Fred Strauss's page

Myself I would prefer to play at a 7-person table than a 3-person table. I don't remember too many 7-player tables, mostly home games where there everyone had a +1 or +2 (significant other or child/children) and not easy to tell someone to go home or sit on their hands.

#1 Keskodai "Does anyone have a healer?" (as an extra in a three player game)
#2 Obozaya For actual players - they usually pick this guy

We seem to have a lot of operatives and technomancers in our area. So no need for other skill monkey classes.

Bob Jonquet wrote:

Fred Strauss wrote:

The local post-Thanksgiving con in the Chicago area didn't even offer Paizo games this year, probably the first time since Pathfinder was still using the actual 3.5 rules.

Which con was that?

This is really odd.

I was at a Chicago area Con and we had both PFS and SFS games on the post-Thanksgiving weekend...?

EDIT: We didn't have any PFS2 Playtest, however.

STUFFED COWS 2018 at the College of Du Page

UPDATE: Now I see there was a separate external link to PFS/SFS games... DOH!!!

The local post-Thanksgiving con in the Chicago area didn't even offer Paizo games this year, probably the first time since Pathfinder was still using the actual 3.5 rules.

I believe PFS used to have replay, you could always replay with a character of a different faction. That was a long time ago, before I was even playing Pathfinder.

Generally as a DM I will leave at home any pregens that take up more than one side of the page. The last thing I need is a new player who decides to take the 'coolest' PC who also happens to have the most complicated rules system.

Fought bravely with 7th level Harsk twice, first time he fought off a Finger of Death for which I was glad I wasn't the target. The second time we were with a Dazing Wizard who basically soloed the adventure while the rest of us watched, so the rest of us were as 'worthless' as Harsk. In neither case did Harsk die nor the party fail. The same can't be said for the 7th level Ninja who died from 'friendly fire' (falling while unconscious into a pit conjured by a PC sorcerer in our party).

I'm thinking of going with an 8 Con. Would never do that in PFS, but thinking the effect is not as bad in SFS.

Lashunta Pilot Mystic S10 D15 Cn8 I12 W16 Ch12. Healer. S5/HP9/R4 Specializing in Pilot and Diplomacy, so can work as Pilot or Captain in Ship Combat.

Any other thoughts of going with 8 Con?

Thanks!

Drone wrote:

--The Halfling cleric of Desna's Str score so low that when he attacks he can only do 1 point of damage with his starknife. Oh, and that damage is nonlethal. (This is my brother's PFS character)

My Gnome Sorcerer's damage is so low that his Maximum damage is 1 Non-lethal. [5 Str = 1d3-3 with cestus]

Having a Gnome Sorcerer in the same situation, except with a dagger, I remember being in a combat alone in a room with a single opponent in his first adventure. I color sprayed the poor rogue, closed the door of the small room we were in so no one could interfere, and proceeded to coup de grace him while he was unconscious for 2 point of damage per round. He still had hit points when he came around so it was a race for me to finish the job while he was blind and eventually took him down right before the stun wore off. It took some amazing rolls, considering his melee to hit was -2 or something and my max damage was 1. The other PCs heard the commotion in the other room and wondered what the heck was going on in there. His first and only melee victory. I knew tier 1-2 would be the only chance he'd get.

Sounds like the audit was worth something, unless you positively know the guy booted actually did own that stuff. Its pretty easy for some people to justify "I bought it in Hero Lab, I'm not going to pay for it again", or "It's not fair if my friend gets cooler stuff because he has more money and can afford it".

Of course that's one reason I don't play PFS at GenCon, I don't want to lug a bunch of books around with me. If I can't play because I want to follow the rules, why should this guy get to play if he ignores the rules?

Now that I think about it, surprised there wasn't such a thing in StarFinder (that I know of). Kind of a Sci Fi staple.

Kerney wrote:

New thought. If you have one of those unused elemental race boons or tri race boons from x years ago, go ahead and use as a "legacy race" starfinder boon or some variation of such.

