Cottonseed Lodge (PFS2)

Game Master Redelia

Watery Soup wrote:

GM Redelia wrote:

It would be dishonest and manipulative to pretend this in optional until someone decides not to do it. That's also one of the easiest ways to generate a lot of ill will. One of the worst feelings in the world is when someone asks you to do something in a way that makes it feel optional, you choose not to do it, and then they tell you it's actually required. I'm not going to do that to this community; I have too much respect to everyone here to play such games.

I do agree that there are times where just bringing down the hammer up front makes it easier. For example, telling people that filing taxes is required. Or, telling people that safety glasses are required. Times when there are serious consequences for not doing something.

GMing a game is not one of those. The barrier for entry is high and the barrier for walking away is low.

This lodge is part of Paizo Organized Play. In order to GM inPaizo Organized Play, adherence to certain rules is required. To GM in this lodge, adherence to our rule to use one of the two approved methods to let us know about the game is required.

I've tried to put this more nicely, but evidently that has led you to believe this is optional. We really hope to not have to do this, and are not looking for people who break the rules, but if we become aware that a GM refuses to adhere to the rule even after we remind them, that GM will not be permitted to GM from this lodge anymore. That is why I have been saying that this is a requirement, not just something a GM should do.

fwiw i dont think anyone here is arguing that the data tracking form is optional. watery soup seems to think you attract more flies with honey than vinegar (i agree); and i am saying since it is a separate step it cant be guaranteed to be done (i.e. forgotten).

Regardless, I don't see any reason to keep the data tracking form around for all the reasons I listed above. Im aware some GMs like myself have personal events with several hundred sessions but if I have a choice between giving bonus AcP to players or reporting under my own event, the choice is pretty clear to me.

I hope PbP leadership reconsiders their stance as it seems to be against everyone's best interest and to the detriment of reporting numbers which, ironically, is what the whole data tracking form was to solve. GM's will forget the data tracking form, unintentionally, regardless of how it is framed. Whereas streamlining to just the shared event system would solve the original data issue while benefiting everyone involved. Such as, GM's would continue to be able to report games as they do today (just under a shared event), and the entire table gets bonus AcP.

REMINDER TO OUTPOST VIII GMS

For those GMs wanting scenario support for their Outpost VIII games, please note you need to register by Monday, Feb 3.

Registration information can be found at this link.

bumping to new page

Regardless, I don't see any reason to keep the data tracking form around for all the reasons I listed above. Im aware some GMs like...

The freedom of our GMs to use their own event is precious, and an important part of our community culture, so I absolutely will continue to protect that freedom. If an individual GM chooses the shared event, that is certainly a reasonable choice, but GMs will not be pushed towards that.

I think I found one for Cottonseed and have submitted it. Is it possible to find out what has been submitted and how far back do I need to go. The one I found was January 2023. All others since have been logged against Castemir (Starfinder 1e).

I think I found one for Cottonseed and have submitted it. Is it possible to find out what has been submitted and how far back do I need to go. The one I found was January 2023. All others since have been logged against Castemir (Starfinder 1e).

Send me (or one of the other forum VOs) a private message, and we'd be happy to look over the logs for you.

fwiw i dont think anyone here is arguing that the data tracking form is optional. watery soup seems to think you attract more flies with honey than vinegar

That is exactly it.

Lysle offered for people to be Reporters for a new shared event, and I gladly accepted. It sounds a great system, I asked my clarifying questions to make sure I'm not misunderstanding anything, and I even volunteered to help report games for non-reporter GMs (I wish someone had helped me with it when I first started GMing).

Now, as a Reporter, I don't need the Event Number, because it shows up in my Org Play screen. But, understanding that others might have a hard time finding the number three months in the future, I suggested that the number be posted in some visible place - not for me, for someone else.

Because that's simply how things work when there's social currency available. For the most part, this Lodge is awash in it. In part, it's because many of the VOs are also both players and GMs, which is pretty awesome.

If Lysle, Redeux, Hmm, Tyranius, or EbonFist, or any other past or present VOs that I've forgotten (sorry!) that I've established some social currency with for asks a favor, I'll probably do it - even if it's not required.

