Brandon Tomlinson's page

Aye! 1 file per chapter is missing.

Oh right, I forgot about the backup generator. And can you recharge batteries in session if you're travelling for multiple days? maybe even recharge allies batteries.

I think I'll just be using my dry-erase combat tracker thing, figuring out what size batteries/magazines/etc people use and keep a tally going.

For some of them, they'll also be able to grab rounds/magazines/batteries from enemies.

I see time spent moving small arms cartridges from enemy magazines to player's. And keeping track of how many magazines players started with.

I certainly didn't mean to say that tracking ammo is not in the rules for PFS, but rather the implications of bad discipline are far heavier in Starfinder.

Ammunition tracking seems to be a lot more important in Starfinder. In Pathfinder, you would do all the tracking in increments of 20 for 1 gold piece which would feel like a massive waste of concentration and energy. Now though, cost of refilling batteries and ammo actually scale with the caliber of weapon used. Especially when combined with full auto weapons emptying all remaining charges/rounds, ammo tracking seems to be much more emphasized.

Mostly I'm concerned of inconsistent enforcement. Should I be concerned about being the jerk GM if I ruin someone's day because they didn't carry 5 batteries with them?

And for those that were strict in pathfinder, what methods did you find most efficient for tracking ammo there?

(Newish GM here, looking to get in on the ground floor of Starfinder)

Same boat as the former 2!

This makes the discharge spell, also potentially the transfer charge spell, very interesting actually.

Where is that, why isn't it stickied :/

Hey folks,

I'm taking a look at computers and modules to see what all they can do for players, and also looking at the mechanic class. My main question is what can a control module do autonomously.

One buys a Control module for a starship and install it on the ship's computer (ship computer modules can be bought with BP as per pg 297), then have a personal watch computer with range III and control for the ship computer (10% the price of a computer of that tier)

Core page 215 explicitly mentions starships as being an example complex device.

Can you:

• Use the ship's transponder
  
• Move the ship to emergency power
  
• Start the engines
  
• Have the ship move somewhere
  

Can you do what the mechanic abilities "expert rig", "advanced rig", and "superior rig" do for starship access by just paying the computer upgrade costs?

Hopefully starfinder will get them to finally implement the simple monster creation rules...

(androids kinda are - they're mostly from Numeria - possibly made there)

Nope, Androids are from

Right but Earth exists, RoW takes you there. So it's not "Sol".

I'm setting a bunch of stuff up in realmworks and have come to the realization that I don't know what Golarion's Solar system is called.

Does anyone have a reference I can't find in Distant Worlds?

I'll be working on it soon. I just finished ruined fort.

Sadly, this AP is from before the digital map packs. Meaning you can't remove the grid or generally get higher quality versions of the maps. Additionally many of the encounters don't have maps at all.

I figured since I'm making them, I might as well share.

Full disclosure - this is my first foray into making my own maps. So prepare for amateur hour!

The Imgur Album

I'll update the album as my campaign progresses.

From artifacts and legends, meta artifacts. Black rider's curse/blessing was also the 'scar' thing.

The real point here is that the engine, unity, is supposed to do all of the porting work for you. I imagine this issue will be more properly revisited later. As it stands, there isn't a good reason linux isn't supported except "they haven't had much time to think about it" which is 100% acceptable.

Ah hah! I figured I was just missing a sentence. Thanks for pointing that out!

• The Tatzlwyrm, It should have +16 in snow to stealth. Based on it's fluff text it waits in snow for creatures to wander past, that implies it's been waiting a while (over 2 minutes). Either the stealth dc of 26 was calculated with a take 10, or it was calculated only using the snow terrain +6 modifier. also it would only be 26 if you were within 10 feet.

• Vrixx. His reason for not telling more doesn't make sense to me.
  
  pg.23:

  He refuses to tell the PCs more, knowing full well the White Witches will pierce his heart with a sliver of ice if he talks.

  I thought winter-touched fey already did that
  

  pg.72:

  Willingly pledging themselves to a
  wholly evil life, these creatures undergo a complex ritual
  called the Winter Rite, in which they accept a sliver of ice
  into their hearts that infuses their bodies with the same
  supernatural winter perpetuated by the White Witches of
  Irrisen.
  
