Please cancel my AP subscription. Thank you.
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Hi, Diego. Thanks for looking into this, but the email I got just says that this order is still pending?
Please check the status of order 4077055. I pre-ordered the anniversary edition of CotCT in August and have received no notification that it has shipped yet. Additionally, I have not received the PDF. I placed this order in time to get it free and am an AP subscriber. Please tell me when this is going to ship. Thank you.
Just say no. Isn't spending quality time with your son more important than humoring other people?
CotCT. I've run it one and a half times, it's a blast. You don't even need to wait for the updated stats - there's a fan made conversion on d20pfsrd. Here.
What sort of medium are you looking at playing in? There are several virtual table tops, as well as playing over forums, IM, email, you name it. All mediums have their pros and cons. Generally speaking, I find playing over text to be more immersive. On the other hand, most people don't treat online gaming like a true commitment.
Hero points for truly outstanding RP. I try to do a write up of every session and point out something good each player did, though. I think a little encouragement goes a long way.
Being filthy rich has never stopped anyone from working before. Just look at all the rich CEOs out there.
There are some 3PP. I can think of about 5 off hand, so I'm sure there's probably more.
What does the paladin bring to the group that furthers the groups overall goals? "Guys, if we want the paladin to cooperate so we can do X, we should consider mothballing the skulls. Otherwise, the lawful good paladin probably won't work with us and may work against us. This is kind of like asking a druid for help and resurrecting them in a hunting lodge full of deer busts." Offer a compromise. Perhaps limiting the morbid decor to private or lesser tracked areas?
Mods, is it possible to get a sticky for this thread, please?
Depends on the monster and the group. My group currently has a skills monkey that never uses her knowledge skills and only seems to use them under duress/ prompting/ both, so I'll probably be a bit more generous until I get her in the habit of using her knowledge skills. And if some monsters are more common, I give a bit more information. I'd probably tell a lot more about an imp than I would a chain devil.
We Be Goblins has a few sequels (I think we're up to WBG3?), so you can probably get 3-6 sessions out of the entire line. I can't say this enough: run something that excites you. Not something that you're mildly interested in. Not something that you're ambivalent about. Something that you could corner someone at a party and babble about near the punch-bowl while they nervously try to make an escape. Your players experience the material once in the 4-8 hours you play a game. You are living with the material for at least twice that long as you prepare and play it.
I don't know if it's because it's late and I'm sleep deprived, but, that's hilarious. Also, PasswordParrot could totally be a thing. Kinda like web browsers that continually ask if they want to store your password for this site.
You're going to need to develop the killer like a character. Who is the killer? Where did he come from? Why kill the player's dad? What does the player think they know? Will it be enough for the PC to kill the killer?
Just started running my second attempt at running CotCT yesterday. At the rate we're tearing through material, I suspect we'll be through by the time this comes out. I'm so happy and so sad! And the new Grey Maiden dungeon! *makes grabby hands*
Has it been announced?
Urban campaign and maybe look up some solo adventures for ideas? I've always found that it's easier to scale up and down.
If you ask the group if they're okay with a betrayal plot line, you're going to run into someone who really isn't okay with it, but, doesn't want to pee in someone else's Cheerios. If a betrayal plot line were allowed, I'd probably quit the game and I probably wouldn't game with you or him again. It has nothing to do with my maturity level, I just do not like that sort of gaming. I've dealt with enough petty backstabbing BS IRL that I don't want to deal with it in my fun pretendy times. And yes, I have played in an evil campaign that lasted for well over a year. We kept a list of the various crimes the party committed and it was probably at least 1-2 pages long, with multiple counts of some crimes. The characters may have been evil, but, they recognized the value in working together to achieve a goal. The main sense I'm getting from this guy is that he doesn't want to play a RPG - he wants to play a video game, where his feelings are the only ones that matter. I'm seeing nothing from the way that you describe this guy that suggests he can remotely handle evil.
Regarding 7, I've actually seen a monster similar to that on d20pfsrd - the Zombie Horde. It sounds like the OP used a smaller Zombie Horde, though.
Try not to get overwhelmed. You don't have to create the whole world. When your players say they'd prefer not to get involved in an AP, what is it about AP's that they don't like?
