GM Numbat SFS 1-28 It Rests Beneath (Inactive)

Game Master numbat1

Congratulations! Wishing you well!!!

Oh what wonderful news! I hope your new quarterling is happy, healthy and only interrupts you five times a night instead of six!

We all love you, Gary!
Hmm

Congratulations!

Currently at the hospital, shes been admitted and by this weekend my daughter should be here!

Wow! A momentous event. I am sending best wishes for mother and baby and all involved. May this joyful occasion bring only the best to you and yours.

There is an optional combat encounter available. It is rumoured to run long though I have yet to experience it, so cannot say first hand.

Do you wish to try to squeeze it in or move on to the final (non-combat) encounter?

If it is story-based, run it. If it does not add to the story, skip the optional encounter. Let's get this closed before Outpost.

EDIT: Bret says that you have already run the optional encounter. He says you either do "Tempering" or "Encounter in Area C" and only run one or the other.

Hmm

Huh, I interpreted it as you can choose to treat one of them as optional if short on time.

I was originally planning on both but we are already in prep for Outpost II and a number of us, possibly all of us, are involved in that in some way. Hence why I asked.

I generally only run optional encounters if they add to or expand on the story AND (using the computer/logical usage, hence the caps) we have time. I too would prefer to get this wrapped up before Outpost starts.

Greetings all I am back now. Mommy and Baby were released Yesterday and we had our first night at home.

The Newest Quarterling!!
Lilliana Lee Marie Pepper
Happy Daddy Pepper

So precious!

Welcome to the newest Pepper family member.

Thank you all, the well wishes and everything are most welcome.

Also for those of you headed to PaizoCon can get your baby fix as Mommy and baby will be there too.

Excellent! It'll be nice to see you there.

Please feel free to answer Little Mina and add any roleplay to the final chapter of this adventure.

Thank you all for making my first foray into PbP GMing such an enjoyable experience. I would happily play with any of you again be it as a team member or story facilitator.

I have the chronicles started but today is a travel day so I will probably address them tomorrow.

This also provides time for any who have a reroll available for a day job or who wish to provide starting values, credits spent, etc so they can receive a fully completed chronicle. (My understanding is that it is accepted practice to fill in the basics and the GM sections and allow players to complete the rest. If that is not the case then please let me know so I can follow the correct procedure.)

Excellent timing, now I can read this to GM it on Thursday!

Excellent timing, now I can read this to GM it on Thursday!

Happy to oblige. Feel free to let me know if I missed anything or you interpret something differently. I always appreciate feedback so I can continue to improve. I am sure I will run this again.

Original Post

Update
Player Name/Alias: Gary Pepper
Organized Play number: 43992
Character Number: 703
Character Name: Mardonnen Needlefeet
Race, Class, Level: Halfling, Mechanic, 2
Faction: Manifold Host
Day job: Professor: 24 = 24

Current Fame: 8
Current Credits: 1464

If we did not accomplish the secondary objective I request to use the slotted Boon Faction’s Friend

Thanks for the reminder to discuss success conditions.

PRIMARY SUCCESS CONDITIONS
If the PCs learned that the Big Mina Plateau is actually a single
alien organism and traveled to observe the creature’s brain, their
mission is a success, regardless of their ultimate decision (if any)
on the ultimate fate of the alien. Doing so earns each PC 1 Fame
and Reputation for any faction associated with their currently
slotted faction boon. Achieved

SECONDARY SUCCESS CONDITIONS
This adventure is an opportunity for the PCs to distinguish
themselves through efficient fieldwork, resourcefulness, and
initiative. The PCs succeed at their secondary success conditions
if they fulfill three of the following five objectives:
• Properly set up all three towers and instruments Achieved
• Finish setting up the towers to perform the deep scan
within 14 hours
• Finish setting up the towers to perform the deep scan
within 36 hours Achieved
• Learn the final fate of Exu Jana Onorab (by finding her
remains and playing her final recording) Achieved
• Recover an undamaged portion of the Exu Jana Onorab’s
petrified brain Achieved

FACTION NOTES
If the PCs fulfilled four of the five secondary success conditions,
they impress the Wayfinders faction leader. Each PC earns 1
additional Reputation with the Wayfinders faction, in addition to
any other Reputation earned as a result of completing this scenario Achieved

Player Name/Alias: Hmm
Organized Play number: 149000-705
Character Number: 705
Character Name: Aba Calling
Race, Class, Level: Skittermander, Gadgeteer Operative, 3
Faction: Second Seekers Jadnura
Day job: Profession Abadar Sales Rep: 24 = 24

Reputation with Wayfinders: 9
Reputation with SS Jadnura: 2

So GM Numbat, how did you find GMing PBP? Any questions? Thoughts?

Yes, what can we do to bolster your confidence and help clear up any uncertainties?

I'm interested in how you found the experience. Also, and most importantly, how much time did it take each day (on average)?

You've inspired me to finally get around to trying my hand at GMing PBP. It'll be Pathfinder, cause that's what I'm more familiar with, though. More to follow next month, most likely.

