Shattered Star

Game Master Zesdead

I'm just letting you guys work out what you are up to with proceeding or setting up an ambush... There's no inherent danger in swinging over to the platform and climbing up so you can all post for doing that... Or, it sounds like Teldon also had a plan for lying in wait? Although, great timing...'Hey Zee, I know you could have plummeted to your death and all but shall we not do the swinging out to the platform thing after all?!?!'

As to Joanna's player, I've got no issues with GMPC'ing her until he gets back...I think like Briana said, it'll probably be fairly soon...

All I can say is now I understand why the writer dropped a ring of feather fall, cat burglar boots, and a second-story harness...

If you guys can have a quick IC discussion on stopping / ambushing or pushing on, I can sort out the next GM post...

....and, agreeing with Ziomarra, they are very 'fortuitous' items to have found before negotiating a 200ft drop!!! Although, I don't feel like they are just chucked your way arbitrarily...they were 'obtained' from someone who would logically have had such stuff...

Technically it's still a little early for Briana to be taking a large amount on initiative on things like this, but Teldon is right that we've slowed down lately and since this is one of my most enjoyable games at the moment, I'd rather it not falter if I can help it :)

Sorry for the slowdown on my part. I took over GM duties on the Runelords PbP that I started about the same time as this one, and it's sucking more of my PbP time than I thought it would. I'll get a pidt up in the morning.

No worries, I was really busy at work yesterday so couldn't have posted much of a response if you had put your plan into action...

...if we all keep to at least a post a day and, so far as possible, make them posts that move us along...all will be fine.

I am mindful we are down to four players right now and therefore we might nor fill the boards up as quickly as we have...I have a backup plan if we don't get Joanna back...but I am happy to wait for a while yet (Joanna will just be the strong and silent type for now)

It's okay Zee; it was really good of you to take over GMing for them :)

It's also good that GM Zed already has a contingency plan if Joanna doesn't come back (though I hope she does, I like the character dynamic she has with the rest of the group).

Only a few hours until the reveal of the top 32 RPGSS items... Good luck to those of you still on the running...

...and, if you are lucky enough to have proceeded, we'll all understand if your posting rate slows for a while...

Thanks!

I slept extremely poorly last night and decided to take a sick day. I'm starting work on a map for Round 2, on the off-chance I actually make it to the Top 32!

I'm scheduled to GM my IRL PF game tonight, but if I do make it, I'll probably have to cancel.

If I don't advance, I'll be putting my item up on the "Critique My Item" thread on the RPGSS board, and I'll link that post here so you all can have a look at it.

i haven't even started thinking about a map :(
and i'm nervous about what i'll do if I do make round 2... i'm not much of an artist and i'm really not sure how i'd put together i decent looking map...

on a positive note, though... i logged in this morning and had new gameplay posts in every PbP I'm in, even the really slow one :)

Well, I officially failed to make the top 32 (or 36)... anyone else fair better?

Alas, no.

Congrats to the winners!

I jumped the gun and started a "Critique my item" thread, and Mark Seifter quickly shut it down. I hadn't seen any announcement asking people not to do it.

I sent Mark Seifter an apology, and he told me "no problem," as Owen neglected to put up the annoucement that we let the winners bask in their glory for a day before talking about our own items.

Lol- I'm pretty sure that happens every year (it was just your turn this year).

Which items did you guys submit? (Mine was Spelldrinker, the longsword that drains spells on a crit and could use them to deal extra damage or recharge an arcane pool/reservoir)

Well....there's always next year!!! And at least you can now watch / commentate on other submissions now as an impartial observer!!!

My item was Sleeper's Vessel, a dagger that allowed you to transform helpless targets into gaseous form that was then held within a hollow handle of the weapon (the idea being it would be really cool for kidnappings, etc)...I will, in due course, get it up on the 'critique my item' thread but I think I fell into the trap of making a weapon that was cool for GM's / story-telling but was too situational for players...

Teldon, I saw Spelldrinker a few times and liked it...

Mine was the dirk of treachery, the night-black dagger that was extra deadly against those flanked or denied their Dex bonus, and extra- extra deadly to anyone who had considered the weilder to be an ally at the start of combat.

lol, we all made weapons- great minds...

Sleeper's Vessel for those of you who might be interested...

....in the meantime, Teldon's proposed a plan...what are people's view on it...how are you proceeding?

Sorry, been at work today. Catching up on posting now!

Here's the item I submitted to Superstar.

Here's Mark Seifter's feedback.

Looking at the other people's feedback, I had no idea that so many people considered the phrase "GM's discretion" to be the kiss of death! Of course, how else can you determine whether someone thought you were their friend?

Funny-- so many reviewers dinged my item for including one line of backstory connecting it to the Skinsaw Cult, while most reviewers last year dinged my butterfly-themed item for not inlcuding a reference to the Church of Desna! I guess you can't please everybody!

