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I am launching a new campaign in January 2024. The first session is on January 15th, 2024. We use Roll20 for the VTT and Discord for audio. This is my second campaign set in Glorantha using customized 2nd Edition Pathfinder rules; the first campaign is completing this month with 20th level characters. We will be using the Remastered Second Edition Pathfinder Rules (i.e., Pathfinder Player Core, Pathfinder GM Core) along with 2nd edition rulebooks. Hopefully, Archives of Nethys will be updated with the remastered rules soon. My current plan is to have a total of approximately 20 players spread across 4 sessions with a new scenario every two weeks. Players are allowed to switch from time slot to time slot if that helps them. I'm currently planning on the four following time slots. These aren't necessarily set in stone, but I've found it best to propose several slots and work from there.
This campaign is intended to run for around 20 sessions and will take the PCs to 7th or 8th level. PLAYER INTRODUCTION This version of Discovering Glorantha is a hybrid version taking the remastered rules of Pathfinder Player Core and combining them with Pathfinder Second Edition Core Rulebook and other Pathfinder rulebooks. The remastered rules of Pathfinder Player Core and Pathfinder GM Core take precedence in conflicts with any other Pathfinder books. These rules are further modified to exploring the world of Glorantha (created by Greg Stafford). There are several key differences between traditional Fantasy Role-Playing Games (FRPGs) and Discovering Glorantha. Gods of Glorantha: Worshipping one or more gods is integral to every sentient being on Glorantha. In most FRPGs, worshipping a god is typically no more than a role-playing hook (excepting for clerics and champions). In Discovering Glorantha, selecting a god to worship affects how every character interacts with the world. All PCs need to consider their god’s Edicts and Anathema. Think of the ancient Greek myths and how individuals worshipped gods that supported their role in life. Everyone uses magic: All characters cast basic magic spells known as Spirit Magic. Additionally, every character casts divine magic known as Rune Magic. The character’s spell selection is strongly influenced by the god that the character worships. If you wish to focus more on spellcasting, you can take a spellcasting archetype starting at 1st level. All characters also have access to Focus Spells, Armor and Weapon Property Runes, and Rune Gifts related to the runes you selected during character creation. Culture and Religion: A major focus of Gloranthan campaigns is the interaction of cultures and religion. In most FRPGs, a majority of plots involve defeating rampaging monsters or evil villains attempting to conquer or destroy nations. In Glorantha, the opposition largely consists of opposing nations and cultures; the opposition may merely have a different point-of-view. Alignment: Characters do not have an alignment. This comes from Glorantha but is also consistent with the Remastered Pathfinder rules eliminating alignment. The ever-present threat of Chaos threatens to bring down civilization and no right-thinking person will consort with Chaos. Darkness: Darkness is dangerous. Most PCs won’t have innate Darkvision; some ancestries (e.g., troll) do have innate Darkvision. The Darkvision spell has limited availability. The Light cantrip is only available to spellcasting archetypes and only if they take Cantrip Expansion. In general, you will need torches when exploring caverns and other underground areas. Literacy: Most people in Glorantha are unable to read or write. Characters may learn to read and write any languages they speak by taking the Literacy feat. This includes characters that use Formula or Spell Books; the notations used by those characters do not include the learning required to obtain general literacy.
Another weird rules interaction is with Mature Animal Companions and flying. "During an encounter, even if you don't use the Command an Animal action, your animal companion can still use 1 action on your turn that round to Stride or Strike." If you have a Bird animal companion, it has a Speed of 10 and a Fly of 60 Feet. But since the Bird cannot use Stride to Fly, it can only walk 10 feet.
