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So this afternoon I'm planning to try out a psychic. I've looked over the class, the main mechanics on psychic spells and so on. My biggest issue is the sheer number of new spells in the book.

Does someone who had more experience with the playtest or has tried some spells already have some recommendations on some good psychic spells that would be the most useful for most people. It's pretty daunting to go through these huge lists of spells!

Just want some recommendations for spells "I shouldn't miss out on"

Quick question going over this one.

For the final encounter, the 4-player adjustment asks to reduce the AC of a monster in BOTH subtiers to 15. This is a -2 adjustment in the low subtier, but a -6 adjustment in high tier (due to it having an Advanced Template already)... Is this as intended? I figured editing missed the big discrepancy with the advanced template, so wanted to check.

Or should we say AC should be 2 lower instead of flat 15?

This is something I did when Season 5 came out, as easy handouts to give to those players who are not always reading forums and 100% on top of what happens in PFS, as well as new or infrequent players.

GMs, check them out here:

Link to handouts - PFS Prep
Link to handouts - Dropbox direct link

I will update them with the new faction logos when released if they fall under the community use policy as well.

Beginning to prep this one, looks fun.

On page 8, it says: "Noticing the hidden morlocks requires a successful DC 33 Perception check, and on a successful check, the PCs begin the encounter in the marked area."

What marked area? Did I miss something on the map?

LOVE the cheliax boon at the end, but sad to report there is an error on the chronicle. The header for the right side of the available items should "presumably" say Subtier 10-11, not 6-7.

Also, that variant bulette looks awesome! Hope I get to run this at 10-11

Greetings all. SecretsCon is a new gaming convention starting up this year, and GA PFS is hosting Pathfinder Society Scenarios all weekend!

Con information is here:
www.secretscon.com

While Warhorn for PFS signups is here:
Warhorn!

Badges are only $45.00 for the whole weekend, and it includes a lot more than just Pathfinder. Open gaming, card games, and vendors as well.

Excellent Scenario... Pretty much First Steps 1 part deux

1. Templated and stated monsters are added to the GM prep folder

2. *bleep* YEAH GM TORCH!

3. I'm a bit fuzzy on the missions for the Sczarni and the Qadira faction members. Is there anything anywhere that would prompt the PCs of those factions to ask Torch about their need so that he can assign the tasks to them? Does it really only reward the PCs who come up with the idea to ask Torch about it out of nowhere? Or did I miss a prompt/handout anywhere? Or does Torch just knows who is in which faction and he volunteers that he may have extra tasks for those people?

going through prepping this...

Did anyone else notice the PFS says "The Confirmation" on all the headers?

Kyle B can't leave Thursty alone it seems!

So, early in book two we are on the first uses of the mass combat rules. The PCs win and the army is defeated, hooray. Now, in Ultimate Campaign, it states when an opposing army is defeated, the winning army can make a Loyalty Check to increase its morale and/or gain a boon.

But, Loyalty checks are tied to kingdom building rules, which to my knowledge are not using in the book. I don't know what the Control DC is to make the Loyalty check against and so on. I haven't seen much asked about this on the forums, so I am inclined to believe we missed something somewhere in the book.

Or, are there just set points in the books where commanders will earn tactics and boons?

just starting to prep some of this and stat out some monsters:

The first encounter with the centipedes, on the "adjusting for 4 players" sidebar, says adjustements are only to the Titan Centipede. Do these changes also apply to the 10-11 subtier?

Since it seems it slipped to post a thread about this earlier, here are the details!

The GA Pathfinder Society WILL be at Dragon Con as usual this year. We are offering a total of 14 slots (!!!) throughout the weekend of PFS goodness. Every single Season 4 scenario will be offered, along plenty more!

We will be located on the second floor of the Hilton, in Salon A. You can purchase tickets for gaming from Gaming HQ in the basement of the Hilton. Tickets for your specific slot will guarantee you a seat, but we almost always have room to seat walk-ins and generics.

