GM Omelas' Extinction Curse (Inactive)

Game Master panegyric

Prodded for answers on what talents he has

Oi, stop poking me.

I--err--work hard.

Side note--I'm getting PT Flea's World Bug Circus vibes. Grog just feels like a mix between the Slim the stickbug and Dim the beetle.
Anyway, Grog probably doesn't have the finesse or wit to pull off fancy tricks, but his 18 Str and good fortitude bonuses allow him to serve in many functions besides his main function as rigger. He can be the butt of practical jokes in the circus. Maybe we can consider that an Aid action (if the DC wasn't apparently 20), or any roll the DM decides.
Lastly, Grog is somewhat under-equipped. He wields now a rigging knife (dagger), strongman hammer (warhammer), and only has clothes on his back. I couldn't find starting equipment rules.

Player Voice

Also, sorry for the double-post, but here are the rumors circulating about Grog since the Celestial Menagerie, since he never told his backstory to anyone except the previous circus owner Ms. Evil Cat Lady. So I would like to issue a request for my colleagues to state which rumors they believe and how that colored their impression of Grog.
If the DM or any of the characters would want to remove a rumor or add any, I'm open to it. Grog is much your character as he is mine.

Because his unwillingness to share his tale (except what is gleaned from the above rumors), I'm not sure he would participate in the Harrow reading if he senses it can reveal anything in his backstory. It is possible that he would have unwittingly picked a card, such as a card being blown away from Ceija's deck and stuck to his hair (which would constitute a fateful reading, I suppose. :D)

So, he wouldn't participate in the Harrow reading because he believes I could actually read his life? That's an interesting take.

I can work with the 'I didn't pick a card, the card picked me' idea.

Ok, we’re almost there. If you can, I would appreciate if you answered a question about an event involving other group members — a sentence or two is more than enough.

@Pandir: one of the PCs helped you after your accident in the Celestial Menagerie. Who was it and what did they do?

@Katala: one PC accidentally helped you discover something about your patron. Who was it and what did they do?

@Finch: one PC did something that either earned your respect or made you think they’re weak and unreliable. Who was it and what did they do?

@Ceija: one PC did something that made you think they have a connection with a harrow card. What was that thing and which card was it?

@Grog: you and one PC once were drinking together and something bizarre happened. Who was it and what was this bizarre event?

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Current Roster
1. Pandir, the acrobat (Female Leaf Leshy Monk);
2. Katala (Female Duskwalker Catfolk Rune Witch);
3. Ceija, the Seer (Female Varisian Human Maestro Bard);
4. Finch, the Clown (Female Twilight Halfling Scoundrel Rogue);
5. Grog, the Straight-man (Male [?] Orc Fighter).

Signature Tricks
1. Pandir: Triple Flip Leaf Glide;
2. Katala: TBD;
3. Ceija: “Mind reading”;
4. Finch: TBD;
5. Grog: not a performer.

@Signature Trick: Okay, thanks for the info. Finch's main act would be a silent slapstick routine, where she plays the part of a fiend-possessed servant carrying a precariously stacked platter of crystal goblets, with a devil-mask in one hand to put on when the fiend "takes over" and tries to make her drop the platter. She calls it A Fool of Thrune. I suppose the skill would be Performance (comedy) and the trait... uh, Comedy (performance)?

@Rumours about Grog: Finch is pretty sceptical by nature, so she would likely dismiss any outlandishly supernatural hearsay (#3, #4 and #6). Then again, she loves secrets, so she would enjoy to piecing out something of the truth based on what—to her—sounds more believable (#1, #2 and #5).

"Also, don't tell anyone, but I heard Ol' Groggy Grog's actually the missing Primarch of Absalom! He took a secret vacation, fell head-first into a ditch, and got put into a new body by some nutty druid up in the mountains. Now he's stuck out here, 'cause no one back home can recognise him! Ain't that hilarious?"

@Questions: Pandir keeps trying to please people off-stage, and it's bad for the troupe. I saw her do a flip for some urchins, and she didn't even ask for a tip! She should save her stuff for the paying customers, not give out free shows to moochers.

Rules clarification:
Ceija has a Composition Cantrip (Inspire Courage).

