|
Given the typical level of personal hygiene at highly congested Cons, it's probably best to cancel such events in the near-term. (Only half joking.)
Having learned to live in South Asia, we can do without toilet paper. (Don't ask.) I haven't heard of folks selling it at inflated prices, yet. I think they're just worried about running out, if this turns out to be the Zombie Apocalypse.
It's fascinating to watch the global extended freak-out over this particular virus. So far, the numbers don't seem to support an assessment that it's worse than any of the other recent pandemics. Social media and hyper-partisanship in an election year might explain some of the panic.
But it's a good reminder to everybody to thoroughly wash their hands, properly cover their mouths and nose when they cough or sneeze, and avoid other people when they're sick.
|
It's been awfully mentally draining staying indoors Monday through Friday, and now it's pushed itself into the weekend, as well. Cabin fever has become a real thing for me. The company I work for has made working from home mandatory as of last week, so my day consists of sitting at my computer on video calls for the bulk of the day. 5 PM rolls around and there's no defined line between when work ends and when "fun" starts.
Usually, I spend my weekends with my girlfriend, but when we went for dinner this weekend, the restaurant was almost empty, and the welcoming "We keep cutlery off our tables until you're seated now, and sanitize everything" speech elicited more discomfort than reassurance. It's made going out even on the weekends stressful.
I'm really missing connecting to people in real life just by being around them. I'd found a pretty comfortable balance between going out/socializing with coworkers and friends and staying in and hobbying/PbP/painting models, etc., and that balance has been totally thrown off. I even put my gym membership on hold today when I'd been going 4-5 days a week for the past year, and physical activity really affects my mental well being.
While realizing the alternative is the risk of contracting the sickness, being indoors so much takes its toll on mental health. Doing what I can to stay happy. Hope you guys manage the same.
@Nomadical - I'm glad to hear that things are still more or less business as usual for you as well. Definitely continue to take care and I'll keep your Asia friends in my thoughts, too.
@Lazarus - Yeahhhhh...you're not wrong re: cons & personal hygiene. And truth be told, even if they don't cancel PaizoCon I'll still probably have to really consider whether or not it would be prudent as a healthcare worker to travel to Seattle even if things are getting back to normal by then.
@Serge - Ugh. I'm really sorry to hear that cabin fever is getting to you. I don't know what sort of living space you have to work with but are there any exercises that you can do at home? Hang in there!
On a different and hopefully lighter note, I finally started playing the Pathfinder: Kingmaker computer game last week and I'm really enjoying it even though it's uh...got a bit of a learning curve. If you've played and enjoyed games like the Baldur's Gate series or the Pillars of Eternity games then you'd probably enjoy Kingmaker. Owlcat Games also just finished their Kickstarter for their Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous game, which I backed and can't wait to play!
Single-player video games are something that I've missed so I've been trying to work more on putting a dent in the massive pile of games that I own but have yet to play. Alternating between a good old-fashioned jRPG and then a Western RPG seems to work well for me.
Also seem to be doing better at managing a reasonable PbP plate. My PbDiscord game for PlayDisCon just ended and I recently bowed out of a long-term CORE group, so I've got a little more time for my remaining games. I'm also in a Mummy's Mask game that's in the home stretch and will hopefully wrap up sometime within the next few months (or at the worst, sometime before the end of this calendar year).
Thinking about maybe running some sort of 'theme' game at some point later this year, like I did with my all-leshy tables a year or two ago. Not sure what the theme would be this time around, though.
Oh and here's a silly picture about different types of GMs :)
Finally got around to the first GM post in the Gameplay thread of my Curse of the Crimson Throne AP.
Regarding a 'theme' game, a 'Guardians of the Galaxy'-like motley crew of wacky PCs taking on one of the zanier scenarios could be a lot of fun.
So basically a 'bring out yer strange/screwball characters' game? That could be fun. Having actually really not played *that* many of the PF1 offerings in the grand scheme of things, any suggestions on a scenario? The only one I can think of right off would be Overflow Archives.
