RPG Superstar 8 Season Star Voter. Pathfinder Society GM. 194 posts (3,036 including aliases). 1 review. No lists. 3 wishlists. 37 Organized Play characters. 7 aliases.
Been a sporadic lurker for a long time, but almost never post here. If this is better spun off into its own thread (there are already quite a few conversations going on), I'm happy to do so.
Our local PFS lodge started up a Ladies' Night a while back, and it's been a big hit, with way more interest than we'd initially expected. Inspired by that, I'm taking the lead on an LGBT edition.
I'll be talking to the coordinator for the ladies' night tomorrow about her experience, but I was hoping to get some more perspectives. For people who've done this sort of thing before, are there lessons you've learned about what does and doesn't work? If you haven't, are there things you'd want to see?
This list, specifically the left column, is probably the most comprehensive. It is worth noting that this list doesn't reflect changes that happen, most commonly when Venture-Captains die during the course of a season's plot. Consider that just another part of the big timey-wimey ball that is PFS.
Not entirely related, but since it is somewhat con-relevant: Could you share a little bit more about the new player folders you mentioned? We've got something similar over in Boston, but it's always nice to swap notes about what works well.
Even without Bodta's assistance, the rest of you gather around, your prayers and incantations manifesting a sphere of pure white light that engulfs the rift, and begins slowly knitting the tear in reality back together.
While you conduct the ritual, Horacio receives visions, which manifest on the surface of the sphere for all to see.
You see the room where the rift now stands, decorated in the iconography of various good and neutral deities. Dozens of crusaders fill the chamber, participating in a funeral for a Varisian man who lies near the ceremonial basin.
The officiants tear off their religious garb, revealing black clothing embroidered with sinister runes. They rain lightning down on the mourners, killing most instantly. They begin animating the dead, carving the rift, and causing even those already interred to stir. Yua and several of the cremated Tians rise. Pouring onto the surface, skeletons and zombies slaughter the townsfolk above.
You see the Knights of Ozem try to retake the complex, each time forced back by waves of the undead. The crusaders seal the entrance and put the town above to the torch. Some of the same figures appear in a library, magically erasing the town from maps and texts.
You see a band of Orc marauders from Belkzen force their way into the chambers, before being slaughtered by the undead. The process repeats itself, sometimes with orcs, sometimes humans, dwarves, and others, and other times by various foul beasts, each time driven off or killed by the undead.
As the ritual completes and the rift seals, you see Yua and her four companions. Smiling, they rise into the air from a massive stone spire, soaring towards the stylized sun of Shizuru.
With the rift sealed, the whole complex seems brighter. A sense of relief washes over all of you. The water in the basin glows with a soft white light, now reconsecrated as holy water.
I really appreciate the legend lore. Like with most long-abandoned sites, there's a lot of background that's hard to convey in-character. That pretty much wraps things up, unless there's anything outstanding you'd like to do. VC debrief and chronicles should be up by Monday. I hope you've all had fun, and I strongly encourage you to play this again soon if you have the opportunity. There are ~40-50 significantly different setups for this scenario (per tier), and somewhere around ~32,000 total combinations of encounters, so your next experience will likely be almost entirely different.
I cant wait for this one, though count me as another voice sad we're not getting ten pages on the spice trade.
Jessica, would you have book recommendations for people interested in learning more about the real world cultures that provided inspiration for parts of this book? I know next to nothing about the Scythians, and have only really encountered early Persian history as it related to Greek and Roman history, for example. I've been trying to read more about events, regions, and cultures that haven't been featured in my formal history courses, and this is definitely one of those areas.
I most certainly do! :-)
This one is great -- comes at it from the "were the Amazons of legend Scythians/Sarmatians?" angle.
It took me long enough, but holiday travel meant the Adrienne Mayor book finally escaped from my "things I'll get around to reading eventually" shelf. I'm loving everything about it, especially how it manages to bounce back and forth between looking at classical histories/myths and modern archaeology. Just wanted to say thanks for the recommendation!
It seems that the creature has fifteen feet of reach. I did go ahead and assume that you installed the two disks in the slots you had already discussed.
Doubtful begins rushing out of the room with the daylight disk. The flailing tails slap him, but it continues to struggle to grapple its targets.
