First off, thank you all for being willing to come on an adventure with me! Now, to business.
- I will post every day. I hope everyone can post every weekday and at least once over the weekend, but stuff happens - which leads me to:
- I will bot you if we haven't heard from you in 24 hours. Please include botting instructions in your character profile, or I will have to get creative in the most entertaining (for me) way possible. Please also let me know if you are expecting an extended period of absence so I can PM you and preemptively hash out major decision points to keep the story moving. On a related note:
- I will make "reactive" rolls to keep the story moving along. If you want to make a roll as part of an action/decision/etc, please do so. I might modify the skill used or add circumstantial bonuses/penalties based on circumstances. Which brings me to my final point:
- I will happily add circumstantial bonuses (or penalties) for roleplaying. I hope, for example, that you will accompany your diplomacy check with what your character is actually saying. It makes it so much easier for me to respond if you give me material, and we make such a more fulfilling and exciting story together.
If you're worried or concerned about any of these expectations, or about anything related to this game, post it here or PM me. We can figure something out so you have a good time.
If you have an ability that allows you to re-roll something (such as a Hero Point), feel free to use it:
- If you roll the triggering check, immediately after that check in the same post. (Preview and Edit are your friends here!)
- If I roll the triggering check, at the start of your next post (before anything else is rolled).
I am more than happy to retcon things in response to a reroll, so don't hesitate to use them!
We’ll be using block initiative during encounters. Actions will be resolved in the order that they were posted in. While this can do some weird things (such as a single character acting "twice" before another), it is easier for both players and GM to track the sequence of events this way. I highly encourage tactics such as:
McSwordFace waits until her friend Blessings Galore has a chance to cast a buff before she attacks the horrible people kicking puppies.
I will happily calculate the final result in these cases. This helps us work effectively as a team even if posting schedules don’t line up in a beneficial way.
If your post is entirely out of character , let’s put it here instead of in the Gameplay thread.
About Me: I’ve done a bit of PFS and PbP GMing, but I am certainly not perfect. If you have ideas for how I could do something better, a disagreement with a decision, or confusion over what I’m saying, please let me know via the Discussion thread or PM.
For your first post here, please use the Reply option on the following post, delete the [quote'] tags, and fill in the provided fields. And be sure to pop over to the Gameplay thread and introduce your character!
Player Name:
Character Name:
PFS Number:
Faction:
Slow Tracking? (Y/N):
Special Notes/Abilities:
Quick question: What character level are we playing at?
For PFS characters, I currently have a level 2 and a level 3 that are available. I can also create a new level 1 if that is preferred.
Edit: Looking at the title of the campaign, it looks like the adventure wants level 1. So new character coming up.
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Player Name: Warah/GM Warah
Character Name: Nhorri Ephema
PFS Number: 289224-2006
Faction: Horizon Hunters
Slow Tracking? (Y/N): N
Special Notes/Abilities: Nhorri has the Four Winds ability, which allows her to give up to four creatures a free half Stride on her turn when she activates it. She usually does this at the start of combat or if allies are cornered and in danger. She also has the Incredible Initiative feat.
Quick question: What character level are we playing at?
For PFS characters, I currently have a level 2 and a level 3 that are available. I can also create a new level 1 if that is preferred.
Edit: Looking at the title of the campaign, it looks like the adventure wants level 1. So new character coming up.
Correct - this is a game for level 1 characters. If you’ve got a new character idea you’ve been wanting to try out, this is an excellent opportunity to do so! Otherwise, feel free to pick one of the pregen characters and assign the credit to a to-be-created future character.
And my apologies for not clarifying that earlier! XD
Should we purchase cold weather clothes?
Only if you want to have them for role-playing reasons. Their presence or absence does not have a direct impact on the adventure.
I'm going to be writing my thoughts on each of my Gameplay posts here, trying to pull back the curtain on how and why I've done certain things. Please ask any questions you might have - this game is for you and your enrichment.
Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
I shamelessly copied this idea from another GM I've played with. Some sort of poetry or song lyric that either matches the adventure thematically (like this one) or helps set the tone for the adventure. Bonus points if it manages to do both (like using part of Poe's Masque of the Red Death for the Night of the Grey Death module)!
