Zedroom: PbP Superstars (Inactive)

Game Master Wilmannator

Thanks, Mikko. The last contest was a lot of fun. I'd like to put something together for this one again. I hope everyone else here will as well!

Well, I'm sure thinking to come. But whether it's realistic thought that's a different thing. It all comes down to time and money, in the end... Time being the hardest part to secure :)

Attention all Drongos! You have been called up!" yells a voice over the intercom.

Link!

Got a new sound system for my home theater arriving today. I'm pretty much redoing my whole setup, so I may be gone for the rest of the day. The idea is to simplify everything by taking advantage of proper HDMI translation in-amp... but ideas and reality often don't mesh when technology is involved. It'll probably take me all night just to reprogram my remote!

Anyway, if you find me conspicuously absent, that is the reason. I'm caught up on all games today anyway. Just text me or email me if you need something urgent regarding RoW - I really would love it if you guys could move on to the planning phase... and I don't think you need any further input from me on that!

Hey all, the Here Be Monsters 2 (monster design) contest is scheduled to start today. This is Mikko's contest, that he referenced in an earlier post on this thread.

Steve and I participated in the first contest (did terribly), and had a blast. I hope everyone joins up to give it a shot. The schedule is up on Mikko's site, A Sword for Hire, and the theme the monster's are to be designed to should be announced today.

Anyway, just wanted to prod everyone, in case they might enjoy participating.

@Chris - I am all over it again this year. 3 weeks to design and submit, should be plenty of time for me to procrastinate and scramble at the last minute. Either way, should be fun!

Also @Everyone in the Alts game - Just FYI - I am closing the Consortium Compact thread. If you did not get your chronicle sheet yet, you can find the link back to that post here.

I have emerged from a tangle of wires (that I trimmed, stripped and terminated with banana plugs myself), and have finished the complete reprogramming of my remote (man I love the Harmony 650).

My wife will now be able to view TV as she could before (completely not appreciating the improved sound quality) and she'll stop whining about having to watch Netflix on her iPad (man, it was just one night!).

For me... everything sounds awesome, I plug all my devices in without using a HDMI switcher and I can now turn on my Hi-Fi system and stream virtually any song I can think of directly from my f&~&ing watch no matter which room I'm in.

This technologically advanced world is f+@*ing amazing. If someone told me you could do that 20 years ago, I'd tell them to stop smoking weed (and pass the damn joint already). Told my kids and they were all like "oh, okay". No idea about all the awesome going into it. "Can it play the Wiggles?"

At least they wanted an Australian band.

... oh, and back to posting as usual now.

Relevant short video!

This is what your post made me think of, Damo.

I do indeed like to party. One of the trickier bits was indeed getting the TV and stereo sound to play nicely. Just turn off all the automatic bull s$&! and set it up manually. Almost always the best way forward.

Almost forgot! I've got a very busy weekend party-wise (5 parties and a poker night). If I get a single post in on any of your games it will be a minor miracle. Please bot me as required (though I will try to keep up on reading and post if there's a combat).

RoW will take a break from the GMed portion on Saturday / Sunday, but please do keep chatting to each other if you like!

Busy weekend here as well... I try to steal a moment for a RoW post at least.

I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens yesterday, and the aftermath of it... I felt really meh. But it's not just that movie, all things in general seem to let down. No surprises, no twists, nothing I couldn't foresee from afar. I'm guessing this is one of the reasons even PFS scenarios have been feeling dull and don't, uh, "cut a dash"? (Checked a dictionary for that)

Anyone else feel like the movies, series, scenarios, adventures, all feel ultimately the same and with little difference or excitement. Even the latest PFS Special—I can't even remember the name—had some really predictable elements in addition to the common never-ending battles I begin to abhor.

Guess what, guys?

Woooo!

-Posted with Wayfinder

Awesome, Mikko! Glad you'll be there. None of us were very lucky getting a room today, but it looks you did just fine. We'll keep trying to book a decently close room.

It'll be a great time when we're all there!

Excellent, Mikko!

You are totally welcome to hang with the Minnesota gang... We're blast! Just ask the Drongos that attended last year!

Maybe we'll get to play a game with you?

Sorry to hear you had no luck getting a room today, Chris. I only had to wait for an hour to access the housing portal, but even then it was getting more and more difficult to get a room in any of the nearest hotels.

