Blake's Tiger's page

Zithembe stands after what he deems to be a long enough silence. His eyes transform from copper to opals. Those who participated in his seance before leaving the mortal realm experience fragments of memories of giving grand speeches before assembled Pathfinders both in the Grand Lodge and on the battle field.

"Altha the Scrivner, we came to Heaven with pure intent, but as you have wisely noted, intent is not always sufficient. When we arrived in Paradise, our first challenge was to defend our arrival. We were met by Pelagos, one of the knights and guardians of Heaven's walls. He was patient; he listened to our case rather than striking us down.

"He requested of us justification seated in scripture to defend our mission. We each gave him our own defense from the teachings of a variety of powers. Something he said about Iori's instructions on the reliance of self stayed with me though. The dangers of hubris. It gives me reason to consider, but I digress. In the end, he was swayed by our arguments, so much so that he aided us in our passage through the Gates of Heaven.

"Once inside, we walked to the Angel's Wing where we met with the archon, Zepha. Several of us have aided Zepha in the past against the qlippoth. However, it was not for our sakes but his past relationship with Kitarlo that he provided us the tokens for entry into the Great Library."

Diplomacy, Discordance, Bonus, Honey, Marshal: 1d20 + 9 - 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 9 - 2 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 27
EDIT: OK, I doubt 27 is a failure, so add 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 more to the next failed Diplomacy check by any member who participated in the seance (and I can do it twice more after that).

It doesn't look like anyone picked Trickster as their Marshal spirit, so no other bonuses beyond what Zithembe can do to try to catch any failed rolls.

Those of you who chose Diplomacy as an instructed skill, don't forget your +2 Aid Another bonus.

"Oh, for the love of--" Pavo says with a roll of his eyes. "You are being intentionally obtuse. Mere moments ago you said you wish to escape this necropolis with us but your arms and training are ceremonial--whereas mine, the wall-bound fiends would attest to were they not destroyed, are not nor are those of several of my current compatriots--and you what you have to offer is healing. It would seem there is an implicit this for that in the discussion, but a moment later you request coin for your services.

"Obviously, our only chance of survival is to escape this place while your god, presumably, will keep you fed and watered through divine intervention indefinitely, so you hold us by the balls, for we must proceed forward and assume the risk with or without you. You will reap the rewards either way. And you call us Sczarni."

He looks to Malphene, "Lady Trant, if your companion opts to leave us to our fates and you chose to stay with him, I won't be surprised by the betrayal, but I will surprise you by allowing you to keep my blade to protect yourselves. It will be the least of things stolen."

Rereading my post, I see I left too much of my underlying thoughts out in an attempt at brevity making it seem more immediate and optimistic than I intended.

"In the end" meant after their staffing issues are resolved, after their process is revised, and after the Guide format is finalized. It reportedly will be faster than PFS1 because they don't need to wait on approvals and formatting from Paizo.

I do worry that they're letting too much content accumulate, creating an "insurmountable" appearing pile of work that makes it more and more likely to be deferred in favor of small, faster appearing tasks.

"There is always hope in being reunited with the eternal nothingness," Zarisha moans.

Cannot support breaking the rules.

"The body needs the soul, true, but the soul is not beholden to the body," Zithembe says, "And a great many have found that their souls and bodies do not match. The Rivethun draw our power from the disjunction between our body and our soul. There are humans in the north who ease this disjunction using spiritual magic to change their bodies to match their souls. I believe they call themselves 'evening children.'"

He gestures at his own constructed jade body and says, "My soul lives in a body wholly defined by the imagination of another. If you put me in a new body, I would still be me. If you replaced my soul with a different soul in this body, this body would no longer be me. You should seek out Shardra at the Grand Lodge. She would be better able to explain."

I know Hepsubia muttered her comment, but I don't get to bring up the Rivethun part of my character often.

I strongly recommend playing in at least one PbP game to see how our community formats the game and moves the flow--ideally, more than one under different GMs to get a sample of techniques.

When you are ready to run a game, I recommend running a repeatable scenario so that more experienced people can join to help you. There is less chance that you'll lock out experienced help that way.

