Cottonseed Lodge (PFS2)

Game Master Redelia

I would like to learn more about GMing PbP. Mainly about slides. Is there a tutorial somewhere about how to use slides, downloading & entering maps into slides, etc...?

Another thing on my to do list that just keeps slipping away...

I would like to learn more about GMing PbP. Mainly about slides. Is there a tutorial somewhere about how to use slides, downloading & entering maps into slides, etc...?

Do you know how to use Microsoft Powerpoint? It's very similar.

The Paizo PDFs can generally be cut-and-paste. The one-piece maps can just be cut and paste in. The flip-tile maps are bewilderingly piece-wise, so you'll need to cut and paste each piece in individually. Resizing things is drag-and-drop.

The only real tricky part is that you have to make your slides shareable.

The easiest way is to just create a dummy presentation. Pretend you're GMing a repeatable. Go to slides.google.com, create a new slideshow, and then build a slide deck. If you can figure out how to share it, you can ask people for help.

This tutorial from the GM Kit over on flaxseed might help a bit.

There is a GM school for PbP planned for as soon as we can breathe. Everything exploded just as it was going to start.

Ooooh! A GM school for PbP? Awesome!!! Will be chillin' by my firepit tonight researching & learning the slide tutorials & stuff.

Thanks a ton, everyone!

Btw, I'm kicking myself in the butt for not getting into PbP years ago. It is pretty overwhelming litlearning the ropes, at first, but once I started my first one, it's been a lot less daunting. Plus, you all are very helpful, kind, & patient instructors.

Ooooh! A GM school for PbP? Awesome!!! Will be chillin' by my firepit tonight researching & learning the slide tutorials & stuff.

Thanks a ton, everyone!

Btw, I'm kicking myself in the butt for not getting into PbP years ago. It is pretty overwhelming litlearning the ropes, at first, but once I started my first one, it's been a lot less daunting. Plus, you all are very helpful, kind, & patient instructors.

*learning

Stupid question... How do I report my PbP games?

Stupid question... How do I report my PbP games?

Is this for an Outpost III game or an independently run game?

Independent

Independent

Stupid question... How do I report my PbP games?

Assuming you don't have an event created? You can create one event to report all of you games to. For example I made one call GM Tyranius PbP.

1. Hover over the Organized Play in the black bar at the top of the screen.
2. Click on My Organized Play
3. Sign in
4. On the blue bar click on create an event
5. Create your event name
6. Next go back to My Organized Play and click on the GM/Event Coordinator Event tab.
7. Find your event. The number on the left is your event #. All the way to the right is a report button. That is where you can report the game information.

Ah okay. I didn't known if there was some big existing PbP event

Ah okay. I didn't known if there was some big existing PbP event

There is an Online Support Program (OSP) with its own event number but it only covers PFS 1E and SFS games.

I still have playtest points... is there a way to redeem them? Or a current list of things that can be purchased.

I saw the blog post a year ago that listed a few, but said there would be around a dozen in total, and you'd access them from the "my organised play" tab... but currently that only has PFS2 achievement points.

They are supposed to be putting back the Playtest points purchases at some point. I have enough to lift one character to Level 3 and one to Level 2, but I haven't used that yet, because I am trying to learn the system from the ground up as it were.

Likewise... I seem to recall there were some other interesting boons that didn't revolve around xp. Oh well, at least it wasn't a case of "limited time, missed out".

Help me understand something.
Quests have a table chart. They say if you find 4 treasure bundles you get 16 GP. Yet I see nowhere in the quests itself when you find a treasure bundle, only that you find these items.
But regular scenarios which give you 4 XP say if you find 4 treasure bundles you get 6.4 GP. What?

You might want to name a specific instance of each..
And remember, how much is in a bundle depends on your level.

Mosquito witch - 10 treasure bundles (level one 1.4gp each, 14GP total)

I think maybe you are confusing the teasure table in the appendix. It lists the character level and gp/bundle, not the total GP for that number of bundles.

@DoubleGold:

For the table in quests, it is telling you what you get depending upon your *level*, not what you get per treasure bundle.

(As far as I am aware, usually treasure bundles don't exist in Quests.)

