"Agents of Edgewatch" (Campaign) w/ AP Edgelord (Inactive)

Game Master rainzax

Welcome to Discussion!

I realize there is "a lot to do" in the Gameplay, but feel free to slow it down by first introducing your character, reacting / responding to Lieutenant Grospek Lavarsus, perhaps rolling that perception check, then when ready, addressing the "Noise Complaint" skill challenge that follows, with both words and dice. If you don't completely understand the mechanics of the challenge, don't sweat it, maybe wait for my ongoing Status Trackers to post to get an inside view.

I will post some Houserules at a later time here, as well as field any "ooc" ("out of character") questions you may have - do ask!

Greetings. Glad to be invited to the game.

Some up front ruling questions on rules minutia things that I have seen be ambiguous and that affect me.

Shields are held items, yes? You drop them if you go unconscious and you can deliberately release them as a free action.

Spellcasting from items via spellcasting archetype. Are we going with the CRB where I need the level 4 'basic spellcasting' feat (I lean towards this ruling), or are we going with the APG where the dedication feat alone is sufficient to cast from scrolls?

I'm good with any way that the ruling falls, I just want to know what to run with rather than do it wrong the first time.

Hey all! This will be my first PF2e game, and definitely will need a bit of time to get up to speed on the intricacies of the game. Looking forward to playing!

Welcome. And no worries. If you need or want help on something, just ask here.

VERY excited to be joining this group and this campaign! Looking forward to it.

Edgelord, what info do you want in our displayed headers, and do you have a preferred format for it?

@Raian - Quick Rulings:
1) Shields are held items, Bucklers are strapped - I believe this distinction answers your "action economy" questions?
2) Dedication feats are sufficient to cast from scrolls for it's corresponding Tradition

Do you want secret checks or are we rolling?

If a check is Secret, I will specify, it is otherwise assumed to be open.

Glad to see folks showing support in Discussion for new players - welcome!

I will post about "displayed headers" (which I call Character Bars) later with some specifications - if you want a sneak preview, it'll look like some of my own aliases, with also including daily resources (spell slots, infused reagents, 1/day abilities, etc) too. So as not to overwhelm you, these won't be required for the first week or so of our game.

Very excited back!

Yup. Works for me. Thanks.

I've been working on the character bar according to a Fey Sorcerer you have in your aliases. There's one thing that I'm struggling to mimic and that's getting the word "Stats" to be on the second line with the spoilers. It seems to be stuck on the first line, which is making my brain itch. Anyone have some help for this?

That is strange.

I can't see the code that you actually have there. Can you copy it into the chat here - replacing the '[' characters with '{' so that it doesn't try to render.

For example, this is mine currently:

{spoiler=Stats}AC 19, Shield 21 | Fort +7, Ref +9, Will ?4 | Perception +6 (low light)| Speed 25, swim 10 {/spoiler}

Put "Stats" outside the spoiler. Got it now, thanks.

OK. Not quite sure how this next skill challenge is running.

Since there is a Discovery entry, I am thinking it is using Influence subsystem.

But there is only one round. What would be the purpose of doing a Discovery check since those don't gain victory points? We wouldn't have time to then make an Influence check.

Unless we are doing a Discovery and an Influence check both during the one round?

Also, I am not sure about the fines. Do we need to make up the prices? Is that the loot? Do we keep a percentage? Just curious if there's a system for this.

One Skill Check per Round is the standard.

The in-game "fines" are not connected to a Treasure System, no. This means you are free to use the "fines" as story details or hooks as you see fit, with no bearing on your character's long-term Wealth. As to that, when we get to a Level Up juncture in the adventure, I will share the details of the Treasure System we will indeed be using, which summarized will involve a similar layer of abstraction that Pathfinder Society uses between missions, but is otherwise threaded exactly to Table 10-10: Character Wealth.

Apologies. Still finding my ground with the Challenge. I'll delete the post.

It's all good and no need to delete (unless you really want to).

That said I do temper NPC responses to both the words you use and the recognized die rolls of skill challenges.

Think of these early encounters as both a "session 0" as well as a "session 1" - we are all learning how to PbP together here!