  

I'll add more as I do more in depth preparation.

Hmmm so the mirror men are just humans with the heads of mirrors?

nope, constructs, think soulbound dolls.

And their power listing would be spoilerific.

It's awkward how they seem to push cold themes in the character creation, when the characters start a stones throw from the Qadiran border.

I feel I may rewrite all the campaign traits to make them still useful, but not so... stretchy.

And the download servers are down

so many tears...

Not sure I follow. Just saying he is building up to the point made in this post.

*snip*

The point you are failing to make has already been made.

It is, in fact. You lose your bonus to Dexterity when you cannot react to an attack, so say the rules. How do you propose one can react to an attack from an unperceived opponent, hidden or otherwise?

Flat-Footed: A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, unable to react normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) and cannot make attacks of opportunity.

If people don't know where you are, that's the definition of flat-footed against your attacks

It's not.

but to the articulate point:

*snip*

Touche!

My only counter argument left is that is says if you pass, you can react, but the fail condition doesn't say you cannot react. (nitpicky, I know).

My ending point is I'm not sure sniping should always give the sneak attack bonus damage. I think it is mechanically overpowered, and I think the it is RAW'ly murky.

IMO we need a better litmus test for 'being able to react'.

But I will concede.

Agreed, I enjoy these.

That voids the entire point of Sniping. And makes no sense. If you are hidden, you are hidden. Your argument is basically "A blind character is never flat-footed once attacked." Or "A creature with greater invisibility doesn't get any bonus for it after the first attack is made." It's contrary to how everything works. Giving him endless sneak attack is not breaking the system because that is how the system works. If he succeeds at hiding, you can't prepare for the oncoming attack because you don't know when or where it is coming.

• Blind says you are denied dex
  
• The invisibility specifically says "ignores its opponents' Dexterity bonuses to AC (if any)".
  

The only way you could make the argument that hiding gets you surprise again is if combat rounds end, and are started anew with a fresh surprise round and fresh init-round 1. The only advantage of sniping (and it's a big one) is that people don't know where you are.

No support for the take note, thats just how I understand the definition of 'notice'.

And the first table applies to paragraph two of check, while the others are not "The following table", so I think we can assume they apply to all other perception checks.

My ending point is we agree on RAI, but you are saying RAW is definitivly one way, and I feel it is not necessarily that way; therefore I argue another completely valid interpretation.

It comes down to the definition of notice which in our context can mean two things

• To take note of
• To be aware of

As a GM I can feel completely confident ruling one way or another based on context. But RAW is murky, and doesn't lean one way or the other.

TL:DR "It's slightly more complicated than you make it out to be"

But where does it say that you cannot react to attacks made by people who are hiding once combat has started and is 2 rounds in. Specifically looking for either 'cannot react' or 'flat-footed' or 'denied dex'.

RAW I think I'm solid, but you're saying RAI. My argument is that people can react once they know there is a situation. A sniper in a belltower may be concealed well, but once the first shot is taken, people run and take cover. They do not stand there in 'lolwut' mode. Once combat has started and round one is done, everyone is in combat and not flat-footed. The guy hiding doesn't get any more surprise on them, but he does have the advantage that people may not be able to find him and stop him. Giving him endless sneak attack is breaking the system.

You guys seem to not understand that you can see something without noticing it...

^^^That^^^

By raw: Failing to notice doesn't not equate to failing an opposed stealth/perception role. Those are two seperate uses of the skill. You know the person is there, but you failed to take note (that is to notice) of them.

So you are saying straight up that someone who makes a Stealth check you fail to beat with your Perception gets no surprise on you because you really have seen them, you just didn't notice them?

how is this person in the open making a stealth check?

"but the rules for not being aware never changed"

Where are those rules (prd link preferred)?

the description of 'check' has two paragraphs. One dealing with surprise, and one dealing with noticing stuff.

You guys seem to not understand that you can see something without noticing it...

A person you fail to 'notice' via the notice rules doesn't get surprise on you. Those are two separate functions of perception. I am actually arguing RAW here.

And you cannot react to your opponent, thus loosing dex bonus to AC, when you cannot see him, barring uncanny dodge. Stealth makes you not see the stealthed character. Simple.

PRD link?

But the text doesn't match with what you say.