I'm finding the rules on the origination point of line effects to be ambiguous (essentially non-existent). I'm looking to the hive-mind to see if someone can find some rules that I have overlooked. A line shoots forth from you, following a straight path in a direction of your choosing. The line affects each creature whose space it overlaps. Unless a line effect says otherwise, it is 5 feet wide. For example, the lightning bolt spell’s area is a 60-foot line that’s 5 feet wide. I see that 2E removed the 1E verbiage "It [the line] starts from any corner of your square and extends to the limit of its range or until it strikes a barrier that blocks line of effect." That indicates that the line effect no longer is required to start from a corner. Conversely, the templates on page 456 seem to show that line effects do originate from a corner. So maybe the line does originate from a corner. I'm confused and would appreciate any help. What is the origination point of a line effect?
Aaron, I did contact Customer Service and they were unwilling to help. I received this reply today: I’m sorry for the confusion about the book you ordered. The mint condition books we sell on our website are always the most current printing. We don’t create a new printing until we sell down the existing one. The PDF always has the most current published errata and so is always the most current version of the book. It used to be that the errata wasn’t published in the PDF until we did a new printing but since that is no longer the case, it is possible that the PDF would have the errata that the physical books don’t contain yet. I hope you find this information helpful, and please let us know if you have any other questions.
Does anyone at Paizo now what printing they are now selling?Third printing with errata. I ordered the hardcover version on December 11th and received the 2nd printing. It appears that I should have waited another month before ordering it. I was very disappointed to open up the CRB and find that I had received the 2nd printing.
I've run this twice and the Nanobot Mimic is brutal! The Nanobot Mimic has swarm defenses (immune to attacks and effects that targets a single creature). I'm finding players are not even attempting to be ready to deal with swarms (especially at levels 1-2). Out of 12 PCs, not a single one had a grenade and no one had an AOE weapon (blast, line, or automatic). At least most of the CRB pregens have 1-2 frag grenades; a group of pregens might actually have a chance. In the first group, the only PC capable of damaging the swarm was able to cast Acidic Mist (Near Space page 154) which does 2d6 acid damage at the start of the creatures turn. If you can keep the swarm in the mist, that goes on for 1 round/level of the caster. In the second group, the only PC capable of damaging the swarm was a 1st level Solarian who had no interest in hanging around the swarm. I ended up allowing the PCs to quickly negotiate with Dolain to shut off the mimic. Since the PCs didn't defeat the Nanobot Mimic, they lose significant rewards.
How are people avoiding combat with the Yetis? If I'm reading right, the DC to avoid the fight with them is a DC 29 (15+(1.5*3), plus 10 for Hostile). Taking out the leader seems to make the social encounter unsalvagable... Inix shows up as Hostile only "If the PCs attack the yetis (or otherwise make them Hostile)". I love running this encounter. The PCs almost always love partying with the stoner yetis and making friends with them. This encounter (including the checks to join the tribe) is all sorts of fun.
However, three tasks are listed after "either of the following." I've run this scenario multiple times and I go with any one of the following. In my experience: 1) Everyone retrieves the crystals (even if they come back for them)2) No one gains control of the robots. [Simple enough, but the time pressure dissuades PCs from the Computers rolls in a room that they can easily get trapped in.] 3) No one gets all 4 of the datapads. PCs rarely go down the elevator shaft. When I run this scenario, I call for a break after the fight in A1 (even though it's a bit early). Afterwards, I keep pushing the PCs with the sense of impending doom. This is a horror scenario; don't give them a break until they free themselves.
I went through the process last year. My chief complaint is that there is no process to facilitate the VC evaluations. I am fortunate in that I can travel to all 3 major summer conventions and to additional conventions around the country as well. My journey started by posting that I needed help in last year's Paizo Blog April update (blog post April 3rd). Hilary Moon-Murphy stepped up to volunteer to evaluate one of my games at PaizoCon; that evaluation did occur. A couple of VCs offered to evaluate me at GenCon if it could be arranged. They acknowledged that it could be a problem if their free slots didn't line up with my schedule. After arriving at Origins, John Godek stepped up to introduce me to some VCs who were also at the convention. Fortunately, we were able to line up free slots with my schedule and we got the remaining two evaluations completed. Once the VC evaluations had been arranged, the OPF volunteers were helpful in ensuring that the VCs could be present for my games. In the end, it all worked out for me. I obtained 3 evaluations within a month at 2 major conventions. But it feels like it could have gone another way if individual volunteers hadn't stepped up to facilitate the process.
