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To those coming over from Fugitive on the Red Planet, welcome back! For those that are new joining us, welcome! Welcome to my PbP game for SFS 1-03 Yesteryear’s Truth. Hope you would have a blast!
Before we start, I would to share some of my ground rules. (In spoiler tags to not take up space.)
PbP Matters
1. This discussion thread is open for all OOC matters, so no ooc tag needed. For OOC matters in the gameplay thread, please use the [ ooc ] tag.
2. Please post at least once a weekday, and once on weekends. If you would be away, please let me know in advance where possible, and we can work something out. Otherwise, if you go missing, where necessary, I will bot your characters for the sake of the rest of everyone else. Thus, it is a good idea is to leave botting instructions for normal combat (with dice rolls), space combat and non-combat in your profile page beforehand.
3. If you have any disagreements over some of my GM calls or interpretation of the scenario, please take it to the discussion thread or, even better, pm me.
4. If you have played and/or GMed this scenario before, please do not metagame or spoil the plot. And please let me know.
5. I would have thought this would go without mentioning until I encountered this, so… It is the responsibility of the player to keep track of the game, including referencing the map on google slides. I understand that there are times where it is inconvenient to do so. In that case, please be as specific as you can as to where you wish your character to move, what actions to take, etc. If you regularly have issues with accessing the google slides, you might want to reconsider playing via PbP PFS/SFS, as there is always combat, and thus map dependent.
Normal Combat
6. Once surprise (if any) and initiative is determined, for the group of characters who can take actions, I would resolve actions in posting order, NOT initiative order. I used to do the latter but it doesn’t work that well in PbP, so am going with the former instead.
Space Combat
7. I run space combat somewhat differently from the RAW to facilitate posting rate. I’ll roll the initiative at the start for all ships based on the respective piloting checks. Then, once it reaches your ship’s turn, everyone will post (except possibly gunnery phase; see below) but I will resolve the actions in the Engineering – Helm – Gunnery phase order. As such, while you can declare your actions in the open, please have your dice rolls in spoilers. There are two exceptions to this. (1) Gunnery phase might need to wait for all the ship movement to finalise to determine which weapons are available for firing. So Gunners might want to hold your posting until then or set up a series of contingency actions depending on the final facing and positioning. (2) If the Captain wishes to buff the pilot’s initiative roll, please indicate this and roll for this in the previous round, or state if that’s your default for start of combat (in which case I’ll roll that as well.
Character Choice
8. In PFS, I’ve pretty much left the players to sort out what characters to play because only in very rare scenarios do an unoptimized party spread have a significantly adverse effect. And players do generally sort it out among themselves. However, due to the nature of space combat, it is beneficial that there are characters who can cover each of the following: (1) charisma-skills, (2) piloting, (3) engineering, (4) computer, and (5) BAB/piloting rank + dex. Of course, it is not detrimental to be lacking in one or other, but if there are 6 mystics, then we might have a problem.
Rolls and Skill Checks
9. I would do your initiative rolls, as well as perception rolls for the purpose of determining surprise (if any).
10. On knowledge checks for general information, I would usually put them in spoilers with the necessary DCs. Just go ahead to roll, and I'll trust that you would resist reading them if the roll fails (or least not to metagame). (Don’t forget that you can make knowledge checks untrained for DC10.) There might be exceptions for plot-critical information though, where I would explicitly ask for checks and only reveal based on what was rolled. As for knowledge checks to identify creatures, I would put the most basic information in spoilers as well, i.e. identity and creature type, as well as one piece of useful information. If your roll would reveal more, I’ll provide in the next post. If you wish, you can ask for what information you want, e.g. DR, resistances, special attacks, etc.
11. On skill checks where there could be team effort involved, e.g. finding a hidden trail with survival, influencing attitude of NPCs with diplomacy, please be explicit when making the rolls whether you are attempting the check on your own, or whether you are aiding. (And take note of the pros and cons of either.) There might be situations where only one character is allowed to attempt the check (and the rest to aid) – I’ll state so explicitly if that’s the case.
12. On skill checks in general, if I feel you have roleplayed well, e.g. gave a good description of what your character does to search for a trail, came up with creative ways to befriend a hostile NPC, gave a very rousing speech, I would give bonuses, or even waive the DC altogether. :)
Roleplaying Matters
13. The maps and handouts link (at the top of the page) would display all the maps, handouts, pictures, etc as the scenario progresses. The most current page would be right on top, while previous ones would be left there for your reference. (Incidentally, Android and IOS has the Google Slides app in case you work off mobile devices.)
14. Please have your full character information up on your character's profile page for my vetting. Also, please have your stat block updated with the key information. I’m most inclined towards this particular template.
15. Finally, playing by pbp provides many advantages compared to face-to-face games, the chief one being having the time and space to flesh out your thoughts and actions. So please make use of this and have posts that are more than simply dice rolls. :)
Getting Started
Ok with that out of the way, a few tasks before we kick off.
