GM Batpony's Season of Ghosts

Game Master Batpony

I plan out my PCs so that:
1) I can level up faster and not slow people down as I sift through the oodles of choices.
2) I can make sure I have prerequisites for cool higher-level feats that I want to use.
3) I can synergize with what other players are playing (no man is an island in PF2)--and that often requires planning for higher-level feats.

Spells are slightly less burdensome than feats because no higher-level spell requires a lower-level spell as a prerequisite. And you can pick spells to synergize with the other characters after you've seen them in action (exception being initial 1st-level spells).

On that note, Runic Weapon would play well with Yue's flurry for the first 5 levels. :)

I plan out my PCs so that:

1) I can level up faster and not slow people down as I sift through the oodles of choices.
2) I can make sure I have prerequisites for cool higher-level feats that I want to use.
3) I can synergize with what other players are playing (no man is an island in PF2)--and that often requires planning for higher-level feats.

Same reasons as 1 and 2 for me (particulary #1, as that can take a while.)

My third reason is 'fine-tuning' character concept as I put the leveling plan together.

So juggler archetype for Zhēnzǐ, but delayed until 6th level before taking dedication feat, so some more vital (and group-in-mind) feats of his overall character concept/build are slotted in at the earlier class feat slots before taking the archetype dedication feat.

I plan out my PCs so that:

1) I can level up faster and not slow people down as I sift through the oodles of choices.
2) I can make sure I have prerequisites for cool higher-level feats that I want to use.
3) I can synergize with what other players are playing (no man is an island in PF2)--and that often requires planning for higher-level feats.

Spells are slightly less burdensome than feats because no higher-level spell requires a lower-level spell as a prerequisite. And you can pick spells to synergize with the other characters after you've seen them in action (exception being initial 1st-level spells).

On that note, Runic Weapon would play well with Yue's flurry for the first 5 levels. :)

Ah, so you are going Flurry over Vindicator are you? A shame, but probably for the better for your damage and being less MAD.

Your profile still shows as being a Vindicator though.

Zhēnzǐ's HF mini using weapon infusion (wood - vitality) longbow.

Metal buckler in design of three hazelnuts - created by Huo Tian-Zhe, owner of Second Best.

Gi created by his lead awakener, Jubei, with embroidered image of The Great Willow on the back.

Five years ago, when Jubei was 14, (without her adopted father's knowledge), she took one of his ritual books (that the binding had fallen apart, and the pages were not in the correct order, unbeknownst to Jubei), who with the help of her friends, went to the Great Willow on a moonlit night with what Jubei thought would be a ritual to make her hazelnut-loving squirrel of the past five years that she considered her 'familiar' into her magically-bonded familiar...and things did not go as planned.

Zhēnzǐ's morphed awakened squirrel form has an hazelnut-esque appearance head thanks to his short crop of lighter coloured hair that grew longer than his existing fur on the top of his head.

The metal buckle of his belt was crafted in the image of a hazelnut.

Aside Jubei and her adoptive father, another resident of Willowshore Zhēnzǐ dd considerable 'people-watching' of for the five years before he was awakened is You So-Jin.

edit: Typing s-m-u-r-f within a post auto-replaces avatar pic with a s-m-u-r-f (without using the hyphens). Trying to figure out what triggered the s-m-u-r-f avatar picture.

testing

Zhēnzǐ's morphed awakened squirrel form has an hazelnut-esque appearance head thanks to his short crop of lighter coloured hair that grew longer than his existing fur on the top of his head.

testing 2

Zhēnzǐ's morphed awakened squirrel form has an hazelnut-esque appearance

testing 3

morphed awakened squirrel form has an hazelnut-esque appearance

testing 4

Zhēnzǐ's

testing 5

Yue Baihe's morphed awakened squirrel form has an hazelnut-esque appearance head thanks to his short crop of lighter coloured hair that grew longer than his existing fur on the top of his head.

testing 6

Zhēnzǐ's morphed

testing 7

morphed

Yue Baihe wrote:

I plan out my PCs so that:

1) I can level up faster and not slow people down as I sift through the oodles of choices.
2) I can make sure I have prerequisites for cool higher-level feats that I want to use.
3) I can synergize with what other players are playing (no man is an island in PF2)--and that often requires planning for higher-level feats.

Spells are slightly less burdensome than feats because no higher-level spell requires a lower-level spell as a prerequisite. And you can pick spells to synergize with the other characters after you've seen them in action (exception being initial 1st-level spells).