If this were an adventure that involved pre-mustering before gameplay started (such as a multi-table special), I would include a setting description and try to create a little place for characters to introduce themselves and interact with each other while we all wait. Sometimes I'll also do that for a "regular" adventure - but if there's a good opportunity for the group to introduce themselves to an NPC near the beginning of the game, I'll use that instead. But in that case, I'll (usually) put a "" in the initial post as well so folks can make sure the game shows up in their Campaigns list without feeling like they need to post something as their character in a void. My apologies for doing that to y'all. XD
Pathfinders get sent on all sorts of missions during their careers with the Society. Some are great adventures that inspire epic ballads. Some become tales told around a tavern table to the delight of both old and new friends. Some are written into the Chronicles themselves, to be studied by future generations.
Some are simply walking from one city to another to verify that a map is still accurate.
But Nirmathas is hardly the worst place for such an assignment. The crisp air accentuates the scent of the pine trees lining the sides of the dirt road, and a soft breeze carries a trace of woodsmoke as if to announce the presence of a nearby village. As the group rounds the next bend, they find a hamlet of straw-thatched houses and small farms.
On the porch of the closest building, a golden-haired dog perks up as they notice the Pathfinders' arrival. A friendly "Boof!" startles the dog's companion - a short older woman in bright clothes whose expression quickly turns from a concerned grimace to a welcoming smile as she looks up at the visitors. "Well look who it is, Darb - visitors!" Carefully she gets up from her rocking chair and approaches the group, evaluating them with her hands on her hips and a glint in her eye.
"Welcome to Scallion's Wrap!" she say cheerfully. "I don’t suppose you're looking for any work, by chance?! If you are, I have just the task. Doesn’t pay much I'm afraid, but you’ll get full bellies and a place to stay for the night - along with the joy of helping an old woman on Winter Week!"
She fishes a small cobble stone out of one of her pockets and holds it with both great reverence and a slightly crooked facial expression. "My name is Kupyn Baro. Me and my pup Darb need your help to make this rock into a stew that will feed our village. What do you say?"
This adventure doesn't do a lot to set the stage, so I've added scenic descriptors and such.
I've also linked to the Google Slides document - ideally to the exact page where the NPC artwork is displayed, but at the very least I should be able to expect Google to make me a link to get folks to the document itself.
Lastly, I end each of my posts with "" to let players know the ball is in their court now - they don't have to wait for me to post something else before they can resume play.
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We will be working soon in GM school on how you can get things set up for the bounty you will be running, so please use your mentor's table's discussion thread to make sure everyone knows what adventure they need to prepare. I'll be making the next assignment as soon as it looks like all the tables have done this; my table of PF1 GMs has already done so.
Getting the ball rolling on this. Do we call out which ones we want, get ours assigned from a short list, or something else?
I've gotten no guidance on how students should be picking their bounty, so I'd say just post here which one you want to run. There's nothing wrong with some overlap, but do remember that we'll all be playing all these adventures and folks might not be able to give their best player experience if they're burnt out on a particular story. XD
We've got three locations to visit - two votes in agreement moves the party.
My rule-of-thumb on "where do we go next?" is "half the party (rounded down) in agreement". In something as time-sensitive as a multi-table special, I'll even ask for a "Top Three Preferences" and then tabulate votes in the Discussion thread to minimize time spent waiting for folks to be able to post.
This is also an excellent time to remind folks that everyone has one (1) Hero Point! If we have anyone here with GM Glyphs, this is the perfect time to distribute those as well! And don't forget to pick out your Pathfinder Provision - just include what you're selecting in your next post.
Like character introductions, I like to put this part at the shift into the action of the adventure. It also helps that that's where most scenarios and bounties remind the GM about it. XD
As it appears we are selecting bounties to run, I would like to put in for either:
Pathfinder Bounty #7: Cleanup Duty
or
Pathfinder Bounty #15: Treasure off the Coast
I think it was in the application to the GM school, but I'll admit that my memory is fuzzy on the topic. The idea being that we'll all have a chance to practice what we've been learning in a controlled environment before we're set loose on the unsuspecting masses running games on our own.