Technically, in the best of world, survivors should put a bit of party cash aside for the new guy, but we play a pirate campaign where this may or may not happen.... I played in an Evil campaign that did just that. Why? We're evil; not stupid. It is within the party's interests to make sure that their new cohort is capable of preforming effectively. Being an adventurer is, by and large, a team sport. Does that mean that our evil characters all loved one another? No. But, at the end of the day, our collective evil goals were furthered if the tank could take a few more hits, the rogue was sneakier, the mage had better spells and the cleric was just a bit wiser.
Give them stilts! Oh. Not the shortness you were talking about.
Agree with this. A player can ask to make a Perception/ Sense Motive roll at any time and roll it. I make Perception/ Sense Motive rolls for the players when they don't know they even need them.
The fact of the matter is that it doesn't sound like the PC's have enough information to decide whether or not it's an evil act. Evil lies in the motivations of the individual. All the PC knows is that there are 7 sleeping guild members, and the head of the guild is a bad person. Sure, maybe some of the sleepers are bad people. Maybe some of the sleepers were coerced into joining the guild. Maybe some sleepers are actively working to change it from within. Given your phrasing, it doesn't even sound like the PCs know for sure that these are members of the guild. Fact of the matter is that the sleepers present no clear and immediate danger. That makes killing them evil. If the sleepers were tied up and awake and the party decided to kill them, that would be evil, also, because they are killing defenseless people. The law has a word for people who kill other people who are not presenting an immediate threat to themselves or an innocent party: murder.
If you're using roll20, some of the issues you're having with not remembering buffs and debuffs can be fixed by using the aura function on a token for the paladin's aura or by putting a debuff sticker on one of the tokens. When prepping for a game, I use the crap out of tokens. I load up their HP and their touch AC and regular AC. I use the DM's note function to quickly access init, saves and special attacks and stat blocks. It sounds like I use the tokens the way Charlie Bell uses sticky notes. Players can't hear you? Stop using music and sound effects, or at least don't use it as much. Play one song for an intro, then that's it. Pare down to the max you can handle. Delegate out that other crap.
I'm not sure what the OP wants the GM to do?
Bonus points if you can set up a situation where the cleric in question uses duplicity to deceive someone into killing a follower or lower level priest of Gorrum.
Any suggestions for a module that deals with defending a city? I am aware that Rise of the Runelords book 5 deals with that, but, I'd like to avoid that since I want to run RotRL one day. I am open to any system or publisher that deals with defending a city from an assault, as I can convert most systems to Pathfinder with a little work. Curse of the Crimson Throne spoiler: My players wiped on Vreeg. They seem fairly cavalier about their deaths, saying, "Oh, well, the next party will probably be hired to find out what happened to this party." I would like to avoid that scenario and teach them that what they do has an effect on the world, even their deaths effect the world.
To that end, I am considering having the Shoanti declare war on Korvosa for failing to return Gekken's body in a timely matter. I think the queen would encourage war, and possibly use it in conjunction with Sabor's "execution" to stir up more riots within Korvosa.
I'd talk to the friend outside of game time and ask if they're actually interested in playing. "I've noticed that you spend a lot of time on your phone. Is there something we can do to make the game more engaging for you?"
Be extremely careful with using items from a generator. It's generally a good idea for a GM to know what s/he is potentially introducing into a campaign. Make sure that you're going to be ok with the PC's potentially having whatever item you draw from the generator.
I have never met *any* rule system, regardless of how much or how little bloat is involved in the rule system, that I have not changed. I have house ruled everything from Monopoly to D&D. The rules have to work for you, you don't work for the rules. As the DM, you don't have to allow every book ever published. I suggest, instead, putting together a list of books you do allow and opening everything else up subject to review and negotiation. The list of books you do allow can be as short or as long as you like. Agreeing with what Brother Fen said above me. Every game is a delicate dance between the player and the GM. The players want to kill things efficiently. Part of your job as GM is to be aware of what abilities your players have at their disposal and what their tactics are and adjust accordingly.
Even using the idea of pre-rolled player perception/ sense motive checks, I was still under the impression that the player could roll either whenever they feel like it. I agree with Cuup; always roll a Bluff roll whenever the players ask for a sense motive check, even if the NPC is on the up and up. Otherwise, it's a faint form of railroading, because you, the GM, are heavily implying that players should be reacting in certain ways ("Believe the guards because I said so!" as opposed to, "The guard is believable and this is why," and letting the PCs make their own judgements.)