Just a disconnect between posting windows, and I couldn't get on the website at all during my window yesterday.

HERE are your Book 1 Chronicles, for those of you who wanted one.

I can confirm that scenarios with different rewards for the different tiers state in the text which items are present as treasure.

So, for example, if the cold iron buckler is what is present for the tier you're running and the sturdy buckler is not, you cross off the sturdy buckler and vice versa.

"Or maybe it is," Zithembe comments to Rumble. "Think of your hammer as a paddle. Children respond well to physical humor."

"No," Iniquity says. "We will treat you honorably. Some day you may see your way to redeeming yourself and contributing productively just as I did." He chuckles and remarks dryly, "If we did leave your bones to bleach atop the dunes--which we are not going to do--I do not think you would be escaping at any point along the journey."

"What is a bus?" he asks. "I do not speak elven." Sorry. Couldn't resist.

"I blame Akarah for nothing. I answered the divine herald's question," he replies, not rising to the bait and keeping his tone measured. "That you--" He pauses for several steps as if choosing his words but then never completes his thought.

"How quick the children of moments are to pass judgement upon the eternal," Zithembe says sadly and softly. "Blame Kitarlo for our failure? Chastise the rightful authorities in Heaven for punishing us for our mistake? Have you thought about the Scrivner's words? What have we done to Heaven and to the innocent souls that dwell here?"

He pauses to unwrap the divine cornbread that Zepha provided. When he continues, he speaks just as softly as before, "Countless souls--souls that lived lawful and pure lives--dwell in Heaven, promised peace and tranquility for eternity as a reward for their devotion. And we apparently just unleashed two demons into their midst. Have you any idea what it is like to be tormented by a demon? I have thousands of years of first hand knowledge. Now imagine that you believed with all your soul that you were safe and secure forevermore when suddenly set upon by a demon and made its plaything.

"If we are done blaming others for our own actions, let us be off to try to correct them," the shabti says and then turns to follow Akarah, eating the cornbread.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"Happy to help the author of that article on the ruins of Western Osirion," he says with a friendly smile, approaching so that he can read the notes. He pauses as he looks at the pages, searching for a tactful way to ask his question. "Ah... did you dictate your article?"

Dice bug

Francisco Gimenez wrote:

Incendiaeternus,

The DCs is calculate in pag 503, and the skills Craft, Lore or Performance you must be trained for Earn Income. As it happened in the first edition.

I think as the first edition, in a future, will put rules or new classes that allow using other skills to be able to Earn Income, And as my law professor told me when I was studying, how do you intend to learn complex rules if you don't even learn the statements, XD, i mean, I prefer to learn the basic rule, which for the exceptions, I will have time.

The issue is right now it's not stated that they are limited, we're making that assumption and players are insisting that they be allowed to use 'better skills' because nothing says they cannot, but we do not have the higher DC checks to allow it.

It's a request for a small clarification.

We are not making assumptions. Opt-in GM options have always been "No, unless explicitly stated in the Guide/Campaign Clarifications/Additional Resources."

PFS1 examples: non-Core races as PCs, Herbalism from UW, Afflictions from HA, etc.

I can't just decide that the herbalism rules are legal at my table.

I pick scenes in the scenario to be deadlines for giving out a hero point.

The $ listed is for one day of downtime. Multiple the $ by the number of days they use.

In the meantime.

In some cases, the GM might let you use a different skill to Earn Income through specialized work. . .

The GM for this campaign, i.e. Tonya, has not let anyone use a different skill to Earn Income.

We GMs running scenarios don't get to make that call.

Battle Medicine is Treat Wounds, just faster, so Mordack is bolstered against Treat Wounds for 1 hour (technically 59 minutes and 9 rounds). He is also bolstered against Bogard's Battle Medicine for 1 day.

"This is why we do not rush or split the group when exploring ancient Osirian tombs," Iniquity says as he moves down the stairs and lays a hand upon the goblin's shoulder. A warm, restorative energy flows through the champion into the sorcerer.

Lay on Hands: heal 6 hit points.

While Bogard searches the rest of the room for traps, Iniquity kneels in prayer to restore his focus. 10 minutes

Can you do more than 1 stunt in a turn? Was thinking of a sliding flyby.