Does anyone have feedback on this after running it? Did 4 rounds feel like enough? I ran the scenario with 4 social rounds in a 4-player game (sub-tier 5-6). In the first round, they made a good guess to use Computers on Camily and were successful (though I suspect I tipped my hand too much). The other 3 PCs went with Sense Motive on the other 3 delegates. Only 1 made the DC 10 check. Two of the PCs had no ranks in Sense Motive and the PC with +7 rolled a 2. At this point, they needed 2 more successes on Camily and 3 on the rest in 3 rounds, with 12 rolls remaining. They had good Skill Bonuses: +17 Athletics, +15/+14 Culture, +17/+14/+12 Computers, +10 Diplomacy, +17/+14/+12 Engineering, +12 Life Science, +11 Mysticism, +12 Physical Science, +15/+13/+13 Piloting, +14/+12/+10 Profession (all against a 22 DC). They rolled poorly. They barely got a total of 3 successes on 2 of the delegates (losing about 10% of the adventures credits). They also missed the secondary success conditions. Did I feel badly about them failing to impress 3 delegates? Not really. They were unskilled at Sense Motive (generally, one PC with a +7) in a scenario identified as "[PCs] thrust into politics". They skills were certainly good enough to succeed, but poor dice rolling mattered. I also discovered that none of the Hireling skill sets in the SFS Organized Guide include Sense Motive. What would I do different? I still think 6 rounds would be too much. If my group had two more rounds, I'm thinking they would have attempted Sense Motive again on the two remaining delegates (2 PCs each). Hopefully, they would manage some successes against the DC 10 Sense Motive. Then all four would attempt to influence one candidate and they would have had a good chance of success (in spite of all of the previous die rolls). I think a better answer would be a mandatory Sense Motive round (billed as an introduction to the delegates) followed by four influence rounds (essentially 5 rounds). I also didn't like the cumulative -1 penalty for using the same skill (even if the previous attempts failed); that ended up hurting them several times.
In terms of the high DCs, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I don't think that the PCs have to make any of the skill checks to be successful in the mission; making the skill checks make the mission easier. (For example, they can send someone through the laser grid, probably taking damage, to retrieve a relic.) As a Radaszam, I ignore them after the PCs enter the tekenki. My approach (once the PCs are inside the tekenki) is to keep the pressure on the PCs; keep them focused on the urgency of their mission. They're in the middle of a godzilla fight; things are crazy around them. There's no time for a 10-minute rest. Keep pushing the urgency; the fights aren't that hard.
I ran this scenario yesterday. The technomancer cast See Invisibility and then successfully identified the golem. For his knowledge, I told the players about the Light Immunity (being the really important piece of information). The next PC knocked out the nearest emergency light. Even after knocking out one of the emergency lights, the PCs still had light sources on. The mechanic's drone was using a beacon; the PC turned it off on his next turn. The one I really missed was the Solarian. He's lighting up a 20-foot radius once her entered Photon mode. What he should have done (since we didn't think about it at the time) was become unattuned at the beginning of his turn (free action) and shut off the light from his solar manifestation (standard action).
Page 7 says 6 social rounds; page 11 says 4 social rounds. I think 6 social rounds is too many. Let's assume the first round is all Sense Motive checks. A 5-PC party then gets 25 attempts (5 PCs * 5 rounds) and can influence all four dignitaries with 16 successes. [Note: The secondary success criteria is 3 or more dignitaries.] My plan is to go with 4 social rounds. P.S.: I love that the Sense Motive check is really low. Now it's worth it for untrained people to try it and have a decent chance of getting some useful information.
