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OK. So I am trying to report this game. Running into problems. Baerlie, character 2007 shows up as Esmeralda Bishop instead of Ulfhild. Warah, I need PFS numbers for Soosan. Side note: Prestige seems to be an outdated term. I think that is the field for Reputation gain though. Or maybe it is ignored. not sure.
So... At what point should I just report this game under my own event? This Thursday it will be 3 weeks since I requested reporting access to the GM School event.
I'm also still waiting for Redalia to add me as a reporter to the GM School event.
OK. I have a game to report. So if you would add me, that would be great.
OK. I asked about it there. I think I also will need all of the character details to report. PFS number
... I think that is all of it that the reporting system asks for.
Do we need to report under this event number, or can we use our own? I'm not seeing this event show up under my list of events, so I am thinking that I haven't been added as a reporter for it either.
Thanks. Now I am trying to find how to do reporting. I remember doing it once. I think there is a specific event to report this to. But I am not sure that I have access to it. If I do, then I am not seeing it.
Ah. There it is. Thanks.
Lantern, I would not say that your experience here is universal. Very likely. My experience is admittedly limited. But it is what I have experienced. Groups that are very active - where the gameplay is getting multiple posts per day - suddenly stop having anything new for several days. And it happens right after the GM posts something that I myself look at and go, "I have no idea what is even available to do here." @GM Lantern: This thread is about a different scenario, but the original question is about where to find the sanctioning document. Thanks. Yeah, I am hoping I am not the only one that is running into this. From the look of it, Hillcross Roundup isn't sanctioned for PFS use. Either that or I am just blind.
Does anyone know where the 'sanctioning documents' are? I am trying to understand how much treasure these Bounties award. Quests and Scenarios have the table in the Lorespire instruction page. But for Bounties all it says is "varies, see sanctioning document".
I'm not sure why you think that knowing what the goal of the challenge is or what skill checks are available means that the player doesn't need to do any role play. That doesn't seem related to me. What I am mentioning is that no one else will ever think that your clear description is as clear as you yourself do. Especially when described over a written format. So be explicit to avoid decision paralysis in your players.
"Hmm... Not the normal poacher type then. Good riddance." "Yes, that's the hope," Xila says to Ulfhild. "Though even earlier than that if I can get these ones to join a herd of adults. I'm hoping to take care of that in the next couple of days. You can come along if you have the time and interest in it."
No more foes appear. Gloria was quite good at making sure that she was the dominant threat in the immediate area. Harsk has a quick staring contest with the stegosaurus and it calms down noticeably. Iput removes the arrow from the tiny dinosaur, but isn't sure how to stop the bleeding. Gwendellyn arrives and with a quick healing touch the dinosaur is breathing easier, though still unconscious. Dinos secured and calmed, you head back to Xila's encampment. Some of you still a bit battered, but in much better shape than the bugbear who was left to join the bone pile on the slope of an unnamed hill in the wilderness of the Tusk Mountains. The journey back to the encampment goes uneventfully. When you arrive, Xila comes over to greet you. "Oh, good. You found Babs. Sorry, I forgot to tell you her name earlier." Then she notices the injuries of Harsk and Iput and the tiny dinosaur that Iput is carrying. "So, what happened out there?"
Hmm, is it about asking what they wanna do to overcome some obstacles? I can give them choices but I think that it is maybe more fun to see what they come up with. While that sounds great in theory (and may work in in-person games among players that know each other fairly well already), what I have seen much more often in PbP is that doing that causes decision paralysis in the players and they end up not posting anything at all. So if you are going to try that, be sure to be explicit that this is what you are doing - that there is an obstacle that you are expecting them to invent their own way of overcoming; and that you are explicit about what the goal of the overcoming of the obstacle is. For an example of the vague presentation: -----
----- So... What's the challenge that needs to be overcome? Crossing the river? Exploring the hut for clues? Floating down the river? Finding/building a boat and paddling up the river? Also, which one of the players is going to take the lead and decide for the entire group what the group is going to do? Because remember, this is play-by-post. If it isn't written down, then it doesn't get communicated. You can't rely on non-verbal communication to convey your intent and meaning like you usually can in in-person games. And that goes for the players communicating among themselves and coming to a group decision just as much as it does for the GM presenting the plot of the campaign.
So, it looks like Bounties don't award downtime, so there is no need to roll for downtime activities. But I am not sure how much treasure to award. The Lorespire page for it just says "Varies, see sanctioning document." What sanctioning document?