^Thanks! I also thought of Frostfur Captives, that one could be insanely amusing with a screwball group.
In other news, I saw you ninjaed my last GM post so I just posted again to respond to your knowledge check.
I was kind of wondering about that but I didn't want to just make assumptions about your actions. But you know what? We can fix it. Please stand by...
|
|
Found the rules I was looking for. (The penalty is a miss chance from concealment.) Excerpts:
Each opponent within range of a gaze attack must attempt a saving throw each round at the beginning of his or her turn in the initiative order. Only looking directly at a creature with a gaze attack leaves an opponent vulnerable. Opponents can avoid the need to make the saving throw by not looking at the creature ...
Averting Eyes: The opponent avoids looking at the creature’s face, instead looking at its body, watching its shadow, tracking it in a reflective surface, etc. Each round, the opponent has a 50% chance to avoid having to make a saving throw against the gaze attack. The creature with the gaze attack, however, gains concealment against that opponent.
A creature with a gaze attack can actively gaze as an attack action by choosing a target within range. That opponent must attempt a saving throw but can try to avoid this as described above. Thus, it is possible for an opponent to save against a creature’s gaze twice during the same round, once before the opponent’s action and once during the creature’s turn.
I had a lot of fun running Overflow Archives during a previous PbP con.
I'll think on it and give you some suggestions for your consideration.
As a quick follow-up I picked a few brains here and there and got some additional suggestions - some that I've played/GMed and some that I haven't:
Night March of Kalkamedes (a classic)
Ghenett Manor Gauntlet
The Prince of Augustana
House of Harmonious Wisdom (if you run it like a Wuxia film)
Down the Verdant Path
We Be Goblins! module series
Murder's Mark module
(Also got a few suggestions for Starfinder scenarios even though Starfinder is a Sometimes Food for me.)
Either way, enough suggestions for me to work with!
Hey folks, I'm behind on my sleep so no updates tonight. Will look to get some posting done tomorrow afternoon/evening, instead.
It was admittedly a few days ago IRL but don't forget that Hiromasa gave you a way to finish the job :)
Quick answer before bed - yes, you can easily shape a torch or a bundle of arrows into a stake.
Hey folks, as we draw near to the end of this scenario I want to check in and see how everyone is doing re: bandwidth and such. Given the current pandemic and Outpost starting a week from today, will everyone be okay to truck along to the next scenario relatively quickly (hopefully within a few days of finishing this one) or do folks need/want a breather for a little bit first?
Either option is fine with me; no judgements one way or the other.
(Next update later tonight, if work is quiet.)
So business as usual then - I can do that :)
Btw Larry, I posted a mustering call over in Flaxseed Recruitment but in case you don't routinely check it you can find my Outpost table here.
Finally got some updates for you guys! I've been a bit out of sorts the last day or two; nothing serious but what I'm guessing is/was subconscious stress manifesting as an inability to focus on writing. Admittedly bummed about the PaizoCon cancellation, even though I expected it, and also a bit bummed that my husband's getting his hours cut at work.
But we still have it much better than some right now (no one in either family is sick right now as far as I know), we got the bathroom painted yesterday, and the sun was shining today so I'm thankful for those things :)
|
|
I don't think we've found any scrolls or spellbooks during this adventure. Or have I overlooked anything?
If we're done by Sunday, I'd like to use Lazarus as one of my Aid Characters during the Special #10-98 Siege of Gallowspire, so I'm trying to figure out how I want to level him up.
Mystic theurges get no free wizard spells, so Lazarus is going to have to drop some coin to get what he needs/wants.
If we're done by Sunday, I'd like to use Lazarus as one of my Aid Characters during the Special #10-98 Siege of Gallowspire, so I'm trying to figure out how I want to level him up.
Ooh, I didn't realize you were hoping to use him as an Aid Character! I'll have to double-check my notes to be sure but I think I can make this happen and sort of fast-forward through the one or two rooms you've yet to explore, which may or may not have something waiting to eat you.