I used Nathan's method; however, I had a problem. I would lose track of which identical monster on the map corresponded to the one in the initiative tracker. Fortunately, I stumbled into a solution. After placing the tokens on the map, open each one up by double-clicking; that brings up the Edit Token dialogue box. On the Basic tab, modify the Name field to something unique. For example, change it from Goblin to Goblin #1. When rolling initiative, Goblin #1 will show up in the initiative tracker. It's also helpful to check the Show Nameplate? box; that'll display the name to the GM on the map. I like to hard-code the initiative for each monster by using the macro "/roll 1d20 + 6 &{tracker:+}" (where 6 equals that monster's initiative modifier). Doing so bypasses the need to enter the initiative modifier in real time (trading more upfront work to reduce in-game work).
Since the reference is "needler pistol" (doesn't specify tactical or advanced), I assume this is the Level 1 version from CRB (1d4 Piercing, 30' range, 6 darts).
I’ve reviewed the CRB to see the extent of alignment embedded in the rules. The good news is that alignment doesn’t affect too many places in the rules. A number of sections have spoilers for length; these spoilers include many specific rules implications. Everyone’s game without alignment will be different; I’ve included a few suggestions and questions for you to ponder if you are going this route.
Methodology:
I searched the CRB for any mention of “alignment”, “lawful”, “chaotic”, “evil”, and “good”. I excluded anything where those words aren’t in the context of alignment. For example, “evil” shows up in “devil” and there are multiple mentions of trade goods. There are many references that are general and don’t need any rules updates. These references include the general rules on alignment (pages 28-29), character sheets, ancestry preferences, Lost Omens setting, and the Glossary. First up are the classes; the Champion and Cleric classes both embed alignment prerequisites into them. For the Champion, I assume that the PC will pick one of the causes (Paladin, Redeemer, or Liberator) in the same sense that a Barbarian picks a totem; the choice gives the Champion’s Reaction and affects other feats and class abilities. Many Champion abilities will need updates. Cleric works fairly easily, though some class feats are affected.
Champion:
The biggest challenge is “The Tenets of Good.” You’ll have to decide whether to keep or toss those; if you eliminate them, you should note that multiple class feats have “Tenets of Good” as a prerequisite: Dragonslayer Oath, Fiendsbane Oath, Shining Oath, Aura of Courage, Divine Health, Litany Against Wrath, Shield Warden, Sense Evil, Litany Against Sloth, Shield of Reckoning, Champion's Sacrifice, Litany of Righteousness, Auspicious Mount, Instrument of Zeal, Celestial Form, and Celestial Mount.
Multiple feats add “good” damage. You may need to change the damage type for it to be effective. Reference Divine Smite (9th level class ability), Smite Evil (Feat 6), Aura of Faith (Feat 12), and Blade of Justice (Feat 12). Vengeful Oath (Feat 2) adds hunting down evil creatures to the Champion’s code. This feat also allows you to treat creatures that have attacked a “good” ally as if they are undead for purposes of lay on hands. Sense Evil (Feat 8) allows the Champion to detect evil beings; this feat is not applicable in a game with no alignment. Radiant Blade Spirit (Feat 10) augments the divine ally (blade) with flaming and aligned properties consistent with the cause’s alignment. You may want to change the damage type for this feat. Blade of Justice (Feat 12) increases damage against evil creatures and changes all damage to good damage. Aura of Righteousness (Feat 14) grants evil resistance 5; this feat is not applicable in a game with no alignment. Celestial Form (Feat 18) and Celestial Mount (Feat 20) add the celestial trait; does that mean anything in your game? Cleric:
Multiple feats reference good alignment (Holy Castigation – Feat 1; Heroic Recovery – Feat 10; and Eternal Blessing – Feat 16) or evil alignment (Command Undead – Feat 4; Necrotic Infusion – Feat 4; Improved Command Undead – Feat 10; and Eternal Bane – Feat 16). I recommend changing those prerequisites to healing font (good alignment) or harmful font (evil alignment).