The Pathfinders bid Kupyn farewell - though not before the witch asks who will be taking care of Darb in her stead - and head towards the farmhouse on the southwest side of town. From the new paint and fine wooden carvings of the farmers' god Erastil lining the gate, it's evident the farmer has been doing well.
Bunwol Greetle, an elderly human, sits on the front porch with what are probably his grandchildren. All of them are shelling peas together and singing a familiar song about rock stew. Far from unfriendly, Farmer Greedle sees the group approaching and a smile breaks over his face. "Hail and well met, strangers! What can I do for you on this fine day?"
So this is murky territory. This part of the adventure could be as quick as "You get to this location, here's some exposition, roll this check" all in one post. It can also be an opportunity for a lot of back-and-forth roleplay that showcases the NPC's personality and lets players showcase their characters'. But given that PbP doesn't lend itself well to the latter (on account of the asynchronous posting), I'll be leaning closer to the former style: with this post, a chance for introductions and for a player to make the request needed by the narrative, and then putting the possible checks after the NPC's response.
Normally yes - but in this format that could mean waiting one day for the aid and then a second day for the primary check, so I opt for both at the same time.
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Obviously, the farmer knows more about growing veggies than Ulfhild does...
But another question: I intentionally did not explain more to the farmer than our introduction and wanted to give our main talker Xandian a chance to jump in. Did you go further with your post to push things? How long does a PbP GM usually wait for other characters to post before pushing the story along?
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Looks like Xandian has +3 Diplomacy. Iput doesn't have their character sheet on their page, but I'm going to guess that we're light on the charisma skills. We have a kineticist, a fighter, and two rangers.
Could you give me an example of what "having my character sheet on my page" would mean? I am very new to the forum and can correct that as required or preferred.
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Looks like Xandian has +3 Diplomacy. Iput doesn't have their character sheet on their page, but I'm going to guess that we're light on the charisma skills. We have a kineticist, a fighter, and two rangers.Could you give me an example of what "having my character sheet on my page" would mean? I am very new to the forum and can correct that as required or preferred.
Your Character's Profile page. Currently you have the fields that show up in the banner, but there isn't any detailed information in the free text box at the bottom.
I don't think there is a standard format that people use, though there are templates that are floating around. Ulfhild has a data list that features bold for headings. Nhorri and I have ones that heavily feature spoiler tags.
I think the important thing is that it is reasonably easy to find things like what skills you have proficiency in and any feats and other special abilities that you might have.
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Normally yes - but in this format that could mean waiting one day for the aid and then a second day for the primary check, so I opt for both at the same time.
Ooo, lovely job putting those rolls in spoilers folks! Brilliant!
Normally I don't see non-secret rolls being put in spoilers - and secret rolls are rolled by the GM. If a player wants to roll a skill check or an attack roll, it is usually just posted plainly.
I only did that because I was posting the primary check first when there are people who would want to put Aid checks forward.
But another question: I intentionally did not explain more to the farmer than our introduction and wanted to give our main talker Xandian a chance to jump in. Did you go further with your post to push things? How long does a PbP GM usually wait for other characters to post before pushing the story along?
So I touched briefly on this a few posts back in this channel:
So this is murky territory. This part of the adventure could be as quick as "You get to this location, here's some exposition, roll this check" all in one post. It can also be an opportunity for a lot of back-and-forth roleplay that showcases the NPC's personality and lets players showcase their characters'. But given that PbP doesn't lend itself well to the latter (on account of the asynchronous posting), I'll be leaning closer to the former style: with this post, a chance for introductions and for a player to make the request needed by the narrative, and then putting the possible checks after the NPC's response.
If this were an AP-style adventure, where we aren't in a time crunch and I knew from experience that both players and GM would be able to post quickly and consistently (like multiple times a day), I'd only respond to what players have said in-character and wait for one of them to explicitly make the request. But Society games are a bit different - players might be waiting to join another game with this character, folks don't (necessarily) know each other well enough to know what to expect, and there's a must-finish-by date for games run as part of a convention. So in situations like this, I use a two-post approach: one post to set the scene and introduce the character(s) and problem(s), and the second to respond to characters and describe the checks in a mechanical sense. Does that help answer your question?
We will be working soon in GM school on how you can get things set up for the bounty you will be running, so please use your mentor's table's discussion thread to make sure everyone knows what adventure they need to prepare. I'll be making the next assignment as soon as it looks like all the tables have done this; my table of PF1 GMs has already done so.
