Dave the Barbarian's page

Interesting concept. I may be tempted to GM again. Thanks

Sean, I wish you the very best with your move and new opportunities. You have done so much for the gaming industry and have influenced so many people. I truly appreciate your work and dedication. It was a pleasure meeting you at the Cons and I will always treasure your work. Rock on my brother.

This product just got cancelled, which sucks.

Most of our players are kind enough to bring snacks and drinks for the entire group, so individual food bribes are not needed. I wouldn't accept a bribe and at best case offer a reroll to a player for doing something nice for another person in the group. One player recently bought me a Hero Clix's Iron Maiden figure, because he knows I am a Maiden fan. I appreciated that very much. So much, that I created stats for all 9 figures and in the next game, we will open it, see which one it is, and try to kill it. No harm in that type of gift.

I GM because I enjoy it and really don't expect anything in return. The star system was nice. Like previously mentioned, everyone is motivated by different things so finding one preferred method to reward/incent will most likely be impossible.

I like the idea of having access to a special shirt that I buy at a reasonable cost, or some item I can purchase that recognizes my achievements. I don't need discounts on products because I already get one thanks to my current subscriptions. Anything we are given is a bonus and should be viewed as a gift anyway.

I assume that by fudging a roll, it means in favor of the PC's. I have never fudged rolls against the PC's that I can recall.

As a general rule, I would say never. Mainly for experienced players at higher tiers.

BUT, for a group of new players just getting into the game, I would fudge a roll to not start a death / TPK. New players will never get hooked on a game that they get crushed at the first time out the gate. I ran a game for a group of middle school kids. They did not min/max their characters because they didn't know how (yet). They struggled and the last encounter could have finished them off easily, but I made a few odd tactical decisions and rolled a few attacks behind the screen that may have been hits. In the end, they were on the ropes and one finally crit the boss and the group erupted in cheers. Six more players were made that day, but they could have easily been turned off on the experience. Right or wrong, they had a good experience. Now that they are 4th to 6th level, I have clumped a few of them and I fudge nothing in their favor.

Hope that helps.

I played in one of Drogon's tables for Day of the Demon. He did a stellar job and I had a great time. I read the scenario later so I could run it and all he did was help make the story a little clearer, which I appreciated. Due to his ninja GM skills, he can really take a boring scenario and make it incredible through role play and better descriptions, etc. By far, one of my very favorite GM's in the WORLD!

There, I defended my GM and feel better.

The difficulty with not following RAW is that less experienced GM's may make mistakes. I have seen novice GM's make error's that cost PC's 16 PA to return to life and in some cases they made changes to tactic's and spells for the bad guys. This is the no-no that we all should avoid (Drogon does not change these). Sometimes the tactic's suck and the spell selection is questionable, but that is the way it goes. Make the best of it as a GM and make a memorable game experience for the players.

As a player, I could care less if an experienced GM changes something to make it more fun, even if I croak. It is just a game.

The iPad version should be less of a table blocker than a laptop so I welcome that. As long as they don't mind passing me the tablet to review the character sheet if needed.

I still do not allow dice rolling aps from tablets / phones. I cannot verify the accuracy of them and technically the core rulebook asks you to "roll" a dice, so I am just following the rules.

Mike - You are 100% correct. If I had to choose, and I never do, then I would go with know the scenario first. I am way to OCD to not be 100% prepared so once I sign up to GM, I print the scenario, I read the scenario, then I prep my mini's, the I re-read the scenario, then I create my maps and props, then I read up on any of the spells/powers/bad guys that I don't understand, then I finish by re-re-reading the scenario.

Assuming you are well versed in the scenario - Pre-draw your maps.

I take advantage of my maps collection whenever I can to save time if I can. Otherwise - gaming paper, 1" grid flip charts, or a simple battlemat works fine for me. In a few cases I will print out the map from the scenario, but that is ink intensive and costly.

Other ideas: Adventure Paths, Modules, Mouse Gaurd, Way of the Wicked, Slumbering Tsar, Volunteer at the soup kitchen, take a walk, Diablo III, Wash the car, Mow the lawn, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Teach new players how to play, take a shower, Conan, Serenity, Get a job, Savage Worlds, or Skyrim. Naturally I jest about some of those ideas.

You are one of a very small group of folks who game more than the PFS system can keep up with. You are the 1%. We in the 99% envy you, but some of the other game options mentioned above may be the best call for you. Most of us can barely keep up with the current scenario and module choices. Good luck my gaming brother!

I vote no. For all of the reasons already mentioned.

I added my review because I really like this adventure. It is probably my 2nd favorite of the 6. I plan on builing the upper deck of Gallowspire for the last battle because it will be EPIC!

The AP could have had a stronger horror feel, maybe a little more Ravenloftish, but I added the elements that I thought were missing (minor). The first book has been my favorite to date. The second will be pretty cool too. The third seems off the mark for me, but with a few minor adjustments it will be great. The fourth jumps into madness which is cool. Then faith is restored in vampires in the fifth. Then an awesome conclusion.

I have a ton of old Ravenloft stuff so I pulled a few things from there, but the AP was solid and allows for minor tweaking with ease.

I have enjoyed it a bunch. I already ran Legacy of Fire and it will be fun to see which AP the group liked better. Thanks to all of the Paizo staff and contributors to the AP.

I would be fine with the following:

1st level Pregens - You can use this credit for a new PFS character. Your number must be provided for reporting purposes.

4th and 7th level pregens can be played but you will not get credit or a chronicle for the game. You may play it later with a registered PFS character for credit and a chronicle.

End of story. No big benefit but no risk for a player who wants to round out a group with a 4th or 7th level pre-gen. I doubt many people would play a scenario first with a pre-gen, absorb secret info, and then play it again with another character. It may happen, but let's not pick on that sad individual with no life. From my experience as a GM, I have had a few players who didn't realize that they already played the scenario until the second encounter, so I doubt most people will remember all the details.

I support any idea because it really has zero impact on me and has never been an issue at our local venues or cons. Whatever the rule, keep it simple.

Most of the Cons I have attended offer 4 hour slots. All of the local venues in CO offer 4 hour slots. So a scenario written for 5 hours may have to be cut back some by the GM. I have had to push a few tables to get them across the finish line in time. You must allow enough time to get started, complete paperwork, and look over the players chronicles and paperwork prior to starting. It is a bunch to do. I agree you can stay organized, pre-draw maps, etc. and that will help, but it may not be enough. You may have to change it up during a four hour slot.

This thread is going no where. Somebody please lock it.

There are some good tips in there for a serious player. But if everyone was that prepared, the game would seem bland.

I expect each player to have a reasonably good idea of what thier character can do. I hope they have a cool backstory that can add some flavor to the game. I hope we will all work together to solve problems and win fights.

I expect each player to have fun and allow others to have fun as well. I expect to laugh with my fellow players and be challenged and entertained with the scenario.

I expect to roll a 20, 5% of the time.

I prefer a Mountain Dew, but will accept a Mellow Yellow.

I expect I will have to use the bathroom at least once during the scenario.

I hope that my buddy from Ireland will not make fun of my lame attempt at an accent.

I expect a loud "Huzzah" or cheer from the table when we defeat the big bad guy or figure out a critical clue.

I hope you will wear clean socks.

That's about it.

For maps that you may use multiple times, buy some foam board, spray some 3M 77 glue on the board and then have a friend help you stick the paper to it. I have made some amazing maps this way. I have just bought three more rolls.

My only suggestion - Please make it in light green for forests and grass lands and also in light grey for dungeons.

Awesome product!