Divine Weapon (Feat 6), Align Armament (Feat 8), and Castigating Weapon (Feat 10) deal alignment damage; you may need to change the damage type for these feats to be effective. Only a small number of spells have alignment references. Spells:
Some references simply apply the evil trait; these include Abyssal Plague, Bind Soul, Chilling Darkness, and Ghoulish Cravings. A smaller number of spells apply the good trait: Holy Cascade and Searing Light.
Detect Alignment and Undetectable Alignment have no meaning in a setting without alignment. Chilling Darkness does additional damage to celestials; Holy Cascade and Searing do additional damage to fiends. Should bonus damage apply to something else? Circle of Protection and Protection apply bonuses against specified alignments; these spells could be modified to protect against other types of threats. Multiple spells create alignment damage or protect aligned creatures (Divine Aura, Divine Decree, Divine Lance, Divine Vessel, Divine Wrath, and Righteous Might). Summon Celestial and Summon Fiends bring in creatures with the celestial or fiend traits; do these spells have meaning in a game without alignment? Focus Spells:
Litany Against Sloth, Litany Against Wrath, and Litany of Righteousness all target 1 evil creature. Litany of Righteousness also inflicts weakness to good damage. Do these spells work in a game without alignment?
Ki Strike (Monk) allows bonus damage of force, lawful, negative, or positive. Lawful doesn't work in a setting with no alignment. Angelic Halo has the good trait, but otherwise works. Celestial Brand causes the target (1 evil creature) to take additional damage from good creatures. You could change the target to any creature and allow extra damage from allies. Embrace the Pit and Hellfire Plume both have the evil trait. Additionally there are additional changes with respect to evil and good damage. Rituals:
Atonement should be changed to the tenets of the deity (instead of being based on alignment).
Call Spirit has a critical failure condition of evil spirits appearing and attacking. This still probably works (though the effect is not elaborated on so this requires GM judgement). Consecrate does alignment damage. Create Undead has the evil trait. Planar Binding discusses alignments with respect to various outsiders. Depending on your setting, this spell might not even make sense. Resurrect has a critical failure condition of an evil spirit possessing the body. This still probably works (though the effect is not elaborated on so this requires GM judgement). Only a small number of items have alignment references. Do Holy Water and Unholy Water exist in your game? Both do aligned damage. Holy Water only damages fiends, undead and creatures weak to good damage; however, you may want to keep Holy Water for its ability to harm undead. Aligned weapon properties (anarchic, axiomatic, holy, and unholy) shouldn’t work in a game without alignments.
Items: Celestial Armor and Demon Armor both have alignment references. These items probably shouldn’t exist in a game without alignment; alternatively, they can be modified.
Aligned Oil does work in a game with no alignments. Holy Prayer Beads include Divine Wrath as one of its spells. One option is to replace that spell with another spell; Holy Cascade could work well since it adds additional damage to undead (and fiends). Rod of Wonder has the Chaotic trait; otherwise, it works. Wondrous Figure (obsidian steed) becomes a nightmare and has some alignment effects. This item might not be applicable to your setting. Holy Avenger has the Lawful and Good traits and some other alignment effects. This item might not be applicable to your setting. Robe of the Archmagi has 3 alignment types (good, neutral, and evil). Eliminating the alignment restrictions seems easy and obvious.
Unshakeable Belief for Dvimnix mentions being able to use either Bluff or Sense Motive against Trick Attacks, but no skill bonus for Bluff shows on the NPC. Was this an oversight, and, if so, what should the Bluff bonus be? Even though Dvimnix doesn't have Bluff, I simply used Sense Motive. That works fine; I would expect her Bluff (CHA skill) to be less than Sense Motive (WIS skill).
