Hey all! We have been graciously invited to this year's KumoriCon for the first time ever! While primarily an AnimeCon, there will be plenty of opportunities for PFS as well as the Adventure Card Guild play.
Since this is our first year participating with this convention we will primarily be running slots of the quest lines, the ACG demos, and ACG Seasons 1-3.
For more information on the convention, look here.
I know an honest GM may strike some as an oxymoron, but here I go. I was looking over my GM credits and noticed I had credit for running a table at GenCon Thursday morning. While I appreciate the generosity shown by the coordinators in giving me that credit, I really don't deserve it. I was scheduled to run a table that morning, but unfortunately players never showed up and my session was cancelled, as so many others were that morning. Who do I contact to fix this?
Just curious how we are supposed to rule/work with the Mysterious Cultist PrC in PFS, as well as the new Obediences, all from the new Chronicle of the Righteous. Specifically the Fervor ability that the Mystery Cultist receives, as RAW the terrible aura affects ALL creatures, which means that you are potentially frightening allies. Isn't this PvP, or do we just hand wave this in PFS to only affect enemy creatures? Hand waving this ability seems contrary to the nature of the ability though. May not be that big a deal, but I was just curious about this one, as for a Negative energy channeler/Oracle this is a VERY good ability. +4 sacred bonus to Charisma for higher spell DC's and more uses of channel is pretty nice.
Also, as far as the Obediences, how do they work? As written, many of them seem to require a lot of GM oversight. Do GMs need to keep track on chronicle sheets to make sure people are spending/buying some gp amount to satisfy many of the Obediences, or is on player's? I noticed one in particular, the Obediance for Irez, that requires a "memory"-like game to be played with cards or harrow deck. For that one, do we just roll 2d6's and see if they come up a match, or do players need to bring 12 cards to games with them? The 2d6 rolls will be weighted heavily in favor of a mismatch, not sure how that would compare to the deck of cards without doing the math though.
Don't know how often I will see these as a GM, but I would like to be prepared, just in case.
So I wasn't really sure what to title this, so apologies for that. I know this is a fairly rules-specific question, but this is a pathfinder specific situation so "ask your GM" doesn't really work here.
So I have a 3rd level sorcerer with the Serpentine Bloodline. I was wondering if it's possible to do an attack with his serpentine fangs before combat actually began, in those few situations where you talk to the NPCs before they attack.
Ex:
You enter and begin talking to a female NPC you are investigating, and my sorcerer, as the most likely "face" for the party, begins a conversation with the female NPC. Now I'm sure we all recognize the point at which everyone at the table 'knows' combat is inevitable. Would you think it allowable for him to lean in with some sort of bluff check or something, and "kiss" her with his fangs, thereby initiating combat?
Not a very common situation I know, but I was just trying to think of situations in which the serpentine fangs could be kinda cool as a psuedo-RP element. Not too worried about it, just curious really.
How does the material component for the Miasmatic Cloud spell from Advanced Race Guide work? I know that whenever a component is listed with a price, in this case a contact or inhaled poison worth 100gp for the Poisonous Cloud option, then it must be purchased just like any item. However, as far as poisons in society play go, the FAQ page says
FAQ wrote:
Any character with the Poison Use class ability can purchase and use poisons. For now, they are the only classes that have a list of “always available poisons” (those noted below)—no other class may purchase poisons unless they appear on a chronicle sheet. Alchemists, ninja, and poisoner rogues may only purchase the following poisons from the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook:
Giant wasp poison
Large scorpion venom
Medium spider venom
Shadow essence
Small centipede poison
Paladins, per their code of conduct, may not use poisons, but they don’t necessarily view the use of poisons as an evil to be opposed—it’s simply something their code prohibits them from doing themselves.
Alchemists and rogues with the poisoner archetype and the Master Poisoner ability can use Craft (alchemy) to produce poisons (see "How can alchemists craft in Pathfinder Society Organized Play?").
Is the poisonous version of the spell allowed, or not? Or Do we just hand-wave the specifics and say a poison of some sort worth 100gp was purchased for this spell?
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.
Ok, I have to ask this, and I'll try VERY hard not to be critical, but I really would like an answer to the two questions I have regarding the special boon given for completing parts I and II consecutively. I'm GM'ing Part II this weekend, so I'd like an answer to my second question as quick as possible from more experienced GM's and/or PFS head-honchos.
