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Callan, still tingling from the flow of electricity and the sting of steel continues to bellowing,
Seeing the illusion and then the devastating hit against his reptilian friend, the Barbarian flies into a Rage and attacks his foe (keeping an eye out for the female ninja as well). -Posted with Wayfinder
As his Elvin companion rushes forward, Callan will engage with his short bow but misses badly. He curses the weapon and discards it for his axe and advances.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Callan spends no energy on talking with the dawnflowers, rather he draws his dagger 'nail' and takes a trophy from the shapeshifter... A talloned fore finger. -Posted with Wayfinder
Again Callan's blessed axe sings thru the air with an extra push from an unseen force...
=total damage! -Posted with Wayfinder
The Half-Orc Callan hungrily accepts the nourishment offered and makes short work of his portion, he then says, "Thank you Akkuret, priest of Sarenrae for sharing your food and drink. I have been involved in death and dying for what seems the entirety of my existence and religion has never found its way into my life. Although I may not understand your dedication to something that you can not possess, I do understand right from wrong; and vengeance for wrongdoing may just become my religion."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Callan puts away the parchment and charcoal he'd been using to draw a rough map of the tunnels and offers to take point as the journey forth. -Posted with Wayfinder
"I will cause a distraction, get everyone out of the back of the shop! I will meet you at the pub down the street in one half of the hour, otherwise you may need to come bail me out of jail! Swift like the wind now..."
The Half-Orc eyes the newcomer suspiciously, having grown accustomed to combat with Io the dwarf. He musters enough manners to at least curtly nod and acknowledge the existence of the Half-Elf. Maybe their shared muddy bloodlines will allow them to find common ground... maybe.
Of those two, I personally like the sound of the Dalsine Affair, but would be happy to go with either. :) Concur... -Posted with Wayfinder
From your proposal, these are the ones that I have played or am currently playing: 0-01 Silent Tide
Leaving me cool with any of these (* = prefrences): 1-35 Voice in the Void
"Thank you for the healing, Jiggs. I don't know about you lot, but the opportunity to line my coin-purse off of the backs of forgotten treasure in the bowels of an ancient crypt is one that can not be passed. And as our ginger-headed war-priest has suggested, should we not clear these reanimated vermin that are sure to be roaming these crypts?"
He then closes the distance with the bomb throwing alchemist and swings his axe hungrily. -Posted with Wayfinder
-Posted with Wayfinder
Callan assumes the position to the left of his uncommon adventuring partner Jiggo and nods approvingly as he looks to Amarandlon to "rock the bell."
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The consortium's half-elf recruiter has a stack of applications on his table when the line has at last died down. Should anyone have the bright idea of trying to make more conversation with the man to improve their odds, a cold look over the top rim of his glasses sends them back to wherever in the Salt Cellar they have managed to find a seat-- if they managed to find a seat. The common room is fuller than it's been in years. Many villagers are here to apply for work; others to watch and gossip. The ranks are also swelled by new faces: a dozen or so of GMC's indentured laborers are here, and a few brawnier sorts whose nicer gear and visible weapons indicate they are not mere laborers. Villagers nudge and whisper each other. Look, he's got a real sword... Hey, that woman there, she's got a crossbow! D'you suppose they have to fight off bandits? Though the residents of Salt Spire attempt to hide their interest and carry on normal conversation, the air in the room is tensely expectant. Villagers keep throwing glances at the half-elf, who carries on making his notes as if he were not currently the focus of interest of at least thirty sets of eyes. The process is interrupted by the arrival of Sholy, the mayor of Salt Spire, even if the title is a mere formality. Civic council meetings, such as they are, take place right here in the Salt Cellar's common room. Sholy is a woman of some fifty years, short and compact, her greying hair pulled back into a practical braid. She joins Jalynor Brazali at his table and the two immediately fall into low conversation, punctuated with looks around the room for this or that villager. Sense Motive DC 10; Indentured Laborer bonus applies:
Though Jalynor smiles perfunctorily at Sholy, and you can occasionally catch enough dialogue to know that his words are respectful, it only takes a little observation to determine who's leading this conversation, and it's not the mayor. Jalynor peppers Sholy with enquiries about the applicants, and the mayor is dutifully spilling villager's life stories within a few minutes. Eventually, the half-elf seems satisfied. He makes a few more decisive notes in his books while Sholy stands and clears her throat. "Friends," she says, "I, um, well, we're all very glad to be welcoming this wonderful opportunity to our little town! The Goldenscale Consortium promises a breath of, umm, economic fresh air for all our young folk and even some of our older folk. I don't need to tell you all we've seen more boats at our docks this last month then the whole year before that. We have coin coming in again, and stayin' right here, in Salt Spire, and we're mighty glad of it, aren't we all!" There are a few smatters of tentative applause from those assembled. Sholy smiles and continues, "The council's been happy to offer exploratory rights to the Consortium in exchange for the trade and business this will bring to Salt Spire. Just like in days before, when ore comes out of the mines, money comes in to our town, and that means better food, better jobs, better lives. I have Mr. Brazali's promise that the young folk who show they're good with sums and such can even get free schoolin', become engineers and things down the line. It's wonderful. It's, you know, it's just wonderful." A bit more applause. Sholy seems to founder a bit, not sure what to say next, but the half-elf smoothly takes over the conversation. "Thank you so much, Mayor Sholy. We trust it will be a successful partnership for both your town and the Consortium. I personally want to express our gratitude for all the ways you and the rest of the council have made conditions favorable for us, it won't be forgotten." "GET TO THE JOBS ALREADY!" someone bellows from back in a corner-- Sholy shoots the offender a glare, though Brazali is unruffled. The half-elf smiles fractionally. "Enthusiasm! We like that. I am pleased to invite the following residents to meet with me to sign your contract: Brosker, Xiramona Salpashti, Druv, Phantrel Springleaf, Em Salt, Raka, Sulianna, Gunder Varys, Colin Bazelgette...." The half-elf drones another dozen names at least, then gestures to his table. "Please form a queue. To everyone else, we do thank you for your interest; your applications will be kept on file for six months in case of another opening arising. You may continue to enjoy the house wine tonight, with our compliments." Brosker looks delighted, and claps one of his fellow fisherfolk, Sulianna, heartily on her shoulder. Druv, a scrawny teenager with a bad case of acne, lets out a little whoop and rushes to be the first in line at the table. Eska's son Gunder shoots his mother a big smile then hurries to get in the queue. Jalynor consults his notes and glances around for Argatha and Brimble. "The two of you - let's see, I already discussed Mister Palescale's situation; Argatha, if you want to ask any questions about your remaining contract time, just join the line." With that said, the half-elf resumes his seat. Villagers queue up, drift out, or return to their drinks and fish stew.