I'll definitely play a game or two with you guys. I know there's going to be a *lot* of interesting stuff at Gen Con to see, but I'll definitely want to play some PFS. Maybe this time I'll remember to bring my dice, character sheets, and chronicles... :D

My housing was a 2 hour wait, and there was nothing downtown by the time I got through. Site kept crashing on me even when it was my turn to get in.

Annoyed at best.

/sigh

Wishing you guys luck. You know, for the minor cost of GMing 7 games...

Anyone here going to Paizocon?

I am, as is a good number of the Minnesota contingent (me, Jon, Keith, Ryan, AJ). We are possibly looking for someone to share a room with (we are looking at getting a 3 bedrooms suite instead of the normal Con rooms).

Or, if we keep the rooms we have, we could have up to 3 more people with us (4 beds in two rooms).

Remember, you're not gonna be in the beds that much :P

Sorry, dude. I'd love to go to Paizo con at some point, but I can't make it this year. I bet it's awesome though.

I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens yesterday, and the aftermath of it... I felt really meh. But it's not just that movie, all things in general seem to let down. No surprises, no twists, nothing I couldn't foresee from afar. I'm guessing this is one of the reasons even PFS scenarios have been feeling dull and don't, uh, "cut a dash"? (Checked a dictionary for that)

Anyone else feel like the movies, series, scenarios, adventures, all feel ultimately the same and with little difference or excitement. Even the latest PFS Special—I can't even remember the name—had some really predictable elements in addition to the common never-ending battles I begin to abhor.

So as not to leave you hanging, I'll just add a quick response. For Force Awakens, I thought the movie was great. No big twists or surprises, but it was well-shot, the characters were likable, it had entertaining dialog, and decent action scenes. There are many movies I don't end up liking because of the issues you comment on above, but I thought Force Awakens was far better than most movies to come out recently.

For pathfinder, there are some PFS scenarios and adventure that have some of the elements/issues/shortcomings you describe above, for sure. But there have been a few that I thought were decent (both PFS and adventures), and one PFS scenario in particular that PapaSteve told me about (I didn't play it/don't know the name) that sounded so cool I wish I had been in the group.

Wishing you guys luck. You know, for the minor cost of GMing 7 games...

This made me chuckle... :) Seriously though... With all of the heartfelt appreciation towards those who do GM, I'm not even sure I would do this if paid. I know it seems a little selfish, but if I am going to shell out the money and time (and vacation days off of work) to be at Gen Con for that long, I am going to play. Even more selfishly, I will seriously consider GMing one game, simply for the race boon I will (most likely) get.

It's all about me baby. :)

And hanging with my friends. Well... really its all about hanging with friends, because why else spend $600 and 3 vacation days to play a game I can a richer, deeper RP experience with online?

Yea... its all about you guys really :)

Anyone here going to Paizocon?

Someday.... Some day. In the far off future. And definitely not in the same year I go to Gen Con. Probably not even in back to back years. I'm already pushing it with the wife/family/savings budget by going to Gen Con 2 years in a row, and I can drive to that one.

Anyone else feel like the movies, series, scenarios, adventures, all feel ultimately the same and with little difference or excitement.

I am far to easily entertained to answer this question properly. I am everything that is wrong with the entertainment system. (Easily entertained by crap that I should be annoyed by)

With that disclaimer - I loved the new Star Wars (even if it was "Brilliantly Unoriginal - Someone else's quote, but perfectly appropriate)

With PFS scenarios I generally only care about them for these reasons, in this order:

-How can I twist this to add to my backstory/ongoing character development?
-How does this tie in to the season storyline (which I can determine at Gen Con if I thought it was good or not, see comment above about being easily entertained)
-Do the combat encounters give me a chance to use the mechanics I built my character around?

If any one of those questions is a yes, then I generally like the scenario.

I usually expect most movies, adventures, etc. to be mediocre, so I rarely get sorely disappointed. The new Star Wars was entertaining and action-packed, and it was definitely a Star Wars movie (lightsabers, blasters, the Force, dogfights in space), so there was no reason to be disappointed.

The average PFS scenario is, well, average. Usually it's the party dynamics that makes them fun for me to play. Only one scenario I've played this season was *really* cringeworthy, but I was aware of that ahead of time, and even then I mostly had a good time thanks to a great GM and a fun bunch of players. I admit, towards the end I just wanted it to be over, but there were moments I was laughing maniacally at the scenario and the jokes we were cracking.