A. Go to the Gameplay page and ninja dot, i.e. submit a post then delete it.
B. Go to the maps and handouts page and fill out the table there. (Don’t worry about the 3 boxes below the table, i.e. token, initiative and perception. I’ll take care of that.) For those coming from the previous game, I’ve ported some of your data over. Please update the rest.
C. In this Discussion thread, do your day job rolls (if any), and share whatever OOC information you would like the rest of the party to know about your character e.g. class, level, special abilities. If you have not decided what class to play, you can discuss that here as well. We’ll leave character descriptions and introductions to the gameplay thread later when we are about to start.
We're short of one player with Hakrinag taking his leave, so I'll be recruiting one more player shortly.
Fantastic!
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Where all the vesk at? I've got a fever. And the perscription is MORE VESK.
Yes, I know my photoshop is terrible these days. It was a quick work anyway.
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Thanks for having me back!
Purchases and Sales
Selling:
Second skin for 250 credits
Buying:
Free booter armor for 750 credits
mk 1 ring of resistance 735 credits
added to the character sheet
Asier is level 2 due to a GM credit I applied to him, and he finally took a level in profession. Of course his profession happens to be his exocortex's classes at the Artificial Advancement Academy of Aballon, Absalom and Akiton: Android and Abiological Aliens Arm...
On a different note, I'd been thiknking about taking Overclock as a mechanic trick, but seeing as we have another andriod mechanic with it, I'll go with my second choice of overcharge instead.
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Forum Name: Phformian
Character: Albans
SFS #275732-702
Day Job: True Savior of Tasch
Faction: Aquisitives
Boons: Aquisitives Champion
Fame: 2
Reputation (Aquisitives): 2
Reputation (all others): 0
Purchases:
Healing serum mk I (1, 50cr)
Mk I ring of resistance (735cr)
Hey Asier! Good to see you!
@Eli:
I dunno, I thought the photoshop was pretty good for a one-off joke :P (Which I wouldn't have gotten except I've been on a BOC kick of late)
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Asier, you sure? Lol I noticed you have a +9 in Engineering and Computers! +5 to Gunnery is nice tho.
Alice 002 has a +10 in Engineering and Computers, so it doesn't matter which role she takes (Engineering or Science Officer.) Buuuut, since Albans has a +9 in Computers and a +8 in Engineering, I recommend having Albans as the Science Officer and Alice as the Engineering Officer. I have no personal preference over Alice's starship role.
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Asier, you sure? Lol I noticed you have a +9 in Engineering and Computers! +5 to Gunnery is nice tho.
Alice 002 has a +10 in Engineering and Computers, so it doesn't matter which role she takes (Engineering or Science Officer.) Buuuut, since Albans has a +9 in Computers and a +8 in Engineering, I recommend having Albans as the Science Officer and Alice as the Engineering Officer. I have no personal preference over Alice's starship role.
Sounds good. Engineering involves too much grease for Albans' taste anyways. He'll take science officer then, and keep his hands clean :)
”A VESKMOBILE is what vesk call mining carts.”
Also, thanks for the laugh. I can't wait for more Asier & Alice dialogue. Kind of reminds me of what happens when you set up two chatbots to talk to one another.
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I should be working on it, luckily this is my sixth game and I am currently in a second or third game with two of the three GM's I've played with, but yeah you'll probably have to hunt them down. I hear some of the gms from the online area have been giving specific permission to sign in their stead and include a copy of the PM stating that.
On a different note, Kuey did you know your Race for the Runecared Key has a very glitched out title in the recent threads line?
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Are you all participating in the first Outpost? It starts in 11 days! Ahhh! I'm pumped!
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2ut7s?Announcing-OutPost-I-Back-to-the-Future#1
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Dear all, sorry for the late update. Some personal things were happening this weekend which got me a bit overwhelmed, and there was the issue raised by Alice over pm. To give a bit of a background, she felt that the pace for PBP was too slow, and would rather focus more on live games (roll20, F2F).
Would like to check with the rest of the team whether you would prefer to continue with just 5 characters, or for me to try to recruit a replacement? We have just started the 1st encounter so I'm hoping whoever comes in won't feel that they have missed much, but then again, with Outpost going on, I worry that whoever wanted to play would have signed up already. Let me know what you think?
Separately, please let me know (via pm if you feel more comfortable that way), how you feel about the pacing. I know that this part of this scenario is quite a drag. I probably should have warned you ooc first, but it was that way when I played, and that seemed to be a consistent criticism about this scenario. Whoever designed a starship combat with up to 4 enemy combatants, and the main antagonist with relatively stronger shields... An alternative I have to speed things up (that those of you who played Into the Unknown with me would know) is for each round to be completely played by one player, and each player to take turns for each round. Thoughts?
In the defence of this scenario though, I really enjoyed the later part when we land on the planet.
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That's unfortunate, Alice, though I do understand - being hyped for Outpost and all that. Good luck, either way!
As for continuing, I'm honestly fine with going as we are (in 5), but I don't mind recruiting another player either. Up to you guys.
Pacing - based on our previous experience, this doesn't seem overly long so far. The space battles were always a tad extended, so it's all fine with me so far. I don't have this character signed up for anything, so all is well.
