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Six years! We've been here six years and Diamond Lake still feels like a nightmare. Solrisa seems to love it, and seems equally oblivious to its many dangers. Her sculptures, though, seem to sell well. I can't believe mother thought this would be safer than home. Kaer Maga was never as nasty as this. Today could have been a disaster, but thankfully, Lazare was there to head off the danger. I wasn't. I was NOT. I have to do better, to keep my petty irritations and frustrations in check. To keep her safe. If I have any purpose in life at all, it is that. If I am just one thread, then we are two, twisted together; stronger together. I owe Lazare now. That can't continue. He's not someone I care to owe for anything. Ooc junk: So begins Raella's tale. She is but one character (mine,obviously) in GM Rat Sass's Age of Worms campaign. I am hopeful that she will not be the only one posting in this journal. 
this is a test. It will disappear in a few minutes.
The discussion thread is now...open!
Cole:
Consciousness filters in like the scatter of sand in front of a stumbling mule, but light refuses to follow, even when you open your eyes.
…… ….. …. … .. . . . Dust coats everything – your lashes, your tongue, your throat. Try to hack it up and flashes of color bloom behind your lids to match the aches and pains that cover your body. Something sticks deep into your back; sharp, hard, uneven – a rock?No, it is too long and rough. Wood, broken and sharp at one end. Questions tumble through your mind half finished; too much focus makes your head ache and your stomach lurch. How much did you drink last night? Not enough for this, at least, not that you remember. This is not the Armasse day you had in mind. A cough echoes to your left, a low groan to your right, but there is still no light. Finally, a voice calls from the velvet black, “Who’s there?” Serra:
Consciousness filters in like the scatter of sand in front of a stumbling mule, but light refuses to follow, even when you open your eyes.
…… ….. …. … .. . . . Dust coats everything – your lashes, your tongue, your throat. Try to hack it up and flashes of color bloom behind your lids to match the aches and pains that cover your body. Something sticks deep into your back; sharp, hard, uneven – a rock, most likely. Questions tumble through your head half finished. Your head aches and your stomach lurches; You can’t be dead, or it wouldn’t hurt so much. This is not the Armasse day you had in mind. A cough echoes to your left, a low groan to your right, but there is still no light. Finally, a voice calls from the velvet black, “Who’s there?” Beagan:
Consciousness filters in like the scatter of sand in front of a stumbling mule, but light refuses to follow, even when you open your eyes.
…… ….. …. … .. . . . Dust coats everything – your lashes, your tongue, your throat. Try to hack it up and flashes of color bloom behind your lids to match the aches and pains that cover your body. Something sticks deep into your back; sharp, hard, uneven – a rock, most likely. It catches on one of your scars, tumbling a memory through muscle and bone. Questions weave and stumble through your mind half finished; too much focus makes your head ache and your stomach lurch. This is not the Armasse day you had in mind. A cough echoes to your left, a low groan to your right, but there is still no light. Finally, a voice calls from the velvet black, “Who’s there?” Jurin:
Consciousness filters in like the scatter of sand in front of a stumbling mule, but light refuses to follow, even when you open your eyes.
…… ….. …. … .. . . . Dust coats everything – your lashes, your tongue, your throat. Visions rise in your mind, and settle again. It’s dust, not brimstone. Try to hack it up and flashes of color bloom behind your lids. They match the aches and pains that flare across your body, bringing to mind another time and place before settling into this reality once more. Something sticks deep into your back; sharp, hard, insistent. Relief floods through your blood when it proves to be only a rock. Still, questions tumble through your head half finished; too much focus makes your head ache and your stomach lurch. As bad as it is, it gets no worse quickly. As unlikely as it is, perhaps reality has finally caught up to the visions. A cough echoes to your left, a low groan to your right, a scuff of a rock behind. Senses, somewhat reliable check in one by one. Taste, touch sound…even the faint scent of dirt floods back, but still sight remains elusive. Finally, a voice calls from the velvet black, “Who’s there?” Eli:
Consciousness filters in like the scatter of sand in front of a stumbling mule.
