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Please fill out RPG Chronicles and enter your information on the Slides (both will be linked above) prior to the start of Gameday on September 8th. Any GM Glyphs to share, or anything else I should know about your character before we begin? Feel free to start introducing your characters in the Gameplay thread.
This game is part of Outpost VII. Don't sign up here--sign up here first! Any GM Glyphs to share?
In the event that a player is expected for more than 24 hours in combat or another situation where we're waiting on that person, I will bot that character. I will not use any consumable resources unless asked. If you'd like to share some bot instructions, please include them in your profile! On the Slides (linked in the header), you'll find space to add your character information and token and to set a general marching order.
Make sure there's a character sheet accessible in your profile.
Paizo Handle:
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 3-4. In the jungles of the Mwangi Expanse, a large group of Pathfinders stands ready to travel beyond a magical gateway whose mysteries stymied a group of the Pathfinder Society's founders. What lies beyond the doorway is also the crux of the plot of an ancient evil fey, the Thorned Monarch. Will the Pathfinders unlock lost fey magic, restore buried secrets from the Society's history, and purge the world of the Monarch's evil, or will they fall before the fey's minions and tricks?
Paizo Handle:
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–4 (subtiers 1–2 and 3–4). Swindler, rogue, and occasional Pathfinder ally Guaril Karela has approached the Society with an opportunity that Valais Durant, the leader of the Society's Radiant Oath faction, can't refuse. Guaril has been charging refugees to sneak them out of Xin Edasseril, a city ruled by the Runelord of Envy, and now it looks like Guaril won't be able to fulfill his contracts. Society agents are charged with sneaking into the dangerous city and sneaking out with a handful of its citizens before their absence is noticed so that the Radiant Oath can help them find new lives beyond their current ruler's tyrannical reach.
Player Name:
A Starfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 7-10. During a routine investigation on the false moon of Salvation's End, the PCs encounter an emissary from the vault's mysterious guiding intelligence. Directed to stop an ongoing invasion of another vault, the PCs find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict that could determine the fate of the false moon. Only through the PCs' actions can the machinations of the mysterious Vault Lord be halted.
My goal is for you to have fun while playing a balanced Pathfinder Society game. Please review the below, which covers some special rules for the special as well as my expectations as a GM.
About Champion Mode This event has two difficulties: Soldier and Champion. Soldier is slightly more challenging than a typical Pathfinder Society special event. Champion is this scenario’s “hard mode,” with increased challenge throughout. As usual for scenarios with increased difficulty, all players at the table must agree to that difficulty. Players who begin in Champion Mode who find the challenges too great can choose to switch to Soldier Mode. This is a Soldier table. Aid Characters There are two kinds of character you can play during the special: a Primary Character (the PC who personally faces the scenario’s encounters and earns a Chronicle sheet at the end of the scenario), and an Aid Character, who helps with tasks and AiD Tokens throughout. A player can designate up to 3 of their PCs of 5th level or higher as Aid Characters. Aid Characters must be different PCs from the Primary Character (the character playing the special). The player does not need all of their Chronicle sheets for their Aid Characters—they only need the Aid Character’s most recently earned Chronicle sheet. The only information from this sheet that is relevant is the Aid Character’s name, number, and level. The Chronicle sheet is also a place to record whether anything bad happens to the Aid Character in the course of the scenario. Note that all risks Aid Characters take are opt-in. Aid Characters have two functions in this scenario: to generate Aid Tokens, and to provide support in Aid Missions that occur during the adventure. When the player designates a character as an Aid Character, the player chooses one of the following roles and assigns the character to that role. Each table may assign up to 5 Aid Characters to each role. This restriction represents the expedition’s need for agent to take on a balanced variety of roles, and also helps to ensure that there are enough Aid Characters of each type to succeed at Aid Missions. Your Aid Characters cannot participate in other Pathfinder Society adventures while in the Siege, and risks death. A character’s class and character build does not dictate what roles he can take, though players are likely to want to pick roles that fit with their characters’ themes. If a player does not have 3 Aid Characters available, she can fill any remaining slots with generic 4th-level NPC Pathfinders of any role. These 4th-level NPCs are less likely to succeed than PC Aid Characters at all tasks, but they give all players a way to participate in this scenario’s mechanics. The descriptions below give some examples of the types of routine tasks that Aid Characters in each role perform during the mission, but these characters also perform heroic actions when they grant Aid Tokens or attempt Aid Missions. Guard: The combat encounters detailed in this scenario are handled by the Primary Characters, but there is still plenty of danger to deal with. A character assigned to this role helps provide security for the expedition. Characters in this role drive off minor threats that crop up, protect the rear of the expedition, and generally ensure the mission can continue unhindered. Medic: Most of the healing resources in the expedition are wielded by the Primary Characters for the benefit of further advancing the mission, but the Aid Characters are likely to need healing too. An Aid Character assigned to this role treats wounds, cares for the bodies of the fallen, and dispenses medical supplies. Muscle: Moving what is effectively a small army into hostile terrain is a challenging task. A character assigned to this role helps move heavy objects, clears passageways, and transports equipment. Scout: Little is known about the Gallowgarden and the areas below Gallowspire, and what information does exist is often inaccurate. A character assigned to this role roams ahead of the main expedition, learning what threats are present and giving advice on how best to navigate them. Spellcaster: The sheer number of Pathfinders on this mission presents a heavy demand for spellcasting, particularly spells that can protect agents from harm or remove conditions that they incur. Spellcasters meet up with Pathfinder agents between battles, helping prepare them for the dangers ahead. They may have their own innate spellcasting ability, or they might carry an arsenal of magic items for this purpose. Aid Tokens In this scenario, Aid Tokens work a bit differently from in past scenarios. Instead of having generic Aid Tokens that PCs can improve with their skills, each Aid Token represents the efforts of a specific Aid Character. Each Aid Character role is associated with a specific benefit that Aid Character in that role can provide. After the players assign Aid Characters to roles, the Table GM should place the Aid Token Reference Sheet on the table, which details all of these benefits (Handout will be put on Slides after we assign). Table GMs should also distribute 3 Aid Tokens to each player, corresponding to their Aid Characters’ roles (see above). The player can then write in each of their Aid Characters’ names on the Aid Tokens. For the 4th-level NPC Pathfinders, players can invent names, or just write “Pathfinder.” At this time, each player has the opportunity to commit any number of their PC Aid Characters to a more challenging, heroic task. This task provides greater benefits, but it also introduces a risk that the Aid Character may come to harm and therefore be unable to help out during later opportunities in this scenario. Tasks are particularly difficult for lower-level Aid Characters, who are likely to be injured in the process. The 4th-level NPC Pathfinders are unwilling to attempt the heroic tasks. My Table Expectations Post Frequency Be ready to post at least once a day.
