BTG 2026: Assault on Absalom, Core tier 1-2

Game Master roll4initiative

Use this thread for OOC discussion.

Day Job - Profession(Merchant): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26.

Dotted in. This PC is still finishing up an Outpost scenario, but we have started the final boss fight and should be done by the start date. If it doesn’t finish I do have a backup PC that can play.

Also in that same Outpost scenario with Fern.

Galandir will be level 4, but you can play a level 4 in a 1-2 as per Redelia's post.

(And a special case for multi-table specials, he will get the Tier 3-4 gold, as noted here.)

If that scenario is not finished by then, I suppose I would have to create a new Core PC.

dotted in, working on the profile

Day Job - Profession(Merchant): 1d20+9.

This is a Core campaign game, Xuan. Oreads are not core races and your trait Gold Finger is not listed in the Character Traits Web Enhancement.

Here is the info about the Core campaign mode.

Xuan Wu wrote:

Day Job - Profession(Merchant): 1d20+9.

This is a Core campaign game, Xuan. Oreads are not core races and your trait Gold Finger is not listed in the Character Traits Web Enhancement.

Here is the info about the Core campaign mode.

Gold Finger is a faction trait, and they're allowed in the Core campaign.

GM Roll4initiative wrote:

Xuan Wu wrote:

Day Job - Profession(Merchant): 1d20+9.

This is a Core campaign game, Xuan. Oreads are not core races and your trait Gold Finger is not listed in the Character Traits Web Enhancement.

Here is the info about the Core campaign mode.

Gold Finger is a faction trait, and they're allowed in the Core campaign.

Oreads aren't legal in the core campaign. Click on the link and read the blog, please.

There is a well-known way to get an Oread in Core. It is a scenario boon (not like a convention boon which would indeed be unusable).
I believe it is the only race that has such an exception.

I myself have a Core Oread Bard.

If Xuan Wu's player earned that chronicle sheet in a Core game, then it can be applied to either make a new Core Oread or to turn the Core character who earned the Chronicle into an Oread.

Correct on both counts.

Xuan is a member of the Exchange solely so that he could take that trait.

In this specific case, his race *is* CORE legal.

(Spoilered, as it references a scenario GM thread):

Wow. Ok, then. Welcome Aboard!

I am concerned about having two level 4 PCs in the game, though. The two of you will be able to steamroll every encounter. I feel that it wouldn't be fun for the other players/PCs.

I am sorry that your experience with the Core Campaign has been so terrible that you think we would actually pull something like that.

The point of the game is for everyone to have fun, not to just collect Chronicle sheets. And so my PC would work to make sure everyone can contribute and shine.

I can guarantee you that my Ftr1/Rog3 is not going to steamroll encounters. That's not what the character does (although I certainly do know how to make characters that do that, I also understand the virtue of restraint). He'll handle locks and traps and be, in combat, about on par with a Ftr2 or raging Brb1.

So I would ask you to have a little faith. I've found the Core Campaign to be a good group for the most part.

*nods*

Restraint is good!

Heck, I've taken Perform(Dance) with a Cha 5 PC (this one!), purely because I thought it would be funny to make a ninjaShadowdancer Monk ;-)

I mean, it would be easy to build a level 1 melee-focused fighter that had the same to-hit, and did *far* more damage then Xuan, purely by virtue of using a greatsword...

Ok, awesome. I feel much better now. Let's have fun!

No Day Job

I prefer to do day jobs during or after the scenario.

We're pretty much starting now. A soft start, so to speak. Just mustering and waiting for other players to join in.

There's information in the Campaign Info tab about aid tokens that will be passed around to tables during the game.

Would someone be so kind to explain how to do a spoiler within a spoiler post? Thank you!

To Xuan Wu & Galandir,

Try to stay in the background, please. These skill checks during mustering are cakewalks for you. Let the beginners roll their attempts first.

To be honest, I do not like having two 4th level PCs in this game.

In a sense, I was hoping the two of you would kind of just stay in the background and be mentors to the beginner (level 1-2) Pathfinders during the adventure and only assist them if they're really stuck or in trouble.