Talk amongst yourselves. Discord chatter be here, yar: 7-day link
Welcome to Salt Spire, a village wedged between the mountains and the sea in the north of Varisia. Though small, it once bustled with a productive mine and a healthy fishing trade, and served as a stopping point for sailors rounding the peninsula on their way north. But some twenty years ago the mine petered out, the fishing began to fail, and the sailors found other ports. So did half the village, trickling away over the years in search of better prospects. Those who remain have little to work with but continue to scratch out a meager living from the rocks and the ocean. The only thing that brings visitors (and their coin) to the village is a strange sealed door down in the mine shafts– the old stories say it’s of dwarven make, if you can believe that. Occasionally, adventurers and their ilk trickle to Salt Spire and from thence into the mines, but ultimately they all leave with nothing to show for it: the door has never yielded its secrets or been breached. Until last month. Newcomers arrived in Salt Spire with tools and explosives. They had no more luck with the door than anyone before them, but the rock surrounding it? That proved more vulnerable. The Goldenscale Mining Consortium drilled and blasted a hole into the chambers beyond the door, and now they need bodies to do the grunt work of getting rubble out. The pay is better than the villagers have seen in years. Don’t worry. It’s not likely to be dangerous. The GMC’s mercenaries and engineers are sweeping the rooms and caves for risks before you enter– you’re just there to shlep and haul. It’s hard, dull, backbreaking work, but safe enough. Just sign here– standard one-year contract– and a GMC agent will issue you your gear and tools. Some OOC Expectations, for both me and you!:
This will be a highly atmospheric game with some elements of: dungeon crawl, survival, horror, mystery, and exploration. It will also require placing some trust in your GM as we work to tell a story together. Right now you will not really be able to perfectly plan out your character due to twists I have in mind, but I assure you, my goal as a GM is not to be your adversary, but to set up interesting questions for you/your characters to explore. Come prepared to roleplay– not just with NPCs, but with each other, as you will need to work with the other PCs to stay alive. To that end, we will have a campaign Discord server to talk OOCly and help inter-party bonding. Maps will be handled via Google Slides. I will attempt at least one post daily on weekdays, one on weekends, and would like players to try and aim for the same, with the understanding that life certainly does happen at times. Setting:
This is set in Golarion but with a bit of a twist. It is perhaps a slightly parallel universe to regular Golarion, with the main difference being: the dwarves. Nobody on Golarion, or at least nobody you know, has ever seen a live dwarf. (Or, for that matter, a dead one.) There’s a lot of supposedly dwarven ruins in the world (many now inhabited by goblins, orcs, etc), but dwarves themselves are a long-vanished race, with only their handiworks left as clues as to who they were. Dwarven history is a bit of a niche scholarly subject. (Should be obvious by now, but: you cannot play as a dwarf.) As for the town itself: Salt Spire is less grandiose than the name suggests. At one time, 300 souls lived here, but now the population is no more than a hundred– and many of those hundred are aging. Few children roam Salt Spire’s gravel roads, these days, and enterprising young adults often leave on the first boat that will carry them to somewhere else– anywhere else. The old-timers sit in the village’s only remaining inn and pub, the Salt Cellar, and bemoan the good old days. Locations and persons of note if you want to tie your character to any of them Of the other buildings in town: Half of them are abandoned, and many are in the process of being reclaimed by the sea and the winter storms. Even the inhabited ones are getting shabbier. Lumber is somewhat scarce in Salt Spire, as the easily accessible trees on the mountainside were cut down years ago to provide fuel for the smithy and wood for the boats. Obtaining more of the remaining wood is labor intensive and usually reserved for boat repair, so buildings often are patched with planks or stones taken from the abandoned structures– but the salt corrosion of the sea makes inroads on everything. Metal is rusting, paint is peeling, glass windows that break cannot be replaced… the town is slowly but steadily decaying. Or it was. The GMC promises an influx of new resources, people, and trade. Things are looking up for Salt Spire! Mechanics/Applying:
YA, RLY. It won’t stay that way forever, but be prepared to spend some time at first with the stats and abilities of an NPC, and for mere survival to be a challenge. I am selecting here for player vibes and concepts much more than for mechanical characters. That said, I know that everyone still wants to know the rules for the game itself, so they are included below– but at this point your mechanical build is the least interesting thing about your character. I mean, you are level 1 NPC classes with a ten point spread, nobody is managing anything clever in that sense. You can include your stats/build as part of your application if you like, but I’m honestly not gonna look too close at it. You can include a mention of what class(es) you might ultimately like to pursue, though it might be helpful if you think more in terms of ‘role’ than exact class. Like: ‘Jessik is going to focus on ranged attacks and skills’ rather than ‘Jessik will be an archery style ranger 4/fighter 2’. Further character building deets: --- Allowed classes: Adept, Commoner, Expert, Warrior for now. Down the road you will be able to pick from any Paizo-published class.
If you’ve read all this and are still interested in taking a chance on this weirdo game, great! Please fill out, in-character, the “application” in the next post. You are welcome (indeed, encouraged) to include a little bit of roleplay with it – perhaps narrating your character’s thoughts as they read the questions, that sort of thing. Applications will close June 4th. I have three players who already have guaranteed spots and am recruiting for 2-3 more. Questions? Ask! 