Agreeing with Hazrond's B. If word of monsters impersonating nobles got out, the city would be in a panic. The mere rumor of monsters impersonating nobles would cause the city to shut down. No one would go to market any more. No one would trust authority and the rule of law would decay. You're looking at a huge financial and social impact. I question the guards being none too happy about the coup-de-gras. Sure, they killed an innocent guy..... until the part where his body reverted into that of a faceless stalker. The guards, none of whom were killed, come to and find themselves with evidence on their hands that the PC's were right. I'd have the PC's re-arrested or approached by someone on the police force (perhaps one of the guards they knocked out) who agrees not to arrest them provided they help the police get to the bottom of the matter. Maybe the guard who approaches them has some serious concerns about one of her superiors acting strangely (whether that is a red herring, the boss is a face shifter or a member of the B7 is up to you), which is why they are hesitant to peruse the matter themselves.
No plan survives contact with the players. That especially includes AP's. On the other hand, I've found that a focused small group can really tear through some material. My CotCT group with two people will finish book 1 in four 5 hour long gaming sessions, and I actually added in some content (I wrote a fair for the introduction and added in St. Casperian's from Skull and Shackles). On the other hand, I also use a "I tell you when you level up" method of handing out XP, instead of giving XP for every spider squished and kobold killed. I've found that tends to encourage diplomatic and stealthy solutions which take less time. Every game, especially including AP's, have to have some level of DM-fiat. I've cut encounters short when we were running low on time and wanted to get to a good stopping point or when I felt that I was losing player interest. I've also added in content or substituted content from other AP's/ publishers/ etc when what was written didn't appeal to me or the group. The key is to find the bullet points that need to be conveyed in order to move the plot along and convey them in an entertaining manner. That doesn't mean sticking to the AP at all costs.
There may be a potential to do something storywise with that, since a faerie dragon that we met just told her that she didn't "smell human". Of course she doesn't smell human, she smells horse! What can I do to have some sort of quirk or spark beyond being a goody two shoes nurturer of other people's dreams? There's a role playing direction to take. Ep develops a bit of a back bone and learns how to advocate for herself. You can't be a nurturer if you don't nurture yourself. Any way Ep can get herself instated as the manager of the halfling hirelings?
Also, while not an AP, Crypt of the Everflame is a good choice. It has two follow-up modules that will take you to level 5 (the Price of Immortality) series.
Curse of the Crimson Throne is actually fairly tame. Spoiler:
I haven't read books 5 or 6 lately and depending on the maturity of your group, may need a light tone down (book 5 is undead heavy, book 6 involves some creepy rituals and a grizzly death or two). I'd also remove references to the Queen being referred to as a whore and possibly turn the Queen's seduction of Venster into her simply convincing him. Maybe remove the scarring of the Grey Maidens. Overall, I really don't think you'd have to do any major rewriting to make it PG.
Look, I love running games from published materials. I probably would have never DMed (or, these days, have the time for DMing) if it weren't for all the wonderful people out there who publish adventures/ modules/ etc. That being said, running a game from published materials is a very different animal from running a totally reactive game. The players don't really have free will. However, you really have to give them the illusion of free will. That means you have to persuade them to do what you want them to do. You have to let them think they have the opportunity to foil your evil plans. Honestly, the players should be getting perception checks for some of these things. They should be getting perception checks to see if they're followed by urchins as opposed to just being followed. The difference is that they are receiving the information as opposed to being told the information. Going back to the beggar/ cabbage opportunity, I would have role played out someone with cabbage bumping into them. I might have even asked them to roll a perception check to notice someone putting cabbage on them. If the players make the roll, role play from there. ("What are you doing?" Cabbage vendor, awkwardly, "Oh, sorry, sir, I was, uh, trying to wipe this cabbage off of you." "No, you weren't, you were putting it on me! It's a poison! (player rolls some sort of check to identify that it is in fact, cabbage) "Why are you doing this?" (player rolls an intimidate check. If they make the check, they get basically the same information they would have gotten from the bum.) You can't run every encounter exactly as written. You have to figure out what the take away is (in this case, the take away is that someone is stalking them and investing money into messing with their heads). Does it have the same dramatic effect as being accosted by the beggar bum? Maybe not, but, it lets players interact more with the scene than being plotted at. The end result is still the same. The thing with perception checks is that sometimes you can't really straight up ask for a perception check without tipping your hand that there is something to be perceived. So ask them to roll a straight D20. You should have a copy of everyone's character sheet, so you can apply the modifiers. Sometimes, I ask my players to roll random dice just to keep them on their toes.
