Welcome!
I always do my best to run a friendly game. I want people to have fun and everyone to be able to laugh when something crazy happens.
This is part of a special so it will be critical that we run a fast game.
I really want everyone to be able to post at least once a day, preferably more. If you are going to be away from the game for a short period (such as attending a convention, on a short vacation, or needing to do some business travel), I would ask that you please post that here so everyone involved knows. Please also include a ‘bot me’ spoiler so that it is easier for others to bot you. (See more about this below.)
Chronicle information
In order to be able to generate a SFS chronicle, I ask that each character please provide me the following information:
Player name:
Character name:
Preferred station in Starship Combat:
OPF #:
Character #:
Faction:
Day Job roll (or a note that you have no day job):
At the appropriate time, I will ask that you also post your slotted boons. That will happen after the game starts.
Character Profiles
Please have a profile header displaying a brief overview of your character's current status. At the least it should include current/maximum Stamina, Hit Points, Resolve Points, EAC and KAC, and saving throws.
In the character profile, please include a complete stat block. You may put it under a spoiler if you wish, but if you do so please put it under a single spoiler. I do not want it split across multiple spoilers.
If you have your character sheet on a different site, please have a link to it in your character’s headers. This allows me to pull it up from any post by the character, rather than having to go to the profile and from there to the external sheet.
If you want examples, the PbP GM Kit has the pregenerated characters done in BB Code. Use those as a general guideline.
Botting
Botting is when someone else makes a roll or otherwise does something on behalf of your character. Bot is short for robot.
Please include instructions in your profile and a general tactics in case someone else needs to bot your character. I highly recommend this include the dice expressions used for common actions. It is alright if you put this in a separate spoiler from the stat block, but once again please don't split it over multiple spoilers.
If there are resources you don’t mind being used up by botting, please say so. If there are resources you never want someone using, it is alright to say that as well.
If it makes you more comfortable, you could specify who you want to run your character when you can’t post.
In my experience, creating a bot structure can help with your own posts as well. Assuming you put complete dice expressions in the botting directions, it makes it easy to cut and paste.
Initiative in PbP
I will roll all Initiative checks for PCs and NPCs, sort them, and organize them into blocks. I will bold the names of characters that should act. I will take the NPC actions in order and reserve the right to delay an NPC in order to make them act with a group of other NPCs.
When it is your turn to act, please post. Do not wait for someone else to post just because they had a higher Initiative. If you know what you want to do but want to wait for someone else’s action to go off first, just say that.
Here is an example of how you could post before another player but have it go off after another player:
Sir Cumference waits for the elven mechanic Mister Oakleaf to get done firing his bowcaster before charging the Wily Snark.
I (and many other PbP GMs) do grouped Initiative in order to keep the adventure moving. In PbP people will have different posting schedules and often live in different time zones, Waiting for posts in order could make a single round of combat take days to resolve. Even in a normal game, that slows things down too much. In a special, you would never have time to complete anything.
Within the rules, it is as if everyone within the same Initiative block delayed until they could post.
Rules Questions
If there are rules questions, please post them in the discussion thread rather than interrupting the gameplay thread with rules debates.
In closing
Come join me for a fun and fast game!
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Alistair is my support/control Solarian. He pulls enemies out of cover and knocks them to the ground so his allies can take them out.
@GM: How would you like to run Gravity Hold? The enemy's success or failure will determine whether I use my move action to move them or to increase my own defenses.
Chronicle Info:
Player name: Ryan K
Character name: Alistair Callipse
Preferred station in Starship Combat: Captain
OPF #: 93593
Character #: 702
Faction: Exo-Guardian
Day Job roll:
Botting: AGGA always go Gravity attuned, whip in hand, use Gravity Hold or Gravity Surge to pull enemies out from cover. Willing to Quick Draw the tactical sonic pistol to provide Harrying Fire to allies planning big attacks.
@GM: How would you like to run Gravity Hold? The enemy's success or failure will determine whether I use my move action to move them or to increase my own defenses.
I assume you mean their success or failure at a saving throw.
I am on a lot, but it would still slow things down too much if you waited for my response each time you used it.
If you can, give actions for both options: what to do if they successfully save and what to do if they fail.
As for the ability itself, looks like it has a relatively short range. It would be based on your Solarian level. Moving the creature would be as per the spell psychokinetic hand (15’ in any direction) except it would be limited to 5’ up.
I haven’t encountered anyone using this stellar revelation before. If there are some edge cases that you are worried about, please let me know and I will try to do the research ahead of time.
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@Teddington,
Just checked to confirm with the overseer and it is fine. We need the APL to be at least 7 but with the 8s in the group that is no problem.
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Hi Guys,
I think we can bear with you on this one, James :P
...assuming they don't bear-y us for making too many ursinine puns before the game starts!
Player name: Mike Bramnik
Character name: Dr. Dov
Preferred station in Starship Combat: Science Officer
OPF #: 801
Character #: 703
Faction: Second Seekers (Jadnura)
Day Job roll (or a note that you have no day job): (My patients bearly feel a thing)
Looking forward to playing with all of you!
PS - Re: Starship Combat, Dov has this boon which functions when he is Science Officer to benefit our gunners:
Dov does Starwright stuff as a hobby, so whoever is front-line the most will get a little boost to their armor...also...oh dear, is the biohacker with the medkit the only thing resembling a healer we have? This'll be fun! :)
Looks like we are still missing one person….