Yay, thank you for GMing, and to all my fellow players! This was quite enjoyable, and I think you did a fine job.

I can post my fame, credits, and reputation when I get home this evening to look at my notes, if you want those for filling out the chronicle.

OOo yes valid questions and it was a most enjoyable experience to play along side each of you.

If it is not to much to add to the questions I would like to add one on the technical aspect.

How do you feel about using Google Slides for your maps? Anything you liked or disliked most?
Along with HMM, how might we help clear up uncertainties with the virtual table environment?

Yay! Nomidical!! great to hear that you are gearing up to run.

Numbat you did a wonderful job and really excelled at staying on point with running and checking in at a smooth pace plus the turn around time for your first time GMing from start to finish was great.

I Look forward to playing at another one of your tables in the future.

I am about to head out to pick up our car after its collision repair. I will try to pull my thoughts together and answer some of those questions later this evening.

If it is not to much to add to the questions I would like to add one on the technical aspect.

How do you feel about using Google Slides for your maps? Anything you liked or disliked most?

Follow up to Gary's guestion about Google Slides. What other options for shared slides are there?

My travels take me to China regularly and getting to anything Google related while there adds another layer of hassle and time, and even then doesn't always work well.

I could use Roll20 I suppose, but it feels like a very steep learning curve to get started.

I have enjoyed my first experience as a PbP GM.

I was in a near panic before I started. I almost always am when I GM. I want to provide the best possible game to my players and never feel like I am as well prepared as I should be or as skilled as I want to be. Add to that the need to learn new (to me) tech tricks and it felt very overwhelming. Thankfully I had a wonderful mentor in Hilary and some great guidance and assistance from others in this group.

Maps on slides are good but also hard. They are fiddly to move into slides and fix the shape and size. I am not sure that I really achieved the best compromise on size with these ones. It is good to be able to see all the map but also good to have it large enough to easily see details and particularly to distinguish tokens. I need to reteach myself and practice making tokens, especially how to make round ones. (Thank you to whoever converted the player tokens in our game. It was noted and appreciated.)

It is good to hear that the player experience of pacing was OK. There were a few times I wondered if I was letting play drag a little too much and a couple of times when I wondered if I was overstepping in making rolls for the group or individuals.

As to how much time each day? That varied. If I had been somewhat more prepared before starting then I could have had several chunks of text ready to just copy and paste with BB Code in place, etc. Though there would still be a need for modification to react appropriately to in character gameplay. I was running a document where I did prepare text but then sometimes I would do so on the fly directly in a post. Copy and paste from the PDF directly into a forum post adds a little extra formatting. In the gameplay thread, I always tried to convert language to the third person and immersive storytelling, elaborating on NPC involvement and speech where it seemed appropriate.

Generally, I would try to check the thread several times a day even if I posted less. Sometimes I would be waiting for more player responses, other times I would want to mentally sit with something to let a response percolate until ready. Then there were times I would read and respond almost immediately. I had wanted to set a good routine of when I read and posted but my life is a little too erratic for that.

I thought I had a handle on tracking the combat but quickly learned I needed to improve my system. That is one area I really want to be more prepared for by the time Solstice Scar starts in a few days. I also quickly reinforced what I had read about keeping each side in minimal blocks. I had thought to divide the four Stone Gulls into two blocks of two made sense. Then when it left one PC in the middle of those two groups, I realised that did not work all that well as hoped.

In some ways, PbP GMing is easier as there is time to read more thoroughly and think about responses. In others, it is more difficult as you can't "read the table" as you can in fact to face games, or at least I found it more challenging to do so.

I think Starship Combat will actually be easier as a GM on PbP as you have time to make and track all the different roles (and rolls) for the ship/s you manage. At the same time, I suspect it is more challenging to keep it moving at a good pace.

I expect with more practice I will be able to hone all the needed and desired skills.

Enough of my rambling for tonight. Hopefully, it has provided the desired insights.

Nomadical - a little more on time:

I certainly did not track actual time spent but once the game started, I would say I spent about twice as much time as a GM as I do as a player.

As to your situation with world travel, I think that if expectations are clearly stated in the beginning and forewarning provided when about to enter low connection zones, most players will be fine. It wouldn't work so well for a Multi-table Special if it was frequent or extended periods but if there are good backup GMs available then even an MTS should work if it will only be one or two brief episodes.

I'd be happy to play in a game when you are ready to try it out.

The chronicle sheets are complete and ready to check.

What is the best way to distribute them? I would be happy to email individual copies if you wish.

I have also seen others post links to files. Not sure how to do that with PDFs unless I add each into Google somehow.

I usually upload them all into a google file, than link to the file.

Yeah, that's what I do to. Folder in Google Drive, then a read-only link to that folder. You could do the same with Dropbox too.

Yep, I go with a folder in Google docs then share the link.

I'll post up some feedback for you when I get a chance. I'll be fairly tied up over the next day or so...

But definitely great job!!!

Before this campaign thread goes inactive, I'm looking for a roommate for PaizoCon. Is anyone in this group looking to share a very inexpensive room?

Hmm

I have a room and could see if I could change it to two beds. I'd be happy to share.

