Zedroom: PbP Superstars (Inactive)

Game Master Wilmannator

So, does that mean we'll be doing Bonekeep with the Drongos instead?

Just wondering... if we are alternating, I can certainly keep GMing. Or playing. Or both. (but not neither)

Steve and Chris - total respect for what you are saying. We all have to draw that line in the sand and say "I can RP no more".

I am not trying to bully you or change your opinion, again total respect.

Personally, I have loved the synergy between WBG and Thornkeep, and I would really hate to miss out on the very generous opportunity to play Bonekeep.

I have had a difficult time getting into good games, and when an offer comes along like that, I'd hate to say 'no'.

For my 2 cents, I'd like to have Drongos/<insert your>Keep/RoW going. 3 is a step down for me in amount of games, and I need to pull the reigns in a bit.

Personally, I have loved the synergy between WBG and Thornkeep, and I would really hate to miss out on the very generous opportunity to play Bonekeep.

See? Arm twisting... it works... must resist... but cant... :)

I could be convinced to do InsertYourKeep here, Drongos, and RoW.

I wonder if one of my other games will drop off... I just can't bring myself to bow out. To much of a stickler for the commitment...

This is all about a month+ away, so hopefully your other games will finish up, Steve. Are they scenarios at least?

I'm okay with 3, but 2 is also appealing. Either way, I'd like to play Bonekeep with the Slayers. There'll be scenarios released at lower levels that we have to use the Slayers if we want to play it... and I'd be happy to do one more level of Thornkeep before heading on to Bonekeep (or are we a decent level for Bonekeep after Forgotten Lab?).

I kinda built Arturo with dungeon crawls in mind, and it would be a shame to miss out on Boney action! That said, I'm okay to take Lort in there, too. I'll just be super scared of dying! Lort's my big, green, ugly baby.

Bonekeep is a 3-7 scenario, so you'll be perfect for the low tier after The Forgotten Laboratory.

*Titter of excitement*

Lort and Ophiuchus - ::giggles::

Along the same lines as Steve was mentioning above, I was trying to cut back to 2 games total because I've had a tough time keeping up with 4 games at once. Although I was thinking I would like to scale back to 2 games total, I also have to reconcile that thought with the obvious fact that I very much enjoy gaming with everyone here, and that this group is plain awesome.

...the eternal struggle....

So, I am OK to try and play 3 games with everyone, but as my work schedule is continuing to pick up, I may have a harder time keeping up with the posting on all the games. I think most of the time I will probably be OK to keep up posting, and most of the time could probably post even more than required, but I also know there will be times where I fall a bit behind.

If everyone is cool with that, I'm ok to try and do 3 games. And please, don't get me wrong, I'm super excited to play in 3 games because all of our games are sooooo good, and my gut reaction is of course to have us play 3 games (or more than 3), I just wanted to make sure that I was up front with everyone that I may have an issue keeping up from time to time.

I'm in a similar boat about not wanting post quality to suffer (from myself or my players). As Chris B knows, I left a game recently because the other players' posts (even the frequent posters' posts) were just not up to scratch and it wasn't enjoyable reading them (despite the GM doing a great job). For my part, it's tricky to do quality posts for many simultaneous games. I'll always favor my GM posts over my player posts, and spreading my player posts over even only 3 other games right now and I find it hard to give it my all when I cram it in to the last 15 minutes of break I've allocated myself.

As a compromise, how about we decide to play for the two groups, but accept that there will be occasional overlap (for whatever reason) as we shift GMs (or play another WBG module)?

For example, we might want to play a scenario when it comes out or otherwise sooner than expected - perhaps because someone's going to Con of the North, GenCon, etc and will be GMing that scenario, perhaps because we're just super excited to play it, perhaps something else. However, the Slayers (or the Drongos or whatever) are still part-way through a scenario or module. In that instance, we may decide to just play 3 games for a little while as an exception.

So it would be AP by me, and Drongos / Slayers / Alts by John, Jack and whoever else wants to throw their hat in the GM ring (still hoping for a Triple J here). If you want me to run a scenario, we pause the AP and I run a scenario while Triple J runs another scenario / module for the other PCs.