This pretty much only benefits people that have been playing PFS for a while and decided to save a stack of boons for whatever reason. Outside of maintaining the same venture corps, it seems pretty clear that Starfinder Society is setup to be an independent venture from PFS, which it should be as there's an entirely new audience that has never played Pathfinder interested in Starfinder.

I played the Quests at GenCon slot 1, and my table was with five other players, none of which had a PFS number.

I have seen a tea ceremony set. I have never seen milk in pfs.

Just last week someone in my party used powdered milk to try to identify an invisible opponent. There was also tea in the adventure. But no alcoholic beverages :(

I was 4400 but still got the SFS Quests Thursday morning. That was the only one I was looking for due to my work schedule. Lots of PFS special games open still but I have to GM other games those slots.

I usually convert to platinum pieces until I get a handy haversack, then don't worry about it.

Anything with 5 Con should be a challenge, and not taking the extra hp from favored class.

Lord Regal the Taldor Noble (actually Barbarian Mad Dog) with his extremely well groomed dog (wolf) Rosebud. He is maxed at Diplomacy, and is extremely insulted if someone implies he is a 'barbarian'. Sometimes during an easy mook fight he will refuse to battle, because it is 'beneath his station' and doen't want to 'soil his fine clothes' (Fasionable Trait). He sends in Rosebud instead. He talks a tough game but in combat sometimes inexplicably end up behind the archer when there are ranged attackers, and will take a cheap shot (Dirty Fighter Trait) though he is an 'extremely honorable' fighter. Basically he is kind of set up like a pro-wrestling villain. This helps conserve his rage (Mad Dog and only 14 Con). Perception maxed out as well though only 8 Wisdom. Day Job? 'Day Jobs are for common folk'. Just took a Ninja level so he can eventually vanish and cheap shot (sneak attack) bad guys and allows him linguistics and knowledge (nobility) for mostly role-playing purposes.

I like the idea of modules geared toward Core (where you can DM only needing the Core Rulebook - no other classes or spells from other books). It would be like year 0 mods, but that doesn't mean it has to be easy. A good intro for new DMs. They could be played classic as well.

Allowing unlimited Aiding gives a huge boost to seven player tables and the DCs should be higher than a four player game. But I rarely see that in the modules.

How about 4 years after PLUS you've already GM'd the adventure once as well?

The PC that the GM would use to help isn't really there, so it suspends belief he/she just shows up at the end of the adventure to give out helpful gold like a strange angel. "How did you know what happened? Why where you spying on us without helping out? He's an Aspis spy - get him!!!"

In a three player game, if the pregen the GM runs gets killed, does the GM's PC die as well?

The first Aspis mod I played 4 of the 6 PCs died, so yeah, this is going on a 1st level character.

I don't see anything in the guide that would indicate buying a potion of fly in advance and reimbursing the cost. Unless you are reading 'This includes pooling money to
buy breath of life or raise dead scrolls or potions for use
in the game.' as 'ALL potions for use in the game', not those related to the sentences above.

I seems like people are looking at a sentence or two in the guide and applying it to a several hundred post thread in a forum, I don't see how you can make that leap.

I didn't read that is was for all items, only items that resolve conditions such as death, disease or poison. I don't want an hour discussion before the game starts on what list of 50 consumables someone wants the group to purchase.

The group can decide to split the cost of a scroll of Breath of Life, if it ends up unused everyone gets 50% of the price back at the end. Think of it as Pathfinder Insurace policy. Lets not open another can of worms.

Having some problems coming up with a Masterwork tool for some of the following:

Acrobatics (Tutu?)
Appraise (Scales or Magnifying Glass)
Bluff
Fly (Tail like a kite?)
Sense Motive
Sleight of Hand

Alot of others can be reproduced with books/manuals.

Can a 4th or 7th level pregen still be used to create a 1st level character with 500 gp, 1 xp? This seemed like a good tool for recruiting players. If it's another thing that changed its like we are purposely creating rules to deter pesky and annoying newbies from joining the society, is that the master plan?

This is just a horrible decision. Most pregens are played by new players who don't have a character at an appropriate level. Sub-optimal PCs played by players with sub-optimal tactics. Now when 7th level Kyra dies, your other character hundreds of miles away suddenly dies of a heart attack. Really really stupid. Because of this many pregen deaths will end up being hand-waved. So you are creating a rule a lot of people will just end up breaking, never a good idea.