To insert while in Microsoft Word, select the Insert section on the ribbon. Select Symbol and then "More Symbols...". That brings up a dialogue box where you can scroll through all of the symbols in your data set. An easy way to find specific symbols is to type in the 4-character Character Code:
Do you think the benefits of stepping up to GM are proportionately rewarded (incentivized)? I expect to see a lot of variation in responses as individuals will have different needs. I prefer to GM rather than play. Hence, the rewards are far greater than are needed for me to GM. If you are considering GMing, then only you can decide whether the rewards are adequate for you. Some GMs only want to GM a scenario once because they always want a chronicle sheet when GMing; that's OK. If the Paizo OPF team feels that the rewards are not enough to recruit GMs, then I expect that they would change the incentive package. The current format is largely the same as it was when I started PFS six years ago. I wouldn't expect it to change dramatically in the near-term.
My recollection from the GenCon announcement is different. The way I remember it is: Use the level 5 pregen skills for the downtime check (e.g., Ezren +11 Crafting) vs. Level-2 DC (DC 18 for level 3). Then apply appropriate income based on the level of the character that the chronicle is applied to. At GenCon, I always assumed that to be a level 1 character, thus using (minimum) task level 0 from Table 4-2. A success gave 4 sp (1/2 sp per day), a critical success gave 16 sp (2 sp/day) and failure gave 8 cp (1 cp/day).
Based on everything that has happened previously (PF1) an extra dimensional space should have nullified the magic of the scale. Let's say that your right. But do you really want to be right? Because here's how I see it playing out. The players and GM spend some amount of time getting to the game. Perhaps you live five minutes from the game store and its trivial. Perhaps you have a one-hour drive (as I did yesterday). Then you spend 15-30 minutes setting up the situation for the scenario. You place the scale in the bag of holding and head off. GM: OK. You travel from Otari to the Grand Lodge in Absalom without incident. Here's your chronicle sheet. Thanks for playing. See you next week. Other players: Is that it? Now what am I supposed to do? What a waste of time getting here just to get a chronicle sheet.
The task level is minimum 0 (lowest possible task level in Table 4-2). Thus, you are rolling against task level 0 (CR 0) using Table 10-5 and requiring a 14 or higher to succeed. On a critical success, you gain currency for "task level +1" which would be task level 1. Hence, the daily amount earned should increase from 5 cp per day (for both Trained and Expert at task level 0) to 2 sp per day (for both Trained and Expert at task level 1).
one side effect of the above xp mechanics for gulps is that sanctioned APs and modules would become worth 3x as many XPs as a normal scenario... and there are people that complain about their current 2x value for stars and novas. I agree that counting them 2x for Thornkeep and Emerald Spire are a problem; most of those adventures are around the length of a normal scenario. Some sanctioned AP content can be short, some can be very long. Many AP books (especially books 3-6 of an AP set) took much longer to complete than 2 or 3 standard scenarios. Perhaps organized play can revisit how many XPs are granted for AP chapters and Adventure Modules; they don't necessarily have to be all the same. [That would require some additional software support from Paizo to implement.]
I think it makes a lot of sense to tie GM credit to the number of XP earned by the players. Echoing Bob's suggestion, I see 40 XP to earn 1 Glyph, 120 XP to earn 2 Glyphs, and so on up to 600 XP for 5 Glyphs. The question I have is with the heritage requirement of 50 unique scenarios to qualify for 5 Stars. Should Quests count towards that number (assuming that such a similar requirement will exist for Glyphs)?
This is what I did for the day job (whether this is the intention or not): I used Table 10-5 (page 503) to determine the relevant DC. For level 1 PCs, the level is 0 (minimum 0) with a DC of 14. For level 5 PCs, the level is 3 (level-2) with a DC of 18.Then I went to the description of Earn Income (Table 4-2, page 236). Assuming an 8-day downtime (true for pre-generated characters): Level 1 Pregen (Task Level 0) Critical Failure = nothing; Failure = 0.08 gp (1 cp per day for 8 cp total); Success = 0.4 gp (5 cp per day for 4 sp total); Critical Success = 1.6 gp (2 sp per day for 16 sp total- using Task Level 1 row) Level 5 Pregen (Task Level 3) Critical Failure = nothing; Failure = 0.64 gp (8 cp per day for 64 cp total); Success = 4 gp (5 sp per day for 40 sp total); Critical Success = 5.6 gp (7 sp per day for 56 sp total). Level 1 Pregens have a skill ranging from +3 to +7 resulting in a Success between 50% and 70% of the time. Level 5 Pregens have a skill ranging from +7 to +14 (Fumbus Crafting) resulting in a Success between 50% and 85% of the time. (Fumbus achieves a Critical Success 35% of the time.) Assuming this is all correct, I'll want a 1-page summary that contains both Tables 10-5 (page 503) and Table 4-2 (page 236). [Unfortunately, this is much more complex than the Starfinder Day Job calculation.]