Would that suit everyone?

I think that sounds pretty reasonable, I am down for that.

To answer your questions from earlier, none of the other games are scenarios. One is a 3PP AP called throne of night. It's an underdark kingmaker style campaign. Post rate is pretty slow on that. We just hit second level after about 6 or 7 months...

Another is a tomb of horrors dungeon crawl, and crawl describes the pace as well... The last one is a pfs crawl through the emerald spire. We are on the 6th level. That goes at a much more normal pace.

All of those I started before I got in with this group, and I feel horribly guilty just leaving... I can't bring myself to do it.

That being said, this group gets my full attention and effort.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Ooh, Throne of Night sounds like fun. I read the reviews though - did you see that punitive one there from a disgruntled backer? Wow. If you want to do a Kingmaker style campaign, do one with me! Happy to run one next. ;-)

As for full attention and effort, I can definitely feel that. Love your work, Steve!

Forgot to mention! Potty training my youngest today and tomorrow - and my eldest is at home on Spring break. Could be a very slow two days for me (comparatively) on posting. I'll still try to keep up on the iPhone, but the little one will need my mostly-full attention (and many, many towels).

Good luck with that Damien!

Yea, I am playing a Dwarven Stonelord Paladin.... the class seems really fun, though I haven't gotten a chance to really dig into it yet. The coolest part is the GM is the Brewmaster at a new microbrewery a couple hours south of me. Once we found that out I went down and got a tour of his place.

Occasionally the posting goes so slow I wonder if it is going to die out. The Kingmaker AP has always sounded so interesting, which is the reason I jumped on the recruitment thread last summer. If it ever does, I just might take you up on that offer :) Dreaming about kingmaker was what first inspired Pooka, the halfling cavalier. :)

Just read that review. Interesting... Guess the lesson there is take care of your backers if you start a kickstarter, eh? :)

Kingmaker (or, a kingdom building rpg in general) has been a long-time dream of mine as well. I don't know that much of the Kingmaker plot itself, the descriptions of the books didn't sound that interesting. But the kingdom-building aspect, ahhhh...

But I guess that's a one step up in the time&effort required from other AP's.

Funny, no-one went for Kingmaker when I floated it as an option. I've always thought it would work extraordinarily well over PbP. I've played in (and am still currently playing in) a Kingmaker game. It's gone from the original (AP) rules, all the way through to using ACG rules. The hard work aspect has already been done, by me!

Kingdom building Google spreadsheet that I created - all can edit but since Mike left been up to muggins here

Kingdom Wiki (group effort, but mainly me)

Kingdom settlement maps done up in Photoshop by some awesome dude

I've got many Kingmaker and other kingdom building ideas running around in my skull. If anyone's interested, I'd be more than willing to give it ago after RoW (or before!).

I can switch to Kingmaker - whatevas

well, Kingmaker doesn't grant PFS credit... and I am sort of going through Kingmaker currently in a home game. (sort of, as in what will probably be heavily modified).

I'd still personally prefer Reign of Winter... but will play whatever.

I think the extra kingdom building effort is what scares me right now... I am afraid to commit to doing the extra work, beyond posting and maintaining a character and backstory. It seems silly, especially since I don't really know how much extra work it would be... But that is my honest, unfounded, first impression. I think I would still prefer RoW over kingmaker... at least at first.

These are also the thoughts and musings of one person... As always, I am down for anything :)

...

As a compromise, how about we decide to play for the two groups, but accept that there will be occasional overlap (for whatever reason) as we shift GMs (or play another WBG module)?

...

Would that suit everyone?

@ Damien I'm cool with trying this. I think it could definitely work. As I've said, with my schedule, playing 4 games is probably too much for me to consistently keep up with. Playing 3 games would probably be OK, or it also may be pushing it for me, but I can't say for sure until I try it. So, I like your idea of running 2 games with the occasional overlap of an additional game. I think that will work fine for me. And, if there is an issue for me keeping up with this proposed schedule, I'll be sure to let you guys know.

We'll definitely stay running Reign of Winter, then. Kingmaker is quite a bit more work for me, too, and it might be best to wait a while before running that one! Who knows, there may be an even cooler AP out there that uses kingdom building rules from the ACG.

