=Style guidelines for posting= Out of Character "Spoken outloud" "Telepathically communicated" Thoughts
Other information
=GM Rolls=
Any rolls that are automatic, or pseudo automatic, such as Initiative, or if you say something like "every time we enter a room, I give it a quick scan", I make the rolls so we don't have to wait. Likewise, I may make save rolls. I may also roll Perception, Sense Motive, and Knowledge checks as appropriate. All the rolls are above board, in spoilers to keep clutter to a minimum. I roll in either: (1) Alphabetic Order or (2) Initiative Order, as appropriate for the situation. If the Rolls are in a spoiler for GM they are meant for me. If they are spoilered with anything else like Initiative or Perception feel free to take a look.
Any save whose result may result in very bad things for your character, I leave to you whenever possible. If you face a Save or Suck for instance, I don't like to roll the save for you. Your character, your karma, your luck . . .
=Game Flow=
I would like to see one post per day minimum, excluding weekends. If you can post more often that is great. I generally check for posts around 14:00 UTC and 18:00 UTC. However, I can often check multiple times between 14:00 UTC and 21:00 UTC. During roleplay/story points I will advanced the game as long as I have at least one person posting, unless there is a response needed from a specific character. For combat, I will wait 2 days before advancing the round unless you tell me ahead of time that you will be away and want me to play your character for you. In this case your character will simply go on the defensive while he/she considers their next action.
I completely understand that RL events happen and can pull you away. The same will likely occur with me. In these cases, if you know in advance you will be away please let us know ahead of time so that we can set our expectations accordingly. If you do not post in over a week without prior notice I will PM you. If I do not receive a response to the PM in a weeks’ time I will consider you to have left the game and we may find a replacement for you.
=Combat=
I will provide maps for combat situations via Roll20. There will be a link at the top of the page to the appropriate Roll20 campaign. You will need to login so I can create a token for you and give you access to move it around the board. I also, generally track HP on Roll20. All rolls however, are done here on the boards using the [ dice ] mechanics. When combat starts I will provide a listing of Init order. All players can go in any order within their grouping.
For example the Init order might look like this:
Round 1
>Player 1, Player5, Enemy 1, Enemy3, Player 4, Player 2, Player 3, Enemy 2
Player 1 & 5 can post their actions in any order and I will resolve them as appropriate. Then after Enemy 1 & 3 go Players 2-4 can post their actions in any order. If you post and someone’s earlier action effects your action I will take creative liberties. For example, if you magic missile a baddie that the Rogue just eviscerated, I’ll redirect your spell to a still-living target. This isn’t how I run things in a live game, but in a PbP, block initiative saves time and speeds up combat significantly.
=Player Discussion=
For any questions and concerns - I prefer to address these in the Discussion thread. That way everyone has the advantage of learning the answer to a specific question or ruling and we keep the gameplay thread less cluttered. When I post a ruling or what have you, I try to post a link to the PRD.
Note: I can be wrong, I'm not a perfect GM. When I am wrong, tell me and provide references to the PRD. It is how we all learn.
Taking 10 (T10) works differently in Pathfinder than in 3.5. For instance, you can T10 on knowledge’s and perception.
=House Rules=
Actions: I'm a GM that does not punish the character for trying something new or cool, or even strange. Visual appealing actions are encouraged, the dc will of course depend on what are you trying, but you can try! I still try and follow the rules as appropriate but I enjoy creative solutions.
Level up: I don’t level up based on XP. I level up based on your progression in the story.
Sandbox: I don’t have a problem with going off the reservation a little bit in terms of the overall story of the game. You might even decide to go someplace before you are ready. As long as it does not completely derail the story I am open for some creative avenues. If you do go someplace beyond your skill I will attempt to warn you of the dangers but I will not outright stop you.
=About Me=:
I have been DMing on and off for the last 10 years, starting in D&D 3rd edition. I am married and have two young children which I put a good portion of my time toward. I am also a key member of an indie game development/publishing company which eats up another good chunk of my time, especially whenever we are running a Kickstarter. Aside from PbP games, I have a twice a month VTT game I play in and on the weekends if not spending time with the family, doing school work, working on company stuff, or running errands then I am usually playing a video game.
As to my style I enjoy in-depth roleplay but I am not the kind of guy to write a 1000 word description about the scene or a 500 word monologue about the NPCs thoughts on your actions of killing some goblins. In other words, if you expect all of my posts to be a novella I’m probably not the right GM for you. On the contrary, I welcome my players to write walls of text, I enjoy reading them. Just remember depending on the pacing, you might get ninjaed by other players or myself while you are writing the wall of text. Good times for wall of texts are over the weekend . On the other side of things if you only like to post during combat or your post only ever consist of a one sentence action followed by a dice roll then I am also probably not the right GM for you. I like to see roleplay in between combat and more details about your action then “I move and attack with a 18”.
I am not a rules lawyer per say and there may be times I even consult the group on rulings if it is something extremely technical. Conversely, if it is something trivial I may simply gloss over the RAW and make my own ruling. I generally will not do this in situations where it gives either party a serious advantage over the other. With all of that said Pathfinder’s supposed to be fun, and I’ll do my best to keep it that way.
