Hey, our illustrious GM was featured on the Know Direction's Presenting podcast today.
I had to chuckle in that I'm kind of the exact opposite situation as our GM. In the last 18 months, my father who's an attorney, was interested in trying to play so I helped him make a character and he's now a regular at our local PFS tables.
Thanks, the interview was a fun to do and John Godek is a really nice guy, easy to talk to.
Glad to see hear you have been recruiting more gamers. As a dad, I imagine he must really enjoy the chance to get to share a table with you!
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@All - We are very near the end of this scenario. You guys have been crushing it and, at this rate, we are likely to end the scenario before I end a few of the bounties that I'm playing during Outpost.
I have a big deadline due Monday and my daughter is performing as Ursala over the next three days in her school's musical of "The Little Mermaid, Jr.", so I doubt I will be able to post much before Tuesday. Therefore, I have decided to just declare a brief hiatus until Tuesday, when I will post Balentiir's briefing on the "final push". I suspect we will wrap up the game fairly quickly after that and that we will be done my mid-April, if not sooner.
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Congrats on your recent podcast fame, GM Valen! :) Very cool.
Thanks for the update on the hiatus. Good luck to your daughter with the play, and good for her snagging a meaty part like that.
Having a great time with the scenario and with all the players being so active and into the role-playing. Makes it a lot of fun, all the way around.
Where are we resting? Will Squash have the ability to make his preparations in a wilderness environment? I just need to know how many reagents I have.
Balentiir offers the lodge, which is in the city of Sothis. Doubt the gardens, though neglected, would be considered wilderness. The closest "wilderness" is likely the desert. I am willing to entertain an argument to the contrary, but I don't think the time you have (8-10 hours) will get you to a wilderness.
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GM Valen, two things:
1) If you have a problem with either of Lazarus' current leads (cistern and zombie troop), please let me know. Playing the Investigator in PbP is sometimes awkward if the story advances quickly. But I always try to mention my intentions and alternatives ahead of time.
2) Can you tell us if the Zombie Troop can be targeted/damaged? Or maybe we'll find out soon enough when they get a turn?
GM Valen, two things:
1) If you have a problem with either of Lazarus' current leads (cistern and zombie troop), please let me know. Playing the Investigator in PbP is sometimes awkward if the story advances quickly. But I always try to mention my intentions and alternatives ahead of time.
2) Can you tell us if the Zombie Troop can be targeted/damaged? Or maybe we'll find out soon enough when they get a turn?
1. I am fine with those leads.
2. As a troop, the zombie troop is treated as a single creature and can be damaged.
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GM Valen -- Just wanted to double-check the damage to the troop. You have it at -17. Lazarus critted (18x2) for 36. And then if AC 23 was enough, he added an additional 14. I understand that it could very well be resistant/immune to things like bludgeoning/precision, etc, but just wanted to make sure it wasn't a typo. Thanks.
GM Valen -- Just wanted to double-check the damage to the troop. You have it at -17. Lazarus critted (18x2) for 36. And then if AC 23 was enough, he added an additional 14. I understand that it could very well be resistant/immune to things like bludgeoning/precision, etc, but just wanted to make sure it wasn't a typo. Thanks.
It was absolutely a typo. The total has been corrected, reflecting the troop's defenses.
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GM: Since no one asked for me to create a darkvision elixir last turn, can we say I did a Stride into the room? If so, it would only take one action to get into position, then a Strike, and then I'd be able to Stride out of the mummy's aura of creepiness. In an in-person table, if people indicated that no one needed an elixir, I'd have used the third action for something else. If it's not OK, that's fine.
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I am confused by the results of the fireball on the troop of zombies.
The zombie troop was at 43 damage and they failed the save against the fireball for 25 Fire damage. How are they at 60 damage? 43 + 25 = 68.
I see you stated that they reduced in size, did that take away some of the damage? Or do they have some sort of fire resistance?
I was hoping they actually would have taken more damage since it was an area of effect. I haven’t encountered troops before in 2e, so I expect that is a large portion of my confusion.
I was hoping they actually would have taken more damage since it was an area of effect. I haven’t encountered troops before in 2e, so I expect that is a large portion of my confusion.
The zombie troop does have Troop Defenses. Absent a successful Recall Knowledge check, I will tell you that the mechanic involves thresholds, which is why the crit by Dr. Lazarus didn't do as much damage as it likely would have against a "single" creature.
That being said, I realize that I did misapply the mechanic with respect to the area effect of the fireball and I will correct it.
@All - Please fill out the chronicle information here for your PCs as it will help me complete the chronicle sheets quickly once we conclude.
I guess these don't have the typical zombie weakness to slashing damage.
They do. Damage corrected.
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Murph, I think the frightened modifier applies only to "checks and DCs," and I don't think that the damage rolls count as "checks."
Even if it did apply to damage, I think a damage penalty would apply only once to the entire amount of damage, not to each type of damage rolled.
The GM, of course, may correct me on that, but that's how I've always interpreted it.
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I wasn't sure, so I applied it in the worst way for me, figuring it would be easy to add it back in if I was wrong.
I remember being surprised when I found out Frightened lowers Armor Class, as it is considered the DC to hit, so in this case I made the broadest interpretation possible, realizing it can be walked back.
I haven't been applying it to player damage either.
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Bloodshanks, will me using my divine font to heal you screw with you or your abilities?