There have also been a few scenarios that positively surprised me. Trouble in Tamran and School of Spirits were both really quite well designed.

School of Spirits is most likely the next scenario we run with our "Alt" group. I have a feeling that one could be fun.

As for PaizoCon, I won't be going this year because I'm going to Gen Con. But I can wholeheartedly recommend both PaizoCon and Seattle. The venue is good--it's a hotel so you can stay in the same place where the convention is, definitely a plus. It's also almost right next to the airport, so getting there and back won't be a problem. Of course, the con is much smaller than Gen Con, but then again, everything there is about Pathfinder.

School of Spirits is most likely the next scenario we run with our "Alt" group. I have a feeling that one could be fun.

Alas, this one I have played. But I agree with Mikko: it was positively surprising. Did we play it in same table? If the alts want to play it, I can stand it out. I have one 2.1XP character on standby to join, so I could even keep up with the others.

As for Star Wars: TFA, I really enjoyed it. I was really a SW fan as a kid, but the episodes I-III kinda killed it for me. Now TFA felt like Star Wars once again. I felt a little bit of that same wonder I felt when seeing A New Hope for the first time. Such feeling doesn't happen too often these days, unfortunately.

And PFS scenarios, sure there's a lot of unoriginal recycling of ideas. But considering how old and tried the whole sword&sorcery fantasy setting is, there's surprisingly many scenarios that manage to feel "fresh". If I wanted always something new and original from my games, I might not be playing Pathfinder in the first place.

I enjoyed Star Wars VII, too. Maybe it was I-III lowering my expectations, but as a set up for VIII - IX, it was great.

Jyri, you could also try to pick up a game IRL locally to cover the credit if you need! I'm assuming you'll be mostly playing when you come to GenCon, so it would be best if we could keep you leveling apace with us. Maybe we skip School of Spirits or put it on the shelf for later...

Are you coming to gen con Jyri?

-Posted with Wayfinder

Papasteve08 wrote:

School of Spirits is most likely the next scenario we run with our "Alt" group. I have a feeling that one could be fun.

Alas, this one I have played. But I agree with Mikko: it was positively surprising. Did we play it in same table? If the alts want to play it, I can stand it out. I have one 2.1XP character on standby to join, so I could even keep up with the others.

I agree, this one was pretty good... well, except for one encounter that could have been written better, and GMed a little more appropriately to the encounter.

And PFS scenarios, sure there's a lot of unoriginal recycling of ideas. But considering how old and tried the whole sword&sorcery fantasy setting is, there's surprisingly many scenarios that manage to feel "fresh". If I wanted always something new and original from my games, I might not be playing Pathfinder in the first place.

That's kind of part and parcel to the genre... there are tropes that are followed. Plus, most scenarios are pretty formulaic in their design.

I am still waiting for the scenario that the early encounters have the bulk of the CR -- because the intelligent mastermind has hired powerful thugs to protect him. The final encounter could then be the diplomatic/social one.

(Ok, so Bronze House Reprisal was close on this...)

(Ok, so Bronze House Reprisal was close on this...)

Made trickier by players leaving the table half-way through!

All I remember about Bronze House reprisal is that cyrus split the party.

Bad Cyrus! What are you thinking?!

I actually don't remember any of the story unfortunatly. :(

Side note:
A little birdy told me that someone wanted to say hi in our consortium compact game.

Just thought you would want to see that!

Hahah I see. Mike was a Top 4 in 2014 like me. And he's lobbying for an NPC. I can sympathize with that; I know I'm rooting for a particular NPC to join the Society as well. :D

There's too many variables for me to know yet if I'm able to come to GenCon. Since I need almost a week of vacation, I'd need to confirm that. Plus the school starting dates haven't been announced yet...
I wonder long decent housing is available?

@Steve, do you have a plan which scenarios you'll be running for the alts? I'd like to avoid playing those locally, but would like to play something if I get the chance :)

I don't have a solid plan yet, really just want to hit season 7s exclusiviely.

School of Spirits sounds interesting to me because I played through Black Waters with Cyrus. The scenario wasn't spectacular, though it did have some cool opportunities for RP and spooky factor. I just think it seems really cool to play in a scenario that ties back to something old that I actually played.

