Flaxseed Lodge (PFS1)

Game Master Redelia

I am happy to report that my entire run of the Emerald Spire in PbP has come to a close. My first post as GM was Nov 4, 2018, 10:20 am and my last post for gameplay was now, June 4, 2020.

Some characters have been through the entire ride, some have only been with me for part of the tower, but no character has perished in the dark dungeons of the spire.

A moment for my heroes from floor 1:
Barm, the Two-Handed Fighter
Regnum Blastface, the musket master
Saint Gudule, the whimsy oracle

Honors for those that joined later:
Trutzbrurg, the polearm and shield fighter (joined at floor 2)
Baied, the sorcerer/cleric of Abadar (joined at floor 4)
Freodwen, the ranger/bard (joined at floor 13)

And finally, honorable mentions for those that could not be there for the whole spire, but helped out along the way:
Jahz the Wanderer, the Spell-warrior Skald
Jawhar, the cleric of Sarenrae
Talondreal, the Sorcerer/Paladin/Dragon Disciple

I am happy to report that my entire run of the Emerald Spire in PbP has come to a close. My first post as GM was Nov 4, 2018, 10:20 am and my last post for gameplay was now, June 4, 2020.

Some characters have been through the entire ride, some have only been with me for part of the tower, but no character has perished in the dark dungeons of the spire.

A moment for my heroes from floor 1:
Barm, the Two-Handed Fighter
Regnum Blastface, the musket master
Saint Gudule, the whimsy oracle

Honors for those that joined later:
Trutzbrurg, the polearm and shield fighter (joined at floor 2)
Baied, the sorcerer/cleric of Abadar (joined at floor 4)
Freodwen, the ranger/bard (joined at floor 13)

And finally, honorable mentions for those that could not be there for the whole spire, but helped out along the way:
Jahz the Wanderer, the Spell-warrior Skald
Jawhar, the cleric of Sarenrae
Talondreal, the Sorcerer/Paladin/Dragon Disciple

Congratulations to you and your players (especially the ones who went all the way through.)

That's some impressive dedication and not a small feat.

Almost 3000 posts in the gameplay thread! Amazing.

Outstanding shift there!

[...] Back to the question of stars and novas -- yep, it is completely possible to do a hundred games with the same scenarios over and over. But is it worth it? Much is made about the 10,000 hours it takes to become an expert in something, but little is said about the quality of those hours. Active practicing in which you strive to master things you are struggling with is far more effective than retreading material that you feel confident with.

I am better the second time I GM a scenario, no doubt. But there are diminishing returns after that!

One thing that is cool about playing in other people's games is that I see different techniques and I get the opportunity to say, 'oh, that's an amazing way to handle something.' I'm still learning and improving, too.

Doublegold wrote:

The point, what difference does it make if I'm actually an excellent DM or if I gave everyone the illusion that I'm an excellent DM? Although, on the Starfinder side, I do want to be an excellent DM.

Illusion vs substance is a huge difference. No amount of stars is going to remove a player's reaction to a poorly done game. Even more importantly, when you have a GM who is completely new who gives you an AMAZING game, the stars and novas don't seem to matter.

Quality will show itself.
[...]

Thanks a lot GM Hmm! I could not have expressed it better.

I just concluded a module that GM Matt Morris ran with a lot of dedication and I have to admit that I was sad that the adventure concluded because it was so much fun to be in the game with a creative GM and great players.

Especially in PbP I believe that we are here to walk the path that an adventure provides and enjoy every step of the hopefully memorable journey together. And the GM has a lot of responsibility to create the environment to make this possible.

GM Chaos Monk wrote:

I am happy to report that my entire run of the Emerald Spire in PbP has come to a close. My first post as GM was Nov 4, 2018, 10:20 am and my last post for gameplay was now, June 4, 2020.

Some characters have been through the entire ride, some have only been with me for part of the tower, but no character has perished in the dark dungeons of the spire.

A moment for my heroes from floor 1:
Barm, the Two-Handed Fighter
Regnum Blastface, the musket master
Saint Gudule, the whimsy oracle

Honors for those that joined later:
Trutzbrurg, the polearm and shield fighter (joined at floor 2)
Baied, the sorcerer/cleric of Abadar (joined at floor 4)
Freodwen, the ranger/bard (joined at floor 13)

And finally, honorable mentions for those that could not be there for the whole spire, but helped out along the way:
Jahz the Wanderer, the Spell-warrior Skald
Jawhar, the cleric of Sarenrae
Talondreal, the Sorcerer/Paladin/Dragon Disciple

Congratulations to you and your players (especially the ones who went all the way through.)

