Perhaps you should roll fort saves for players when using an effect that requires it? Help speed things up, and they can hero point it themselves if they feel the need.
@Jaxi: That is a good point. I do like to leave as much of the dice rolls in the hands of the players, but if people prefer that I can do it.
Other stuff:
We'll be pausing on Friday until after New Years for the holiday break. I've also recruited Knab's replacement but will bring them in at the start of Chapter 2, which I'm guessing will be early to mid-January, as you all are making excellent progress.
Misremembered the Heal spell then, my bad. But not spending the remaining action on anything.
I will be out of town through the 27th as well. Might have time to check... might not. Don't let me hold things up.
I will be out of town through the 27th as well. Might have time to check... might not. Don't let me hold things up.
We'll be pausing after today until January 2 for the holidays. Have great holidays everyone.
You as well!
Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you all find peace and joy this holiday season.
It's a holly jolly Christmas, and a happy holiday~
Hope everyone had happy holidays!
As Batsu said, I hope everyone had happy holidays as well! We are back to action.
Yes. Happy Holidays to all. Let's rumble.
I just realized I had forgotten about this.
Sorry, I will be a bit slow. I have a cold and the brain is fuzzy
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Hi, folks! Lia recently asked if I'd like to join this game and I'm super excited to join in! That'll be happening sometime soon ... :)
I will be playing Halanestra Ravenheart, a disillusioned Pathfinder. She got her start in the Society when she tried to filch a purse from a high-ranking member who decided her talents would be put to better use as a Pathfinder. Initially, she rather liked being part of something bigger than herself, working for good, but she soon saw how unscrupulous many Pathfinder agents are and resigned.
Mechanically, she's an elf mastermind rogue. This does mean that, like Zothan, I will be using Recall Knowledge on every. single. creature. we meet, so we should definitely figure out a way to handle that smoothly :) Additionally, I'm going to be investing pretty heavily in the ranger archetype to enhance my martial abilities. Twin Parry and Ranger Resiliency in particular will be quite helpful to keep me alive.
Welcome aboard!
[John McClane]Welcome to the party, pal![/John McClane]
Welcome, Halanestra! Glad to have you!
but she soon saw how unscrupulous many Pathfinder agents are
She's met Cletus, I see. :P
Look, he was gonna pay Rogar back eventually! He just really needed the money! For uh. His. Sick mother. And definitely not angry bookies. *cough*
Halenestra will be joining at the start of Chapter 2, which you guys are very close to.
Nice to meet you Halanestra, glad to have you! So many roguish types.
Just a big ol' party of rapscallions here! XD
I've been poking about some erratas and FAQs and I found this FAQ about RK. To summarize, the ruling stated here is that each individual creature requires its own RK check, even if there's more than one creature of a given kind in one encounter.
I haven't played this character, of course, so I don't have a sense of how this works in practice, but it seems to be even more onerous (and, especially, more error-prone) than the champion's glimpse of redemption reaction. GM Lia, what are your thoughts on this? I'd like to figure something out before we introduce my character. This is particularly relevant because I'm considering taking the Monster Hunter -> Monster Warden ranger feat chain (love that cross-class synergy), which places even greater emphasis on RK.
Neither Player Core says that. I don't have the remaster GM Core yet, so it might, but I'd ignore that. Now, each monster type could use its own roll. For example, if you have been fighting Kobold Soldiers, and have RKed them and then encountered some soldiers with a Kobold Slinger and did RK on the slinger, you might learn that they often use Alchemical Bombs as ammunition and adjust your positioning. Otherwise, you find out when a bomb explodes.
For me, for in-combat RK, I prioritize giving out Immunities/Weaknesses/Resistances info first, as that tends to be the most important for players to have. For example, in my current tt group, all the melee use slashing weapons as a primary weapon. Therefore, immunity or resistance to slashing is priority one information to give because it has the greatest impact.
Does that answer the question? Do you have others?
Addendum to my answer. I had forgotten to read the link you linked. While it is a PFS answer, it is correct for the Mastermind Rogue ability. You'd have to RK each given creature to process that ability, but it is only one way to cause off-guard, and even in PbP it shouldn't be that hard to use.
You could RK a monster, make the attack roll, or rolls, and if the RK succeeded, I could just adjust its AC for that attack(s).