Yeah, he'd planned to swap Laz out for Skye as our next scenario deals with the Shoanti.
Hokay folks, I'll get the final post/debriefing bit posted tomorrow but for all intents and purposes we are finished with the scenario! I hope everyone enjoyed it and thank you for bearing with me. For those that haven't GMed this it's basically a Build-a-Dungeon scenario and this was my first time GMing such a thing. I tried to place a variety of hazards and monsters for you to encounter and hopefully the challenges weren't too challenging.
I'll try and get your chronicles completed tomorrow and as always I'll allow a few days break before starting the next scenario.
|
|
GM, if it's not too much trouble, can you note the following on Lazarus' Chronicle?
Spent 655gp total (190gp each for scrolls and 'ink' of Cacophonous Call, Gallant Inspiration, and Sound Burst, and 465gp for a scroll of Good Hope and 'ink').
Take 10 Spellcraft for 18 to study and scribe the spells into his spellbook (DC17 for the first three level-2 spells and DC18 for the last, level-3 spell)
These are Lazarus' samsaran 'Past Life Spells' spells from his Mystic Past Life alternate racial trait, all from the bard spell list.
Lazarus also left offerings of 40gp (10gp each) at shrines to Aroden, Sarenrae, Torag, and Shizuru.
He spent 2PP on this chronicle to acquire a wand of heightened awareness.
|
|
Last Gameplay post was all in fun. Lazarus would really like an improved familiar. Sid the Cussing Bunny was fun, but mostly fluff beyond the passive benefits.
Problem is, it looks like he'll have to wait till level 9 to get the usual level-7 options, because his cleric levels don't count for that purpose.
Hunting for some workaround, but I haven't found one yet.
Okay, the session has been reported! Let me catch up on Gameplay posts and then I'll go ahead and start working on chronicles - or at least on Laz's.
If you have any purchases or notes you want me to make on your chronicle, please let me know.
If you have any questions re: potential Faction Journal goals for your chronicle, please let me know.
______________
I'm right there with you on the familiar thing, Laz. I specifically went the Eldritch Heritage route with Corona to take advantage of a special familiar she got from one of her chronicles but like Laz, she won't be able to make use of it until 9th due to effective character-level stuff. When it *does* happen though, Stuffing the Chicken will retire and a new face will come out to play :)
Alrighty, Lazarus I have your chronicle available >>here<<. Let me know if there are any mistakes or questions!
I'll get everyone else's as I hear from you re: chronicle notes and such. Also remind me if you're slow-tracking, please.
|
Ya, if you are going the route of a familiar, especially one that you want to interact with a lot, I can't imagine not getting the improved ones.
No faction goals were completed for Frankie in this scenario.
Frankie did purchase the following:
*Enhanced alchemist’s fire (40 gp; limit 4) *Enhanced holy water (50 gp; limit 4)
Frankie will just cash in on all 4 of each. Sounds like we could be fighting things Frankie won't want to be up in their face: 360g
|
Stuffing the Chicken will retire
NOOOOOO!!!!!! Say it ain't so! Will she get stuffed? With cornbread? Or taxidermied? Or just put out to pasture with her own little hen house and a rotating roster of young rooster studs?
I'm planning to take Improved Familiar for Dr. O'Mayga at 7th. Pharasma will put Hogo through a rebirth/transformation into a nosoi. They're not particularly powerful, but I love the flavor of it for him. (Although invisible flying scout certainly has its uses.)
----------
Quang Chi spent 668 gp for the undead and evil outsider bane arrows from chronicle #13
Slow tracking
Used one checkbox from his Alchemical Versatility boon sheet.
I added Quang Chi's details to Slide 2. Here's his Day Job roll. He uses Survival for his Day Job.
[dice=Survival]1d20+11
Had to check but I don't think you used that reroll during the scenario, so...feel free to use it on your Day Job check now if you like!