That's some impressive dedication and not a small feat.

Almost 3000 posts in the gameplay thread! Amazing.

My only regret is that I couldn't adjust the scenario to their power level. It was very frequently too easy for the party, although a two-handed fighter and a musket master gunslinger can do that to any dungeon run.

It was mentioned on another forum that sometimes GM's like to have suggestions thrown out so that they know there is some interest.

With that in mind, would anyone be interested in running #10-05 Mysteries Under Moonlight, Part I: Testament of Souls and potentially #10-07 Mysteries Under Moonlight, Part II: The Howling Dance afterwards for my 7th level Tengu Unchained Rogue?

And if someone is interested in running it/them, are there other players interested in playing it/them?

My Level 7 swashbardler would be very keen.

My only regret is that I couldn't adjust the scenario to their power level. It was very frequently too easy for the party, although a two-handed fighter and a musket master gunslinger can do that to any dungeon run.

Congratulations! I'm also running a PFS party through Emerald Spire, although it's going rather more slowly than yours. I am impressed.

What I found was that a party of six generally overpowered the opposition regardless of whether individual characters were overpowered. Even with five, they usually steamrollered the bad guys. Currently they're in Tomb of Yarrix with four, though, and it's been a bit more touch and go.

@GM Chaos Monk- Wow. Very Impressive and well done on your Emerald Spire run. I have seen several GM's start a full run on here but not many finish it out. Great dedication. :)

@Doublegold- I am always glad to see growth and improvement. It is what we all strive for. Those wonderful accolades you are looking for will come with time and experience. If you need any help at all or questions on a specific scenario the VO team is here to help.

@GM Chaos Monk- Wow. Very Impressive and well done on your Emerald Spire run. I have seen several GM's start a full run on here but not many finish it out. Great dedication. :)

@Doublegold- I am always glad to see growth and improvement. It is what we all strive for. Those wonderful accolades you are looking for will come with time and experience. If you need any help at all or questions on a specific scenario the VO team is here to help.

There were many times when I was really burned out from PbP (I still currently am) and I had to drop my personal Giantslayer PbP campaign due to various reasons, but I really pushed to get the spire done; I did not want to let my players down in PFS with a partial spire run, that is never fun.

Seems like it takes forever though to get all those stars/novas. I don't live anywhere near where PFS/SFS is done, so I've always been at the disadvantage of resorting to online play even before Covid-19 became a problem. Those who can do face to face games, they can get to 4 stars in a lot less time. However, now, more people are doing more online games cause of Covid-19 at the moment. If only I can get my dming in now at Origins or Gencon online.

Stars and Nova do come. Virtually all my tables are PBP. I've GMed a couple of tables at a local con, and got a few more for a home game. They do come, eventually.

Remember, the point of a journey is often the trip itself, not the destination.

Definitely! The point of running games is to have fun and let players play, the stars are just a bonus prize for offering games instead of playing them. If you don't like GM-ing, you shouldn't do it just to collect stars.

Collecting stars just to show people how good a GM you are is downright baffling. Not just in the wisdom of such a move, and not just in the intent (both of which people have pointed out), but also in the mechanics of such a move.

Do you bring it up during introductions? "My name is Watery Soup, and I'll be your 4-star GM today."

Do you bring it up when someone questions your decision? "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm right, because I'm a 4-star GM."

If people don't play PbP and/or post on the forums, do they even know what stars are? "So, on Paizo's website, you can get stars, and it goes from zero stars to five stars, and I have 4 of them!"

I have met GMs who introduced themselves in person, naming all their stars upfront, in much the manner that Watery Soup indicates. Several of them gave me sub-par games. Others were pretty good.

On the other hand, I would rather a GM to introduce themself for what they are known for. I usually say that I am fast-paced and story-oriented, or that I am a settings GM who loves to create the world you interact in. Another GM might say that they have whimsy or humor or are really awesome at epic and challenging combats.

