Hey, I went ahead and reported the results of the game, although I did it using the slightly-different gameday system, so it will qualify you all to be in the drawing for some random boons and such but it also won't show up instantly as credit on your characters' sessions reports.
I'll try to have the links to the Chronicle PDFs sent to you today or tomorrow.
Although we still have a small amount of role-play potential left, it is clear that you each will be getting 1 XP, 2 FP, 2 PP, and 502 gp. The second prestige point for getting the "Secondary Success Condition" involved not letting more than 1 of the goblins die, and none of yours died. :)
The special items on the sheet are:
Average snowbloom (50 gp; When given as a gift to a native of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings with a starting attitude of indifferent or better, this rare flower grants you a +2 circumstance bonus on one Bluff or Diplomacy check against that person. Alternatively, when shown to a native of Irrisen, the flower grants a +2 circumstance bonus on Intimidate checks made against that target.)
Potion of bull’s strength ( 300 gp)
~~
Great job, btw! I really enjoyed playing with this group and you did really well in both gaming and role-playing!
I hope you enjoyed the goblins, too, and that they didn't feel like completely identical baggage (probably because of space limitations in the scenario, the are presented just as '6 goblin warriors' with a few notes on goals, motivations, and behaviors here and there). They could have been more problematic, but you treated them well, offered fire and food and made good diplomacy rolls, etc. :)
(I should have said that the goblins were a mix of my own, stuff picked up off the boards, and a little from Goblins of Golarion.)
I'm thinking about The Stolen Heir since I was gifted and recommended it by Derek, whom some of you may know. I understand that there are a number of ways around various encounters, but it would likely need a face person.
Herman, have you done that one?
OK, rather than go in circles trying to find the mystical 'perfect' scenario, we'll do Pathfinder Society Scenario #5–04: The Stolen Heir next for the January online gameday. That will give everyone a little time off and me some time to read it, prepare maps, etc.
I'll keep this one active until next one gets going - I think that that is probably the best way to do it. I will also PM people when things get solidified. One thing about the gameday registrations, if they do them the same way and there still isn't a way to reserve slots, is that they are open to everyone, so people may need to be quick to get in on it. I'll run 7, though, if that helps everyone get on board who want to do so.
I'm also up for suggestions as to what would come after, so keep that in mind.
Be sure to try your Chronicle since there are a number of problems that seem to develop between operating systems, browsers, and PDF readers.
Well, I've had a chance to read through the Stolen Heir and I'm happy with it. Definitely different than some others, although the combats/opponents might be rather bland, and probably fairly easy. It would also give some of the face and investigative skills a more prominent role than we have had recently. (Like with The Frostfur Captives, there can be more to it than just a combat slog.)
I still don't completely understand season five faction goal boons, however, but I'll probably figure that all out eventually. One of the possible boons doesn't have any in-game effects that I can see. Hmm... Nevermind, we don't have anyone from that faction. :-P
At least there are no shadows, wights, or swarms. Especially swarm - I keep getting crawled over by weapon-immune swarms in Tier 1-2 scenarios and we haven't had an alchemist!
Even though we roundly cursed it, I think this group - especially if you get ranged weapons and special material ammo (have I given you my buying guide for ammo?) - could do it, and it did have some cool atmosphere. There's darkness, for example, but you have half of your group with darkvision. We had just one tiefling giving up her own round trying to direct us where to attack.
(Always thinking of the next scenario.)
Yes, do download them and test them out, check for errors, save them locally, etc. For my other group I accidentally followed an old pattern on the sheet and so gave each of them 2 gp the first time around.
They are on the DropBox, too, so I expect they are very safe from harddrive mishaps, but there is always the possibility for mistakes that end up deleting everything.
I still looking for the next gameday announcement, but I haven't heard anything yet. Sill just "January".
Wait, which game? The City of Strangers Part II? I think one issue has been Mez losing power. I know Dimitra also lost power for a bit but got it back.
I know! It would be really easy to convert smoke signals into binary and then...