For anyone still confused by the mechanics of this particular skill challenge: we have 1 round of 1 action each to gain points. We can also opt to instead of trying for gaining points to spend our 1 action on learning more about the characters using Perception.

Initially only Diplomacy checks would gain points. We currently have the option of Crafting and Arcana as well.

With the rolls that we have made and the DC that is posted, we currently have 1 of the 3 points needed with one character to go.

That character being Iomar "Greyjay" Youbol, who hasn't posted in the campaign proper since it started.

Also according to the Bot Tree rules that Edgelord has listed, if we want him to take any actions, then we need to do it for him. Preferably Chomski Bramblebuckle or Lazverinus because of the alphabetical location of the names. I'm not sure if one of the other two of us can post for him instead.

OK. So let's kick off a session 0 then.

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First:

It appears that some spoiler tags we are expected to open and read, and others we are not unless we have access. How do we tell the difference?

Is it based on which character posted the spoiler? Things posted by AP Edgelord shouldn't be opened without permission, but things posted by Skill Challenge should?

Or is it based more on the label of the spoiler? Something along the lines of: open it if it doesn't have a character's name or a check with a DC listed.

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Second:

That said I do temper NPC responses to both the words you use and the recognized die rolls of skill challenges.

This is somewhat concerning to me.

When rolling checks, you roll the check first, then describe the action. And it should be just that - a description of the outcome of the roll. It shouldn't affect the outcome of the roll.

We see this with things like Long Jump over a gap. You roll the Athletics check, then role-play the outcome of the result. Same with an attack roll. You roll the attack, then describe the outcome of the attack.

It should be the same with social skills. You roll the check, then describe the in-game events. And the description of the action should match the outcome of the roll - not influence it.

At least, that is how I have always played it. Hearing that I may end up getting double penalties for a failed roll - one for the outcome of the roll and a second one for playing out the failed roll accurately - is a bit of a problem.

Should I instead be role-playing the roll as though it was a success? Even though we all know that it wasn't.

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Third:

How much of a pompous know-it-all do you want me to be here on this discussion thread? Because I absolutely can be if that is what you want.

But I don't really find that to be fun. And I really don't want to get into a competitive rules-reading battle of wits with the GM. That doesn't sound like fun at all.

That character being Iomar "Greyjay" Youbol, who hasn't posted in the campaign proper since it started.

Also according to the Bot Tree rules that Edgelord has listed, if we want him to take any actions, then we need to do it for him. Preferably Chomski Bramblebuckle or Lazverinus because of the alphabetical location of the names. I'm not sure if one of the other two of us can post for him instead.

GM has said that he's messaged GreyJay. He was in the original group with me that only lasted a couple of encounters before the GM was banned from the forums.

That said, I'd love to play with him again so hopefully he makes it as I love the character. But I would hold off botting for their first official post.

AP Edgelord wrote:

That said I do temper NPC responses to both the words you use and the recognized die rolls of skill challenges.

This is somewhat concerning to me.

When rolling checks, you roll the check first, then describe the action. And it should be just that - a description of the outcome of the roll. It shouldn't affect the outcome of the roll.

We see this with things like Long Jump over a gap. You roll the Athletics check, then role-play the outcome of the result. Same with an attack roll. You roll the attack, then describe the outcome of the attack.

It should be the same with social skills. You roll the check, then describe the in-game events. And the description of the action should match the outcome of the roll - not influence it.

At least, that is how I have always played it. Hearing that I may end up getting double penalties for a failed roll - one for the outcome of the roll and a second one for playing out the failed roll accurately - is a bit of a problem.

Should I instead be role-playing the roll as though it was a success? Even though we all know that it wasn't.

The way I've seen it played a lot is that the flavor can give advantage to the roll. Good role playing to help roll playing. For example, your athletics example could have been helped with that jump if had described it as using the terrain in some creative way. Much in the same way that good diplomatic words could help. But that could just be the groups I've played in. Of course, if you know you've rolled horribly, you're free to roleplay that as well.