…… ….. …. … .. . . . Dust coats everything – your lashes, your tongue, your throat. Try to hack it up and flashes of color bloom behind your lids to match the aches and pains that cover your body. Arched awkwardly over a large rounded mound, muscles in the back and sides flare brilliant white with pain. Over extended as they are, in directions they were never meant to go, it is a wonder that you can roll free from the position. Questions tumble through your head half thought; too much focus brings another nauseating blossom of ocher and plum within your mind. Your stomach roils in sympathy, threatening to return a lunch you can’t recall. In the distance, a cough echoes, a groan whispers. Something scrabbles beyond that. Sound, but not sight anchors you to the now. “আপনার চোখ খুলুন এবং আপনার নির্বুদ্ধি স্বপ্ন সীসা আছে দেখুন." As if in answer, a voice, hesitant and soft calls out, “Who’s there? Grasker: Consciousness filters in like the scatter of sand in front of a stumbling mule, but light refuses to follow, even when you open your eyes.
…… ….. …. … .. . . . Dust coats everything – your lashes, your tongue, your throat. Try to hack it up and flashes of color bloom behind your lids to match the aches and pains that cover your body. Something sticks deep into your back; sharp, hard, uneven – a rock? The hex of some witch unseen in the blackness? Questions tumble through your head half finished; too much focus makes your head ache and your stomach lurch. This is not the Armasse day you had in mind. A cough echoes to your left, a low groan to your right, but there is still no light. Finally, a voice calls from the velvet black, “Who’s there?”
Please note: This is not an actual recruitment, as the player list is already full. My apologies in advance for using the recruitment thread for this, but it's the way the Play-by-Post area of the board works. Welcome to The Righteous Shall Rise... a play-by-post game based on the Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Path. Please do NOT post in this thread. The first post from any character should happen in the Gameplay thread when it goes live at 10am. Thanks for your understanding on this. Game Master & Player Commitment: Below is the standard boilerplate of expectations, but basically it is all things you probably already know. I believe good communication, role play, and flexibility will make this an exceptional experience and you already excel in these areas. Thanks for agreeing to come play with me. boilerplate expectations:
Posting: As the GM I will post at least once a day (and probably more). I also expect players to post at least once a day. If you are going to use abilities that interrupt the action (i.e. the feat Step Up), be prepared to post even more often. There will of course be exceptions caused by real life. If you know you won't be able to post, just let me know. Role playing: I enjoy play-by-post games for their expanded opportunities for role play and hope you do as well. I'm looking forward to watching the growth of the characters unfold as they react to the world around them and to the other characters. Roll playing: While I am no strategic genius, I do like combat to be worthwhile and some kind of challenge, and I do value the knowledge and experience of other players. That said, I hate long, drawn out arguments over rules so I don’t expect to indulge in those. I would much rather make a ruling for the current situation and move on, with discussion for future situations to be civil and off “camera”. You all probably already know all this, but I’d rather say it now to avoid any misunderstandings later. Character Creation:
While developing your character, please focus on the full individual. I am not looking for a Fighter, or a Wizard, or a Rogue, but for fully fleshed out characters with history and hopes, fears and dreams of the future. Class, and by extension, other mechanics, should be considered secondary tools to support the character you want to play.
Leveling will be event based, rather than XP based, so I won’t be tracking XP so we can focus more on the story. Please include: Please send me the details of your character. I’ve given examples below, but feel free to add anything else you think might be pertinent and/or fun. Help me get to know your character. To help in the building process, I’ll also be sending out an excel sheet, asking for specific information about your character. Please download and email back to me separately, so your characters can get to know each other organically rather than through the building process. The campaign traits for this AP support siblings and other connections. If you would like to build a mutual story line, please feel free, but otherwise don’t share anything more with each other than one might learn with a quick glance. Examples History, hopes, dreams: Who are you, who do you come from, and why are you here? The more history, hopes, and dreams you give, the more I can try to work into the game for you, if possible. I will be sending out a small survey to all of you privately, requesting short answer information on your character so that the rest of the players can get to know you through future roleplay. Let me know what your hopes are for the future, and if there are any dark things your character keeps from even themselves, please let me know. Family and Geographic history is important. You can be from anywhere in Golarion, but there must be a reason you left there to come here. The more distant your homeland, the more compelling your reason for staying should be. Physical description, mental outlook. Please give me some idea of what you think you look like, and what others think you look like (if different). Use a story format for the back story but the following is fine in a spoilered list: Race, Class, and any major abilities. Please only enter a physical description into your profile prior to the first encounter. I will eventually want full character stat blocks entered for ease of access, but to begin with I’d like them sent to me via email. Crunch Guidelines: :