Fair question. It'll mess up my Mortal Healing feat, meaning that I won't be able to turn a success into a critical success on Treat Wounds to myself for 24 hours, but I have potions that I can use (assuming I live through this fight).
If there's something you can do to attack them instead of healing me, that would be a good use of your abilities. I have orc ferocity and healing potions, so I'm not likely to actually go down as easily as it seems at the moment.
Is the mummy healing or are my strikes not doing full damage. The math doesn't appear to work out.
Corrected.
Was I able to determine anything about what is happening with the lightning at the back wall? I had spent an action to identify.
Oops. He was. Findings posted in Gameplay.
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GM Valen -- Thanks again for writing another entertaining scenario. I was curious: How does it work with these 2-part arcs? You mentioned it continues in 3-14, but you didn't write that one. How much coordination do you need with the other author? Do the 2 authors pitch the multi-arc story to Paizo together, or does Paizo tell you what they're looking for?
Just curious about any of these kinds of things that you can share.
Brekovi spends his downtime with Off Hours Study, attempting to learn the Sylvan language. Since I do not have an account with RPG chronicles, I can not add a note about this for the chronicle sheet.
I will note in when I prepare the chronicle sheets. If you see that I have omitted it when you receive your sheet, please give me a gentle reminder to include it.
GM Valen -- Thanks again for writing another entertaining scenario. I was curious: How does it work with these 2-part arcs? You mentioned it continues in 3-14, but you didn't write that one. How much coordination do you need with the other author? Do the 2 authors pitch the multi-arc story to Paizo together, or does Paizo tell you what they're looking for?
Just curious about any of these kinds of things that you can share.
I'm glad you enjoyed the scenario. It was a lot of fun to write and a pleasure to get to run for such a great group.
As to the questions, the short answer is the "pitch" came to me from the developer and I engaged in virtually no coordination in respect to part 2.
A longer answer follows:
To my knowledge, Paizo generally doesn't take "pitches" for its products. From my experience, the broad strokes of the an organized play scenario (and that of the whole season) are all done internally. The developers produce a short outline, usually about 2 or 3 paragraphs, which is then given to the freelancer. The outlines provided by the developers that I have received have varied quite a bit. I believe that each has come from a different developer, which accounts for some of the variation, but I assume certain scenarios/storylines require more initial input from the developer.
For instance, my upcoming Starfinder scenario, 5-05, is part of the upcoming season's metaplot and I was given the most detailed outline that I have yet received for a freelance project. By contrast, the outlines for 1-12 and 2-12 in particular, were much broader, leaving most choices as to villains and events up to me.
The initial outline for 3-09 fell somewhere in-between. The initial outline referenced an undead invasion, gave a general description of the source (which is included in the published adventure), and noted specific "clues" as to the source (which interestingly, were included in my "final" turnover, but were not included in the published adventure).
With an outline in hand, the freelancer then takes it and begins the writing process, providing a more specific outline, which provides an anticipated list and order of encounters and descriptions of each. Once the freelancer's outline is approved, the freelancer begins working on a "milestone", which is more akin to the final product and is turned in roughly "half-way" through the assignment to demonstrate progress and give the developers the opportunity to identify plot holes or other issues and to recommend changes.
Then, when feasible, the freelancer puts together a group to run the scenario or parts of it through playtesting. I think that Jacob, the author of 3-14, may actually have been among my two groups of playtesters, in this case. Although, I doubt that he had received the assignment at that time. If so, I was unaware of it.
Other than the above, I did not do any coordinating of the two-parter 3-14 (so don't ask me for spoilers because I am as eager to play and find out as you!). I was invited to participate in a playtest of 3-14, but couldn't fit it into my schedule. I would note that, by the time of Jacob's call for a playtest, my "final" turnover had been submitted for some time. While I think it unlikely that Jacob was given a copy while writing part 2, it is possible and certainly the developer, Mike Kimmel, had in mind what all of part 1 would entail. Any "coordinating" between the two parts would rightly have fallen primarily on him.
That being said, I'm not sure this particular 2-parter really calls for my coordination. Save for the mystery of the portal's source, this first adventure is mostly quite self-contained. As I mentioned above, the initial outline I received contained a few "clues" as to the source of the undead invasion, but they largely offered new mysteries more than explanations. I suspect that a variation of those clues may appear in 3-14, so I will speak of them no more other than to say that I have suspected they could have been "red herrings" or placeholders and not actual "clues". If Mike is keeping his cards this close to the vest, it could be for a number of reasons. Perhaps to prevent the "true" information from possibly getting leaked by a writer or playtesters? Perhaps to allow freelancers like me who also play to enjoy the "surprise" at the table? Perhaps because the final "true" details regarding the metaplot were still in development when the assignment was given out? Or, perhaps, for some other reason entirely that I cannot think of?
I hope the above is interesting and informative, giving you some insight into the behind the scenes process (at least from my experiences, others' may vary).
All chronicles have been emailed directly except for Murph's, which can be found here.
Please let me know if you have any corrections or changes. Game has been sent for reporting, so you should see it and your ACP appear soon.
I will mark this campaign inactive in one week or once I get word from Murph that the chronicle has been received, whichever comes first.
Thanks again all for playing and for bringing the fun to the table. I look forward to sharing a table with you all in the future!
Happy Gaming!