Alright, checking it seems Dr. Dov hasn’t dotted & deleted in gameplay and we still need chronicle information for Persephone Briarus and Teddington.
Map link in campaign information and my header. The other link in my header will change soon.
Please forgive me if there is a slight delay on this. I will be GMing a home game when this officially starts.
Feel free to introduce yourselves while you are still on the ship taking you to Akiton. Don’t worry if it starts before you can do that, evidently that just means you were on a different ship. :)
We are Starfinders, we’ve got a lot of space ships!
Testing…
Your group is doing well on the skill checks. You have top rewards in all except Explore and Report and still have two characters (Dr. Dov Delano and Persephone) that can attempt the checks.
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Sorry for the late post today, gang. Had some stuff go sideways this weekend. As a note, my local lodge's games are Monday nights, so those days I won't be able to post until super late-night (US eastern time) normally.
Also, Ivis (Persephone) and I are 2/3 of the leads for PaizoCon 2022, our next few weeks will be a bit busy as well some nights. Feel free to move on without us as needed - we've both GM'd this special before (and realized that PbP might be our only hope of ever playing it given how often we're called to GM)!
@Dr. Dov & Persephone, Thanks for the heads up.
@Everyone,
I have placed the character avatars on slide 1. Feel free to adjust as you see fit.
If people could place their avatars on slide 2 for single file and double file marching order, that would help me when it comes time to place you on new maps. The meeps can be removed, they are just meant as general placeholders.
For the marching order slide, I suggest you adjust Dr. Dov and Teddington so that they are size large.
Also, if someone could just place Dr. Dov and Persephone in the marching order that would be appreciated. Things can be adjusted as needed.
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Player name: Ivis
Character name: Persephone Briarus (AKA: Pheobe)
Preferred station in Starship Combat: Pilot, but can support as Captain.
OPF #: 809
Character #: 707
Faction: Manifold Host
Day Job notes:
Botting Instructions -
In Combat
Pheobe is ideally using her bluff to trick attack. The first time she gets hit for hit points, she drops to the ground to play dead as reaction, then at the start of her next turn uses a resolve to use Improved Kip Up and Trick Attack again.
Out of Combat
If she can, she is using bluff to convince others of what she wants, or Diplomacy to talk. If not, she uses whatever skills are most appropriate to support the party, happily taking an assist role for something someone else is confident in.
Can you update your profile header with a link to the slides please?
Oops! Removed the wrong link in the header! Should be fixed now.
The link is also in the campaign information.
Added a slide with the rewards from the preparations.
It is functional, but not the best presentation. At least this way you will not have to go searching through gameplay to find the text.
Please update the slide as your character uses one of the rewards.
If we are to make best speed, you may want to pick your next mission as you are trying to complete the current mission. That will minimize the delay from one mission completing and the next starting.
Fortunately marching order doesn’t matter for the current mission. Gives you time to work out any issues with it. :)
Does anyone else have Trap Spotter or something like it?
Does someone want to Bot Alistair’s mysticism check? I think he is the only one with the skill that hasn’t tried yet.
This mission is a lot easier in person than it was here.
I need to think of a better way to present it for PbP before the next time I run it.
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Yeah, moving pillars one at a time would take forever in PbP.
Two things that I think would improve the experience: 1. Presenting the puzzle parameters explicitly with information PCs would learn from early experimentation (pillars can move along paths including the two axes, Aucturn doesn't move); and 2. Specifying a format for the solution. I was expressing a solution visually when I think you were expecting a list.
If you made it so we could move the pillars around on the slide, I think that would help with communicating what is going on. That might mean recreating the image (and maybe color coding pillars), but it should be fairly straightforward.
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If we are to make best speed, you may want to pick your next mission as you are trying to complete the current mission. That will minimize the delay from one mission completing and the next starting.
We should probably start thinking about what's next as well. Are we up for Memory of Water?
Memory of Water Combat and exploration
The Singing Pillars Exploration and puzzle
Rimerunning Escape and survival
The Emissary Negotiation
Frozen Refractions Combat and puzzle
@Dr. Dov,
In a very quick search, I couldn’t find anything that said if sense thought was blocked by walls and such. It doesn’t have sense through, but it is weird in other ways.
Do you know if the sense is blocked by walls, doors, and other obstacles?
@Mel, I didn’t see anything indicating you had taken a 10 minute rest. Please point it out if I missed it.
To keep things going, especially since we know that Persephone’s player is likely busy with making PaizoCon a success, would someone like to Bot Persephone?
Hopefully they can roll better on Perception that I did for her. :)
I will also mention that on the second round if you wish to, there is nothing wrong with those that have a low perception Aiding the people who have a good one.
Or you could do other things.
Thanks for letting me know, Mel. I’m glad that is what you intended.
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@Dr. Dov,
In a very quick search, I couldn’t find anything that said if sense thought was blocked by walls and such. It doesn’t have sense through, but it is weird in other ways.
Do you know if the sense is blocked by walls, doors, and other obstacles?
@Mel, I didn’t see anything indicating you had taken a 10 minute rest. Please point it out if I missed it.
This is my first time playing a PC with this ability, so I honestly don't know. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Alright, it has been a day since Persephone could have acted. Would someone like to bot her?
If you cast Haste on them, they would move faster. :)
Another bad idea from your friendly GM!
No, I noted the attack of opportunity just in case you did. You all know your characters better than I do.
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I am not sure of the rules on this, but I think if a creature is immune to crits then any special critical effects would not go off. If I’m wrong, please point it out.