Full character information should use the following rules: • Sources IN: Core Rule Book, APG, ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Campaign (traits and drawbacks), Mythic Adventures. Champions of Purity, Faiths of Balance. Faiths of Purity. Wrath of the Righteous Players Guide. Other sources will be considered upon request. • Abilities- 20 point buy, No final score higher than 18, after racial modifiers. • HP - Max at 1st, average +1 for levels thereafter. (I may change this depending on how the AP actually runs in play. • Race - My personal preference for races for this game follow in order: human, half orc, halfling, dwarf, half-elf, elf. That said, an excellent backstory will trump a preferred race, though aasimars, tieflings may be a hard sell. No monster races, please, but if uncertain ask. • Three traits (No more than one from the same category), (no rich parents), one Drawback. The Players Guide has traits that have extra tie in to the campaign. I advise using them, but they are not a requirement. Regardless of what you choose, please make sure to work both into your back story. • Alignment – Looking for Heroes; NO evil aligned characters, and any true neutral should be seriously looking for redemption. • Classes - • Barbarian • Bard • Cavalier • Cleric • Druid • Fighter • Inquisitor • Magus • Paladin • Oracle • Ranger • Rogue • Sorcerer • Summoner • Witch • Wizard • Please, no gunpowder archetypes. This isn't that campaign. • Wealth – 200gp PS: It will be a role play heavy campaign, in a very ugly area of the world. This is a dark, unforgiving place, and the game will be as well. If puppies get kicked or kittens tossed, that may be the lightest part of the day. People, even children, may be endangered or killed, and killed may be the more pleasant of the two options. Because it is a public forum, I will keep it between the navigational buoys as established by Paizo, but I won’t flinch from the darkest parts of the story; the light of a hero shines best in the blackest night. If you have any issues or triggers that I should be aware of, please feel free to send them to me in a private email so I can be aware.
Stockton Con is a one day, local pop culture convention held to spotlight local artists while raising awareness and funds in conjunction with the United Way and St. Mary’s Dining Room. Tickets are on sale in comic book stores on this list, on Ticket Master, or at the door. Donation bins for gently used clothing will be at many of the stores, as well as at the door. Our own local artist, author Dennis Baker will be there, running his latest scenario, #4-21: Way of the Kirin. we've also made sure to have the last two intro scenarios on the schedule, in case you want to play them one more time before they're retired. When: August 4th, 10:00-6:00pm
Hope to see you all there!
I'm not sure, what happened, but my profile page no longer has any of the various statistics stuff. My PFS stars are gone, as is all of my other PFS related details. It no longer lists how many posts I've had, how many of those were from aliases, or how many aliases I actually have. It's not urgent or anything, but when possible can someone please fix this; I miss my stars.
Beginning Tuesday, August 14th, PFS comes to Modesto. Hosting games on the second Tuesday of each month, Modesto PFS adds another day and location for Pathfinder Organized Play in the Central Valley. For more information please visit our Warhorn site, or contact me via email or private messaging.
Creeping ivy and full window boxes cover the façade of the rugged-looking, two-story shop bearing the faded sign “Roots and Remedies.” A line of twenty or more townsfolk serpentines down the steps and to the left, but grows slowly shorter as the day grows long. Soon, just the party from The Sitting Duck remains. "Please, you will have to come back...." Laurel, a small dark woman breaks off whatever she was in the middle of saying as she takes in the rather healthy looking individuals in front of her. Finally, her eyes land on Simon, managing to look both happy and sad at the same time. "Simon! Please, tell me you are well? " The lines of worry that crease her brow deepen, for without a supplier, her meager well of medicinals would soon run very dry. Laurel presses her palm to his forehead, cheeks and throat in turn. She does not look reassured. "Oh but you're burning up! This can't be good, not at all."
Hi, welcome to the In Search of Heroes out of character discussion thread. I guess this is where we're at: Now is the time to go over the mechanics of your character and get them posted to your alias if you haven’t already. Make sure to include the traits chosen, including the full wording. Please check feats and spells to make sure that they meet the Core and APG limitations, unless already cleared with me. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.