Edit: Forgot my local PC-GM-VO-combos that PbP on occasion - Dennis, James, Rob, Doug, Kate (?). I forget whether Conrad PbPs, but if you're lurking here, you too. If you guys need me to do something, try asking first.

Edit x2: Rainzax! You're a VO, too, aren't you?

Edit x2: Rainzax! You're a VO, too, aren't you?

New folks in my area recently stepped up, so I have stepped down for now. If the need arises again…

=)

Hello wonderful players, gamemasters, and community members.

I am trying to pull together some thoughts about what we do in our lodges (the result is hopefully going to become something like a mission statement for our lodges here on the forums, or at least what the VO team is trying to do), and would like to collect any ideas you want to share before I even sit down to start sketching out ideas. If there is anything you would like to share for the forums VO team to think about, please let any of us know. You are welcome to post in any of the lodge discussion threads, send any of us a PM here on the forums, or contact any of us on Discord or by email. My email is on the domain orgplayonline.com and has the same username that I use here without the GM prefix.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or ideas you send.

Once we have something written up, we will be asking for your input again. We have an amazing community here, and I want to come up with something that can help us get even better as well as celebrating what we have.

After further discussion with other VOs, the event number is in the campaign header. I have tried to keep the entry precise but accurate without implying that its use is required.

Re: Mission and vision

Benefits of the PbP Forum Lodge to me:

* I can play PFS despite lack of a physical venue and local players.
* I can play PFS despite rarely having a day when I can escape my duties for 4+ consecutive hours.
* I can play PFS with people from all over the world.

My story with these forums is that I live where not many people play PFS. When I found the PFS PbP forums, I finally had a way to play a hobby that I really enjoy. It even brought to my attention a small lodge not too far away from me to game at once a month. Unfortunately, that lodge did not survive, but the PbP lodges are still going. If it were not for the PbP lodges, I would not be able to play very much at all.

What I see for others even more than myself, but also for myself, is that the PbP lodges 1) provide opportunities to play PFS to people in isolated situations and 2) bring diverse players together in camaraderie.

I totally agree with GM Blake. If it were not for PbP I doubt I could play more than once a month, and then only by making my wife sad.

Because of this, Paizo has a customer they would not have had if not for this lodge (and Flaxseed).

Another awesome thing is that I do not need flip mats, miniatures, and all the paraphernalia it takes to GM a game. I'm starting to get into GMing which I would not have if the only venue was FtF. Nor do I generally need to walk players through character generation. Once you get past setting up a forum, putting pictures of the maps up on your favorite online medium and linking to them, and figuring out how to submit the results, GMing is not at all difficult. Time consuming, but not difficult :)

GMs who are running Outpost games here on the forums, can you please post your threads to the signup spreadsheet before February 6 (the start of general player signup)? If your game is FCFS, what's most urgent is to post your gameplay link, because your players need to be able to dot in when they sign up. If you're doing GM choice or lottery, we need your recruitment link so players can apply as soon as signups start.

If you have any questions about this or if this is your first forum game and you need help setting up your threads and campaign, please post here or ask any of the forum VOs and we'll help.

GMs who are running Outpost games here on the forums, can you please post your threads to the signup spreadsheet before February 6 (the start of general player signup)? If your game is FCFS, what's most urgent is to post your gameplay link, because your players need to be able to dot in when they sign up. If you're doing GM choice or lottery, we need your recruitment link so players can apply as soon as signups start.

If you have any questions about this or if this is your first forum game and you need help setting up your threads and campaign, please post here or ask any of the forum VOs and we'll help.

I'll get mine up today. I didn't even realize the GM seating was already open.

Totally agree with GM Blake as well. If not for the PbP forums I'd probably not be playing Pathfinder. I'd also be spending $100's playing MMORPG's that are mostly pay to win. It was after I started playing Pathfinder in 2021 that I stopped playing MMORPGs and haven't looked back since!

Of course, a massive shout-out goes to those who actually made PbP a thing, especially during COVID. I know Mike Hallet and Tyranius were key but there were others as well.

Anything special about setting up for a multi special. This is my first time GMing one and need to know whether I need to set up the game forum with anything in particular.

game forum for reference.

