[GDXIV] Zero's #6-99: Under the Eye of the Mantis

Game Master Super Zero

Please dot in or introduce your character, and fill out the Slides and Macros linked above. Sign in on the RPG Chronicles sheet--make sure to include an e-mail address so you have a chance to win a door prize and I can send your Chronicle later!

Any GM Glyphs?
Or anything in particular I need to know about your character, such as Dubious Knowledge?
How do you feel about taking friendly fire?

This is a GameDay game, so you should be signed up on the spreadsheet before you come here. That also means we have a scheduled start date of September 4th.

I have 1 GM glyph.

Abilities worth alerting you to:
Know Weaknesses gives a free Recall Knowledge when I ◆Devise Stratagem.

Flexible Studies lets me train myself in a Lore skill during my daily preparations. Based on the scenario description, I'm guessing I'll go with Red Mantis Lore, but we'll see what it says during the debrief.

I don't like taking friendly fire, but I also won't get mad about it. It happens.

I just finished up a Rusthenge game, but the GM is taking a long time to get us the chronicles. If he doesn't get them by the start of the game, though, I'll only be level 1 going into this, and will apply the Rusthenge chronicle AFTER this one. So I am going to wait to finalize my stats and fill in the macro document until I know 100% what they'll be.

This is the alias/name I'm using for BT Experimental A.

I have 2 Glyphs.

I'll take a lesser healing potion as my PF provision.

Don't forget to fill out the macros, Zuza.

And to add your tokens to the Slides, everybody.

There's a fifth player signed up. I'll see if I can send a PM.

I think that's me. I'll take care of preliminaries soon.

I'll do the slides soon, the unread discussion activity had disappeared before I noticed it.

I have 1 glyph.

The whistles don't have any mechanical thing on them, though what she says is true. Many cultures have used whistle languages in challenging environments, where speech gets garbled easily.

cmlobue sent me this way and told me you still have one spot left... sorry for the late arrival; let me know if you're ok with me joining at this time.

That's four Glyphs and five players. Who would you like to award the points to?

In Act 1 you're offered your choice of three missions to start. You get the title and a little hint about what kind of encounter they are.

Your options are:
The Mantis We Know (Social)
Tales of Woe (Skill Challenge)
Quite the Haul (Skill Challenge)

Am I correct in thinking that with Clides that takes us up to 6 players?

I'd give my Glyph to one of the level 1 characters. Let's say Zuza.

I'd vote on The Mantis We Know, but don't feel strongly about it.

Math checks out.

Zuza isn't that good at being social, but there is usually some other ways to perform in those tasks. So suits me, the presence of the Mantis is interesting.

My vote would be for Quite the Haul, but I'll roll with whatever we do.

1 glyph to Peat
1 glyph to Agate

I have two glyphs. That’s extra hero point each for everyone.

Agate's fine with social or skill encounters, so let's go with the first one mentioned, The Mantis We Know. It might be a chance to learn more about what's going on.

I'm fine with the group choice and thank you for the hero pts Jared!

Just realized I didn't give out my Root Magic talisman after the mission briefing. I'll give it to Agate, because I find her mechanical cat intriguing.

Here is the benefit:
Your talismans ward against foul magic. During your daily preparations, you can assemble a small pouch with bits of herbs, hair, sacred oils, and other ritual ingredients, which you give to one ally; the ally cannot be yourself. The first time that day the ally attempts a saving throw against a spell or haunt, they gain a +1 circumstance bonus to the roll.

Thanks!

I've been looking through the 2E rules trying to understand what is meant by a hard versus an average check. What do those terms mean (besides the obvious implication of a higher DC for a hard versus an average check)?

There is a table of level-based DCs, and then there are modifiers if it's an easy task or a hard task.

It just means that a certain approach might be harder or easier, though of course if you're significantly better at one skill than another the "hard" task might still be easier for you. But it's harder overall (read: higher DC).

I figure it's generally fair that the PCs have a decent ability to evaluate how difficult a task is, so I usually share that kind of thing. Though in that case it was the same DC either way so I suppose it didn't really have any effect on your decision-making.

Though if you'd like a small

So I'd ask if there's any particular type of information about enemies you're going to tend to ask for, so that I can correctly preload those RK spoiler boxes for you, but...

I'm posting those for convenience, but you're kind of on the honor system there. If people are clearly opening those when they haven't taken the actions (when we're in combat or otherwise in Initiative) and succeeded at the checks, then I obviously won't be able to post those any more.

If I might assist you with a little rephrasing?

