A more Savage Sandpoint. A new look at an old friend.

Game Master ZenFox42

Happy to bring Ceven back into the picture when there's an opportunity also; for me, it was pretty tough going to put all the time and effort into creating what I thought was a great character, and really enjoying that process, only to be mired in the opening scene of the AP for 6 months.

I think there are some fantastic characters here and looked forward to the opportunity to roleplay with them.

Welcome aboard!

Yeah its PbP it moves a lot slower than table-top or online sessions but that just means you have ample time to really dig into your character and the relationships that can from.

Rigor
Anything I can help with/clarify? I see at least 2 ways to bring you in immediately if you are ready.

Ceven Glad to see you around again. Rigor has the current open slot but I will ping you if that changes. There is no guarantee that the pace will be any faster if you come back though. Are you sure you can work with my slow & erratic pace?

No questions right this moment. I got busy this week and wasn't able to make much progress on a character concept. I bought the books way back, but haven't actually played. Forgot how underwelming the mechanics are. I've been used to playing Rifts and Supers with Savage Worlds, and characters have so many features and elements that make them so individualized. The Pathfinder version reduces each class down to about the level of a single edge, which is very lackluster.

That said, I am trying not to judge based on just that impression, and come at it with an open mind. I have an idea or two and will see if I can put one together shortly.

Keep in mind just because it is not in the mechanics does not mean you cannot add fluff to the character in some other non-mechanic way that allows you to portray something that while simplistic mechanics wise is more complex aesthetics wise.

No questions right this moment. I got busy this week and wasn't able to make much progress on a character concept. I bought the books way back, but haven't actually played. Forgot how underwelming the mechanics are. I've been used to playing Rifts and Supers with Savage Worlds, and characters have so many features and elements that make them so individualized. The Pathfinder version reduces each class down to about the level of a single edge, which is very lackluster.

That said, I am trying not to judge based on just that impression, and come at it with an open mind. I have an idea or two and will see if I can put one together shortly.

Yes I can see how PFSW would look like a step down in power/number of choices if you are coming from SWRifts or Supers. They should play pretty similar so there is that. On the plus side PFSW characters are much faster to make.

Remember that you NOT have to take a Class Edge at start if you do not want to. The free starting Class edge can be traded for pretty much any other edge you qualify for which allows more flexibility.

Recruitment is now open for this game again. Please note, I'm not the GM who first started the game, so if you read old Recruitment posts, understand that my decisions may be different than his old decisions.

Gameplay is up to 700 posts, so you can skim it to see what's going on.

This is Pathfinder for Savage Worlds. If you're not familiar with SW, it has a totally different philosophy than PF in terms of the system mechanics, but provides the "feel" of PF in gameplay.

If you're interested in this game, you'd just need to spend $10-15 at https://peginc.com/ for the "Pathfinder for Savage Worlds" background rules PDF.

We already have someone totally new to SW in the game, and he has picked it up easily, and is enjoying it.

But, the main reason we're re-opening recruitment is...we need someone who can pick locks. There's a Thief class, but you wouldn't have to take it - you can take any class you want, as long as your Thievery skill is at least a d8.

Right now, we have a Monk, a Palladin, a Sorcerer, and a Fighter.

Hi GM_ZenFox42

I am very curious about Savage Worlds, but wanted to double check a couple of things:

Is this the required set of rules? $25 feels steep.

On that note, if we were playing around the table, we could all share the same rulebook. Why would that not be acceptable here?

Also, will this be a complex recruitment process? Or more of a 'here is my character, here is my tie in, good to go' kind of thing?

Last but not least, are there any pregens around the www I could use? If yes (or if I find some), could I just start with a pregen to get a grasp of the rules system and get the ball rolling, then modify him/her further down the line?

Can I also ask what happened to the last GM?

Thanks!

Albion - unfortunately, yes, that's the book. It's apparently $25 even in PDF format. I had forgotten how much it cost (probably because they have to share profits with Pathfinder).

If we shared a physical book around the table, there's still only one copy of the book in existence. If I give you a copy of my PDF book, now there's *two* copies of the book in existence, which breaks copyright law because we only paid for one.