I appreciate the addendum, because yes, I was asking about the mastermind ability--and potentially the ranger feats as well, as I mentioned. I'm fine with doing the rolls if you're all right with resolving things accordingly. Thank you for clarifying :)
If this is a haunt, then can Jaxi one action cast Heal to damage it?
That would not always be possible, but in this case, yes.
Not trying to be a PITA but wouldn't that fact require a Recall Knowledge roll normally?
That's an excellent question. After giving it some thought, Korox is correct, and in the future, I should remember to say "Try it or RK." But, since I already said it's possible, I don't want to penalize you guys.
If I make an error, I prefer to let it ride for that encounter and fix it going forward.
So I had this idea. The exemplar gets Religion trained for free at level 1, but Batsu has never been a particularly religious fellow. He was touched by Pharasma in some way at birth (he had a white spiral pattern on his back fur before he died) and exemplars tend to be divinely touched in some way, so I figured when he does properly recall religious information or correctly use the Religion skill for other purposes (such as fighting this haunt) he's not actually recalling knowledge himself but rather temporarily becoming a conduit for divine inspiration.
GM, feel free to run with it or ignore it as you see fit. I just thought it would be a fun thread to pull. :)
Jaxi won't do it then, it's not like it's needed, I was just trying to figure out what to do with that last action.
Jaxi won't do it then, it's not like it's needed, I was just trying to figure out what to do with that last action.
Some other options for (1) Action.
* Buy a shield (Anybody can use one in PF2e. Raise a shield action will give you a +2 to AC.
* Take Cover (Adds a +2 to AC)
* Recall Knowledge (Can be used untrained... and who knows you might get lucky).
* Many Magic using characters learn the Guidance cantrip, but it's not in the Arcane spell list).
Just trying to help explore options.
@Batsu: You can flavor RK any way that you like! I'll try to remember to use the flavor as well. It is a very nice idea.
@Jaxi: It was a really good idea in this case.
Korox listed several options, and as you level and get more stuff you can also do things like pull out a wand/scroll/potion for use in the next round.
In a more traditional battle, you can move, or take actions like Aid or Trip. There tend to be a lot of options, even if they do not all apply here.
Reminder that we have a pretty nifty fungus shield up for grabs.
Will look into leveling ASAP.
Also, don't forget that we are using Ancestral Paragon, you each can pick another level 1 Ancestry Feat.
After everyone has leveled, we'll be getting you in Halanestra. Thank you for your patience.
At the end of each Chapter, I want to do a touching of bases and get feedback from you all.
Are there things I can do better? Are there things you would like to see? There are two things I want to touch on.
Saves: Jaxi brought up the possibility of me rolling saves for you guys as a way to prevent bogging down when in combat. I tend to want to leave the dice in your hands as much as possible, but I can understand that concern. What do you all think about that?
Hero Points: The pacing of when to give them out has been interesting given the nature of PbP. It's hard to tell when a 'session' ends, or when more should be given out. I'm thinking of trying this idea for Chapter 2.
I will give out 1 HP each Monday, and they are cumulative. So, if you don't spend it during the week, you would have 2 the next Monday and so on. It could lead one or more of you to have a large stash for boss fights. What do you all think?
Korox should be ready to adventure forth...
*I'm all for speeding up the game... but also like to roll my own saves. Maybe we could compromise where if the round concludes without a necessary save made... then you could roll it.
* I'm good with the Hero Point rule you just suggested. In my tabletop game I actually bought an hourglass and use it to award Hero points in real time... though I might have to hide it to keep players from stalling when it's close to time for a new HP.
Are there things I can do better? Are there things you would like to see? There are two things I want to touch on.
Haven't posted yet, of course, but from what I've read, you're doing great :)
Saves: Jaxi brought up the possibility of me rolling saves for you guys as a way to prevent bogging down when in combat. I tend to want to leave the dice in your hands as much as possible, but I can understand that concern. What do you all think about that?
I understand and empathize with wanting to have the players roll their own dice as much as possible, but PbP tends to run more smoothly when the GM does it. I'm happy with this.
Hero Points: The pacing of when to give them out has been interesting given the nature of PbP. It's hard to tell when a 'session' ends, or when more should be given out. I'm thinking of trying this idea for Chapter 2.
I will give out 1 HP each Monday, and they are cumulative. So, if you don't spend it during the week, you would have 2 the next Monday and so on. It could lead one or more of you to have a large stash for boss fights. What do you all think?
