GM Crunch and the Arclord's Envy (Inactive)

Game Master Saving Cap'n Crunch

Hello, assorted people! If you're reading this, I assume you might be interested in playing Arclord's Envy. Well, this is the right place.

Most everything I need to know about you can go on the sign-up sheet (which is here if you missed it), so if you have questions for me, feel free to ask. It'll be beddy-bye time for me shortly, though. It'd also help to dot into Discussion and talk among yourselves, figure out who's who in terms of murdering and talking to people.

I'm up for it.

I'm in. I can make another character if necessary, but this is who I have been playing in the PFS playtest scenarios.

A goblin dragging a rancid bag of meat behind him pokes his head around the corner.

Thank you so much for the invite! I was worried I'd never get a chance to accrue anymore PlayTest points ^_^

Back in 1994 I started gaming with AD&D 2nd Edition, and my first real character was a Goblin Fighter/Rogue named Thorax Toothlicker.

We were all learning the game, and our DM was more storyteller than rules lawyer, so Thorax really blossomed as a greedy, hungry, lying thief. We had a ninja in our party who liked to collect choice trophies of his victims, like claws and teeth, but he'd leave these perfectly good bodies just lying behind! So Thorax's most memorable character trait was this gross "Bag of Meat" he'd carry around with him.

When I heard PF2 was making Goblins legal, I knew exactly who I'd bring back ^_^. I even laughed when I saw that the ability to eat anything was a racial feat!

Since I'm constantly busy with Starfinder Society, Thorax will probably be my only foray into PF2, so thank you for the opportunity!

I'll try to update his profile either tonight or tomorrow.

My playtest PC is a goblin rogue as well! I could come with another PC, but likely a pregen if we plan to start soon as character creation takes me a good deal of time.

@GM Valen: Hey there! I've been hoping to GM for you since Into the Unknown. I'd like to start no later than a day or two after we have our party, so we all know. There is a goblin pregen now, which I know would sway my decision.

@Monsieur Daguerre: No worries, play whoever you'd like. Don't worry, I still get PTP even if everyone dies - and I think you might, too.

@Thorax: Good to have you aboard! Sounds like we have a storied character ready to make a mark on Golarion.

Well, if everyone else is bringing a goblin to the table, then I might play Fumbus, though it may be more fun to be the party's Token Human (TM).

I gotta say, I like the idea of six goblins performing an investigation, then going to a very fancy party, (at least) one bearing a bag of meat the whole way.

Thanks aplenty to whoever put the Discussion link on the spreadsheet! Didn't even think to, I'll cop to it.

I volunteered to play a wizard. I can get him built to L5 this afternoon. I'll use Pathbuilder 2 so I hope it is using all the rules errata which I think it is.

I could also run a fighter as well. Pawl Raikuh is playing in Rose Street Revenge. I could build a version of him for L5.

Thanks aplenty to whoever put the Discussion link on the spreadsheet! Didn't even think to, I'll cop to it.

You're welcome! :)

@Xathos: A wizard seems like a good fit, especially in Nex. Either way, no pick should cause problems.

Now that we have a legal party, it begs the question: Do we want to wait for another person or two? I'd prefer to leave it up to you guys. However, Thanksgiving is nigh, so perhaps we should wait until after to really start up. That'll also leave us time to get more recruits.

Sounds fine to me.

I am looking forward to this. Nevertheless, I am fine waiting.

I'm fine with waiting. I'd rather be playing with everyone involved and this week is a huge distraction which will definitely impede game play.

Hmm, considering that, here's my new idea. The adventure's starting Wall of Text is, as always, massive. I could put that up shortly, along with a description of where you are and whatnot. We could wait until next weekend to really get going, but until then, you'd have the opportunity to read it and interact with each other. That is, if you have the time and desire over that period, no pressure. And again, we could pick up another person or two before the start proper.

Just signed up with this character (still a bit of a work in progress); he’s an undead-hunting ranger from Ustalav, with the Cleric dedication (Pharasma) and a bear companion.

Thanks for running this!

I just played Raiders of Shrieking Peak this weekend and learned that SO MUCH has changed or been errata'd since my first Playtest session. I had never even heard of dedications! That's too perfect for recreating a Fighter/Rogue.

That said I'm fine starting whenever if you're fine with me taking another few days to get his details in order ^_^

And thank you for being here, Arkandru!

@Thorax: Yeah, a fair bit has changed already. It can be a little annoying to keep track of all the updates, but they should all be listed in each document of new ones. Each also tends to make things simpler or better. I'm a big fan of the new freedom to multiclass.