Viv, you will need continuing saves against radiation. Fortitude DC 13 or 1 STR damage/day. You can assume a +2 in aid from Jorram Kyte. Two non-consecutive saves are required to cure. If your Strength goes to 0, you go comatose and future failed saves do 1 Con damage/day.
Alternatively, you're welcome to retrain into one of the more exotic superhero themed archetypes, because everyone knows accidental exposure to radiation causes superpowers.
I would love to write some classes for the neutral and evil deities. ^_^
I would love to see one or both of those books. I'm super excited for this book already, to the point where I've almost exclusively been playing my neutral PFS characters until I get a look at the goodies in here, since many if not most of by goodies follow relevant deities.
That said, if we could get a Chronicles of the Righteous style book for the Psychopomp Ushers, Primal Inevitables, etc. first that would be literally the best thing.
Well there's always the possibility they don't use the AI core. My group initially considered not touching it and coming back to examine it once they'd "secured' the dungeon.
It's probably not a coincidence that that group had a lot of overlap with players who did a Iron Gods book with me where the single biggest threat they faced was the party gnome indiscriminately pushing buttons.
From the Tome of Righteous Repose The Ace of Dreams, Vellumis, Lastwall
Your orders have sent you to Vellumis, the largest city and most important port in the crusader nation of Lastwall, on the shores of Lake Encarthan. The waterfront and city center boast impressive architecture, with many buildings marble- clad, domed, and colonnaded in the once-popular Chelish Old White style, characterized by whitewashed walls, ornately decorated eaves, and massive arched windows.
Though there are an exceptionally large number of soldiers, most wearing Iomedaean iconography, roaming the streets, most are civilians. Flags of a dozen nations, and churches of at least as many faiths, can be seen as you navigate the city streets, leaving the elegant city center and heading into a seedier neighborhood that greatly resembles the dockside areas of Absalom.
When you arrive at the address you were provided, you discover a busy gambling hall. Raucous conversation fills the room, as men and women gather around a number of tables, playing various card and dice games. One of the bartenders notices you enter.
”Here for the Venture-Captain? He’s running a little bit late, but you can go ahead and wait in the office. Just through the door in the back.”
As you weave through the crowd, you catch glimpses of some of the players in action. A crowd has gathered around one table, where a tall woman, whose fine features indicate both elven and Garundi heritage, commands their attention. Her finely made grey silk robes are embroidered with silver spiral patterns, standing out against the simpler, warmer outfits favored by most patrons.
She rolls a handful of dice across the felted table.
1d6 + 3d10 + 1d10 ⇒ (3) + (3, 5, 1) + (7) = 19
The crowd cheers, and a stack of chips slides her way.
The door at the back leads to an office. Though the room is decently sized, a broad mahogany desk, piled high with books and papers, commands much of the far side of the room. The majority of the open space has been claimed by a hodgepodge of mismatched yet comfortable chairs, all positioned to face the desk. Over the next few minutes, several others arrive in the office as well.
Feel free to dot in and do introductions, while we make sure everyone’s ready to go. You may be familiar with Lastwall to some degree already. You can roll Knowledge (History) or (Religion) to see what you know at this point.
"... one of many Chelish ambassadors who dwell in the city."
I take exception to the use of "ambassador" in the plural here. There should be only one Chelish ambassador in Korvosa (the one who presented his or her credentials to King Eodred). An embassy does not have more than one ambassador at a time.
...only if Korvosa and Cheliax follow modern real-life diplomatic conventions.
Osirion explicitly has multiple people with the title "Grand Ambassador" in Absalom, and ranks like Paracount(ess) make it clear that their power structure doesn't map 1:1 with an early modern European one.
Thank you SO MUCH for that! Though I do need to now drop everything and go make the Shelynite Fashion Police Inquisitor I've been considering for a while now.
A couple others, that might not strictly qualify as unresolved arcs, including a few from general lore as opposed to specific scenarios. Trying to avoid specific spoilers.
The Jistka Imperium shows up in the "of the Fiend" sequence, and a couple scenarios since. I've really enjoyed all of those, and the limited supply of information makes it more intriguing than more thoroughly explored ancient countries (like Thassilon and Osirion), IMO.
