Cottonseed Lodge (PFS2)

Game Master Redelia

Tyranius wrote:

Mini-Announcement

Scenario #2-11 The Pathfinder Trials has been considerably reworked. Before you run this scenario again please redownload it.

So the question is, if we already played it, then how much different will it be? I know it isn't repeatable, but that is besides the point.

Mostly the same.

Where it was updated it is noticeable, but that is all that we can really talk about outside of the spoilered GM threads.

It is different enough in certain areas that if you have played or ran it and had misgivings, I would encourage giving it another try.

But Silbeg is exactly correct--the changes shouldn't be described here.

And it is a repeatable. Just throw together another level 1 PC or play a pregen :)

Hey all quick question here how does XP in pathfinder society 2E work, like what's the xp threshold for levels now?

Hey all quick question here how does XP in pathfinder society 2E work, like what's the xp threshold for levels now?

It's 12 per level with Chronicles and Bounties generally giving out 1, regular adventures giving out 4 and modules giving out...12, I think/assume.

It's 12 per level with Chronicles and Bounties generally giving out 1, regular adventures giving out 4 and modules giving out...12, I think/assume.

Righto, Thanks Ebon. Just picked up 4 from an adventure, gonna be a long while before the outpost one ends i think but that at least lets me know what's up.

Careful with terminology. Adventures mean something specific in PFS(2), usually a Module equivalent and 12 xp.

PFS Scenarios give 4 xp (2 xp for Slow Track).
Quests give 1 xp.
Bounties give 1 xp.

Hello! I am looking into maybe dipping my toes back into a pbp (I used to be pretty active as a GM and a player in pbp 1e). I am thinking of trying out a game of society in 2e and was wondering if there is a fillable standard pbp character sheet like there was in 1e?

Thank you in advance!

Hello! I am looking into maybe dipping my toes back into a pbp (I used to be pretty active as a GM and a player in pbp 1e). I am thinking of trying out a game of society in 2e and was wondering if there is a fillable standard pbp character sheet like there was in 1e?

Thank you in advance!

Yes. Someone will probably link it before I get to a computer. :)

I was wrong.

Here's my version 2: PbP Profile Character Sheet Template

I've got to make version 3 to keep up with the Errata sometime...

There are also BB Code profiles for the pre-generated characters in the PbP GM Kit that you could look at.

Perfect! I will need to start working on making my first qe character and hunting for a good game to join.

Thank you for the link!

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Are the BBcode versions of the pregen characters publicly available?

Are the BBcode versions of the pregen characters publicly available?

Yes.

Look in the PbP GM Kit.

Sweet! Thank you.

Just let us know if you see any errors with the Pregens you are using so we can get them fixed up for everyone. :)

I reposted the link for someone else, so I didn't look at them, but I will audit (to the best of my ability) slowly over the next week or few weeks.

As you can probably tell from my not noticing Elsir's +3 spell attack until mid-scenario ... I'm not exactly an expert at spotting these things.

I also recall some chatter about the Level 5 investigator missing skill increases. I don't know if those were resolved, but they still show up in the pregen set I downloaded a few weeks ago. Should I point out errors in the character like that (mismatches between the rules and the characters), or just mismatches between the PDF character sheet and the BBcode character sheet (since presumably someone official needs to errata a character creation error)?

The PDF and the BBcode.

How about mismatches between the PDF character sheets and proper grammar? :P

Unless Amiri was in Jersey Shore ... "you gains the clumsy 1 condition".

Can fix that.

Out of curiosity, I peeked into Pirate Rob's AV recruitment thread and noted there's quite a bit of interest (I'm not applying, just wanted to see the Cap'n in action). I then kind of noticed that it may be the first AP (or evem Adventure) recruitment I've seen in Cottonseed, or maybe first in a long time.

Are they rare because it's difficult to get GMs to commit for that period of time? Just rare because they only come out twice a year? Usually recruited elsewhere? This one unusually popular because it's newish? The AP recruitment thread doesn't seem to move much and it seems to have the same oversubscription ratio.