(Any OOC chatter needed that can't happen on the Discord)
You arrive outside of Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin's office. There are comfortable benches and chairs as you wait. Ambrus Valsin sticks his head out once, regards those of who are present, counting to himself, then says, "I'll wait til you're all here-- no point rehashing the mission more than once..." During the minutes you wait outside his office, you have a chance to assess your fellow agents, and make introductions, if you're the talkative sort. The next time Valsin looks out, he counts again, then nods, satisfied, and steps back to gesture you into his office. "Come on in. Tea?" Couches before the Captain's desk offer a place to sit, and a bright-eyed halfling secretary serves you mugs of hot tea as Valsin sits heavily back behind his desk, looking gloomier than usual. Two objects sit on his desk-- a patchwork hide bag, and a rock that is vaguely egg-shaped, but about ten inches tall, and glowing redly. "Thank you all for coming to my summons. I hope you got to know each other out in the waiting room. I'll get right to it: the Society has received a summons asking-- nay, demanding-- representation from the Society's agents at a meeting of Shoanti quah leaders." Valsin's thick, callused fingers tap a piece of parchment against his desk. "We're being invited to a feast, but the dish being served is crow, I'm afraid. "Let me explain. Some years ago, a solo Pathfinder field agent, a gnome named Lumketel Simset, returned to Absalom crowing about his discovery of a long-lost Thassilonian ruin in a remote section of Varisia. He had all manner of items recovered from the site, and all sorts of stories to tell. It was duly written up and entered into the Pathfinder Chronicles. "The issue is that what Lumketel found was not a ruin of a long-vanished civilization, but rather, the burial grounds-- still in use-- of Shoanti tribal peoples. "I don't know if Lumketel ignorantly believed his relics were truly Thassilonian, or whether his pride wouldn't let him admit to his error. I'd ask him, but the Society lost contact with Lumketel over a year ago. Trust me, if I could get my hands on him, I'd be sending him to answer for this embarrassment. "The Shoanti tribespeople have discovered that one of their sacred sites was trespassed upon, damaged, and looted-- by us. They're demanding we account for what happened, and I'm sending you, as skilled agents with numerous accomplishments each to your names. "This bag contains four relics-- carved, wooden items that Lumketel brought back. We're returning them to their proper owners. The stone is a handy little item called a scavenger's stone-- it can cast restorative magic upon damaged objects and items. Fixing whatever damage our lone agent caused-- and giving back what he stole-- is the least we can do. "We do have some allies among the quahs, thankfully, but it'll be an uphill battle. The Shoanti are notoriously distrustful of outsiders... with good reason. Your mission is to try and make things right with these people... keep in mind that this is not just a religious issue for them, but may be deeply personal-- some of the leaders you are going to meet with may have parents or grandparents interred in the tomb that this fool Lumketel traipsed through. Be tactful. Be sincere with our apologies. Ask them for the chance to be allowed to make right the damage and the trespass. "But I'd also be aware that Shoanti justice can be harsh, so don't assume this will be all chit-chatting. If they decide that the only suitable price is a blood price-- defend yourselves, obviously, I'm not sending you out to be killed as compensation. Try to extricate yourselves with as little bloodshed as possible, though. If we alienate the Shoanti as a whole, they may well decide Pathfinders shouldn't be allowed to travel through their territories at all-- making any further missions we do in Varisia, indeed, the north in general-- that much more complicated. "Even if they do let you make things right, that may involve its own hazards, as per Lumketel's notes..." Valsin straightens a stack of papers and sets them next to the bag and items. "I have Lumketel's original notes here, as well as the Chronicles entry he wrote about it. I'd suggest reviewing them before you enter the site-- IF you're granted permission. "Any questions?" Handout #1 (An excerpt from Lumketel's Chronicles entry):
My foray into the heart of the Iron Peaks led me to a sealed entry etched with strange runes, hidden on the banks of the Muschkal River. Upon breaking the seal, to my surprise, I discovered what doubtless was an ancient Thassilonian ruin—a rare and worthy find for the Pathfinder Society. I entered without hesitation.
Much to my shock and dismay, I was met with a towering monstrosity entirely made of glowing bone and decaying flesh, lurching from the darkness! From the bones leapt two alien canids, seemingly comprised of pure energy. Retreat was not an option. Quickly thinking, I dashed into the darkness toward a narrower passage, hoping to avoid engaging the fell beasts in the open. Where the skeletal monster couldn’t follow, the lightning creatures could, with fierce jaws snapping as I ran into the darkness. I found myself in a bizarre maze, unable to see and surrounded by twisting passages that boggled the mind. The wolves were on my heels. Darting through passageways and walls, I summoned the intestinal fortitude and magical might vested in me and dispatched the canids back to the unfathomable reality from whence they came. With the wolves gone, it was a duel between me and the bone beast. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be penning this Chronicle if I had lost! With a few choice spells and nimble dodging, I dispatched the monster, its bones and viscera scattering throughout the hall.... Handout #2 (Lumketel's handwritten notes):
Alrighty! So now that that we have people, let's get to the fun part we're all here for: creating our characters. Stats: Based on what was shaping up in the discussion, looks like there's some nostalgia/excitement over the idea of getting to roll stats. I'm not opposed, there's something about rolling dice that's just plain fun. I propose the following: 4d6 6 times, drop 1, arrange your scores where you like. If anyone winds up with something that's a less than 15-point buy, they can either increase a stat freely until it hits a 15-pt buy, or just build fresh using 15 pt buy. Thoughts? Skills: Unchained skills/background skills seems to have no objections, so let's say that yep, go for it. Alignments; I'm not gonna outright bar evil, but don't play stupid evil. Your character should be able to at least pretend to play nice with others and have a reason they wouldn't screw the rest of the party over, etc. Traits: 2, ignore regional requirements if you see a trait that appeals to you. If you feel like taking a drawback to get an extra trait, I'll allow it. I'll also look for ways to make your drawback relevant. Races: I'm just gonna nix anything TOO exotic right off the bat. Core races are encouraged; races like the elementals, tieflings/aasimars, etc on a tentative basis. If it was something that was only allowed via a specific boon in PFS (like a dhampir or wayang) I'm gonna just say no; if it was one of those that was allowed open access in specific seasons, then .... maybe. Essentially, is it really important to your concept that the character be an X? Exotic races start to feel a lot LESS exotic when half the party is comprised of things that supposedly are very rare, so I personally prefer them to be used sparingly in parties. Feat taxes: People made a good point in discussion on how really that means giving monsters more feats too, so I think we'll just leave that off the table and if you want Power Attack or PBS or whatever you'll have to earn it the old-fashioned way. Starting gold: 150 across the board, I dislike class differentials for starting gold. Classes: Published Paizo only, no 3pp HP: Full at level 1, for further levels I'm open to either PFS rules (half rounded up) or roll-for-it if people like to live dangerously. Thoughts? I'm likely forgetting some other aspects of character creation. Let me know if you notice what I missed. *** Gallows of Madness starts out in Saringallow. It's too short a module to have a Player's Guide, so I can't suggest people look at that, but we are set in Isger, and you can read more about Isger and Saringallow on the wiki linked if you want. The cliff's notes is that Isger is a vassal state of Cheliax, but Saringallow in particular is a rather anti-diabolist town, inasmuch as it's possible to be one while being in Isger, and also fairly anti-nobility. Characters being from Saringallow is fine and a nice touch-- it's a town of 2000ish people, so not a tiny hamlet, and not a giant metropolis either-- just enough room where your character could be as known or unknown as you'd like. Of course, if your character is traveling through Saringallow, that works too. Creating possible backstory bonds between characters is also always welcome, though certainly not required. Discord is here. *** Go ahead and pitch your concept(s) and we can get this party started! or... pre-started. Something.
