|
Welcome to my PbP game for The Cosmic Captive (#8-00) Special. Hope you would have a blast!
Before we start, I would to share some of my ground rules. (In spoiler tags to not take up space.)
PbP Matters
1. This discussion thread is open for all OOC matters, so no ooc tag needed. For OOC matters in the gameplay thread, please use the [ ooc ] tag.
2. Please post at least once a day, including on weekends. Honestly, though, as a special, more frequent posting is definitely better. I’ll personally target at least 2 posts a day for myself. If you have not played a special before, generally each encounter is timed, so we would have a fixed number of days to clear through each. Also, very often, not only would our progress contribute to our individual table success, it would also contribute to the success of all the tables. If you would be away, please let me know in advance where possible, and we can work something out. Otherwise, if you go missing, where necessary, I will bot your characters for the sake of the rest of everyone else. Thus, please have botting instructions for combat with the relevant dice rolls in spoilers in your profile page that I can just cut and paste. Otherwise, I will just put your character on delay.
3. If you have any disagreements over some of my GM calls or interpretation of the rules, please take it to the discussion thread or, even better, pm me.
4. If you have played and/or GMed this scenario before, or are currently GMing this for another table, please do not metagame or spoil the plot. And please let me know.
5. I would have thought this would go without mentioning until I encountered this, so… It is the responsibility of the player to keep track of the game, including referencing the map on google slides. I understand that there are times where it is inconvenient to do so. In that case, please be as specific as you can as to where you wish your character to move, what actions to take, etc. If you regularly have issues with accessing the google slides, you might want to reconsider playing via PbP, especially for PFS as there is always combat, and thus map dependent.
Combat
6. Once surprise (if any) and initiative is determined, for the group of characters who can take actions, I would resolve actions in posting order, NOT initiative order. I used to do the latter but it doesn’t work that well in PbP, so am going with the former instead. Also to speed up posting rate, I will group the enemies’ initiative block together.
Rolls and Skill Checks
7. I would do your initiative rolls, as well as perception rolls for the purpose of determining surprise (if any).
8. On knowledge checks for general information, I would usually put them in spoilers with the necessary DCs. Just go ahead to roll, and I'll trust that you would resist reading them if the roll fails (or least not to metagame). (Don’t forget that you can make knowledge checks untrained for DC10.) There might be exceptions for plot-critical information though, where I would explicitly ask for knowledge checks. As for knowledge checks for monster lore, I would put the most basic information in spoiler as well, i.e. identity and one important info. If your roll would reveal more, I’ll provide in the next post what I feel is most relevant for your character. If you wish, you can ask for what information you want, e.g. DR, resistances, special attacks, etc.
9. On skill checks where there could be team effort involved, e.g. finding a hidden trail with survival, influencing attitude of NPCs with diplomacy, please be explicit when making the rolls whether you are attempting the check on your own, or whether you are assisting. (And take note of the pros and cons of either.) There might be situations where only one character is allowed to attempt the check (and the rest to assist) – I’ll state so explicitly if that’s the case.
10. On skill checks in general, if I feel you have roleplayed well, e.g. gave a good description of what your character does to search for a trail, came up with creative ways to befriend a hostile NPC, gave a very rousing speech, I would give bonuses, or even waive the DC altogether. :)
Roleplaying Matters
11. The maps and handouts link (at the top of the page) would display all the maps, handouts, pictures, etc as the scenario progresses. The most current page would be right on top, while previous ones would be left there for your reference. (Incidentally, Android and IOS has the Google Slides app in case you work off mobile devices.)
12. Please have your full character information up on your character's profile page for my vetting. Also, please have your stat block updated with the key information. Minimally please have your current hp vs max hp, AC (normal, touch and flat-footed), all three saves, trackers of limited use abilities, and movement. Feel free to include others.
13. Finally, playing by pbp provides many advantages compared to face-to-face games, the chief one being having the time and space to flesh out your thoughts and actions. So please make use of this and have posts that are more than simply dice rolls. :)
Getting Started
Ok with that out of the way, a few tasks before we kick off.