Maturity and communicativeness go a long way! Please post here or in any supplemental channels, the group decides to use. Botting Include botting instructions in your profile. If you have a preference for who runs your character, write that down too. If you or your preferred botter have not posted in more than 24 hours, I will bot your character to keep the game moving. Marching Order & Maps To speed things up I ask the group for a marching order at the beginning of the adventure. Unless otherwise noted I will begin your PCs on the map in this order, where the scenario says to. Initiative I will roll all Initiative checks for PCs and NPCs, sort them, and organize them into blocks. I will bold the names of characters whose turn it is to act. I will include status of HP, etc. When it is your turn to act, post. Do not wait for someone else to post just because they had a higher Initiative inside your initiative block. If you know what you want to do but want to wait for someone else’s action first, just say that. To encourage timely posting and avoid unnecessary delays, I will retroactively include bonuses where it makes sense for allies who are in the same initiative block, even if one player posts before getting that bonus. For example, if a fighter posts right before the bard, and the bard always Inspires Courage, I will include the inspire bonus in the fighter's attack and damage rolls even though the player didn't do so. Where possible, I will update initiatives and note the bonuses each player is receiving. Rolling Saves When asked to roll a save, it must always be the first dice roll on your next post. If you do not do this, I will roll the save for your PC. Character Taglines & Profiles Put your character's gender (so we know which pronouns to use), race (so we know what we see), class (optional) and their status in the fields labeled "Race" and "Class." Status usually means current/maximum hit points, ACs, Saving Throws witj modifiers, Spells or spell slots, and other resources. The status tagline might look like something this (copy/pasted from my oracle) — note that I have not only included spell slots and spell-likes, also important consumables (albeit abbreviated) such as the once-a-day mnemonic vestments and the character's current disguise (which might have an impact on how NPCs interact with them):
In your character profile, please include the complete stat block as well, so the GM can audit your character. Be prepared to scan or take pictures of any chronicle sheets or boons upon request. Chronicle Information In order to be able to generate a PFS chronicle, I ask that each character please provide me the following information here, in the discussion thread. I would also like you to provide the names and numbers of all Aid Characters, along with a link to their profile. You can fill in the Aid character info piecemeal, just as long as it's there. Player Name:
Rules Questions and OOC Information Please post rules questions in the discussion thread. Try not to interrupt the flow of gameplay. Don’t hesitate to correct me if I make a mistake and/or PM me.
Chronicle : What chronicle number will this be for your character?
Purchases: Any purchases you wish to make from your initial funds, before the start of the game.
Please introduce yourself in gameplay. Please also add an icon for your character to the first page of the map. Ideally this will be the same as the one you post with. Taken from GM Aerondor
In order to retrieve valuable resources necessary to repair the Wayfinders' flagship, the PCs follow-up on another team's investigative mission to a long-abandoned Starfinder Society lodge on a world in the Vast. Finding the lodge submerged and already partially flooded, the PCs quickly realize they are far from alone in the depths of the distant world's ocean. Scenario Tags: Faction (Wayfinders)
Chronicle : What chronicle number will this be for your character?
Purchases: Any purchases you wish to make from your initial funds, before the start of the game.
Please introduce yourself in gameplay. Please also add an icon for your character to the first page of the map. Ideally this will be the same as the one you post with. Taken from GM Aerondor
Recovering from its recent trials in the Scoured Stars, the Starfinder Society finds itself the target of a vicious media smear campaign. To combat this unexpected threat, the Society sends a group of agents to build up some standing in the Pact Worlds by taking part in a series of televised events orchestrated by the undead media mogul, Zo!. What these heroic agents don't know, is that their competition is willing to do whatever it takes to stop them from restoring the Society's tattered image. Scenario Tags: Faction (Acquisitives)
My goal is for you to have fun while playing a balanced Pathfinder Society game. Please review the below, which covers some special rules for the special as well as my expectations as a GM.