Anything special about setting up for a multi special. This is my first time GMing one and need to know whether I need to set up the game forum with anything in particular.

game forum for reference.

Nothing special about setting it up. Because players sign up on a spreadsheet, you don't make a recruitment thread. The house GM will reach out to you later to get links to your game.

Anything special about setting up for a multi special. This is my first time GMing one and need to know whether I need to set up the game forum with anything in particular.

game forum for reference.

If there's anything I learned from doing specials -- it's gonna move fast. So I'd setup botting rules early on, especially during combat.

btw, do I need to spend a replay to play the 5-6 tier of the special?

3-98 is levels 1-6 and you may receive credit twice as a player and twice as a GM. Subtler is irrelevant.

3-98 is levels 1-6 and you may receive credit twice as a player and twice as a GM. Subtler is irrelevant.

Played it twice and GM'ed once. So does that mean I need to spend a replay?

Pirate Rob wrote:

3-98 is levels 1-6 and you may receive credit twice as a player and twice as a GM. Subtler is irrelevant.

Played it twice and GM'ed once. So does that mean I need to spend a replay?

To play it, yes.

I don't know if I played any of the specials. I could look through my sessions list to see if I did, but that takes a while, cause the filters don't always work right. Has any of these specials been hosted at A play-by-post gameday or play-by-post convention?

3-98 is levels 1-6 and you may receive credit twice as a player and twice as a GM. Subtler is irrelevant.

Is there a list of all the Specials, their tiers/subtiers, and their replayability?

If it clarifies my confusion, this is what I have written down, where am I wrong?

#1-99: no information
#2-00: Tier 1-2, Tier 3-6, Tier 7-8 are all separate games (1 PC, 1 GM allowed at each tier, but no PC can have more than one #2-00 credit)
#3-98: Tier 1-4, Tier 3-6 [yes, overlapping Tiers] are separate games (1 PC, 1 GM at each tier, no PC can have more than one credit overall)
#3-99: Tier 1-4, Tier 5-8 are separate games.
#4-99: Tier 1-4, Tier 5-8 are separate games. No tiers, Replayable with a capital R (still 1 credit per PC). I recently tried to expend a Replay at the 4-99 in December, and was told that it was Repeatable now.
Season 5 special: no information
#6-99: Tier 1-4, Tier 5-8 are separate games.

Yes, I realize that some of my "tiers" might have been unofficial Tiers, e.g., broken down for GM convenience and not reporting, but I was told way back in Season 2 that the weird Tiering (1-2, 3-6, 7-8) was because that was the way the game was reported, so I had assumed that held going forward.

Has any of these specials been hosted at A play-by-post gameday or play-by-post convention?

#3-98 was run for Gameday XI in Fall 2022.

I don't know about any of the non-PF2 specials, and I don't know if #3-98 was run other times.

I've asked about a nice listing of replayability for MTSs someplace where VOs congregate, and will pass on anything I find out.

Until then, this is what I can find in my own downloads:

I can't find anything about 1-99.

For 2-0, the PDF of the scenario says:
This scenario has three versions: one designed for
Levels 1–2 (this version), one for Levels 3–6, and one
for Levels 7–8. When assigning and adjusting tables,
remember that PCs can only play at a table if their level
falls within the range for that version. Each of these
versions counts as a separate scenario. Players and GMs
may earn credit for each of these three versions once.

3-98:
The scenario has two versions: one designed for levels
1–4 and one for levels 3–6. When assigning and adjusting
tables, remember that a PC can only play at a table if
their level falls within the range for that version. This
adventure can be played for credit twice, each time with
a different PC, regardless of level range. Likewise, a GM
can apply credit for running this adventure up to two
times to a different PC in a level range of their choice

3-99:
This scenario has two versions: one designed for levels
1–4 and one for levels 5–8. When assigning and adjusting
tables, remember that PCs can play at a table only if their
level falls within the range for that version. Each of these
versions counts as a separate scenario. Players and GMs
may earn credit for each of these two versions once.

4-99 does not have such text in the PDF, but does list the 'repeatable' tag in the PDF.

I don't have the PDFs of the later specials, so I can't look those up.

Also, it's possible that there have been announcements that have changed the above without the PDFs being redone which I'm not aware of.