On that note, Runic Weapon would play well with Yue's flurry for the first 5 levels. :)

Ah, so you are going Flurry over Vindicator are you? A shame, but probably for the better for your damage and being less MAD.

Your profile still shows as being a Vindicator though.

Yeah. I've wanted to play a Spirit Warrior, and that wasn't combining smoothly with Vindicator. The bigger problem was the action economy. By the time I finish Hunt Prey and Vindicator's Mark, which can miss, you guys will probably have killed off my hunted prey before my next turn. Maybe cooler later on, but it was looking like a bit of a slog to get to cool.

Thaumascourge wrote:

Yue Baihe wrote:

I plan out my PCs so that:

1) I can level up faster and not slow people down as I sift through the oodles of choices.
2) I can make sure I have prerequisites for cool higher-level feats that I want to use.
3) I can synergize with what other players are playing (no man is an island in PF2)--and that often requires planning for higher-level feats.

Spells are slightly less burdensome than feats because no higher-level spell requires a lower-level spell as a prerequisite. And you can pick spells to synergize with the other characters after you've seen them in action (exception being initial 1st-level spells).

On that note, Runic Weapon would play well with Yue's flurry for the first 5 levels. :)

Ah, so you are going Flurry over Vindicator are you? A shame, but probably for the better for your damage and being less MAD.

Your profile still shows as being a Vindicator though.

Yeah. I've wanted to play a Spirit Warrior, and that wasn't combining smoothly with Vindicator. The bigger problem was the action economy. By the time I finish Hunt Prey and Vindicator's Mark, which can miss, you guys will probably have killed off my hunted prey before my next turn. Maybe cooler later on, but it was looking like a bit of a slog to get to cool.

Yeah, that's the main problem with Vindicator Ranger. It's a shame because I like Focus Spell Ranger - it's like the one niche it has for itself that isn't being eaten into by Fighter, Thaumaturge and now Slayer. Gravity Weapon at level 1 quickly morphs into powerful stuff like Animal Feature for on demand Flight, Threatening Mimicry for a Fearsome Presence and then Pack Breaker to ruin the GM's day. It's great.

I get the feeling that Zhēnzǐ and Jing would be friends. Being... you know... animals in a human settlement.

Update from me. 3/5 players have filled up information in slide 2. And I've reviewed, if you did not hear anything directly it means I'm good with your character's backstory that in that it fits into the adventure.

Once the other 2 players fill up and I've finished the review I will post the official opening in gameplay thread to kick us off.

So it looks like we are on track to start by this weekend.

I get the feeling that Zhēnzǐ and Jing would be friends. Being... you know... animals in a human settlement.

Sounds good to me. :)

Regarding starting treasure bundles:

(Filled out on slide)

Two of us (Zhēnzǐ & Jing) the predictable silver coin bundle chosen
One of us (Yue Baihu) have the cold iron chunk bundle chosen
One of us (Lady Lao) have the disguise kit and healing potions

Leaving the Supplies for an alarm snare, 10 sp, and two lesser ghost charges

@OgreEye: Is the remaining treasure bundle above acceptable to you?

@GM: Could the predictable silver pieces that Jing & Zhēnzǐ have, have been created by Jubei (or her adoptive father) for us?

I still need to finish his starting gear selection....I will get that done between now and Friday afternoon.

I won't be able to meet the crafting requirements for cold iron weapons, so OgreEye can have the Cold Iron Chunk. I'll take the snare package...and promptly sell the snare.

@OgreEye: If you prefer one of the other treasure bundles instead of the cold iron chunk, I will take the cold iron chunk, making it so you can take any of the initial treasure bundles.

@GM: If Zhēnzǐ starts with the cold iron chunk, he would eventually like to get Second Best's owner, Huo Tian-Zhe, who created his 'three hazelnuts' buckler to use the cold iron chunk to create some cold iron hazelnuts he can use for juggling. Or if possibly already start the campaign with Tian-Zhe having already used the cold iron chunk to create three to five cold iron 'juggling hazelnuts'.

@Zhēnzǐ Responded in messages!

Just waiting on OgreEye to update the sheets and we will get started.

For crafting and equipment/item planning, my general feedback is don't overly plan/worry. As a GM, I like my story to be narratively cohesive to the mechanics, which means for us throughout the campaign there will be a narrative point to address this, and we'll make sure it comes at an early point so people don't feel they are unoptimized in their planning.

@Zhēnzǐ Responded in messages!

Just waiting on OgreEye to update the sheets and we will get started.