Iput resists the poison from the little dinosaur. She retaliates against it and drops it with one arrow. Her second shot goes wide though - she seems to be mentally indecisive about shooting again at the dinosaur and shooting at Gloria and ends up splitting the shot right between the two. Ulfhild moves to the space where the arrow passed by and sees that with Gloria holding Harsk, she is leaving a gaping hole in her armor near her armpit. No sooner is the weakness spotted than the longsword is moving. "Hmrrrr..." Gloria grunts as the sword bites deep into her side. She turns to face Ulfhild more directly just in time to be run through again by the skilled human warrior. Gloria stands there stunned for almost a second. Then crumples to the ground without another sound.
That crit would be enough damage to kill the little dinosaur, and that is before rolling damage for Deadly. It is intended to run and hide (and remove itself from the battle) as soon as it takes any damage. How would you like to run this?
Gloria reaches out with her free hand and grabs at Harsk.
Then slashes a couple of times with the sword.
"Hold still, you," she grumbles as Harsk manages to twist and squirm enough to avoid being cut.
Probably my least favorite thing to do as a GM: Telling a player that they did something incorrectly and will have to modify what they already posted. Witch's Patron Familiar ability "can occur only once per round". Having Stoke the Heart on both allies is fine, but you have to pick one to get the Temp HP.
Gloria pauses for a second trying to translate what type of insult 'kneecap' is. When Harsk's axe hits her in the leg it suddenly makes quite a bit more sense. "Funny," she says grimacing.
@Iput: Ouch, sorry. Also, I corrected Harsk's HP to account for the temp HP from Benji.
The tiny dinosaur looks nervously at Iput. Then looks even more nervously over at Gloria. Seeming to come to a decision, the little thing puffs itself up a bit and charges at Iput.
It sinks its little fangs into Iput's calf, then runs off to let the venom do its work.
Gloria finishes drawing her sword and moves to meet the approaching Dwarf. "I may turn you into mush, but you aren't big enough to feed me for all that long."
Enemy Initiative (perception):
The path you are following winds around a small outcropping above you. When you near the top, you see that the ground at that area is mostly level. The scene that greets you on the hilltop is a concerning one. There is an opening to a cave directly ahead. The quantity of discarded bones steadily increases towards that entrance. You see the small stegosaurus leashed to a stake in the middle of that flat section. You also finally see the source of the noise that led you here. A bugbear stands there threatening and chastising the stegosaurus in a Goblin language. The stegosaurus does not appear to be injured. It is, however, most unhappy at being tied up and yelled at, and is bellowing quite loudly itself in fear and frustration. You also notice a rather small dinosaur standing near the Bugbear. It looks to be about the size of a chicken. You don't have much time to take all of this in though. Once you arrive at the top of the hill, the ranting and pacing Bugbear turns enough to notice you. The Bugbear turns to you fully and switches into speaking in common. "What is this? Intruders on Gloria's hill. Come to see my latest catch?" She grins viciously. "More like, come to join my catch. This little one is just bait. Looks like it caught something for me already." Gloria reaches for her sword.
From what I see in Alternative Skills for Initiative Perception is the default and doing an activity allows you to use a skill instead if you want to - but it isn't required. You could still use Avoid Notice as your exploration activity and roll Perception for initiative. So I'll roll Gwendellyn with the +5 perception for initiative and use the +2 stealth for anything regarding actually being hidden from those on the hilltop. Anyway, I'll get things going here this evening.
Hello there, I'm new to society and to the remaster rules but I'm positive about giving it a try. Welcome. You are certainly in the right place. If you don't have a character created yet, all PFS characters need to be registered. Which is done on the Paizo forums here. From the 'My Account' on the banner at the top of the page -> 'Organized Play' -> 'Create a character'. There are also the rules for creating characters on the Lorespire pages.
"Do not fret, love - we'll bring the babe home safe and sound." Benji boofs in agreement and starts sniffing eagerly at anything nearby. Xila nods and smiles at Gwendellyn and Benji. "Thank you. I wouldn't be able to handle this all on my own - that's for sure." ----- You make pretty good time going through the woods. The trail isn't terribly hard to track. It appears that the small dinosaur wasn't to happy about being taken away from the herd and took out its frustration on any trees and shrubbery within its reach. After about an hour of tracking you come to the base of a small hill. There is a bit of a track worn into the side of the hill leading up to the top. And at the top of the hill, you see some evidence that someone has been making camp here for a while. Someone who isn't too keen on visitors. Or cleanliness. Discarded bones and even some more recognizable animal body parts are littered around the hillside. You can hear some shouting coming from the top of the hill, but can't make out what is being said.