6-00 also has the repeatable tag

Shorter summary:

2-00 King in Thorns. (Each Subtier may be played/GM once) 1-2 3-6 7-8.
3-99 Fate in the Future (Each Subtier may be played/GM once) 1-4 5-8
3-98 Expedition Into Pallid Peril (Credit twice as player/ twice as GM. Subtier irrelevant.)
4-99 Blessing of the Forest (Repeatable)
6-00 Salt of the Ocean (Repeatable)

1-99? I know of no such scenario.
6-99? I know of no such scenario.

Do note that the playable in different subtier rules do not override the no more than one copy of a chronicle per character. So a single character still can't receive credit more than once for a scenario.

Thanks, Redelia, Brenael, and Rob.

#6-99 is a typo for #6-00. Sorry for any confusion.

I don't know why I thought #1-99 and a Season 5 Special existed. Them not existing explains why I've never been able to play them.

1-99? I know of no such scenario.
6-99? I know of no such scenario.

The old PFS SessionTracker site has a 01-99 listed. It's listed as

I've long been curious about this one myself.

I only started playing PF2e late in Season 2. The Paizo store doesn't list any such scenario.

On a separate note -- why was Q12 (Putrid Seeds) retired as a PFS quest?

Hello wonderful players, gamemasters, and community members.

I am trying to pull together some thoughts about what we do in our lodges (the result is hopefully going to become something like a mission statement for our lodges here on the forums, or at least what the VO team is trying to do), and would like to collect any ideas you want to share before I even sit down to start sketching out ideas. If there is anything you would like to share for the forums VO team to think about, please let any of us know. You are welcome to post in any of the lodge discussion threads, send any of us a PM here on the forums, or contact any of us on Discord or by email. My email is on the domain orgplayonline.com and has the same username that I use here without the GM prefix.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or ideas you send.

Once we have something written up, we will be asking for your input again. We have an amazing community here, and I want to come up with something that can help us get even better as well as celebrating what we have.

I echo what GM Blake said, but I would also add:

On a separate note -- why was Q12 (Putrid Seeds) retired as a PFS quest?

this is all we have. Anything more would be speculation so consider it a great secret like the mystery of the gap.

Odd. I played that and don't recall anything terribly bad about it.
Some early PFS1 scenarios were retired for a combination of lore and potential copyright reasons. At least one I can think of featured dark elves.

2-11 The Pathfinder Trial
was originally planned to be a live event multi table special (Think Pathfinder Convocation if you've been around a really long time), but then Covid Nation attacked and everything changed. Lines up with the old 1-99 listing on the tracker.

---

Putrid Seeds I have no inside information but if I had to dangerously speculate, my guess is there's some sort of rights issue. It's the only quest with 2 authors (A freelancer with no other credits and a Paizo employee). Not worth the time/effort/money needed to resolve. This is also the sort of issue that it would be inappropriate for Alex to comment on. That said I could be totally wrong, and just have dangerous speculation.

---

I've got a cane and a rocking chair and lots of PFS history.

I'm just glad I have my copy for posterity.

Hello wonderful players, gamemasters, and community members.

I am trying to pull together some thoughts about what we do in our lodges (the result is hopefully going to become something like a mission statement for our lodges here on the forums, or at least what the VO team is trying to do), and would like to collect any ideas you want to share before I even sit down to start sketching out ideas. If there is anything you would like to share for the forums VO team to think about, please let any of us know. You are welcome to post in any of the lodge discussion threads, send any of us a PM here on the forums, or contact any of us on Discord or by email. My email is on the domain orgplayonline.com and has the same username that I use here without the GM prefix.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or ideas you send.

Once we have something written up, we will be asking for your input again. We have an amazing community here, and I want to come up with something that can help us get even better as well as celebrating what we have.

I love the PbP format. My role playing is much richer and more nuanced in PbP than I would ever feel comfortable doing in person. I can take the time necessary to compose dialogue and descriptions that would be impossible for me to deliver on the spot, especially for PCs that have vastly different personalities than mine. That's one of the traits that several of my GMs have said they like about my play style, and it would be much diminished without this asynchronous text-based format. Thank you for giving me a place to thrive!