The Topaz Sage: As I understand it, we currently have two confirmed sages, one jewel MIA, one destroyed, and one who's outcome hasn't been settled due to appearance in a season 7 scenario. There's also the topaz gem, currently collecting dust in the headquarters. The Scarab Sages have identified a number of candidates, maybe it's time to pull the trigger. Related Note:
#5-16 Sanctum of the Sages and #6-04 Beacon Below:
Sanctum of the Sages introduces two "beyond the scope of this adventure" doors, one of which is explored in Beacon below. Maybe we can go through the other sometime?
The Quantium Lodge There have been a few scenarios, including the Wounded Wisp, that have started looking at the early history of the Society. Quantium's home to the first Lodge outside Absalom, and as far as I'm aware we've never gone there. Plus, it seems like a good city for library adventures and/or something just plain weird.
Society-Tapestry Relations While I'm excited for some true plane-hopping, I'd also be interested to see some of the aftermath of our recent conflict with some of the inhabitants of the Tapestry. Whether that means dealing with those who escaped or those who stayed behind, I think it's an interesting dynamic with some worthwhile ethical questions to explore.
But most importantly:
True Dragons of Absalom Spoilers:
Hats! What is he wearing this season? Fashion-Forward Shelynites want to know!
With the existence of Reptoids and Kitsune, it would be a shame if any conspiracy theorist didn't suspect key political figures of being shapeshifters. Better yet, a shadow war between the two. If you want a higher-CR conspiracy, this is actually pretty much what Rakshasas do- and they're also Sorcerers with very powerful mind-reading abilities.
Even better than a shadow war between the two, take inspiration from THIS. Reptoids, Rakshasa, Kitsune, Veiled Masters, Dragons, Devils, Oni, and Doppelgangers have all independently infiltrated the Decemvirate (or the Andoran legislature, or the royal court, etc.), while completely unaware of the others...
Fola listens into your stories, eager to ask questions and learn more, particularly taking an interest in Absalom, Goka, and other areas of high diversity.
When D'lack mentions the Scarab Sages, she comments, "I do find the idea of your organization's quest for knowledge intriguing. I will be interested to see if you live up to Nieford's promises.
"That said, such intense focus on the empire of the sands does not sound appealing. The history here, as your friend Wyatt learned, is so much deeper, and there is so much of the modern world to see and explore!"
A different Scarab Sage can try, if they wish. She's also a valid recruit for the Dark Archive or Sovereign Court. Your guide is an option for the Exchange. Others might work that don't come to mind offhand."
In Imrana's case, at first Fola listens intently, but before too long is simply nodding along politely. Once Imrana reaches the fundamental theorems of multiplanar field geometry, the half-elf looks around in desperation, before plucking a brightly colored fruit from a nearby tree.
"You were hungry. I am deeply sorry for neglecting that. Please take this," she says as she offers it out.
While Imrana's mouth is otherwise occupied, Fola steers the conversation to the fruit, and the way her people use it, both for culinary and alchemical purposes. Whenever Imrana gets carried away with a train of thought, a different fruit quickly appears.
The appearance of the jungle shifts subtly here over the course of a few hundred yards, moving from thick undergrowth among towering trees to more controlled vegetation.
Several small buildings formed of woven branches and grasses rise out of the ground.
In the surrounding trees above are many other buildings that match the style of those on the ground, although they seem to flow even more gracefully from the vegetation even than those below. A series of vines hang from branches throughout the area. Some are short enough only to swing from one treetop building to another, while others reach all the way to the ground.
Colorful birds and noisy monkeys call out from all around, yet their calls are fainter here than those in much of the surrounding jungle.
Most elves go about the daily business of survival, as they prepare food, repair buildings and tools, and share stories. Only about a third of the village is on the jungle floor, however, and much of the activity takes place in the trees above. There is a sense of action, motion, and life, and permanence and the past don’t seem to be valued much.
Scattered groups of elves, mostly younger, sit and listen to storytellers.
On the south side of the village in the branches from 10 to 20 feet above, the Ekujae children play a game where the goal is to hit a target with a blunt arrow, but they move only by swinging on vines. Most startlingly, each team has a player with a knife who tries to cut the vines of the opponents.
An elf calls down from the platform, asking about what you are doing here. Fola says you are here with her approval, and you are escorted to meet the elders.
Near the center of the village is a 60-foot-wide area where the canopy does not block the sunlight. This space has been cleared of underbrush, and a single, 20-foot-tall tree with a straight bole, smooth gray bark, and a wide crown of emerald leaves stands alone. Arranged in a seemingly haphazard way around the tree are a series of smooth river stones, each two to four feet in diameter.
