Do not dot in here or game play thread unless you are chosen in lottery please. game will likely start 1st Monday of December.
OK 5 of the 6 already have dotted..Tajan is the last and has been PM'd... He has till Sunday night to dot.
In the mean time you all know the drill...
player name: (or alias; ie lucklesshero)
Character name:
PFS#:
Faction:
Day job roll: (if any)
Since many of you don't have herolab; I won't require the ones that do, to send me herolab portfolios ( provided they have all the requisite information listed on their Portfolio here on Paizo boards.)
Let me know of any unusually boons your sure to use...otherwise, I think we're good.
Expect opening post, on Monday the 4th..
Lucklesshero
Just a couple quick ground rules since I've not played with most of you.
Kinda standard PFS social contract rules here. I roll for initiative. You'll roll your own saves. All perception checks are considered passive (and I usually take a '10' for you unless it's dangerous) until you declare you are searching for a specific thing, area, object, ect..then the perception check is considered active and is a move action.(and of coarse then you may roll)
You post once a day min. except on weekends when I only require one post for both days. (if you're not busy by all means try to keep the game moving) Any planed time off..should be shared with the whole groups so we're in the know. If you don't have a "how to bot my character section" on your profile; know that the GM loathes to use character's expendable resources and looks to preserve character's lives..even when it is not best for the party as a whole.
I usually don't use block initiative (ie. Highlighting 2-3 players who can go instead of using initiative in order) but, if the majority of you prefers that style..I can acquiesce.
You have 24hr the first time you don't check in with a post (weekends not withstanding) after that, I will bot you till you post again. If a player continues to be tardy without prior notice(usually 3 or more times/or a week of boting without notice), I reserve the right to drop the player from scenario.
So pretty standard PbP etiquette here. The last thing of note is:Attacks of Opportunity. If a player wants to roll his own AoO's hell need to give me a pre-set of rolls here in the discussion thread (8 to 10 naked D20 rolls will do). I will randomly use the rolls as AoO rolls during the adventure. Otherwise I will roll AoO's for players as I go. ( I found this increases combat speed significantly)
Game is underway GL have fun all!
|
This is a pre-typed message I created for this situation to allow me to copy/paste the message to all the games I am taking part in.
I suffer from Chronic Pancreatitis that on average every 6 months turns into Acute Pancreatitis. The Acute version requires me to be hospitalized between 3 to 5 days on average if it is severe enough. Unfortunately, my local hospital has Piazo's website blocked for some reason. So during this time I will not be able to post anything.
I'm posting this message because I can feel the pain that begins the Acute stage and will be going to the ER. If it is not severe enough to require hospitalization then I will make a post as soon as possible to state things are all clear. If that post doesn't happen within 12 hours, then it means I am in the hospital.
If need be, feel free to bot my character during combat or if any skill rolls that would really help the group.
Sorry for any inconvenience this will cause.
Hudor, get better buddy...best wishes to you..we'll suspend game at least till Monday 18th ok everyone? I'll make a post on Monday and we'll see how it proceeds from there.
Hudor take care.
Just FYI on weekend schedule and beyond (today being Friday 22nd). I'll try and post one or two more times today. Expect one post from me tomorrow and then nothing till Tuesday the 26th (expect only 1 post on the 26th):
Looking forward to next week Wednesday 27th, Thursday 28th, Friday 29th; I'll be on a vacation my post will be at best once a day or possible none. By Saturday the 30th posting will be back to normal.
So what this means to the players...considering after tomorrow (the 23rd Saturday) there will not be regular post from the GM until the following week (Saturday 30th)... If you do want to check the boards there may be a couple minor post from your GM during this Holiday break and you may respond with post as you like.
I do ask however that you do not post too many (3-4 the entire week would be fine) as the players that choose to not post at all will have to go over what's been posted in their absence. It goes without saying no combat is planned for the holiday break so players who take the entire time off need not worry their character will be botted.
What I expect as we move in to the break is; that everyone post at least once today (the 22nd) and if possible, tomorrow (the 23rd). Other than that...enjoy the Holiday break! We'll pick this up full steam next weekend just before the new year..