Clarification: There are no Optional Encounters in Escaping the Grave. What about the optional ambush encounter?:
The ambush is the intended Boss fight for this scenario. The boss arrives with a number of allies depending on how long the player's exploration took (hence the description that exploration time matters). The boss encounter provides 2 Treasure Bundles (or 20% of the scenario's treasure). What about the giant undead?: That is a cinematic device to force the PCs to leave the area of Goldenflame quickly after finishing the Boss fight. There is no risk unless PCs insist on sticking around to fight something that should be described as unbeatable for low-level PCs.
Level 1 gold is 1.4 gp per Treasure Bundle for 14 gp total. 3.5 gp for a Quest sounds right (1/4 of a scenario).
I read it a little differently. Any player can purchase this boon if they meet the prerequisites listed below. That sounds like the player (not the character) must meet the prerequisites. Prerequisites: All Factions Tier 3; at least four of the Journey to the Scoured Stars segment boons. Prerequisite #1 is "All Factions Tier 3". Section 10 of the Guide lists 5 Factions; that seems like a good method to define "All Factions." This interpretation ignores the Minor Factions which I believe is a good thing. It also allows the player to reach Tier 3 with either Seconds Seekers (Luwazi Elsebo) or Second Seekers (Jadnura) without requiring both. Prerequisite #2 is at least 4 of the 8 segment boons. I think that applies to the player. It applies even if no individual PC has four boons. Example: I have all 8 Segments. I have four PCs that are Tier 3 or higher in 4 of the 5 Factions. My -705 character has 16 Reputation in the 5th Faction; once my -705 reaches 25 Reputation (Tier 3), then I can start purchasing these boons for my PCs. Then the first character can purchase for 8 Fame and as many others I desire can purchase for 24 Fame. Since I (the player) have collected all 8 segments, my PCs get the benefit of collecting all 8 segments. This is certainly a powerful boon with all 8 segments: +2 Resolve Points, +2 hit points per level, +1 to all saving throws, +2 to one ability score. Frankly, this seems to be a much too powerful boon for every PC (once they have 24 Fame to purchase it) to have.
Perhaps it might be better to focus on a specific subset. My group is most interested in me running a high level seeker scenario. High level scenarios already have a huge commitment to understanding the way each NPC should be run. The two scenarios being considered are : "#9-25 Betrayal in the Bones (12-15)", or "10-09 The Rasping Rebirth (12–15)". So can anyone tell me what specific sources are needed to be able to resolve every class, archetype, feat, item or any other ability or rule to run each of these scenarios? 9-25: This adventure makes use of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide (APG), Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 5, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat (UC), and Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Equipment (UE). 10-09: The Rasping Rebirth makes use of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2, and Pathfinder RPG Mythic Adventures (MA). And as I restate, I don't want to learn classes from unchained or occult or mythic. Unchained: There is almost no learning curve for the Unchained classes, especially with respect to running them in combat. You shouldn't be scared off about running any of those Unchained classes. (Building a PC would take more effort to learn the class, but not a lot.) Occult: These classes are a big deal; I fully appreciate not wanting to learn these classes. Mythic: You don't need to learn new classes. You only need to understand how Mythic Power works and understand any Mythic feats or abilities. But these are really just buffs to the monsters to make them more challenging for high-level characters. I think you are overestimating the work it will take to understand Mythic creatures.