This feels like it may be too many, particularly for those of us who are in riskier situations more often (hi), but we'll see. I'm happy to try it at least :)
Okay. I believe I'm done leveling up. Glad you mentioned the ancestry feat bonus, I had forgotten.
Are there things I can do better? Are there things you would like to see?
You have nothing to worry about. My concerns have been more self oriented, in that I need to get the system down in my head already, and that I need to have Dyrm RP a bit more with his fellows. Stuff I can work on, and everyone here has been very supportive when I had questions.
Saves: Jaxi brought up the possibility of me rolling saves for you guys as a way to prevent bogging down when in combat. I tend to want to leave the dice in your hands as much as possible, but I can understand that concern. What do you all think about that?
I think Korox's idea/compromise is a good one for those that like to roll their own saves. Speaking just for myself and Dyrm; If you need to roll a save for Dyrm and I've not posted in more than 24 hours, then that's on me (and RL) and you should feel free to do so if you like.
I will give out 1 HP each Monday, and they are cumulative. So, if you don't spend it during the week, you would have 2 the next Monday and so on. It could lead one or more of you to have a large stash for boss fights. What do you all think?
No objection here. The Dice can be cruel and tyranical gods of chance!
Alright, I've updated Jaxi, she's ready to go.
As for the rules changes, you know where I stand on the saves thing.
As for the Hero Points, I'm fine with one every Monday. Suits the general speed at which we're going.
Are there things I can do better? Are there things you would like to see? There are two things I want to touch on.
The only thing I can think of is maybe bringing interactive combat maps in using either Google Slides or R20? I have difficulty with theatre of the mind; as combat is very tactical in PF, visual cues help me immensely to process everything happening.
Google Slides is kind of the default because it's relatively easy to set up. I run on R20 because it has more customization but it is definitely more work to learn and I'd suggest Slides at least to start.
That's really my only suggestion. You're doing great and I'm having a blast!
Saves: Jaxi brought up the possibility of me rolling saves for you guys as a way to prevent bogging down when in combat. I tend to want to leave the dice in your hands as much as possible, but I can understand that concern. What do you all think about that?
I'm fine running my own saves. The GM rolling can speed things up sometimes, but the problem comes when someone fails or crit-fails a save and wants to spend a hero point, then you have to potentially retcon multiple events. GM rolling works better in PF1 where rerolls are much less common. In PF2 I find players rolling their own saves works best. But I'm happy to go with the group if I'm outvoted.
Hero Points: The pacing of when to give them out has been interesting given the nature of PbP. It's hard to tell when a 'session' ends, or when more should be given out. I'm thinking of trying this idea for Chapter 2.
I will give out 1 HP each Monday, and they are cumulative. So, if you don't spend it during the week, you would have 2 the next Monday and so on. It could lead one or more of you to have a large stash for boss fights. What do you all think?
That works for me, though I would still strongly recommend keeping the 3 HP cap, for the sake of game balance. It encourages people to use them and not stockpile, which can already be an issue as people are reticent to spend HP's in order to potentially save themselves from death later (my one critique of the HP system). At least if there's a cap it encourages people to spend them, and honestly having seven hero points in a big, dangerous boss fight would kill a lot of the tension. But again, I'll go with the group's decision if I'm outvoted.
Okay, I think I'm all leveled up! Gotta say, I definitely prefer HLO over Nexus for character building; their interface is still in beta so it can be janky as hell. Unfortunately, HLO didn't have the playtest for the exemplar and animist. It really threw me off when Nexus gave me a message to "become trained in a skill" without telling me why, so I picked Society coz I thought it might come in handy. What it was supposed to be was gaining Diplomacy as a trained skill because of my new Root Epithet at 3rd level, but it didn't say that, and I couldn't just go into the skill menu and un-train it and re-train to Diplomacy. I had to completely delete 3rd level and level back up to 3 then input it all over again. OOF. Hopefully they sort all this nonsense out soon.
Anyway, Myōbatsu the Night Shepherd is now Mournful Myōbatsu the Night Shepherd! Long may the name be angsty! (Though to be fair, unlike most angsty teens, Batsu actually earned it.)
Now when I Spark Transcendence in my body ikon (which I have yet to do) one enemy I can see in 30 feet becomes dazzled until the start of my next turn. Pretty neat.
Are there things I can do better? Are there things you would like to see? There are two things I want to touch on.
The only thing I can think of is maybe bringing interactive combat maps in using either Google Slides or R20? I have difficulty with theatre of the mind; as combat is very tactical in PF, visual cues help me immensely to process everything happening.