Ok so were going to have a chase sequence. The rules are somewhat well...messed up so you’ll need to forgive me for changing the terminology of what the use in the Game Mastery guide. First thing you ought to know is this chase will be entirely run by theater of the mind. There will be no hokie game board laid out. Second thing you need to know this is basically a “skill challenge”. Players with good physical skills, will generally out-perform those who have better intellectual skills.
The third thing you should know is; you can act normally (ie. cast a spell, shoot at the fleeing target, ect…) it just cost you an action or actions to do so.
The chase will be run in rounds: Each round you will make choices on your actions on how to over-come obstacles, between you and your target. You’ll move in ether 30’ or 60’ increments each round.
Your actual land (or even fly speed) doesn’t mater except that it will give you bonuses on overcoming the obstacles each round. ( ie if your movement is 20ft’ you’d get a -2 on obstacle checks, if your movement is 30’ no adjustment, movement of 40’ +2 on checks...ect..flying and other special modes of movement offer their own bonuses)
Generally you’ll have 3 different choices to make during your round:
1. Standard: If you choose this action you’ll move forward 30ft and then have to face one obstacle. There will generally be two obstacles to choose from and you must defeat one of them to move forward next round. If you do not defeat the obstacle you must try again next round.
2. Full: The above situation basically gives you 2 actions..by doing a full action you’ll get 3 but the catch is you must defeat both obstacles to move 60ft. (if you take 2 Full actions in a row; on your second full action you’ll be asked to defeat 3 out 4 obstacles and you must pass both the first two obstacles to continue..ie say you moved 60 ft the first round..the second round if you want to move 60’ I’ll ask you to pass 2 obstacles before you even move(if u pass only one u still move but turn is over), if you pass both then you bound 30’ forward and must pass 1 of 2 of the next obstacles to go forward another 30’.
3. player’s choice: You could move 30ft stop and cast a spell to defeat a barrier (like levitate to automatically succeed a climb check or entangle to slow your target) You could move and fire an arrow. Or anything else you can think of that might help.
Your target will make checks too that I’ve already predetermined (for speed of game-play sake) .
I will update each party member how close they are to the target at the end of each of their rounds.
Initiative will run in block like normal (players in bold may take their turns).
Obstacles will be assigned DCs like (Crumbling gangplank DC:15 acrobatics) or (cross shallow stream, DC:12 swim)
Also if you miss your checks by too much you could become mired (caught on a ladder stuck in a sink hole ect..) if this happens your chase is severely penalized while you get yourself un-stuck..
Last thing I ask is; to bear with me..I think I got this but, it’s a funky system so I’ll do my best.
Hope this is fun for everyone.
fair enough...after everyone's made their checks I'll let you all know what the next two sets of obstacles are going to be....like I said , not that fond of the system..so I'm trying to create a cinematic chase scene ..if you guys prefer..I can lay out the game board provided and we can just have you roll a series of rolls to see if you pass or fail..and I'll roll your adversary's rolls in conjunction.
To be honest...that would be a lot less work on my part...
By raw..pg. 232 you only have the three choices I mentioned in my synopsis . A standard move-standard action (move one square), a move and players choice action (fire a bow, cast a spell ect..) in which you'll move no squares normally, or what they refer to as a "full round action" which you move three squares (if you succeed the checks.)
Problem is: the way these terrible rule are written...
Read the following and you tell me the problem..:
A character who wants to attempt to move three cards during his turn can do so by taking a full-round action. That character must overcome both obstacles on the card he is leaving. In this case, if a character fails either obstacle check by 5 or less, he only moves one card forward and his
turn ends.
Anyone see the problem besides me? Yep that's right if you want to move 3 squares you only need to pass 2 obstacles in one round! (though admittedly you may not be "good" at them both. It's still only two obstacles) If you take the normal action by moving one square at a time; you must pass 3 obstacles in three rounds to move 3 squares! that's RAW
Therefore, I'm just not interested in playing a badly designed broken system ..as a cinematic chase ......cause well....it's not challenging.............. the out-come is... a foregone conclusion..
If you as players, want to play this system let me know. I'll list the required skill checks in the order they appear..and you can tell me if your moving one square or 3 and we'll roll out the whole chase in a couple post. I'll tell you where you catch Barnel.(because you will). And that will be that. No need to describe a chase that, you already knew all the obstacles. You'll know when it was best to "turn on the gas" and take your full round action to catch Barnel. Just make your rolls. I'll give a short synopsis of how you catch him and we'll move on to the next part of the scenario.