About Champion Mode This event has two difficulties: Soldier and Champion. Soldier is slightly more challenging than a typical Pathfinder Society special event. Champion is this scenario’s “hard mode,” with increased challenge throughout. As usual for scenarios with increased difficulty, all players at the table must agree to that difficulty. Players who begin in Champion Mode who find the challenges too great can choose to switch to Soldier Mode. This is a Soldier table. Aid Characters There are two kinds of character you can play during the special: a Primary Character (the PC who personally faces the scenario’s encounters and earns a Chronicle sheet at the end of the scenario), and an Aid Character, who helps with tasks and AiD Tokens throughout. A player can designate up to 3 of their PCs of 5th level or higher as Aid Characters. Aid Characters must be different PCs from the Primary Character (the character playing the special). The player does not need all of their Chronicle sheets for their Aid Characters—they only need the Aid Character’s most recently earned Chronicle sheet. The only information from this sheet that is relevant is the Aid Character’s name, number, and level. The Chronicle sheet is also a place to record whether anything bad happens to the Aid Character in the course of the scenario. Note that all risks Aid Characters take are opt-in. Aid Characters have two functions in this scenario: to generate Aid Tokens, and to provide support in Aid Missions that occur during the adventure. When the player designates a character as an Aid Character, the player chooses one of the following roles and assigns the character to that role. Each table may assign up to 5 Aid Characters to each role. This restriction represents the expedition’s need for agent to take on a balanced variety of roles, and also helps to ensure that there are enough Aid Characters of each type to succeed at Aid Missions. Your Aid Characters cannot participate in other Pathfinder Society adventures while in the Siege, and risks death. A character’s class and character build does not dictate what roles he can take, though players are likely to want to pick roles that fit with their characters’ themes. If a player does not have 3 Aid Characters available, she can fill any remaining slots with generic 4th-level NPC Pathfinders of any role. These 4th-level NPCs are less likely to succeed than PC Aid Characters at all tasks, but they give all players a way to participate in this scenario’s mechanics. The descriptions below give some examples of the types of routine tasks that Aid Characters in each role perform during the mission, but these characters also perform heroic actions when they grant Aid Tokens or attempt Aid Missions. Guard: The combat encounters detailed in this scenario are handled by the Primary Characters, but there is still plenty of danger to deal with. A character assigned to this role helps provide security for the expedition. Characters in this role drive off minor threats that crop up, protect the rear of the expedition, and generally ensure the mission can continue unhindered. Medic: Most of the healing resources in the expedition are wielded by the Primary Characters for the benefit of further advancing the mission, but the Aid Characters are likely to need healing too. An Aid Character assigned to this role treats wounds, cares for the bodies of the fallen, and dispenses medical supplies. Muscle: Moving what is effectively a small army into hostile terrain is a challenging task. A character assigned to this role helps move heavy objects, clears passageways, and transports equipment. Scout: Little is known about the Gallowgarden and the areas below Gallowspire, and what information does exist is often inaccurate. A character assigned to this role roams ahead of the main expedition, learning what threats are present and giving advice on how best to navigate them. Spellcaster: The sheer number of Pathfinders on this mission presents a heavy demand for spellcasting, particularly spells that can protect agents from harm or remove conditions that they incur. Spellcasters meet up with Pathfinder agents between battles, helping prepare them for the dangers ahead. They may have their own innate spellcasting ability, or they might carry an arsenal of magic items for this purpose. Aid Tokens In this scenario, Aid Tokens work a bit differently from in past scenarios. Instead of having generic Aid Tokens that PCs can improve with their skills, each Aid Token represents the efforts of a specific Aid Character. Each Aid Character role is associated with a specific benefit that Aid Character in that role can provide. After the players assign Aid Characters to roles, the Table GM should place the Aid Token Reference Sheet on the table, which details all of these benefits (Handout will be put on Slides after we assign). Table GMs should also distribute 3 Aid Tokens to each player, corresponding to their Aid Characters’ roles (see above). The player can then write in each of their Aid Characters’ names on the Aid Tokens. For the 4th-level NPC Pathfinders, players can invent names, or just write “Pathfinder.” At this time, each player has the opportunity to commit any number of their PC Aid Characters to a more challenging, heroic task. This task provides greater benefits, but it also introduces a risk that the Aid Character may come to harm and therefore be unable to help out during later opportunities in this scenario. Tasks are particularly difficult for lower-level Aid Characters, who are likely to be injured in the process. The 4th-level NPC Pathfinders are unwilling to attempt the heroic tasks. My Table Expectations Post Frequency Be ready to post at least once a day.
Maturity and communicativeness go a long way! Please post here or in any supplemental channels, the group decides to use. Botting Include botting instructions in your profile. If you have a preference for who runs your character, write that down too. If you or your preferred botter have not posted in more than 24 hours, I will bot your character to keep the game moving. Marching Order & Maps To speed things up I ask the group for a marching order at the beginning of the adventure. Unless otherwise noted I will begin your PCs on the map in this order, where the scenario says to. Initiative I will roll all Initiative checks for PCs and NPCs, sort them, and organize them into blocks. I will bold the names of characters whose turn it is to act. I will include status of HP, etc. When it is your turn to act, post. Do not wait for someone else to post just because they had a higher Initiative inside your initiative block. If you know what you want to do but want to wait for someone else’s action first, just say that. To encourage timely posting and avoid unnecessary delays, I will retroactively include bonuses where it makes sense for allies who are in the same initiative block, even if one player posts before getting that bonus. For example, if a fighter posts right before the bard, and the bard always Inspires Courage, I will include the inspire bonus in the fighter's attack and damage rolls even though the player didn't do so. Where possible, I will update initiatives and note the bonuses each player is receiving. Rolling Saves When asked to roll a save, it must always be the first dice roll on your next post. If you do not do this, I will roll the save for your PC. Character Taglines & Profiles Put your character's gender (so we know which pronouns to use), race (so we know what we see), class (optional) and their status in the fields labeled "Race" and "Class." Status usually means current/maximum hit points, ACs, Saving Throws witj modifiers, Spells or spell slots, and other resources. The status tagline might look like something this (copy/pasted from my oracle) — note that I have not only included spell slots and spell-likes, also important consumables (albeit abbreviated) such as the once-a-day mnemonic vestments and the character's current disguise (which might have an impact on how NPCs interact with them): Gen. Neut. Oracle (they) | HP 56/56 | Init+ 5 | F:+9 R: +9 W: +10 (+18 vs chm/compul.; +12 vs illus/fear/desp.) | AC 21 T 16 F 19 | CMD 14 | Speed 20(30) | M. Bridge: 7/7 | Etern. Hope: 1/1 | Vest. 1/1 | V. Pool: 9/10 | Spells: 1: 6/8 2: 6/8 3: 6/7 4: 3/4 | Current disguise: Vonner Flay, Dogcatcher | Rerolls: 0/1 Active: Siv. Veils, Longstrider, Heroism, 6 Mirror Images, Shld. Faith, Death Ward In your character profile, please include the complete stat block as well, so the GM can audit your character. Be prepared to scan or take pictures of any chronicle sheets or boons upon request. Chronicle Information In order to be able to generate a PFS chronicle, I ask that each character please provide me the following information here, in the discussion thread. I would also like you to provide the names and numbers of all Aid Characters, along with a link to their profile. You can fill in the Aid character info piecemeal, just as long as it's there. Player Name:
Rules Questions and OOC Information Please post rules questions in the discussion thread. Try not to interrupt the flow of gameplay. Don’t hesitate to correct me if I make a mistake and/or PM me.