In Search of Heroes Falcon’s Hollow is a place for survivors, not heroes. The weak leave -or die- while the strong struggle on, too burdened with their own yoke to worry about the man in the dirt beside him. Those that stay are survivor’s, not heroes. But now they find it’s not just the weak that are dying, and not just the frail that fall. A plague has come calling, and the town needs a few heroes if anyone is to survive at all. Details:
Game Master & Player Commitment:
As this is my first play-by-post, I am aiming small, using a Free RPG Day module for a first step, but have several others lined up to go from level 1 to level 6, though I am more interested in exploring the story than sticking to any particular leveling schedule. Posting: As the GM I will post at least once a day (and probably more). I also expect players to post at least once a day. If you are going to use abilities that interrupt the action (i.e. the feat Step Up), be prepared to post even more often. There will of course be exceptions caused by real life, but I will not hesitate to let your character get “left behind” or “lost” and “found” later if necessary—what occurs in the meantime will vary depending on the player’s attitude and consideration for others. If you know you are going to be gone, just let us know. Role playing: I enjoy play-by-post games for their expanded opportunities for role play. Characters can carry on long conversations on the side or between actions that would normally bog down a real life game. You have time to collect your thoughts and think up witty responses before “speaking.” Experience is nice, but a willingness to engage in banter is essential. Don’t worry; it’s easy to do this from the anonymity of play-by-post. Roll playing: While I am no strategic genius, I do like combat to be worthwhile and some kind of challenge, and I do value the knowledge and experience of other players. That said, I hate long, drawn out arguments over rules so I don’t expect to indulge in those. I would much rather make a ruling for the current situation and move on, with discussion for future situations to be civil and off “camera”. Character Creation:
While developing your character, please focus on the full individual, and expect to play the same. I am not looking for a Fighter, or a Wizard, or a Rogue, but for fully fleshed out characters with history and hopes, fears and dreams of the future. Class, and by extension, other mechanics, should be considered secondary tools to support the character you want to play. Leveling will be event based, rather than XP based, and the story will be more RP focused than combat oriented. Please include:
Backstory
Also, give me some idea of what you think you look like, and what others think you look like (if different). Some kind of family history is a bonus that I never turn down, though it should be kept to the last couple of generations. Use a story format for the backstory but the following is fine in a spoilered list:
Crunch Guidelines:
Recruitment Details: I’d like to take a week or so for role-playing during recruitment before choosing the characters for this outing. This should give plenty of time for people to get acquainted, run into old friends or find new ones and in general get settled. Please take this time to let me get a feel for your style and your character. One Last Thing:
Good morning - errr - evening, Pathfinders! Last night, inspired by some excellent information from Will Johnson regarding attending Pacificon on Budget, I’ve started a new handout for our players. Creatively titled “Pacificon on a Budget”, it contains a couple of alternative hotel options, some food advice, and of course, a reminder that in addition to supporting the local gaming community, GMing three sessions also provides a free badge to the convention. I’ve linked to the rough draft here, but I know that some of you must also have some advice in this area. So come on, share some tips with me, so we can share them with others.
Tomorrow, December 15th, we will be running the Beginner Box Bash scenario(s). Play begins at 6:00pm at Alluring Treasures, in Manteca, CA. Preregistration on Warhorn is strongly encouraged, but walk-ins are welcome; there's no charge for this special event. While we are encouraging players to play all four encounters and score the PFS boon attached, the bash is a great time to bring out a friend, partner, or child that's never played for a single 1 hour encounter to try out pathfinder and the PFS experience.
Our household has two legal hard copies of the core rule book, and one legal pdf copy of the core rulebook. We have three players. Until we needed two accounts for PaizoCon, we have always purchased using my account so the pdf is in my name. Does this mean that the other two players in my family cannot use a laptop with the pdf on it?
I'd just like to point out that Lumketul was a major jerk. Bravo to Adrian Ng for creating such a horrible character! lol
Why does it matter if they're core or not? It only affects whether you have to buy a new book to use them or not. The more core races the better, IMO. Why does it matter? It matters because PFS is a major aspect of Pathfinder gameplay, and if Goblins are in Core, it will be difficult or impossible to keep them out of PFS. Goblins have no business being regularly available as PCs, but if they're in Core GMs won't be allowed to ban them from the table.PC Goblins are a deal-breaker for a lot of players and GMs alike. Shoving them down our throats is one of the things making people hesitant about 2e.