For Quests, you get wealth equivalent to 2.5 treasure bundles (which is on track with what you get per XP point in a scenario).

@Doublegold- Luke Parry has it correct. The chart at the end of the quest will tell you what the player will earn by level. This makes it a little easier. No math! YAY!

Oh, gotcha misread it.

Is it allowed to report PbP games on platforms other than the ones in the official lodge? Specifically Role Gate? Can I recruit players for those games on here?

Sure, you can do home games too. I think you can't report using the online event for regional support unless there is a venture agent associated with the site though. So you would need your own event code (which are easy to get).

Yes, you can create your own event and play anywhere you wish. Games ran through an Online Con Event or the OSP must be ran through one of the official online Lodges though.

Well, I've played my first PbP and it was...interesting. For me the pace was excruciatingly slow, some of the people fell to the wayside while playing, so roleplaying was next to nothing. The lack of immediate feedback doesn't help with roleplaying either. I don't know that I'll ever do it again, but I'm glad I did it at least once.

As far as pace is concerned you might prefer play by discord.

As for the rest it sounds like you got a little unlucky, though what you're describing is not unheard of. I suggest giving it another shot or two

The PbP pace is slow, yes, and the lack of immediate feedback can be a bummer, yes. But two pluses:

1. You don't have to repeat things. If Acalanes took Brighettius to Camelot to put the Dorian Diamond in the Everlife Vessel (and each of those has a paragraph of description), you don't need to furiously write it down, or stammer when you get to the city gates and say, "We're looking for ... for ... the A-guy."

2. You can engage in more complex roleplay. Hints can be dropped more subtlely - did the end boss and the guy you sent you on the mission both use the same vocabulary? Are they linked? You can also look stuff up - you're traveling from Absalom to Druma, do you pass through the Chitterwood Forest? What's the difference between French laundry and regular laundry? (See what I did there?)

It's not for everyone all the time, but it certainly helps if you take advantage of the advantages, or cherry pick the best ones to do on PbP.

I just started a run of 1-18 on PbP. It's a great scenario that I played on VTT but was complex (20 NPCs!) and long (5.5 hours). The PbP format is hopefully going to be even better than the live format. On the flip side, I finished a run of 1-14 on PbP, and decided not to do a second run because I think I will run that more when F2F games open up or on VTT - it's a combat heavy, linear scenario.

I played the first scenario, 1-01, and a couple of the players (and occasionally the GM) seemed rather uninterested. Me an another player tried to carry it, but by the end I was exhausted, frustrated with the pace, lack of participation and lack of roleplay when they did chime in. At the end I was just doing one sentence posts to try and end it.

I played the first scenario, 1-01, and a couple of the players (and occasionally the GM) seemed rather uninterested. Me an another player tried to carry it, but by the end I was exhausted, frustrated with the pace, lack of participation and lack of roleplay when they did chime in. At the end I was just doing one sentence posts to try and end it.

I don't know what your pacing expectations were--1-2 posts a day from each player and GM is the "norm," although it often varies as schedules misalign.

I've been doing this for about 6 years, and I have played on tables like you describe. But most of the tables have *not* been as you describe. I suggest you give it another go; especially if you can hop on a game with a top tier GM like Hmm or even Numbat, Aerondor, etc.

The problem with repeatable scenarios is that some people grind through them solely for the experience points. They've played it so much they can't participate in tough decisions, and as a result they often don't pay that much attention.

From experimentation, I (personally) can only go through a scenario 3 times before getting bored. So I can play once and GM twice or play twice and GM once. I played 1-01 three times and decided not to GM at all.

I suspect if I played any more (or GMed), I would be pretty bored ... and likely boring as a result. The down side is that I have fewer characters played than created (I have 6 in a text file on my computer, and only 3 with nonzero experience on Paizo.com), but I just did what I thought was best for me.

If you want, Thomas Keller, I'll reserve a spot for you in my next non-repeatable (probably 2 weeks?). I can't promise it will meet your expectations, but I can promise that I'll avoid the things I complain about.

---

1 post per player per day is pretty standard. 2 posts per player per day is pretty fast and uncomfortably fast for many. I tried running some "fast" games at 1.5 posts/day and I think that was about my limit. Most players settle comfortably with 1/day so if you want any more than that, it should be stated up front during recruitment.