I know there is a trilogy that is coming out starting at the end of february that I would really like to hit. Maybe we will just hit that one once this current scenario is over and go through those three, potentially saving School of Spirits for Gen Con as Damien suggested.

I'll come up with a plan so you can prepare and know what to look out for and put it on the scenario planner in the next day or two.

Remember, I could run some of these as well! I have played school of spirits, but would like a chance to run it.

The problem is that Jyri has already played it as well, which cuts into the group even further.

And to be honest, that scenario is probably the first one that I have such a strong desire to actually run. Not that I wouldn't mind playing it.

Considering the circumstances, I am actually starting to think that might be the scenario I want to GM at Gen Con... If this group is going to play it, I really want to be the one to run it, whether it is here or at Gen Con.

Here's something pretty awesome, coming in the summer of 2016: Gallows of Madness

(If I get my copy before Gen Con, I'll run it for y'all.)

Sounds cool, Mikko! We'll hold you to that!

Mikko, congrats on getting another publication! Module! Moving up in the world, mate.

As for running it for us... that would be amazing! Of course it won't be sanctioned by then. That will be quite the shame, because then we can make up awesome characters and play through it without the artificial and frankly absurd limitations of PFS! Oh, wait, that doesn't sound so bad...

You thinking over PbP, Mikko, or in our rooms at GenCon itself?

Thanks! I meant I'll GM it (=my 1/3 of the module) at Gen Con, in person (no time for PbP unfortunately); I hope we can find the time and a suitable place for playing. Not sure what the street date for its release will be though; I hope I'll get my contributor copy before the con... If not, I'll GM some other adventure.

It says July... so it should be before GenCon! Can you run Pathfinder modules at GenCon? Do we need to find a private room? My entire experience has been with PFS.

Oh, and what level is your part of the module? I love coming up with characters...

Hello all, I'm PapaSteve's friend Aaron. I also play as Glarifyur with some of you. Steve invited me to join the discussions here. I will be a first-time attendee at GenCon this year; I'm very much looking forward to it! I've been playing "The World's Oldest Role Playing Game" for 20 years, but I am relatively new to Pathfinder as well as pbp. I am looking forward to meeting some of you as well as getting back into gaming through pbp. Thanks for letting me join!

Hey Aaron! You're doing great at both Pathfinder and PbP!

Feel free to 'dot' in on the gameplay thread if you'd like this to appear in your campaigns tab (the best place to check to see if there's any action on your games!).

Welcome Aaron! Glad you could make it over here :)

On the top of this page here you will find the links I have been talking about but have neglected/procrastinated in sending you... PFS survival and advice, etc. There are threads that talk about some of the "essentials" in gear and consumables you should have so your character can react to just about any situation.

I might recommend a potion of see invisibility on there as well, since you can't always rely on things like purge invisibility.

heh.

I might recommend a potion of see invisibility on there as well, since you can't always rely on things like purge invisibility.

heh.

Sadly, and what makes matters more difficult, is that (and I think I'm right on this) see invisibility cannot be made into a potion becuase it has a range of "personal" :0

Balls.

You are right, I forgot about that.

Balls.

You are right, I forgot about that.

You can have scrolls or wands of it, however. If that helps!

(a scroll 2/ 5X See Invisible happens to be 2PP)

Welcome to Zedroom, Aaron!

Sorry for lazy posting lately... After tending sick kids for a week, I've fallen ill myself. Technically I would have more free time now than on normal days, but I'm just lacking the energy for it.

It says July... so it should be before GenCon! Can you run Pathfinder modules at GenCon? Do we need to find a private room? My entire experience has been with PFS.

Oh, and what level is your part of the module? I love coming up with characters...

If Pathfinder events at Gen Con are organized like they are at PaizoCon, I'm fairly sure it's possible to run Pathfinder modules, too, but I'd probably have to make it an event open to everyone if I want them to book a room for it. I might be wrong, though, it's my first Gen Con.

From the blurb: "...collection of three adventures for 1st-level characters..."

They are not. Schedule is:
8AM-1PM, 1:30PM-6:30PM, 8PM-1AM (Sunday is a 9AM start)

But, if they are shorter modules, we could do your part, perhaps, Sunday after the convention, or Wednesday before. Either way would be cool.