Let's revisit number of games when I finish up Scions Part 3, but let's start with 2. We can always add more. ;-)

Funny thing is that we are doing three right now. Heh

Chris is doing more than all of us put together.

Hey all, I wanted to post and let you all know that Steve will (probably) be tied up today and won't be able to post in our games. After talking with him, he asked if I could let you all know to please bot him for today.

Thanks!

So in our 'down' time, I was reviewing some character choices. I updated my ITS and Chronicles, and looked over my boons and what not. Did some auditing.

For Finarin I am going to buy a belt of incredible dexterity +2, it gives me the most bang for my buck, as my dex applies to 'to hit, damage, AC, Initiative, and Reflex saves'. I know Jack and Jyri talked about our Con scores. I have never really played higher tier characters, most of my games have lost steam right about mid level.

So I was wondering what are benchmarks for this tier as far as AC, HP, DPR? For example, should you have: +1 armor, +1 weapon, and a stat boosting item.

Also I was looking to tinker with some extra characters to farm chronicles to, there was a caster class in 3.0 that could switch out damage type, for example instead of a fireball, you could change it to an acid ball. Is there a class or archtype like that in Pathfinder?

@John: evocation (admixture) wizard might be what you're looking for. Some elemental bloodlines might also change the type.

Posting the late to the party, but I also would rather keep it down to 2 active superstar games. More than that, and I doubt I'll be able to dedicate the time these games deserve.

@John -- there are a couple of decent "guides" to how the game changes when you transition to mid and higher levels.

The biggest thing to remember is to make sure you can deal with a wider variety of threats. Flight and/or ranged combat is a must. Higher HP, higher AC, or ways to avoid hits are all things to look at.

If you don't have a high AC, and don't have a TON of HP (like Barbarian HP), you'll want to have something that grants you a miss chance (Invisibility, Blur, Concealment, Blinking, Mirror Image).

By 5th level, the way I see it, the kid gloves come off. You better be pretty good at your primary focus (such as melee, etc), and should have a couple of other things you do well (ranged combat, skills, etc). No one-trick ponies once you are out of the low levels. I do disagree that you have to über-optimize to survive at high levels... but be ready to deal with some naasty threats.

As for "targets" for AC/DPR/HP -- I ignore all that, personally. Know what your risks are (Finarin knows those very well... good call on Mirror Image!), and be prepared to deal with them. Look to Feats and items that enhance what you do, but don't over-specialize!

FYI - I am more than willing to offer advice when leveling (actually, try and stop me!) -- in case it matters my characters are:
Silbeg: Rogue 13.2
Magnus: Paladin 9
Munny: Gunslinger/Inquisitor(Abadar) 13.2
Angelo: Conjurer 10
Lady Natalia: Battle Oracle 7 ["paladin of Aroden"]
Faustus: Inquisitor (Asmodeus) 6
Dierdre: Druid 5
Z'hor'll: Watersinger Bard 2
Gunari: Warpriest 5
Lucius: Sin Wizard (Lust) 2
Trask: Slayer 3
Galad: Paladin 7 or 8 (Emerald Spire character)
Black Jak Sparrow: Gunslinger/Swashbuckler (unplayed)
???: unknown/Unplayed
???: Monk: Unplayed (CORE)
???: Kuthite Cleric Unplayed (CORE)

13.2, 13.2, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1

So, I do have some experience in mid-ranged levels. Also, I've been in a few Epic Level D&D games... :D

So, just try and stop me giving advice. You are welcome to ignore everything I say!

@John: evocation (admixture) wizard might be what you're looking for. Some elemental bloodlines might also change the type.

Thanks for the advice, I have read a bit on the admixture wizard plus elemental sorcerer level dip. Is there an anarchist that combines the two so I don't have to dip?

In my opinion, it is totally not worth a level dip to get an energy type! Just keep with the same class and take a different spell you can use - or a scroll you can spam - and make sure your class features keep pounding along at the regular rate.