No, only one action per turn. One stunt = one action.

"Ah! I remember reading an excellent article on the ruins of el-Amara by a Pathfinder named Nefaram Subeli," he says. "I wonder why Balentiir didn't mention it. Someone light a torch and let us descend. Hopefully, Subeli has not fallen prey to a trap or undead guardian."

You head on to the Halls of Discovery. It's many meeting rooms, theaters, and auditoriums closed and locked when not in use or reserved. Many of the Starfinder leadership also keep their offices here. You find Venture-Captain Arvin in his modest, tidy office.

Venture-Captain Arvin looks up from his notes, clearly having had his head down for a long time. “Good to see you all. Thanks for stopping by—it’s a bit of a busy time right now, so I haven’t been able to get out of the office much.” He turns off his holographic note projectors and stands.

“I’ve heard from Naiaj that you are seeking information on the Amber Reconnoiter. Thank you for looking into the matter.” He pulls out a datapad from his pocket and thumbs through it a bit. “The records on the vessel are pretty old, so we don’t keep them accessible in our normal information banks. However, it seems that some record keepers here in the Halls of Discovery might be able to access the information you’re looking for. They specialize in maintaining historical records, so they might be able to help you out.”

He glances at Rozzicheep and says, "But for good Starfinders such as you, I could come help you, if you like. The record keepers can be a bit stuffy."

Question: does anyone know if the "free Character Rebuild" boon (available until Sept' 19) is only available on the Achievement Points chart... that does not exist yet?

Or is the Boon available somewhere and I am just a poor lost soul who cannot find his way?

I believe the former. Unfortunately.

Obligatory Stormwind Fallacy mention.

I'm hoping that this is a known issue and simply a result of gaining access to something that is incomplete, but the Achievement Points in the new Points column for PFS2 are not awarding the correct numbers.

My GenCon GM points are 1/scenario rather than 12/scenario for GMing Premium+.
My GenCon player points are 4/scenario rather than 6/scenario for playing Premium+.

I see that you both are correct.

Confusion. In PFS for 1.0, they did not use campaign settings (if I recall correctly) since they said PFS was its own campaign setting. In that case, what does it matter about Lost Omens if it is not legal?

That is contrary to my entire PFS experience--so contrary that I would almost believe this was just a trolling statement. There is an entire section of the Additional Resources dedicated to the Campaign Setting line of products.

I don't see anything useful in the Lost Omens World Guide with respect to uncommon access other than the regional-specific archetypes.

Based on early access or just the blogs? Because the blogs also mention regional Backgrounds, Feats, and Spells in addition to archetypes and advanced dedications.

No problems with Goblin PCs so far. Elves, yes.

For the influx of new people:

PFS2 character sheet profile template

This literal reading of a rushed set of organized play rules also means that I can't use downtime for the downtime task of bonding a new animal companion (because the guide only says earn income, crafting, and retrainng), so once my class feature is killed in a game, I can never get a new one.

The problem with the arguments along the lines of "deities want worshipers" in the context of this discussion, whether you're using Bob's or Lau's or a different view of "why" is that it distracts from the point. Worship does not equal "cleric" or "champion."

You can be a barrister hyperfocused on Asmodeus' law aspect, venerate him with a small shrine in your office, and call for his aid before each trial, and still end up as his property in the afterlife, but that doesn't make you a cleric.

To me, a cleric or champion has signed on whole-heartedly to a deity's cause in its entirety, and that's why you get superpowers above and beyond the swashbuckler who worships Caydean or the assassin who worships Norgorber. That looks like where the PF2 team was going with the change.

But as has been stated multiple times, this isn't an argument to be won. It's just different opinions about a decision the game designers made just like the proficiency system or the 4-degrees of success.

Also, not a PFS issue but a CRB issue.

The literal jade statue inlaid with artistic gold and silver runes and dressed in white silk shirt under his breastplate and colorfully dyed linen pants smiles at Rumbles expected bellow. "I am Zithembe," the shabti introduces himself to the ifrit. "I invite you to participate in my convocation of the spirits as preparation before we travel to Heaven, once we have met with Kitarlo and our charge."