Maybe a funny hat would work? or maybe a not-so-funny hat as well (though not as entertaining).

I pay $4 for an adventure, print it out, go thru the prep and basically it goes in the trash after the game, I think it is such a waste. If there is no Core in the area especially. I don't know who is proposing running the same mod 10 or 20 times. Three times would probably be ok (once a day at a typical three day convention).

Typically I run for a group of friends (for PFS credit) at a friend's house but could run again at a game store game day (my friends don't do this, so it's always a different group of players).

I won't run it a second time for no credit, and even reduced credit seems like a slap in the face. Period. I would much rather play and get full credit. Sorry if that makes me a greedy or bad GM.

I have run 11 times, not much, but will get my first star when they are all entered into the system.

Actually I think the rule is in place with the hope that it will mean more adventures will be bought. Paizo makes more money if you run three adventures once instead of one adventure three times. That's the only reason I can see about not wanting GM replays.

If I'm at a convention, if I sign up for three slots of GM I should be able to run the same mod 3 times instead of having to run three different mods. It would greatly reduce my prep time and make me better at running that specific mod. But the rules discourage this from happening. At which point possibly I'll say screw it and not DM any mods instead.

Bringing back Spot, Search, and Listen. Combining these made Perception too powerful, and a good Rouge now needs Wisdom instead of making it a dump stat.

Just played this, of the three players eligible for the 4th sheet I was the only one to take the extra xp option.

An easy mode shouldn't be necessary if the scenario can be won with four non-optimized characters (i.e. Valeros, Merisel, Kryra, and Ezren) at the lowest level. And all scenarios should be written so that can happen. Hopefully this is being play tested for each one before they are published.

What I've found is that the ones with 'hard mode' tend to be the hardest ones already before the adjustment, they actually could use an 'easy mode' instead.

Sometimes 'hard mode' can just be 'play the optional encounter' which many times tends to be the hardest one.

Twice I had PCs die at my table due to another PC's spell. I think it was the same summoner both times. He casts a Create Pit, and someone fighting the bad guys, despite warnings, stands on the edge fighting a monster. PC drops to negative hit points and unconsciousness, and then next round fails save dropping into the pit dealing yet more damage and death.

I wanted to create a Rogue/Ninja but looking into I believe it's not legal to do that.

I had a 7th level Ninja who took a level of Investigator (Sleuth) to get Evasion, Disable Magical Traps, +2 Init, and +2 Will bonus (sorely needed) - Provided I don't use up all my Luck points.

This would make Deathwatch much more useful!

So it seems "cannot participate in combat at all" is just not phrased well. I was viewing getting targeted, killed or moving my PC around the battlefield as "participating in combat".

So when talking about a 'non-combat' mount, "Cannot participate in combat at all" possibly really means "Cannot attack in combat at all"?

"How many animals can I have at any given time? (from the FAQ)

During the course of a scenario, you may have one combat animal and as many noncombat animals as you like. Noncombat animals (ponies, horses, pet dogs, and so on) cannot participate in combat at all. If you have so many noncombat animals that their presence is slowing a session down, the GM has the right to ask you to select one noncombat animal and leave the rest behind. A summoner's eidolon is considered an animal companion for the purposes of counting combat and noncombat animals. If you have more than one class-granted animal companion (or eidolon), you must choose which will be considered the combat animal at the start of the scenario. In general, a mount, a familiar or mundane pet, and your class-granted animal(s) are acceptable, but more than that can be disruptive."

So my question is, if I am riding a riding dog or horse and have another combat animal alongside and get surprised into initiative, does my mount just *poof* disappear? Am I assumed to have jumped off (as a free action) and the mount has run away? Or am I still on the mount who, being a 'non-combatant', is effectively invulnerable?

It is a big question for a gnome/halfling, who can go from 40' to 15' if the mount disappears.

Table 2-2 (Hit Points) is missing Unchained Monk (d10 instead of d8), right?