Not sure if everyone has an exploration mode in mind but my two. best options would be Scout or Detect Magic. Our Investigator has an awesome Perception, so something in that would be great.

While we wait for one or two more more votes, now would be a good time to collect default Exploration Mode Activities!

Well, I'll hold off on judgement for the social skill stuff until I actually see it in action then.

As for exploration mode, I usually pick something appropriate once we know where we are exploring in.

Some standard ones that I would be looking at would be Defend, Scout, or Avoid Notice if we are somewhere dangerous. Search or maybe Investigate if we are somewhere reasonably safe.

If I need to pick one for default, it would be Scout unless someone else wants that one, then I would happily switch to Defend.

TT has lots of good stuff for finding things out, which makes sense, given her class. Lots of languages for eavesdropping, forensic medicine, glean contents, "That's Odd", and lots of skills for getting knowledge. And, of course, Pursue a Lead seems to be just a straight up downtime/exploration action to dig deep on info.

EL messaged me that you might have an opening? Seems like a good point to add a new character if you choose me.

Rocky used to be just a no-class cop. Start with talking, and if that didn't work, hit them with a nightstick. Since being dead, he seems to have spells and lots of strange abilities. He's still getting used to this.

As a former Greycloak, he'd probably know Tanterra or at least know of her. I can see him out on patrol with her when she noticed something Odd that led her to something I didn't notice at all. He expects that she'll make a great detective once she gets through the politics.

Looking at the group, I can step up to the front when I need to. While I've got lower HP, my AC is OK, and I resist physical 3. I'll eventually get other resistances. Chill touch will likely be his go-to melee cantrip.

At this point, I can't go through walls and I only fly at ground level. (unless EL wants to use some of the optional rules). I'll get those eventually, but only in limited ways.

I have negative healing, so I take care of myself with my harm spells. Though I wouldn't mind if Tanaterra eventually picked up the stitch flesh skill feat to use medicine on me. :)

For exploration, scout and avoid notice would be the two I'm best at.

For the record, in my games I do social skills like EL. Use the words that they put, but treat it as if was said at the level from the roll. That always seemed the best way to keep both parts.

Well, I gotta say, I did not expect a ghost on the Edgewatch, but I did read that they'll take whatever they can get as well, so I suppose they're big on thinking outside the box.

Welcome to the group. Loved the backstory. Hoping the GM can fit whoever killed you into the campaign and you can get some closure.

I'll assume the ghost wasn't with us at the Tipsy Tengu and he's added to our squad back at the precinct.

Uh, shoot. I've had a busy week and forgot to check in on the recruitment! I'll be popping in if the wonderful GM gives the go-ahead, since I see they reached out to someone and I'm not sure if it's because I wasn't paying attention. x_x If it was, I'm happy to let you have it, Rocky.

I'm good either way.

Roster Shift
Raian Oweraven, I am asking you to step down at this time, as this is potentially a multi-year game and I am finding you already difficult to GM for. Check out the "Dismissal Policy" in this AP Alias if you're interested in bowing out gracefully.

Greyjay, Rocky Burnham, and Marcellus Horax (pending invitation), welcome to the Edgewatch! Go ahead and get yourselves organized while I move the game along to it's next mission.

Maps and Slides
I am working on putting these together this week, so bear with me. Until then, let us use "minds eye" for our map, just for the time being, and using the "favoriting" function to "save" important "anchor posts" so we can "re-update" ourselves across this slow medium of PbP.

Character Bar
Also later this week, I will post specifications for your Character Bars, so as to facilitate me being able to quickly parse your character's stats and turn those into GM posts.

For now, I will encourage you to experiment by placing your default Exploration Mode Activity inside - go on and try that out! (And see Chomski for an example - he has written "NG Gnome (Sensate) Sorcerer (Fey) / Bard 2 | Exploration: TBD" in the "Gender" section of his profile, and seems to be deciding which activity to post there...)

Roster Shift

Raian Oweraven, I am asking you to step down at this time, as this is potentially a multi-year game and I am finding you already difficult to GM for. Check out the "Dismissal Policy" in this AP Alias if you're interested in bowing out gracefully.