I welcome all the nerfing. It's more in line with 5E and other recent trends of getting away from all the absurdly ridiculous high power nonsense that is from a dated age of design ..... But.... if I wanted to play 5E, I'd play 5E. It already exists, and is lovely in its own way. Maybe I should have expected this, but I didn't. Pathfinder 1E was effectively D&D 3.75. But somehow I didn't expect that Pathfinder 2E would be D&D 5.5. I guess I'll try to change my expectations and start going over it again....
I also got an email from Amazon, saying that the books had shipped (July 16th, in my case). At this point, I think Paizo should press Amazon for free expedited shipping. I appreciate Paizo stepping up and keeping us updated, but I expected much better from Amazon.....
It would be nice if these actually come out at GenCon, but considering that they're already a year late as well as being woefully overpriced, I'm not holding my breath. I know WizKids isn't an option, but surely there must be some other company, somewhere, that can actually deliver products on-time and with tolerable customer service. I don't know how Ninja Division is even still in business. (I actually have a pretty good idea, but don't want to be ruder than I already have been.) Like a lot of other folks, I'll believe these minis are available when they're actually in my hand with cash on the counter. And if I didn't think I owed my players the best possible experience when they play pregens, I would refuse to buy any NJ products ever, just based on all these issues.
The game goes by so much quicker and smoother when you can file the first 33-50% of the game session off and get to the good stuff. ... I recommend it - if only for the look on everyones face when your wizard doesnt even roll a die when the knowledge planes check comes up. While I'm not going to get involved in a #WrongBadFun argument here, please don't encourage other people to follow your example of ignoring a large portion of what being a Pathfinder is all about. The in-game Pathfinder Society is a group of people who, ultimately are seekers of knowledge. To purposefully not only ignore but utterly dismiss a significant portion of that mandate does a disservice to the other players, the GM, the developers, the campaign coordinators, and ultimately the game itself.
** spoiler omitted **
Also, for those of us wanting to find/make special minis, do these vehicles have representation in the Core pawn set (It seems unlikely)? Can you share the basic structure of the vehicles, as well as their size: map squares? Motorcycle frame perhaps? Dune buggys? Minivans? Forklifts?:-)
I can't speak for MadSci, but I know that I felt extremely uncomfortable at my store when they hosted The City of Strangers scenarios, both because of the scenario's content and the players' reactions. I'm sorry that happened to you. It's amazing how differently those scenarios are portrayed. When I was first exposed to Miss Feathers, I didn't interpret her as trans at all! Nor was there anything offensive or silly in how she was portrayed. I just assumed she was a female impersonator/performance artist- no different than Lady Chablis or RuPaul. I thought it was pretty great that Paizo had put in a character that was willing to do their thing without fear or censure. I viewed Miss Feathers as one of the earliest attempts by Paizo to be inclusive. I still do, in fact, regardless of people's online reactions. I realize that many/most people don't view Miss Feathers that way, and I respect that my experience doesn't invalidate yours (nor yours, mine). I just wanted to point out that Miss Feathers isn't universally despised. I realize that with all the hate she's drawn, she won't be showing up any more, but I'll miss 'seeing' her in Kaer Maga. Also, only 1 time have I ever had a situation where a player reacted in a phobic way to Miss Feathers. I shut him down hard, and the session continued. That instance was the only time I've encountered any Miss Feathers hate- outside of these forums.
If any GMs are looking for appropriately-sized, unpainted minis similar to what is on the cover, this is the best (also only) one I could find. https://www.copplestonecastings.co.uk/prod.php?prod=403 (Tried to make a link out of this, but couldn't.)
The Additional Resources and Campaign Clarifications updates are now live, and we have numerous FAQs that should also be appearing shortly. These updates include all of the November products, including Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Wilderness, for which you should also see the Ultimate Wilderness FAQs. Most notably, though, these updates address two prevalent character options: the ring of seven lovely colors and the spell snowball. Thank you so much for this!!!!! For all of this! You've made my night! No, my week! No, my month!