I have also brought up my stars in conversations where they were relevant:

1) re-rolls;
2) questions about novice vs experienced GMing;
3) star-gated scenarios;
4) filling out GenCon 'I want to GM for you' surveys because they ask for it;
5) a bragging point when soliciting freelance work -- "In addition to all this, I am a _ star / _ nova Organized Play GM." (This helps because they know then that you have at least some familiarity with the ruleset, combat and how people build characters.)

That said, stars and novas are an achievement. Getting them is hours of work. It's okay to celebrate new ones with your PBP friends -- "Hey, look! Another star just popped onto my profile! Yay!"

I like celebrating those milestones with people. Feel free to announce your milestones on your journey!

I have also brought up my stars in conversations where they were relevant

I don't think it's weird if it's relevant.

I liken it to referring to yourself as "Doctor" when you have a non-medical degree. Accurate? Absolutely. Your right to do so? Absolutely. But is it weird? Depends on the context, but 99% of the time, the answer is yes, it's weird.

I'm guessing that over half of the people I've GMed for at F2F games don't even remember my name, much less how many stars I had. Some fraction of them won't even know what stars mean - I'll confess the first time someone told me about stars, I assumed it was like a Yelp rating system, and I was a little puzzled why someone was openly admitting they were a 3-star GM.

Maybe people in my PbP games think I'm a terrible GM because I don't show any stars. They can avoid me if they want, no big deal. Hopefully nobody gets their hopes up when they see stars and think I've magically turned into a better GM.

I'm all in favor of people celebrating their stars with people who understand and appreciate the value. Anyone who wants can celebrate with me - I recently "earned" my first GM star! Earned is in quotes because 1. I don't think the star displays on the forums until I GM an 11th game due to some display bug, but 2. I've had the star on my profile page since I GMed 8 games due to a double counting bug. So in a cruel twist of irony, nobody but me knows when I actually passed a milestone.

Collecting stars just to show people how good a GM you are is downright baffling. Not just in the wisdom of such a move, and not just in the intent (both of which people have pointed out), but also in the mechanics of such a move.

Do you bring it up during introductions? "My name is Watery Soup, and I'll be your 4-star GM today."

Do you bring it up when someone questions your decision? "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm right, because I'm a 4-star GM."

If people don't play PbP and/or post on the forums, do they even know what stars are? "So, on Paizo's website, you can get stars, and it goes from zero stars to five stars, and I have 4 of them!"

You do make a good point, many of you do when you ask why are they so important, but I want to work for Paizo someday in the future.

I want to work for Paizo someday in the future.

Things that may help.
2. Lots of Stars and supernovas.

I have no idea what it takes to work for Paizo, but I would definitely put my stars/novas/PF2-thingies on a business card if/when I handed them out to Paizo employees I met at conventions. That seems like a good place to brag about your stars and unabashedly self-promote.

Ironically enough, and only vaguely on topic, physicians took the term "doctor" from educated men without actually having the education to back it up because it gave them more prestige. So...technically, calling someone with a PhD "doctor" is more correct than calling all physicians "doctor" since they are sometimes encouraged to use the title at the end of their education when they're learning in the field.

That tangent aside, depending on what you want to do at Paizo, being active in the community certainly seems to help. The stars/novas are probably a good way to do that but I suspect 3 on your list above might help more. And you do that by volunteering and showing your willingness to help.

I'm ready to start my first PbP game in these forums but, despite a lot of looking, I'm not sure how to set up the necessary threads.

Is there any particular procedure that needs to be followed?
How are the 'Gameplay' 'Discussion' etc tabs created and is there need for anything special to be setup to allow the 'dot and delete' feature to work correctly so the players (and I) can add the new campaign correctly to their lists.

I really don't want to make a mistake and mess things up.

Thanks

The process is pretty much as easy as it looks.

There is one major pitfall which I’ll warn you about in a jiff.

**Oh! I have no idea if this process is optimal, but it seems to work ;) **

1. Go to Play by Post Discussion and ADD NEW THREAD

2. Give your thread a title eg. Phaeton’s Phab Conphirmation, and type something welcoming as the first post in Discussion

3. The site will generate an automated half-page pop-up (kinda like that annoying Microsoft® Paperclip from the late 90’s – if anyone else remembers it), that says something like:

“Hi, phaeton_nz! It looks like you are creating a new campaign! Would you like me to create a new campaign thread for you?”