2-11 The Pathfinder Trial

was originally planned to be a live event multi table special (Think Pathfinder Convocation if you've been around a really long time), but then Covid Nation attacked and everything changed. Lines up with the old 1-99 listing on the tracker.

---

Putrid Seeds I have no inside information but if I had to dangerously speculate, my guess is there's some sort of rights issue. It's the only quest with 2 authors (A freelancer with no other credits and a Paizo employee). Not worth the time/effort/money needed to resolve. This is also the sort of issue that it would be inappropriate for Alex to comment on. That said I could be totally wrong, and just have dangerous speculation.

---

I've got a cane and a rocking chair and lots of PFS history.

Somehow I can't imagine 02-11 as a multi-table special... :)

PSA for Outpost GMs who don't check their My Downloads regularly: The scenarios for Outpost have dropped already!

A big thank you to whoever made it happen!

Nice! thanks for letting us know.

Does the Guns & Gears Remaster serve as errata for the class chassis of existing Gunslinger and Inventor PFS characters, or do they function like other classes in Player Core 1 and Player Core 2? What I mean is, do I need to rebuild my Inventors and Gunslingers to use the character options in the Guns & Gears Remaster? The Pathfinder 2e Remaster Lorespire doesn't seem to have an official ruling on this yet.

Does the Guns & Gears Remaster serve as errata for the class chassis of existing Gunslinger and Inventor PFS characters, or do they function like other classes in Player Core 1 and Player Core 2? What I mean is, do I need to rebuild my Inventors and Gunslingers to use the character options in the Guns & Gears Remaster? The Pathfinder 2e Remaster Lorespire doesn't seem to have an official ruling on this yet.

Somebody on OPO server in Discord pointed me to the answer, in Character Options: All gunslinger and inventor characters treat updates to the class chassis and feats as errata, and must implement them immediately.

ATTENTION ALL OUTPOST VIII PLAYERS (AND POTENTIAL PLAYERS)!

There are still plenty of seats at the each of 3 specials offered for the event. These open seats provide not only the opportunity to play but may also give you a chance to try out a different lodge, channel, or forum.

Also, while Outpost VIII officially begins on March 2, 2025, tables will be left open even for recruitment after that date to allow for late signups and late starts although a GM may contact a Venture Agent to request that their table be closed for recruitment.

To find a table and sign-up, head on over to the Outpost VII Event Listing.

Happy Gaming

Does anyone have an actual in-game date for the death of Gorum and the beginning of the Godsrain please? All I can find is the year, 4724AR.

Warah wrote:

I wanted to sign up for more games, but most of the ones offered on Paizo forums were already full or are non-repeatables that I've already played. I wouldn't be able to keep up with a Discord game.

What makes Discord games different? I thought they were PbP, but in a chat instead of a message board

They go way faster than they would on, say, the Paizo Forums. It's the closest thing you can get to a VTT without it being a VTT.

I started GM'ing on Discord -- games fill way faster...

Fun fact: The fastest PbP game I can think of was completed on Discord (24h).

Must have been a bounty of Pathfinder or Starfinder, the only way. Especially if there is any enemy that can possibly die on a max crit, like the fighter does viscous swing, crits and does nearly max damage killing the enemy from full health, or enters point blank stance and crits for nearly max. I remember DMing a game on discord in just under 72 HR. It was a Starfinder Bounty.

Pathfinder Bounty.

I managed to run a quest on the boards in eight days from briefing post to end of final combat, but I only had four players and a lot of free time that week.

It was a convention game (either Gameday or Outpost). Fi speedran it in 24h or less I think...

Apologies to my tables last week. I was in final prep for a recertification exam (Red Hat Certified Sys Admin) yesterday. Now that's over and done with I can resume my regular updates.

This is not the same exam I failed last December (I'm retaking that one in April).

Recertification was successful with a near Nat 20. 285/300.

Apologies to my tables last week. I was in final prep for a recertification exam (Red Hat Certified Sys Admin) yesterday. Now that's over and done with I can resume my regular updates.

This is not the same exam I failed last December (I'm retaking that one in April).

Recertification was successful with a near Nat 20. 285/300.

Critical Success, well done!

Nice! Congrats!