A. Go to the Gameplay page and dot.
B. Go to the maps and handouts page and fill out the table there. (Don’t worry about the 3 boxes below the table, i.e. token, initiative and perception. I’ll take care of that.)
C. In your character’s profile page, put up your botting instructions. (see above)
D. In this Discussion thread, do your day job rolls (if any), and share whatever OOC information you would like the rest of the party to know about your character e.g. class, level, special abilities. We’ll leave character descriptions and introductions to the gameplay thread later when we are about to start.
This multi-table special is expected to start on 14 Jan 2019, so mark it on your calendar!
Fantastic!
Hello!
I have to check if my character Almaas is ready when the special starts but I am already dotting in.
GM, I can play a level 5 character, correct?
Happy new year!
Thanks for checking!!
Perfect! Thanks! I will get the profile updated next week!
|
|
We would be starting in less than a week, so if you have not done so, please fill in the table here. Will need this to do my prep. Thanks!
Eowyn's animal companion, Genevieve.
|
|
Oh yes, one more thing. Can all of you have botting instructions for combat in spoilers in your respective profile page? Some descriptions would be good and even better if it's something that I can cut and paste in. (Scroll to the bottom of my character Xuan Fung for an example.) As a special has to move fast, I would need a post everyday but I also understand when there are times you can't post. I'll then fall back on your botting instructions. And due to the speed of the game, I really won't have time to figure out on your behalf what your character would do so if there are no botting instructions, I would likely just delay your character. Sorry about being strict about this but after running a few specials, found this is the best way to keep my sanity. :)
|
Oh, GM: When rolling initiative and surprise checks, note that Eowyn and Genevieve have the Lookout teamwork feat
|
|
@noral, I'm still waiting for you to check in with your character and also fill in the character details at maps and handouts page. Thanks!
|
|
Also, I would like to finalise the default marching order. Most of the time, I'll arrange you in pairs. My suggestion is as follows, assuming noral brings Almaas:
1. Lumo
2. Bon
3. Eowyn
4. Genevieve
5. Andy
6. Jivan
7. Almaas
@Eowyn, in combat, to facilitate posting, I'll just have Genevieve go on your initiative and handwave the difference. Besides, Genevieve has a higher initiative bonus anyway, so chances are she'll be before you and have to delay until you command her anyway.
|
|
Also, I would like to finalise the default marching order. Most of the time, I'll arrange you in pairs. My suggestion is as follows, assuming noral brings Almaas:
1. Lumo
2. Bon
3. Eowyn
4. Genevieve
5. Andy
6. Jivan
7. Almaas@Eowyn, in combat, to facilitate posting, I'll just have Genevieve go on your initiative and handwave the difference. Besides, Genevieve has a higher initiative bonus anyway, so chances are she'll be before you and have to delay until you command her anyway.
That's fine. Also, for "marching", any time there is sufficient room, Genevieve will be flying above the group; she can't fail the DC 10 Fly check to move less than half speed, so she only has to land if we are stopped or going very slowly.
|
|
Kuey, in future combats, I'd like to use my Seize the Initiative special ability to allow Andy Applebottom to reroll his initiative! So if you could roll his twice and choose the highest, that would be awesome!
|
|
@Tofang, the consensus from the internet I've gathered is that the base damage of an alchemist's bomb is 1d6+Int, and this is multiplied on a crit. The additional d6s at higher levels aren't. I believe this would translate for gun chemists as well, since the wording is similar. So your crit damage would be an additional 3d6 (from the pistol) + 3d6 + 3xInt (from the alchemical ordnance) if you crit. Nasty!
@Bon, to clarify, you cannot ready action to move and attack. (You can ready action to do either but not both.) For that, you would delay action. Ready action does not change your initiative order but delay would. So in PBP (at least the way I and most GM do the initiative tracking), delaying effectively means you skip your turn for that round.
|
@Tofang, the consensus from the internet I've gathered is that the base damage of an alchemist's bomb is 1d6+Int, and this is multiplied on a crit. The additional d6s at higher levels aren't. I believe this would translate for gun chemists as well, since the wording is similar. So your crit damage would be an additional 3d6 (from the pistol) + 3d6 + 3xInt (from the alchemical ordnance) if you crit. Nasty!
Thanks a lot GM!