For crafting and equipment/item planning, my general feedback is don't overly plan/worry. As a GM, I like my story to be narratively cohesive to the mechanics, which means for us throughout the campaign there will be a narrative point to address this, and we'll make sure it comes at an early point so people don't feel they are unoptimized in their planning.

Ok cool, that means that I won't have to dump half my skill proficiencies into Crafting and Magical Crafting just to make sure we can actually apply runes to our weapons, right? I'm ok with temporarily giving myself higher Crafting Proficiency, but having to expend a permanent skill proficiency into Magical Crafting is a bit much.

GM Batpony wrote:

@Zhēnzǐ Responded in messages!

Just waiting on OgreEye to update the sheets and we will get started.

For crafting and equipment/item planning, my general feedback is don't overly plan/worry. As a GM, I like my story to be narratively cohesive to the mechanics, which means for us throughout the campaign there will be a narrative point to address this, and we'll make sure it comes at an early point so people don't feel they are unoptimized in their planning.

Ok cool, that means that I won't have to dump half my skill proficiencies into Crafting and Magical Crafting just to make sure we can actually apply runes to our weapons, right? I'm ok with temporarily giving myself higher Crafting Proficiency, but having to expend a permanent skill proficiency into Magical Crafting is a bit much.

Right! Also please feel free to start an introduction post for your character. Just more a backstory post prior to the reenactment festival which is the day you begin your adventure.

All goes well I should have everything filled out tonight, I'm drafting backstory now. The partying here has kept me busier than I thought it would, but today's thankfully a bit slower paced. I look forward to playing with you lot!

@ All: Don't forget to add 1 to your Initiative Block for Lao's Scouting exploration activity (Yue's incredible initiative already overrides it for Yue).

I'm considering changing from Outskirt Dweller to Folklore Enthusiast. Being an Outskirt Dweller doesn't entirely mesh with a personality quirk I had planned. As I fleshed out his daily routine and living space, I found myself stretching to explain why he lived in the woods alone when he was afraid of the dark.

Neat! Thanks GM, works for me.

OgreEye, you're still going with a Heal-capable blasty Metal Elemental Sorcerer, yes?

I think you should do what works for your backstory. To be contrarian though, people tend to live in places they don't like to live in for other reasons. Maybe the rent in the woods is cheaper?

Alright, think I've figured this out for the most part - need to go back through and re-read that PBP guide on where things show up so I can mess with the fields and make all the relevant info on the character sheet show up in the stuff at the top instead of being hidden in the profile. Also, whew, the kobold options for pfps are pretty ugly, but I'll deal

Ok, I think that should be everything. I am indeed a heal-capable blaster. I'd not realized earlier when someone wrote "arcane caster" they meant there'd be another sorcerer, but I think we do a good job of filling different niches, and I think we're a pretty solid comp overall even with all our rizz overlap.

Yup, I think the only thing I'd really want from other players now is Runic Weapon - only because that spell is ridiculously good at low levels. Not at the expense of Heal though.

Thank you everyone for filling in the slides!
Please also take some time to fill up the Macros. I'm happy with player background and selections, so, feel free to do a general introduction post in gameplay. Otherwise I'll post our first in game post in about 24 hours!

@ Lao: Before I finish my purchases, Lao still has a Healer's Kit to share?

Aargh! I had to walk away from my tablet, and my intro post disappeared. Here goes attempted #2.

She definitely does. She's not very good at using it, but she has it mainly to fix her hangovers after she gets drunk.

In the campaign Info page, I've just added general notes, nothing that should be new you all. But just reminders since I'm sure most of us are playing in multiple games, and every game has different preferences.

Let's begin! This is exciting for me.

@ GM: It doesn't change anything in this encounter, but please note Yue has Incredible Initiative, so his initiative currently is +10 as indicated in the Initiative block on the slide and macros.

@ GM: It doesn't change anything in this encounter, but please note Yue has Incredible Initiative, so his initiative currently is +10 as indicated in the Initiative block on the slide and macros.

Thanks for calling out, I'll need to get used to the macros instead of the old fashion slides only method. How times have changed.

Posted and updated my macros in the slides to represent my temporary skills proficiency. Pre-emptively apologising for the walls of rules text - there's more to come, especially when I start recalling knowledge.

Heh. That was pretty succinct wall of text for a Thaumaturge. You should see my level 14 Thaumaturge's wall of conditionals and disclaimers. :D

Denkō's entire demeanor shifts as the creatures come towards them; his body language shows pure arrogance as electricity crackles between his fingers.