Or... you could just trust that the GM had something cool and fun planned. If you're o.k. to not take, the automatic "win" button. We could play out this chase with full tension and description, unsure of the outcome but, invested never-the-less. I leave the choice up to you guys. However, it must be unanimous. If you want me to depart from the rules as written and give you something closer to a real chase. I just don't want any back-lash or hard feelings that I didn't adhere strictly to RAW.
In the previous post in the discussion thread I offered two choices
1. go with the system as written
2. Or go with an ad hoc system that GM will tweak as he goes
I wanted to clarify something before we move on with the adventure:
to be clear if u vote for #2 (GM's system) you will still get a chase..and we still get to roll to resolve out-come.. I just don't like what system they handed me so I'll take the skin of it and your rolls+ decisions will determine outcome + practical factors like..land speed.
ie. I don't want to take the chase away...I want to make it better. But I'll need your ok to roll with something different ..
If you'd rather just go with what is written that's ok too.. some people just want to share the same experience with what everybody else experienced so they can talk shop and what not. I get that..(kinda like being a football game together and talking about the game after good or bad...it's part of why we do it.)
To be clear I do not want my bias to affect anyone's enjoyment. If you prefer to play the chase game as written, please say so. Everything will be provided so you can play out the game and not miss a thing. We'll pick up the narrative as soon as the chase is resolved and continue the adventure.
Or we could try it my way and make the chase part of the adventure.
Guys I’m on vacation the next couple days.. won’t post again till Friday night. I put the game board in the link... so choose your next action based on what challenges you know are coming . Go ahead and make your choices and rolls before Friday. Those of you who didn’t pass the Bathhouse roll will need to try again or get creative. Those of you who did will need to choose if you want to try and move 3 squares or one square next turn. You must pass both challenges on next square to move 3 as previously mentioned.
The very board is posted so those of you who have passed the bathhouse will need to pass the mezzanine section’s obsticals next. I’ll do my best to describe what happens when I return ok?
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
** spoiler omitted **
agreeded Argenta but it’s still better to always take a full round action. Why u ask? Simple you fail on a standard action what happens? You stay where u are. You fail both on a full action u stay where u are. U fail only one u still move one ( giving u better odds of success) u pass both u move 3 ... even if u fail both by 5 or more.. u still on loose one round ... u could fail both by 5 or more loose the entire next round and still be further along the board than taking standard actions by passing both obstacles on the subsequent round..
There is no reason to not take a full round action every turn.. the system is badly designed
Sorry it’s more than just an opinion... it’s based on probability and outcome..
Having said that, let’s play it out... I’ll describe the chase and we’ll see what happens
Alright guys...my distaste for the present chase mechanics aside...let me apologize for being a grumpy old man and move along. My normal players are used to me being vocal about rules and idiocracies of Pathfinder and Pathfinder Society Play. However, simple put.."I should be more professional" when judging a PFS game. (no one twisted my arm to put up a lottery and invite new players ect..)
I really do love the game but tend to get passionate about things that, "really don't mater". In the long term I just want every-one to enjoy themselves...and I believe that, going on pensive moody rants.. is counter-productive to everyone's enjoyment. So I'll do what I often do with my regular group. Ask everyone for sincere and heartfelt forgiveness and try to create a more productive and fun atmosphere, moving forward.
So if you all...can manage to give a grumpy dude a break..I think I can manage to let go of my dislikes and try and give you the best experience I'm capable of...from this point forward.
Alright...
btw if I missed something please point it out..(ie. like you should have passed this obstacle or that because of ..X reason or if I miss-interpret a rule/mechanic of the game ect..)
Don't mind saying this last post (the magic using woman's ambush) was one of the more difficult to coordinate that I've had to do in PbP. Hope, it is intelligible to everyone. Furthermore, hope it created an idea of excitement and flurry of sudden action (that's what I was shooting for).
These kind of surprises are tough to pull off in PFS PbP because the PCs are always expecting something! Especially when an NPC warns them their will probably be an ambush! The adventure wrote in a couple of nice "Red Herrings," to help build the tension...so this was/is a fun section to narrate. (must confess I did like describing the chase, even though I hate the mechanics) ..