Slots run everyday:
8 am - 1 pm
1 pm - 6 pm
7 pm - Midnight
Midnight - 4 am

We will be offering the season 5 special Siege of the Diamond City in the Saturday night slot, starting at 7pm. Get your tickets early, as last year we had trouble seating all generics.

In addition, we will also be running one table of Ruins of Bonekeep, parts 1 and part 2, in every single slot of the con (except for the very last slot of the con). We all know the drill, you are warned that these scenarios are NOT easy.

I personally will be there GMing quite a bit, including all the Midnight slots which are always a blast!

Finally, we will also have other events going on during the slot times:
- GM 101 and 201 seminars!
- Goblin attacks!
- Adventure Card Game demos

I believe (Mr. Pratt can correct me) that all these extra events are free and will cost no event tickets.

I believe you can still purchase tickets at The Dragon Con events page. Just filter for Area: Roleplaying games (Campaign) and Game System: Paizo's Pathfinder Society Campaign

Looking through it now, already found some things for GMs to be aware of.

Page 12, the Country Inn is a flip-mat, not a Map Pack.

Chronicle sheets: So THIS is how factions will matter. Pretty sweet! I like it!

Looking at the rules document that sanctions Shattered Star, the entry for Dead Heart of Xin is still listed as "TBD". It is possible that a group of players may be looking to play this in module mode sometime in the near future, and was asking the powers that be if there is an update to be had in the next few weeks for it.

So our retirement group finished the dreaded academy of secrets this past weekend, getting all our Seekers to level 14.2 and ready for some Iron Medusa soon.

Our question was, if you have ever played or GM'ed the module, there is a point towards the end where your character is allowed to make a certain deal. In our group, about half the party made the deal and half did not.

The question we had was, the chronicle sheet has no "boon" or repercussion related to this deal. Does this mean that for PFS, people who made the deal are ok to operate normally in the future without problems?

So, odd situation I wanted to clarify before I report. If I run a game of first steps for 4 new players, and by new I mean super new, like new to RPGs in general. Only two liked it and decided to get some PFS numbers from me, and may join our regular games in the future. The other two vehemently expressed that I shouldn't bother with the chronicle sheets and PFS nubmers, because although they appreciated the try, they decided RPGs were not for them. All 4 played pregens. They had a good time, but it is not just for them, and I appreciate that.

Now my question is does the system allow me to report the table with one GM and 2 players, or is there a 3 player minimum. Or, since I have a sheet of 10 PFS numbers I use for walk-ins at a game day I organize, should I give those two players that have no intentions of playing again a number anyway and report it with all players?

From the swarm traits entry:

Swarm Traits: A swarm has no clear front or back and no discernable anatomy, so it is not subject to critical hits or flanking. A swarm made up of Tiny creatures takes half damage from slashing and piercing weapons. A swarm composed of Fine or Diminutive creatures is immune to all weapon damage. Reducing a swarm to 0 hit points or less causes it to break up, though damage taken until that point does not degrade its ability to attack or resist attack. Swarms are never staggered or reduced to a dying state by damage. Also, they cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent.

The entry doesn't specifically state precision-based damage or sneak attacks.

Assuming I had a rogue with swarmbane clasp (for example) and I beat the swarm in initiative, can I deal sneak attack damage?

Is the line "no clear front or back and no discernable[sic] anatomy" just fluff or is it actually saying no sneak attack?

I tried to find other examples of this, and it looks like in the bestiary 2 monster "Worm that walks" it has the same wording as swarm traits above (granted, this is a prime possibility for a copy-paste error as I am pretty sure the text is almost word-for-word from the swarm traits section).

Another creature I found that has explicit immunity to crits but not flaking is the Aeon creatures from Bestiary 2. These actually call out in their stat blocks "Immunities critical hits, poison..." which leads me to believe crit-ability =/= sneakattack-ability.

Thoughts?