Inquiring minds want to know (I'd like to GM an Adventure sometime).

AP recruitment usually happens in the main recruitment forum.

They can be a somewhat rare. There are quite a bit of AP's that start but most are recruited Here or GM's find players that they like and end up working something out through PM's with them.

GM'ing and even playing an AP as a PbP takes a lot of commitment on all ends. Having run through several myself each book on average takes around 6 months with 1-2 posts a day.

You can certainly start one as they are generally Campaign Mode so won't lock in any PFS character. Just keep in mind that a GM on a PbP needs to push more and a little faster than normal to keep the story going or be prepared to post a few recaps.

Hi guys, I have some questions about these lodges (hopefully I'm in the right place to ask). Like, do the Flaxseed and Cottonseed lodges really exists in Golarion? If so, where are they located? I'm trying to get some inspiration to create a new PFS2E character for PbP, and linking it to these lodges would make for a nice start for its background, in my opinion.
Thank you in advance for your answers and time.

EDIT
Ok, I'm a big oaf and didn't noticed that in right in the title of the other thread is stated that the Flaxseed lodge is in Taldor, then I guess the Cottonseed is just part of it. Sorry for bothering you with stupid questions, hopefully the next time I'll write in here would be something smarter.

Huh. I would have guessed Absalom, somewhere either in or near the Grand Lodge, since it's a place for agents to hang out between missions.

Double huh. Never occurred to me that there are Golarion versions of our beloved PbP lodges. Ya learn something every day!

I think the Castamir (Starfinder) lodge is part of Absalom station, but I could be wrong there. Mind you none of these have been officially recognized as actual in game lodges by the campaign as far as I am aware.

A tavern-esk location where Pathfinders likely hang out in Absalom is likely the Wounded Wisp or the Pig's Paunch. It's a lively debate but the evidence for the Wounded Wisp is far stronger.

There is no one Pathfinder hangout. The Wounded Wisp and Pig's Paunch are important, but there is nothing to say that we can't have other clubhouses here and there.

More importantly, Flaxseed, Cottonseed and Castamir's are recognized as real world lodges for all sorts of online Pathfinders and Starfinders. They're our lovely home away from home, a place to discuss things as a community, find adventure and to grow.

A tavern-esk location where Pathfinders likely hang out in Absalom is likely the Wounded Wisp or the Pig's Paunch. It's a lively debate but the evidence for the Wounded Wisp is far stronger.

I thought we just hang out at wherever is closest?

I thought we just hangout in the basement of the person with pizza rolls.

I thought we just hangout in the basement of the person with pizza rolls.

No no, that’s just what we do in real life.

What PFS2 things can be run in Campaign Mode? I'm pretty sure APs and Sundered Waves are but is there anything else I'm missing?

If there is a list somewhere, I'd love a link.

I believe the standalone adventures (what used to be called modules) are campaign mode. You'd need to check the sanctioning documents for each one to be sure, because the rules can vary a bit. If my memory is correct, the Free RPG Day kobold module was also campaign mode.

Beginner's Box, but it's a special kind of Campaign Mode.

Speaking of the Beginner's Box (Menace Under Otari), you can only play using a BB pregen or using the BB's character creation guidelines, and not a normal PFS pregen or any character built by PFS rules, correct?

Speaking of the Beginner's Box (Menace Under Otari), you can only play using a BB pregen or using the BB's character creation guidelines, and not a normal PFS pregen or any character built by PFS rules, correct?

Correct.

I believe the standalone adventures (what used to be called modules) are campaign mode. You'd need to check the sanctioning documents for each one to be sure, because the rules can vary a bit. If my memory is correct, the Free RPG Day kobold module was also campaign mode.

Thank you, that helped me find what I wanted.