Most things that are immune (or resistant) to an energy type aren't also immune to force and/or sonic. You can also go for fire spells and cold spells and have most covered (since immunity to fire usually means not immune (or even vulnerable) to cold and vice versa.

I'm not a big fan of the level dip in general. I do, however, like the multi-class character (see Lort and Arturo for examples that!). That said, though, with the ACG... Lort is probably behind a Warpriest in terms of being optimal at what he does. We'll see how it goes! Of course, he's not wielding his deity's chosen weapon (javelin) so the weapon of the chosen feat tree is closed to him (man, that's something I'm going to have to seriously consider for my next holy warrior!). But Kurgess has some rocking domain powers (eg. fly when my cleric level gets to 5!!!).

I agree about the dip/waiting for your powers to come online. I hated waiting for level 3 for Finarin to come into his own. Thinking about giving this character some GM credits and waiting until it pings level 2.

So, it looks like you guys finished playing Part II some time ago.. I played it on Thursday and it was a pretty good scenario, overall. Nothing special about the first two encounters, but the dino chase was fun (and more dynamic than most chase encounters). The final encounter had some interesting terrain and we very nearly got TPK'd... I guess the players expected an easy fight and got careless. The scenario felt really short, as though one encounter had been missing.

Oh, Mikko! Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you. I read this a while back but never replied. Sounds like my instinct was correct: very short scenario (very little filler) - and not changed whether on PbP or IRL. Yeah, Kalim did some weird stuff. I couldn't get the potion out without provoking 3 AoOs (no space to 5-ft step) so got to ignore that particular silly tactic.

Kalim did at most 2d4+8 damage per round (if he hits twice). Not the best tier 4-5 BBEG I've ever seen. The tactics were great fun, though.

Can't wait to see what you've got in store for us in part 3!!!

Everyone else... I've updated the Zedroom's Campaign Info tab with a GenCon schedule! I read that the rest of season 6 was mapped out, and got excited. So, I've "signed myself up" to games on the schedule, and Jack promised he'd try to play mine. I wondered what the other GenCon superstars would like to do (re: Jacks games, and my one game).

We shouldn't decide on characters just yet, but the tiers are all there.

GenCon Schedule:

(AM: 8am-1pm, PM: 1pm-6pm, EV: 7pm-12am, Sun AM: 9am-2pm)

1: THU AM - 7-03: TBA (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: ?
2: THU PM - 6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
3: THU EV - 6-97: Siege of Serpents (1-11), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
4: FRI AM - No plans
5: FRI PM - 7-03: TBA (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
6: FRI EV - 7-00: The Sky Key Solution (1-11), GM: Jack, Players: Damien
7: SAT AM - 7-02: TBA (3-7), GM: Damo, Players: Jack, Ryan
8: SAT PM - 6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: ?
9: SAT EV - 6-99: True Dragons of Absalom (4th pregen) GM: Jack, Players: Damien
10: SUN AM - 6–98: Serpents Rise (7th pregen), GM: Jack, Players: Damien

Damien, you realize you can't play 6-21 twice, right ;)

FRI AM is one of my two playing slots.

My GenCon Schedule!

Thursday, July 30
Slot 1 (0800-1300): #7-03 TBA (5-9)
Slot 2 (1300-1800): #6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9)
Slot 3 (1900-2400): Siege of Serpents Special (5-9)

Friday, July 31
Slot 4 (0800-1300): OFF
Slot 5 (1300-1800): #7-03 TBA (5-9)
Slot 6 (1900-2400): Harbinger Special (5-9)

Saturday, August 1
Slot 7 (0800-1300): OFF
Slot 8 (1300-1800): #6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9)
Slot 9 (1900-2400): True Dragons of Absalom Special

Sunday, August 2
Slot 10 (0900-1400): Serpents Rise Special (Pregen)

Damien, you realize you can't play 6-21 twice, right ;)

Yep, hence "Players: ?" for the second slot. ;-)

Pretty sure my published schedule matches yours exactly!

I get it now. ;)

So... John, Chris and Steve! What games would you like to play in? I've signed myself up for all of Jack's games (one session of each). Would be awesome if you came along, too. ;-)

Jack, quick question about the specials. They've been revealed now and are level 1-11. You've marked them on your schedule as 5-9. Does that mean you can only run for levels 5-9?