"Well, alright then, advanced entry techniques it is," Pavo says. He draws out his dagger and begins the tedious process of carving out the wood around the cabinet lock.

This assumes the door is not glass, in which case, he would just smash in the panes with the pommel.

"Delena," Pavo asks, "How big was that key you found? Before I try an advanced entry technique I learned from a Pathfinder."

He taps the locked cabinet.

Blake's Tiger wrote:

Do keep in mind that even if secret rolls are rolled in the open, the check still bears the secret tag and is not valid for fortune/misfortune effects.

...I had someone complaining that PF2 was ruined because you couldn't use a reroll on a knowledge check. The complaint was made as I was explaining PF2's secret checks to the table not after he made a knowledge check. I thought to myself, when have you ever used a reroll on a monster ID roll?

Aren't you the person who complained about a combat encounter which gets severely blunted if you identify what the monsters abilities are? It wasn't that way in 1e but identifying monsters goes a long way under the right circumstances in 2e.

That doesn't sound like anything I'd ever have a reason to say.

I am not a GM vs. PC type of GM, so I'm fine with players using their abilities to swing things in their advantage, which would include knowledge rolls.

Have I done or said something to you to make you want to toss disparagement at me out of left field?

Goblins are always available, official races for PCs now. There is no instructions in the scenario for the NPCs to treat goblin PCs any differently.

Now, an individual goblin's actions might influence things, but not simply being a goblin. In my tables, it was an elf who was the most disruptive to the social scene.

Do keep in mind that even if secret rolls are rolled in the open, the check still bears the secret tag and is not valid for fortune/misfortune effects.

...I had someone complaining that PF2 was ruined because you couldn't use a reroll on a knowledge check. The complaint was made as I was explaining PF2's secret checks to the table not after he made a knowledge check. I thought to myself, when have you ever used a reroll on a monster ID roll?

I would like in-page navigation links. If click to Player Basics, I would then like to be able to click directly to the part of the page that I want. E.g. Training, Downtime, Hero Points rather than scrolling and scrolling and scrolling.

I would appreciate the Fame purchasable boons being organized by Faction rather than cost, and in-page hyperlinks so I can click from both the Faction name to the group of that faction's boons and click from the boon name on the list by faction and jump right to that boon.

Regarding the Downtime tasks, while I understand it from reading the rules for things like Earn an Income and Crafting in the CRB and combining it with the Org Play rules, the comments above demonstrate that it's lost on some portion of the player base.

The DCs are set. In the CRB. The Task Level for Earn an Income is PC Level - 2 (min 0). The DC for that is the level-based DC for the task, which you just calculated (PC Level - 2). The item level is the level you use for reference for the DC in Crafting. Since that's getting lost on people, I would recommend reiterating those rules in the relevant sections.

I understand that 1 Earn an Income check is used for the entire duration of your downtime and that Org Play is capping it at 8 days for 1 check, that you can use less days is lost, and that you can then roll a second check for the remaining 4 days in those with a Field Commission (or other way of getting more downtime) is lost. So I would be explicit that 1 check (Earn an Income or Crafting) is good for up to 8 days and then a new check is required. I would reiterate the rules that the result of the check is multiplied by the number of Downtime days you want to spend (again, up to a maximum of 8).

It does not help with the confusion/frustration that the book dedicated entirely to the people and cultures of the setting was delayed a month, but it is coming. I will be disappointed if that resource does not directly address some of these culture-based access issues (and thus make having a home region boon mean something).

Kyonin nation may grant Elven Curveblade access while I would expect Ekujae nation to not necessarily grant it and maybe grant different things.

Five Kingdoms may grant the expected weapon access but access granted by Pahmet affiliation may be different.

The OPF may or may not be aware of what is in LOWG and be unwilling to step on the toes of that product's release and unable to comment on what they may know. So, before tossing your hands up in the air and declaring PFS(2) unplayable, I would recommend giving it a minute to start to catch up to 10 years worth of content.

Lau Bannenberg wrote:

I don't think so, you have to be sufficient level AND meet the item's access condition. An elf with the Elven Weapon Familiarity feat gains access to uncommon elf weapons, so they could buy an elven curve blade. An elf who didn't take that feat doesn't gain access.

