GM Polygoon's Beginner Box Campaign - Goblin Hunt!

Game Master Jerran_Kell

Hello and welcome to the discussion thread!

Continuing the conversation on character sheets:

Yup Krakkagar your stats are 8 points over budget at the moment. :) That's one effective bard!

Fyfe due to your strength stat a medium encumbrance would bring a -3 to armor checks, just FYI.

I'm seeing some claims on the web saying that character's first free outfit doesn't count towards carrying capacity, and I'm looking for a page number to quote for that.

I also checked your sheet in, hope you don't mind.

1) I think you forgot the +2 ability score bonus humans get. You may increase one of your six abilities with an additional 2 points.

2)I don't see any knowledges under the skill section?

3) I see you are carrying a medium load, mainly caused by your clothes, armor and weaponry. If this does not worry you, no problem, otherwise we have a puzzle to solve.

Thanks for the constructive feedback. I went through and have adjusted things accordingly.

Thanks for the constructive feedback. I went through and have adjusted things accordingly.

Nice, looking good.

Also a tip, you and the others can hand some non-essential equipment like a bedroll etc. to me, I have around 40 pounds of carrying capacity left.

For your spells, If I read it correctly, you know all level 0 and level 1 druid spells.

Each day, given your stats, you may prepare 3 level 0 spells which you can cast infinitely that day, and 2 1-use level 1 spells.

May I suggest you prepare at least 1 cure light wounds or goodberry spell. It could save us trouble if we have someone with a healing spell.

Final note to all, I made some last minor detail changes to my sheet, I just uploaded the latest version.

Good stuff all, thanks.

I went ahead and opened the Gameplay thread so we can get a feel for this. Too bad we can't embed images into a post.

It's fine if you're doing final tweaks on characters this weekend, I'm just trying to get some of the technical side of things set up before the work week.

Also a tip, you and the others can hand some non-essential equipment like a bedroll etc. to me, I have around 40 pounds of carrying capacity left.

For your spells, If I read it correctly, you know all level 0 and level 1 druid spells.

Each day, given your stats, you may prepare 3 level 0 spells which you can cast infinitely that day, and 2 1-use level 1 spells.

May I suggest you prepare at least 1 cure light wounds or goodberry spell. It could save us trouble if we have someone with a healing spell.

Duly noted about the spells and adjusted. I'll be less helpful on offense, but since I'm the closest thing we have to a Cleric I understand. I have also added an animal companion, Xilanfur, a small leopard, who should be able to help us in a pinch.

Christiaan wrote:

Also a tip, you and the others can hand some non-essential equipment like a bedroll etc. to me, I have around 40 pounds of carrying capacity left.

For your spells, If I read it correctly, you know all level 0 and level 1 druid spells.

Each day, given your stats, you may prepare 3 level 0 spells which you can cast infinitely that day, and 2 1-use level 1 spells.

May I suggest you prepare at least 1 cure light wounds or goodberry spell. It could save us trouble if we have someone with a healing spell.

Duly noted about the spells and adjusted. I'll be less helpful on offense, but since I'm the closest thing we have to a Cleric I understand. I have also added an animal companion, Xilanfur, a small leopard, who should be able to help us in a pinch.

I checked your leopard, I think he can beat my monk on his own. Those animals are strong.

Krakkagar, we now have two socially awkward characters, we need a bard who at least can deal with people in otherways than hurting them.

Alright, I think I have it right now. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6FTmfTQOIZ7QXpoVFpfRzBtemM/view?usp=docsl ist_api

Thanks for your help, I completely misread the point buy table.

Luckily, I have charisma coming out my ears so we should be good.

Alright, I think I have it right now. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6FTmfTQOIZ7QXpoVFpfRzBtemM/view?usp=docsl ist_api

Thanks for your help, I completely misread the point buy table.

Luckily, I have charisma coming out my ears so we should be good.

I have some further remarks: in section B, you would get a -1 ability modifier on wisdom, because it is below 10.

This works into Section D, you would get a -1 in heal, sense motive and perception.

Furthermore, if you have a point in a class skill, you get an additional 3 points for free. In your case it appears to be an additional 3 points in Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, Diplomacy, Perception, Sense motive, spellcraft and stealth. (put those in column misc. mod)

Lastly, you may also put your ability modifiers in the skills you do not have as a class skill, but you can use untrained, in your case, heal, ride and swim.

Section F) don't forget to put the minus one from low wisdom in the will save field.

Section G) add your dex and/or strength mod into the attack and initiave fields.

Section H) again, don't forget the dex modifier, this increases your AC to 16.

The following are suggestions for your character. Do with those what you want:

Section B) I see a lot of uneven numbers, which don't give you a benefit until you get additional ability points at level 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20, or get your hand on magic items which give you an odd stat boost.

Also in my opinion your charisma is a bit low. If you reduce strength, dex and constitution by one each, you can afford to increase charisma to 16, giving you an additional point in your charisma skills, an additional round of bardic performance, increased dc for your spells and at level 5 an additional level 3 spell. This will only cost you some carrying capacity.