See? I knew there was a good reason! Thanks! :-)
Mahcahn, the Labradorite Sage Spoiler:
Name: Mahcahn
Alignment: Neutral Race: Wayang Class: Psychic (Pain) 9/Fighter 1 Description: Macahn is a spidery-thin, pale wayang with fever-bright eyes. She rarely makes eye contact, but her gaze gives the impression that she's cataloging points of physical or mental vulnerability. She is constantly making jokes, but no one else seems to notice. Or find them funny. Despite her devotion to psychic magic, Mahcahn enjoys a good fight,
Mahcahn is supporting a family of half-orcs in Absalom by regularly hiring the patriarch, Zarq the Not-So-Tall, to serve as her mount. She pays him a decent wage, covers his medical expenses, and doesn't require that he identify a joke when he hears it. He mainly communicates in long-suffering sighs. When the inscrutable beings that run the world she lives in lack a sense of humor, she sends Zarq home and rides her dog, Badger instead. Incidentally, this is what labradorite looks like:
It's out. ** spoiler omitted ** Spoiler:
Oh! Oh, my. This might be the happiest I've been since being unable to successfully beg a skittermander boon. This might even be better than a skittermander. Maybe. It's definitely bigger than a skittermander. Or even 2-3 skittermanders stuffed into a walrus costume. Well done, O Purveyor Of The PC Space Walrus!!! I can't wait to run this, so I can post a proper review!
I really want to see this played live over twitch, with John as GM and (ideally) Thursty as a player. And I want actual people watching the livestream to be able to act as the reality TV orbiting audience in some way. You've got several weeks. MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!!
Really, don't spoil some 'needed' pre-Salvation player prep: You asked for it. If you haven't played it already on this PC, play S06-04 Beacon Below (7-11) before you play Salvation. You'll be glad you did. Really.
He's tried. John Compton and others even got involved in looking for him as well. He's mainly looking for online groups that plays when he's available. I think it was 10 pm to 3 am his time.In other threads he discussed his very tight work schedule, and the scheduled PFS games was about all he had time for.Gotcha. Well, that is unfortunate, but in some cases, PFS or even any RPG gaming is not possible if the schedule is that restricted. I’m only saying that if someone has time to go play PFS, they could use that same time to play a non-OP RPG where their style of play can be supported. CT: You know that 4-5 hours per session that you currently spend playing PFS? And how (according to you) that's the only time and opportunity you have to play at all? Then you've solved your own problem. You have 4-5 hours at a time which you can use to design your own campaign. And when you've designed your own campaign, then you have 4-5 hours per session to recruit other players and/or GMs to play the campaign you've designed. And once you've recruited those players and/or GMs, you have 4-5 hours per session to play the campaign that you've designed, exactly the way you want it to be. At least until those other players/GMs decide they don't want what you want and outvote you, democratically. When they do, you'll have that 4-5 hours per session to recruit new players/GMs. It'll be a lot of work, but since you'll be breaking it down into 4-5 hour work sessions, it shouldn't be too onerous. In fact, if I were in your place, I would be excited by the new opportunities stretching out before me! Designing something new is an amazing experience. I envy you, a little. Or, maybe you don't want to do all that work. Maybe you don't feel up to it. That's understandable. With PFS, almost all of the work is done for you, already. But all this time that you're spending on these forums, making demands that we've been patiently explaining are as undesirable as they are impossible- well, that's time you could have been using to design your own campaign. Because I'm sorry, but the changes that you want PFS to make aren't going to happen. Not during the current campaign, and probably not ever. Frankly, the developers have years more collective game experience than you do, and they have more experience with organized play specifically. (Even just a few of the developers have upwards of 50 years development experience between them, and your posting habits and syntax suggest that you're relatively young- nothing personal, just an observation.) They know what works for a large campaign like PFS better than you do, and their wisdom will carry the day. So, to be blunt, you have some combination of three choices:
Personally, I hope you choose either #1 or #2- either way you'll be happier.
I'm not sure whether or not this would be a good place to ask, but would it be legal now if my character wants to switch his patreon deity to Roidira?As far as I know, she's not listed as a PFS legal deity in any book in the Additional Resources. Which makes sense, both in game and out of game. We don't have her alignment or domains, so how could you choose her as a patron for a cleric or other divine caster? And in game, the events of this adventure make me think that she "left" Golarion, and is no longer accepting worshipers. I think we'd need an AR update or something similar to worship her with mechanical benefits (like Cleric/Paladin spells, etc). But there's nothing to prevent a non-Deity-dependent PC from worshiping her (with no mechanical bennies). My Rahadoumi Spiritualist has actively converted to her worship after this exposure. Roidira is her kind of Goddess! ;-)
Well, it sounds like you've decided that PFS isn't for you, and that's ok. People change. What works for them at one point in their life isn't what works at another point. If you prefer videogames to PFS, that's fine. There's room enough for all kinds of gamers in the world. I wish you all happiness in your future endeavors.