I just finished reading the scenario and doing some prep, and I have to say it looks like a blast. I'll definitely report back with how the game goes on Saturday.

For anyone prepping, I uploaded all the bestiary baddies in a single file to the GM shared prep folder. Enjoy.

I got to play this one last weekend and will be running it myself this coming weekend. I got some really good ideas from the GM who ran it for me about some things to do to adapt it to PFS, but does anyone else have some good suggestions on how to bring in the players? Or just say Captain Dreng takes them in the middle of the night, ships them to Varisia and tells them to make friends with this circus?

Has anyone come up with good motivations they are willing to share to tie in the story to the pathfinder society?

The link at the end of this FAQ entry below doesn't lead to anywhere, resulting in the paizo homepage on load.

http://paizo.com/products/btpy84k4/faq?Guide-to-Pathfinder-Society-Organize d-Play#v5748eaic9okn

So, I have a new wizard (female) who will be becoming a bloatmage in a few levels. I would like to find a miniature of a decently burly woman, and of course 99.5% of all females in fantasy are anorexic supermodels.

The closest I have seen is Visbarontess mini, but wanted to see if anyone else had a good idea for one.

She is a tiefling, but her features are pretty mild so any human would do.

Subject says it all.

LOOOOOVE the new logo! Truly bringing in a modern look.

Go season 4!

I have a Two-hand Paladin that is coming up the ranks. He just made level 5, and needs to take a feat. However I am torn on what to go for. I know that my ultimate goal is to eventually take Ultimate Mercy, hoefully pretty quickly.

My current feats:

(H) Power Attack
(1) Cleave
(3) Greater Mercy

In order to take (and use) Ultimate Mercy at level 9, I need to take Extra Lay on Hands between now and then. So the options I am currently thinking of are:

1. (5) Furious Focus, (7) Extra Lay on Hands, (9) Ultimate Mercy
2. (5) Weapon Focus (Falcata), (7) Extra Lay on Hands, (9) Ultimate Mercy
3. (5) Extra Lay on Hands, (7) Lunge, (9) Ultimate Mercy
4. (5) Extra Lay on Hands, (7) Ultimate Mercy, (9) Lunge?

Only problem with option 4 is that I won't have enough uses of LOH to activate ultimate mercy until level 8. So I feel like I have a dead feat.

So for my next PFS character, I am thinking about building some sort of arcane caster. The concept I ended up deciding on is a caster that specialized in Conjuration spells. My biggest dilemma is whether I make him a Wizard or a Sorcerer. I am vehemently against making a Summoner (vanilla or master summoner alike)

Wizard build:
Elf, with Arcane Focus alternate racial trait
Specialized School: Teleportation (Conjuration)
Opposition Schools: Necromancy, Illusion
Arcane Bond: Familiar (toad)
Traits: Master of Pentacles (Cheliax) 1/day add +2 to caster level when determining duration of conjuration spell
Feat: Spell Focus (enchantment) - after summoning, I want him to focus on debuffing. But enchantment school bonuses were kinda lame, as is Spell Focus (conjuration).

Pros: lots of skill points (good for PFS)
Prepared caster, so I can swap other spells in a pinch
Teleportation lvl 1 power is really nice to avoid casting in combat.
at level 1 summons last 3 rounds (specialization and trait)

Cons: lower spells per day (3 total at level 1)

Sorcerer build:
Halfling, with Fleet of Foot alternate racial trait
Archetype - Wildblooded
Bloodline: Bedrock (summoned monsters have DR x/Adamantine)
Bloodline power: Tremor (trip attack using CHA and Sorc level)
Traits: Master of Pentacles (Cheliax) 1/day add +2 to caster level when determining duration of conjuration spell
Feat: Spell Focus (enchantment) - after summoning, I want him to focus on debuffing. And Spell Focus (conjuration) is kinda lame.

