[PFS] GM Brew's First Steps Part 1: In Service to Lore (Inactive)

Game Master Wicked Brew

Folks,
this has got to be the toughest scenario also because it gets bit confusing with time delays and how to write and articulate an idea.

Now...Havelockk is getting a bit frustrated but me personally I am having fun wit this challenge.

its a bit like trying to lead or have first time Soldiers try and do something complicated for the first time....

That said...I am moving this summer...some of you may or may not know, but the last year I have been in a highly visible position that has stacked on about 200 tons of stress and politics that makes the Roman Senate during the fall of the Republic look tame...thankfully the year is over...and I moving to the War College...however...there may be a few days where my post may be a little on the short side as I do things from a iPad or iPhone.

The moving part sucks, but lowering your stress is a good thing. Congrats.

I moving to the War College...

Hey, you will be quite close to some of us. Let us know when you get settled and maybe we can gather for dinner.

I would love to meet up with you guys...I should be in Carlisle no later than 24 July.

Oh wow. THAT War College. ('scuse my ignorance) That is right up the road.

Gents would be a scream to link up and break bread and drink. I know a awesome Belgium craft beer place in town and I am of course willing to drive out your way as well.

Just sharing a little Pathfinder goodness .....

The Emerald Spire Pathfinder module just came out in PDF format last week. I have been waiting for this one for several months and picked it up. The print edition comes out in early July. Anyway, it is 16 levels of fantasy RPG goodness with a writing troop that sounds like a whose who of RPG writing greatness. I will probably never get a chance to run or play this one, but could not resist reading it and experimenting with it in Roll20. It takes me back to the eighties and nineties when I read epic adventures like The Temple of Elemental Evil (never played or ran that one either.)

... Ahhhh, the good 'ol days. :-)

Yes the good old days and that was one if my favorite modules when AD and D was not all jacked up like it is now with 4.0.

2.0 was not so good.
3.0 was really good
3.5 was damn near perfect
4.0 was worse than 2.0

And now there is Pathfinder which really rocks.

I would love to play or run that module on the Emerald Spire.

Nothing says we can't run and play two sep mods or games, just different characters.

I'm with you guys.There's nothing like good ole original AD&D.I have sooo many fond memories of those days!I have book shelves filled with all the old books from AD&D and Forgotten Realms of that era.Cant beat a good dungeon crawl.It'd be nice Ben to play the Emerald Spire.Love the huge dungeons,reminds me of Moria.

I received the PDF a while back but have not cracked it yet. My plan was to run that someday. I was waiting to see if it was going to be sanctioned for PFS which I do believe is forthcoming. Definitely a roll20 type of thing as it would take years o pbp that bad boy.

There are a bunch of sanctioned modules I'd like to run if I ever get comfy using roll20.

Also, Frog God Games has a cool mega dungeon called Rappan Athuk that is made for Pathfinder.

I would love to run it, but as a pbf game, it would take us 20 years to finish. :-)

Roll 20 as a live game is probably not likely with our entire crowd because we would have to commit to a regular cyclic play time which is why some of us are playing by pbf anyway. But, I think Roll 20 as a pbf game on crack is definitely doable. It has the forum, die roller and map all in one place.

Some of the shorter sanctioned modules would probably work live though. Some of those are written to be played in 4 hours of face to face time. We would just have to plan ahead for those times.

Now all we need is some bad hair and acne and we will have time warped back to the 80's :-)

I am ready to try roll20. I have been playing around with the site for a while now, but have yet to test it out. I would love to run PFS scenarios for you guys on roll20 if I can figure out how to use it. The great thing about PFS scenarios is that they are designed to be played in 4 hours. Makes them great for pbp as well as roll20 games.

As for the modules, they are often sanctioned for PFS, allowing players (and GM) to receive chronicle sheets for completing them. Paizo also publishes entire campaigns called Adventure Paths. I read through a few of them and thought they were outstanding. I would be willing to run one of those someday if folks would want to play one. We would have to do roll20 likley as a pbp adventure path would takes years to finish. Some APs are also PFS sanctioned, allowing folks to earn chronicles.

I think I could block out 4-5 hours a month, maybe even twice a month, if folks would like to get a game going at some point. My thought was to wait until Caoilte is back stateside and see if we could put something together.

Oh, one other thing. I am leaving for a 2 week vacation next week. I will be in Europe for two weeks. I will have a laptop with me and will try to keep the game going as best I can, but I suspect my ability to post will be greatly diminished during my trip. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up.

Europe...did you clear this with me? I had no idea?

So where are you going? I heard that the fireworks in the Ukraine are particularly good this time of year as well as along the Crimea.

UK is great this time of year.

Let me know where you are going and I can give a few good recommendations.

If you want to run with the bulls and do your own LARP of the confirmation with a minotaur like encounter I would highly discourage that.