Just sent my submissions in (1 archetype and 1 side quest seed). This'll be my first attempt at publication in nearly 15 years, so let's hope they pass muster!
RIP Lore Warden.
Now to see if there's any way to salvage who my poor LW was as a person and a character....
A quick look at the comment section for the kickstarter does seem to suggest that delays are pretty much what folks have come to expect from Ninja Division. There's certainly enough doubts raised to make me want to take a closer look before putting any of my money on the line. Truth. Soda Pop/Ninja Division's history of poor communication, delayed fulfillment, and non-fulfillment means that I'll be staying far away from that kickstarter. Hopefully Paizo added some kind of penalty clause into their license agreement with NJ to try and keep those problems to a minimum.... Hoping I'm wrong about this.
I really enjoyed my first GenCon! * Being at the same table as much as possible was a huge help! *The use of the overhead projector for general messages was helpful. *Mustering under this or that Iconic is great, but when the banners and standees are all Iconics, and the banner doesn't match the standee, it breeds confusion. Please either make sure that the standees are under their Iconic banner, or move the standees outside the main room. Being told 'muster at Sajan' doesn't help when the Sajan banner is in the center of the room on the right, while the Sajan standee is in the far left corner. When I asked various HQ staff 'Does the mustering mean under the banner or the standee?' I invariably got a deer-in-the-headlights look from the poor volunteer. *I would have appreciated being able to volunteer for more than just one part of the experience. Maybe instead of only being able to select one of PFS, SFS, ACG, PSA, or HQ, enable the form to record multiple selections? I would have happily volunteered for PFS, SFS, and HQ (but not ACG or PSA) if I could; but chose PFS since the form only allowed a single option. Thanks again for making my first GenCon great!
Fun would not be an adjective I would use for this scenario. Sooo..... I've begun to prep this scenario for this weekend. So far, I am really impressed by this. So looking forward to running it! If this is what Season 9 is going to be, we are in for a season-long treat!!! I think I will be providing my players with a slightly spoiler-ish warning. This is not a scenario for murderhobos (thank goodness!). I'll be giving them a 'heads up' warning, advising them to bring PCs with strong skills and RP options, rather than the usual combat wombats. I gave similar warnings for Ungrounded But Unbroken and Bid For Alabastrine, and I think it helped to set expectations, which otherwise might be a problem with these non-standard adventures. Suggestion for other GMs running this:
Instead of simply reading/paraphrasing the visions at the end, consider printing them out, and sharing each vision only with the PC who views it. That way, during the final debriefing there's more RP as PCs share the visions they saw with the other PCs, as well as the NPCs. That way, players will be less likely to skip the RP by just saying, "yeah, we tell her what we saw". Just a thought. It's a shame that this scenario doesn't have a higher rating (right now). I look forward to giving it a very positive review after I've actually run it! I suppose that any scenario that steps outside the box like this one does risks polarizing ratings, though. This is the first time that Katherine Cross's name has come to my attention, but after this, I'll definitely be watching for her work! I love her style!
Seeing that it is not chained vs. unchained LW there probably will be no grandfathering. There is only one Lore Warden and history is they always use the latest printed version. There are two Ringleader Bard archetypes (one in UI and one in AG), and they've gone out of their way to make both of them PFS legal per Additional Resources. That's what I want for Lore Warden. If folks want the new one, great! Let them have it. But keep the old one as well. I have a feeling some didn't like that it outshined the Brawler as the master of maneuvers. I too detected an undercurrent of someone didn't like the LW and had the opportunity to 'fix' it. But if it's difficult to read tone in email and forum posts, it must be doubly difficult to read it in actual published material. So I could easily be misreading the tone.