PEG (the company that publishes SW) not only has a copyright on the book, but in the PDF, there's a little box on the cover page which has a pop-up that says "This document...may not be distributed electronically under any circumstances". Between both of those, I will not give anyone my copy of the book, sorry.

If you're still interested, I don't require players to provide PC history and motivation just to get in. You'll just need a completely spec'd-out PC, and eventually a short backstory.

The Core Rules provide "Iconic Characters", which are completely spec'd-out "first level" PCs for every class (Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, Wizard). You could just use one of those as-is if you don't want to go thru the process of creating a PC from scratch (which can be quite daunting for newcomers).

The previous GM got burned-out (he was running at least 2 PbP games that I know of, both of which were very time-consuming for him), and suddenly stopped posting. After a few weeks, I realized that I know SW really well, I've been GM'ing for 40 years, and the Adventure Path gives me all the storyline information I need, so I proposed to the other players that I take over, and here we are.

Let me know your thoughts about all this...

Albion - unfortunately, yes, that's the book. It's apparently $25 even in PDF format. I had forgotten how much it cost (probably because they have to share profits with Pathfinder).

If we shared a physical book around the table, there's still only one copy of the book in existence. If I give you a copy of my PDF book, now there's *two* copies of the book in existence, which breaks copyright law because we only paid for one.

Agreed. But I was not suggesting this. My suggestion was that you could privately (only to those in the game who requested access) share a view-only copy of the rules, that is all. Not downloadable and not printable.

Otherwise I find $25 too high a price to try out a system/game for the first time. Are there any QuickStart rules , or anything of the sort?

Hmmm...I'll have to think about that.

In terms of implementing it, apparently Google Drives used to have a "View Only" option, but I can't find it anymore. These days, you can set it up for only those people who I give the link to to *download* it, not view it.

Do you know of any way in Goggle Drives to set up a View Only option, or somewhere on the web that can host files with a View Only option?

The way it works is:

- You share it from Google Drive as Restricted;
- This means only people who request access will have it, after you approve;
- Once you do, then you can set their permissions (the options are Editor or Viewer). Like this

Hey again GM_ZenFox42, after some soul searching I have decided to drop my interest from this game. I remain interested in Savage Worlds, and would love a chance to play and try it out, but I am not sure I have the bandwidth at the moment. Want to re-focus on the games I am already in or running, and give it my best.

Thank you for entertaining my back and forth about books sharing and whatnot :)

I wish you the best of luck and a great game!

Still open for new recruitment...

I am interested in the game if you are still recruiting. I can pick up the book if you are still looking for a player. Would I start with a base character or would I be more advanced?

Malinor - hi, thanks for the interest! Have you used Savage Worlds before?

If you haven't already, please read my Sept 14th and 15th posts above.

You'd have to buy the Pathfinder for Savage Worlds book, it's $25 in PDF format.

The party has 1 Advancement so far, you'd get that as well.

This is Malinor, I bought the book and built a dwarf arcane caster thief. I like this avatar, although his armor does look a little heavier then what he would be wearing.

That was quick! Just curious, did you build it yourself or use an on-line character creator? Everything looks correct.

Just a suggestion - since you took Arcane Armor, instead of buying head-to-toe leather armor, just buy a chainmail shirt - that'll cover the most-often targeted location, your torso. If you wish, you can buy armor for your legs and head once you've got some more GP.

The party is in the middle of a combat right now, so it would be difficult to work you in right away. Check here daily, I'll tell you when you can be introduced to the party. I don't anticipate it'll take more than another day or two.

Just BTW, when I took over the game, everyone was complaining about how slow combat was with the previous GM. So I came up with a system for tracking combat to speed things up for me, and even in-between battles, most everyone checks the Gameplay every day or two, and posts as needed. Will that be a big problem?

That rate of posting should be fine.

Would a chainmail shirt be light? I thought only the leathers counted as light? Could I still get the leggings or cap and the chainshirt?

I built it myself. I have played Savage Worlds before. Can I dot in and delete the post to Gameplay so it is easier to track?

Arcane Background allows you to wear Light armor, Arcane Armor bumps that up to Medium. But, I've since remembered that being a Rogue limits you to Light armor as well. You might want to take a different Edge, and keep your leathers.

Sure, go ahead and dot in.