Or you can just remove 1 point in dex or strength, and use those to put your wisdom back at 10, or increase your con to 13.

Section I/K) May I suggest instead of rapid shot you choose Precise Shot. Then you can savely shoot at enemies with whom the rest of the party is fighting.

In the couple of adventures I played the fight is usually in a relative small room, and (nearly) everyone is in melee within the first round of combat.

Without Precise shot, if you are shooting at someone who is in melee with one of us you would get a -4 on the die roll, which is a huge modifier. With the feat you can shoot normally.

Thank you again. And for being patient with me. I'll have to rework it later tonight once the kids are in bed.

Has anyone heard anything about or from Dragon rider?

Ive read over everyone's character sheets, and have a few pointers.

Fyfe
I was really impressed to read through your character sheet and find no glaring errors. Well, until I got to your feet section. Feats that give skill points are generally regarded as utterly useless. You can do so much more with them! Peruse the feats section for something that might give you some bonuses other than skills.

Vortok
Very nice character sheet. I noticed one thing, however. As your monk bonus feat, you chose Improved Grapple. Grappling people may seem fun, but trust me (I speak from experience!) its not worth it. (You can very effectively eliminate one enemy. Which is wonderful, expect that now the other three just decapitated your cleric and stuck your mage in the belly, and your rouge is running around like a chicken with his head cut off). I would highly recommend Dodge for that bonus feat. +1 AC will help make you a lot more tanky! I would also recommend just entertaining the thought of lowering your strength to 16, and increasing your dexterity and wisdom. Your AC is currently a 14, which is three lower that the leopards and what I think mine will be.

Krakkagar
You have a good character, but I'd highly recommend switching to a character sheet designed for the full pathfinder rules. Youre missing out on a bunch of skills! I also noticed that you don't have Precise Shot. Without it, you will take a -4 to hit on anyone you want to shoot with that bow, if theyre adjacent to Vortok, the leopard, or my Cleric!

As for my character, I will not be playing Brusk. I'll be playing a cleric (Go prepare some more fun spells Fyfe!) of who knows what deity. I think Im going to design him to be able to go into melee at least semi-effectively.

I sent him a PM and received a response. He isn't sure if he is in the game. I might advertise for another person, so that we can have 5.

Sorry for the delay.

Edit, yes he's in.

Guys please remember that this game is two short scenarios designed for beginners. Let's keep perspective on this.

Ive read over everyone's character sheets, and have a few pointers.

Vortok
Very nice character sheet. I noticed one thing, however. As your monk bonus feat, you chose Improved Grapple. Grappling people may seem fun, but trust me (I speak from experience!) its not worth it. (You can very effectively eliminate one enemy. Which is wonderful, expect that now the other three just decapitated your cleric and stuck your mage in the belly, and your rouge is running around like a chicken with his head cut off). I would highly recommend Dodge for that bonus feat. +1 AC will help make you a lot more tanky! I would also recommend just entertaining the thought of lowering your strength to 16, and increasing your dexterity and wisdom. Your AC is currently a 14, which is three lower that the leopards and what I think mine will be.

thanks for the tips, I reworked my character. At least he now has an ac of 16, and even more hitpoints.

Guys please remember that this game is two short scenarios designed for beginners. Let's keep perspective on this.

See it as an extended introduction to character building, something we can all benefit from later on.

Okay, I think I finally got it down. Thank you both for the advice.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6FTmfTQOIZ7cjVPbWN6YnhFSGs/view?usp=docsl ist_api

Ive read over everyone's character sheets, and have a few pointers.

Fyfe
I was really impressed to read through your character sheet and find no glaring errors. Well, until I got to your feet section. Feats that give skill points are generally regarded as utterly useless. You can do so much more with them! Peruse the feats section for something that might give you some bonuses other than skills.

Thanks again for the feedback. This has all been really educational.

I have updated my spells and feats to be a bit more practical for an introductory adventure.

The metamagic feat you picked will not be able to take effect. If you read the description, it says that it uses a spell slot three levels higher than the normal spell. That means if you put it on a first level spell, it will take a fourth level spell slot (which you wont have for six levels!)

The metamagic feat you picked will not be able to take effect. If you read the description, it says that it uses a spell slot three levels higher than the normal spell. That means if you put it on a first level spell, it will take a fourth level spell slot (which you wont have for six levels!)

Duly noted and adjusted.

I distinctly remember character generation being lot easier in the old days... :)

And to make it even more difficult for you Fyfe, you do not need to prepare the summon nature's ally spells. You are allowed to say: instead of casting my prepared Goodberry (or any other level 1 spell) I will cast summon nature's ally 1.

And to make it even more difficult for you Fyfe, you do not need to prepare the summon nature's ally spells. You are allowed to say: instead of casting my prepared Goodberry (or any other level 1 spell) I will cast summon nature's ally 1.