For that example, I'm in total agreement with you. But if there are ever things that are simply listed as "uncommon" and has no other traits suggesting what qualifies as "access" (and it is level 2 or less), would PFS characters be free to purchase them?

Access is a ancestry feature, feat, class feature, or boon that grants "access" to a non-common thing. So assume no access if you can't find a way to gain access in published materials (Paizo or OPF).

E.g. I haven't found a way to gain access to a katana.

Elf Languages wrote:

Additional languages equal to your Intelligence modifier (if it’s positive). Choose from Celestial, Draconic, Gnoll, Gnomish, Goblin, Orcish, Sylvan, and any other languages to which you have access (such as the languages prevalent in your region).

If you backstory includes being from a region where Dwarven is prevalent, you can select Dwarven on an elf.

This might be less straight forward than it used to be. PFS has codified regional access. You cab take one Home Region for 0 fame. The next one costs 2 fame. So access to things (especially Uncommon things) isn't as simple as fitting it into your backstory.

While Dwarven is a common language, it is not on the list of Elf starting languages for a high intelligence and Orcish, another common language is, so there is a difference of some sort to someone somewhere, I'm just not sure how it plays out in practice.

The level of the adventure not the character making the roll.

Subtier 1-2 = 15
Subtier 3-4 = 18

My main worry with this whole system is that those bonuses will begin to become part of the power curve assumption of the game and make it much harder for a more casual player to survive.

I have not yet noticed this after 2 years of SFS.

That is a fair integration of my thoughts. :)

A question for the OP - what's the difference between an optional encounter that grants no treasure, and a non-optional encounter that grants no treasure? Is it only because you know it's optional that it's a problem?

The difference is:

Every GM will run and every player will face the non-optional encounter.

Not every GM and not every player will face the optional encounters.

...and so, with no voice in the decision, some players get hard mode and some don’t.

They don't shift the power of a scenario in any way.

An APL+2 encounter rounds before a modified APL+3 encounter vs. straight to the APL+3 encounter doesn't shift the power?

Faster groups wind up with too much down time in between con slots

No such thing.

But you're missing my point: optional encounters increase the chance of dead characters.

I accept the risk that my character may perish in a scenario. However, I don't expect that risk to vary depending on whether I got a GM who feels it is their duty to run everything in the scenario versus a GM who hates to run optional encounters and so doesn't.

I could give two cents whether an optional encounter rewards my character with something outside the scenario. However, if optional encounters are going to exist, they should reward my character during the scenario rather than just be a resource sink.

Let's just use a level 1 example as that's what I'm familiar with in PF2.

Up to the end of the standard scenario: used my 2 scrolls of heal from training and 1 lesser anti-plague (3 gp). We finished with 3 characters with wounded 1.

After the optional ambush encounter *after* completing *all* tasks for the scenario: used 1 scroll of heal (4 gp) and managed to scrape by with characters at Wounded 3 (would be dead if had gone down again), Wounded 2, and Wounded 1.

We got 14 gp on our chronicle (plus 4 sp for Downtime).

Why did my efficient table that finished in 3 hours deserve to amp up the risk of death and me lose 50% of my character's income compared to a table full of people struggling to deal with learning a new rules system?

It was like being kicked when we were down.

I don't see how getting to play more is punishment.

Table A runs without the optional encounter.

Table B runs with the optional encounter. They face increased opportunities to be critically hit (in PF2) or potentially be outright killed (higher level encounters with petrify or other one-hit kills). They use costly consumables to recover from that fight and/or face the final encounter with fewer spells/HP/resources. In the end, it cost Table B more in gold and/or Fame because they faced the optional encounter.

Now imagine you were at Table B and Table A ran right next to you so you know there was a difference in the risk of death and the expenditure of character gold but both tables received the same Chronicles.

By "rewards" I meant in scenario assistance like an extra consumable or three or a circumstance bonus against something or a clue to the final fight's weakness, not Chronicle rewards.

Although the suggestion of granting a bonus +1 to the total tasks completed when calculating the Secondary Success is, I guess, a Chronicle reward.