GM TOP #5-8: The Confirmation (Standard) (Inactive)

Game Master Pete H.

Discussion stuff here. I have players fill their info into the slides for the game, so no need to add it here. I also tend to prefer in game questions to just use the OOC tags in the gameplay thread so everything is kept in the same place.

But you all are welcome to use this for non-game related discourse or general chat!

Please fill in your information on pages 1 and 2 of the slides. I believe we may be at APL 1.5, which actually means you all get to choose to play tier 1 or tier 2. Majority chooses.

Thyste spends some time connecting with her kitsune heritage...

Craft (tools): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Craft (weapons)+ Crafter's Fortune {Take 10}: 10 + 10 + 5 = 25
I may use a reroll if available

I didn't get around to copying Rhombia's profile over last night, so I still need to do that later today. Sorry for that! I promise to get at least some bare-bones HeroLab stats up tonight. First post will follow that.

My vote for tier is Tier 2, only because I've never played that tier and--with this many 2nd level PCs, it's a rare opportunity to see that tier in play!

I would also like to play up.

Agreed with Rhombia-- playing up seems like a neat opportunity!

I normally avoid playing up (as last time that happened my companion player died) HOWEVER this is solely a ranged buff character, so she should be fine, I don't care either way :)

ALSO I knew I had played this character before, but apparently not online - all my paperwork is, well, paper and pencil. So it might take me a few days to type up all the info in the online format I usually do. However I think she is pretty straightforward.

Cleric of Desna
Domains: Good & Luck (domain powers can be used <30' on allies due to archetype)
Relevant Combat Feat: Divine Fighting Technique: Desna's Shooting Star to +CHA to attack/damage with a starknife

Also I prefer to roll Profession at the end, in case I get a faction goal instead :)

As resident "lady with a big spear and shield and medium armor," I--

Oh, wait, I meant to upgrade my armor by level 2. That seems especially pertinent as we're gonna be facing--

...uh, a scenario that I'm sure none of us have played before and will be surprised as to the final encounter of.

ANYWAY, as resident Fighter (more or less) it's probably gonna be my PC that dies, if any.

...But yeah lemme just buy some thicker armor real quick.

@Kezria, To save you some time and effort, I'm trying to knock out a quick version in HeroLab for you. You can just modify it as needed once it's posted.

Just post your stats, feats, & traits and I will put it in a spoiler you can use as a base for your online character profile.

@&$*^$#^%$^*@&^$#@ I am super bummed.

*ahem* thank you for pointing that out.

Unfortunately then, @GM TOP should find another player - that was the lynchpin of this build and I won't have time to re-build her before we start.

Aw dang. That sucks. We can give you a couple days if you want to try to rebuild. Otherwise, no bigs.

I appreciate it, but that's fine. This game was already pushing my work-life balance a bit, I was heavily relying on a familiar character to make the balance workable. I'd rather take my time to make sure I get it right on the 2nd go round.

I appreciate it, but that's fine. This game was already pushing my work-life balance a bit, I was heavily relying on a familiar character to make the balance workable. I'd rather take my time to make sure I get it right on the 2nd go round.

The nice plus for you is that, at 1st level, all of your retraining is free, so the PC is essentially a blank slate (except for whatever purchases you made along the way).

Discovering that at 4th level could have been devastating, as you'd have made multiple decisions along the way that would cost you a bunch of gold and PP in retraining.

yeah, it's good I caught it early, it's just a double bummer because I just realized a few weeks ago I stacked archetypes incorrectly on ANOTHER character (also before playing them at level 2, thankfully). Like, I'm disappointed in myself at this point, lol. I thought my reading comprehension was better than this - I'm normally an A+ student!

Anyway, good luck on your confirmation!

(And thank you @Kelleran for the tip about the Startoss feat line - I shall research it and compare options.)

Like, I'm disappointed in myself at this point, lol. I thought my reading comprehension was better than this - I'm normally an A+ student!

That's so relatable. I was great at math in school, but now, all of a sudden I have no idea why my swashbuckler has a +14.

PFS1 strains the maths side of me hard sometimes. It's all those little traits, class ability, archetype, magic item, consumable, boon, circumstance bonuses all meshing together that make things hard to keep track.

The answer, Thyste, is because your swash is AWESOME.

Sorry Kezria that is disppointing At GMs invitation taking your place ready to play up. This is more an experiment on how medium works in the wilderness

Aw poop Kez. Sorry to be the one to point it out. That was not my intention.

As for Startoss, I made a Cardcaster Magus with two levels of Far strike monk (because they can flurry with thrown weapons). He plays a little like Gambit.

Speaking of cardcasters, guess who's bringing a Cartomancer witch to this game? Ready to make the math even harder on everybody!

I also vote for playing up. How often can you do that on these repeatable adventures?

Day Job - Craft (Woodworking): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Okay, barebones HeroLab text output is up. I also changed genders.

Still need to do some shopping; Rhomboid has 300 gp left to spend; at least 80 gp will be spent on clothing and jewelry to activate his fashionable trait.

@TOP, yes, the boon is from 9-00 and lets you create a new PC with 3 xp, 4 pp, and 1500 gp. He's also using a boon from 7-00 that grants an extra trait, which is why he's starting with three of those. I keep second-guessing the trait I chose, though, so I might update which trait he chose from that boon. I will do that today or tonight if I do, though.

I also changed genders.

Hey, that makes two of us!

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I keep second-guessing the trait I chose, though, so I might update which trait he chose from that boon. I will do that today or tonight if I do, though.