You may also have noticed that my friend Ryan will be along for most of the games, but will miss a few of the specials while he catches up with some author friends of his (I'll be joining them at the pub afterwards, assuming Jack finishes up the scenarios before midnight!). We're pounding through the scenarios and have an AP credit we should be able to apply tonight (!). It is looking likely that he'll have a level 5 character who can come along. We can try to do a scenario or two before GenCon when he arrives in Houston if he needs an extra level.

GenCon Schedule:

(AM: 8am-1pm, PM: 1pm-6pm, EV: 7pm-12am, Sun AM: 9am-2pm)

1: THU AM - 7-03: TBA (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: ?
2: THU PM - 6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
3: THU EV - 6-97: Siege of Serpents (1-11), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
4: FRI AM - No plans
5: FRI PM - 7-03: TBA (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
6: FRI EV - 7-00: The Sky Key Solution (1-11), GM: Jack, Players: Damien
7: SAT AM - 7-02: TBA (3-7), GM: Damo, Players: Jack, Ryan
8: SAT PM - 6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: ?
9: SAT EV - 6-99: True Dragons of Absalom (4th pregen) GM: Jack, Players: Damien
10: SUN AM - 6–98: Serpents Rise (7th pregen), GM: Jack, Players: Damien

I am scheduled to run 5-9... which means that they expect me to run at one of those tiers... they've balanced out the GMs based on expected sub-tiers.

Now, that could be 5-6, 7-8, or 8-9, depending on where they put the "dead" level in the 1-11 range (past years it has been level 9 -- this was the case for both Stonelords and Siege of the Diamond City).

So... John, Chris and Steve! What games would you like to play in?

Umm.... All of them.

I have quite a few moving pieces going on IRL, so my Con plans are contingent on some of those things. I hope to have things sorted out soon, because I really want to have it all figured out soon, if mostly so I can book hotel rooms.

I will keep you updated as soon as I know something!

If you haven't seen this thread, you should really read it. As we have time before our group adventures again, and we are in higher tiers, this might be helpful.

PFS items to save lives

If you haven't seen this thread, you should really read it. As we have time before our group adventures again, and we are in higher tiers, this might be helpful.

PFS items to save lives

Nice! Linked to it in the campaign short info for the Zedroom. I like the second poster's links, too.

Anyway, much to think about... including (John) which games you're signing up to. ;-)

Mainly, I want to make sure we have the right tickets so we get priority enough to give us a good chance of getting Jack as our GM.

I am going to work on that over the weekend; going to shore up some summer vacations and such.

I will post once I have that squared away.

You know you play too much PbP when you plan your game months in advance.

Although it is nice to look forward to that.

I am running Merchants Wake Damian, Chris, and Jason are all in. Jyri and Jack if you have not played, you are welcome to join. We are one 2nd, and two 3rd level characters right now.

Feel free to dot in, if Jack and Jyri have already played/ not interested, I will open recruitment.

I posted on the discussion thread, since I don't know who to bring yet.

I listed a couple of options... Assuming we don't want a druid 5.

This reminds me of our scenario planner! It's linked to on the short info of the Zedroom and hasn't been updated in a while. This should help us for things like this...

... it would also have helped to prevent a snafu on my part!

Hey all, I have also just noticed that Scions of the Sky Key Part 3 comes out this Wednesday! So excited to run this one and then move on to Reign of Winter.

If there are no objections, I'll re-enable the campaign thread and kick things off some time on Thursday (26th March). This means Reign of Winter is probably about 2 weeks away! Looks like all those characters are pretty close to finished, though.

Thanks all, and can't wait to chase down that Golden Guardian with all of you!

Speaking of scenario planner, I added sanctioned modules there. Still missing the sanctioned tiers, just listing the recommended character level.

Can't wait to play Mikko's scenario! :)

So... John, Chris and Steve! What games would you like to play in? I've signed myself up for all of Jack's games (one session of each). Would be awesome if you came along, too. ;-)

Jack, quick question about the specials. They've been revealed now and are level 1-11. You've marked them on your schedule as 5-9. Does that mean you can only run for levels 5-9?