Fola offers you places to sit on the stone, then sits on a stone of her own.
Within a few minutes, two elves, a male and a female, move to the tree and pat it gently. The paints that decorate their bodies are so intricate that their faces are almost entirely covered, and they appear older than anyone you saw as you approached, the woman's hair grey from age. They then approach you, introducing themselves as Elder Kalwe (the woman) and Elder Nolanu (the man), before sitting on the stones closest to the tree.
Elder Kalwe then speaks, "There is an evil whose source is at a place east called Dehu Inu, where we are forbidden to go. Sharrowsmith promised to investigate but never did, so we require his debt to be fulfilled. If you wish to settle this account, stop whatever it is that has arisen there. Since our stories tied to this place tell us of great battles in the past fought by heroes wielding yellowheart weapons, you may wish to take these."
Elder Dolanu opens a bag, pulling several weapons from a container too small to normally contain them.
You receive 50 pieces of ammunition, in any combination of arrows and crossbow bolts, and four weapons, chosen from this list: spear, longspear, club, greatclub, terbutje (Ult. Eq), and quarterstaff. Three are masterwork, one is +2. All are made of yellowheart wood, which has a -2 penalty on damage rolls. There may be other properties as well. I'd allow a Nature check for that.
While Fola seemed to warm up to all of you quickly, it seems that these two are not as welcoming, at least so far.
I'm not sure if I mentioned this already, but either the author or the PFS team was awesome enough to give us rules for swinging through vines Tarzan style. I've included them below:
Throughout Ekujae territory, the elves cultivate and maintain a network of vines and small platforms that allow movement above much of the jungle floor. Scaling a tree to reach one of these vines requires a PC to succeed at a DC 15 Climb check. A creature that is clinging to a vine can attempt a DC 12 Acrobatics check to swing 30 feet laterally as a full-round action. Failing this check causes the creature to move in an unexpected direction. Resolve the direction of the swing using the splash weapon miss rules. The creature moves 10 feet in this random direction, plus an additional 10 feet for every 5 points by which they fail the skill check. Ekujae elves gain a +5 circumstance bonus to both of these checks from a lifetime of familiarity with the practice.
If you're going to the warehouse first shopping decisions can wait until after. You might have some more cash to play around with.
I ran the sanctioned portion of book 4 this weekend for some local players getting ready for the new retirement arc. Be grateful none of your fellow players decided to play a gnome. Gnomes who like to push buttons are potentially more dangerous than any enemy the authors can throw at you.
I cant wait for this one, though count me as another voice sad we're not getting ten pages on the spice trade.
Jessica, would you have book recommendations for people interested in learning more about the real world cultures that provided inspiration for parts of this book? I know next to nothing about the Scythians, and have only really encountered early Persian history as it related to Greek and Roman history, for example. I've been trying to read more about events, regions, and cultures that haven't been featured in my formal history courses, and this is definitely one of those areas.
Day Jobs make sense for The Exchange, but they should be less of the be-all, end-all.
On this particular point, I think a relatively minor change that would go a long way would be to open up at least some of the tasks that call out Profession (Merchant) to a broader range of options. Showing up in three of the goals and one of the rewards can make it seem almost mandatory.
Perhaps open it up to any Profession of Craft, to represent the different sorts of businesses, legitimate and otherwise, that fall under the Exchange? It wouldn't change the mechanical burden in most cases, but allow for a bit more diversity in flavor.
I'd say F. As far as I know, I'm the only person who owns one locally, on my Sentinel of Shelyn. My main use for the bird shape function is remembering I could have used it shortly after I completed a climb, swim, or similar obstacle that's a challenge for a heavily armored character.
The PCs complete their primary mission if they explore the Jistkan ruins as far as area A9 and discover clues of Zefiro’s destination in eastern Cheliax. Doing so earns each PC 1 Prestige Point.
The second half of that refers to the information on the warrant. As long as you at least see the warrant you meet that part.
But pretty much every Pathfinder should care about one of the few allies the society has in the country, and a source of uncensored historical information, getting carted off to prison.
