Cirri Merryweather
PFS / Character #: 133608-2008
Level and Faction: Level 2, Verdant Wheel
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP:
PFS Number: 289224-2006 (Nhorri Ephema)
Level: 1
Faction: Horizon Hunters
Normal
XP:
PFS / Character #272301-2007 (Ebren Windbrook)
Level 1
Faction Horizon Hunters
Normal or Slow? Normal
XP:
Name: Tsuan Lai Blakros
PFS / Character #: 2358909-2012
Level: 4/4/4
Faction: Vigilant Seal
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP:
PFS / Character #: 17148-2001
Level and Faction: 2 (horizon hunters)
Normal or Slow?: normal.
XP:
As Lan explained, could you all please tell me this character's XP total to?
We going good here - starting my new job today - but I got a very busy couple weeks ahead of me as I find my new grip
=)
Cirri Merryweather
PFS / Character #: 133608-2008
Level and Faction: Level 2, Verdant Wheel
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 13
PFS / Character #: 2358909-2012
Level: 4/4/4
Faction: Vigilant Seal
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 36
Cirri Merryweather
PFS / Character #: 133608-2008
Level and Faction: Level 2, Verdant Wheel
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 13
PFS Number: 289224-2006 (Nhorri Ephema)
Level: 1
Faction: Horizon Hunters
Normal
Current XP: 7
Name: Tsuan Lai Blakros
PFS / Character #: 2358909-2012
Level: 4/4/4
Faction: Vigilant Seal
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 36
Keep 'em coming!
PFS / Character #272301-2007 (Ebren Windbrook)
Level 1
Faction Horizon Hunters
Normal or Slow? Normal
XP: ??
PFS / Character #: 17148-2001
Level and Faction: 2 (horizon hunters)
Normal or Slow?: normal.
XP: ??
@ Vekka, Kazuki - just need the current XP of your characters so I can apply the chronicles in "scenario" chunks
PFS / Character #272301-2007 (Ebren Windbrook)
Level 1
Faction Horizon Hunters
Normal or Slow? Normal
XP 9
12 xp/level, right? Been awhile since I've played Moko (over 2 years!). And I haven't really been updating my sheets. Moko is 3rd level with 29 XPs.
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Cirri Merryweather
PFS / Character #: 133608-2008
Level and Faction: Level 2/2/2, Verdant Wheel
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 13
PFS Number: 289224-2006 (Nhorri Ephema)
Level: 1/1/2
Faction: Horizon Hunters
Normal or Slow?: Normal
Current XP: 7
Name: Tsuan Lai Blakros
PFS / Character #: 2358909-2012
Level: 4/4/4
Faction: Vigilant Seal
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 36
PFS / Character #272301-2007 (Ebren Windbrook)
Level 1/2/2
Faction Horizon Hunters
Normal or Slow? Normal
XP: 9
Moko
PFS / Character #: 17148-2001
Level and Faction: 3/3/4 (horizon hunters)
Normal or Slow?: normal.
XP: 29
Ok, going to put your sheets together based on info above. Please doublecheck that it is correct. Perhaps favorite the post if yes, or speak up if no?
=)
Preparing a close out for Shou later today or tomorrow.
Please make sure I counted your contributions correctly for the "Shou for Mayor?" Skill Challenge which I believe I have tallied completely!
12 Influence Points gets you 6 questions - incidentally, the 6 main topics you have already been discussing with Shou so far:
1) Regarding Mo Douqiu
2) Regarding Ugly Cute
3) Regarding Zoudou
4) Regarding Preparing Willowshore
5) Regarding Who Should be Mayor of Willowshore
6) Regarding the Wall of Ghosts
We are done rolling Discovery / Influence checks, but this encounter lasts as long as you like, enough to get additional Q&A out of Old Matsuki on these 6 topics.
Please feel free to ask additional clarifying questions about these six topics in- or out- of character, and let me know when you are satisfied, and we will move on.
=)
Everything looks good to me. Thank you.
I'll need a couple days to catch up. Monday night latest. Got work and life stuff going on.
Regarding Level and Faction stuff for our chronicles, what does the 3/3/4 mean?
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I think it means what level you are at when you receive the 4 XP chronicle, since you can level up after the first or second one.
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Hey folks,
As you may have surmised, this is a "making sense of the plot" opportunity for this AP, so, going to take our time, let people roll Recall checks, ask questions, and generally try and wrap out heads around what is going on narratively before we jump all the way into Book Two.
I have a very busy week ahead of me but will be popping in here and there to continue to RP Shou until you guys are out of questions and got a decent grasp about how to move forward.
