GD8|Vamp's 7–22: Bid for Alabastrine (Inactive)

Game Master Vampaerus

"#7–22: Bid for Alabastrine is designed for levels 1–5.
...also contributes directly to the ongoing storyline of the Exchange Faction."

(times mentioned below are relative to Eastern USA time zone)

This is being run for "Gameday VIII" online event and thus won't officially begin until August 26th. In the meantime I will be looking for players that I think will fit a couple important criteria:

First, if you've read the scenario blurb you've probably figured out this is a social encounter. If you didn't read the blurb let me spell it out: "this is a social encounter." So I will be looking for players who appear they will enjoy roleplaying. If grid-based tactics are your main thing, I politely ask that you look elsewhere. Everyone will have a better time.

The second criteria pertains to real-life availability. To be fully transparent my own availability is not what I feel it should be. But I'm hoping to turn this downside into a possible opportunity for players who may be in a similar situation. I work 60+ hrs/wk mostly in the form of 10-12hr shifts M-F and frequent 4-6hr extras Sat and/or Sun. I also happen to play PFS F2F Thurs evenings and Sunday afternoons. What the heck does that leave?!? Well, I have a large chunk of time Saturday afternoon/evening (in UTC terms I think that's approx Sat 20:00 - Sun 05:00 or thereabouts.) I will be able to post quick things during my lunch breaks (if my phone behaves). More elaborate/detailed posts most evenings. But ideally I would like to find players who can all be online Sat and we can play semi-live. I don't want to go to VTT (Virtual TableTop) because I don't want to feel forced into a single sitting. If the roleplay is going *well* this scenario can grow time-wise. I'm fine with letting it take as long as we want, if everyone is enjoying the gameplay.

So if you have a busy work week but some freetime Saturdays, maybe this is just what you're looking for? Let me know:

Thanks a lot GM!

I would very much like to join with my socially oriented character Toral

Below the details for your assessment.

Player: Noral/ GM Nowruz
Character: Toral
PFS: 314670-9
Faction: Exchange
Day job: profession merchant : 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
Track: normal progression

If you look through this character’s post you’ll see that he is RP oriented and loves speeches. :-)

Thanks again. If we go low tier I also gave 2nd level exchange faction character that I could bring.

I'll throw my name in the hat.

I have a level 5 vishkanya rogue who is trained specifically for diplomatic/espionage missions.

Plus, I do not foresee this character getting used anytime soon, so I can be as patient as you need me to be.

If everyone is available Saturdays, I'm hoping it won't be a long term commitment anyway. Possibly much shorter than normal.

I missed the semi-live part in the description for Saturdays. Those are my face to face game days. Between traveling and playing, I will not be able to commit that much time to it. So I am going to withdrawal.

I can post several times on Saturday but won’t be sitting next to the computer.

that's fine. I may need to drop the Saturday bit anyway. Seems to be more of a barrier than I expected.

Hmmm... turns out I posted in the wrong spot =)

Currently in a game, but should be over by Gameday.

Great! Thanks

I wouldn't say "dropping" the saturday bit, but defining more what benefit different folks can get out of it would be good. E.g., if it's most players being able to post at least twice on saturdays which helps make up for slowness during the week, that's still pretty decent.

Anyway, if this is still open, PaleDim here with a character submission.

Without spoiling too much, this scenario presents an environment where PC's should be having one-on-one conversations with key NPC's. So the closer we can get to a "live" situation, the more natural back-and-forth conversation can be had. If that can't be arranged, then players need to provide more OOC oriented instructions like "I intent to talk to NPC-X using my Knowledge(Arcana) [dice...]"

Both ways work mechanically, IMO the former is where the scenario shines, particularly w players who get into the roleplay.

All freed up.

Level 5 Investigator

I would like to get a pulse-check on this.
Noral
EvilMinion
PaleDim
you three are the in-crowd so far. Lemme know your thoughts. I see two options. Throw in a pregen and run with it. Lean will be faster overall. Or drop the Saturday thing completely and try to scrounge up a few more players. The total run time will definitely be longer, but I'm thinking depth of play would be better. Open to suggestions. If you have no opinion, lemme know you're still there.

Hi, I completely agree with this:
“...drop the Saturday thing completely and try to scrounge up a few more players. The total run time will definitely be longer, but I'm thinking depth of play would be better.”

:-)

I would prefer that option as well.

Not fussy.