(*Puffs himself up*) "But, I guess I got everyone too used to a rapid, responsive, and reliable rate of posting!"
I do debate with myself what the right rate is, but I also want to see what will happen and I guess I am not good at waiting.
Still, it is amazing to me, looking back, that the Frostfur Captives took us a full seven weeks of play! And that is with just about everyone posting every day, and multiple times a day for me.
In another game I'm in, you never know when the GM is going to post. Perhaps they are overextended, trying to accommodate a lot of people (3 or more tables of a scenario). That is nice thing to do, certainly, but our group hasn't formed much cohesion with each other, and it is hard to feel as involved in the storyline. We just finished the scenario with under 150 posts and under 20 post of the Discussion thread, starting way back in the first half of November. :-\
|
My initial PbP game has been going since June?/July?
Whenever I first started playing this format.
The GM has posted 3 times since November!
I have a feeling it is not going anywhere...lol!
It is a RotRL campaign (non-PFS).
I really wanted to play that campaign, so it is disappointing.
I like the pace that you and Derek use. Thanks!
You're welcome, of course. :)
The nice part about scenarios is that you only have to predict your life for the next month or two, unlike a campaign which is potentially years in the making.
I have been tempted by the Tier 1-2 modules, though (The Crypt of the Everflame, The Godsmouth Heresy, Thornkeep: The Accursed Halls). I've played in the last one and the rate was fast - we finished and leveled in the same time as a scenario.
I've been especially interested in the campaign mode for a module where you can play with non-PFS characters but still earn credit for PFS play. I haven't really figured out how all of that works though. (I have a few questions in for Derek.)
I am also likely to run The Confirmation sometime after I finish playing it - checking it out as a new "First Steps"-type scenario. One person called it a cakewalk, but our party is getting chewed up by swarms in the first encounter! (No alchemist, and they were on us before we could do much, despite have brought alchemist's fire and such with us.)
Sure, you can purchase a scroll here, or whatever else you like. You can then add it to your Chronicle and character sheets yourself.
It is hard to predict what you'll face, but did I give my spiel about weapon special materials here? (The next adventure is pretty basic, but I have bought The Beggar's Pearl now. Muwhahaha!)
Basically, make sure you have ranged weapons, and even a character like Farg will want a melee weapon when attacking something like an ooze, I would think, or something with DR. It also sucks when it hovers 60 feet over your head plinking you with arrows and spells while you have nothing. Oh, and it regenerates, so the damage you do with magic missiles and the like doesn't last long.
Since they have written weapon blanches to be relatively cheap for ammunition and both material work if a blanch is put over another material, this is what I buy:
30 arrows or bolts of Cold Iron (~6 gp, only twice the normal cost), Adamantine (Ad) blanch for 100 gp, Alchemical silver (AS) for 5 gp.
Then you can have:
10 CI for fey, demons, and anything regular;
10 CI/AS for the CI stuff plus devils and some other strange things;
10 CI/Ad for the CI stuff plus some rare things and for damage to objects.
When I have some more money, I am going to buy ghostsalt blanch (200 gp) for at least some characters, since the non-corporeal undead (at Tier 1-2!) was no fun. Someone had the disrupt undead cantrip, someone had just found a magic weapon, and I had positive energy channeling, but that was about it.
Since you have an alchemist, you are pretty set for swarms. ;-)
On other scroll points, I have had an adventure helped along by a Comprehend Languages, another that got the second prestige point (2nd PP) for the group by a Comprehend Languages, and another got the 2nd PP because of a tough heal made more possible by 2 scrolls of Diagnose Disease and a Healer's Kit. It is hard to tell what you are going to need so I have been stocking up on things I might need but normally wouldn't prep using scrolls.
That makes quite the difference, I'm sure!
Oh, remember there is a per page cost for writing formulas into your book of 10 gp per 1st level spell, just like if you were a wizard.
Since we are the only ones here, we should probably just start trashtalking the other characters.