Thanks Ark. I am going to hit London and Paris. Plan to spend 5 days in each.

Awesome! Sounds like a good time. Have you been to Paris before?

What day are you leaving?

While in France, be sure to order a Royale with cheese :-)

Leaving Tuesday. First time in either city.

The Parisians are just as snotty as everyone would have you believe, but if you don't act like a typical loud, obnoxious American tourist and make a half decent effort to speak even just a few French words they will tolerate you or maybe even act friendly toward you. Lots of really cool things to see in Paris. I am sure you will enjoy yourself immensely in both cities.

Just beware of the gypsies, especially around the Tower... they'll try to steal your ice cream...

I'm serious, I saw it happen.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I really appreciate it. Happy 4th all, I hope everyone has a good and safe holiday weekend.

Yes, Happy 4th to everyone.

Happy 4th to all and enjoy both France and the UK. Make sure you try some of the brit and Scottish ales in the pubs.

Brew,

I hope you have a safe and enjoyable trip.

Hey folks, I think I mentioned this once before...but..I will occasionally make wise ass comments, joke, flirt, be a angry dude, drunk, etc...as the moment fits Havelockk. All in a attempt to add some color and humor.

That said...please do not take anything personal...well accept maybe Caoilte...I am still scared by him with our time in Iraq...ok just kidding on that too and he was the only guy to get one of the more wound up tighter than a swiss watch Colonel types to laugh....

I think we all experienced the horrors of the arcane poo and throwing of oblong missiles. After that display, I am thinking everything else Havelock does is all good :-)

Hey, what is wrong with Arcane Poo?

It is powerful stuff.

Why am I reminded of the Bog of Eternal Stench....

I am so relieved to read that when Izzy pulled back his cloak that candy was the only thing revealed

Yes, anything else could have been very awkward.

Some changes coming to Pathfinder Society. Season 6 will be known as the Year of the Sky Key and will be ushered in with a new Guide to Organized Play in a few weeks. We will likely be playing catch up here and stick with Season 5 as that gives us a full season to play with. That being said, we still need to make sure our characters comply with current standards. I'll post a link to the new guide when it comes out. One of the big changes is being made to available playable races. Teifling and Asimar are out, kitsune, nagaji and wayang are in. The good news for our resident Aasimar is that any PFS character with at least 1 XP can remain an Asimar. Looks like you are grandfathered in Tarek.

Woooo hoooo! You all can kiss my aasimar now :-)

Brew,
good stuff to know. Interesting that those two races are out. Was there any discussion beforehand within the PFS boards on this happening?

I don't know much on the other races that are now PFS legit.

Folks, Anybody ever try to build a dex monkey? I was thinking a fighter with high dex, decent con, buckler, chain shirt and rapier.

Rapidly upgrading to Master work buckler and chain shirt with the fighter's 'armor training' at 3rd level eliminating all armor penalties, if with an 18 dex and shield specialization gives an AC of 0.

Weapon finesse and power attack as feats give a +6 to hit at 3rd level and 1d6 + 2 + str bonus.

Then switching to rogue at 4th level. This guy wouldn't be a tank but is able to get in close with the fight and start rogue sneak attacks.

I'm just curious about the build, not switching out Caoilte.

I was going to say something about dex capping with armor, but then I saw the "armor training" bit and while I haven't looked at that skill I will presume that it then doesn't penalize a dexxer for wearing armor.

Other than that, back in NWN (on another server) I made a dex monkey. High crit rate, high evasion... even without using armor because of dex cap she was hardly hit... and with the rouge levels the backstab/sneak attack hits would be killer.

The only drawback would be skills. This last campaign seemed to weigh heavy on skill rolls. Having a one sided character would make him effective in only specific situations and may not be as fun in a pen and paper or pbp setting as it would be in DDO/NWN setting.

Looks like it could be a great build for melee. Then again you could have attack rolls like mine and never hit anything. I looked at the last campaign and only had 1 successful attack against the dogs during the first encounter.

Have you guys looked at the Swashbuckler advanced class that is allowed right now in PFS?

BTW, did anyone pick up a PnP game Day 2 Boon?

I just got one from Iron Helix, for a PnP I did with a fighter, but the crazy thing is it looks like I can use it on any PFS character. Brew, what is your take on this? I can forward you a copy of it via email. Its registered with my PFS number/license.

I think the template is viable assuming that we have tank class to assist with the combat. Roland was a similar concept on Arelith and that was very successful when you landed sneak attacks.

Skills would be an issue at the beginning but the rogue levels will quickly bring that back into balance. We have a lot of skill checks in the group so I think that would not be a major issue anyway.

I would rely on the "Play what makes you Happy" motto since that is the primary driver for this game.

I thought Rolly was more STR based than DEX based...

Izzy,
great advice and what I have almost always done is roll and play a character that makes me happy.