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Sorry to see you go Alice! Ihope you enjoy outpost. Why do all the android buddies leave me? :'-(
5 is okay to continue on with, but I'm of the mind set that it wouldn't hurt to at least advertise that we have a spot if someone wants to jump in anyways (and all of the recent openings have been for other scenarios, I believe.)
Also I don't ahve any one signed up for Outpost SFS games, so I can wait for a while. Posting-wise we started a month before outpost, there's no way we are getting past a scenario with space combat in that time (unless we pulled some massive posting feats!)
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Hope you're doing all right, Kuey. I have no issues with the pacing (I actually enjoy the slower pace of PBP, since otherwise I would have no time to play at all).
Sorry to see you go, Alice. Good luck with Outpost!
I'm ok to keep going with five characters, but I'm also ok waiting a bit to try to find another (stowaway on the Sunrise Maiden?). I don't know if things have changed much, but in the fall it was sure hard to find an open game; might as well give someone the chance to join?
And the only game I'm in currently is this one. It's not a huge deal with me if I get to play Outpost or not. Mostly I'm just happy to have people to play Starfinder with :)
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Hope I'm not metagaming too much by sharing this. I learnt this interesting tactic for starship combat if you are flying a faster ship vs a less maneuverable one, and have lost initiative. If you pilot the ship to park right in front of it, the enemy ship would have to try a flyby or a reverse to avoid AoO. Even if it succeeds, it can't evade making easier for the gunners later on. :)
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Dear all, if you have been following the Castamir or Flaxseed forums, you would know of the ban instituted on Emmjay, who was playing Madrigal. The venture officers did give me the option to have him continue so as to not disrupt the game. It was a difficult decision but after thinking for some time, I've decided to comply with the ban. I have written to Emmjay separately to explain my decision. If you have any comments about the ban, you can pm me.
The venture officers also offered to find a replacement. I am not so keen at this time, as compared to when Alice left, we are now coming to the end of the first encounter, and I don't want to shortchange whoever comes onboard from missing the full experience. But I would also like to hear from you.
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Yeah, you're right about that. The starship combat for this scenario is infamous for being tedious. I experienced it myself when I played it, and was very tempted to amend the stats to make it easier to take down. But you guys have been amazing, and I really appreciate the prompt posting to keep the combat going! And boy was I glad when you took out the power core system, preventing it from recovering its shields. Now, finish it! :)
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This is from the CRB Page 102
When in battle, you enter a state of metaphysical alignment with cosmic forces. At the start of your first turn in combat, if you are conscious, you must choose one of three stellar modes: graviton, photon, or unattuned (see below).At the start of each subsequent turn of combat, you must choose to either stay in your current stellar mode or to become unattuned. If you choose to stay in your mode, you gain another attunement point for that mode.
Moving this out of the gameplay thread. The most important part of those rules are listed a little later in the explanations of Photon and graviton modes.
Graviton Mode When you enter graviton mode, you gain 1 graviton attunement point and become graviton-attuned. Some of your stellar revelations are graviton powers and get stronger if you’re graviton-attuned. While graviton-attuned, you gain a +1 insight bonus to Reflex saves. This bonus increases by 1 for every 9 solarian levels you have.
Photon Mode When you enter photon mode, you gain 1 photon attunement point and become photon-attuned. Some of your stellar revelations are photon powers and get stronger if you’re photon-attuned. While photon-attuned, you gain a +1 insight bonus to damage rolls (including damage rolls for your stellar powers). This bonus increases by 1 for every 6 solarian levels you have.
So you do indeed have 3 attunement points.
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Ah so it is. Thanks for the clarification. :)
No worries! It is in an odd spot, and your post originally had me scramble for my rule book. I've reread those rules so many times when playing my solarion that if I'd messed them up I'd have to kick myself!
On a different note I'm going travelling soon! It's Sunday evening in Japan now and I will be getting on a plane early Tuesday morning. But tomorrow is also going to be very busy and I might not get a post up. I can post from my phone but it might be fairly short. I should be back to normal by next Japan Sunday.
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Thanks for another great game, everyone! Sorry that this one dragged out longer than normal - more than two months - what with the super long space combat, and the couple of movement of players. Nonetheless, it was a roleplay heavy scenario and I enjoyed it very much with all of you.
Will be churning the chronicles and reporting shortly. Alimony, if you have any day jobs, please roll them now? Thanks!
Mentioned in an earlier game that each of the scenarios seems to take on the theme of a popular sci-fi show. This one feels quite star-trekky to me. :)
Also, my original intention was to keep running with the next scenario, but after the intensity of running Solstice Scar, I'm giving myself a break from GMing for a bit. But you guys (and some of my earlier players) and definitely first on my list when I run again. Right now, I'm toying between 1-04: Cries From the Drift or Chapter 1 of Dead Suns.
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Oh yeah, Day Job. I don't think I've even posted here until now!
Thanks aplenty for picking me up to play, and to everyone else!
I've played both Cries from the Drift and the first Dead Suns, and enjoyed them immensely. If the latter is replayable, I'd be interested, but would rather my spot went to someone who hasn't done it before.