Remember that, unlike 1e, in 2e, Recall Knowledge requires spending an action (barring specials like Investigator's feat or Thaumaturge's book).

I'm still learning 2E rules. Agate's Overdrive ability requires a craft check that "has a standard DC for your level." How is that determined? Thanks.

There's a chart. At level 1, it's 15.

There's a chart. At level 1, it's 15.

Thanks. That's exactly what I was looking for. I think this is what I was thinking about when I asked earlier about something that mentioned DC difficulty. I remember seeing such a chart in the rule book but locating these things is sometimes challenging given the way Paizo distributes the rule details and never duplicates anything in places where at least a page reference would be helpful.

I only have the Player Core books while this was in the GM Core. I'll probably get that if I ever decide to try to GM a Pathfinder game, but not in the near future and I spent a lot of money on 1E books, so I'm not anxious to spend that much again just to play PCs in PFS games.

I think this is what I was thinking about when I asked earlier about something that mentioned DC difficulty.

Yeah, this is the chart I meant earlier about modifying the difficulty from the standard DC.

Anything worth looting off the fallen pirates?

Not especially. The dockhand had a few empty bottles and sturdy work clothes that function as leather armor.

Each pirate had a cutlass (same stats as scimitar), a dagger, and padded armor.

Any Hero Point nominations?

Hero Point for Peat, then.

Now, typically in pbp combat I resolve turns for consecutive PCs in the order they're posted, which I think is how a significant majority of pbp GMs do it (just easier for everyone). Since I think this fight is going to be over pretty soon and Clides hasn't had a turn yet, though, I'm kind of holding off to give him a chance.

You'll have three missions to choose from next. You get the names and a little hint about the type of encounter to choose from.

Mission 1: For the Right Price (Social)
Mission 2: Contractual Obligations (Skill Challenge)
Mission 3: The Downward Path (Combat)

Please list any preferences for which one you'd like to start with (and perhaps even which one after that).

3 >= 2 > 1

Same as Zisiro

Agate's primed for combat, but open to any challenge, so she'll go with the majority who have a preference.

No preference among those. This group has a decent spread of abilities, but probably leans toward being adept at combat.

I will be out of town for Thursday and Friday. I should have WiFi and will try to post each day, but 'bot me if needed.

If yellow ghoul is still up on Agate's next turn, she will order Clanky to keep attacking, reload, and strike with her sukgung (using 2 hands). Profile has prepared dicebot texts under spoilers.

Mission choices for Act 3:

▫ Depot Mission 1: Hospital Hustle - Skill Challenge
▫ Depot Mission 2: Monkeying Around - Roleplay/Skill Challenge
▫ Depot Mission 3: Gone but not Forgotten - Skill Challenge/Hazard
▫ Depot Mission 4: Dispatching the Dispatch - Combat Encounter
▫ Depot Mission 5: Etched in Wood and Metal - Hazard

First/ranked choices?

1, 3, 2, 5, and then 4.

Oh, and in case you missed it in the House GM's announcement, everyone gets a second set of Pathfinder Provisions.

Another minor healing potion for me.

Really hard to say from that list, maybe something non-combat for a change? What would tell most of the story?

Let's take another potency oil, regardless of whether there will be enough combats.

I'll second a vote for Jared's sequence (unless something gets closed out before we get to it).

I wonder what wonders are contained within this wonderful medical cache!!!

You each gain an item that can fully restore your HP and one Focus Point.
This item, however, takes a minute to fully work and so cannot be used in combat.

(Also, go ahead and make your check.)

FYI, I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow for most of next week, which reminds me that I need to put my botting sheet in my profile.

Aside from the healing potion we got from the medical cache, have any of the various conditions/effects unlocked anything we should know about? I know sometimes there are various benefits gained if you succeed at different Influence checks and things early on. I don't know if those just weren't available in this special, or if I missed it. (I generally forget to use those benefits anyway.)

There’s the free out of combat Restoration.
We previously recovered 5 elixirs of healing (I forget the strength off the top of my head), 5 alchemist’s fires, and 5 holy waters.

There hasn't been an actual 8-hour rest to refresh daily preparations since the start of the game has there?

Correct, there has not.

@ Agate: Recall Knowledge requires spending an action, and in Encounter Mode, you need to wait for your turn to spend that action.

Unless there's some feat somewhere that allows you a free Recall Knowledge when Initiative is rolled.

The Ranger's Monster Hunter feat gives you a free Recall Knowledge when you Hunt Prey, and with Favored Prey you can Hunt Prey for free with initiative ... so there are some combos that could give you a free Recall Knowledge at initiative.