Over-all very pleased with this adventure and the group so far..
I'll give you all fair warning on expectations ect...The last encounter is very tough! I'll play it very tough as well..(there are pre-written tactics in the scenario that make it especially difficult for the PCs to over-come un-scythed)
I just wanted to kinda give you all a "heads-up" that, if you complete this scenario ...you should be proud. I haven't GM'd too many PFS scenarios and played in about a dozen..but of the 20-25 I've been exposed to...this is the second hardest end encounter I've been exposed to. So make sure you heal fully between encounters OK?
(you've been a good group ..of frequent posters and good roll-players..I feel I owe you a semi-warning,,keep alert and fight smart...more than a couple of PCs have died in this scenario!)
OK guys enough of my forewarning portents of doom...
Hope you kick some butt!
It's a good story so far!
lucklesshero
Ok so you all want me to spell out how I envision this ambush is going down...(Thought I was doing so good describing it too)..
You guys turn the corner to find a knocked over wagon...(which a few moments earlier an invisible magic user did to help create this ambush).. You pause for a second and then three of you move forward to talk with the farmer (remember initiative is a relative thing..your actions are supposed to take place nearly simultaneously..initiative is an abstract concept only meant to organize game-play; not re-enact actual order of events...(please read this, if you don't buy what I just said)
So moving on: your perception rolls indicated only one person noticed the woman in the alley (she rolled 19 and had a +4 for a 23 stealth- look underneath the spoiler in the Handle animal post about the chickens if u want to see the roll). So Argenta notices the woman, and pauses while you move forward and start to talk to the farmers. The rest of the group hangs back at the wagon.
Now for the enemies: they have timed their attacks..both have cast spells, before you group started walking toward the farmers.. The magic user has of coarse, cast invisibility before combat and mage armor. She begins to cast sleep, as 1/2 the party walks forward. Likewise, the suspicious lady has also cast a spells: expeditious retreat, one or two other (un-identified spell(s?) and is holding the charge of a third spell that shrunk the barrel.Note: For flavor I had Argenta notice the last few words of the shrink item spell...to me this represented, "how Argenta discovered the woman."(if I had just said she looked suspicious, it amounts to the same thing: Argenta stops and investigates right?)
Ok so all this happens before the first round..(before combat begins)
surprise round Only magic user lady acts..pops off sleep..
Now we move in to initiative..and the First round of combat...
Tajan wins initiative moves up tries to strike.. magic user lady
Magic user lady is next she cast defensive and looses her spell
Suspicious lady is next she runs with enhanced speed, touches the barrel automatically releasing the charge she had stored
Argenta moves and slaps Polanco awake
Solomon having walked up to the chickens; ..backtracks a little, and draws his weapon blocking in the magic user and adding another threat.
Hudor stays asleep (and will stay asleep, till someone wakes him..his initiative order passed, he will be unable to act till next round because, there is no "holding action" while un-conscious or helpless)
It's still round 1 with Volar, Smiler, and Polanco all still to act.
Hope this helps straighten it out...
|
It appears you get very defensive when questions are asked, just by the tone in some of the previous messages. You’re doing a good job and I’m trying to enjoy the game, but it gets hard when you get so defensive like this and this is the first question I’ve had all game. I just needed to know because my actions would be different depending on placement. I was approaching the farmer as was Argenta, and I was aiding her Diplomacy roll with the farmer, however my token was moved with Volar and Argenta was left behind. I presumed her token was left behind because she spotted someone, therefore she didn’t move to the farmer. The only reason it matters is because if my token isn’t moved I can 5ft step and attack the enemy next to Tajan. Instead I have to move and draw my weapon 0 BAB. I’m not arguing with you or telling you you’re doing something wrong I’m simply trying to understand the chain of events, which I feel is a perfectly reasonable question. I’m not mad, or questioning anything just asking to better understand. Remember you know what’s going it’s your story we are just reading it and trying to visualize it.
Admittedly I sometimes get defensive...sorry if you thought the post explaining the chain of events was defensive...it was not intended as such. The relevant part to your character's part is: I'm ruling he walked past because of the post you posted and your failed perception check.
Sometimes PbP is an imperfect replication of the game..trying to do my best..Some-players have access to computers and software that can move their pawns and others play by phone which puts the burden of keeping track of movement on GM.