I was curious how the Saturday stuff would work out, admittedly... but am fine either way.

I would like to throw my hat into consideration on Katswiri if you're still recruiting. I think I can usually make the Saturday frequent posting, and have always wanted to play this with her.

Katswiri's a level 5 Lore Oracle with the deaf curse and a heavy focus on knowledge and social skills.

Katswiri can read lips, yes?

Yes, she can. She both has the Read Lips language, and a pair of magical eyeglasses that allow her to more or less effortlessly see what people are saying around her (DC 0 perception check to read lips, modified by all the normal perception modifiers like distance).

I think Venture-Captain Brackett will agree Katswiri is well suited to the mission at hand. That puts our team at four. I believe Aaqir mentioned we have funding for about six agents, so I'll see who else may be available...

Jon Rooi will be level 2 when I apply his latest chronicle, but I see that this table is solidly high-tier. It seems like that's probably less of an issue in a socially-focused scenario, but @GM I'll definitely listen to your guidance on whether playing up is a good idea for this scenario or not.

If I'm not mistaken, Ela Kukai is Level2 as well. And yes I would say you are correct that for this scenario it is not particularly dangerous to play up.

Hello! I would like to offer another level 5 to the party if you are still looking for another member.

Player: Kyle "Worg" H
Character: Kaepora
PFS: 220424-25
Faction: Dark Archive
Day job: None
Track: normal progression
Interesting notes: 1 Level Shadow Caller Spiritualist, 2 Levels Sanctified Slayer Inquisitor, 2 Levels Sensei Monk, and has a 5th level Shadow Phantom.

If I'm not mistaken, Ela Kukai is Level2 as well. And yes I would say you are correct that for this scenario it is not particularly dangerous to play up.

Correct. As of right now we have

* Ela Kukai Wizard (Spellslinger) 2
* Jon Rooi Mesmerist 2
* Mr. Graves Investigator 5
* Toral Kargar Shaman (Speaker for the Past) 4
* Kaepora The Shadowcaller Melting Pot 5

APL 18/5 => 3.6 => 4

So squarely in sub-tier 4-5. The level of any sixth player won't change this, as even at level 1 our APL remains 3 or greater, and even if it dropped to 3...

When the APL of a table is between two subtiers (like APL 3 for a Tier 1–5 scenario), a party of four characters must play the lower tier without any adjustments for party size. A party of five to seven characters whose APL falls between two subtiers must play the higher tier with the four-character adjustments found throughout the scenario.

Quite an interesting collection of classes Kaepora; and quite an interesting party composition overall. Better for a socially aimed game, I think.

The build is fun, as my phantom and I combine our tactics for melee. The main focus the combo has is providing a rather tanky character, as the AC for Kaepora can reach somewhere up to 32 and the phantom can run an AC of 21 with DR 5/Slashing. Damage output is nothing impressive.

The main benefit of this character is wisdom is everything; Knowledge, Initiative, Perception, AC, Attack, Bardic Performance +1, Diplomacy, Bluff, Stunning Fist, Disable Device (Trait: Wisdom of the Flesh), and Intimidate. Due to the low skill rank count though, he can't utilize everything as a maximizer. This character certainly serves the role of "Jack of all trades, ace in none."

Player: Ed Birnbryer
Character: Shi no kage
PFS: 66136-5
Faction: Exchange
Day job: Merchant: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Track: normal progression

If there is an opening, I would like to add my flying Wayang Hunter (Roc animal companion)I believe that he is 5th level but will need to double check. (Don't have my chronicles with me right now)

That brings us to 7. Do any of you know if PbP and/or Gameday have a hard limit of 6? I know 7 is permissible for F2F games, but what I see of the GD8 stuff, six is the number thou shalt count.

6 should suffice. 7 is only if you have someone who really wants to join in or you need to fit someone who signed up and asked after it got full; for the purposes of Gameday anyways.

Ah I was looking at checked-in characters in my calculation, so I missed Katswiri! Apologies.

I was dwelling on Jon Rooi's concern (which is now very moot) because I am currently GM'ing a game where APL landed in a very awkward place to push a low-powered party into high tier :)

There are certainly some scenarios where playing up would be ill-advised. Alabastrine it's fine.

Incidentally...has anyone here played #6–98: Serpents Rise on ANY character? I'm betting a few of you have.

Have not.

Not yet, but I plan on it some day.