Please, give me : Player name:
The eldest daughter of the prominent Blakros family is set to wed an influential Hellknight, and the Pathfinder Society is invited to the festivities. Dressed for a wedding befitting royalty, a team of Pathfinders attend the ceremony on behalf of the Decemvirate, but will their presence ultimately strengthen the Society's relationship with the influential Blakroses, or will events at the wedding bring the already tenuous alliance to a breaking point?
Chronicle: What chronicle number will this be for your character?
Purchases: Any purchases you wish to make from your initial funds, before the start of the game.
Please introduce yourself in gameplay. Please also add an icon for your character to the first page of the map. Ideally this will be the same as the one you post with.
Starts August 26th
Chronicle: What chronicle number will this be for your character?
Purchases: Any purchases you wish to make from your initial funds, before the start of the game.
Please introduce yourself in gameplay. Please also add an icon for your character to the first page of the map. Ideally this will be the same as the one you post with.
To make it easy for me to fill in the chronicles, could you please provide for the character you want to credit this to... Chronicle: What chronicle number will this be for your character?
Purchases: Any purchases you wish to make from your initial funds, before the start of the game.
Please introduce yourself in gameplay. Please also add an icon for your character to the first page of the map. Ideally this will be the same as the one you post with.
Dot here
You have been summoned to the Grand Lodge in Absalom.
Please put your character's info here Player Name:
Each of you received the same missive directing you to the Grand Lodge in Absalom. These messages were hand-delivered by couriers to wherever you were in the world. As each of you arrives at the grounds of the Grand Lodge, you’re informed that Marcos Farabellus, the Master of Swords, awaits at the Wall of Names. As you arrives at the Wall of Names, you spot Farabellus pacing the length of the wall, inspecting the names inscribed upon it with grim solemnity. By the time you approaches, Farabellus nears the end of the wall, and the most recent inscriptions.
Let's discuss here :)
To make my life easier when it comes to filling in chronicles, if you could each put in a single post with: Chronicle: What chronicle number this is for the character
The Mendevian Crusade draws heavily on the Pathfinder Society’s resources, and unless the Decemvirate can secure the assistance of generous patrons, the society may not have sufficient capital both to fight off the demonic invasion and to prepare its expedition to a lost historical site within the Worldwound. Upon hearing that the daughter of an eminent and wealthy of citizen of Sauerton has gone missing, the Pathfinders rush to her aid in the hope of earning her father’s goodwill and support in upcoming endeavors.
Hi, fellow DM I just finish running the Midnight Mirror module. Spoiler:
All players except for one survive but they let escape the other BBEG who just kill Anya and Stepan. They manage to save the boy and after discovering the truth about the "true heir" decide to let him become the next Baron Boroi. So, how can I manage the result in PFS ? I think they all earn their 3 XP, but I think they don't deserve their 4 PA. Can I gave only 2 PA for this module, or 3 or 1 ? The guide doesn't gave any answer to my thought ...
(...) Keep in mind you may still only perform the free action on your turn, so even if your animal wins initiative, it's not going to automatically do what you want before can you order it. This sentence on the newest PFS blog make me think at a rule question I just asked on the Rules messageboard, here. Can I, in PFS, make a free action as part of an AoO ? I know that no FAQ answered this question, but what's your opinion on this topic fellow MJ ?
Yesterday, during a PFS session, I had an argument with a player on the fact that I can use the grab hability (which is a free action) of a monster as part of its AoO. I know that the only free action you can do - when it's not your turn - is speaking a short sentence.
Free Action: Free actions consume a very small amount of time and effort. You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally Make me think that I was right to do that (using a free action as a part of another action which is an AoO). But when I searched this messagebord for an obvious answer (and may be an official), I found only speculation and hot debate. So I was wondering if I was wrong or not. Did somebody have an official answer / ruling which can close this argument between my player and I ? Or it's a DM call ?
Hi everybody, Hello, I have a question for the imp as a "companion animal". The PrC Diabolist give an Imp as companion animal with the level from PrC and the class. But this Companion Imp is still a creature of the Devil, outsider, Evil and Law types ? If it is, he gain all the benefits and drawbacks of theses types of creature right ? (immunity to fire and poison, see in darkness and others) If not what type of creature is it ? Only outsider or a mix between outsider and an animal ? Thanks for yours answers
Hi everybody, I live in Paris, France and my local retailer can't sell me your fantastic miniatures from wizkids for the simple reason that noone distribute them in France. So my question is, for me and my local retailer : Where can I command or find these miniatures in France or in Europe ? Thanks for your answer
Hi everybody During one of our session my Asmodeus Cleric wanted to use its channel negative energy against Vermin (in this case some Spider).