Maybe I misread it, I did not think I could cast in any armor without the feat. Can I wear light and still cast?

On page 40 of the PF for SW book, under Arcane Background it says : "Mages use Spellcasting as their arcane skill, and have Armor Interference (Light)" which means you can wear Light armor *without* any penalties (I think the terminology is a little confusing).

Ah, ok. I will pick something else. I took that to mean that your casting was affected by light armor.

I went with +1 Dice to Agility so I can move up Agility skills more easily in the future.

Just checking in - I'd like to send you a PM regarding your introduction to the group, keep an eye out for it in the next day or two, thanks!

Sounds good.

Heads up - you're in the game! Post when you can.

You would not still be looking for new players would you? I purchased the SWADE Kickstarter and have been looking for a game to get involved in to get a better understanding of the rules. Let me know if there is a spot and I'll whip something up!!

Thanks

I guess that is a no...lol Have fun all!!

Sorry, I stopped checking Recruitment a while ago, and just now noticed the two new posts in the Recruitment tab in Gameplay.

SWADE is a start, but you'll also have to get the "Pathfinder for Savage Worlds Core Rules" book, which I think is $25. If you're still interested, post back, I'll check every day now!

I don't know the actual Pathfinder well enough to tell if the other games you've been in are Pathfinder - how familiar with the original system are you?

I can talk you thru creating a PC in Savage Worlds, or I think there's some (maybe free) on-line web sites that will help keep track of the point counts, but I don't have any links handy. I can ask the current players if they know of any such sites if you want.

Wow, your PM response was quick! Do you have some way of getting sound alerts when you get a PM or something?

Awesome...I can get something created pretty quick. I have the pathfinder SWADE book, so that is a step in the right direction...lol

We have a Sorcerer, Cleric/Paladin, Fighter, Monk, and Rogue. You can double up on one of those, or pick an unused class, whatever you like.

Unfortunately, the group just started to explore a small dungeon (but still, IRL it will probably take maybe 2-3 weeks or more to get thru). If I had seen your original post sooner, I might have easily worked you in before that started (depending on how fast you could have made your PC). I'll try to figure out a way to work you into the dungeon (would you mind being a prisoner, maybe even tortured? :) and keep you up-to-date with when you might be able to join.

Just FYI, I usually only check all my on-line games (player or GM) once a day, between 6 AM and noon, USA EST. I'll try to check here more often, if I can remember.

Hey...all is good. I did not notice you had a rogue so I made one. Will post below. She is young (11 years old) but very good at what she does (and has a ton of bennies!!)

I am willing to change to a ranger if that would be better. Below is the submission.

Was just home today from work so I was able to notice that you replied to my test...lol....not sound alerts unfortunately!

Glad you also offered a Ranger, the current Rogue's player was specifically recruited to fill that class (to handle locks and stuff) and was just put into the game a few days ago IRL, don't know how he'd feel if another Rogue came in right after him. Might not be a problem, but...

In the few Pathfinder/2e games I've played in the distant past, I never played a Ranger. What's that class's specific strengths?

I'll go over your Ranger PC early tomorrow and give you feedback on the build.

...ok, I couldn't help myself, I took a quick look. Bennies are important in SW, but 3 or 4 is usually enough, unless a bad guy gets multiple Aces on his Damage against you, and even then the total number of Wounds is capped at 4, so you only need to remove one of them to avoid Incapacitation. Why so many?

And I see the Ranger's strength (at least in SW PF) - a Free re-roll when attacking the majority of creatures you're likely to be fighting! That's like an infinite amount of Bennies! So, you only need Bennies to survive (avoiding Wounds and Incapacitation).

Also, I can't see that Rapid Reload does you any good? Your only ranged weapon has no Reload cost.

If you want, you can tell me your reasoning on these issues now, I'll see them tomorrow...

Ok..rethought my Ranger character and have it below...btw how do you handle animal companions? I was thinking of a war dog mount for him, but wanted to run it past you first. Thanks!!

Ok, your Attributes, Skills, Edges, and Hindrances look good.

Good news is, I forgot to mention that the group already has one Advancement, so you can take another Edge or boost an Attribute die by one. Skills are a little more complicated (please see page 90 in the PF for SW book for details). Please note what you choose for each Advancement at the bottom of your character sheet.