Summon Shadow (Su): At 3rd level, a shadowdancer can summon a shadow, an undead shade. Unlike a normal shadow, this shadow's alignment matches that of the shadowdancer, and the creature cannot create spawn. The summoned shadow receives a +4 bonus on Will saves made to halve the damage from positive channeled energy and the shadow cannot be turned or commanded. This shadow serves as a companion to the shadowdancer and can communicate intelligibly with the shadowdancer. This shadow has a number of hit points equal to half the shadowdancer's total. The shadow uses the shadowdancer's base attack bonus and base save bonuses.
His Harrow Chosen feat means divination spells (like Mind Thrust) get cast as if the CL was two higher. The Messenger of Fate Feat likewise increases CL by 1. Expending the dew of lunary (20 gp power component), gets an additional boost, bringing effective caster level up to 5. It's a pretty cool trick.
My paladin is also a cleric with the Friendship subdomain, so he took Gamin along as a new friend. Gamin is now serving on the board of directors of that paladin's international restaurant chain.
While GMs and players can make a big difference in a scenario (for good or for bad), focusing on the actual content of a scenario seems to be the intention here. My first thoughts, in no particular order, overlapping quite a bit with some comments by others:
An accessible story: Pretty much every PFS scenario puts a lot of thought into character motivations and plots (a few older ones come off a bit weak here), trying to justify every encounter. Unfortunately, there's often almost no way for the players to get that information, short of the GM just telling them afterward. This one has definitely improved in recent seasons.
Have decisions that actually matter: This has been the area where this season has been most successful in my opinion. Let players feel like their decision has a meaningful impact, and make it a difficult decision. I've seen a number of parties torn over how to decide, and a lot of players struggling to decide. That's a level of emotional investment that doesn't always come through.
At least one memorable/challenging encounter: Either an encounter that actually makes the party nervous about their chances for survival or a particularly cinematic one. People often forget the names of scenarios, but they'll remember "the one with the <insert exciting encounter here>."
Anticipating and rewarding alternate solutions: You can never be truly prepared for the crazy plans we'll try to put into place, but the broad bases can be covered. Some parties will try to murderhobo everything, others work to avoid that (we're more assault-and-battery-hobos). Reward well rounded, skilled characters without leaving others unable to participate.
Not using too many "subsystems": I don't think there's a problem with subsystems in general, and there are a lot of great scenarios that use them. Having more than one in a scenario (especially more than one that the players have to learn the rules for) can make the scenario run long, and distract GMs from conveying the actual plot.
A reasonable run-time This can vary a lot from GM to GM, but the vast majority of tables should be able to finish within ~4.5 hours, so that they can reasonably fill a convention or weekday night session without significantly missing out on content.
I'd throw in a fifth mounted question, that I've seen more than once.
How does Mounted Combat interact with grapple? Specifically it comes up in the context of grab. If a creature with reach grabs a mounted character, is the rider pulled off the mount? Do the mount and rider both move adjacent to the grabber?
I don't want to deny you the opportunity to roleplay more if you wish, but there's really not much more to do here of substance. What you wish to do with these mercenaries is up to you.
Once you've recovered, you're able to return Eylysia's cache to the Grand Lodge. Drandle Dreng personally thanks the each of you for your successful investigation, indicating his interest in your future careers as Pathfinders.
If you have yet to complete your Confirmation either by playing the scenario or in your personal backstory he promises to speak to Kreighton Shaine about expediting the process.
Several days later, you each receive a note.
Note:
<<Your Name Here>>
Your recent investigations and recovery of agent Eylysia’s papers have already yielded results. Under my direction, a team of scholars has tracked down the long-retired Society ciphers the gnome used and translated many of her entries. Although several of these records present valuable leads, our contact Amenopheus has identified one that is especially timely and exciting.
Osirion’s borders have not always run where they do today—Ancient Osirion has survived for more than six millenia, and its dominion stretched to Nex and beyond. However, opportunities to study the land’s earliest days are few. The ruins that Eylysia identified in northern Nex are ancient in the extreme, dating back to the Age of Darkness, when desperate survivors of Earthfall sought refuge any way they could. Eylysia reported that the Arclords of Nex had left the ruins largely untouched and under the guardianship of the local girtablilu; there are no signs of further explorations since her report. This site may very well provide a pristine view into the lives of those who experienced theAge of Darkness, allowing us to expand our understanding of that period.