My question is : Is the daze effect of this variant channeling a mind affecting effect or some Negative Energy effect of the channeling ? Thanks for your answer.
After 9 months of working on this, I'm so excited for folks to finally get to play it! Plus it's a huge thrill to see Nathan and Laura voicing some of the characters. :) Hope you all enjoy it! Having played the pilot multiple times and been a beta tester for the premium episodes, I can confidently say that your script is the best part of this game. I love the color and detail you've added to the world of Starfinder, and can't wait to play the full version!
My guess is that this is an Amazon restriction, not a Paizo one. Especially since there was not a simultaneous rollout even for the English-speaking countries. There are also things like royalties and licensing to consider, which might differ depending on what country the user is in.
Rather than using the massive damage rule as the trigger for what causes an injury, I'm planning to make it so if someone gets a natural 20, and then confirms the critical with another natural 20, they have to roll on the table. Should be rare enough to be exciting, while also being possible to happen at low levels.
Indeed. I just scoured the blogs to see if I could find it. Found it in... the playtest armour blog. ;-)And for anyone who can answer this, what is the design behind the AC? Is that a suit of armor? A shield? I can't tell.I believe it's from an existing piece of art, but I can't remember which. I feel like it would have been a good idea to use something a bit more recognizable as the backdrop. A nice, basic heater shield shape, for example would work well and be instantly recognizable.
I'm afraid I have to agree with most of the people here who don't like the new sheet. The color version is way too busy. It's one thing for the sheet to pop, but all the bright colors draw the eye away from the important bits, which is what the player actually writes on the sheet! I'm also miffed that there seem to be boxes for everything. That's helpful for knowing where to put stuff, but it also makes it very hard to be flexible. Even if there were a "misc" box to put stuff that didn't go elsewhere, that would help. But I'm in the camp that thinks character sheets should be a bit messy. There should be room to write in that your character has a +2 to bash open doors because she rolled nat 20s on three consecutive door-bashings and everyone decided she's somehow an expert at it. Or the extra feat that her god granted her after she did a particularly great service. Or a place to write the name of that one NPC in the margin who sold the PC her sword. Having lots of little boxes for everything makes it hard to go "outside the box" (literally!) and also looks intimidating for a new player. I also find that having a big blank space to write in class features/feats is much better than a bunch of little narrow boxes. Some things take up way more room to describe than others, and for most characters, you will never get up to level 20 anyway. I'd much rather just have a big blank column labeled "Class Feats" and let the player choose how much to write there (or not).
Looks great! My only nitpick is that it comes with 18 PC magnets but only 4 condition trackers. It seems like it would be more useful to have, say, 8 PCs and 14 conditions. Since having multiple PCs with multiple conditions is something that often happens, but it's quite rare to have a Pathfinder table with more than 7 PCs.
In Monopoly, every player but the winner has to eventually sit out while everyone else continues to play. There's a reason why Monopoly isn't the game of choice for most of us here. Personally, it's a big pet peeve of mine when I get taken out in an RPG, either by death or by some kind of "save or lose your turns" effect. If my character gets killed, petrified, or even stunned for 1 minute, then I'm going to have to sit out for the next hour or two until the combat is over and the Party can fix the problem. That's not fun. Heck, I *vastly* prefer getting Dominated and ordered to kill my party than getting stunned or paralyzed, because then I at least still get to play!
I'm fairly certain that one of the larger surveys covered the idea of tying damage to level instead of items. If you want that change (or want to make your voice heard in the other direction), I highly suggest taking that survey of you haven't already. I think you're spot on. I picked "Extremely True", specifically because I'd read the discussions on these boards and figured that was what they were trying to ask about. But if what they are actually trying to ask is, "Should you automatically get extra damage dice when you level up?", then I think a lot of people who like that idea would be led astray by the wording of the question and think they're talking about getting rid of all magic item bonuses.
You know, the ability in question was actually in the stat block for the monster. Instead of:
Why didn't the ability just say,
It's both shorter and clearer!
10 minutes is a little bit hyperbolic, but it still completely killed the momentum of the game. We have the same problem with healing spells. Adding up 17d8 just plain takes a long time. Our group really misses the 1st edition Heal spell with its flat amount of healing.
They need a way for us to amass more than 3 points, and clearly definitive rules on how acquire them base on our ancestry, background, and/or class. My Bigbelly Goblin, Goblin Renegade, Rogue should be getting hero points for eating strange and exotic things (like a sea serpent, a red dragon, the eyeballs of our enemies, a bag full of twigs, etc) and successfully stealing stuff from NPCs (but not players cause we don't want to open up the mess that's player versus player). I'd personally be satisfied with a rule that allows you to earn HP for good roleplaying, rather than just "being heroic". I am a big fan of the way Fate does it, where you get Fate Points for doing things that are in-character but are detrimental/make your situation worse. You can then turn those in to get bonuses when you really need to succeed at something.
We got confused about this last night. A monster has Greater Constrict, which on a failed save renders the subject unconscious. All of the rules I could find for the Unconscious condition seem to assume that the unconscious creature has zero hit points.
So does that mean that a constricted creature immediately falls to zero hit points? That doesn't make sense. People don't wake up every morning and chug a healing potion because they only have one hit point left after waking up! If it doesn't mean that you fall to zero hit points, do you immediately wake up, because you have "1 hit point or more"? If not, how can you awaken an unconscious creature?
Does anyone else feel like high level spells require rolling too many dice? A player cast Meteor Swarm last night, targeting all of the meteors on a single target. Each meteor does 4d10 bludgeoning damage and 19d6 fire damage. All together, that's 16d10 + 76d6 damage! The game completely ground to a halt for about 10 minutes while the player had to add up 92 dice. Not fun!
