GM Jhaeman's PFS1 Module: "City of Golden Death" (Inactive)

Game Master Jhaeman

Could you folks please remind me what your marching order is? It'll help me describe what happens next in Gameplay.

Please keep in mind that Rawk-N-Role has tremor sense 60 feet so getting the drop on him will be difficult.

In the front rank (space permitting) will be Ting, Rogarch and Rawk-N-Role. Behind them is Goran and Candledark in the second rank.

Made it yesterday, but this is my first time back online; greetings from THE WORLD OF TOMORROW - in other words, Japan!!!

That is so cool. Japan is definitely on my life's to-do list.

I have it set for my 50th birthday.

^Nice! It is a trip that I want to (obsessively) prep for. It is really different from our western way of thinking (but connected in a big way to the west as well).

i had a trip to Japan planned a long time ago...should have gone. all research was done...but didn't pull the trigger. my godson lives in japan with his wife and kids.

^Well there is still time. It is not an easy (or inexpensive) trip but having some stretch goals is always fun. Having some family to visit makes it so much more memorable. :)

Rogarch any chance I could get you to 5 ft step to give ting a flank for the next round?

@Ting - You cannot flank or sneak attack any elemental including fire elementals. If your character asks in game I will do it but it will be pointless. Your character tried to flank the fire elemental in the last combat so he might have figured this out already. Ask the GM. :)

Cool, wasn't thinking about what we were fighting, thanks for the heads up.

@Ting - Looking at the map it would require a five foot step through the monster itself for Rogarch to get to the other side to attempt to flank with Ting. This does not seem to me to be a legal use of a five foot step. It is essentially a hard corner.

A moot point but interesting to note regardless. :)

I don't think it's a hard corner, just a 5 ft step. I think it has to be a physical obstacle not a character you're fighting, but obviously it's the GM's call.

Edit, also, ting has been taking that step in several fights, and the GM hasn't said anything.

It should be similar to the idea that characters provide 'soft cover' for ranged attacks, not hard cover.

@Ting - Yes you are right. I looked up the rules. You are allowed to move diagonally across an opponent (so a 5 foot step would work). It is treated differently from a corner. This is good to know (when we are not facing an elemental). :)

Since my comment doesn't warrant wasting space in game play, I'll put it here.

Rogarch eyes Candledark with a touch of contempt but even in her rage she is too polite to openly rebuke him. Instead of easily putting down the creature he prefers to risk her life to save a charge off his wand of Magic Missile. It is clear to anyone with eyes that he is never going to hit a moving target engaged in melee combat with his crossbow.

CN and being a consummate cheapskate is coming through loud and clear and is not appreciated IC. :)

Enh, I was thinking more 'they've got this covered if I don't'; besides, that's an awful lot of diverted attention and mental calculus for someone in a Bloodrage.

I don't believe any of the characters actually know that there is only one HP left. So, that's an awful lot of metagaming going on, for both you to be whining about each other. Can we keep the passive aggressive comments in RL and let our fantasy characters enjoy their fantasy?

Dude, relax, maybe cut back on the coffee.

You're a very assertive player and your comments in game telling folks what to do or how to play has been commented on. Obviously other folks are not pleased either.

But I'd rather we talk about it like adults here in discussion instead of making the game less fun.

Fair enough. I have no intention of making the game less enjoyable for anyone. Determining people's real motive by text is always tricky so I will take Candledark's last ooc comments at face value and leave it at that. :)

As for telling people what to do that is clearly an area where I can improve on so I will.

Edit: I deleted my last OOC post which was not helpful and was just repetitive anyways. I don't want to leave Ting hanging with a double post and sounding too harsh. :)

Apologies everyone, it's been one of those weekends! I'll get caught up on posting tomorrow.

no apologies needed man...life happens...

That definitely merits a lashing with a wet noodle. ;)

The thought of that is making me hungry.

FYI, it's been exactly a week now since I got back from Japan, and I've ended up sick almost that whole time, AND the house had some freaky power problems a day or two ago...so I hope that helps explain my latest prolonged hiatus.

All good--sorry you had a rough patch! Hope things are getting better.

Six encounters already today. You have to love all the action! :)

Having some endurance in your build really pays off in modules as opposed to the scenarios where you know you are going to be typically maxed out at 12-15 rounds of combat per adventure.

Yep, definitely!

One of the things I love about Pathfinder is that there's no single "right" build and anything can happen. I've seen combat-masters utterly wrecked by simple environmental conditions (like cold and altitude sickness), the world's best swashbuckler laid low because they never thought to bring a back-up weapon when something bad happened to their fancy rapier, and a vermin-master flummoxed when a Taldan opera house wouldn't let him bring his giant cockroach animal companion inside :)

Indeed. There is just so much random weirdness that no sane player can be prepared for everything. A bit of humility is a good thing. :)

The amazing amount of variety in how characters are built and played is definitely the crowning achievement of 3.5/Pathfinder and this is what keeps me coming back for more. I love that I will often see a character build that I have never even seen before (even after all these years of playing).