While a party normally needs a tank, a healer, a caster and sneak any good GM/DM can change things up if its a huge imbalance and...teamwork goes a long way where we compliment each other's PC's strengths and weaknesses.

Oh on a side note, I am now residing in Carlisle PA. Very happy to be free of the NCR and the Pentagon.

Nah, Dolly was a dex monkey. Weapon master rogue build. I always said he used abroadsword because one has to be eating paint chips to dungeon prowl with a rapier. I always figured if I got put on the spot I'd claim I had some sort of new-fangled transitional blade.

Oh, and I enjoy Caoilte

Yeah. The axe-man cometh...

The rapier and the scimitar are great weapons for the crit range. I made a Pally in NWN with a scimitar and he was regularly dealing out 75 points of damage. When he added a few buffs it was easily over 100. My goal was to work on a few smites to see what kind of crits he could get in. With a crit range of 10-20 and 13-20 it was easy to deal out damage.....well except for the undead. We were handed the smack down quite often

BTW, did anyone pick up a PnP game Day 2 Boon?

I just got one from Iron Helix, for a PnP I did with a fighter, but the crazy thing is it looks like I can use it on any PFS character. Brew, what is your take on this? I can forward you a copy of it via email. Its registered with my PFS number/license.

I think you should be able to apply the boon to any eligible PFS character. Check to make sure that the boon was issued to your PFS number without the character -# designation. If it was just issued to your number, you are able to apply it to any of your characters. You would have to wait to apply it to Havelock until after the current adventure concludes.

Folks, Anybody ever try to build a dex monkey? I was thinking a fighter with high dex, decent con, buckler, chain shirt and rapier.

Rapidly upgrading to Master work buckler and chain shirt with the fighter's 'armor training' at 3rd level eliminating all armor penalties, if with an 18 dex and shield specialization gives an AC of 0.

Weapon finesse and power attack as feats give a +6 to hit at 3rd level and 1d6 + 2 + str bonus.

Then switching to rogue at 4th level. This guy wouldn't be a tank but is able to get in close with the fight and start rogue sneak attacks.

I'm just curious about the build, not switching out Caoilte.

One of the great things about Pathfinder, IMO, is the the versatility it allows in character creation. From what you are describing, you may want to check out the Slayer in the Advanced Class Guide which is a great blend of rogue and ranger. Basically gives you a watered down sneak attack but with full BAB. There are also a ton of archetypes for the fighter and I am sure there is one out there that would cater to a dexy tupe fighter. You should be able to find a fairly complete list of all available archetypes over at the d20pfsrd.

I would rely on the "Play what makes you Happy" motto since that is the primary driver for this game.

Agreed brother! The problem is that I keep finding new characters I want to play as I read through all the PF goodness. I already have builds for a sorcerer, magus, bloodrager and just today was dreaming up a crazy barbarian/brawler/fighter monstrosity. I even rolled up an oracle, a healing class, which is usually not my forte. The Inner Sea Gods expansion also brought a ton of great stuff for clerics and there are a few I would definitely try in the future.

Brew,
thanks for the info and I forwarded you a copy of it but it looks like I could apply it to any of my characters...I may apply it to my Arklore Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer.

Hey Folks,
for what it is worth, I spent the $4.89 for the Pathfinder Character Folio to see what it was all about.

Its a pretty organized way to set up your PFS character, especially if you do not have Hero lab or one of the other online Apps.

You can also type in it or print it out and hand jam it. The last couple of pages have what I call the idiot's guide to Pathfinder with all the factors that can determine a outcome in combat, spells, encumbrance, etc....

Not bad for under 5 bucks, especially if you don't want to purchase Hero Lab.

Hit me up if you are curious as to what the format looks like and all.
r/
Ark

Ok folks, I have been seeing rumors in the forums that this scenario is going to be retired after GenCon. As you may or may not know, GenCon is this week, I think it starts the 14, so we need to pick up the pace on this scenario. I would hate to get all the way through this and miss the reporting deadline so no one receives credit for the scenario. If we can get it wrapped up by Thursday, I think we will be ok. I will be posting more often from here on out and may bot you guys so that we get the scenario finished on time as long as everyone is ok with that.

Just so you know, the PFS seasons end at GenCon with an elaborate special that is run at the con which leads to the kick off of the new season. Major changes are coming to PFS with the new season, specifically to factions. There will be an updated Guide to Organized Play that will outline the details. I will have more on this after I have a chance to review the new guide. Until then, keep trucking on the boards.

I am certainly OK with you making any moves on my behalf.

Me too, in the interest of time.

Folks, I don't want to take away from Brew's thunder, but are you aware that the new PFS PDF is available for download? Biggest change is that we have a year to change our factions as all national based ones have been removed with new ones. The Grand lodge and the silver crusade are the only survivors.