The kraken repositioned one of the rogues in order to get a beak attack in, but that wasn't super effective, so I didn't repeat the tactic. (It's more effective to just do another one-action double attack, even at -10, than to reposition and bite a single target.) The PCs didn't move, but if they are being grappled by a thing, then surely it's close enough to attack! The idea that a character wouldn't be close enough to swing their sword at the giant tentacle that is literally touching them seems frankly ludicrous and didn't even cross my mind. I can't remember for certain, but I think with respect to Freedom of Movement, the grappled casters did spend an action to automatically escape, and the kraken at that point realized that they were not going to be able to stay grabbed, and didn't spend a lot of actions trying to get at them.
Just to add a contrasting experience... My group played Red Flags this weekend, and here's how it turned out: The Kraken was indeed a tough foe! But they did eventually manage to beat it, with only one PC down and zero deaths. The one-action double Strike was formidable, but since the Kraken has to take a second action to Grab, it can't do that combo twice in one turn. The Grappled condition really isn't that bad. For a melee character, it basically doesn't matter. My group had a wizard, cleric, monk, and two rogues. They all got grappled at some point during the battle. The wizard and the cleric both cast Freedom of Movement, and thereafter didn't care about getting grabbed. The monk and rogues were both grabbed, but didn't really care; they just stabbed/punched the Kraken until its hit points gave out. Also, a DC 5 flat check is only a 20% chance of failure. I think there was only one point where it mattered, which is when one of the rogues tried to use a Necklace of Fireballs on the beast. He was able to do it again the next turn, so not a big deal. The kraken was critting on a 12 or so, which had the players very worried. But since the Cleric wasn't grabbed, she was able to keep everyone healed up. Was it a tough fight? Absolutely! But it wasn't a foregone TPK as I'd been lead to believe by reading these posts. In fact, it probably wasn't even the hardest fight in the Playtest so far! (Not counting chapter 5, of course!)
In my group, we play at one couple's house, so they each get 2. One person chronicles the adventure and writes the recaps, so he gets 2. One person brings snacks, so she gets 2. One person drives in from out of town, so he gets 2 in recognition of the extra effort it takes him to get there. So, basically, everybody gets 2. I might only give 1 if someone showed up really late/didn't level up their character/wasn't a "team player" for some reason. But so far that hasn't happened yet.
Personally, I'd rather swap the costs so that spending 1 Hero Point gives you a reroll, and two brings you back from dying.That's what my group has been thinking. We normally only have about 2 hero points per session, mostly since I forget to give more out. But players don't think much about the higher uses of Hero Points because the 1 point use to come back from dying is already so strong. They'd rather just save their points in case they go down (even though that hasn't happened much yet). I feel this too. No one wants to spend 2 HP to reroll, because that's two get-out-of-death-free cards they are giving up. Even if the reroll was for a critical failure on a saving throw or something, most of the time my players would be like, "eh, if I die because of this, I'll just spend one hero point and still be up, which is better than wasting two on the chance that I'll make the save the second time."
So, obviously the design team is doing a whole lot of work on the death and dying system, given that they have released multiple updates changing/fixing that system. However, in my games, despite the players going down fairly frequently, they don't really care about the death and dying rules at all because of Hero Points. Let me explain:
Since each of my players has been getting 2-3 hero points per session, that essentially means they have to be taken out three times before actually being at risk of dying. And since combats are taking so long, there are only 2 or 3 encounters per session, so there's practically zero risk of any one PC dying unless there's a TPK. I really do like Hero Points! But I am worried that the way they interact with the death and dying rules makes the latter irrelevant. Personally, I'd rather swap the costs so that spending 1 Hero Point gives you a reroll, and two brings you back from dying. Or maybe make 1 point count as a crit success on a death save, and two points come back with 1 HP and clear the Wounded condition.
In many cases it's not even worth adding the bonuses. If the dice show 4, the check fails and if the dice show 17, the check succeeds. It is actually necessary in most cases to add up the bonuses, because it could make the difference between a failure and a critical failure. I love the concept of the four tiers of outcome, but in practice I've seen that it does slow down gameplay. Because now instead of just rolling a 3 and saying, "Nope, I failed that", it's now "Hang on... I rolled a three, so that's... 16. No, wait, I'm enfeebled 2, so 14. Oh, wait, but the bard song makes it 15. Is that a critical failure?"
My group talked it over and decided ahead of time to skip adventure 5. We were 2 weeks behind the playtest window already, because Mirrored Moon took so long. I didn't reveal to the group what Undarin would be testing, but the group was just plain tired and grumpy from all the playtest and just didn't care to continue. So we decided to skip to part 6. I'm extremely glad we did! After the group made our decision, I outlined what they would have done in chapter 5, and read the opening and closing flavor text. Everyone in the group immediately said that they would have hated playing it! So I think we bypassed a lot of grief at the table. I'm sure my group will like Red Flags better. Though whether they will *like* it at all is a bit up in the air; most of the sessions so far have been mixed-to-negative. *sigh*
My biggest comment: Regardless of the layout, I really think we need to have one-line spell descriptions (and for that matter, feat and ability descriptions as well)! For a new player, reading the entire description for each spell gives you information overload and makes it very difficult to decide what to do on your turn. Being able to read something like, "Lightning bolt: Deals 4d12 damage in a 60-foot line", is a lot easier for someone to hold in their head at the table while deciding what to do than reading the whole six-line spell description. For the record, I think this is a problem in the main rulebook, too. Selecting feats and spells during character creation is a huge pain because there's no easy way to skim the available options and decide which ones look interesting. You have to slog through the entire text before knowing if something fits your character concept or not.