Composition spells usually require use of a focus point from your focus pool. But this is a cantrip, which normally doesn't use up spell slots or have other limitations.

Am I correct that Ceija can cast Inspire Courage as often as she likes, subject only to the limitation that she can't have two compositions running at the same time, and it would end immediately if she cast a different Composition spell of any level?

No divine caster? I know there are other healing options in PF2 but.... Ouch!

@GM Omelas
While the new circus traveled from Escadar to Abberton, and got set up, Katala took some time to try and get to know everyone working the circus. She found Grog to be interesting, helpful, but secretive. She backed off not wanting to intrude if he didn't want to be friends.
She did find Ceija the most similar to herself as another arcane caster. Their methods of casting was almost completely opposite though, and she found herself wondering about her own abilities. She communed with her familiar, Flicker, every day to ready the magic that she would use for the day. Elon had explained very basic information about the entity that he called a Patron. He hadn't really explained it though because he didn't know. While he was also a Duskwalker and had been able to 'school' me on that, he wasn't a witch.
I tried asking Flicker once while I communed. My spells were all erased that day so I knew that wasn't a good avenue to pursue. I also tried using my Discern Secrets hex cantrip focusing on everything I had learned about Arcana. While there was no repercussion to that, I also didn't learn anything.
As I considered my failure to learn Ceija granted a bit of 'sage advice'.... If my Patron wanted me to know who he/she/it was, I'd know. Maybe someday though....

@Finch: signature trick done =) And don't mind the traits too much — I thought I had them blocked out on the slides.

@CrystalSeas: Yes. Much like hex cantrips, composition cantrips do not use focus points. The "price" for these focus spells is that you need to use one action every turn to keep it going (or spend one focus point for lingering composition in the case of the maestro bard).

Pandir was quite embarrassed when she fell. Mistress Dusklight was seething. You could hear an apple drop among the aghast crowd. Pandir stood up and quickly folded her neck petals.

Ceija calmly walked up to her, held the harrow of the eagle. "A great fall leads to a miracle. See Pandir, unharmed from her gravity-defying stunt. Wave to the audience, you're famous."

Pandir's confusion faded as Ceija encouraged her. Now wasn't the time to shirk, it was time to puff out her chest and wave hello to the audience. They cheered and clapped. It was all part of the act.

Mistress Dusklight was still furious for delaying the act. But that didn't matter now. Ceija proved herself a good friend. Maybe the best friend!

@GM Omelas
One evening I was walking behind the tents and caravans where we all live. I saw Katala going toward a stream and sit by a rock watching the water flow. She was talking to her little bird, but as I watched I thought I saw another face superimposed on hers. Like an illusion, flickering between two images.

It immediately reminded me of the card "The Survivor", where a person is sitting on a throne-like seat, with a trunk, scrolls, a sword and shield, and a scepter and crown at his feet. He looks exhausted and has a bandaged head, an arm in a sling, and more bandages on the other arm. He's surrounded by wraith-like humanoids, who are his fallen comrades.

Katala had that same look of a creature being beset by the shades of the dead.

Thanks for all you sent in, everyone. I believe we are only missing a couple of things now.

@Grog: will you have the time to come up with a bizarre drinking night story involving a fellow PC? Not mandatory, but could be helpful.

@Katala: do I understand correctly Katala is not a performer, but more of a backstage animal handler?

As it stands, I think we’re on track for starting next Monday, 2021-03-22. Is everyone ok with that or do you need more time?

Important: I’m going to go over your sheets on Sunday to get your skill and save modifiers for my records. If you have any last tweaks, please do it before then.

Gameplay is open for dot-and-deleting. I’ll post here again when the game has actually begun.

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Current Roster
1. Pandir — Female Leaf Leshy Monk;
2. Katala — Female Duskwalker Catfolk Rune Witch;
3. Ceija — Female Varisian Human Maestro Bard;
4. Finch — Female Twilight Halfling Scoundrel Rogue;
5. Grog — Male Battle-Ready Orc Fighter.

Circus Roles
1. Pandir — Acrobat. Trick: Triple Flip Leaf Glide;
2. Katala — Animal handler;
3. Ceija — Seer. Trick: “Mind reading member of the audience” (name pending);
4. Finch — Clown. Trick: A Fool of Thrune;
5. Grog — Guard/Roustabout.