Google Slides is kind of the default because it's relatively easy to set up. I run on R20 because it has more customization but it is definitely more work to learn and I'd suggest Slides at least to start.
That's really my only suggestion. You're doing great and I'm having a blast!
If you're going to do this, my vote would strongly be in favor of Google Slides (or something else that respects privacy better). I cannot stand roll20, and in addition find it to be too much for PbP. Also, I hate ads. All that said, I'm also perfectly happy with--and indeed prefer--theater of the mind.
Oh, yeah, I have Plus so my players don't have to worry about that. I didn't know there were privacy issues with R20, that's concerning.
To be fully clear, my gripe about privacy was specific to Google. Willing to use it for a game someone is running but am presently researching alternatives for things I run myself :)
I’m fine with either option and honestly haven’t been too bothered about the theater of the mind aspect. I use Google slides in the game I GM and that’s pretty easy to use. I have used Roll20 too, and that does give you more options, but at the cost of greater complexity.
I’ll have Zothan leveled up over the weekend.
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I do plan on working more with maps for complex encounters. The sheep encounter was one room, and I expected you guys to drop them quickly, and you did.
The haunt didn't need a map. I did a pretty heavy rewrite on the crypt. As written the three ghosts attack, and Helgin has an ability that will help mitigate the Resistances they have. I imagine it was to throw a little more combat into a pretty non-combat chapter.
But, it didn't make narrative sense to me, unless the party attacked them first, as they were confused because their story was being rewritten. I just didn't think that they would be inherently hostile.
So, I created a more complex haunt in the lower crypt, and the 'attacks' there were more metaphysical. Your desire to stop the changes translated into 'damage' to the haunt, so positioning did not matter.
In Chapter Two there is a lot more combat, and I'll be working on maps for it.
Sounds great!
Like the others, I think you're doing a great job so far, Lia. I'm enjoying this campaign and don't mind the heavy emphasis on social encounters and skill challenges at all.
I think chasing pyre ferrets all over Burntown has been my favorite so far.
Oh yeah, those two definitely didn't require a map. And in your defense, you did have a map for the more complicated crab fight. But it's helpful to have interactive maps so players can move their own tokens, plus that's one less thing that you as GM need to worry about doing!
I have also been having fun digging into this character, so the low-combat nature of chapter 1 was great. I am admittedly excited for some more tussles in chapter 2 though, because I'm curious what the exemplar can do! It's such an over-the-top class, and that's one of my favorite things about the wilder classes in PF2, like the gunslinger, inventor, and swashbuckler. I love weird! And this class is definitely that! :D
The pyre ferrets were great. I think our new mascot, White Molly the Augdunar, is my favorite part so far. I don't think I've ever had a party pet before in a game!
We'll start the next chapter on Monday, and I'm glad people are having fun. I've been having a lot of fun as well.
Molly will be getting some use soon!
Welcome to Chapter 2: Path of the Dagger.
Thank you everyone for the feedback. I'll do this after each chapter, but feedback is always welcome.
With saves, I'm going to take Dyrm's idea. I'll let you all roll saves, but if they have not been rolled by the end of a round, I'll roll them. If you happen to go last in a round, I'll start the next round and give you a day to make the save before rolling it.
For Hero Points, you'll reset to 1 today as it is a new chapter. You'll get one each Monday with a Cap of 3, as suggested by Batsu. We will see how that feels, and we may adjust the cap. I have noticed you guys, unlike my IRL table, use Hero Points often, so I'm not overly worried that stockpiles will happen, but if they do, that's fine.
Sounds good. I admit, my chief use of hero points is often to avoid embarrassment when natural ones render a character looking inept at something that is supposed to be their specialty (When a fighter can't hit, a diplomat offends everyone, a rogue stomps etc)
Korox seems the ideal person to hold onto the thurible imo so no objection here :)
And, apologies if Dyrm is coming across as difficult. I hope not so difficult as to disrupt the Adventure per se, but as he's a Lawful Good who also has to build UP his reputation to win the blessing for a wedding, I hope his caution makes sense. He'll still go, he's just young, dumb, and full of... Wuv.
:)
Zothan is updated to level 3.
Skill increase: Intimidation (Expert)
Ancestry Paragon: Cat's Luck
General Feat: Toughness
Lever 3 Thaumaturge feat: Lightning Reflexes.
I'll post IC tomorrow.