(If we need to do any discussion that we can't do on Discord)
You awaken from the strangest dream. A ... tavern? Of sorts? Where every doorway led somewhere else? That wasn't even the strangest part of it. In the dream you were... somebody else. There was a ship? No, that's not right. There were all these little windows made of glass and light, on which people showed magical paintings, and text from books... no, no, surely not it... there was a city, a city where every building stood taller than any tower you've ever seen, and... ...the odd dream seems laughable, by dawn's light, as the intensity of it ebbs and you remember who you are and get your bearings. You're not on a sailing ship, nor in a city of steel towers, nor surrounded by little magic windows you could hold in your hand. Where you are is on the last leg of travel to the village called Etran's Folly. The caravan should arrive today. Birds are chirping, the morning's campfire is crackling, and others of the caravan are already awake, packing up items just like they do every morning. There's the scent of frybread and bacon being cooked, and the sound of others yawning, grunting, and stretching themselves awake. The ground was its usual lumpy self, but just think-- tonight you'll sleep in a bed. In an inn. The dream is already forgotten by the time you kick out of your bedroll and get to your feet.
As I think everyone frequenting the boards knows, the GM to player imbalance ratio is HUGE. It makes it pretty hard to get into a game. I'm itching to play, doing plenty of regular GMing as it is, but I'm willing to compromise if I can get a group of a few together who don't mind rotating GM duties. Essentially it'd work like this: I'll GM the 1e module Gallows of Madness, which takes PCs from level 1 to level 3 by the end of it. At that point, another player steps up to run the next module, something level 3s can do (there's various options that could be discussed as possibilities). After that, another player GMS, etc. The current GM's character would fade to the background between scenarios, but level appropriately to keep up with the party. Given the attrition and death rate in PBPs, it's also possible that the campaign might die before we ever get that far. It's a risk I'm willing to take, though. Right now, I'm looking for 4-6 players/potential GMs who are on board with the idea that in exchange for playing now, you'd be GMing down the road. Prior experiencing GMing PBP is a plus, but not required-- I always like to give people a chance. This is not (yet) a thread to pitch character concepts for the game; this is just to get some players together. My overall rules/whatnot for this quasi-campaign would be: 1) Paizo published material only 2) One spot is probably reserved for a new player friend of mine, who likely wouldn't be GMing, unless/until they felt comfortable doing so 3) 1st Edition, play-by-post, Discord possibly to be created for communication purposes (but not used as the play platform) 4) Maps probably through Google slides or drawings, if a majority of accepted players want to use Roll20 I'll cope. I have no experience with other platforms for mapping and don't want to learn a new one because I'm a crotchety old goblin. 5) All players grasp the fact that keeping momentum going is a mingled responsibility of everyone in the group, both players and GM. Obviously life happens sometimes, but if people spend too much time waiting on everyone else to post, the game dies. People should be aiming for one post per day during the week. Even if you don't have anything mechanical to post, post! Give people things to respond to! It's an endless game of improv, but it only works if everyone keeps adding fresh things to react to and to keep things moving. I've been in enough PBPs to fully know that enthusiasm goes in cycles, and that everyone will join with the best of intentions of posting regularly, but things will cycle and peter out. Life is especially chaotic right now, there are circumstances beyond our control stressing us all out. But to have some pleasant escapism that can help us fight that does require making time for it and posting regularly. This is a long-term commitment. Gallows of Madness alone might run a PBP group a year of RL time. So please, just be aware that we'll need regular momentum and engagement from players to keep things active. If this sounds like something you'd be down for, toss me your hat! (Not too hard though, my RL Dex is like 8.) -If you've GMd PBP before, a link to an example is nice.
I'll leave this up through October 7 before moving on to selection, unless I get way more interested people than I know what to do with before then, and can pick earlier.
It says in the Core, under the Formula rules, that reverse-engineering "...uses the Craft activity and takes the same amount of time as creating the item from a formula would." But how long precisely is that? As an alchemist, I craft over a dozen items from formula when I rest/study/etc. In the craft rules, it says that crafting an item takes 4 hours. Which is the correct time frame to use for reverse-engineering items?
West coast Pathfinder agents! January 12-15 will see the debut of Pacificon Central Valley in Fresno, CA. On Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, there will be four days of gaming, gaming, and more gaming! We have lots of Pathfinder (and Starfinder) planned, with a total of thirty tables over four days. Additionally, for Pathfinder we're going to try and run a multi-table special, the Solstice Scar (version B). As the version B Solstice Scar will have only been available for two weeks at the time of the convention, this is (probably) your first chance in the new year to play it! Aside from this, we have lots of Season 9 scheduled, an all-day module, and a few season 8s as well. There's also going to be a lot of D&D AL and other systems on offer. GM attendance is free at four slots GMd (of the ten scheduled). If you intend to qualify for a GM badge, talk to me (PM here is fine, or email at fragilion at gmail dot com). Tickets are $50 otherwise if you get them early. Pre-reg is encouraged.