I might have a trick up my sleeve....

I don't suppose "Carnac The Magnificent Answers Your Questions, Reads Your Mind, Foresees Your Future, and Improves Your Love Life" fits on the circus poster, does it.

I think a bizarre drinking story could work with Katala. A Hangover-like episode where they get drunk and wake up on another island with a giant parrot painted purple and a sack full with a gold piece from every single currency of the Inner Sea (and a few coins from Vurda). Returning home would be a dizzying sequence of events where they would be picked up by a group of Andoranian pirates, giving the parrot back changeling star-speaker who rides a flying disc, and being flown by arracokra back to the main isle—after which they never spoke of the Purple Parrot Incident.

Brilliant, we’re all done, then. We start tomorrow =)

When you have the time, I would also appreciate it if you added some info to your status lines. I put up a reference for the one I’m using for my own characters on the Map slides, if that’s helpful.

I aint very familiar wif the chuffin' rules and forgot, Arfur J Shanks for the bloomin' 'elp.

The inexplicable cockney accent is courtesy of Woohoo xD

First actual gameplay post is up now.

As I mentioned before, this will be more of a warm-up chapter, mostly getting you acquainted with some NPCs and testing your characters in a couple of different situations.

Also, I might actually use this woohoo thing you just posted, Grog…

Dis' iz fun.

I used the map's front page to show Grog's employee ID picture. feel free to remove it if it's out of place.

As I mentioned, I’m going to post some of the PF2-specific rules as they come up during play for the benefit of those of us not so familiar with the system. Next up, secret rolls.

Rules: Secret Rolls
Some actions in PF2 carry the secret trait and must be rolled by the GM, not player.

The most common of these are: Recall Knowledge, Gather Information, Seek and Hide, but here’s the full list.

One particularly important detail is that some of these actions, like Recall Knowledge, can critically fail, in which case you receive misleading information.

For the moment, instead of rolling for these, I’d like you to just inform me of what you’re trying to do along with the relevant skill (or skills) and any relevant modifiers. I’ll roll under my impenetrable GM rolls spoiler and let you know the outcome.

Example #1:
Ceija tries to remember if she ever heard this song. Society +4, Performance +6

Example #2:
Grog follows shortly behind Pandir, trying to be all sneaky-like. Stealth +0 (+1 in jungle terrain).

Thanks. "Recall Knowledge" is still not automatic with me.

I finally realized that Tahala is an NPC and not a stranger. So it would only be the song itself that I'd be curious about.

I'll try to Recall this Knowledge.... but I'm fairly sure that I will fail on the mechanics in the future. Feel free to correct me for the mistakes that I know I will make. Hopefully they will decrease if not cease all together!

No big deal.

Let's give it a shot, but if we keep forgetting to do it, it is possibly an indication that the secret trait doesn't mesh very well with PbP.

[…] Finch drags her orc-shaped parasol […]

Wonderful.

Map question:
What is the scale on Map Slide 5 (Circus Camp) and Map Slide 3 (Abberton)?
The Circus can't be too far outside Abberton, but what's the distance through the woods?

Strategy question:
I'm assuming that we're still in Exploration mode, not Encounter mode. Thus we can freely move diagonally.

I'm also assuming that the Circus Camp map is 5-ft squares, so that Pandir is visible to the folks adjacent to her.

Things I'm considering:
a) Forming a line where each character is in a square adjacent to the next character, and moving the search line through the woods. Grog would anchor one end of the line, and Katala the other along the river bank, with Pandir in the middle. Finch next to Grog, Ceija next to Katala.

b) If we were moving on the diagonals, that would allow us to sweep through the woods south of the stream, then cross when we get to the south edge of the woods.

c) use the same strategy to sweep back toward the camp: Grog on outside edge, Katala on river edge, Panir in the middle between Ceija and Finch.

Ok, so the circus camp map has a really weird scale, in my opinion. Officially each square is 5ft, but that seems really unlikely given later events (like the whole circus gathering around the fire). Because of that, my approach here will tend more toward theatre of the mind than tactical grid.

The Abberton map spans around 1.25 miles in width and 1 mile in height.

The woods you see on the Circus camp map is sort of the tip of a considerably bigger wooded area.