Gary, the platform is 15 feet higher than the PC's starting area. I'm aware this means the PCs are unlikely to see much of the hierarch unless we assume the jinsul and PCs are both very tall. However, I don't think that should get in the way of things.. if you think it's too much to ignore, move the hierarch closer to the PCs before it start talking if that makes more sense to you. Mikko, I ran the scenario yesterday (without a lot of opportunity for you to respond prior to running the scenario). We played low tier, barely, with a 7-player party (three 9th level, three 8th level, and a 7th level). I decided to place the platform 5' high to facilitate the conversation. A 5' platform does make the stairs seem odd. In tier 7-10, I expect the majority of the PCs to have flight capability to easily access the platform. The PCs decided to try the Stealth route to approach the command center. The 9th level technomancer cast Invisibility on 5 of the 7 PCs. Since the journey only takes 5 minutes, they still had 3-4 minutes remaining on the Invisibility spells. As a result, the Hierarch only sees two PCs and is quite astonished to see such a small group and insults the PCs. I gave the invisible PCs a round (2 move actions) to move their characters. Then I rolled the Hierarch's perception against the Stealth rolls (including the +20 bonus for invisibility); the Hierarch noticed the PCs presence and that precipitated combat. Sadly, the Hierarch went last in the initiative order and died before getting a chance to act (suffering from 3 operative trick attacks and arcing surge).
In the Jinsul Command Center (area C), the map suggests that the jinsul and statue are on a raised platform. Additionally, the description of the stairs counting as difficult terrain adds to that concept. However, I don't see any description of the height of the platform. Can you clarify? [Note: If the platform is too high, then Hierarch Kraaton and the PCs cannot see each other to even have the conversation alluded to in the Creatures section.]
It works if you enter the event ID in the search bar:
This problem seems to come out of nowhere. In scenario 1-28, it seems that the Master of Stars is just about ready for service. The repairs to the Master of Stars are almost complete, and although a few rings of scaffolding remain visible around sections of the ship, its armor-plated hull, powerful engines, and sleek lines are almost complete. One possibility, I suppose, is that they took the Master of Stars out of dock (after 1-28) and then discovered that the old drift engine doesn't work. Even so, I don't understand why a specialized Gideron Authority drift engine is required (other than to get the plot moving for 1-37) when Pact Worlds engines should suffice. Perhaps we'll get an explanation in a future scenario.
Under review (wow, weekend) because I have some reservations about a particular boon that I don't necessarily want people to access by GMing a Tier 1-4 table of the interactive. This might be something that gets a unique call-out in the special. But I'll figure that out when I'm back in the office. I recommend against gating a boon behind the tier that is run. That is bound to cause issues when GMs don't get to choose their tier. (For both Origins and GenCon, I was assigned a tier.) As an alternative, you could place the boon behind another gate such as being a 2-Nova GM (for example). [I see this as similar to limiting a race boon until a specific faction reputation tier is reached.]
Ticketing is similar to GenCon (both in format and pricing). I like what they do for generics. They use tokens (similar in size to OPF boon tokens) and each token is worth $2. If you buy too many tokens, you can exchange them for full value at the end of the convention.
The immediate area around the convention center is flat and easy to navigate. It is similar to the area around the Indiana Convention Center. I recommend Origins to all of my PFS/SFS friends. There's a large enough OPF presence to participate in a lot of games but small enough that you can get to know people over the duration of the convention. Additionally, Origins is large enough to have a large exhibition hall with lots of opportunities to try out other games (if you want to). I strongly recommend getting advance tickets as it takes some time to non-ticketed people to get seated.
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
Sunday AM (7:45 am – 1 pm): SFS 1-36 (Enter the Ashen Asteroid)
Monday AM (7:45 am – 1 pm): SFS 1-36 (Enter the Ashen Asteroid)
I am also looking for other Venture-Captains who are willing to preside over another 5-Nova observation game in any of my other SFS slots. Please PM me if you are interested. |