Yeah, that's fair. Was considering that myself too. I think you are a pretty good GM - just not a good fit for me personally.

I'll finish the scene gracefully and turn in my badge when we get back to the office.

Alrighty, let's see... I think that his default exploration activity would be gathering information. Other than that... I think I probably need to adjust some wealth? Maybe? I'll have to doublecheck.

Oh yeah, I didn't think of Gathering Information. I've got Hobnobber so that makes sense for me too.

I also wanted to mention pf2easy.com. It's very useful for when Nethys is having a bad database day.

Ran out of time to go over Houserules, but before you set out, everyone gets a free:

□ Nightstick
□ Handcuffs (Average)

Hey folks, checking in!

I'm also new to 2e but I think I've got a reasonable handle on the rules and am pretty excited to get started.

When it comes to the next task, I'm up for whatever, including rolling 1d4

Just a bit of OOC bookkeeping;

1) I'm posting from the Pacific Time Zone, so posts will likely be later in the day, however;

2) I work 7pm-7am, about 1 week on and 1 week off. Posting may be delayed on the dates when my sleep cycle flips around from days to nights or vice-versa. I will try to post ahead, and do my best to post from work as time allows.

I’m around typically most of the day on week days, weekends tend to get a little more spotty for me, but I can usually post at least once a day most days.

Edit: that didn’t seem clear, weekdays I can often post multiple times, weekends usually once.

I don't have a time of day that I normally post but I suppose lunch breaks at work more often than others. And I am on eastern standard time up here in Ottawa, Canada.

Greyjay, you're missing a 1st level spell. If I could suggest Heal as the spell. I'm currently the only one that can cast it. Though we do have a few people with Battle Medicine and TT is awesome at healing in and out of combat. Not sure, but I'll leave it up to you.

I have battle medicine with Godless, also a 1d10 heal with searing restoration.

Though, my medicine skill isn't super amazing.

California here for time zone issues. (on a clear night I can hear the Disneyland fireworks)

Fortunately, I now work from home so I can have my home computer on while I'm at work and post.

At least at the start I'll be the only person that can heal me, unless somebody else can do negative energy.

Medicine checks will still heal negative energy creatures, right? Also Searing Restoration should work since it’s not positive energy?

I'm in EDT (Which might be GMT-4 or GMT-5, because DST sucks).

Medicine checks will still heal negative energy creatures, right? Also Searing Restoration should work since it’s not positive energy?

Neither of those work, sadly. Medicine needs a feed a feat called Stitch Flesh to work on the undead. Also, Searing Restoration specifically says "living creature."

But, given all these options, we should be fine for healing. I look forward to seeing what the Inventor can do. First experience.

Ah I see, he’s actually dead. My brain went to just can’t use positive energy.

I’m curious about the inventor too, kinda feels like the Starfinder engineer.

I'd probably go 2, 4, 1, 3.

That's about the order I'd do too.

I haven't seen the inventor either. I expect the three subclasses will play very differently from each other.

I was more concerned with healing when it looked like I might have to frontline. I think I'll be okay, especially if somebody picks up the skill feat.

Though it wasn’t in my initial plan, I feel like I need to take the couple feats to really use gadgets. Seems like I should, since it’s a fun different aspect of the class. Else he’s just kind of a beat stick with heavy armor (at 7) and a quasi rage.

Let's set expectations about:

Basic Undead Benefits
□ Cannot be healed by Heal spell or other "[positive] [healing]" effects
□ Counts as a "living creature" in most other ways, be that other forms of healing (unless it has both the above traits), and as concerns things like Bleeding and all other Conditions not explicitly called out in the title link.
□ If a Condition or effect might not "make sense" right away, we can use our creativity. Example: How does a ghost "bleed"? Do they leak ectoplasm? Does part of their form fade away? The mechanics will function normally, and it becomes upon the player to "tell the story".
□ To use Medicine on the character, including Battle Medicine, will require the use of the Stitch Flesh skill feat.

If anyone would like to immediately retrain into this feat, and can explain an in-character reason why they would have this in their skill set, please do so now!

Sounds good. I can ... live ... with that.