4. Tick ‘yes’ and Clippy the bot creates separate Gameplay, Discussion, Players, and Characters threads for you, that are all linked to your newly-created game.

You might have to re-populate the Titles in some of the threads, but that’s no biggie.

Don’t stress if under the title at the top of the page it says Game Master unknown, or something like that. It seems to me once the Discussion and Gameplay threads are titled and have a post added, that automatically changes to Game Master phaeton_nz (or similar).

5. WHAT IS A BIG DEAL is: DO NOT DOT AND DELETE YOUR FIRST POST IN GAMEPLAY!

It totally bjorks the thread and you have to get a moderator to unlock it for you.

I have done this, and it is acutely embarrassing.

These days, I have my opening post in Gameplay written out in full before copying and pasting it into Gameplay, to reduce the chance I forget and delete my first Gameplay post.

Once the first post in Gameplay is up, the dotting-and-deleting capability of subsequent posts happens automatically. ie. you don't have to do anything to 'activate' it.

One minor thing, there is evidence the system doesn't like separate people 'dotting-and-deleting' the exact same ninja dot-post eg:



dot



Consequently, as a player I usually type random gibberish into my 'dot post' before deleting it.

And that’s it! Apart from players you should be good to go! Enjoy running your first PbP on the Paizo boards :)

Very well explained!!

We should add this as a link to the google docs for new GMs. :-)

One other thing I would add: if you already have your players recruited (from Flaxseed, Castamir, Cottonseed, etc.), don't bother making a Recruitment thread. The boards don't require it. Even if you mark it as "closed" in the subject it's still a waste of your time, and it clutters up the Recruitment forum.

</soapbox>

Minor quibble: Clippy does NOT create the threads for you. You have to go to the Gameplay tab and click a button - Clippy will create the thread in thr Gameplay forum. Then you need to manually go to Discussion and click "create new thread" for Discussion.

Additional tips for the "Edit this Campaign" menu:

- use the "short description" to link your maps
- inactivate the campaign when you're done
- on occasion people will post with the wrong alias, it's helpful to them if you drop the player from the players list

Here is a video link we made during PaizoCon Online. There are quick links in the description. If you go to the GM section it will walk you through creating a game.

PbP 101 (Video Link)

I'm ready to start my first PbP game in these forums but, despite a lot of looking, I'm not sure how to set up the necessary threads.

Is there any particular procedure that needs to be followed?
How are the 'Gameplay' 'Discussion' etc tabs created and is there need for anything special to be setup to allow the 'dot and delete' feature to work correctly so the players (and I) can add the new campaign correctly to their lists.

I really don't want to make a mistake and mess things up.

Thanks

Good luck on your first PBP GMing!

it's only my first here - I've done a few on the Roll for Combat Discord server and it's quite enjoyable. PbP in my opinion encourages roleplay over rollplay and it's also more relaxing.

Thanks for all your help. I'll try setting up later today.

it's only my first here - I've done a few on the Roll for Combat Discord server and it's quite enjoyable. PbP in my opinion encourages roleplay over rollplay and it's also more relaxing.

Thanks for all your help. I'll try setting up later today.

Whoops! My bad.

Hope this one goes well then!

Shifting to the Discussion Tab

Interesting. So I didn't realize new PFS1 adventures were being released. Has PFS2 outpaced PFS1 yet?

Or are they still competing with each other for player base?

It is a scenario, quest is probably a better word though, that has already been released but not sanctioned. I will leave it there to avoid spoilers as I am sure you will see a few popping up soon enough for recruitment.

I hope so. as I've said before, I got three PCs that have become Seekers but I haven't been able to play at those sort of levels yet. All three of them, are at 33xp.

As for the stars/nova debate, as far as I'm concerned, it's just a measure of how many games you've offered to the community. That's why I started GMing. Our Lodge is small and sometimes it's hard to get a GM. So I decided to step up to the plate and give something back, especially now I'm a VA.

Playing online also meant that I was seeing the latest scenarios before many of the locals had played them. So I could turn around and GM them locally.