Ditto here, I tied it to Golarion by talking about Nidal but then got dinged (fairly I guess) for using the 'favoured by...' text. Also, it looks like my cost / price was way off... But that's just practise...

The only other feedback I got said they liked the ability and that it was weird / unique... Which is cool... Still didn't get me past the cull though!!!!

It'll be slightly slow for me for a day or so as I am trying to get a review up of each of the top 32...these folks have all managed to rise to the top so I figure the least I can do is recognise that achievement with a few words...

...and then I will have a look at Ziomarra and Teldon's items if you like? If they're cool, maybe you'll see them here in some form!!!

Long story short, get yourself up to implementing your plan and you'll get a GM response tomorrow...

And here's Mark Seifter's critique of my item, Ouch!!!. Yep, cost / price was way off but 'not very interesting'...kinda stings but it didn't get pas the cull so he's got a point...

So, I finally got Spelldrinker posted to the critique my item thread... Mark hasn't gotten around to me yet but i'll post that too when he does.

On an unrelated note, has anyone heard from Joanna's player at all? I know we want to wait for him but if he's not coming back (or not anytime soon) we should maybe talk about whether or not we'll recruit someone else... with Jo as an APC and Zee stretched thin on posting with new GM responsibilities, we're definitely having some trouble maintaining momentum (especially since they were the two early on who expressed interest in leadership and we had been more or less been going with that). I definitely don't want to give up on Joanna prematurely but another active poster could really help with momentum, and when we head back to turn in a boat load of tower girls and sleep that might be a good time to add someone...

I PM’d Joanna’s player a few days back to let them know we were holding the seat open but I didn’t hear anything back… I do have someone who is interested in stepping in (they are currently in one of my Emerald Spire games) so what I am going to do now is suggest they start thinking about a character so that they can segue in easily, if needed, at a sensible point…

With regards to momentum, I think we are still going okay with people achieving daily posts…what I would ask though is that you try and think about giving the GM a little more guidance as to what you are up to – it’s taken you a few posts (and a couple of days) to get through scouting the area (maybe I could have given you a wider view of the level in the first instance...so I’ll take that one on board) and we still haven’t quite got to positive affirmation that Ziomarra will put Teldon’s plan into action…

…I have a board games night tonight and will get a gameplay post / updated map up after that…

i'm unclear on what Zee thought was a good idea... Trying to lure the southern group upstairs, or having Briana burn up sleep?

Sorry for the ambiguous post last night. It was supposed to have been much longer, but I got a phone call while tapping it on my phone. A friend hit a deer and wrecked his car, and he called me to rescue him: neither the tow truck nor the cops would give him a ride back into town.

And, here's my official judge's critique... not as much info as I had hoped, and I'm not entirely sure its a founded concern...

(not that I think my item was perfect, but that issue in particular i thought had been handle by my mechanics)

edit: drat... it turns out (probably unsurprisingly) that there is a viable exploit there :(

Regarding Joanna's player, I'd say either give him until the end of the month or until the party decides to head back to Magnimar, whichever comes first. If we've lost Joanna, that also means we're back to not really having much combat beef, which we'll likely need. I'm glad GM Zed has a replacement in mind already, but if that doesn't happen, I could check in with some of my other games and see if anyone there would be interested.

*edit* Random thought, but if we get another male PC, Teldon won't be the odd man out anymore :3

Lol- no, females only... we've gotta get this Charlie's Angels vibe going...

Only if I get the Kate Jackson role...

So, I have been chatting to Escharid Blackrose...who plays a Cleric (Ea Zalinsel) in my Stirrings in the Deep game... They're going to suggest a couple of characters that could fill the gap if Joanna's player doesn't return...

Have a look, see what you think and provide feedback as to what will fill the gap left by the paladin / what will be interesting RP wise...

Hello all.

Maybe you already know, or not, I've been reading your adventure from the start. So I'm quite familiar with your characters, how they interact. Zed is GMing another group I'm in, and I'm Gming my own adventure (Lil"Eschie Crypt of the Everflame with some unexpected twists.)

Here are the two characters I'm proposing:
a male Bloodrager, Lachen

or a female Warpriest of Pharasma Arsith

Both are humans.
They just need to be leveled up, and get some more equipment. Lachen just need to get a new background (probably as a mercenary, and a Pathfinder in probation)

Waiting for your feedback on which character would be better for your team.

Hmmm... I'm kind of torn. I like Arsith's background and story better, and with Joanna gone we could really use more healing, but I think Lachen would be a more interesting fit.

My 2 cp on the options...

Mechanically, I think a bloodrager is probably a better fit- we need someone who can stand toe to toe with some baddies and dish out some damage, and the bloodrager seems better suited for that...