And if they're in the jungle, and not trying to stealth, they are auto-noticed. If they were worried about being noticed, they would be making stealth checks (and getting the distance bonuses). If they are walking in a jungle, cutting through brush and stomping on leaves... that's not a quiet thing.

Brandon Tomlinson wrote:

Where does it say this? Without referencing that chart for 'fine details', can you give an example where you need a perception check to be aware of a guy with no cover or concealment.

The chart is not for 'fine details', that descriptor is for the skill.

The chart is labelled as DETAIL.

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/perception

So to notice a DETAIL, ie something as obvious as seeing a person, it is DC0. FINER details have higher DC's.

No they don't, read the check section. That 3rd party prd gives the text out of order, the second paragraph of the check entry end with "The following table gives a number of guidlines".

Only the first paragraph deals with awareness, the second one deals with noticing fine details.

You can't become aware of them if you don't notice them.

I think this is where we can pinpoint our disagreement.

And that section I keep quoting is within the check section.

If you fail a DC 0 Perception check you are basically blind to the obvious.

Where does it say this? Without referencing that chart for 'fine details', can you give an example where you need a perception check to be aware of a guy with no cover or concealment.

If that were the case, then you'd need to make checks every time you enter a room, if you have a fighter with no wis bonus, he will is effectively blind to 1/20th of the world (more beyond 20 ft away). In combat, he can't tell where many enemies are beyond 10 ft.

That's not what that chart is for, you are using it wrong.

Quote:

Facing an Unseen Opponent

To properly defend itself in combat, [b]a creature must be able to see its foe[b/], or use some ability acute enough to substitute for sight, such as the blindsight special quality (or the uncanny dodge ability; the section on uncanny dodge section is in Part Three).

I cannot find this in the PFRPG rules. And that blurb doesn't name a penalty. It doesn't say 'cannot react', or even 'denied dex bonus'.

If you are denied dex bonus to ac or flanked (reference) you take sneak attack damage.

DC0 to see a person.

But the chart is labeled as guidelines 'to notice fine details'.

You are in a hallway, 50 ft down there is a person.

Failing the check doesn't mean you aren't aware of the person, it just means you didn't notice that he was the henchman of that assassin that's been tailing you for months.

I think you guys are using that chart wrong.

Brandon Tomlinson wrote:

Arrow slits are total concealment?

Nope, but if he is behind a wall/barrier he would still get cover/concealment. I am sure he can't have an arrow slit if he is not hiding behind something.

But not total concealment, or total cover.

Therefore, what you quoted up above doesn't apply.

I personally really don't think the goblin should be getting sneak attack on all those people. The first two shots, sure (surprise, and round one for those he beats in the init check). After that people are able to react. They aren't pinned, or bound or anything.

my arrow slit comment was a somewhat rhetorical response to

When facing a totally concealed foe, a creature is denied Dexterity bonus (if any) to Armor Class and the attacker gets a +2 attack bonus as well.

Correct.

Its not a factor of player A's Stealth, it is alla factor of player B's Perception.

As no Stealth is actually in play its DC0 perception check, modified (in this case) by range. 15 and 1 respectively for the question posed.

DC 0 to do what?

Arrow slits are total concealment?

*snip*

That was the closest I could find as well. And the 'react' bit is why I said that after the first round, people are aware of a situation and on the lookout. Sure they cannot find the shooter, but they certainly can react.

Unless you find something that says you cannot react to something you can't see. I'm a bit stumped.

The table is to determine the DC to notice things. It tells you how to mathematically arrive at the correct number using certain conditions.
It is not RAI, but it is RAW.

Well no.. that's what I'm saying I think it is RAI as well. You have just made my argument.

To give a more clear statement. If you fail to 'notice' someone on the other side of the room, is it effectively the same as him being stealthed, even if he is not making a stealth check?

Do you choose to forfeit the save before or after the effect.

A creature can voluntarily forego a saving throw and willingly accept a spell's result

also:

(harmless): The spell is usually beneficial, not harmful, but a targeted creature can attempt a saving throw if it desires.

I'd say that normally only harmless effects are assumed to be 'forgone'.

'harmless' seems to say the save can be made if desired. Otherwise you must willingly forego the save via my first quote.