I'm close to 4 stars and 4 novas at the moment, as well as the first glyph. I have to admit, it's a touch of ego too but I don't believe in boasting about it. I just put it on my nametag at local events. I suspect after passing those milestones previously stated, I'll probably slow down a bit. Cause, after a while of GMing, I just wanna play for a change.

How do I register a PFS Core character? I registered it like normal but when I check it has an error that says PFSRPG character for a PFSFC.

Talk to Tyranius. He can flip you back to CORE.

Hmm

...Huh. I just double-checked before answering and the button isn't there anymore. There used to be one specifically for Core characters, though I don't quite remember where it was between the other 4.

Anyone know what's up with that?

...Huh. I just double-checked before answering and the button isn't there anymore. There used to be one specifically for Core characters, though I don't quite remember where it was between the other 4.

Anyone know what's up with that?

GM Rutseg posted to the Website Feedback forum about that on May 11, but there's been no response. I had also posted in early April about a possibly-related issue; specifically, that it's impossible to change the faction tag on a Core character. No response on that one, either.

...Huh. I just double-checked before answering and the button isn't there anymore. There used to be one specifically for Core characters, though I don't quite remember where it was between the other 4.

I can confirm there used to be a separate button for Core, because I accidentally registered a Core character with a misclick. :/

There did used to be a separate core button. Sent you a PM @Muzouka as I can certainly help you out.

There did used to be a separate core button. Sent you a PM @Muzouka as I can certainly help you out.

Tyranius, do you know if Paizo is working to restore that functionality?

Have not heard anything on it but let me do some digging this evening. I'll ask Tonya as it may have to do with the restructuring of the AcP system. that seems to have tweaked a few items.

Will see what I can come up with.

Thanks!

Take a look now. It should be fixed.

That was quick! It looks like I was wrong about that problem being related to the inability to change Core character faction tags, though.

I broke the 'in case of emergency glass' and Tonya was able to fix it on her end! :)

Send me a PM on the faction Tag I can correct that for you on my end.

I have another Core reporting issue to address - the players have all written to PFS online support but are still waiting.

The GM accidentally reported a Core session as Standard, and all the characters then got changed to Standard. He switched the reporting to Core, but the characters are now all showing as Standard with the wrong campaign mode reporting error.

Event Code 91643 2688754, PFS Core Online
GM# 226993

Can you switch all the characters from that session back to Core, or do you need all of their IDs?

My character is #108731-10.

Many thanks if you can help or at least point me in the right direction.

Edit: Thanks Fyrre!

I have another Core reporting issue to address - the players have all written to PFS online support but are still waiting.

The GM accidentally reported a Core session as Standard, and all the characters then got changed to Standard. He switched the reporting to Core, but the characters are now all showing as Standard with the wrong campaign mode reporting error.

Event Code 91643, PFS Core Online
GM# 226993

Can you switch all the characters from that session back to Core, or do you need all of their IDs?

My character is #108731-10.

Many thanks if you can help or at least point me in the right direction.

@Aldizog: I think our GM ended up using a different event code. I sdee it online as 2688754.

@Admins: I was in the same game as Aldizog and need mine fixed too, please. # 755-49 Thank you!

I have another Core reporting issue to address - the players have all written to PFS online support but are still waiting.

The GM accidentally reported a Core session as Standard, and all the characters then got changed to Standard. He switched the reporting to Core, but the characters are now all showing as Standard with the wrong campaign mode reporting error.

Event Code 91643 2688754, PFS Core Online
GM# 226993

Can you switch all the characters from that session back to Core, or do you need all of their IDs?

My character is #108731-10.

Many thanks if you can help or at least point me in the right direction.

Edit: Thanks Fyrre!

I can indeed switch them back to Core. Send me a PM with your PFS # and character #. Have your players do the same.

@Aldizog and Fyrre Ni- I just swapped both of your characters as requested.

Thank you!

Also ConCurrent starts tomorrow. hope to see a lot of you there around the tables. Also don't forget that GenCon Online is right around the corner.

Concurrent Blog Post

Need some help. Where do I go to edit my main profile (this one that I'm posting with)? I clicked on "my account" then "my profile" but it won't let me make changes.

Nevermind. I had to turn my phone sideways to see the "edit my profile" tab in the corner.

Glad you found it :)
When in doubt on my phone on Paizo boards, I always enable the "computer mode".

Testing the sub header. Be pretty cool if you could roll a die up there.