Venture Captain Roderus is taking great care in selecting the agents to delve into these ruins. While I would not normally recommend that agents as new as yourselves delve into a mission so fraught with potential dangers, you show promise and may very well be prepared by the time he is ready to launch the expedition. In the meantime, if you can help me identify other promising agents to take on this project, I would consider it a great service.
Highest regards,
Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin
As some of you may have noticed from the Paizo blog, this scenario was recently updated, adding the above note, so that the discoveries you make remain appropriate for the current season. In case anyone was curious, the original note, pertinent to Season 6, is below:
Old Note:
Pathfinder,
Your recent investigations and recovery of agent Eylysia’s papers have already yielded results. Under my direction, a team of scholars has tracked down the long-retired Society ciphers the gnome used and translated many of her entries. Although many of these records present valuable leads, one is especially timely and exciting.
Several months ago, the Pathfinder Society recovered an incomplete relic called the Sky Key. Its missing components disappeared millennia ago, carried by dwarven refugees to the far corners of Avistan and beyond, and the Society has struggled to follow these faint trails to piece the potent device back together. It appears Eylysia may have found one of the pieces centuries ago! She writes of a visit to Tar Kuata in Osirion, where she not only met with the Iroran devotees there, but also the curious order of dwarven monks known as the Ouat. According to her journals, some of the resident dwarves’ ancestors arrived long ago from the distant north bearing a broken treasure of wire and steel. Based on additional context and several magical divinations, I have reason to believe Eylysia—and you—may have found one of the lost pieces of the Sky Key!
I have contacted Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir in Sothis to prepare for an expedition. You have already demonstrated your resourcefulness by uncovering this information; when I assemble a team to travel to Tar Kuata, I hope you will consider joining the expedition.
Locally, the cards are pretty common. It probably helped that there was an effort to hand them out when they were first released. I try to keep extras with my pregens and other GM stuff as well.
I think they're pretty flavorful, while still being written in such a way that almost every scenario has a good opportunity for several factions to accomplish something.
I started playing in Season 5, so I never used the old style missions when they mattered. The few times they've been broken out for no effect left me fairly underwhelmed. Most of the time it seems like a scavenger hunt that is at best tangentially related to the plot at hand.
I appreciate the faction-oriented scenarios that happen, and I think the cards are a good supplement, especially as they work with all seasons, while the old faction missions can be fairly inappropriate for their modern counterparts.
As the alleyway, now significantly worse for wear, grows quiet, you're able to make it rather quickly back to the Grand Lodge without further incident. Ambrus is waiting for you in his office.
"I've heard from our allies. They all praised you highly for your performance. I hope this little excursion has given you a little taste of what you can expect as a member of the Society, though I assure you it's not always excursions around Absalom. You'll get a chance to get beyond these city walls soon enough, though there's plenty to do in this crazy city of ours as well.
In the meantime, though, you deserve a bit of a break. Rest and relax for a little while. Someone will reach out to you about a new task shortly.
Apologies for botting you there Raharjo, but I didn't think an additional combat round was going to add much to anyone's experience. Endgame stuff will be posted in the discussion tab shortly.
HP 10/10, AC 17 T 13 FF 15, Saves F +3, R +2, W +4, CMB -1 CMD 11, Perc +2, Init +6 Fire Bolt 2/5
Yum! Poog hastily grabs the licorice. He also asks Retus for one of the green potions, hoping to find an opportunity to sneak some into Chuffy's drink later. He also goes to find his squirrel-smiting javelin.
At the boat site, Poog is confused.
"I thought boats was supposed to go in the water."
No specific preparations. Also, whenever goblins and boats come together, it makes me think of this
Provoking drinks isn't evil. It helps keep your local Caydenites in business, so it's definitely Chaotic.
A Caydenite Inquisitor mainly concerned with making sure people are having fun is on my list of character ideas that grows faster than I make PFS characters (which is too fast already).
Fromper wrote:
I agree that the paladin gets two Detect Evil abilites - standard action as the spell, or move action on a single target. They're used separately.
People can tell the paladin is concentrating on something, but I don't know how they'd know what, since that's really all he's doing that an outside observer can tell - concentrating.
Here's a question not mentioned in this thread before, but I've asked it before and gotten a contradictory responses. Does a paladin know if his smite fails? This actually came up the very first time I GMed Pathfinder. At the time, I didn't tell the paladin that the BBEG of that scenario was CN until after it was over. Since then, I've decided to let paladin players know whenever a smite fails, which actually happened again in a game I GMed two days ago. There's really no rules support for either option, from what I can tell.