I'd not planned on having to crush vermin, but I suppose this is a good chance to shake my rust off. [dice=demoralize(◇) red, -4 if it can't understand me]1d20 + 8

He fires electric arc(◇◇) at both blue and red, DC17 basic reflex save, no effects besides damage [dice=electric arc damage] 2d4

Spent:◇◇◇
Remaining:↺

Hey Denkō, just a watch out, the ◇ symbol is for free actions, ◆ is for regular actions.

Also I know it is your first PBP, the typical formatting for out of game/character text like declaring your actions would be formatted with the ooc format.

Being a tiny creature, Zhēnzǐ usually cannot help others flank foes.

How It's Played: How Do Tiny Characters Flank? (Pathfinder 2e Rule Reminder #64)

Hey Denkō, just a watch out, the ◇ symbol is for free actions, ◆ is for regular actions.

Also I know it is your first PBP, the typical formatting for out of game/character text like declaring your actions would be formatted with the ooc format.

Ah, thank you, I was wondering what the filled vs white was. And gotcha, I'll use the ooc stuff for action declaration.

Being a tiny creature, Zhēnzǐ usually cannot help others flank foes.

How It's Played: How Do Tiny Characters Flank? (Pathfinder 2e Rule Reminder #64)

Sorry, thought you were medium sized since your token was the same size as everyone else's.

Just for reference, flanking would not have made a difference since the creature had a low enough AC. That was one of the fastest combats ever on PBP in my time. Some PCs didn't even get to act!

Also a reminder to Zhenzi and Jing to fill up the macros :)

I noticed we were doing RK checks? I think even with the correct skill/Lore, my Esoteric Lore at a -2 penalty for Diverse Lore and the +1 for the Tome bonus (net +6) is better than any of my other skills (+5 net for Arcana/Occultism/Society, +3 net Nature/Religion). Don't know if that makes a difference but I'd pretty much just use Esoteric Lore with the Diverse Lore penalty any time I'm asked to Recall Knowledge.

Just for reference, flanking would not have made a difference since the creature had a low enough AC. That was one of the fastest combats ever on PBP in my time. Some PCs didn't even get to act!

Also a reminder to Zhenzi and Jing to fill up the macros :)

I might need some help - I have never filled up macros on here before.

I noticed we were doing RK checks? I think even with the correct skill/Lore, my Esoteric Lore at a -2 penalty for Diverse Lore and the +1 for the Tome bonus (net +6) is better than any of my other skills (+5 net for Arcana/Occultism/Society, +3 net Nature/Religion). Don't know if that makes a difference but I'd pretty much just use Esoteric Lore with the Diverse Lore penalty any time I'm asked to Recall Knowledge.

I kept forgetting for the longest time, but remember Esoteric Lore used to RK on creatures and haunts takes no penalty.

GM Batpony wrote:

Just for reference, flanking would not have made a difference since the creature had a low enough AC. That was one of the fastest combats ever on PBP in my time. Some PCs didn't even get to act!

Also a reminder to Zhenzi and Jing to fill up the macros :)

I might need some help - I have never filled up macros on here before.

Looking at Yue's & Lady Lao's profile pages, I think I know what you mean...so you/we can copy/paste our relevant text selections from our profile page to gameplay post text entry for faster RNG gameplay post delivery...is that correct?

Zhēnzǐ wrote:

GM Batpony wrote:

Just for reference, flanking would not have made a difference since the creature had a low enough AC. That was one of the fastest combats ever on PBP in my time. Some PCs didn't even get to act!

Also a reminder to Zhenzi and Jing to fill up the macros :)

I might need some help - I have never filled up macros on here before.

Looking at Yue's & Lady Lao's profile pages, I think I know what you mean...so you/we can copy/paste our relevant text selections from our profile page to gameplay post text entry for faster RNG gameplay post delivery...is that correct?

Yes. It's extra helpful for the GM because it batches the skills together for all the players. Saves a TON of time crafting posts. That check box next to the skills that says "Send to GM" should be clicked for saves, perception, and initiative, and then for every secret check you want the GM to make for you.

Season of the Ghost Macro Sheet

Thank you.

I will get (non-saves/non-perception/non-skill) macros typed up on my profile page later today/tomorrow.

Saves/Perception/Skills macros are filled out on macro sheet.

For now, I need to try to get some more sleep.

Oh I been meaning to ask, am I ever meant to despoiler the gm screen bit? Keep noticing that.

I wouldn't despoil the RK screens, at least not until the scene is resolved, but I do look ar initiatives or bulk saving throws, which aren't secret. Mistakes do happen, and it's better to catch your initiative modifier of -6 instead of +6 before too long. ;)