From my two $100 Grab Bag sets:
spoiler:
Pathfinder
d20 System
Swords and Wizardry
System Neutral
I also ordered the $135 Out of Print Grab Bag, so that might have gotten mixed into the last list. I am still waiting on one more package from my order as well, and I'm not sure which is which yet, lol. I'm very happy so far to not get too many copies, though I ordered one $100 grab bag last year that is still packed away from a recent move that I haven't gone through and compared yet.
Thank you to everyone! I look forward to PFS growing in our area, and I hope to see some of the players from other areas come visit as well.
We have some good conventions ahead of us, especially with PAX South coming to our city next year. I hope to see some of you there!
Point-Blank Shot is perfect for the Pistolero, since you will almost always be firing within 30 ft, unless using grit to extend your range. Other good feats are Rapid reload, Precise shot, Quick Draw, Signature Deed(Up Close and Deadly), and Deadly Aim. Quick Draw isn't completely necessary, it just allows your gunfighter to draw his weapon as part of the initiative check at 3rd lvl. Rapid Reload can wait until the later levels, but it allows for reloading as a free action at 11th lvl. For my Pistolero, I took Dodge and Mobility as well; I figured being so close to action I might need extra AC when moving around. Improved Critical is nice for whatever one-handed firearm you prefer, since the guns crit. is very nice to get. With Torso targeting, the threat range becomes 17-20, which is useful at lower levels when you only get the one shot. Higher levels 19-20 threat range is fine, since Torso Targeting is a standard action, and most times you'll do more damage with full-attack shots after 11th lvl and free-action reloading.
So you're saying if you're lawful, you have to obey ALL laws of an area, regardless of what you think of them? A LG Andoran, adventuring in Cheliax, would NEVER free slaves there illegally because slavery is legal in Cheliax, thus "Sorry guys, I'm lawful, I can't break these chains to free you because the law in Cheliax says you're a slave, and I can't afford to buy you legally." Back on topic, unofficially and during the course of gaming my characters will worship who I feel they want to. My characters will swear by their god, go to worship, etc. Officially, as far as record keeping goes and to keep my characters legal, deity will be left blank. If the PFS leadership wants to keep deity-specific abilities out of the hands of the masses as far as alignment goes, that's their call. I'll live by it and play within their rules. Do I agree? No, and it's definitely not the only thing I disagree with. Will I abide by it and play by their rules? Yes, it's not worth it to do otherwise.
There WILL be spoilers in this post, so be warned. It will also be long and in-depth as well. So I ran Ghenett Manor Gauntlet Sunday morning at PaizoCon at the 5-6 Tier, and it was the third time I have ran it. Haven't run into any serious issues before, and all of my players have said they enjoyed it. What happened this last time wasn't so much of a problem as it was a freak occurrence, and I'm curious whether anyone has ever run into a similar situation before.The party ran through the ENTIRE scenario without triggering ANY of the combats. Now I know I could have triggered the combats anyways, and find another reason for it, but as well as they stayed in-character and as in-depth as the their individual and team actions were, I felt that doing so would almost be punishing them for doing so well. Details will be behind the spoiler tag. I should also mention that they received almost all of the background info from the venture captain due to questions asked in-character, as well as some answers I made up on the fly. Spoiler:
The first combat is against the guard dogs running around the property. The players didn't even attempt to sneak into the estate. The paladin in the party insisted that doing so would only compound the diplomatic errors that had already occurred with Besai. He also insisted on bringing a gift of a tea set, in case doing so would be beneficial to the players mission (Of course, I forgot to have this marked on his chronicle sheet at the end of the slot :P). The other characters were of a goodly and somewhat lawful bent, aside from one mad pathfinder arcanist among them, but all agreed to have the paladin walk up to the gate with another character (whose character escapes me atm, other than the fact that he was Tien) while the rest of the party hung back in the treeline to watch what happened. Things went well between them and Po, and they entered the compound without ever setting foot on the grass, as they entered with Po, and left the same exact way. Spoiler:
The second combat is against the flesh golem in the banquet hall, and honestly I have yet to have a group fight through this one. In this case, no one made any aggressive movements, and all finally succeeded at their Will saves when they closely examined the creatures because of their odd behavior. Spoiler:
The third combat is against the chaos beast in the Atrium, triggered when the players step onto the inlaid tile around the pool the creature hides in. This has usually been the combat that has offered the most challenge, and also the most enjoyment both from me and the players. In this case however, the players all stayed to the walkway around the pool, sticking to their primary objective of finding the book, Besai, and disturbing nothing else. The arcanist even cast mending on the broken statue in order to try and win brownie points with the Drumman owner(Can't recall his name), even returning later when the missing sapphire was found and inserting it back into the statue. Even when one character saw the bag of treasure in the pool, (I described it as about a foot deep or so) he was reminded by the paladin that they were ordered to leave all treasures alone, and not to chance the Decimverate's wrath by taking one small bag. The players stated they were sticking to the walkway, and skipped the guest rooms along the walls to go straight to the western rooms, as Po had told them that the Master's library was to the west. Spoiler:
The final combat is supposed to take place outside the library, in the green house after either find a book missing matching the description of the Mutani Manual, or find the real one and go on to investigate the next room. The players had found traces of the Aspis Consortium throughout the manor, using survival checks by the ranger to specifically search for them. I will admit most parties find the real book hidden underneath the lectern, then proceed outside to finish investigating the manor, usually for faction missions or a sense of completion(?). However, I was kinda stumped when this group ignored the double doors leading outside, heading back into the mansion to locate and rescue Besai. Once they found Besai, they walked back out the front door, and out onto the eastern caravan trails back to Katapesh. To explain what happened to the Aspis Consortium, I described the main gates as the scene of a recent combat, with the gates torn apart, and a battered and bruised Po fixing the gates, while nearby lay the bodies of four hell hounds obviously killed while chasing whoever blasted their way out. Since the players had already found the real Manual, they weren't too concerned anymore about the AC and their "fake" book. Now, I will admit that I ad-libbed a lot, as far as background info and room descriptions go. I played up the fact that this manor was dripping with wealth. The players asked a lot about the backgrounds of the NPCs, and since nothing is written in-depth about them in the scenario itself (which isn't unusual and not usually an issue) I came up with a lot of answers to their questions on the fly. The players took their time going over the entire mansion, with exception of the greenhouse and the mansion grounds. I would honestly say I spent most of the scenario role-playing PO and his wife's mannerisms and actions, as well as the descriptions of the rooms. Don't get me wrong please, I'm not complaining about the player's actions. I'm frankly in awe at how well these strangers sat down at a table together and coordinated their actions and plans. These were superb players, and I must have done something right because even without combat, the slot ran close to three hours and they all thanked me for such a great scenario and talked about how much they enjoyed playing it. The reason I post all of this is really to ask if this has ever happened to others during Society play? I'm sure there are many things I could have done differently, and with hindsight there are a few different ways I could have had the combats fit in with the party's actions.
It seems that a Dhampir who worships Pharasma is almost a gimmee as far as back-story goes, and I am having a hard time with those saying that Dhampir can't be clerics of Pharasma. That's the main reason I didn't make my Dhampir Oracle of Bones follow her, I figured EVERYONE would be doing a "Blade" style character, and who better for that than Pharasma????? "My mother was raped by an undead, leaving me on the doorstep of the Temple to Pharasma to be raised by the clerics. My only reason for living now is to hunt down and slay those undead who defiled my mother and others like her..." I'm sorry, but I just can't see a cleric telling a prospective member of the fold with a back story like that, "I'm sorry, but Pharasma hates you too much to allow you to live, let alone be a cleric..." Just for the record, my character follows Norgrober ;) |