I just got into one of Herman's (DM DoctorEvil's) games, so I will hear nothing bad about that gentleman and scholar!
|
One thing I recently noticed with another natural weapon character of mine is that reach weapons make for awesome backup weapons. In the first combat round you can move and power attack from reach for some nice damage. Then maybe provoke an AoO then drop it and claw claw bite once opponents have closed with you.
Also Farg will need a bow of some sort so maybe I'll purchase the snazy MW +4 STR composite shortbow with prestige points. I'll give this some thought and post here for purchases.
Also where can I find these weapon blanches?
It talks about Weapons Blanches here, although Ghost Salt is in the Pathfinder Society Field Guide only for moment.
Pole arms are awesome like that (or even longspears, which are simple weapons for those with fewer martial weapon options). So, you could do just what you describe (if I am understanding the sequence correctly).
The use of both reach weapons and non-reach weapons to threaten at the same time is controversial (search for the classic example, pole arm and spiked gauntlets) and seems to have now been mostly disallowed, although this FAQ is the only really official statement and is ambiguous. This seems to be a change from 3.5 when there were weapons (spiked chains) that could threaten both reach and non-reach at the same time, so that weapons or weapon combos don't do that now.
A similar, opposite situation occurs when you have something in one hand (like a wand) while you have a two-handed weapon: while it is a free action on your turn to drop something and to put your other hand on the sword, you don't threaten until you can do so on your turn.
The whole thing needs a proper FAQ, but it doesn't seem that enough people have asked for any one thread to be FAQ'd. Maybe you can find something more definite.
|
Part of Storn's charm is his woeful inability to perform in certain situations, but I also understand that PFS is a bit of a different animal. I'll load up on 'prepared for all situations' gear.
The reach/non-reach discussion is interesting. I tend to see the armor spikes + polearm = double threat against the intentions of the system, even if the RAW do not explicitly forbid it.
Sometimes I'm secretly delighted to GM a group that can competently play the game but have no interest in optimizing or gaming the system. It makes my life SO much easier as a GM, although I miss out on some potentially fun discussions.
I just got into one of Herman's (DM DoctorEvil's) games, so I will hear nothing bad about that gentleman and scholar!
Right up until his wonderful new PFS character is swarmed by rats, bats, spiders all at once.
Storn - I loved the line, btw, of "... I need a longer sword." That perfectly sums up the charm you were talking about. However, battle takes many forms and will be against many opponents, and Gorum would advise you, I'm sure, to be able to kill anything. (That sounds better than, "Be Prepared", doesn't it?)
The hard part now is if they build scenarios for optimized characters, or if GMs restrict number of characters based on those power assumptions. However, while I don't think any of my characters are optimized, even I am now reluctant to remake my favorite 3.5 character, a dwarf paladin (low Charisma in a Charisma-heavy class).
|
|
I'm pretty sure a bite attack works in conjunction with a longspear as it is not using hands. Spiked gauntlets on the other hand use your hands so it makes sense that that won't work in conjunction...
But actually that wasn't my intention at all a longspear is just really nice for the first round of combat if you can't full attack, plus you can often get an AoO with it and paired with an 18 STR and Power attack those can become rather painful...
Farg - That is a good point, and I think you would be right about the bite attack and a two-handed weapon. It might suffer from the natural & non-natural weapon penalty if you used the two-handed last or if you use both at the same time. I'm no expert, though.
I just got into one of Herman's (DM DoctorEvil's) games, so I will hear nothing bad about that gentleman and scholar!Right up until his wonderful new PFS character is swarmed by rats, bats, spiders all at once.
You know, I really should have found out why you picked the name "DM DoctorEvil"...
Although Zoogs sound especially unpleasant in PF, I have been using the name FurtiveZoog (and SecretiveZoog) after a line in HP Lovecraft's book, "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath", where "dwell the furtive and secretive Zoogs", and they are relatively minor and innocuous monsters there. I am sure the disappearances in their woods can be explained thoroughly by other causes.