I'd fall into the "tell them" camp. At the very least, it makes things a little easier at the table. If someone can say "Attack roll of 21" rather than "18, or 21 if it's evil, or 20 if it's human, or 23 if it's an evil human, or 24 if it's an evil human wearing an Aspis badge on a Wednesday" that's easier for both the GM and the player.
If by Pin you mean his ID number, I definitely will need that eventually. I'm also EST, though my availability happens in bits and pieces over the course of the day.
Keep in mind you do need to own the source for all material your characters are using, so you'll need to pick up Occult Adventures to make that character.
As it seems like there's quite a few new folks interested in giving the PBP experience a try, I wanted to provide an opportunity for you all.
I'm a two star GM, getting close to my third, mostly playing locally. I'm just getting started in the PBP world myself, so I'm well acquainted with the questions you might have getting started.
I'll be going with the classic replayable, First Steps Part 1: In Service to Lore. Everyone's able to play it, and it's fairly simple to GM, which is nice as I'm running a couple other scenarios as well. If it goes well, and there's continued interest, I'm happy to follow up with the Wounded Wisp (or something else, we can talk about that when we get that far).
I sincerely apologize for the wall of text that follows. It isn't as intimidating as it may look. I promise.
A couple essential notes:
Most Important Rule: Ask questions. If you have questions about the format, the scenario, or anything else, tell me. If you'd like to speed things up or slow things down, let me know. Getting feedback is especially important in this format.
Time Frame: Scenarios tend to take 3-5 weeks to play out, depending on activity. If you get very into party banter, roleplaying with NPCs, and such it can take longer, but I'd say that's a good thing. On the other hand, if inactivity slows down combat, that will also make things take longer, in a bad way. This scenario is pretty short, so the length is largely up to you.
Ideally, being able to post once per day (at least once per weekend) is ideal, even if it's brief. In order to keep things going, especially in combat, I may put your character on autopilot if necessary. Obviously, people have lots of stuff going on, so if there's a period where you know you won't be posting much, please let me know, and we'll accommodate that.
Much like when you're playing a module in person, your character is effectively "locked in," and is not supposed to be played in other scenarios. If you have a lot of characters like I do, that's not a big deal. Otherwise, you might consider creating a new one so that you don't lose other opportunities to play.
Applying: You should have a first level PFS character to play. This will be run as part of the Classic (non-Core) campaign. Eventually, you'll need to set up a character sheet and such, but in the meantime, for now I'd need a post with the following bare bones:
Character Name
Brief Description (Mechanics, Personality, etc.). This doesn't need to be a novel, just a few lines to give me some idea of who you are. If there's anything very unusual in the fluff or crunch, it'd be nice to have some heads up there too.
Faction
Brand new players will be given priority, followed by relative newbies. Veterans will be welcomed if there's still space left. It'll be more or less first come first serve, but some people who expressed interest in the PFS blog post will get top priority.
On September 20th I'll take stock of how much interest we have. If we have a mostly complete table, we can get things moving, Otherwise, I'll start looking to fill some seats.
Again, let me know if you have any questions, and welcome to Play by Post!
The Fox, I'd guess that starting on the 19th there's going to be a number of openings in scenarios that are currently full, as people who signed up some time ago will fail to show.
My dance card's fairly full right now, but I could offer a table of something fairly simple (most likely First Steps, Silverhex, or Phantom Phenomena) geared towards new players as well.
If you have a specific scenario request, posting HERE or HERE would probably be the best way to make that happen.
Inner Sea Gods should also qualify as a source for Falayna. I know buying a source just for one mechanical option is generally excessive, but for what it's worth both books have a lot of fantastic content (flavor, art, and crunch). I'd recommend picking one or both up eventually, if possible.
The role you see for Norgorber could be adapted a bit for a Calistrian that avoids the traditional sexualized role (though that role is certainly an option if you're comfortable with it), fighting for vengeance against oppressors. Doing it on behalf of less fortunate types could even be an angle for a CG one.
My Calistrian witch took that stance towards racism and oppression targeting half-orcs. He was however more indifferent to discrimination that didn't affect him directly...