Cheers!
I think it means what level you are at when you receive the 4 XP chronicle, since you can level up after the first or second one.
Do we get 3 separate chronicles for each book instead of just one per book?
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@Kazuki,
1 chronicle per season (4 seasons) - we just finished "summer"
@Everyone
Perhaps just a read through is sufficient, but if it's not, how would you like me to document these info dumps for future perusal?
=)
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Word doc?
Word, Doc.
Lol. Sorry. Couldn't resist.
Hoping our rolls pick up where old matsuki’s memory and folksy wisdom left ended.
♠️♥️♦️♣️
1) Pacing
2) Challenge
3) Happiness
4) Crunch to Story Ratio
5) Sandbox to Railroad Ratio
Pacing
How is the game moving for you? Too fast? Too slow? Just right? Are there specific times when we should turn up or turn down the gas? I recieved feedback last time along the lines of “let the players time to interact with eachother”. How is that going? Anything else on pacing?
Challenge
I give out tons of Hero Points (like 50+ in Book One alone). Is this making the game too easy? What about other aspects of the game? Are the monsters / skill challenges too hard? Season of Ghosts is supposed to be a Horror themed AP. Is the challenge impeding that feel? Do I got it completely backwards and need to dial it down? Does it “feel” dangerous?
Happiness
Are you having fun? All of the time? None of the time? Specifically when? Feel free to call out times when the game was less fun and see if you can explain why you think that was. And. Feel free to call out times when the game was more fun and see if you can explain why you think that was too. Relatedly, are you satisfied with your character? If not, would you like to play a totally new one?
Crunch to Story Ratio
Too many fights? Too few? What about skill challenges? Too much die-rolling? Just enough? During both of these modes, how am I doing with narration? What about your fellow players? Are they keeping up their end? Anything you’d like to see from me? From your fellow party-mates? From yourself?
Sandbox to Railroad Ratio
How am I balancing allowing player-choice driven narrative direction with narrowing down and nudging the party towards major AP benchmarks? Would you like me to lean hearder in one direction or the other?
???
Anything else for the good of the order?
=)
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How is the game moving for you? Too fast? Too slow? Just right? Are there specific times when we should turn up or turn down the gas? I recieved feedback last time along the lines of “let the players time to interact with eachother”. How is that going? Anything else on pacing?
The pace of the game, overall, is just right. Some parts do move by very quickly - I'll log in to see 10+ new posts - but those tend to be multiple GM posts, from different aliases, or people making skill checks while the GM is online. I tend to slow down at those times because I'll go back and make sure that all the checks have been made, which requires a large block of time.
I give out tons of Hero Points (like 50+ in Book One alone). Is this making the game too easy? What about other aspects of the game? Are the monsters / skill challenges too hard? Season of Ghosts is supposed to be a Horror themed AP. Is the challenge impeding that feel? Do I got it completely backwards and need to dial it down? Does it “feel” dangerous?
I haven't noticed it is too easy or too hard. The combats feel dangerous, but I think that's good, and it both forces us to think twice about entering combat (which is, by comparison, kind of lacking in PFS and in my home games with kids lol) as well as use the environment around us.
Lan didn't get very many Hero Points (by design - he wasn't supposed to be very heroic at the beginning) so I didn't notice anything awry with the Hero Points.
Are you having fun? All of the time? None of the time? Specifically when? Feel free to call out times when the game was less fun and see if you can explain why you think that was. And. Feel free to call out times when the game was more fun and see if you can explain why you think that was too. Relatedly, are you satisfied with your character? If not, would you like to play a totally new one?
I'm having fun almost all the time. I can't think of a specific time that it hasn't been fun, but in general, the times that I'm not having fun in Pathfinder are when the GM wants us to guess the only way to proceed. This ties into the sandbox vs railroad later, but I don't mind really being railroaded to move the story along, but I do mind the illusory sandbox where we can do "anything" but really we're just wasting time until we pick the "right thing." I think you've done a good job of balancing that (example: leading us back to Willowshore to fight Mo Douqiu, which I hadn't realized would be so significant).
How am I balancing allowing player-choice driven narrative direction with narrowing down and nudging the party towards major AP benchmarks? Would you like me to lean hearder in one direction or the other?
Too many fights? Too few? What about skill challenges? Too much die-rolling? Just enough? During both of these modes, how am I doing with narration? What about your fellow players? Are they keeping up their end? Anything you’d like to see from me? From your fellow party-mates? From yourself?