Likewise, I've already provided all the instances in which the rulebook grants the player the ability to take feats for which they qualify when dictated by their class. Player's don't stop being qualified for feats once they possess those feats.Then why have "special: this feat can be taken more than once" at all? That is, indeed, the question we are trying to figure out. Either
As written, I think Kerx is onto something. From just reading the rules, nowhere does it state that taking a feat disqualifies you from taking the same feat again later. Unless we are missing something.
If this were the format, I would probably have to buy a set of clear sheet protectors to store the sheets in a binder. But I could see it getting problematic if they are all loose in the pocket -- it would be very easy for them to fall out and get all mixed up.
I think the Action Economy just needs some polishing for things like drawing a weapon or pulling out a potion or switching hands. Just make them free aspects of the usage actions. I don't think that's unbalancing. We haven't really had the leftover action problem. I feel like that eliminates a lot of the simplicity that makes the 3 action system so attractive. "Everything you do takes an action" is very easy to explain. "Everything you do takes an action, except these things, which don't take an action and this other thing you can do for free but only once per turn, etc., etc." gets complicated very quickly.
@Tamago: You can get a once/day AoO if you have 16 strength.You can use the Attack of Opportunity reaction (see page 87 of the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook) once per day. If you have a 16 strength AND you are willing to drop 2 class feats (realistically three, assuming you want to be able to do it more than once/day) AND your character concept supports being a multiclass fighter AND you don't want to take any other archetypes or multiclasses... you can get attacks of opportunity. I don't think that's a realistic expectation. If it were a single General feat that let you access Attacks of Opportunity or something, I'd be much more inclined to think it was viable for non-Fighters to do this.
I really don't like the lack of AoOs. It makes combats ridiculous. To follow up on your metaphor, it's as if the offensive line are unable to block for the quarterback.At this level, the lack of Attacks of Opportunity is not the fault of the game system but the players. They've all had ample opportunity, regardless of what class they are, to acquire this. If they don't have it, then they've just prioritized other feats ahead of this. How exactly is this? From what I've read, only Fighters and Paladins have the ability to get an Attack of Opportunity (and the latter is a 6th level feat, so it's definitely not a given). I suppose it's theoretically possible to multiclass fighter in order to get an AoO, but expecting most players to spend two of their class feats to multiclass, which likely won't fit their character concept, just so they can have a reaction seems a bit of a stretch. Am I missing something?
Really? actual, real people are confused by this? and it's not just internet hyperbole? Because I have never met, in over 30 years of gaming and personally teaching a lot of people, anyone confused by the different uses of 'level'. A simple explanation that class levels and spell levels are different has been sufficient to allay any concerns. One of my players made the exact same mistake, seeing the heightened text and thought it referred to character level, not spell level. We didn’t realize it until halfway through the adventure! The fact that people are actually getting confused by this in real play indicates to me that we should consider changing the terminology.
I LOVE these ideas, especially #2 and #3. Skill-bonus items always seemed a bit weird to me even in 1st edition, especially when they tried to make them for skills that don't normally use tools, like Diplomacy. It always really irked me in PFS when people were trying to come up with generic "masterwork Bluff tools" or whatever. I'd much rather see them get de-emphasized in this edition than try to force everyone to buy +x skill items for every skill they want to be decent at. And the idea of adding a +1 "feat bonus" for taking skill feats is AMAZING! It would really add a nice bit of complexity to the skill feat selection process to not only decide which extra skill use to pick, but also which skill to get a bump in. And for PCs who really want to specialize, it gives them a way to do so (by taking all the skill feats for a particular skill).
That's a 4d4 increase in weapon damage for 2 class feats at level 17. By that point, your +4 weapon is going to have 5 damage dice already, so it's a relatively small percentage of your total damage.
I feel like Battle Medic and Natural Medicine, instead of their current rules, which are odd and not especially good, should interact with Treat Wounds. Maybe just allowing it in-combat but only a certain number of times per day (once per target, for example), or something like that. Natural Medicine could very easily just become, "You can perform the Treat Wounds action using the Nature skill instead of the Medicine skill." No need to reinvent the wheel, and characters who are better at Nature than Medicine will find it quite useful.
I noticed that Treat Wounds doesn't remove/reduce the Wounded condition. In the description of the Wounded condition, it says, "The wounded condition ends if someone attends to you with Treat Wounds, or if you are healed to full Hit Points and rest for 10 minutes." That said, it would probably be a good idea to call this out in the Treat Wounds ability description as well.
I think I saw this suggestion on the other thread, and I liked it. The DC should be based on the level of the creature you're healing, rather than your own level. For most cases this would be the same thing, but it would allow for high-level NPCs being able to easily heal the party, or low-level PCs struggling to save a high-level creature. That seems more interesting to me.
It seems weird to me that critically failing bolsters the target only against "your Treat Wounds", rather than just Treat Wounds in general. I feel like the critical fail is a decent way to keep it from being just guaranteed healing for the whole party, but being able to tag in another character to heal just feels off to me for some reason.
I'm disappointed that there is no way for a multiclass rogue to get more sneak attack. I think Sneak Attack is the quintessential Rogue ability, and only getting +1d6 really feels watered down. I'd suggest that the Rogue Dedication feat should grant the +1d4 sneak attack instead of Surprise Attack. Then the Sneak Attacker feat could grant the level-based increases of +1d4 at levels 5, 11, and 17, just like the base rogue. +4d4 sneak attack is way more satisfying than +1d6 at high level, and I feel like staying at d4s instead of d6s makes you still feel like you get to throw a lot of dice around, while also making full rogues the best at sneak attack.
In response to the 1/day abilities... I wonder if it would help to instead make them once per 10 minutes. That would effectively make them usable once per encounter, which I think really helps them be more relevant while at the same time still limiting them enough that it's worth picking up the later feat to use them at-will.