Kyra probably shouldn't have been able to get away with that. The monolith was Kellid, while Kyra speaks Kelish, a language that's most commonly found in Qadira. The very similar names for completely different groups is a bit frustrating.
Hallit would be the language to use here, possibly alongside Skald.
Any suggestions for that combat, Juniperkitsu/anyone else? I'm running a PBP group through the quests, and we'll be going to the Monolith soon. Combats so far have been pretty easy, so good ideas to up the difficulty a bit (or at least make sure the combat lasts long enough for everyone to have a chance to participate meaningfully)?
I’m told there is a small village called Dunhob only a few miles from Illirigarde Manor that could have useful information. No doubt the villagers have many stories about the phenomena affecting the region. Additionally, before her disappearance Lady Illirigarde visited the locals occasionally to perform harrow readings and seances. Perhaps we could learn more about her research and disappearance as well. My contacts informed me the villagers of Dunhob are a particularly close-lipped and superstitious lot, so diplomatic finesse may be necessary.
There are also legends of a haunted tavern called The Lucky Lantern in Dunhob that I would like you to investigate. Your mission is to see what secrets the tavern may hold and interview one or two of the local villagers.
Happy adventuring!
Dr. Quolorum
You begin the adventure just outside Dunhob, a small village with two rows of thatched roof buildings. Feel free to introduce yourselves if you like.
Again, we never said this. We never said there are no gender roles in Golarion; We have said that they are enforced to varying degrees depending on where you are, and in general aren't as strict as they are in the real world. And we have TOTALLY said gender identity exists. Repeatedly.
I just wanted to say this is one thing about Golarion that I really like. Golarion's not a utopia of equality, nor does it have any risk of becoming the Neutral planet. But of all the various fictional worlds I've read, it does the best job of avoiding this phenomenon:
Gorbacz wrote:
Ah, the good old "inclusiveness hampers creativity" argument, or "is there a really, really, REALLY good story enhancing reason why this bartender isn't white?".
If you want to tell stories about fighting racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or overcoming any sort of adversity, there's plenty of opportunity to do so. Amiri grew up in a sexist tribe, Taldor doesn't allow for a woman to take the throne. There's discrimination against Shoanti in Varisia and tieflings in Cheliax. The list goes on.
But having those available as story hooks doesn't prevent the iconic champion of Good from being a woman of color whose story doesn't really have anything to do with those issues. Gender identity and sexual orientation issues don't come up as often, but the same pattern holds. It's great to see people and relationships I can identify with, even especially when it isn't plot-critical.
And now that this discussion has me thinking, I'm off to break my "no new characters" moratorium. I really thought I'd be able to hold off until Occult Adventures. Thanks, Crystal and Jessica (and everyone else)!
I just wanted to share the rare in character appearance of one of the Druids Local branches. I just finished GMing a scenario, and had placed several animal companions down on the table. As soon as I remembered the four player adjustment, they promptly took their union-mandated break and walked off the map.
But, while I'm here and scrolling past the previous discussions about flight/mounted rules, does anyone have suggestions for quick table references (similar to the grapple flowcharts that show up every so often) for those two systems? I know I'd appreciate a relatively simple resource to help make sure I use those rules correctly as both a player and GM.
I'm surprised nobody mentioned going for Sorcerer/Bloodrager bloodlines as a way to get some of the same flavor as a tiefling while still being human (or any other race, which is an advantage over tiefling in some ways, as you can have the Elf tainted by Tanglebriar, the Halfling who was used in unspeakable Chelish rituals, or similar for any other PFS legal race). Both classes have a number of bloodlines directly tied to evil outsiders, and a few others could probably be construed that way (Aberrant for Qlippoth, etc.).
Less explicitly, having a babau for a great-grandfather might explain your Oracle mystery, Witch Patron, or similar class feature. Heck, with the new summoner your eidolon could be your devilish outsider uncle. Obviously not all classes have the same access to these sort of features, but if you're really set on fiendish/celestial heritage, there's certainly still plenty of ways to incorporate that thematically and mechanically into the character.
I'd keep the existing one, mark off anything sold in the sold column. I'd distinguish between things sold at full price (because they no longer work properly with the class), and any sold at half-price as would normally happen (anything where that is not the case). Putting an "R" or something next to the ones sold at full would make things clear, I think. Just mark any new purchases like you normally would.