I phrased it wrong. I have a *very* inexpensive room, that an angel paid for with hilton points. I'm willing to share.

Hmm

Sure!

Chronicle Sheets

OK. Let's see if I did this correctly.

Please check your sheets and let me know if there is anything I need to fix.

Then I guess the next step will be learning how to close the "table". (Though in some ways I don't want to as it has been wonderful to have each of you in my life each day.)

My chronicle looks right to me! And I'd be happy to play with you again any time! :D

To close the table, go to edit the campaign on the Campaign Info tab and there's a checkbox near the top that says "This campaign is no longer active." (Of course after giving people some time to retrieve their chronicles.)

I'd like to go to PaizoCon someday, but it's an expensive endeavour to get all the way out there. If I start planning for it now, maybe I can go next year. Assuming they stream seminars and the banquet again, I'll be watching from home though!

Everything looks good with mine but I do have a small question as I am now preparing to run this shortly and wonder if we actually accomplish the Goal to earn the following Boon

That is most wonderful an Angel came along with that Room HMM there is wonderful people in the world I look forward to seeing you again to chat jump and giggle and have some fun.

Numbat are you volunteering for Lone Wolf again this year?

Elinnea That might be a good option to start saving now to go to PaizoCon next year. I would love to thank you personally in person for all your work on the BB Code Pregens.

Yeah, I wasn't certain about that boon. I wondered if it meant in game you could use the bone cestus you fashioned and then all have access to the boon.

I will probably be at the character creation station again for at least some of the time.

Elinnea, thanks for the directions. I will definitely wait for a bit before I follow them. I do hope to meet you in person sometime. PaizoCon would be a wonderful way to do that.

Yeah the RAW in me thinks that only if the cresteater was slain would grant access to the Boon. But how it is vaguely stated it does not give direction on the what if.

Chronicle looks good.

Thanks for running this!

I think I'm going to try to run PFS #8-19, Treacherous Waves. I can't start this month, but I hope to start prepping in early April, to start later in April. If you haven't played this sandbox investigation set in a city on the Plane of Water and you'd like to join in, please let me know. I've run it several times, including when it first came out at PaizoCon '17, and it's great for RP, dialog, and skills with limited combat, so I think it could be good for PBP.

Wonderful playing with you all. Thanks again!

Can't wait to see those attending at PaizoCon.

My chronicle looks good. Thanks for running the game and inviting me on board!

You did a great job, particularly with this being the first time you GM'd via PBP. As you said, it's harder to read the table in PBP to figure out if things are dragging.

In my opinion, rolling for the players is fine if it keeps the momentum moving forward or if having players roll themselves would just slow things down unnecessarily. And non-time-sensitive rolls can always be spoilered with the DC labeled.

For me, generally speaking, if I'm concerned that things might be dragging a bit, then I'll press forward but give everyone the chance to retroactively RP as well. In this case, it's a matter of GM style and preference.

In my opinion, PBP is a convenient medium for those of us who don't consistently have 4 hour chunks of time handy but it's also a slow medium. So I believe pacing and forward momentum is important. It's less of an issue with SFS since they are missions with defined endings but I've played PBP 'home' campaigns with different rulesets via PBP and once that forward momentum slows down and several days pass without a post, the campaign more or less fades away and comes to an end.

So I really wouldn't worry about moving things along, especially if players seem unusually silent. It's possible that people got busy and haven't had a chance to post yet. But it's also possible that players are not sure what to do next so hesitate from posting. My usual solution is to press on while leaving that retroactive RP option open.

And when it comes to combat, especially starship combat, my rule of thumb is one round of combat per day with liberal botting if needed to keep the pace up. For players and GMs alike, it can be tough to keep enthusiasm up when a week goes by and only two rounds of combat have passed.

But this is just my opinion and my view. Other GMs have different styles and preferences which is totally fine, all are valid!

You did great and presented us with loads of energy and enthusiasm which makes the game fun and enjoyable for players! This is, I think, even more important than pacing. Because when GMs (and players) bring enthusiasm to the table, everyone has more fun!

I once played with a GM who regularly tweaked the scenarios a bit to make things more fun. Perhaps he'd add in his own PFS characters to play non-essential roles in a scenario. Or he'd tweak the setting or location description to give it a bit more character. Or he'd pick an NPC to over-act, making that character more memorable than it would have been otherwise. When I come across a SFS scenario that speaks to me, I try to think what would he do? Then I'll try to tweak it a bit to make it my own while upping the fun for my players (hopefully) but remain true to the scenario's core plot and mechanics.

So no need to be nervous beforehand... Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll settle into a style and pace that you'll find comfortable and works well!

Okay, my rambling is done... Sorry my thoughts were so long and not better organized but I've got kid duty coming up so wanted to post this up quick while I had a moment to spare!

Thanks again numbat for the game! And to all my fellow players, was a great pleasure teaming up with you! This was really an A+ group gathered here!!

If everyone has their chronicles, I plan to close this game during the next 24 hours.

Given that I just added 18 new games to my Campaigns tab (ah, the life of a special overseer), I would appreciate that.