Pros: More casts per day (4 at lvl 1)
trip attack BL power meshes well with "debuffer"/battlefield control idea
Tremorsense after lvl 9

Cons: very few skills
less HP
at lvl 1 summons last 2 rounds (trait)

-------------

Both builds will eventually go for some Persistent Metamagic Rods to buff up their ability to land those Will saves and Greater Spell Focus.

Is there something odd going on with my avatar? I see it as a 2010 the year we make contact poster O.o

Hello all,

I am a local store liaison for my PFS chapter. I am incorporating a new store into the rotation of stores we play in, and was going to create some promotional fliers or posters so that the store can have them up/out for their regulars who might not know we are starting PFS gaming there.

I was about to start, when I thought "HEY, someone out there or another PFS chapter might have already created this". So I figured I would ask if anyone had done these before. And if not, any ideas what to include would be appreciated.

Currently:
What is Pathfinder
What is PFS
What you need to play (i.e. nothing, we will have pregens, dice, minis etc...)
When it is, and how often
contact info for signups

Anything else Im missing?

Hello everyone. I have recently taken over a kingmaker campaign, and am looking for one PC to fill a vacancy. We are going strong, with multiple GM and character posts every day. We are looking to round up the team, so if you are interested please read on.

Current Party:
Sorceress
Rogue
Paladin (Erastil)
Fighter
Witch

Please note - the party is looking for a divine caster or healing character, as that is the character we lost. Clerics, Druids, Life oracles etc... have the best chance to get picked.

--> Note: Download and read the Kingmaker Player's Guide.<-- It's free. When you make a character, keep it as real it can be in a fantasy setting. Half-orcs are often misunderstood and distrusted so it's unlikely you would have a half-orc wizard without an awesome backstory to explain it. Not saying you couldn't have a halfling barbarian or dwarf paladin, but make a believable back story WHY and HOW they became that. You are arriving late to the party, but I have worked up a way to fill you in. So please just follow the campaign guide as far as to why you have taken the charter to explore the Greenbelt.

Recruitment window - based solely on quality of submissions and when the party finishes the current encounter they are in. So get your apps in early. Correct/finished statblocks and good backstories are your key to success. Pro tip, make sure to read my entire post before applying too.

Does anyone know of an item that will let my medium size character become small for extended periods of time? He can't cast reduce person but he has UMD and a wand of it for now. Closest I could find was a greater hat of disguise that would let me alter self. Any other items I'm missing?

We have recently finished First Steps Part 1, and are looking for 2-3 more characters that want to join for the next 2 parts. The current party is: Fighter (melee), Magus, Druid (non-healer).

First Steps is meant to be an introductory scenario for new players to the PFS. It is three sessions long, and live can take around 8 hours total, so it should not be a crazy long campaign. Part one took around 1 month. Anyone playing all three parts will be level 2 at the end, a much better starting point for PFS play going forward. So any characters applying should be brand new level 1 or with only 1 xp accumulated so far or you will level and not be able to play part 3.

Posting Frequency
We have been a very fast paced group so far, with everyone posting around once a day or more, and myself multiple times a day on weekdays. Please plan to post/check at least daily, or you run the risk of missing out on asking an NPC a question or participating in a dialogue. You will be "botted" if you are absent for an extended period of time if you don't let me know ahead of time.

PFS
Please note this will be a PFS sanctioned scenario, and the following restrictions (and more) apply:
Level 1, new characters or level 1 with 1 XP
Core races
Core classes, APG, UM, UC (check the allowed resources list for extras)
Everyone starts with 150 gold
Max HP at first level
You do NOT need to pick a faction before First Steps

Note: I absolutely do not mind players new to PFS, but if you are please do take 10 minutes and read the Guide to Organized Play. It's free and a quick read!

Character Submissions
Unlike other threads, PFS characters do not always need a novella as a back story. Basically, we are all Pathfinders and members of the Society. We are gathered at the Grand Lodge in Absalom to get a mission from the Venture-Captain.