You have to name the inner spoilers outside of the tag, the cannot have a name inside the spoiler tag.
Like this:

[spoi ler=Knowledge: geography DC 12 (Outer Spoiler)][ i]Info for DC 12[/ i]

[ b]DC 17+:[/ b] (Inner Spoiler #1)
[spoi ler][ i]Additional Info for DC 17[/ i][/spoi ler]
[ b]DC 22+:[/ b] (Inner Spoiler #2)
[spoi ler][ i]Additional Info for DC 22[/ i][/spoi ler]
[ b]DC 27+:[/ b] (Inner Spoiler #3)
[spoi ler][ i]Additional Info for DC 27[/ i][/spoi ler]
[/spoi ler]

Functioning code (without blanks inside the tags):

Also, the ooc text is just for illustration purposes, it is not needed at all. ;-)

Edited to correct the b and i tags in the example code.

To Xuan Wu & Galandir,

Try to stay in the background, please. These skill checks during mustering are cakewalks for you. Let the beginners roll their attempts first.

To be honest, I do not like having two 4th level PCs in this game.

In a sense, I was hoping the two of you would kind of just stay in the background and be mentors to the beginner (level 1-2) Pathfinders during the adventure and only assist them if they're really stuck or in trouble.

I think this is an unreasonable request.

I'm not looking to hog the spotlight, and I'm not looking to stand in the back. I want to be one of the group with an equal right to participate. At no time did I say I would remain in the background. I said "work to make sure everyone can contribute and shine." Not the same thing.

SHOPPING LIST:

- Wand of CLW (50/50) (2 PP)
- Light Crossbow (35g, 4lb)
- 2x Crossbow Bolts (10) (1g, 1lb)
- cold iron Scimitar (30g, 4lb)
- cold iron Kukri (16g, 2lb)
- cold iron Dagger (4g, 1lb)
- cold iron Spiked Gauntlet (10g, 1lb)
- Sap (1g, 2lb)
- silvered Morningstar (98g, 6lb)
- Breastplate (200g, 30lb)
- Cold Weather Outfit (0g, 7lb)
- Backpack (2g, 2lb)
- MW Thieves' Tools (100g, 2lb)
- 5x Torches (1c, 1lb)
- Rope, silk (10g, 5lb)
- 1x Trail Rations (5s, 1lb)
- 1x Waterskin (1g, 4lb)
- Potion of CLW (50g, 0lb)
- 2x Acid (10g, 1lb)
- 2x Alchemist's fire (20g, 1lb)

TOTAL 619.55 gold and 2 PP

Just wanted to add that I have no problem with Xuan Wu and Galandir rolling the skill checks.

I can easily pretend imagine Cordula going rogue for these tasks - and failing spectacularly on her own. ^_^
She will be humbled when they come back with goodies for everyone. ;-)

To Xuan Wu & Galandir,

Try to stay in the background, please. These skill checks during mustering are cakewalks for you. Let the beginners roll their attempts first.

To be honest, I do not like having two 4th level PCs in this game.

In a sense, I was hoping the two of you would kind of just stay in the background and be mentors to the beginner (level 1-2) Pathfinders during the adventure and only assist them if they're really stuck or in trouble.

This is not acceptable. Two of the six characters at your table do not need to 'stay in the background', they are just as much part of the table as the others. The fun of their players is just as important as the players of the lower level characters. It would be appreciated if they hold back a little, but they are full participants.

GM Roll4initiative wrote:

To Xuan Wu & Galandir,

Try to stay in the background, please. These skill checks during mustering are cakewalks for you. Let the beginners roll their attempts first.

To be honest, I do not like having two 4th level PCs in this game.

In a sense, I was hoping the two of you would kind of just stay in the background and be mentors to the beginner (level 1-2) Pathfinders during the adventure and only assist them if they're really stuck or in trouble.

This is not acceptable. Two of the six characters at your table do not need to 'stay in the background', they are just as much part of the table as the others. The fun of their players is just as important as the players of the lower level characters. It would be appreciated if they hold back a little, but they are full participants.

That's what I meant; "To hold back a little."

I totally understand that they're full participants. We'll roll with it and have a good time!

FWIW, at level 1, my results for those skill checks would have been three and one lower, respectively - which would still have been more than sufficient to get the 'top' result; rolling high is what helped!