Open for discussion! I'll get details closer to start time of who's playing exactly what. My player list is currently: chadius
Heya,
(Invitation only) Discussion and hammering-out post for a wacky little idea I've had... I've played through the vast majority of regular PFS scenarios at this point, with just a handful prior to Season 8 I still need to play. I've also known the mild frustration of experiencing them in completely non-chronological order, or playing part of an arc only to never get a chance to pick up the other parts in the series. And of course, there's the slight bummer of the innate lack of continuity in PFS, where you wind up adventuring with, and playing, different characters week to week and the chance to build any sort of contiguous narrative is like a wild and elusive wildebeest. Or something. It'd be really neat to experience, say, one or two seasons of PFS 'in order', with the same characters, working through the story organically. But that's definitely impossible in Classic, given how many I've played. Core, on the other hand, is still fairly new territory to me. So the premise is this: a group of 6-7 dedicated players, each playing the same characters through as much of set arc as we can get through (maybe a focus on season 4? Open to opinions). We'd rotate out GM duties, and we'd have essentially the same party for the entire "campaign," short of whoever was 'absent' that scenario in order to GM it. Things we'd really need for this to work:
Thoughts? Concerns? Badass guitar solos?
Good afternoon, agents! Welcome to the discussion thread for Tide of Morning. As mentioned in recruitment, this game is intended to help teach the ropes somewhat for those who are beginners to PBP. While there's no hard and fast standard that every PBP GM adheres to, so I can't claim that everyone will do things 'my way,' these are some of the practices I adhere to for GMing PBP: 1) Please make sure your character sheet is up to date and visible on your profile, and that it is formatted something like this. It doesn't have to be exactly identical to that, but that's the format that Paizo more or less publishes their stat blocks in, and it's therefore the format that I and most PBP GMs are most familiar with. If you're using a format like that, it means I instantly know where to find all the information I need, instead of having to hunt through an unconventionally-formatted sheet looking for a save, or your base statistics, or your languages, or to figure out if you're some strange archetype that changes how a class normally operates, or something like that. 2) Similarly, please make sure your tagline is up-to-date for your character. If you don't know what I mean by 'tagline', it's a super-short summary of the basic statistics for your character. On your profile, put the following information into the 'Race' line for your character: *RACE* *CLASS* *LEVEL* | AC X-T X-FF X | HP X/X | F+X R+X W+X | Init +X Per +X Example: Gnome Paladin 5 | AC24-T16-FF19 | HP 46/46 | F+11 R+9 W+10 (special modifiers apply) | Init +3 Per +1 3) I ask that you post once a day during the week (I slow down over the weekends and generally expect my players may do the same). I reserve the right to put your character on delay or narrate their actions if we're waiting on you. If you know you're going to be busy for a few days, please just let me know in the OOC! 4) If you have something unusual or complicated about your character that I should keep in mind, please tell me now. This is a low-level game so I don't expect too many shenanigans, but, hey, I've been surprised before. 5) The strength of PBP is the ability to really get into the narrative and explore your character's personality, inner thoughts, dialogue, etc. I don't expect every post to be a novel, but please post more than just (DICE ROLL) (DICE ROLL) in your posts. Posts should be in third person, and general formatting standards for PBP often include bolding spoken dialogue, italicized dialogue for thoughts, and making sure you put anything out of character in OOC script.
6) Not every GM will ask this of you, but in combat I prefer that you break down your bonuses for me (at least for the first round of combat). This helps both you and me make sure we're keeping in mind any bonuses or penalties you're currently subject to. At low level, there hopefully won't be too many convolutions, but at high level, when five or six different bonuses may be in play, this is a lifesaver. Chucky swings his sword!
If you find that your attacks look really cluttered and clunky, feel free to stick them behind a spoiler (I do this on some of my high level characters that have five attacks a round or the like), but just show me your math, so to speak. It helps us both out! I think that's it for my rules and expectations. I will roll initative when combats happen, so please make sure your initiatives are up to date. I will post maps and anything else like handouts via Google Drawings; the responsibility is on you as players to move your tokens in combat situations/etc. If you can't move your token, I am happy to move it for you, but let me know you need that! At this point, if everyone can post the following information for me here: Player name
I'm looking forward to the game, and we'll get officially started tomorrow! You can 'dot' the gameplay thread now if you like (if you don't know what dotting means, it just means posting something, anything, to the gameplay thread (often a 'dot'), so that the campaign registers in your active campaigns). Any questions, go! This table is likely to be a low tier 1-2, as we have multiple level 1 characters signed up and no 4s or 5s.
For people in the Central California region (or anywhere, but it's unlikely that people will be coming from out of state to our mini-con!) : Fresno, CA will be hosting a FREE minicon called BookWyrm on April 1-2, in conjunction with our local public library. A number of gaming systems will be offered, including lots of indie games. We also have 12 tables of PFS scheduled, with an emphasis on offering good introductory games for first-time players and being friendly to walk-ins. But we would love more pre-committed interest, so if you're in the Central Valley and have the weekend free, please consider coming down and having a great time supporting both our local library system and gaming in the Valley. Our current PFS schedule is as follows, with full details on our Warhorn. #0-01: Silent Tide
Full details can be found on our Warhorn!
ZappCon returns for a triumphant third year! We're a Central California con with a LOT of awesome cosplayers. Last year we had about 2,000 people turn out and we hope to break that this year! PFS-wise, we'll be offering 12 slots of PFS over 4 slots. Specific scenarios we'll be offering: #0-08: Slave Pits of Absalom (1-5)
...as well as tables of the Pathfinder Quests, for new interested players! General convention information There is still plenty of room for both players and GMs! Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
Many things sleep, beneath the forests and mountains of Varisia... many are the ruins of a lost age which dot its rugged land, voiceless speakers to a bygone time-- a time of giants and of those more powerful than giants. Eroded stones, monuments crumbled to shapeless lumps, the foundations of once-mighty towers... Many things sleep. And some things wake....