I'd like some of this downtime to be interactive, in that, after the rolls come out, I'd like to know what are some specific things that the other NPCs are working on, and how Lan might help them.
If it's appropriate, I'd also like to narrate an in-game version of an upcoming Chinese holiday: the Mid-Autumn Festival. It's coming up on September 17, I believe.
Yes. The Wall of Ghosts cuts off access to Tan Sugi Monastery at Sugi Grove which would normally be reachable via Pilgims's Path.
I am working on getting a Map right now, and will post it in the first slide shortly!
Edit: Done. The "Foggy Border" of the Map is Beyond the Wall of Ghosts! I am creating an Icon Legend as we speak...
Double Edit: Legend is on Slide #2. Let me know if there are any other locations you'd like me to mark or if I missed/forgot anything?
=)
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♠️♥️♦️♣️
And even then Zoudou should have skewered me but I kept one Hero Point just in case.
Combat does not overstay its welcome and our goals are clear. When we raided the lumber camp, for example, you drew in reinforcements after every round or so. Looked like we could try to kill all of the Ghost faced creatures in the camp or simply secure the exit. Didn't feel like you pressured us in either direction and we chose our own way.
When I GM, I struggle to figure out how to keep pace without dangling a countdown timer over the players' heads. Using smoke from the teahouse was a good indicator of trouble brewing.
I'll get a post up after work tonight.
|
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I certainly feel the danger and horror aspects creeping up on me. This is tougher than scenarios and the cost for failing is higher and more complicated. The feeling of being trapped by the Wall...Auntie Wu is going to be having nightmares about that for a long time.
This has been so fun! I can't think of any time when it wasn't. The story reveals are especially enjoyable. Being able to "see" Sigurd through the Wall while blinded was so cool! If we don't figure out why/how that is before the end, I'd love a peek behind the curtain if you'd be willing. Pick is adorable (no matter what Auntie Wu thinks), and the surprise of him not being a threat was hilariously refreshing. I really thought we were dealing with an ambush there. Having to figure out how to manage Granny Hu/Northside and Old Matsuki/Southridge in a way that is constructive is an interesting challenge. I expect to feel a bit frustrated that those NPCs won't just shrug and cooperate like we need them to, but that makes the immersion more real and interesting. Call it "productive struggle".
You do a good job with narration. I can picture the scenes in my mind, and the people act like they actually have real personalities. For the most part, the players do a good job of fleshing out their characters. Auntie Wu feels pretty close to "the boys". I'm still trying to get to know Kazuki, but I think the sparseness of his posts is a reflection of the PC's stoicism. The Zoudou fight was especially heart-wrenching to watch for him.
It seems I'm able to post more frequently than most of the other players, so I'd like to know if anyone feels like I'm dominating the conversation too much. I'll make an effort to give everyone else more time if that would serve the group better.
The only time I felt railroaded was at the end when you sent us to deal with Mo Douqiu. I felt that our PCs didn't have a reason to rush back without resting and regaining their spells. I understand that there were certain things that had to happen before the end of Book 1. I don't remember if you mentioned that we'd have to deal with him before we left Northside, but I think you dropped his name a time or two while we were in Southridge and its environs. I didn't have a sense of how close we were to the end of the Book, though, so I assumed we'd have time to get back there eventually. Perhaps being more clear in OOC or Discussion if it looks like we're going to miss something imperative would be useful.
Otherwise, it felt like we were driving the story for most of the game. Knowing that we couldn't do everything and having to choose which things to not do (not knowing if anyone else could/would do them instead) gave gravitas to the decisions. That was really good.
Retrain
One week per ability increase, feat, highest-rank repertoire spell, or skill increase.
I'm looking at the new hybrid studies in the Tian Xia character guide. Could that fall under "one week" or does it require the more complete rebuild?
Okay, so we are just using the standard retrain rules.
On reflection, I think the one hybrid study he could consider (aloof) would suggest deeper changes (str to dex), so leaning away from that.
Downtime and feedback posts coming shortly.
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Yes having fun. I'll be honest getting multiple kill shots in the battles leading up to Mo D was pretty satisfying for obvious reasons. I think the dynamic of the jinkins being malleable is very interesting. I like how the skill challenges give us the opportunity to directly impact the town. Interestingly it feels like we've been very South-side heavy, so I'm looking forward to see about our ability to influence Granny Hu.
Standard rules, yes.
But, if you would do a total rebuild, I’d shorten that to 3 weeks in one go.
FYI: I'm away in nature this weekend starting late Friday (9/6) afternoon and through Sunday (9/8) afternoon (US/Pacific time). I will resume posting Sunday evening.