I have played 6-98

I am also ok with 7 players.

That brings us to 7. Do any of you know if PbP and/or Gameday have a hard limit of 6? I know 7 is permissible for F2F games, but what I see of the GD8 stuff, six is the number thou shalt count.

It appears the hard limit is 7:

If seven players show up to an event, rather than turning someone away, consider adding a seventh person to the table. Check with the players to determine their preferences before running a seven-person table, as seven- person tables often overpower otherwise challenging adventures and limit the amount of time each player gets to shine in the given scenario.

Tables may not have eight or more players.

I have no objection to seven.

For right now I'll put it like this:

Party:
Toral
Graves
Ela
Katswiri (plz dot/del in Gameplay)
Jon
Kaepora
Waitlist:
Shi no kage

As written the scenario does not scale to "N-Players" only the usual 4-/5+ breakpoint. So the extra actions give more opportunity to succeed at whatever approach you choose. It is therefore an "easy mode" of sorts. I'll give it 24hrs from now. If there are no objections to that I'll call it officially 7 and we can move on to the cult indoctrination...err uhm, I mean "character introductions".

No opposition here.

Incidentally...has anyone here played #6–98: Serpents Rise on ANY character? I'm betting a few of you have.

I have played Serpent's Rise (twice!) (credit not on this PC mind you)

Never have run into any of the scenarios that it mattered for, for the PC's I played.

I have played 6-98 (oh, and it was wonderful), and am also good with 7 PCs

Thank you for adding me to the wait list and my -1 has the 6-98 chronicle.

Looks good to me to move forward with seven players. Shi no kage go ahead and dot/delete in Gameplay.

Katswiri if you could dot/delete as well so the Characters page will show everyone, thx.

You receive a summons to meet with Venture Captain Brackett at the Society's lodge in Almas at your earliest convenience.

------------------

Upon arrival at the Almas Lodge, a pudgy bulbous creature with small leathery wings struggles to keep aloft near the entrance. Thick glasses magnify its pupils, giving an awkward fish-like appearance as it scans you up-n-down. It greets you skeptically, "And you are..?"

The young elf gives a confused, stand-offish look at the odd creature.

I'm.... Ela..

She follows at a distance as it leads her into the sitting room with the other Pathfinders. She waits for it to leave, staring at it the entire time to make sure, and then finds a place in the corner to sit.

You guys realize you're in the recruitment forum, right?

We'll do character introductions before that tho, most likely in the Recruitment thread.

You guys realize you're in the recruitment forum, right?

Yes, only because of GamedayVIII. IDK how strictly the qualifications are enforced, but to be sure I'm leaving Gameplay empty until the official start next Monday. Character Intros aren't specifically scripted into this scenario (like say, Confirmation). It's more of a common practice, so I figured we can start that ahead of time. We don't need Recruitment for recruiting anymore, seemed like a logical space to me. Sorry for the confusion.

We can do that in the gameplay. I just learned that introductions are all fine but no briefing should be posted before Aug 26.

I'll keep that in mind for future events. For this time I feel it would be a little awkward to relocate what's already been started. Is there some reason it would matter where the character intros are? Perhaps I'm not familiar with what issue(s) might arise.

It helps if the game happens in the same place.

The recruitment forum gets more or less ignored once the game starts. One doesn't typically remember to look back here.

"Jon Rooi" states the tall, slim Shoanti simply. He nods and follows the strange creature. An unusual guide, to say the least, but certainly not out of character to be in the employ of a Venture-Captain with the vision to convert an ancient cathedral to his own use. Well, the Society's use, I suppose.

He enters the room and finds a few other Pathfinders assembled. He introduces himself as he did to the creature. "Jon Rooi," he states simple, adding "I'm here at Captain Brackett's request, as I suppose you must be?"

He's dressed in the rudimentary fashion of most Shoanti--skins, feathers, and tattoos--with red being a predominant color. He smiles gently at all who are assembled, and takes his seat, waiting for the the Venture-Captain and the others to arrive.

The portly near-sighted homunculus returns, frantic and visibly sweating.

"...huh...huh...Your...your comrades have seen themselves to Captain Brackett's office...hph...You should hurry and join them there...it's in the Grand Hall."

With that it turns and "swiftly" flies down the hall. (You think a heavily-burdened dwarf in full-plate could move faster).

(distant)"Oh...hff...Master will be displeased."(/distant)