Hiya, I started a campaign last night and put up a placeholder post in the gameplay thread just to get things started, and then deleted said placeholder post, which went fine. Now I can't seem to post to the gameplay thread at all. I've tried posting with multiple of my aliases. I receive no error messages-- I click submit and it goes through loading the page as normal, but nothing has shown up as a result. Thanks for your help, web gurus!
Let us go then, you and I,
In the room the goblins come and go
OOC discussion, blather, and malarkey HERE.
For people in the Central California region (or anywhere, but it's unlikely that people will be coming from out of state to our mini-con!) : Fresno, CA will be hosting a minicon called BookWyrm on April 16-17, in conjunction with our local public library. A number of gaming systems will be offered, including lots of indie games. We also have 12 tables of PFS scheduled, with an emphasis on offering good introductory games for first-time players and being friendly to walk-ins. But we would love more pre-committed interest, so if you're in the Central Valley and have the weekend free, please consider coming down and having a great time supporting both our local library system and gaming in the Valley. Our current PFS schedule is as follows, with full details on our Warhorn. - PFS0-27: Our Lady of Silver - Table will fire; still open slots
- PFS4-18: The Veteran's Vault - Table needs a GM and more players!
- PFS5-19: The Horn of Aroden - Table needs more players!
- PFS1-56: The Jester's Fraud - Table will fire; one slot left
Full details are in the linked Warhorn. Attendance is FREE!
Heya kids, here be your discussion thread. I'm Dien! I'll be your captain for this flight. Remember to buckle up and follow the instructions of a flight attendant. In the event of a TPK please see to your own PP first! A few things:
-I will roll initiatives for you, occasionally perception, and usually saves; please make sure you have any unusual bonuses/etc clearly listed on your sheets. -This is a Season 0, so yeah, y'all prolly gonna curbstomp it. Given this is a relatively low-level game, I doubt anybody has anything too weird, but, standard disclaimer; If you have any cool, unusual, bizarre, complicated, or strange abilities or senses, lemme know now. This would be things like 'immediate actions to force rerolls' (actually immediate actions in general since they can be complicated in PBP), special senses like tremorsense or other weird stuff, aaaaand anything else you think worth mentioning. -Gameplay will start sometime in the next few days, once I'm satisfied I've prepped sufficiently. The table mustered pretty quick, so we'll likely begin before the original date of Friday. -I try to ask for a post a day, with acceptable slow-downs over the weekend. As the GM, I will try and keep things moving, of course, but I'm no particular rush to get it done, either. If you need to be done with this by [some important date], I'd suggest you either pick a different character or yield your spot to another player or the like, because I don't really enjoy having to rush through a PBP, as I like building atmosphere and exploring RP. If you haven't posted in 24 hours (48 on weekends), I reserve the right to bot you if we're waiting on you. Go ahead and post your PFS #, faction, player and character name, and, if you like, your day job check. I know lots of people like to use re-rolls on those if not used in the scenario itself, so if you roll it now but don't use the re-roll in the course of the scenario you may still roll it again at the end. Any questions? (Oh, we are playing 4-5, but GM V, if you want to bring your Level 3 Wizard that should be fine. The party is all solidly in tier aside from that and.... it's Season 0, so yeah.)
Heya kids, here be your discussion thread. I'm Dien! I'll be your captain for this flight. Remember to buckle up and follow the instructions of a flight attendant. In the event of a TPK please see to your own PP first! A few things:
-I will roll initiatives for you, occasionally perception, and usually saves; please make sure you have any unusual bonuses/etc clearly listed on your sheets. -This is a Season 0, so yeah, y'all prolly gonna curbstomp it. Given this is a relatively low-level game, I doubt anybody has anything too weird, but, standard disclaimer; If you have any cool, unusual, bizarre, complicated, or strange abilities or senses, lemme know now. This would be things like 'immediate actions to force rerolls' (actually immediate actions in general since they can be complicated in PBP), special senses like tremorsense or other weird stuff, aaaaand anything else you think worth mentioning. -Gameplay will start sometime in the next few days, once I'm satisfied I've prepped sufficiently. The table mustered pretty quick, so we'll likely begin before the original date of Friday. -I try to ask for a post a day, with acceptable slow-downs over the weekend. As the GM, I will try and keep things moving, of course, but I'm no particular rush to get it done, either. If you need to be done with this by [some important date], I'd suggest you either pick a different character or yield your spot to another player or the like, because I don't really enjoy having to rush through a PBP, as I like building atmosphere and exploring RP. If you haven't posted in 24 hours (48 on weekends), I reserve the right to bot you if we're waiting on you. Go ahead and post your PFS #, faction, player and character name, and, if you like, your day job check. I know lots of people like to use re-rolls on those if not used in the scenario itself, so if you roll it now but don't use the re-roll in the course of the scenario you may still roll it again at the end. Any questions? (Oh, we are playing 4-5, but GM V, if you want to bring your Level 3 Wizard that should be fine. The party is all solidly in tier aside from that and.... it's Season 0, so yeah.)
Heya kids, here be your discussion thread. I'm Dien! I'll be your captain for this flight. Remember to buckle up and follow the instructions of a flight attendant. In the event of a TPK please see to your own PP first! A few things:
-I will roll initiatives for you, occasionally perception, and usually saves; please make sure you have any unusual bonuses/etc clearly listed on your sheets. -This is a Season 0, with all the occasional swinginess of balance issues that sometimes happened in Season 0. -We will be playing the 7-8 tier, unless people drastically change their signups or anything. If you have any cool, unusual, bizarre, complicated, or strange abilities or senses, lemme know now. This would be things like 'immediate actions to force rerolls' (actually immediate actions in general since they can be complicated in PBP), special senses like tremorsense or other weird stuff, aaaaand anything else you think worth mentioning. -Gameplay will start the 30th or so, maybe a little earlier if everyone's ready to go and I'm satisfied I've prepped sufficiently. I'm running a module this Sunday, so I won't likely devote time to prepping for this until Monday. -I try to ask for a post a day, with acceptable slow-downs over the weekend. I will try and keep things moving, of course, but I'm no particular rush to get it done, either. If you need to be done with this by [some important date], I'd suggest you either pick a different character or yield your spot to another player or the like, because I don't really enjoy having to rush through a PBP, as I like building atmosphere and exploring RP. If you haven't posted in 24 hours (not including weekends), I reserve the right to bot you. Okay, I think that's it. Any questions, shoot!