I sometimes can't keep track of which is which. So if you intend to stop in a specific square ...it's sometimes necessary to tell me which one ect..(ie. you don't take your full movement and walk-up to the farmer and talk to him face to face)
I understand that you make think it intuitive that Solomon would instinctively stop if Argenta does..and that it wouldn't "make sense" for your character to continue forward while he saw his/her comrade stop out of the corner of his eye. But, as everything is suppose to transpire in abstract unison... then I'll need to follow-through with actions as stated.
mechanically the only way to fix this would be readied actions like, "we all three walk forward...if any of us see's a trap or enemy one of us raises a fist (like an army patrol) and we all freeze"...something along those lines would certainly have caused Solomon to automatically stop. (for all Solomon knows Argenta could have stopped to look at a pretty hat in a shop window..because he never saw the Suspicious woman at first glance).
Sorry this got muddled...am really trying hard to over-come a difficult encounter ..and get through this scenario in one piece. Hope you're all still enjoying it...
|
|
Sorry for not posting sooner
I do remember when running this there is a difficult line to draw between the confusion the author is trying to generate for the pcs and not throwing too much confusion to the players. There is also the issue of what is cast when and how is not exactly clear in the encounter description. This was my least favourite encounter to run in this scenario especially so in pbp environment
|
|
It’s okay GM I know you’re just trying to give us the best game experience, I was just trying to figure out what order the events happened because I was after Argenta I was wondering what event set off the spell and when in the timeline because everything is happening within seconds. I understand now when things happened thank you for taking the time to explain it.
I expect all players to keep the game moving and adhere to the social contract, you agreed upon when entering this game. If you cannot post for some reason; it takes what a minute? To put something in the discussion thread, and let us all know that you'll be unable to post.
For reference sake here's what you've agreed by asking to be in this game:
You post once a day min. except on weekends when I only require one post for both days. (if you're not busy by all means try to keep the game moving) Any planed time off..should be shared with the whole groups so we're in the know. If you don't have a "how to bot my character section" on your profile; know that the GM loathes to use character's expendable resources and looks to preserve character's lives..even when it is not best for the party as a whole.
Simply put, I want everyone to do there best to live up to this or I can issue a chronicle sheet for how far you've progressed so far. It's unfair to me and the rest of the players, to constantly stall play by waiting on post.
I doubt even a natural 20 will pinpoint an invisible person so I shall be firing blind.
kinda funny you said that...because that's what I was going for when I only moved her 15' instead of 30' I wanted her to get the stealth bonus.
2 things I didn't count on or forgot..(Smiler's scent ability) and she rolled a 2! So yeah a natural 20 could have just spotted her Argenta (she has a stealth of +4 +(2 roll)+20 for invisible!) Then the Ape gets lucky and almost crits her!You guys might actually capture her yet (especially if the other players come back and help you)...
So the sister's combat is over. You may make a diplomacy or intimidate check (remember if you make both they work against each other.)
Sorry for the limited roll-play in this encounter...
So..I had a longer post..mostly expressing some disappointment in some aspects of this game so far. But, I'm not going there.
Without naming names or pointing any fingers I am stating how the remainder of this game is going to go.
Everyone will post at least once a weekday with a relevant action and at least once on weekends. You may post more than this and roll-play among yourselves. Failure to live up to the post rate means automatic expulsion from this game. unless you've previously cleared it with me.
For the sake of determining what a day means in context of the rules required to remain in this game:
A day means between the hours of 12am-11:59pm on a given Calendar day.Pacific standard time.
If you think this is unfair or harsh, you may take it up with one of the VLs (Redelia) or VCs (GM Hmm).
Polanco has been dropped from the game for violating posting requirements.
We will forge on without him, as this is a season 3 scenario, and was designed for 4 players not 6 anyway.
|
|
Polanco has been dropped from the game for violating posting requirements.
We will forge on without him, as this is a season 3 scenario, and was designed for 4 players not 6 anyway.
At this point I think I shall withdraw from this game. I am afraid that your style is not compatible with me enjoying this game.
Please issue me with a chronicle. I believe we have completed at least three encounters so it should be 1xp and, I imagine, a reduced gold and prestige amount.