However... I think the warpriest would actually probably be better for the party... I say that because I'm worried about the impact of introducing a CN character. Our party is already ideologically diverse and hardly a group of professionals when it comes to being pathfinders- a CN bloodrager would likely exacerbate that while a LN warpriest could help provide some discipline, as well as a more serious commitment to our organization and our specific missions.

That's how I see it, at least...

Apologies for the GMPC hogging the limelight...Paizo dice roller decided it loved Joanna!!!

*wave* Heya Eschie, we meet again :3

Based on the character personalities and backgrounds as currently written, I could see either one of them being an interesting addition to the party. I tend to agree that the bloodrager would probably be the better mechanical choice, but a warpriest certainly wouldn't hurt either. If we're still that worried about healing even with trying to keep some scrolls and a wand on hand, I can reshuffle Briana's build to make her a healing shaman the next time we level up or hit an appropriate point in the story for it, providing GM Zed would allow it and that's what everyone wanted to do. Doing so wouldn't really affect Briana's characterization any since she sorta has a healer/supportive vibe to her anyway.

Hi, Escharid!

Of the two proposed characters, I think that Arsith would fit better with this party. And not just from a Charlie's Angels perspective.

A warpriest can also hold her own in combat. From a game mechanics perspective, a warpriest would fill the same role as a paladin.

*Waves back at Briana/Lenneth*

I don't think I'll be allowed to play both, so a choice needs to be made.^^

Heh! The votes did sort of end up split down the middle, didn't they? In that case, I'm fine with Arsith joining us; Zee is right that a warpriest can be similar to a paladin in what roles they fill. Not to mention I'm sure GM Zed will adjust things as necessary to accommodate party composition :)

Let's go with Arsith.

I'll work on her equipment and leveling up.

I think Arsith is ready, just waiting for GM opinion

I think Arsith is ready, just waiting for GM opinion

I think your dagger should do 1d6 base damage: it's Pharasma's favored weapon, so I think it should also be covered by the Sacred Weapon class feature, even without taking Weapon Focus (dagger).

You're right. Sacred weapon works both for the deity favored weapon and the weapon I got a focus for:

In addition to the favored weapon of his deity, the warpriest can designate a weapon as a sacred weapon by selecting that weapon with the Weapon Focus feat

I'm still learning things about the Warpriest. ;-)

So am I!

I statted up a warpriest last night for the IRL game I GM Tuesday nights. It was the first time I'd worked with any ACG class, really.

I see the design space of the warpriest as pretty much occupying the role of a paladin, but with a whole lot more vesritility and flexibility in character concepts.

Of course, you could still simulate a "battle priest" of other faiths, even in the Core Rules. I once ran an NPC who called himself a "paladin of Gorum." His actual character class? Barbarian.

Whenever he used his "Gorum Smite!" ability, he was really raging.

I would have called that "Gorum SMASH puny ***"

I don't know, I think Paizo has gone a little overboard with the "warrior-priest" concept. If you don't want to go full-on paladin, you can always just make a battle cleric. Inquisitor was an interesting addition, more martial than most clerics but more versatile than a paladin, blurring the line between them. (The APG also gave us the hospitaler paladin archetype, which heals almost like a cleric and makes that line even blurrier.) Now we have the warpriest. I've got nothing against warpriests, and if you have fun playing one, that's really all that matters. I guess I just don't see a meaningful difference between them, inquisitors, and martial-oriented clerics; slightly different class features, but the same character concept. I dunno, it just seems redundant.

That's my spiel anyway.

What did people make of the maps that have just been posted in Round 2 of RPG Superstar? It looks like it was a really difficult brief to get some real ‘Superstar’ polish on to… a map without the adventure / description to go with it is a challenge… but I think four, maybe five, entrants have managed to pull something out of the top drawer. Ziomarra / Teldon – did you folks ever think about what kind of map you would have submitted had you got to the next round?

Escharid – Arsith looks good to go from my perspective. I would say it is almost certain now (one month on) that Joanna’s player won’t be returning which I think we are all a little sad about…but I’m looking forward to welcoming Arsith into the game once we reach a sensible point.

the flu has been making the rounds through my family, so i've been so busy i haven't even looked at the maps...

Take your time. I'm checking on this forum, and reading your adventure, of course.

I haven't looked at the maps yet either. I ran my IRL Pathfinder game last night, and we ran almost an hour over. (I should know by now not to start a combat encounter after 10:00!)

Plus, my Rise of the Runelords PbP campaign is really taking more of my time that I had planned. Of course, I'm loving every minute of it! I hadn't intended to GM a game on the boards, but the original GM of that game went AWOL in November, and that group of players and characters was so amazing that I didn't want to let the game die!

Ziomarra, someone in round 2 has submitted a Korvosa entry (the Leftover's Inn in East Shore)...it's not particularly great but I though you might be amused / interested given your IRL game setting. You'd better have a look reasonably quickly though, the entrant may have DQ'd themselves by chatting about / giving explanatory info about their entry...ouch!!!