Hiya, We have a brand new player who just started with us at our local PFS. The day he came, we were running Level 2 of Thornkeep, so he wound up playing Iconic Valeros (at level 4). From the Roleplaying Guild Guide section on playing pregenerated characters in modules (pg. 31): If you play a non-1st-level pregenerated character, you may apply credit from the pregenerated character to one of your 1st-level characters, with the gp gained reduced to 1,398 gp (or 699 gp for slow advancement track characters). What about XP? Does the new player get the 3 XP the module grants, or just 1 XP?
Hey California gamers! (and anyone else who wants to come!) ZappCon Year 2 is taking place in Fresno, California, on October 17-18. We're a small, friendly con that saw about 1500 people come out last year (our first year), and we want to keep it growing. I'm organizing PFS specifically for the con, but we have plenty of other gaming systems on offer if PFS isn't your speed. If you'd like to see the schedule of activities, check us out on Sched! The convention's main site is Zappcon.com. Come on down! We have plenty of open space still at our PFS tables!
So, having previously played through it myself, I'm now running through Thornkeep for my local PFS group, and one of the things that struck me during prep is the fact that the book does a pretty good job of detailing out a nice, contained, mini-campaign setting with a lot of plot hooks, NPCs, and local color within the Thornkeep town and region... ....none of which you are likely to get to do anything with in a PFS-setting, given the fact that you only get to give out PFS credit for the actual dungeon delve itself. So, missing farmer's daughters, gang tensions, a werewolf baron, a d20 rumor chart, and spooky noises from the old abandoned house are all things that I can't do anything with because they have almost zero effect on the PFS-legal portions of the module, and I also do not usually have the time, when running this in my local PFS, to let the PCs dally around chasing red-herring rumors in town for a half-hour or more, as we need to get to the credit-legal stuff and finish in a timely fashion. This depresses me. This is a great setting for a mini-campaign going from levels 1-7, which could easily lead into the PCs taking out the baron and becoming the new town bosses (or various other outcomes). There's many intriguing plothooks to help the PCs level up and loot up in between the actual dungeon delve levels (which is necessary, since if you run a party straight through Thornkeep and don't allow any XP but what each level gives you, you quickly wind up with a party that is on the low-end of power curve for levels 2 and 3, and is not even minimum level for for level 4 and 5). If I run this strictly PFS, I can't take advantage of any of this Other Stuff, and I'm left with just a dungeon delve, that I have to pad with other PFS scenarios to allow the PCs to be the appropriate level for the later Thornkeep levels. I'd like to run a PBP mini-campaign set in the Thornkeep region, so that I take out the time constraint issue and can let the PCs get attached to and interested in the region itself. I'd like to let them go chase down those sidequest rumors, have some adventures on the side, then come back to their big dungeon. But how can I do this while preserving the PFS-legal portion and letting people get credit accordingly? I can't give them PFS-applicable XP for the non-dungeon portions, so they can't actually 'level up' with PFS characters doing these sidequests. I can't give them resources/treasure outside of the dungeon that they could then use in the dungeon. It creates a conundrum. Of course, the simplest option would just be to run this as a home campaign, no PFS credit, period; but that means writing off potential PFS credit for players, which seems a shame. (I don't care about my own GM credit for this, since I'm going to have already run through it at my local PFS.) Option 2 would be to do this the way PFS credit and APs mesh-- you don't need to run them with a PFS character, you can run them as an actual campaign, but the PFS-credit gets applied to your PFS character of the appropriate levels. However, I don't know if this is legal to do for the Thornkeep modules. Can anyone weigh in on that? Option 3 would be sort of a nightmarish dual bookkeeping thing: where the PCs would basically have to keep two sets of records, one to keep track of their PFS-legal resources, treasure, and XP, and the other one to keep track of all the side-adventuring they do in the local region, but which has no bearing on their actual dungeon delving, or any other PFS scenarios they play with the character. In this option, characters would advance as heroes in a purely-narrative sense in the Thornkeep sidequests, but their players would meanwhile get to play other PFS scenarios with the characters, leveling up until they're ready to tackle the next dungeon aspect. Obviously, this would necessitate players on board with this extra level of book-keeping, and I'm not crazy about it, but if Option 2 isn't legal I'm not sure there's a better way to try and combine the for-credit and not-for-credit elements of Thornkeep. :-\ Has anyone tried anything similar to this, whether with Thornkeep or something else? Can anyone suggest solutions I'm not seeing?
Much as I love the snark thread, I remember last season we had a compliments thread too, and I'd like to get it going again. Two items I've seen so far-- one a bit chilly, one a bit heavenly-- do nothing that original with mechanics. In fact, mechanically I'd even say they are treading overworn territory-- but where they brought a smile to my face, and earned my vote, was in their beautiful descriptive text and imagery. Sometimes it's possible to polish up an old concept with a rocking visual. Good work, Mystery Designers.
What it says on the tin! PFS-legal characters levels 1-2, playing an oldie but goodie in the form of Murder on the Silken Caravan. First come, first served. As this is part of the Gameday, the game will officially start on 9/19/15. I will handle maps either through Roll20 or Google Drawings, if Roll20 is a problem for any of my confirmed players.
