Simple, streamlined gameplay
• Combat maneuvers
• Wayne Reynolds

Cons: I dunno, goblins and alchemists? Depends on who you ask.

All in all, looks interesting and has promise. Let's see where it takes us!

This means I need to make my Goblin Alchemist and name him ProPro doesn't it?

As scared as I am about it I am going to dive into the Playtest as well. It will be an adventure and I can come in on the ground floor unlike 1e where I came in later.

Oh, oh, can you call him ProPro Pane, and get two or three jokes out of it?

I have some doubts about the rules as they have announced them, but

1. Paizo has earned a great deal of my goodwill. That includes giving them a chance, and giving what they are offering a real try

2. I would gladly play an only-OK game to be part of the community I've found here.

So, we will all take a look at the new rules together when they put out the playtest documents.

A new blog

I would be interested to hear from people who have used some of the alternate systems in Pathfinder Unchained or Starfinder that seem to be incorporated into what little we have heard about 2E so far. The new action economy, automatic bonus progression, skill groups? Even (shudder, hoping I’m wrong) Limited Magic? The new monster/NPC building rules?

Thanks for setting this up, Redelia.

I have some doubts about the rules as they have announced them, but

1. Paizo has earned a great deal of my goodwill. That includes giving them a chance, and giving what they are offering a real try

2. I would gladly play an only-OK game to be part of the community I've found here.

So, we will all take a look at the new rules together when they put out the playtest documents.

With you on all counts!

If you haven't already done so, go check out the Glass Cannon podcast's preview of 2E. Gives a great look at some of the key differences we'll have coming our way.

They said ten levels of spells, so I don't think limited magic is what they are thinking.

I'm curious whether they'll stick to old yardsticks like both fireball and lightning bolt being third level or whether there'll be some reassignment of levels now that there is less need to be backwards compatible to 3.5e?

I don't want them to jettison 3.5, just to do some more free thinking. I liked the idea of unchained, just not all of the implementation. I loved the rebalancing of classes (and in my games you can only play the Unchained versions of barbarian and rogue.)

I'm eager to see where their priorities are. Like many other people, I'm skeptical about the skill system and monster/NPC build systems. But I'm very eager to playtest this sucker and see whether I like it!

I would be interested to hear from people who have used some of the alternate systems in Pathfinder Unchained or Starfinder that seem to be incorporated into what little we have heard about 2E so far. The new action economy, automatic bonus progression, skill groups? Even (shudder, hoping I’m wrong) Limited Magic? The new monster/NPC building rules?

I used the Unchained Action Economy and Automatic Bonus Progression in my home RotRL game and I thought they were both awesome!

The monster-building rules in Unchained seem pretty sweet as well, though I never used them.

They said ten levels of spells, so I don't think limited magic is what they are thinking.

As I read it, the Limited Magic system in Pathfinder Unchained doesn’t have anything to do with how many levels of spells there are. Instead, it limits spell effects so that all spells are cast at the minimum necessary caster level and as though the caster had the minimum necessary casting stat. A wizard’s Fireball, for example, would do 5d6 of damage, with a Reflex save for half at DC = 10 + 1 + 3 = 14, regardless of whether the wizard casting it is 5th level, 10th, or 20th. That sounds like what is described in this FAQ:

Does the new version of Pathfinder find a better balance between spellcasters and martial characters?

We certainly hope so. Many of the changes made to the game attempt to address this issue by adding versatility and power to martial characters. At the same time, spells have been redesigned to ensure that they are of the right power when first acquired, but diminish in utility over time, giving spellcasters the tools they need to contribute, while giving other characters a chance to shine with their abilities. Ultimately, we need you to tell us how well we have solved this issue. That is what playtesting is all about!

(Emphasis mine.)

I used the Unchained Action Economy and Automatic Bonus Progression in my home RotRL game and I thought they were both awesome!

The monster-building rules in Unchained seem pretty sweet as well, though I never used them.

@caps - What did you like about them? Did the Unchained action economy make combats go faster? Was it easier to run? How did you players take the lower wealth by level that comes with automatic bonus progression? Did they think it was a fair trade?

Hi all,

My position is that a new edition is needed to solve the issues that first edition is having. I am looking forward to the playtest rules.

and bookmarking this. still need to convince my lurking, chicken butt to try out Flaxseed Pathfinder Lodge.

i'm in for the playtest...i wouldn't mind being a guinea pig

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo! A new Lodge? Why that is FANTASTIC!

Let's see how the new set of rules pan out.

caps wrote:

I used the Unchained Action Economy and Automatic Bonus Progression in my home RotRL game and I thought they were both awesome!

The monster-building rules in Unchained seem pretty sweet as well, though I never used them.

@caps - What did you like about them? Did the Unchained action economy make combats go faster? Was it easier to run? How did you players take the lower wealth by level that comes with automatic bonus progression? Did they think it was a fair trade?

Combats did go faster, but I also ran combats PbP style, i.e. "Valik, Quiella, and Mel are up. Who is ready to give me three actions." With a sense of urgency this speeds things up a lot, as the first player that knows what they want to do can go while the more indecisive players can think it over. Hard for me to separate that factor from the Unchained action economy factor. Combats did go faster in that the characters could often do more damage once they got into position if their accuracy was high enough.

Most of the players were newer to Pathfinder-style RPGs, so I don't know if they had a comparison point regarding Wealth-by-Level. Those that did have prior experience seemed to like it.

Interesting statement by the OPC about the future of PFS using Pathfinder First Edition Rules

and bookmarking this. still need to convince my lurking, chicken butt to try out Flaxseed Pathfinder Lodge.

What's holding you back now? We want you to try us out! Come, join our lodge!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo! A new Lodge? Why that is FANTASTIC!

By any chance, were you swinging from a vine as you typed that?

Hmm

GM Upaynao wrote:

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo! A new Lodge? Why that is FANTASTIC!

By any chance, were you swinging from a vine as you typed that?

Hmm

Would that be some sort of Vanara, Sharkblooded Skinwalker halfbreed?

New Stars, New Lodge!

If they do as much as they did with Pathfinder Beta to 1E, I should be fine. I expect much discussion and change from the published playtest to the final

A few thoughts.

I liked the idea of the Unchained action economy. I wanted to try it.

I like the Unchained NPC/Monster rules. It feels a little wonky at level 1-2 in Starfinder, but for the most part it seems to play out fine. Yes the Mobs have much higher to-hit bonuses, but I have yet to have anyone die in SFS.

I am a little mifted about restarting stars again.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo! A new Lodge? Why that is FANTASTIC!

Don't worry, I have speak with Dead from Ultima Online.

Here is a 2-hour long interview about the new edition. It contains many interesting details, and also some of the thinking behind their decision.

I just want to know when I can get my hands on a copy of the rules so I can begin getting down to business :p

I just want to know when I can get my hands on a copy of the rules so I can begin getting down to business :p

The Pathfinder Playtest officially launches on August 2, 2018!

http://paizo.com/pathfinderplaytest

(Hoping for some backdoor 5star/VC early access this time)