Just FYI, for maximum survivability in SW (which you don't have to choose for this Advancement), in general boosting Parry is better than boosting Toughness (it's better to not get hit in the first place). So you could put your Advancement into Fighting, making it d10 and your Parry 8, making it easier to hit others and not be hit yourself. But at this level, Parry 7 is fine too. And making your innate Toughness 5 by boosting your Vigor to d8 would be ok, too (because Vigor is also used to avoid Wounds and Incapacitation).

All that being said, if you do choose survivability for this Advancement, I'd recommend boosting Vigor, because your current Toughness is the lowest in the group.

And please change your notation for Shooting from "d8" to "d8+1", thanks! Always show the effect of any Edges on Skills in the Skill notation.

Animal companions are handled thru the Beast Master Edge. Taking the Edge once provides a Size -1 animal, same size as you, so too small to ride.

But, another player wanted to take Beast Master, and after some debate I houseruled that taking Beast Master once at Novice rank allows you to get it again for free at Advancements 4, 8, 12, and 16. This allows you to make it bigger or increase Traits over time (but not get Edges), hopefully keeping it relevant in the game. I'd give you the same benefit.

Since horses are one Size bigger than humans, I'd say that if you chose "increase Size by 1" for your second (first free) use of Beast Master, you'd be able to ride it.

Speaking of houserules, please check out my houserules in the Campaign tab for this game sometime.

Ok...here is my character. Let me know what needs to be fixed, if anything. Thanks

If you did nothing from your last post but increase your Vigor, everything should be ok. Please let me know if you did change anything else, otherwise you're good to go!

I've run into a stumbling block on introducing you into the game by putting you into the dungeon the party is about to explore : how did you get there? It's very well hidden, and you wouldn't have had any reason to go to the place where you would have found the dungeon. No one from the dungeon ever leaves it, so you couldn't have been captured by its inhabitants on the surface and brought down there.

I could alter the whole nature of the story by saying that you were captured by goblins on the surface and brought down there (in the story, goblins have nothing to do with the place). But why did they choose you, and why didn't they bring more people from the surface? I don't want the party to have to deal with rescuing a bunch of NPCs.

The party hasn't actually entered the dungeon yet, I *could* just ret-con your appearance to say you met them before they started out to the dungeon. It would be a big jar to the continuity of the game, but doable. And I'd need a really good reason for you to have sought them out (which is the method I used to introduce the previous "new guy", so I'm hesitant to do that again), or bumped into them, or have them notice you, and I'd need it within a day or two IRL.

<time passes>

Hmmm...perhaps you had heard rumors of a group of adventurers who were fighting goblins in Sandpoint, and you just "wanted in". You found out where they were staying (common knowledge), and went there. The party did go there for a meal just before heading out to the dungeon, so you could have been there waiting for them when they arrived (we'll ignore the size of that coincidence). You heard descriptions of their races, so when a group walked in *mostly* matching that (the new guy just met them less than an hour ago in game time), you knew it was them, so you approached them. Whatdayathink?

I'm open to suggestions, whether its tweaks to this or something completely different...

Could her somehow have been summoned by Shalelu to assist in the protection of the town? He could have been here all the time, but just out scouting the area and recently came back and was asked to join this group??

My character was not changed, so all should be good. It could fit into meeting them in the tavern, but with either Shalelu there in person, or with a letter from her...

Good idea, but I can't use Shalelu in any way because that's the plot hook I used to introduce the previous new player that just joined the group about about two weeks ago IRL.

It's a bit clunky, but let's go with the "meet them at the inn" scenario as-is. Let's say you just got into town a couple of days ago, started hearing folks talking about these goblin-killing heroes, and spent the next day asking around town about them, resulting in you showing up at the inn today. They probably had breakfast here, so let's say you've been waiting since mid-morning.

When you tell the story to the rest of the group, feel free to put it in your own words and add any embellishments you wish. You can decide what your PC's reasons for wanting to join the group are (make it something compelling, giving you a strong desire to join).

Go to Gameplay, by the time you read this I'll have made a post leading up to your introduction.

The description of the trip to where you're going starts at the "Friday, 08:54 am" post on the current Gameplay page.