What I would like to see from your submission is 2-3 paragraphs describing your upbringing, why you came to Absalom, and why did you decide to become a Pathfinder. A full statblock is not necessary to apply, but you can add it if you wish (spoiler tag it if posting it in this thread).

Recruitment Window
I want to leave this open throughout some of the weekend to allow players to post but the party and myself are eager to get going. Plan is to close it sometime Monday at the latest. Some players with outstanding submissions may be picked earlier, so yes, an early submission will have an advantage. But that those will have to be excellent submissions with full backgrounds and full CORRECT stat blocks.

Other Requirements AFTER we begin
I will need an email address to mail you your chronicle sheet, as well as links to the maps. Maps are hosted on google pics.
You should have a PFS number by the time we start

I think this topic hasn't been brought up in a while, but I wanted to chime in. Currently, upgrading the strength rating on a composite bow is not allowed. You have to buy it outright with the STR rating you want. I have seen these few problems so far:

1. Anyone wanting to use a comp. bow with any proficiency can't buy one from level 1. 150gp only gets you a regular shortbow or longbow, which you then have to scrap after your first adventure (it's like a 50gp tax on anyone wanting to use comp. bows, I know it's not a lot but at level 1 that potion of CLW can be a saver).

2. Wizards (elves?) are screwed of ever getting one as their arcane bond.

3. Archers have a hard decision at some point. Let's say I built my Archer Bard with 15 STR. After my first few scenarios, I cashed in for a mwk composite shortbow (+2 STR) which I later upgraded to a composite shortbow (+2 STR) +1. When I get to level 4, I might have wanted to put that 1 ability upgrade in STR to bring me to 16 STR and a +3 mod. All melee classes doing this get an instant bonus to damage. As an archer, if I wanted to benefit I would have to sell and rebuy my bow (1000+gp down the drain, plus cost of new +1 bow).

3a. I think it would be interesting if I had to make the decision of a STR (for damage) or a DEX (for AC/atk bonus) belt on my archer. But with un-upgradeable comp bows there is no reason to take the STR one. Or the DEX/STR one for that matter.

3b. I guess the ONE option is to purchase a comp bow with higher STR rating from the get go, to account for where you want to eventually get to. But of course, the penalties until you do get there make it so you probably will never fire it in the first place. If you were able to cast Bull's Strength consistently it MIGHT be an option, but then again why aren't you casting it on the Barb or Paly instead?

Yes, I know that thematically and RAW a composite bow is not "upgradeable". But a little handwaving (e.g. you are replacing the strings or pulleys with stronger/firmer ones instead of the frame) could go a long ways.

So, I think this has been addressed in threads before, but a bit ambiguously, and as to not get accused of thread-necroing I'll just ask in a separate thread.

Basically I am just looking if we have a list of all the flipmats and map packs that are used in Kingmaker. I would even be interested to know if anyone has recommendations for some that are not explicitly in the book, but you have used for either random encounters or special events.

For example, looks like Stolen Land uses the "Bandit's hideout" flip-mat for the outpost, but I don't think any of the others are a flip-mat.

Thanks in advance!

Greetings Pathfinder,

I hope this letter finds you well, agent. I need you to come to the Grand Lodge as soon as possible, I hope you are ready for your first assignment. Make your preparations, and I will meet you there tomorrow.

For the Decemvirate,

Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin

First post placeholder

This is the Discussion and OOC thread for GM Nel's First Steps game

This is the official character submission thread for the First Step Series. I'm looking for 4-5 characters but I MAY start with 6 depending. No promises.

First Steps is meant to be an introductory scenario for new players to the PFS. It is three sessions long, and live can take around 8 hours total, so it should not be a crazy long campaign. If you stick throughout all three parts, your character will be level 2 at the end, a much better starting point for PFS play going forward.

Posting Frequency
I plan to progress the scenario every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, giving everyone time (including myself) to post actions or roleplay in between. Please plan to post/check at least daily, or you run the risk of missing out on asking an NPC a question or participating in a dialogue. You will be "botted" if you are absent for an extended period of time if you don't let me know ahead of time.