Not to spam the board overmuch, but I just had a ludicrous series of dice rolls in one of the games I'm GMing. That's five consecutive 3s, on 5 consecutive d20s. (Yeah, a 4 on a d8 snuck in there, but the d20s did a solid progression of suck... For the ten d20 rolls I made in that post, we have a: 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 6, 2, 19, 16, and a nat 1. For a net average of slightly less than 6.) How am I supposed to kill any PCs like that?*
I'm sure we all have the stories of the ridiculous string of bad (or good) rolls (usually we remember the bad ones more...). I had a brief, glorious period where when I looked at my PBPs over the last week, almost 1/3 of my dice rolls had been natural 20s. Alas, it couldn't last. What are your 'Really, Dice?' moments?
Yeah, it's one of those kinda threads... I mean it as a serious question, though, and I suppose it's worth clarifying by what I mean by 'overpowered' in this context. Many spells are potentially very powerful. But after several years of playing Pathfinder, I've noticed that my spellcasters all tend to hit commonalities of 'must have' spells. As an arcane caster, I can't imagine not picking up, say, glitterdust, and haste, because those spells are so good for their level that it feels like an intentionally sub-par choice if I don't learn them. As a divine caster, burst of radiance feels similarly so good (guaranteed auto-damage against evil foes? a chance to blind anyone? hell yes...). (Noting it's available as a wizard/sorc spell too. Yeesh.) These three spells hit my personal criteria for: 'spells I really have to talk myself out of, otherwise every caster I play will feel like a carbon copy of my last caster'. That's what I mean by 'overpowered' in this particular sense: the spells that beat out their competition by such a substantial margin, that you feel like you're crippling yourself/your party if you don't take them. I'm curious to know if anyone else feels this way about these, or other, spells in the game.
This enormous worm’s stony hide boasts glowing green crystals and intricate patterns of precious metals. Noxious vapors blast from its jagged maw. Blightbore CR 7XP 3,200
----- Defense -----
----- Offense -----
----- Statistics -----
----- Ecology -----
----- Special Abilities -----
Despite their horrific appearance-- enormous maws and radioactive carapaces-- blightbores aren’t inherently malicious. A blightbore is indifferent to other creatures... unless they’re carrying materials the blightbore desires. Originally from the Plane of Earth, blightbores burrow through the Material Plane seeking ores, crystals, and especially blightburn. Immune to the crystal's radiation, blightbores 'consume' it along with everything from granite to gold. A blightbore derives no nourishment from these inorganics, but processes them and excretes them into complex patterns on its skin, with blightburn chunks featured prominently. The deliberate designs indicate intelligence, but their purpose is unknown to any but the blightbores. It is also unknown why blightbores prize blightburn, but some scholars theorize the worms may be an engineered species, designed as collectors/disposers of hazardous materials. Though a mature blightbore is a living treasure trove, these riches come with a risk: lingering radiation. Many have killed blightbores and harvested their riches only to succumb days later to brittle bones and open sores, leading to superstitious rumors of a 'death curse.' In combat, a blightbore uses its breath weapon, then seeks to swallow the creature it deems most dangerous (or tastiest). While blightbores are not highly intelligent, they understand their lack of ranged offense, and will burrow away from a foe they cannot attack. Blightbores are solitary creatures who meet only for mating. Once every decade, a female deposits a single, metallic egg, then moves on. The newborn consumes the egg on hatching and starts growing its unique armor. An adult blightbore is 15 feet long but its dense, mineral-rich body can weigh up to 15 tons.
Elven Guardpost on the Tanglebriar Border
Ophidian Coil
Description
Three times per day as a free action, the wearer of the ring may cause her fangs to drip with venom, making her bite attack poisonous for 1 round. This poison has a DC of 10 + the wearer's Con modifier, but otherwise acts as black adder venom. If the wearer rolls a natural one on an attack with her poisonous bite, she is exposed to the poison. Once per day as a standard action, the wearer may command her tongue to lengthen and become forked for one minute, during which she gains the scent special ability. While this ability is active, the wearer has a 20% chance of failure when casting any spell with a verbal component, as the tongue makes it difficult to speak. The ring makes its wearer more sensitive to cold. She takes a -2 penalty to saves versus cold spells, weather, and effects. Additionally, if the wearer is successfully affected by a spell with the cold descriptor, she is slowed for 1 round. Construction
Let's say we have an old green dragon that decides, for purposes of wanting to talk to the PCs in a 'civil' fashion/otherwise not reveal its draconian self, to use its alter self spell to take on the form of a human. What will its stat block be like while under the effects of the spell? Per the rules on polymorph spells, the following happens: Base Stats after size modifications are made:
AC = ? This one depends on whether or not the dragon's natural armor bonus goes away. "While under the effects of a polymorph spell, you lose all extraordinary and supernatural abilities that depend on your original form." Is the dragon's +25 NA considered to be an extraordinary or supernatural ability depending on its original form? Because if not, then the dragon's AC actually goes UP while in human form, to a crazy AC 36... and if not, the dragon drops to a painful AC 11. HP: Remain the same, I believe, as I see nothing about HP or hit dice changing. Base speed is 30, loses flight, blah blah. BaB = +19, + STR 4 = +23 to hit, but, what are the attacks? The dragon loses its bite, claw, and tail attacks, and has no weapon proficiencies. So... the humanized dragon could attack with a non-proficient weapon at a +19, I suppose. The big question, though, is spellcasting. A dragon's spells are not born of taking class levels in sorceror; they are born of being, you know, a freakin' dragon. Does anything change regarding the green dragon's abilities to cast spells, given that it is no longer a dragon at the moment? What about spell resistance-- also something innate to being a dragon?
Hey! If you're looking to get in on some gaming goodness (Pathfinder and many other systems) this month, and you're in California, please check out ZAPP CON, a convention taking place for the first time this year in Fresno, CA. We want a lot of players filling the gaming tables so we can prove it's viable to have this again next year. But there's more than just gaming-- we have the usual broad spectrum of geek experience on display, from panels and vendors to comic books and SF/F and cosplaying. Please help make our local con a success! Come out for the Pathfinder Society-- perhaps you haven't yet gotten a chance to play Legacy of the Stonelords? Or perhaps you're a gamer wanting to meet some more people playing Savage Worlds, or Fate, or any of a dozen other systems? Or perhaps you just want some Doctor Who socks? Either way, we want you, so c'mon down!
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