Xila frowns at Harsk's words. "Yes. Unfortunately, I have to agree. Please, bring back the little one. And any other creatures that this sneak thief has gotten hold of. Go - and be safe."
Minor note: My link to the Pathfinder Provisions doesn't work entirely accurately and there isn't anything I can do about it. To find the provisions table you need to scroll down a few paragraphs from where the link drops you off at.
Harsk notes some marks in a couple of the fence planks that look like they were made by a heavy blade. It seems that unless one of the baby stegosauruses learned how to use tools, that someone 'helped' them to escape. Xila comes back from searching the edge of the clearing and mentions to Harsk, "Oh good, you know how to track. I found some stegosaurus footprints leading West. I promised gold for helping round these little ones up again, but I really do want all of them. I'll throw in some elixirs for the extra trouble though. I have those here." She reaches into her pack and pulls out two Eagle-eye (lesser) elixirs, two Healing Potion (minor) and whatever you choose for your Pathfinder Provisions (More minor healing potions unless specified otherwise). "I did notice some other tracks there too. I'm hoping that it isn't related and that the little one just wandered off." "If you can go track down the last little stegosaurus to bring back, I'll stay here and finish mending the pen. And get their afternoon feeding ready. And clean up their droppings so that they don't try eating those. And break up any squabbles that they have with each other. And haul over some more water, the barrel is running low. And ... well, you get the idea. I'll make sure to have your promised payment ready for when you return too."
In PbP I have only ever run into the opposite problem: The GM is so afraid of "railroading" that they don't sufficiently advertise what the expected plot is or what is needed in order to make progress in the plot. So none of the characters know what to do or how to do it. Which may be what leads some players to go off the rails in the first place - just to have something to do.
Gwendellyn perception:
Harsk shoves a last couple of stegosauruses into the pen and Xila gets one last one to join the herd inside the enclosure. Ulfhild and Iput carry over a few more fence rails and Gwendellyn gets them lashed into place. With the dinosaurs contained, Xila stands there counting them repeatedly. "... seventeen, eighteen, ninteen, twenty, twenty-one." ... *huff* "OK. One, two, three, four... ... ninteen, twenty, twenty-one." Finally she stops counting and turns to the rest of you. "It looks like there is one missing. Stay here, I need to figure out which direction the little one went." Xila starts searching around the perimeter of the clearing looking for signs and tracks.
I'm at least going to give you the Scent bonus. You paid character build options for that - an ancestry feat and the loss of choice of one of your familiar abilities in order to get a familiar large enough to ride and the Scent ability. You should at least get the mechanical benefits for Scent when it actually is relevant in the circumstances of play.
That appears to be for PF1 PFS. Is that still valid for PF2? Some of the Q/A entries in there make little to no sense in a PF2 context.
I'm going to post this here too - just to get the maximum visibility. I ran into a question from a player that I thought I knew the answer to, but now I can't find it. In the old PFS guidelines site there was clear ruling that you couldn't have a familiar, animal companion, or Eidolon participating in skill challenges along with the primary character - and thus giving the player two checks per round. I am not seeing this in the new Lorespire PFS guidelines site. Was that restriction removed, is it still in effect (and just listed somewhere that I am not seeing it), or is it left up to the GM to decide now?
Don't know if this would be allowed, but if possible Gwendellyn and Benji would both search with a +5 Perception modifier each. Benji also has the Scent familiar ability, which may or may not help us here. I'm actually going to have to ask about that. I remember seeing a restriction in the old PFS guidelines that prevented both a primary character and a familiar from participating in a skill challenge in parallel like that. But I am not seeing it in the new Lorespire PFS rules. If I don't hear back from someone by mid-day with a better answer, I'm thinking to still keep the restriction, but let the two of you effectively search together with one check (use the higher bonus of the two of you) with a +1 circumstance bonus from working together and a +1 status bonus from the scent ability.
In the old PFS guide, I remember seeing a ruling that characters with an animal companion, familiar, or even an Eidolon were still only allowed to take one action for a skill challenge. I am not seeing that in the new Lorespire PFS guide. Does anyone know where that is or if it was removed deliberately?
Iput perception:
Iput checks more of the fencing, but doesn't find any clues either.