Regarding the reward for one PC to reroll a d20, does anyone here not have a t-shirt or folio reroll or anything like that?

I prefer that it goes to someone without a free reroll.

We are all extremely experienced PFS players so I would tend assume we all have one source of a reroll. (I am the relative noob with a mere 12 Organized Play characters, by far the fewest in the party.) Maybe not. But I don't think we need to allocate it to anybody at this time, do we?

I would prefer to not assign the reroll to anybody unless it is required that we do so. Just see who needs it.

It is entirely possible that at some point, Fern for example has already used her Folio reroll and then rolls a 1 on a crucial check. I'd be fine letting her use the communal reroll at that point.

FYI, Fern is the only person trained in any of the 'ward' challenge skills (we are basically a party of fighters!), and she already failed, so... we need to pass on that challenge.

It's possible somebody has a Faction Journal Card that allows a Spellcraft or UMD check. I haven't been tracking those for Galandir. Which I should have been, I have another Exchange PC who gets good use out of his as well as some good RP hooks and angles.

We are all extremely experienced PFS players so I would tend assume we all have one source of a reroll. (I am the relative noob with a mere 12 Organized Play characters, by far the fewest in the party.) Maybe not. But I don't think we need to allocate it to anybody at this time, do we?

I would prefer to not assign the reroll to anybody unless it is required that we do so. Just see who needs it.

It is entirely possible that at some point, Fern for example has already used her Folio reroll and then rolls a 1 on a crucial check. I'd be fine letting her use the communal reroll at that point.

Awesome. That's a good plan.

Btw, We're still waiting for our 6th player, a cleric, to join in. I don't recognize their name on the Warhorn sign up list.

I don't recognise them, either, so I posted a message on Warhorn, in the Discussion section of this game. Everyone signed up for this game should get it via email.

And there's still a chance of their cleric being trained in Knowledge (arcana or religion), Spellcraft, or Use Magic Device...

So we each either get a level 2 potion OR we pick one level 3 potion as a group. Level three has daylight and fly, which can be super useful. But level 2 has darkvision and spiderclimb which are almost as useful, plus everyone would get to pick an option (there are plenty more options than those listed too) if we did the level two for all choice. Thoughts?

I vote everyone gets a level 2.

A heads up to everyone:

I'm sure everyone has noticed the issues the Paizo website is having. I'm lucky if I can get on for a little bit and I even check several times per day. Anyway, the game is going to be postponed for a few days until Paizo gets the site working properly again.

You are free to role play and do whatever, if you want. I'll check in every so often and keep my eye on the Bridging the Gap Discord site where they're posting information about the status of the Paizo boards.

So we each either get a level 2 potion OR we pick one level 3 potion as a group. Level three has daylight and fly, which can be super useful. But level 2 has darkvision and spiderclimb which are almost as useful, plus everyone would get to pick an option (there are plenty more options than those listed too) if we did the level two for all choice. Thoughts?

I vote everyone gets a level 2.

I say we don't take any potions. The poor merchant has a busted wagon now. We should be nice Pathfinders and not greedy jerks.

I’ve watched enough TV/Movies/Anime to know that the Hero’s Journey starts with a devastating loss. I got fond of the merchant, so he’s toast now. Might as well cherish his last gift! :P

Hm... one level 3 potion instead of six level 2 potions...
That almost feels like a downgrade for meeting the higher DC. o_O

@GM: Is it really this way? Only one level 3 potion instead of all level 2 potions? Or can (only) one character exchange their level 2 potion for a level 3 potion?
I am not going to argue, I just want to clarify. :-)

Regardless, I also vote everyone gets a level 2 potion.

I don't recognise them, either, so I posted a message on Warhorn, in the Discussion section of this game. Everyone signed up for this game should get it via email.

And there's still a chance of their cleric being trained in Knowledge (arcana or religion), Spellcraft, or Use Magic Device...

Thanks for that, the email notification is what got my attention. I wasn't expecting things to kick off before today. I first set up Warhorn for an in person event so it had my actual name rather than my online moniker. ^_~

I was working fast when I made my post so I failed to note what goals still needed attention and just went with the highest skill bonus. Since we're delayed due to board instability, can I try the Warding now? And if so, is it ok to take 10?