Exactly. My LW was a person, not a collection of combat maneuvers and attacks. And the person that she was can't exist under the new LW rules. I'd be better off retraining into Slayer, but again, that's not who she is. Adoption of the new LW is effectively murdering one of the people I most enjoyed pretending to be. And that makes me sad. And angry. Not angry at John and the development team. It makes me angry at the Problem Players who have once again made us unable to have nice things. More and more, when I see changes made to mechanics, especially in PFS, they come as a result of Problem Players abusing rules, exploiting loopholes, etc. The problem isn't (usually) in the rules. The problem is the Problem Players who exploit and twist the rules. Changing rules and nerfing beloved options doesn't actually solve anything, since the underlying problem is still in place: the Problem Players who caused the problem in the first place. When a Problem Player's current abuse gets nerfed, he posts a nasty comment on the forums, then promptly moves on to abuse some other mechanic, triggering more complaints about 'broken' mechanics- and the cycle begins again. But all the non-Problem Players have been punished for what the Problem Players have done. The only ones who don't suffer are the ones who caused the problems in the first place. TL;DR
My seeker is a 14th level Lore Warden/Duelist. He will probably only get to play in one scenario a year. How can that be worth the effort of a total rebuilding? He certainly isn't stealing the spotlight from the other seekers. Exactly. My 13.2 LW rarely even makes full attacks or combat maneuvers because I'd rather spend my combat time helping other players do cool things. The old LW was flexible enough that I could do a lot of useful things other than lay out ridiculous amounts of damage every round. If I retrain into the new LW, I lose the entire flavor and flexibility of the character. But I'd be able to lay down even more ridiculous amounts of damage every round. I just don't want to. By making the LW 'less powerful', you have actually increased my damage output while making me unable to do anything but damage. Forcing the change to the LW harms any player who chose the archetype for its flavor and RP, while making it even easier to powergame- which seems to be exactly what the update was trying to avoid. In 20+ years of gaming, I have never requested grandfathering, as I find the process extremely distasteful. I'm asking for grandfathering now.
Folks have given a lot of good advice for handling this issue both IC and OOC. I was going to suggest that instead of asking the problem player what they want done with their PC (since they respond badly to that), instead ask the other players- but the posting of the Other Player somewhat answered that. Somewhat. It seems like the rest of the group is willing to accept or at least tolerate the continued presence of the Problem Player, but it still might be worthwhile to ask the rest of the group specifically how they would like to handle the missing character (not the player). The other thing I'd like to suggest is a book. Stop Walking On Eggshells by Paul Mason and Randi Kreger. It's intended not for people with Borderline Personality Disorder, but for the non-Borderlines who regularly interact with them. Your friend's psychological complications are none of our business, but this book is an excellent read for anyone who regularly deals with... complicated people. Not just Borderlines. Here it is: link.
they hand out business cards with a list of alchemical items created on them, with spots to check off the items as they are used. Players that game with me have started calling them "party favors". Players give me the cards back at games end and I have a list of what items got used. That is an amazing idea. I am *so* stealing that.
It's a responsibility of the Society of they force you to work with Necromancers. If I join the Silver Crusade and want to go help people I'm not under the impression that I would be working with people who outside of PFS I would be killing on sight for creating Undead. Not all Necromancers are evil. Not all Necromancers create undead. And even if they were, simply 'being evil' isn't a good enough reason by itself for killing someone. In every non-PFS game I have ever run, a Paladin killing someone simply because they 'pinged' to Detect Evil would result in instant loss of Paladinhood. Even in a PFS game, if a Paladin killed someone who had 'pinged' but had taken no evil action that the Paladin had witnessed I would warn the player (as required by PFS) that this will be considered an evil act. If they did it anyway, *poof* your Paladin is now an ex-Paladin.I have never seen a PFS scenario where a Paladin's fall was 100% unavoidable. I have never seen a PFS scenario where the mission was impossible to complete successfully without compromising a Paladin. I have seen a (very) few where a Paladin's code might cause them to lose the 2nd prestige, but even those are extremely rare. The PFS developers have been really good about building options for creative responses into the scenarios. It may be more difficult to succeed without the Paladin falling, but it is never impossible. If a Paladin falls from grace during a scenario, it's because s/he either chose the expedient option over the good option, didn't examine all the angles of the situation, or simply wasn't paying attention. It's part of the roleplay of a Paladin. Paladins are 'varsity level RP' for a reason- playing one successfully is playing the game on 'hard mode', but that doesn't mean the Paladin is any less responsible for his consequences. The Society has no more business paying for a Paladin's atonement than it does in raising its members from the dead when they can't afford it, and their party can't/won't help pay for it. Bob is right. Part of the atonement process is owning your own consequences. If anything, I would argue that expecting the Society to cover the cost of Atonement would indicate that the Paladin isn't truly remorseful, and therefore the Atonement would auto-fail.
Hmmmm....
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