Good news, everyone! Tech has just finished the major coderoll you’ve been waiting on for a bit to fix some of our outstanding issues with AcP and the reporting system. It contains the following updates:

That is wonderful news. I hope this means that we get Starfinder ACP with PaizoCon.

What are "Chronicle Codes"? Are those the "Herolab Codes" on the top right of Chronicles?

What are "Chronicle Codes"? Are those the "Herolab Codes" on the top right of Chronicles?

Indeed, those chronicle codes

Announcement

All Paizo PDF's are 25% off through May 2nd.

Announcement

All Paizo PDF's are 25% off through May 2nd.

Except Sundered Waves. :(

From Recruitment-- Re: Massive Damage

@GM's, one thing that you may not be aware of is that RAW, on a crit you can either double the damage or double the dice. It is just suggested that doubling the damage might speed things up but there is little discussion past that.

One thing I think is important, especially at low levels, is that when you double the damage you are more likely to do minimum or maximum damage. And in some scenarios, maximum damage can mean Massive Damage to a lvl 1 PC or even Lvl 2-3 PC's with a low HP ancestry and/or class. Instead, if you double the dice on a crit, you will be less likely to roll minimum or maximum damage and tend to do closer to the average. This generally favors the PC's from a Massive Damage perspective.

For example let's say you have a monster dealing 1d12+7 damage. Minimum damage on a crit would be 16, and maximum would be 38. If you double the damage you have an 8.33% of doing minimum or maximum damage. You also have an 8.3% to do average damage of 27. Contrast that to doubling the dice. Now the same amount of minimum and maximum damage is 0.69%. And doing average damage 27 still is around 8.3%. If you're a visual learner here are the graphs for this example. If you're reading this 6+ months later and the link is gone then it was using anydice.com to show the output probability

Of course there are other considerations-- doubling the damage dice makes it less common for players to have a max damage crit. It also makes it less common for them to have a minimum damage crit though. And other things too. So I'm not saying there's a right or wrong way to handle it-- I just personally prefer doubling the dice in my games and it has helped prevent massive damage a few times so I thought I'd share.

I agree with this statement, especially for a low-dice game like 2E. It makes far more sense to roll double dice in PF2 than it does in, say, Starfinder, where you're rolling an exorbitant number of dice at higher levels and doubling the result would be a lot less math. And a creature being able to do Massive Damage on an random crit at 1st or even 2nd level is heckin' frustrating for players. I was actually not aware that it was GM discretion. I will bear it in mind for my home games (I'm not a PFS GM, too intimidating for some reason).

My practice--after killing with massive damage a couple of times--has been to change to rolled crits for my scenarios with level 1s participating.

The GM might allow you to roll the dice twice and double the modifiers, bonuses, and penalties instead of doubling the entire result

It may be that some GMs aren't aware they can do this. PF1 was fairly restrictive in allowing GMs to do optional things (the blanket "no" on things requiring GM permission). So it may be that some GMs are under the impression that they are not allowed to roll double dice in PFS.

In a devil's advocate view, doubling the damage is more streamlined. Also it establishes consistency with spell damage being doubled on crits and crit fails. Also, when playing in person, it reduces the time taken to count up the dice. Crits are more prevalent in 2e than 1e, so a more streamlined system really appeals to me. To be fair, I am not a player that enjoys rolling a handful of dice for the sake of rolling a handful of dice. That appeals to some people. I would also point out the value of maintaining consistency between tables. While it is the GMs prerogative, inconsistency can confuse newer players. So, I encourage being mindful of that.

All of that said, GMs, it is your table, it is your choice. It always has been and always will be.

Does the option remain the same at all times, or can you flip back and forth? I’ve seen some GM’s play where the player rolls and the GM doubles, (fudging results as necessary) and Vice verse.

Personally, I'd remain consistent between GM and player rolls. If the players roll one way, the GM should roll the same. It helps maintain a sense of consistency to the world and fairness to the system if the GM is beholden to the same rules as the players.