Ulfhild perception:
Ulfhild searches through the fencing and surrounding area, but doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary.
Harsk and Ulfhild team up to push some more of the dinosaurs into the pen. Ulfhild struggles with the mud, but even with the dinosaurs getting belligerent about being pushed around they aren't much match for the obstinate shoving that the Dwarf Ranger applies. Iput gives up on trying to talk the dinosaurs into going into the pen and takes inspiration from Harsk and Ulfhild. Surprised at the change in tactics, the stegosauruses don't put up much resistance. With the fencing repaired as best as she can get it with the materials at hand, Gwendellyn turns to luring the dinosaurs into the pen with food. Xila returns with some more fence stakes. "Oh, good. Looks like you are making pretty good progress. Has anyone found out what caused the fencing to fail? I'm hoping it wasn't just my own failure at building - I can usually build pretty good pens. But I have been to busy to check into it."
I don't think I have mentioned Hero Points yet or put up anywhere to track them. I will correct that. You would all have 1 by default to start with. There may be players with boons that give more. If so, let me know. Edit: I put the hero point tracking on the second page of the 'map' link. Along with the combat tokens. Which only has two character tokens on there currently... I'll just grab your forum avatar picture if you don't want to upload something else.
Harsk shoves a couple of dinosaurs into the pen. They grumble a bit, but don't fight too much. Iput appeals to their sense of family. But while the dinosaurs do have some herd instincts, they don't actually understand the language. And they feel that they can be together just fine outside the pen as well as inside. Gwendellyn lashes up the gaping holes in the pen's fencing. Ulfhild follows Harsk's example and tries shoving some dinosaurs into the pen. The muddy ground gets the better of her though. "Xila dear, you wouldn't happen to have more of these stakes, would you?" Xila nods and goes to gather more stakes. "Also, while they may not very intelligent in general, these little ones are very smart at being dinosaurs. They learn your tactics quickly."
To be clear, Hero Points and boons and such things aren't what I was talking about. I was meaning things like the 'Preview' button and the dice result manipulation that could be done with that.
I would never roll a player's will save against confusion or charm or anything like that, because it can really impact the player's experience of the game if they fail. I am very confused by this. Unless the player is able to control the outcome of the die roll (which is the very definition of cheating), how would it be any more or less likely for the save to fail if the player rolls it instead of the GM? There seems to be some sort of emotional effect going on here. An ownership or responsibility of the result that I don't understand. That somehow if you are the one to roll the dice then you are responsible for the outcome ... even if you didn't have any actual control over it.
You make your way out of town and follow the woodpecker to a large clearing in a wooded valley west of town. There you see a herd of about 20 very young Stegosauruses wandering loose from what remains of a pen intended to keep them corralled, and a dirty and exhausted Kellid woman in a patterned cloak trying to get them all contained again. The woodpecker flies over and lands on the woman's shoulder. She looks around and sees the group of you coming. "Good job, Vik," she says to the bird. Then she calls out to you and waves you over. "I'm hoping you are here answering my request for help. If so, ... or if not, for that matter, I could really use some help getting these young ones back into their pen. Don't hurt them, though. And see if you can find out how they broke free. You can ask me any other questions while we work."
Saves and reactions can take away player agency, especially in a dramatic roll (death save..). Question on this: Is "agency" the right word for what you are meaning? Especially regarding saves. My understanding of the word "agency" is that it means that the player has decision making control over their character's choices. When an enemy attacks my character with an effect that needs a save, what choices do I have?
I really don't like botting other players. I have had to do it sometimes and I am always really nervous about it the entire time. An alternative that I have seen used (though not in a PFS game) is to delay the character for a block step or two first. Then only bot them if it would cause them to miss an entire turn. ----- From a player standpoint instead of a GM: I don't have a problem with the GM rolling things for my character especially if there is not any character choice in the matter. The dice are the dice and it doesn't really matter which account is rolling them. So that would be things like a perception check that every character gets when entering a particular room, initiative (though the player should be able to specify the skill used - though that would need to be done before combat breaks out), and even rolling saves against an enemy effect. ----- Reactions are a bit tricky. One thing that I have done that works well, but is a bit difficult to do in complicated scenarios is to post the reaction I expect to use, as part of my combat post. So I would post my turn in combat (for example)
Then post my expected reactions
It becomes a bit of a mini-bot instruction to the GM that they can use to avoid having to retcon a bunch of stuff, or having to wait for me to post a reaction.
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