So first question:(MAJOR SPOILERS!!!!!!!)
Spoiler:
I know many people have issues with the boons of previous scenarios, regarding how VERY specific the boons are as to where and when you can use them, but giving a boon that's only good for use inside the Hao Jin Tapestry, and only good against Aspis Consortium agents therein??? Are there any plans for further adventures inside the tapestry such that this would ever be useful? It seems like many were making a big fuss about the experiment that is boons only gained from consecutive play in another thread, but this? I assumed from the prerequisites for gaining this boon that it would be somewhat more useful(?) than most boons, but this seems less useful, especially given the requirements. Granted +2 att/dam is a pretty large bonus, but when will it ever see use, other than the scenarios played to gain it?
I was already hoping for further adventures inside the tapestry, given the rich history and multiple adventures it could contain, but now even more so, if only to allow players use of such a powerful boon as a reward for playing consecutively, as hard as it can be.
Keeping in mind the first question, here's my second: (MAJOR SPOILERS!!!)
Spoiler:
Were the developers maybe assuming the boon would be used while playing Part II??? I'm pretty sure this isn't allowed, but unless more adventures are planned for the Hao Jin Tapestry this is really the only way I can see this boon being useful, especially given that the majority of the encounters in this scenario should be against Aspis Consortium agents. I know there will be some players that can not avoid fighting the Muckmouths, but here I am assuming that the majority of players will succeed in the diplomatic portions of this scenarios quest.
Hunh, I misspoke. I actually have a third question now: (SPOILERS)
Spoiler:
Is the prestige point gained from completing the scenario successfully reliant upon the players gaining diplomatic ties with the Muckmouths?
Success Conditions wrote:
If the PCs recover the note in area A4 a nd D urra’s response in area A7, they accomplish the primary goal
of the mission of uncovering more information about
the Consortium’s resources in the demiplane and how
they got there. If the PCs also forge a new alliance with
the Muckmouth tribe, they accomplish their secondary
goal, earning 1 Prestige Point for helping the Pathfinder
Society establish a foothold in Hao Jin’s realm.
This seems to indicate the players only get the prestige point if they do gain diplomatic ties with the Muckmouths, but
Guide wrote:
Each scenario provides the opportunity for you to earn 2 PP over the course of the adventure. One of these is tied to
the completion of the overall mission for all Pathfinders,
and is outlined in the Success Conditions section of the
adventure. The second Prestige Point is gained when
a Pathfinder completes his faction specific mission, as
outlined in the Faction Missions section of the adventure.
the Guide seems to indicate finishing the overall mission gains the prestige point.
Again, I have to stress that I don't want to come off as critical in my first question, just really wondering about how a decision was arrived at regarding this point.
Okay, so a "discussion" popped up in a PFS game tonight about how the stoneskin spell works, specifically how the DR/10 adamantine works with the damage absorption.
d20pfsrd wrote:
The warded creature gains resistance to blows, cuts, stabs, and slashes. The subject gains DR 10/adamantine. It ignores the first 10 points of damage each time it takes damage from a weapon, though an adamantine weapon bypasses the reduction. Once the spell has prevented a total of 10 points of damage per caster level (maximum 150 points), it is discharged.
I have always taken this to mean the first ten points of damage are soaked up by the spell, unless done by an adamantine weapon, until the maximum amount of protection from the spell is used up, 10 points per caster level. This means to me you have to do more than 10 points of damage to a creature to actually hurt it.
However, the other player argued that the DR 10/adamantine is applied first, then the absorption comes into effect, meaning you would have to do above 20 points of damage to a creature before harming it.
I'll be honest and admit up front that I haven't GM'd very many sessions, but as a player I've always had the attitude that my characters ALWAYS searches every single room they enter. I've noticed though that many of the players I GM for tend not to make perception rolls very often, unless I specifically mention it. My problem with this is that I've seen that a lot of faction missions call for searching for some object, or go "dumpster diving" as I've seen it referred to.
I don't want to cheat players out of PA, but at the same time it's not my job to hold their hand. Another thing that comes up with this is the treasure usually found at the end of encounters; they rarely search and hence don't often find treasure that factors into the gold rewards at the end at the scenario or find those potions that could have really helped out with the BBEG.
Does anyone else have this problem???