You may also have noticed that my friend Ryan will be along for most of the games, but will miss a few of the specials while he catches up with some author friends of his (I'll be joining them at the pub afterwards, assuming Jack finishes up the scenarios before midnight!). We're pounding through the scenarios and have an AP credit we should be able to apply tonight (!). It is looking likely that he'll have a level 5 character who can come along. We can try to do a scenario or two before GenCon when he arrives in Houston if he needs an extra level.

GenCon Schedule:

(AM: 8am-1pm, PM: 1pm-6pm, EV: 7pm-12am, Sun AM: 9am-2pm)

1: THU AM - 7-03: TBA (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: ?
2: THU PM - 6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
3: THU EV - 6-97: Siege of Serpents (1-11), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
4: FRI AM - No plans
5: FRI PM - 7-03: TBA (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: Damien, Ryan
6: FRI EV - 7-00: The Sky Key Solution (1-11), GM: Jack, Players: Damien
7: SAT AM - 7-02: TBA (3-7), GM: Damo, Players: Jack, Ryan
8: SAT PM - 6–21: Tapestry's Toil (5-9), GM: Jack, Players: ?
9: SAT EV - 6-99: True Dragons of Absalom (4th pregen) GM: Jack, Players: Damien
10: SUN AM - 6–98: Serpents Rise (7th pregen), GM: Jack, Players: Damien

For GencCon, my stable of toons is basically Ibid (Will be level 5, investigator/ranger), Vox (currently, level 3 hunter), and August (currently level 2, Slayer). I would mostly want to play Ibid, would that still work everyone and schedules and plan for the group? I mean, if I could only play Ibid, I'd be happy.

So how would work with our plans as a group? Also, there a definitely some of the Paizo panels/discussions that happen most years, that I'd like to go to, which will cut into some of my game time.

Even with our "old" play schedule, Ibid will be at most level 7 by GenCon. That would mean he could play in 2,3 & 5 no problems at all. If he's going slow advancement, or level 6 at the start of GenCon, he could also play 7 no problems.

9 & 10 use pregens, so up to you what you do with those credits.

I'm personally keen to play mostly Lort, too. So... yeah, works for me!

We should all (all GenCon goers) consider slow advancement if we want to keep the group together. Either before or after GenCon. That is, unless you've got a heap of toons to swap in and out to make up for it. ;-)

As for Paizo panels - BAH! Slot 4 currently has no plans if there's a panel Friday morning, and I guess you don't have to play my game on Saturday morning. We'll already have played Jack's slot 8 game, too, so Saturday afternoon is a good time to go to a panel. I may even come along. ;-)

I'm fine switching Ibid to slow advancement, it's no biggie at all. Should I start moving along slow advancement once the scions of the sky key trilogy is over (and we kick Mikko's scenario's butt :) )? I think this would put Ibid at level 5, then slow advancement.

I don't know if anyone listens to any of the pathfinder podcasts, but I know that Know Direction usually seems to record the Gen Con and Paizo Con specials (forums/ discussions), and I think it would be cool to attend at least a few of these. I'm not sure about the schedules yet for them though, I should probably look that up... :)

Yea, I will switch Cyrus to slow if thats what it takes to stay together at the tables.. though....

For my big News! I still don't know what my Con schedule is going to look like because.... I am moving!

I accepted a job offer to work at a company in Battle Creek, MI, which is about 3 1/2 hours south of where I am currently. I will have vacation time that I can use right when I start, but I need to be there for a while before I can get a feel for what I am able to do. (don't want to rock the boat right off the bat)

I will probably start in 2 - 3 weeks, so there may be some transitioning going on that could affect my posting rate. Hopefully not to bad, but I don't want anyone held up on my account.

Specifically for the con, I HOPE to be able to take Friday off of work, come down thursday evening, and then have Friday and Saturday (and sunday morning) to enjoy the con and gaming. I think worst case scenario is I don't make it down until friday evening, and then have saturday and sunday.

This is definitely a big change for me and my family, so again, I apologize in advance if it screws with stuff while we make the change, but its going to be awesome in the long run :)