The move towards much tighter math in SF/PF2 is a big mistake IMO as it robs players of their agency and leads towards the sterility of standardised (and very predictable) builds.

altitude sickness? I know what scenarios you're referring to..just played it before this with Goran...fun times...

Botting Candledark as using wand of magic missiles. White is hit but not destroyed. (Candledark, just let me know if you don't want me to use this when botting; I normally wouldn't expend charges of a limited-resource magic item when botting, but it's the simplest option.

First another elemental we just wanted to be rid of (and the emergence of which was partly my failing), then skeletons that would've barely noticed a crossbow-bolt and were an extra-bad idea to engage in melee; under these circus-dances, I can hardly object.

The move towards much tighter math in SF/PF2 is a big mistake IMO as it robs players of their agency and leads towards the sterility of standardised (and very predictable) builds.

Thanks for further confirming my decision to invest no more in SF than the Core Rulebook (or whatever it's called), and ignore PF2 entirely.

Paizo has spent the last 6 years busily unlearning all the lessons that originally drew me to it. :/

Paizo has spent the last 6 years busily unlearning all the lessons that originally drew me to it. :/

Well put Xanac, well put!

I hope I did not overstate my position (especially about SF). I think with some careful tweaking around the edges they could have made SF into a really great game. The setting and scenario support is a lot of fun and the ability to easily add modifications to your character spices up the rather bland (and uniform) character building process. So I am still having fun with my one character although it is very fair to say that SF does not have the very long legs of Pathfinder original. :)

PF2 is just unplayable IMO. This is a downright shame as SF2 is headed on a collision course with PF2 in 2025. :(

kinda glad i've put off playing PF2 and SF...

@Goran - You should try both games out yourself (when you have the time) and make up your own mind. Just because someone else likes or dislikes something does not mean that you will. :)

I wasn't sure if I was going to chime in or not, because my experience is probably very different.

I had a GM friend invite me to 'learn' PF2 here on the boards. I'd played in the game with them for more than a year and thought I had a decent grip on it. I applied to another game with a GM I'd played with before, but the second GM's application of the rules was so different than the first GM's that I dropped the game. I found it very confusing.

Having said that, I think if I had purchased a copy of the rules and read through them as intended instead of trying to glean information from Archives of Nethys on a need-to-know basis that it would have been easier to understand.

Also, I've basically only played PF1 since returning to gaming (I'd played D&D and Traveler back in the early 80's) But I've not played many other systems. If your familiar with other systems and enjoy learning new similar games, you may really love PF2.

SF is much easier to learn. It is a much simpler game by far than either PF1 or PF2. SF shares so much of the its DNA with PF1 that they are practically (Space) brothers. :)

What characters actually know is a little bit tricky in game. I don't think it is too much to expect characters to know that demons can generally be hurt by cold iron or that devils can be hurt by silver. This is pretty basic stuff that should have been covered in field/basic training. Actually recognising a demon in the thick of battle is another thing entirely (and obviously requires a Knowledge check) as is understanding if this particular demon is more easily damaged by a cold iron weapon.

As per usual YMMV with the GM in question. :)

Candledark, just checking you're still with us?

Once again, very sorry; I'm not sure what to say. Loss of momentum can be quite a b!~~@.

Would you mind giving me a condensed version of what's gone on since I last posted, perhaps even a synopsis of everything so far? It would help me get back in and feel sure I've got it together as we go forward.

Once I do, we recently finished the other game I've been in (my vicious Nun is now level 9!), so I should be able to apply myself here that much more.

In case you find this at all unclear, yes, I wish and intend to continue with this.

Ha, the Airplane clip alone justifies your absence. Long and short: the group is still in the City of Golden Death (catchy name!) on the trail of the cultists, and most recently have come across a mean slimy demon with a longspear.

Feel free, if/when it becomes clear I'm AWOL, to make use of/roll my Knowledge skills whenever I could make one that would be useful (and since I am versed in most Knowledge skills, that would be...most of the time when a Knowledge check is called for).

I'm going to be away for the next 72 hours. In the meantime, please feel free to RP about the intersection, etc.

You folks are doing great and making solid progress. This is a good point to briefly halt before the big stuff to come. If it suits, I suggest we take a quick holiday break here and resume a couple days after Christmas.

I'm fine with that GM Jhaeman if it is your preference. I hope everyone has a good weekend, a happy holiday and a merry christmas.

Happy holidays everyone. :)

i'm cool with that..have a good holiday all..

Ok folks, I'm back on duty. Please proceed at will! I hope you all had a nice break.

My posting may be slow for a couple of days, I still intend to check the boards a couple of times a day, but I'm not living at the computer. Don't wait for me to make the decisions and if we get in combat bot me if needed.

Both my wife and mom have come down with covid. My mom (86) was almost unresponsive so we called the squad, she's at the hospital. I'll end up being there a bit and taking care of my wife, thus not at the computer as much as usual and I hate posting on my phone.

I am sorry to hear about that Ting. I really am. Take care of yourself and don't worry about posting. Hopefully a speedy recovery for your mom and wife.

Yes, exactly as Rogarch said. Very sorry to hear that and no worries at all re: posting.

Same sentiment here...family always comes first. We'll get by...