Me an another player tried to carry it, but by the end I was exhausted, frustrated with the pace, lack of participation and lack of roleplay when they did chime in. At the end I was just doing one sentence posts to try and end it.

First and most importantly, PbP for at is not to everyone’s taste, and it is completely OK to not like it.

There is as much variation in perceived quality among PbP GMs as there is in F2F GMs. Quality varies within individual GM performance, too. People have bad days/weeks/months or are struck by creative block. F2F needs to be “on” for 5 hours. PbP needs to be “on” for 6 weeks. Some days, the GM just can’t bear to be “on.” Personalities and styles may not mesh between GMs of any format as well.

However, the last page, at least, of your game does not match your specific critique and your GM is one who is reliably solid, so I’m not sure how best to guide you in further examining PbP as a format. Discord PbP and VTT are certainly pandemic friendly alternatives to this format.

Awww shucks.

That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me today.

It is worth noting that different GMs have different styles. My GM style tends to the whimsical. That works for me, but not for creepy horror type scenarios. Those I find much tougher to manage as my urge to put light hearted interjections into the narrative can break the mood.

That said... it is good to try a variety of GMs, they all have strengths and weaknesses. None of us are perfect, and especially with a relatively new system such as PF2, there is a wonderful opportunity for new people to step up. The embedded game-system knowledge that a lot of the high star GMs have is rendered irrelevant, or even counter-productive in the brave new world.

Agree completely with what everyone else has already said. I would give a couple different GM's and different scenarios a try. Sometimes it may be the GM and other times it may just be the way a scenario falls out in a PbP element.

While slow PbP is a lot of folk's way to keep playing the game they wouldn't normally get to play due to any number of reasons. You may find a GM that you mesh well with and stick with them.

@Thomas Keller, please do give it another try. I am sorry it was not enjoyable and agree that the pace did drag some at times.

Unfortunately, when I first offered the game, I was thinking a nice friendly introduction with a known player (who ended up at another table), yourself, and maybe 2-4 others. Instead, we ended up with 12 players, 3 GMs and a full school of introduction before play.

Non-gaming life affected not only myself, as GM, but at least one of the players at our table. Plus I was heavily involved in preparing for PaizoCon Online. It isn't always like that.

There are GMs who run a fast game and may be more suited to your style.

That said, on average my games takes about 35 days. Some systems run slightly faster than others.

When I ran that scenario it was brand new rules for me and everyone else, so we took a while doing it. Which was fine.

My gut feeling is that PFS2 scenarios are running a little faster than PFS1 did, but towards the end of when new PFS1 scenarios were coming out, there was probably a lot of system creep that ended up slowing things down a bit.

Please ignore my posts. I wasn't trying to call people out and I had no idea people could or would go back into my campaign, because it's not on my campaign page any more. I would never wanted to hurt anyone, so please just ignore my posts.

@Thomas Keller I don't think any offense was taken or at least I hope not. PBP may not be for you, but those of us who do PBP know why we started playing in this format and what it continues to do for us. We only hope that you too will enjoy it as we do.
We- all of us- only want to increase the hobby that we love and want you to be an active part of that. To that end, we hope you'll not let one experience not to your liking keep you from continuing to try this format of gaming, even if not with those same folk or on a different site. If these times have highlighted anything, it's that we are all in this together.

Definitely no offence from my side of things.

I think Dax Thura expressed it well.

I started Organized Play with face-to-face games and plan to return to enjoying that format when safe to do so.

I then added play-by-post and was already starting to experiment with virtual-table-top when it became the necessary norm for "live" games. In all of them, I have met GMs and players that I really click with and thoroughly enjoy. I sometimes actively seek out games with those people. I have met some whose style does not fit well with mine and I will choose carefully if I want to spend my gaming time and energy for what will not be, for me, the best experience. And I have met a rare few who I prefer not to game with at all.

Not surprising in a community of our size there is a wide variety of styles and abilities. In general, I see this as a strength. I am also very aware that sometimes styles and attitudes of players and GMs change over time, so I remain willing to re-evaluate later, even when I may have decided someone's current style is not for me.

There's also a practical level to all of this.