As for the potions, I agree 2nds for everyone is preferable. Any hints on what would be good picks, GM?

Also, I do have a pin for reroll.

It looks like mostly votes are for second level potions for all, so unless we get an additional clarification on the potion option then…

Fern will take a potion of lesser restoration as her level 2.

Hmm. One of the other GMs also said it's a single 3rd level potion for the whole group. However, after looking at the text again, I'm not sure.

Average: The owner procures a 2nd-level potion of the PC’s choice for each of the characters, in addition to the potions of cure serious wounds. The potion cannot have an expensive material component.

Hard: In place of the above reward’s 2nd-level potion, a PC can choose to receive a 3rd-level potion that has no expensive material components.

The part is "a PC can choose to receive a 3rd level potion that has no expensive material components." To me that means a single PC out of the whole group.

Although, for the average reward, _each_ PC gets a 2nd level potion.

Now that I think about it, it sounds to me like any PC can choose whether they want a 2nd or 3rd level potion.

So I'm going to rule that each one of you gets to choose either a 2nd or 3rd level potion.

As for hints on a good potion, a couple of you suggested getting potions of fly which I think is a really good choice. That's quite a powerful ability for a tier 1-2 game. Don't forget, each of you are also awarded a potion of cure serious wounds.

Regarding taking 10 on the skill check, unfortunately, there are a lot of distractions going on and everyone's under a lot of pressure because you're preparing for a siege. It's a straight up die roll.

You have gotten five out of six tasks so far. There's actually supposed to be only enough time to do three or four of them.

It looks like mostly votes are for second level potions for all, so unless we get an additional clarification on the potion option then…

Fern will take a potion of lesser restoration as her level 2.

Fern will instead wisely take a potion of fly!

Regarding taking 10 on the skill check, unfortunately, there are a lot of distractions going on and everyone's under a lot of pressure because you're preparing for a siege. It's a straight up die roll.

You have gotten five out of six tasks so far. There's actually supposed to be only enough time to do three or four of them.

Hopefully this was a yes to aiding with the wards. If not, disregard my post.

Will also go for the potion of Fly. Thanks for the suggestion!

. So I'm going to rule that each one of you gets to choose either a 2nd or 3rd level potion.

Awesome! :-D

A potion of fly it is, then.

Also, I'd like to point out that the text using the singular form (potion, not potions) supports your ruling:

Hard: In place of the above reward’s 2nd-level potion, a PC can choose to receive a 3rd-level potion that has no expensive material components.

Potion of Fly for Skajja as well.

Still need Galandir & Zachorius to fill in dice expressions (Perception, Initiative, Saves, etc...) in the slides. TIA.

@GM Roll4initiative: I assume we need to use the same skill to aid. Therefore, I'll wait until I see which skill was used. If the party wants her to, she can of course try her luck with the Will save - at a whopping +2 (unless you rule her Birthmark trait helps against the compulsion to knock some common sense decency into the merchants. ;-) In that case it would be +4 - not bad at all for a level 1 character).

Yes, you need to use the same skill to aid. Other missions will have skill checks also and you'll need to use the same skill to aid.

Unfortunately, Birthmark won't help here. They're not using any magical charms or compulsions against you.

I thought so, it was more tongue in cheek than a serious suggestion. ;-)

Fern isn’t built to be a highly skilled bard, but she does have Spellcraft trained at +3, all the knowledges listed are rollable as trained at +0, and the performs and social skills at +3. She should probably stick to aiding this set of checks, but will lead if everyone else is in similar situations with their skills.

Fern, as the group's bard, you are definitely the right PC to attempt the Perform or social skill checks to encourage Gulgamodh to activate. That check was practically written for you! A +3 is more than enough to make a solid attempt, and the roleplay opportunity is too good to pass up. A gnome bard standing before a crumbling ancient fountain, improvising words of encouragement to wake a forgotten weapon of Absalom? That's a great character moment.

Each PC doesn't need to succeed at every check and the group is not expected to succeed at every mission. A memorable attempt is worth more than a cautious assist. I say give it a shot!

However, of course, it's totally up to you.

Will do, let me work up a song.