One thing I'd like to see with the new tiers is more flexibility when it comes to playing up or down. I've seen some wonky edge cases before, such as a table of 1, 1, 3, 4, 4 being forced to play up, and it being *really* hard on the new players. I would really like to see more table discretion in terms of what subtier is played. Some groups really want a tough challenge; others just want to have a casual good time. Both ways of playing are valid.
So let me ask this. Are you guys applying new errata halfway through the chapter? If not, I don’t see the issue. If so, why? Are you changing character abilities and using the new rules because you feel it will improve your game experience? Genuinely curious. Yes, for two reasons: 1) Presumably the point of the errata is to make the game better and eliminate problems. So we want to be using the latest, best version of the game because it should be more fun. 2) Once a change is made, the design team needs feedback about how it works. If we delay applying an update for the 3 weeks (or whatever) it will take for us to get to the next part, that's time that we are testing an old, obsolete rule that won't be used anyway. It's wasted effort to not be testing the newest version of the system. Of course, if it's more of a problem for the design team for us to switch mid-adventure, then we could just say, "we're not applying any new errata until we get to the next scenario." That's why I was asking Mark what would be the best way to approach this.
Just to play Devil's Advocate for a moment... What's wrong with wanting to play Angel Summoner? Since this is a fantasy anyway, I like being able to really shine on something. There is a place for a grim & gritty roleplaying game, but that's definitely not what Pathfinder is now.
The issue would come up if people are late at getting to various sections -- and my guess is that that should be a relatively common situation. If your group is perfectly synched to the playtest schedule, that would be fine. But I think that won't happen in a lot of cases. For example, my group started a week ahead, but is now "on schedule" due to Pale Mountain taking three sessions to finish instead of two. I wouldn't be surprised if higher-level content takes longer to get through as well, due to the PCs having more options. (Hopefully not as bad as in PF1, but still...) Add to that the fact that Life Happens and we will certainly have to cancel a session or two over the course of the playtest, and we are certain to get out of sync with the ideal timeline.
They didn't do that because they don't want Players to be able to reference a chart and inform the GM that they automatically succeed at something. That is something I saw in pfs/pf1 all the time. If they really could succeed on a 1, then why is that a problem? Seems like it would save time at the table.
This mirrors my experience as well. At level 1, we had a bard who was totally unable to keep up with the healing demands by himself. This was exacerbated by the fact that "go back to town and heal up at the temple" is almost as expensive as chugging healing potions! At level 4, they have been doing better, with a druid as the primary healer. But it still feels like they are running on fumes healing-wise after one or two fights. We are playing the our third session of Pale Mountain tonight, and I'm seriously worried that there will be a TPK because the group's healing resources have been completely exhausted and they are about to hit the adventure's climax.
Good question. I think tradition is really the main reason. And I absolutely *do* think that other classes should be able to be great healers. In my opinion, it should be possible to build a bard, or druid, or sorcerer or whatever who is a better healer than a "standard" cleric. But if someone takes a cleric and really optimizes them for healing more than anything else, I want that to be the best healing in the game. But again, there's no particular reason clerics should be the ones who are the best, aside from tradition. As long as a cleric doesn't feel required in order to have a prayer of surviving the dungeon (pun intended), I'll be happy.
I want to put in my two copper to say can we not nerf clerics? I want everyone to be this awesome. Raise the others up. Cleric does not need to be lowered. Everyone should shine this bright. They don't. Can we fix that? This! With increased hit points and nerfing wands, the need for healing in PF2 is greater than ever. We need lots of classes to be good at it in order to have PCs keep going for more than a couple of fights at a time. I do want Clerics to be the best healers in the game, but right now they are almost the only ones who can keep a party on their feet. I think that's a problem, because it means parties can't have a diverse composition, since someone will be "stuck" playing the Cleric.
Just chiming in here to say that everyone in my group also didn't get that Soothe was a healing spell (I didn't know until I made a similar post in the forums a few weeks ago!). Based on the name, we thought that the spell would be some kind of calm emotions-type thing. Might I suggest changing the name of the spell? Perhaps something like "Soothe Wounds" or "Succor" would better convey what the spell does? I agree with Mekkis that having short descriptions of spells/feats/powers will be essential in the final rulebook! Thanks!
Personally, I've always played that you could move diagonally through soft corners (e.g. past a pillar or tree or pit or whatever), but not through hard corners (e.g. a door, a wall, etc.) But that is something that should be clarified one way or the other in the rules.
So, what can we do about it? Here are a couple of suggestions: a) Eliminate traits that have additional rules associated with them. Require the rules text to be printed in the ability it modifies. This is the simplest solution, but it would involve a lot of reprinting text, and use up room that could be used to put more content in the game. So not ideal. b) Call out the feats that have special baggage attached to them. Maybe with bold or an icon of some kind? It might also be useful to provide a page number reference for where the player needs to go to look up what that trait does. Do any of you have other ideas that would help with this situation?
Page 195, “Summoned,” second paragraph, first sentence. They act when you cast. Aha! That makes sense. They probably ought to call that out in the spell description, since it's non-obvious from the text of the spell itself that says they get to act right away.
So, in part 2 of Doomsday Dawn, one of my PCs was a druid with a Large-sized bear companion. However, many of the passages in the Tomb of Tular Seft are only five feet wide. The only reference I could find in the rules for how to handle this was the Acrobatics "Squeeze" activity, which on a success allows you to move 5 feet per minute of squeezing! That seems incredibly harsh to me, and basically meant that it was impossible for the druid to bring his bear into the dungeon with the party in anything close to a reasonable time. I think that use of Squeeze makes sense if you are talking about a creature trying to fit through a really small space, like a human contorting themselves through a 1-foot-wide crack in a wall or something. But for a Large creature to take a full minute to move five feet down a five foot wide passage seems really out of whack. Am I missing something? Or does this need to be addressed somehow?
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