I'm in no hurry for details, but I'm going to post the Wall of Text now. As said, feel free to start doing with it what you will and interacting with each other, but there's no need if time doesn't allow. Let the games begin!

I just played Raiders of Shrieking Peak this weekend and learned that SO MUCH has changed or been errata'd since my first Playtest session. I had never even heard of dedications! That's too perfect for recreating a Fighter/Rogue.

That said I'm fine starting whenever if you're fine with me taking another few days to get his details in order ^_^

Thorax, depending on what you want from each class, you might prefer Rogue with Fighter dedication than the other way around. Sneak attack from the Rogue dedication is really weak.

Yeah Rogue as main and Fighter as dedication.

So, looks like we have: human ranger, goblin bard, goblin rogue, and goblin wizard? If so, then I will go with the pregen goblin alchemist, Fumbus so I can jump in more quickly.

I think Xathos (the wizard) is an elf, isn’t he?

Definitely.

I'll make final adjustments to Arkandru by Friday, if that's soon enough.

Apologies, work and family have been taking up all of my time. Should be able to finish up Thorax by tomorrow night.

Again, no worries. We know which takes precedence, and that's why we aren't really starting just yet. Take as much time as you need, and try for a happy Thanksgiving or whatever else you might be up to.

I think i’m all set, subject to any post-briefing purchases.

Sounds good. I might be posting the first bit of actual mechanics and such tomorrow, but it's small and I won't be advancing the story. I've got a long shift and it's still the weekend. Plus our LGS may be closing, so we have to scrounge up an alternate place to meet.

I am picking out the magic items and this is where the errata gets a bit confusing. We're using 1.6 and not the Resonance Test stuff, correct? I'm looking at a Staff of Evocation and I'm going to bring it anyway, but I want to make sure what I can do with it.

Yeah, we're on 1.6.

Test. Not sure about cantrips but here's the character line. I'm trying to figure out if a specialist Wizard gets an extra cantrip for each spell level they can cast from their school. I think that's what it should be meaning this character would have 7 cantrips available as prepared spells every day. I'm going to check on that in the forums.

@GM Crunch: So, my animal companion question: Arkandru has the Train Animal skill feat from his background, and I'm not sure how to use it for setting up a 5th level character, or if it's even necessary for an animal companion. Animal companions have the minion trait, and act according to their own rules which seem to contradict at least the action economy for Command an Animal. In addition, all you get for training an animal is that the animal "learns the trick" of one of the actions listed under Command an Animal, but the only actions listed are actions "most animals know" already. And what benefit do you get for teaching the animal a trick? Does it no longer need to be commanded? Do I have to roll a Handle Animal check every round?

The consensus on the forums seems to be that these rules are poorly explained or incomplete, so I don’t expect you to have a clear answer, but I wanted to raise the issue before combat starts. Also, if you think there is a real use to Train Animal, I should probably roll some checks now to represent five levels of attempts to train Trofimir.

After looking over the basics (I did a while ago when I made my druid, but he had a familiar that didn't do nearly as much in combat), I've come to some opinions.

For starters, it looks like Train Animal doesn't much apply to minions. One would assume animal companions know the listed five actions, so it seems the feat is more for animals you find and teach during your downtime (and that's a whole new set of rules). I don't think you need to use Handle Animal and Command Animal each round; both should be lumped into the single action of issuing a minion commands. Creatures with the minion trait are generally better suited to following orders and are likely strongly bonded to you.

Also, the DCs aren't listed or incredibly well outlined. I know that's how it is now (and it makes some sense considering the scaling bonuses and difficulties), but I don't think one I set here would be fair. It could either end in failure far more often than is reasonable or be low enough it rarely, if ever, matters.

So I'd say you can simply take one action to command Trofimir, no check required, and he gains the normal two per round to do any combination of the five tricks he knows. Maybe if you wanted him to learn a whole different action or skill (like helping to follow scent trails, scare people, or determine berry qualities), I'd have you roll Nature to teach him and perhaps roll again when he uses it. I'm certainly pulling things out of thin air here, but I feel like it makes sense and is fair.

Thanks, GM. I think that’s how I would run it if I were GMing the game, but didn’t wanted to assume. I hope they clear it up in the final version.

Sorry to have been silent today - I was completely jammed at work. Collapsing now - I will catch up and post in the morning.

Not a problem. I think we're clipping along at a reasonable rate, actually. I hope others agree.