Yeah, I'm going to change the trait. He'll be taking Killer instead of Indomitable Faith. A bonus to Will just doesn't seem that valuable for a construct that already has a bonus on (or is immune to) most of what you need a Will save for anyway.

@TOP, any problem if I get a shopping list up this weekend? Since this is Rhomboid's first scenario, it will include all of his equipment so you can note the total amount purchased on the chronicle.

That's fine. It's Friday so doing a full list like that over the weekend is more than acceptable. Anyone else buying anything? Tis your last chance to be in a civilized location.

Question If I start the adventure with a potion of healing do I have to wait until the end of the adventure before I sell it back at full retail or is during the adventure only sell for half value as normal

Until you hit level 2, anything you didn't eat, drink, or shoot (so rations, potions, arrows, etc.) can be sold back for full value.

Once you hit level 2, anything you purchase can only be sold back for half.

Agreed.

And to answer your specific question, I will allow you to return an item right now for full price. Obviously once we leave the city that is no longer an option. But I see no reason to even form an argument about stuff when we are talking about a mere 25g.

Especially considering we even have a player that hasn't made their character creation purchases. So, no reason in my mind for me to be hardline about anything right now.

Me being a psycho GM comes later when I start ripping PC's apart with calculated violence! :D

With all my second level money, here are the purchases Kelleran made:
Rogue's Kit (50 gp)
Silk Rope (10 gp)
Wayfinder (500 gp)
Dusty Rose Prism, cracked (500 gp) - placed in Wayfinder {+1 to Initiative}

Wayfinders are only 250g for pathfinder agents. Otherwise, looks good!

I thought that was a one time/ one character benefit off of a certain chronicle. Happy to save the cash though.

Nope, that’s the list price for agents in the PFS guide. It’s really a very nice tool.

I’ve never looked into the resonance effects though, do they work in PFS play? If so, that’s really cool. If not, Tis still a nice place to store an ioun stone.

Purchases:
mwk studded leather armor - 175 gp
mwk buckler - 155 gp
mwk aldori dueling sword - 320 gp
mwk backpack - 50 gp
courtier's outfit - 30 gp
jewelry - 50 gp
longbow - 75 gp
cold iron arrows (20) - 2 gp
blunt arrows (20) - 2 gp
alchemist's fire (3) - 60 gp
waterskin - 1 gp
trail rations (4) - 2 gp

Total: 922 gp

I thought that was a one time/ one character benefit off of a certain chronicle. Happy to save the cash though.

That one-time benefit--under certain circumstances--is that you get the wayfinder for free

Is the new player aware we are playing 'up'? I would hate for their first experience to blindside them if things go off the rails (which they never, ever do).

Tis a good question. I'll put that on the list of things to ask them once we start communicating.

Tier 2 really isn't thaaaat much different from Tier 1 though. It isn't like a level 2 or soft (low hp) level 3 playing in Tier 4-5. From what I'm seeing they just bumped up the number of enemies in most fights and added a couple slightly higher CR opponents as options.

I wanted to give you some notice that I will be away this weekend. Pretty close to 24 hours after this post--around 1PM EDT on Friday in the US--I will be leaving for the weekend, returning sometime on Sunday. I probably won't resume posting until my usual time on Monday morning.

Thanks for the update!

I don't think I've ever played a character that felt this cool at level 2. A lot of this is just "good dice rolls," and a chunk of it is just "Tiefling," but...

Yeah, feels good, man.

Society usually expects you to follow the instructions as closely as possible, but if you want to run whatever we miss as an unofficial "what if" after the scenario if people want to.

Correct. But in this case the option is still available for the group to take the different route. All that has to happen is you all stop here in the caves to rest for the night before pushing on. Then the alternate option kicks in.

After all, it has been a full day of traveling and I'm assuming you all trusted Janira could handle herself with the Minotaur or you would have never left.

I know for me, I never even knew that resting was an option on any of my many Confirmations. I always felt our groups had to push get it done fast. And maybe that is still what each of your characters feels is right. By all means, basing a decision on how your PC would respond is an excellent way to determine something too.

But if everyone wants to play it out as is, I'm cool with that (obviously).

As a rule of thumb, Thyste is never gonna be the one to suggest slowing down or stopping :P

Hi all, this is a heads-up that I'm in a wedding tomorrow, and will be leaving work soon to get ready for the rehearsal/dinner. Given that I'm never good at posting on weekends, that means I probably won't post again until Monday. If I'm holding things up, feel free to bot me.

Congrats to the happy couple!

Speaking of, me and my wife's ten-year datingversary is coming up, so my posting may be a little spotty over the weekend (and Monday, and Tuesday) as well.

Well, Happy Nuptials all around!

Hi all, sorry for my disappearance. My mother has had a health emergency and things are not good; she’s now in Hospice care. I’m going to do my best to be as present as possible to finish this scenario—goodness knows I’ll relish the distraction at times—but there will likely be more unexpected absences along the way. Please don’t hesitate to bot me, and thanks for the understanding. I’ll start catching up in Gameplay tomorrow.

This is definitely a big case of “real life comes first”—I don’t think anyone will blame you for any absences here!

All right, as we wind this scenario down I need any day job re-rolls or faction journal card activities.

I'll start working up the chronicles, but there are a couple things to finish off in gameplay so take a look and post, thanks!

Did the divination with the grippli count as "resolving a combat encounter through bribery, diplomacy, trickery or a similar tactic"?

Orenjii got a 14 on their day job, but since I haven't used my reroll and can't do worse, they will try again.

Craft (Woodworking): 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 9 + 2 = 13

Technically not worse!

Yes, that would count for that faction journal card goal.

Craft, Weapons (Crafter's Fortune): 1d20 + 9 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 5 = 31