"Hm. I s'pose there's no blood anywhere, so he could've swam over to lose 'em. Any tracks on the other side?"

I think I misunderstood our position on the map, so never mind this last bit.

I'm going to need a GM ruling on using my Whip to Trip.

1) A Whip is a Martial weapon. Bards are Trained in using Whips.
2) A Whip has the following weapon traits:
Disarm, Finesse, Nonlethal, Reach, Trip
3) When using the Whip to Trip, you make an Athletics (STR) skill check.
4) The Trip skill check has the Attack trait.

The second round of CRB errata clarified that a skill check is not an attack roll, even if the action has the Attack trait.

The conclusion, after a lengthy rules discussion*, seems to be that the Finesse weapon trait does not grant the use of DEX instead of STR for a skill check. The weapon trait only applies to attack rolls.

So, my understanding is that using my whip to Trip a creature affects my MAP, because the skill has the Attack trait. And, under a strict reading of the rules, I cannot substitute my DEX modifier when making the skill check to Trip a creature, even though I could do so if I were simply attacking it.

However, (CRB, pg 233) says, (under Key Ability) If the GM deems it appropriate for a certain situation, however, they might have you use a different ability modifier for a skill check.

So, my request is that I be allowed to use my DEX modifier rather than my STR modifier when using my whip and making skill checks for the Trip action .
===========

Oh, wow, there are a lot of people who feel really strongly about this.

Anyway, I’ll allow the DEX-based trip and disarm when using a finesse weapon that you are proficient with. From what I see it’s mostly a discussion about RAW that doesn’t strongly affect balance either way, so if that makes your character more fun to play, why not.

Only caveat is that I reserve the right to sometimes enforce a STR-check — can’t think of any example at the moment, but certain situations might call for brute force instead of skill.

Rules: Combat 101
Most specifics of the encounter mode should be familiar to you from PF1.

The main difference is the action economy. Barring conditions (aka status effects), you each get 3 actions and one reaction per round. I find it very helpful both as a GM and player when people an action summary to their posts during encounters.

Example: Stride ◆, Cast Illusory Object ◆◆

Common encounter actions
Recall Knowledge identify creatures (◆)
Strike attack with a weapon or unarmed attack (◆)
Stride move up to your full speed — triggers reactions (◆)
Step take a 5ft step that doesn’t trigger reactions (◆)
Stand stand up from prone — triggers reactions (◆)
Raise a Shield gain your shield’s circumstance bonus to AC (◆)
Cast a Spell self-explanatory (◆, ◆◆, ◆◆◆)
Sustain increase the duration of an effect/spell for an additional round (terms and conditions may apply) (◆)
Interact retrieve an item, use an item, open a door, other generic action — triggers reactions (◆)

Reactions
If you plan on taking any reactions, you might want to specify it ahead of time. Feel free to add some info.
Example: Grog will block any incoming damage. Shield hardness: 5

If the reaction calls for a roll, you can supply it.
Example
Grog will use his reaction to AoO any enemy that provokes.
AoO: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
B dmg: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Attack of Opportunity
AoOs are much more uncommon in PF2 and only a fraction of foes and PCs can actually do it. This makes movement in combat less dangerous, though it will always have some element of risk.

Recall Knowledge
If you successfully identify a creature, you can spend further actions to reveal more information.

Oh, wow, there are a lot of people who feel really strongly about this.

Anyway, I’ll allow the DEX-based trip and disarm when using a finesse weapon that you are proficient with. From what I see it’s mostly a discussion about RAW that doesn’t strongly affect balance either way, so if that makes your character more fun to play, why not.

Only caveat is that I reserve the right to sometimes enforce a STR-check — can’t think of any example at the moment, but certain situations might call for brute force instead of skill.

I know! Which is part of the reason I brought it to your attention. If you ever run into one of those zealots at a table, you'll be prepared.

Thanks, the DEX to trip and disarm makes a lot of sense to me as well. And of course the GM might decide on a different attribute for a skill check. It says so right there! ;-)

In the "Too Good To Be True" category

"Lingering Composition" is a Focus 1 spell for a Maestro bard.

The DC is (usually) "a standard-difficulty DC of a level equal to the highest-level target of your composition".