Some people live in places without F2F games. Or they don't have broadband and can't play VTT. Their bar for PbP will be different than someone who lives within driving distance to multiple F2F games or has a T1 line hooked up to their brain implants.

Some may not speak English as a first language and appreciate the ability to translate posts. Or they're hearing impaired and F2F/VTT is just impossible.

Some people play with GMs they can barely stand because they feel bad Pathfinder is better than no Pathfinder. Some people only play with their absolute favorite GMs because they don't mind not playing. Or they have a regular DDAL game they'll happily play unless their friend is at the PFS table.

PbP is one option among many. Good luck whatever you choose.

My offer is genuine and still stands.

Once a campaign is finished, it goes to "previous campaigns" at the bottom of your campaign page

A good point that was brought up is how some scenarios may be better or worse off as play-by-post. The scenario in question definitely ends up being a bit worse off in play-by-post IMO. There's a lot of exploring and I've seen it run so fast that PC's dislike it because they didn't really feel like they did the exploring themselves. And OTOH there's so much exploring that it can drag on depending on the circumstances.

If you're willing, I'd encourage giving play-by-post another shot. I personally started play-by-post 3 years ago because my schedule didn't allow me to sit down with my local group. I've also learned that it's a great way for me to push myself. I have more time to think, I can roleplay more, etc. That's just what I get out of it. Everyone gets different things out of it so think about what you hope to get out of play-by-post and it's OK if you've decided it's not for you.

@Thomas Keller - I had to go back and double check you weren't playing in the same game as I did... having just finished 1-01, I unfortunately also disliked it. Having run 1-06, I think the scenario itself is the problem here - the ones which are not just 4 quests in a trenchcoat flow much better.

Age of Ashes AP has just now been sanctioned for credit! It works much like Fall of Plaguestone. Can be applied on any level character for 1 level of experience and appropriate gold for that level.

Chronicle Link

Blog Link

Also ConCurrent starts tomorrow. hope to see a lot of you there around the tables. Also don't forget that GenCon Online is right around the corner.

Concurrent Blog Post

Age of Ashes AP has just now been sanctioned for credit! It works much like Fall of Plaguestone. Can be applied on any level character for 1 level of experience and appropriate gold for that level.

Chronicle Link

Blog Link

Actually, looking at the chronicle sheets, it's different. Each book is a separate chronicle sheet. Which is exciting.

Hmm

Yup each book is a separate chronicle sheet. What I meant was that there is a big difference between PFS1E and these as in there is no level range on the chronicles. Each chronicle can be applied to any level character that you wish similar in fashion to Fall of Plaguestone.

My level 4 fighter is looking for his next scenario. I'm interested in doing Grehunde's Gorget and then Tarnbreaker's Trail, but before I commit to that I am curious if there are any other PF2 scenarios that are related to each other. Does anyone know a resource that lists them, or have a list of their own?

My level 4 fighter is looking for his next scenario. I'm interested in doing Grehunde's Gorget and then Tarnbreaker's Trail, but before I commit to that I am curious if there are any other PF2 scenarios that are related to each other. Does anyone know a resource that lists them, or have a list of their own?

There isn't a list that I know of. But here's about the most that can be shared without spoilers

1-16 and 1-17. Perennial Crown parts 1 and 2 (tier 3-6) I HIGHLY recommend playing them in order

1-09 Star-Crossed Voyages (tier 1-4) and 1-23 Star-Crossed Court (tier 3-6). I'm going by name alone here, as I haven't ran or played 1-23 yet (and probably would be spoilers going on other info).

Past that there's just the meta plot scenarios which don't have to necessarily be played in order or even on the same character. Season 1 meta plot scenarios:
1-00 Origin of the Open Road (tier 5, pregens only)
1-08 Revolution on the Riverside (tier 1-4)
1-11 Flames of the Rebellion (tier 1-4)
1-16, 1-17 Perennial Crown Parts 1 and 2 (tier 3-6, these are also metaplot scenarios but again i recommend those being played in order, on same character)
1-20 The Lost Legend (tier 3-6)

Quest #4 Port Peril Pub Crawl just tied into another full Scenario recently I believe. Will have to do some digging again to remember which one but will let you know once I find it again.

1-20 - I just played it.