Good point. I have swapped it out for Magic Fang, for better or for worse.

Definitely a complex process, I'm enjoying reading about all of the potential build options out there. I'm a player in a game too and it was really hard choosing for my cleric!

Christiaan wrote:

And to make it even more difficult for you Fyfe, you do not need to prepare the summon nature's ally spells. You are allowed to say: instead of casting my prepared Goodberry (or any other level 1 spell) I will cast summon nature's ally 1.

Good point. I have swapped it out for Magic Fang, for better or for worse.

Nice choice. you can use that spell both on your leopard and on me, as the monk strikes with his fists.

Finally got PCGen working, my new sheet is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6FTmfTQOIZ7V2ZIRWhmUGhFMkU/view?usp=docsl ist_api

Looks good Krakkagar, I like how PCgen helps to keep track of all these dependencies.

After some conversation with the sheriff the players will go straight to the scenario location.

Once Dragon enters the game we can get rolling.

Something that we'll need to get a feel for is how often I should ask you to roll for things and then wait for a response, rather than just rolling it for you with your stats.

On one hand rolling for you speeds things up, on the other hand I'm not sure if you feel it would take away your agency in the game. I'll read some other gameplay threads to get a feel for it.

And please welcome Junelee to the game, who will be playing a sorceress.

Hello, all. Happy to be joining.
Updated link to my character sheet: Navika Stardreamer

Welcome, Navika!

Welcome, Navika.

I saw you are at your encumbrance limit, because of a heavy rope.
I have already 2 ropes with me, so you can get rid of yours, if you want.

Ive finished my character sheet. The link it in my alias. In an hour or so Ill be able to post and format it into my character description box.

Welcome, Navika! You bring some much-needed firepower to the group (pun sort of intended). :)

Great, the map is ready so I'll move us along to the location this evening.

*EXECUTIVE GM DECISION*
For this campaign the following items have a weight of 0.
-Outfits (the basic one you get)
-Any Rations
-Personal Storage such as Backpacks and Pouches

Because sometimes encumbrance is pointless and annoying.
Amen.

Because of the holiday weekend my responses might be delayed. It's also to give people a bit more time to get posts in.

I'm traveling to see the in-laws so I might not be able to post much this weekend. I'm still going to try, just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

That is an awesome mapping system. How'd you do it?

Thanks! I use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator all the time, so I made those grid building blocks and character markers to add into Google Drawings, then draw other shapes in front of them.

Cool Krakkager, good luck with the in laws.

Ok folks, it was a bit messy at the end but we cleared the first mission. I learned to really pay attention to the CR rating of the bad guys, and have a sense for how to conduct things in a game.

How are you feeling at this point, do you want to continue playing? If so do you want to take on another small task like that or something a bit longer? Should we find another player to to replace or play Alexander?

I enjoyed it. It was a bit of a puzzle at times, but that is what you get with (relative) new players. Also the mission gave us information gathering, a bit dungeon-crawling/skill check and a small combat to finish it off, in other words, everything someone can expect in a adventure.

I would like to continue playing. We are with four, so an additional character is not necessary in my opinion, as most adventures in Pathfinder are for 4-6 players.

But I would suggest allowing us to rework our characters a bit if necessary.

Note, If the rewards is great enough, we don't need a cleric, we could buy a wand of cure light wounds for 750 gold. This wand has 50 charges, and as both Druids and Bards have that spell on their spell list, they can use that wand freely, and Navika can use it with her Use Magic Device skill.

Yeah the published encounter was very small and simple, you get dumped into the crypt chamber, cross the chasm, find the crosier, meet the badguys. I added the extra room and the interaction in Sandpoint. It maybe dragged on a bit too much in the puzzle element, I think people were itching for a fight.

I'm ok with people reworking their characters a bit if they ask for it, but am worried about things dragging on into minutiae. I'd want to let the newer players play with their initial decisions to see for themselves if it is good for them.

Krakkagar, Navika, Fyfe, what are your opinions?

i'm good with continuing, if everyone wants to.

I meant reworking more like maybe choose another feat/skill/spell, just if people found something did not work this time, or want to try something else.

Sorry, I was caught up in work the last couple days. I'm good with continuing on.

I'll review Fyfe's spell list before the next adventure

Yeah, I had fun. I ended up buying Hero Lab so I might slightly tweak my character sheet. Thanks for being patient with me and being so helpful.

Great! I'm glad you want to continue. I have a busy weekend also, so will post to get the next phase running as soon as I can.

Any preference, such as another short scenario or slightly longer dungeon delve?

Krakkagar, i love hero lab. lol, i think ive spent more money than i should buying data packs.

GM, no preference for me.

I'm good with either choice.

I have no preference, your choice.

Cool, I have a plan.
It will deviate from official lore a bit, please forgive, but it will help bring the story together.
Considering recruiting one more melee character so people have a chance to play, and to help with what is to come...

Need to do a bit of prep then will move us along.