The success levels are
Critical Success The composition lasts 4 rounds.
Success The composition lasts 3 rounds.
Failure The composition lasts 1 round, but you don't spend the Focus Point for casting this spell.

So, is it correct that if I fail my Performance skill check, that I can just keep casting it each round as a free action until I succeed?

That's how my bard does it. You can retry as many times as you can until you succeed.

And then you refocus after the encounter. Very handy.

That is my understand as well. You can retry it until it sticks and won't lose the focus point even on a crit failure.

Rules: Hero Points
You can use Hero Points in two ways:

1. Spend 1 Hero Point to re-roll a die. You must take the second result and can only use it once per check;
2. Spend all your points to avoid death. You lose the dying condition and stabilise with 0 HP.

I encourage you to use them often =)

You will all get Hero Points at more or less regular intervals. I will award Hero Points for good roleplaying, creative ideas and in general things that I think made the game more interesting. If you think someone deserves a Hero Point for something their PC did, feel free to say so — I’m happy to accept suggestions.

Unrelated: are these rule explanations helpful? Do let me know if I'm spamming the discussion thread.

Rule explanations are always helpful. That way when something is up to interpretation we'll know how the GM rules. For example, using Dex instead of Str to trip.

Oh, please, keep posting the rules explanations. They are extremely helpful. Little, bite-sized technicalities, at exactly the right time for the information to be usable.

A further question on Hero Points:
Do we start with 1 or do we start with 0?

Ok, cool. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't boring anyone since rules are not exactly prime entertainment material.

@Ceija: everyone starts with 1 hero point.

Just realised I made a mistake. Grog should only have had one action on his previous turn due to slowed 2.

Finch, Pandir: if you fail those saves, you will get slowed 1 and thus only have two actions per turn until the condition goes away.

@Pandir: out of curiosity, any reason why you've been avoiding Flurry of Blows so far?

'ey, lovely jubly dungeon master.
Kindly advoise if grothog 'ad the chuffin' necessary actions ter perform 'is submitted turn activities fer da combat round.
Also, can I use me 'ero points ter impose misfortune on the bloody cockatrice attack (just as I could get fortune--but in reverse).

*blink* why am I forgetting Flurry of Blows?

Well, now you see how often I play Monks in 2e. Thank you for the reminder, though.

hahaha, I'm not actually sure I understood everything.

regarding hero points: no, you can only re-roll your own checks, unfortunately.

regarding actions: I had to re-read that condition a few times, but it does not go down every round, only after a set time (1 minute). Fun fact: the stat block doesn't specify the duration, meaning there's no official exit condition.

@Pandir: no problem. I was playing monk last week and would basically FoB everything, so I was like "I guess they don't *have* to use the flurry…?"

Aha. So I can (DM ruling) wait for 1 minute per rank of the condition, or have to get fully calcified and recover normally (going by some other posters).

Weird. In both cases I think Grog doesn’t have the action to pull off his nasty grab attack, correct?

If he can’t, I guess I will turn my action into an attack roll with an improvised weapon (board) to smack the enemy. I would like to use the old roll result, if you allow it, Omelas.

Yeah, if you go strictly RAW you'd have to get petrified and get your first saving throw 24 hours later (which would be frustrating to say the least), but the developers said the intent was 1 minute, and that seems much more reasonable.

And you could throw the board on the monster using that same roll. Might be better than grappling it, to be fair, since you're one failed saving throw away from petrification.

Let me know if that's how I should resolve your turn =)

So strictly by RAW, Grog's new life quest is to find this chicken-thing's mate, get fully petrified and then we air lift him to a safe house for 24 hours. Perfect!

Hate to ask a stupid question, but would any of us know that a petrified person can get un-petrified without magical aid?

Not a stupid question. An arcana or medicine check could give you that information. Possibly Nature too.

Failing that, an NPC proficient in any those fields might be able to give you that information.

And, yes, Pandir, that's the sum of it. RAW.

Unrelated: are these rule explanations helpful? Do let me know if I'm spamming the discussion thread.

These are very useful! I'm not very familiar with the rules yet, so it's good to get reminders.

Oops, forgot that Recall Knowledge was a secret check

So
Recall Knowledge: Nature +2
Recall Knowledge: Medicine +5