Some folks have listed pairs of adventures they could run, but it is time for us to pick one adventure each and post it here!
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Normally I don't see non-secret rolls being put in spoilers - and secret rolls are rolled by the GM. If a player wants to roll a skill check or an attack roll, it is usually just posted plainly.
I only did that because I was posting the primary check first when there are people who would want to put Aid checks forward.
Agreed, but what surprised me was how well spoilering the rolls worked to mimic the expectation of "Aid checks roll first, then the primary check" while not forcing the primary roller to wait for everyone else to post.
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If this were an AP-style adventure, where we aren't in a time crunch and I knew from experience that both players and GM would be able to post quickly and consistently (like multiple times a day), I'd only respond to what players have said in-character and wait for one of them to explicitly make the request. But Society games are a bit different - players might be waiting to join another game with this character, folks don't (necessarily) know each other well enough to know what to expect, and there's a must-finish-by date for games run as part of a convention. So in situations like this, I use a two-post approach: one post to set the scene and introduce the character(s) and problem(s), and the second to respond to characters and describe the checks in a mechanical sense. Does that help answer your question?
Yes, absolutely! Thank you!
I have Bounty #10 downloaded, read through, images of creatures and maps extracted. I should be good to go on that whenever we decide to start that one.
Nice work GM Lantern and GM Baerlie!
We'll be running two bounties at a time once we finish this one and do all the classwork Redelia has for us. @GM Warah, this unfortunately means that I don't have a solid timeline for when your game would happen - only "sooner" vs "later".
Do folks have a preference for running their game in the first pair or the last pair of games?
Do folks have a preference for running their game in the first pair or the last pair of games?
I don't. Assign me a spot where I fit the most conveniently.
Also no Preference.
Nhorri and Iput make Xandian's work of securing the logs in place much easier - as does the distraction of Darb, who sits happily and lets the brownies coo and fuss and pamper him rather than offer "helpful" suggestions to the Pathfinders. The only criticism Nelia can offer when the work is done is, "It should have a flag. Golden. Like His Grace the Darbinious."
But even the wolfhound can't distract the fey forever, and when the Pathfinders are finished they cheer and move into their new lodging with great gusto. Above the hubbub, from what could be considered a balcony near the top (which is about eye-level for the taller Pathfinders), the Alliumic Empress calls for silence.
"We decree- I am speaking! Yes, we decree that Kupyn and her ilk are forgiven. We are graciously allowing you to take the scallions you require for a festival - no more than what you need! - and we will be in attendance. That is all."
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The sun is just starting to set below the Hollow Hills as the group - the Pathfinders with a bundle of fresh onions and Darb with only a few extra knots in his fur - makes their way back to town. Kupyn’s cottage is easy to spot, with its brightly colored walls, thatched roof, and a tall chimney merrily puffing smoke into the brisk air. Yet as the Pathfinders get close, the house begins to rumble and quake.
The front door spills opens. Numerous tiny cobblestones pour out - but these are no ordinary rocks! They all have open mouths with gleaming sharp teeth!
Initiative - Feel free to open!:Iput Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Nhorri Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Ulfhild Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Xandian Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16Cobbleswarm: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
The cobblestones are quicker to act than one would expect from a bunch of rocks, bumping and rolling awkwardly along the dirt path. But even with the element of surprise, they are unable to close the gap and reach the Pathfinders before they can react!
Round 1! Bold may act!
Cobbleswarm
Iput
Xandian
Nhorri
Ulfhild
Alright, we're in initiative. My thoughts on setting up an encounter:
- Initiative is rolled in a spoiler just to cut down on the amount of text on the page. It's a personal preference, and I don't think it's a big deal one way or the other.
- I strive to be very clear about who is currently "active" because few things in life are as frustrating as waiting for someone to post only to find out they didn't know it was their turn.
- The turn tracker is also an excellent place to track individual statuses (like hitpoints) and conditions. For things that affect multiple actors, I like to use the Environmental Effects section below the tracker. Enemies are in italics to help them stand out from PCs or allies.
Are there any questions or thoughts folks have? This is probably the most technical part of GMing.