Snopes has a long article on why ground glass isn't a poison. I'm guessing that the players want the dog to instantly die quietly. I glanced over the alchemical items list on d20pfsrd and the closest I think they might to their desired effect, if they don't have any other poisons is arsenic, which probably also doesn't immanently work.
I've been playing over Skype for about 5 years, off and on, and playing MMO's with various voice servers for about 10 years. The big question is whether or not you want to do video chat, you'll have to upgrade to Skype premium in order to do group video chats. In my five years playing over voice online, I can say that the video chats add nothing to the experience for me. Voice only is honestly just fine. Skype can be a bit of a crap shoot. Other options you might want to look into include Ventrilo (depending on the server, I've had really good luck with Vent's stability and connectivity), Dolby Axon (also good for stability and connectivity), Teamspeak (a bit iffier than the other two, but, still serviceable). Roll20 also includes voice and video services. I haven't used them in a few years, so I can't really speak to them. Roll20 is really easy to set up and use, except for their artwork search function, which these days seems to mostly pull up premium assets. The reveal tool kind of sucks, but, that's a GM problem, not a player problem. Overall connectivity is good.
I'd treat it on a case by case basis depending on what the description of the counteracting magic and possibly the relationships between the scryer and scryee. My default would probably be, "You see nothing." If the scryer and scryee have a relationship, I would tailor it, "You see a fog in the shape of a middle finger extended in your general direction." "You see a large yellow smiley face obstructing your view."
Just wanted to say thank you to everyone who put up community made maps, especially angelroble and MrVergee. The maps work great on roll20. Thank you so much.
The Paladin fell because Chuck's Hoagie's House o' Ribs 'n Steak special is faerie jerky. The Paladin joins a book club.
Unfortunately, this sort of situation happens some times. I would curtail the dungeon, then ask everyone what they want out of the role playing experience. More role playing? World exploration? More story line? You aren't going to get what you want (appreciation, acknowledgement, player enjoyment) out of this scenario. Forcing them to appreciate your dungeon usually has the opposite effect.
Expanding on what Brother Fen said, sometimes, I find it's a lot easier to GM for people that I'm not friends with. It's easier not to take everything so personally and I find that I prioritize things I want to run because I like them over things I think my friends would think are cool.
I honestly think this sort of character gen works best for limited term games. I once played in a 2nd AD&D campaign where we rolled 3d6, arrange as you like, and those were your stats. It really wasn't fun to be the single person whose highest stat was 14. It was even less fun when another player rolled an array with nothing lower than a 15 and two 18s. It was super less fun when you consider that we were expected to play this game long term. And for more less fun topping on the less fun cake, I really wanted to play a druid and didn't even qualify for that class with those stats (the GM wound up letting me play a druid with those horrid stats after I threatened to bow out). In another game (with a point buy system), someone created a 3 CHA character. That character was not fun for the rest of the group. My long winded point is that characters with "interesting" stats can be fun for brief periods of time, I'd be very hesitant about making people play them for long periods of time.
First, you're not in the spotlight. Well, you are, but, I find it helps to think of it as not being THE STAR. The players are THE STARS. I'm the director/ stage engineer/ lighting team. It's not about you. It's about them. Second, dead air is not a horrible thing. I don't know about you, but, I tend to get nervous if someone isn't talking all the time and I start babbling. It's okay to let the silence go. I take a deep breath and count to 10 before I break the silence. I've never had to break the silence. Third, make a ruling and make a note of it. Research it after the game. Don't halt the game to go on a all intensive rules hunt. That just bores everyone. Make the best ruling you can, let the players make ONE counter argument, then roll with it. After the game, feel free to discuss it (civilly, if possible) with other players or someone else more knowledgeable than you. Next week, before game starts, bring it up, briefly go over what happened and why you changed your mind. Good luck!
Thanks for posting the update. I'm sorry that things didn't work out well. Good luck with whatever direction you decide to go in next.
I'm sorry, there's too little information to go on here. Why does the Anti-pal have to die? Is the GM just sick of inter-party strife? How do the other players feel about Anti-pal? Honestly, I have to agree with Ms. Pleiades. You are far better off talking to the player away from the table and explaining what behavior needs to stop for whatever reasons. In the end, if it comes down to it, the party should just leave Anti-pal while he's sleeping and have that player roll a new character. Then, I'd use Anti-pal as one of the BBEG's or the BBEG's top lieutenants. |