Game Reported @
Cirri Merryweather
PFS / Character #: 133608-2008
Level and Faction: Level 2/2/2, Verdant Wheel
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 13PFS Number: 289224-2006 (Nhorri Ephema)
Level: 1/1/2
Faction: Horizon Hunters
Normal or Slow?: Normal
Current XP: 7Name: Tsuan Lai Blakros
PFS / Character #: 2358909-2012
Level: 4/4/4
Faction: Vigilant Seal
Normal or Slow?: Normal
XP: 36PFS / Character #272301-2007 (Ebren Windbrook)
Level 1/2/2
Faction Horizon Hunters
Normal or Slow? Normal
XP: 9Moko
PFS / Character #: 17148-2001
Level and Faction: 3/3/4 (horizon hunters)
Normal or Slow?: normal.
XP: 29
Chronicles will take me longer - looking by the end of the week for those.
=)
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Heads up teaphiles, there are access to special magic teas in Book Two!
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I don't see any reason to slow down or speed up certain parts of the game. I do enjoy the time given to us players to interact with each other, however, I haven't been keeping up with that very well. I do think about all the things I would want to say, but never post them. I wish it was a face-to-face game at times, but I'm also lazy about posting nowadays.
I do think too many hero points are being given out. I'm not sure how each book is formatted, but maybe giving one hero point per player, per act to use would be good. Maybe 5-6 points total to each player per book?
A lot of the creatures are quite creepy and I enjoy the horror aspect. Saving kazuki's mother was a real edge-of-the -seat battle. As well as the battle with the BBEG with the long neck. So, yes, the game does feel quite dangerous. I greatly enjoy it! I'm looking forward to more horrific encounters in the future.
I'm also glad other people are playing characters that are good at healing. That's another aspect I feel a bit bad about; it seems all the other characters have some form of magical healing except Kazuki. In fact, I may need to incorporate that into his roleplay. Maybe he's jealous that all the other characters are good at magical healing? His incompetence in magic use as opposed to his archaic use of martial/archery skills?
I really like playing my character. I've enjoyed playing rangers/archers since first edition D&D. With all the changes from 1st edition to 2nd edition Pathfinder, it's a familiar class and somewhat easier for me to play then, say, a spellcaster. And, with all the Remaster changes to PF2e, I'm glad I didn't play a spellcaster or more difficult class. I would have probably asked to change my PC!
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Long week folks - checking in to say hi but not ready to move us along - hang tight!
Basically I started a new job, and got in-laws visiting the entire week starting yesterday.
So yes, maybe I get lucky, but we may be on a weeklong break. Will play by ear. Excited to continue but gotta find a block of time.
=)
I'd like to us my last Hero Point to reroll my second Earn Income check. (Medicine) Thanks!
Go ahead and make your Hero Point re-roll, and I'll make the corresponding story / ⭐ adjustment!
Rebuild / Prepare Farms for Winter: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Research Pick's Memory Restoration Ritual: ~
Research the Willowshore Curse (Pts): ⭐❌
I noticed that Building Community Morale was not on the list of things to do. Is it a new option?
If so, Lan will probably attempt some of it. Do we have any idea of how prepared the town is for winter? Like are we, um, 9/10 prepared or 9/100 prepared?
Rebuild / Prepare Farms for Winter: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Research Pick's Memory Restoration Ritual: ~
Research the Willowshore Curse (Pts): ⭐❌I noticed that Building Community Morale was not on the list of things to do. Is it a new option?
If so, Lan will probably attempt some of it. Do we have any idea of how prepared the town is for winter? Like are we, um, 9/10 prepared or 9/100 prepared?
Two great questions - let me know if I answer them.
Q1) Auntie Wu made the attempt, so it is now an option.
Q2) Not yet! But loosely, you still have a ways to go...
Yes.
According to the >Calculator<, Sigurd earned 2.1 gp for his week of Crafting. I assume Sigurd did not earn any money during his weeks of research.
All rolls double as Earn Income, so yes, count the research in the success and failure columns too.
I don't know the level challenge for researching Willowshore or Pick's Ritual. How should I calculate my income?
I don't know the level challenge for researching Willowshore or Pick's Ritual. How should I calculate my income?
Good question. Let me get those numbers for you...
For "Research DC (??)", are those still unknown due to lack of success so far?
Kazuki will attempt task level 2.
For "Research DC (??)", are those still unknown due to lack of success so far?
Not unlike GM withholding a creature's AC until after a couple rounds of passed!