To help avoid metagaming? For instance for the easy season 0's I'll play the PC on a core table, but to get the goodies on those nasty year 4 chronicles maybe I'll tag along with the Zen Archer and Old School Summoner I happen to know at one of their normal tables.

Whispering in his ear before killing him seems like taunting, definitely un-paladin like. Though maybe not taunting as the criminal was unconscious and technically couldn't hear him, making the paladin look more like he is a bit insane (and chaotic).

It is just a game, to be so upset not to be able to kill an imaginary character when "There's no mechanical difference in rewards if we capture or kill in this scenario" is kind of disturbing. Chill.

My second core game was Decline of Glory with Paladin, Ranger, Cleric, Rogue (me - Merisel), Druid. All of use were lvl 1. This one was almost a TPK when I played it normal mode last year, but that was mostly a result of bad luck which didn't repeat itself, the big challenge was finishing in the 4 hour limit. The paladin had Diehard so the fact he never dropped (and he frequently was often negative hp) helped immensely.

My third core game was the Penumbral Accords with a Human Paladin, Half-Elf Cleric (Pos Channel), Halfling Cleric (Neg Channel), Human Wizard (me - Ezren). This was tough as we had some no-shows and ended up with only 4 first level PCs. Our Paladin bit the dust on this one, mostly due to streaky DM rolling (couldn't even hit the wizard in one big fight, but pounded the high armored Paladin in the next big fight). He was the only melee fighter and had Diehard - so basically he didn't drop until he was plain dead. With the cleric already down and no one else going to melee range he took all the attacks. If he didn't have Diehard though it probably would have been a TPK, it bought the two of us still standing some time to get a few more damage points and get a lucky shot in at the BBG at the end. Must have hit him with at least four Acid Splashes (all I had left!) The heroic knight died to save our skins.

I had a paladin with 1 xp made up but played pre-gens as there was already a paladin in the party. Now with 3 xp under my belt I have to decide if I want to permanently stay paladin. I did not see any wizards the three games I played so I am looking at that also, but since it looks like the local area has just lost our paladin, not sure if he is creating a new one or something else this time. One thing worse than not having two melee fighters is not having one melee fighter. I will probably make up both at level 2 and choose one depending what shows up at the next game.

Core is great because I play with my 13 yo kid, I've already played most the low level adventures on normal mode and wouldn't be eligible play these older ones with him otherwise. The early season scenarios are good training grounds for new players and there 'usually' is some wiggle room for making beginner mistakes (unlike the newer season mods which are more unforgiving). He probably wouldn't be playing if it weren't for Core.

Save or Die is more bark than bite in PFS, most PCs have a reroll and generally in the rare fail of a save or die the reroll saves their bacon. In particular there was a vampire mod which looked very scary at first but with rerolls was not too threatening. I actually felt sorry for the vampires who probably could not understand their complete inability to charm an enemy.

I really dislike playing up when there is no one in tier. Almost always results in at least one death, at least year 4 or later.

Would it be fun however to have a new campaign - Unchained PFS - where only Unchained characters are allowed and Unchained optional rules used? :)

A ninja vanishes and sneaks into the middle of a bunch of goblins. The wizard doesn't know this, just sees a bunch of goblins in fireball formation. Is he allowed to let it loose even though the silent invisible ninja rushed in there without telling anyone?

Not only was it strange that Janira was now saying the Wisp was 'where it started' but even stranger because she had been killed by a Minotaur when I had played The Confirmation. All I could do was assume she was an imposter!

Hey, I've been playing Pathfinder for almost two years now and I love it. Just recently I started looking into the PFS stuff and I'm really psyched to start. The only problem is I can't decide on a faction. So I thought it'd be fun if people tried to convince me to join theirs. I've come up with a few rules:

• You can only post once.
  
• You must post as your PFS Character.
  
• 50 words or less.
  

I will pick a winner after a few days. What does the winner get? Well, you'll have successfully added another member to your faction. I will also set my main accounts faction icon to the winning factions icon permanently.

If it helps your spiel the classes I was interested in playing are Fighter, Oracle, Summoner, and Wizard. I usually play human.

Now sell me your faction!