While I remember, I should bring up my schedule. There isn't much out of the ordinary there at the moment, even long shifts at my primary job allow for at least one post a day. Same goes for Saturdays, during which I'm usually playing something face-to-face a fair bit of the time. Since that's well within usual posting norms, it shouldn't be a trouble, but I figured I should mention.

One expect to be able to manage 1 post per weekday or the weekend, though try to get in another if it looks like I am holding things up. This will change due to family obligations starting 12/20 or so. Then, I will post when able, but will leave botting instructions. My schedule won't return to normal until around 1/3 when the kids go back to school.

Arkandru healed everyone in the party who was by 30 points using Treat Wounds. He still has a way to go to get to full, but the rest of you should be in better shape, right? Is anyone else trained in Medicine? Arkandru can also cast another couple of heal spells from his staff.

It isn't 30 hit points for everybody. It is Arkandru's level times the Con modifier of the person being healed (or Arkandru's level, whichever is higher). In addition on a critical success that is multiplied by 3.

That still gets me full.

I guess that means I would have healed 45 ^_^

Arkandru Pavlencas wrote:

Arkandru healed everyone in the party who was by 30 points using Treat Wounds. He still has a way to go to get to full, but the rest of you should be in better shape, right? Is anyone else trained in Medicine? Arkandru can also cast another couple of heal spells from his staff.

It isn't 30 hit points for everybody. It is Arkandru's level times the Con modifier of the person being healed (or Arkandru's level, whichever is higher). In addition on a critical success that is multiplied by 3.

Right - sorry about the mix-up. And it was a crit success, which is why it was 30 hp for Arkandru (CON +2).

Got some questions about my tracker, I'd like to know how other people feel because I keep having changes of mind. It seems to change after and during each of my games. May think of more later, or realize easy answers to the old ones. No obligation to answer, and don't spare my fragile feelings!

I strike through enemies that are no longer a threat (cowering, unconscious, or otherwise hand waved)

I track damage and conditions, but if there's a party-wide buff like Bless or something I track that at the top.

I mark enemies the same. I'll see if I can find a good post from one of my campaigns.

EDIT: Like this one.

Is it too detailed? Does that make it harder to look at (and is that worth/not worth it)?

Should I strike through downed enemies or take them off altogether?

Should I keep track of players' lost HP/conditions, or would you rather do so?

Should I reveal the lost HP/conditions of enemies by putting them on the tracker?

* I don't think it is too hard to look at and, as a player, I think it better to error on the side of detail.

* When I GM, I go back and forth on this. I usually take them off altogether to make things less cluttered (unless I want to subtlely remind the PCs that they want may to keep an opponent alive, that they may have a helpful item on them, etc.).

* As a player, I prefer the GM keep track of players' lost HP/conditions. In face-to-face games, I always expect the player to be doing all this. However, on-line I appreciate when the GM does it as 1) it is helpful to have a second set of eyes looking at the numbers and 2) I often post from my phone, where it is not always easy/possible to adjust the player profile at the time I post.

* When I GM, I find it much easier to have all the information in one place, so I generally do this. As a player, it is useful to identify who I should try to be hitting. However, I concede that it is somewhat disruptive to immersion and would in no way begrudge a GM who withheld this info from players.

My 2 cents.

I was able to post Arkandru’s reflex save on the Gameplay thread, but I can’t seem to post Trofimir’s (either under his profile or under Arkandru’s). My posts show as Previews only, even when I hit Submit Post directly. I’ll be able to try posting later on a different device, but for what it’s worth, he got an 11.

Sorry to have gone silent - work got crazy the closer we got to Christmas. Finally done until the 26th.

No problem. In fact, most of my near future will be occupied, which isn't usually the case in the holiday season. Looks like that'll be changing. Tomorrow I'll be doing some Starfinder, the next two days will be long work shifts for extra dollars, then on Christmas apparently I'm taking the day off to eat Chinese food and watch movies.

Now, this leads me to ask more fun questions. Would we rather progress as normal during the near future (probably not that same speed, but still posting when able) or perhaps pause until a bit after Christmas? We might be through that patch before people answer, but let's see.

I should be fine to keep going except possibly Christmas day itself.

Posting when able.

I'm fine to post when able. I'd honestly like to be finished before Retrocon starts up. I'm not sure how realistic that is.

I am currently two games over my usual limit, so I suppose an expedited finale is in my interest as well.

Coincidentally I'm also in two Playtests.