PFS
Please note this will be a PFS sanctioned scenario, and the following restrictions (and more) apply:
Level 1, new characters only
Core races
Core classes, APG, UM, UC (check the allowed resources list for extras)
Everyone starts with 150 gold
Max HP at first level
You do NOT need to pick a faction before First Steps
I recommend no archetypes, unless it includes changes to your level 1 abilities. GM discretion if you want one from level 1.

Note: I absolutely do not mind players new to PFS, but if you are please do take 10 minutes and read the Guide to Organized Play. It's free and a quick read!

Character Submissions
Unlike other threads, PFS characters do not always need a novella as a back story. Basically, we are all Pathfinders and members of the Society. We are gathered at the Grand Lodge in Absalom to get a mission from the Venture-Captain.

What I would like to see from your submission is 2-3 paragraphs describing your upbringing, why you came to Absalom, and why did you decide to become a Pathfinder. A full statblock is not necessary to apply, but you can add it if you wish (spoiler tag it).

Recruitment Window
I want to leave this open throughout some of the weekend to allow players to post. Plan is to close it sometime early Sunday at the latest, and I'll pick players later that day. Recruiting may close early based on amount of submissions.

Other Requirements AFTER we begin
I will need an email address to mail you your chronicle sheet, as well as links to the maps.
You should get a PFS number by the time we start

Hello everyone,

I want to do a quick interest check to see if we have any players interested in playing the First Steps series for Pathfinder Society here on the boards.

This would be a great opportunity for any new players who have been thinking about PFS but have not taken the steps to join yet, or maybe you don't have a local lodge.

Everyone playing will need brand new Level 1 characters. My vision is that we will hopefully play through the ENTIRE first steps series, not just Part 1, so characters will end up at Level 2 afterwards.

Character creation would of course need to be by PFS rules, or using a PFS Lvl 1 pregen. (Core, APG, UC, UM)

That being said, this is an interest check only, don't flood the thread with character submissions.

If you are new to PFS, PbP, or even Pathfinder in general, this might be a great opportunity to try it out. For me, commitment is much more important than experience. (this will be a learning experience for me as well)

So, I am a pretty new player to Pathfinder, and while reading threads and shopping for books I have to say I am pretty overwhelmed. I tried to find a sticky or FAQ about this somewhere, but maybe someone can point me in the right direction.

The hardest thing for me right now is deciphering what all the different product lines are. I see modules, adventure paths, campaign setting, chronicles, etc... and honestly it gets hard to differentiate what they are for a new player.

My question is is there a "primer" of sorts for this somewhere? My current understanding/questions are:

"Pathfinder RPG" - core books and general items related to the system and rules mostly
Pathfinder Campaign Setting - products about Golarion, the world and its characters. Not necessarily about the rules
Pathfinder Adventure Paths - how are these different from modules/scenarios?
Pathfinder Player Companion - different from core line of books?
Pathfinder Modules - how are these different from adv paths/scenarios?
Pathfinder Tales - ?
Pathfinder Chronicles - ? Same as Campaign setting?
Pathfinder Society - Organized Play. Good on this one, as I play at my local one :)

Hi all,

I am a recent PF player, currently very involved in my local PFS. I am probably the "odd man out" in a sense, having been the DM for most of my PnP RPG career and almost never a player.

Now playing in PFS, I have been wondering what other players use to help them during a game session. For example, my main character is a Bard. After seeing another player use poker chips to keep track of spells/day ramaining, I thought this would be a good idea to keep track of my bardic performances left per day. Really helped not having to track on paper, then erasing it once we hit midnight, and so on.

Now I am of course wondering what other things like these people find useful. I'm not really talking about electronic tools like Hero Lab or iPhone/iPad apps, but more creative solutions to streamline the process.

What other cool ideas are out there?