I'd offer to judge the special if I could get my son at the table...(he's only 12). We didn't get tickets either and have the slot open anyways.
There is a process for players to be placed with a certain gm.
I'm game...who do I talk to ?
We are at capacity for table space for the special, so I’d recommend just showing up with generics. There’s a chance you could still be seated if there are no shows.
Hello! I had a pretty severe payment issue for order 36680207.
What would be the easiest way to get this corrected?
Hi,
I'm so sorry your store credit wasn't applied to the order like it should've been! I went ahead and applied the $100 of store credit to the order for you as well as refunded the credit card for the $100 charge. Please allow some time for it to be reflected in your bank account and please let me know if anything still looks incorrect :)
Hi, Logan! I see it pending on my account now, so thank you so much for getting that taken care of quickly! That was quite a shock when I saw the charge and was lucky that it didn’t overdraft anything, but it was definitely a little stressful since I had to go out of town on Friday and had expected to have access to those funds. I really appreciate you doing everything you could to get it taken care of quickly. Thank you so much.
I am caught up on all of the emails that I have as of 12:31 AM September 5. If you still have something missing, please send me an email and let me know so it can be corrected. :)
Just FYI, only counting tables that have actively stuck in the reporting system, we’re cresting 516 tables for just PF2. That was me and 2 other people. So we definitely appreciate your patience as we have day jobs and families. :)
At this point, other than some PSA quests, anything missing is either a sheet I just don’t have for some reason or it was eaten by the site when we tried to log it. I am expecting to go through and attempt to further organize all the reporting sheets this week and will be scanning for anything out of place when I do that.
So if stuff is still missing currently, definitely send an email with as much information as you can (GenConLeads@gmail.com, subject heading “Reporting Error: system, scenario name”). GM information helps me more than players as it is easier to look for GM ID #s at the top of a sheet than it is to scan all 6 sign in spots for a player ID. When you’re reporting something to me as a player (and thus you likely don’t have a photo of the sign in sheet), it’ll take me longer to follow up on just because I have to physically be home to go through paperwork. So please don’t feel like I’ve forgotten you, I haven’t. I know you want your credits and I absolutely want you to have them too, because that’s a fair expectation. :)
Thanks guys. Big shout out to Clyde and Katie of the Queen City Lodge for helping with this monumental task, too.
Just as a head's up... my Friday session of 2E actually happened on Thursday afternoon. I do not know if that is related to the reporting issues, but my friday morning session is still missing and I'm having a hard time finding the picture I took.
OrgPlay #145296
Look for session 407 under your reporting. I believe I logged that one in the last few hours. Hopefully it’s what you were missing. I remember specifically seeing your alias pop up in my list of reports this morning between 7am-8am EST.
First off, KUDOS to Heather and the reporting team! The timelines, responsiveness, and reporting in general is head and shoulders above the last two years! I am happy to say that all my tables that I GM'd are entered and showing correct in the system
However, I am missing two games I played in and if they weren't 2nd Ed and worth ACPs I wouldn't bother.
I am missing my Thursday morning PFS2 1-01 Absalom Initiation, and Sunday mornings PFS2 1-03 Escaping the Grave. When I get home tonight I will send an email with the GM's name and # to hopefully help you find the sheets.
Thanks again for your hard work and responsiveness.
We just submitted a round of updates and corrections based on other emails that we had received, so there’s a chance that the missing session for 1-03 was submitted. I’m following up on the early Thursday morning sessions that were missed as soon as I get home which should then be done tonight before 11 PM.
It definitely helps me if you are submitting a missing report based on being a player if you give me the GM’s ID number so that I can try to find the sheet and make sure that everyone is getting credit. :)
Also, thanks for the tip about the save button giving me a session number before I close it out, I think that something I’m going to implement next year with all of our volunteers to help make it easier to track down information.
Have you considered hitting the [Save] button first, making sure a session is created and assigned, and then clicking the [Save and go to New Session] button? It is a little more work, but you can know what session is assigned and if it saved correctly.
I haven’t tried that, but I’ll use it this evening and see if it works. I’ve been saving and exiting at this point because that seems to work at least. When I first started logging the reports it started all the session numbers in negatives, which I’ve never seen before, and I could not edit anything under those for the first day.
I know another volunteer is getting an error code about a session he’s not even reported under, so it’s been interesting to say the least.
I’m going to do my best and just try to make sure folks are at least getting their table credit where I can.
ACP is not something I can report, that’s a website issue I cannot address for you. I have no ability to enter ACP, that is tracked by the site itself. Please don’t send me emails about ACP because it’s not something I can address, unfortunately, and it slows me down sorting through reporting errors.
Also, to be clear, I am ONLY addressing reporting errors for GenCon 2019. Anything from previous years needs to be addressed with your local captain, I do not have that paperwork or access to those events, so I can’t help you with them. I’m sorry, but it’s simply not something I can fix for you.
Regarding PF2 sessions outside Thursday morning/afternoon, it’s literally the site not saving them when they’re submitted. All reporting sheets are tagged with color coded highlighters for anything we have reported post GenCon. So outside of the instances where it’s been a sheet that simply wasn’t in my paperwork (and thank you for sending photos then as that’s the only way I have to document it), it’s seemed to be a bug where “save and go to new session” is not reliably logging the data, but also isn’t kicking back any kind of error for me to realize it’s happened.
I’m working through the emails I have now and appreciate your patience.
I found a few sheets that got mixed in with some PF1 reporting sheets somehow, but they're all slot 2 sheets (so Thursday afternoon).
Those will be logged by Tuesday night this week.
I have noticed that the website seems to be eating some of the reports when they're submitted *without* giving any kind of error code, so there's no way for me to know when it happens. I've gone through the e-mails I had received up to Sunday, August 25th 11:16PM EST.
If you're missing a PF2 scenario from slot 2 of the con and that's the only thing you're missing, hold off until Wednesday evening if you can. :)
If you're missing something outside that time slot, I either don't have the reporting paper for it or the website ate it, so continue to send e-mails for those and I'll do my best to keep up with them and correct them.
Hey guys, all of the reporting for SFS from GenCon 2019 should already be complete. If you notice something missing, or notice an error, please send an email to GenConLeads@gmail.com with the subject “Reporting Error: System - Scenario.”
If it’s an error on something actually reported on the system please be sure to include the session number because it will allow me to address your issue much faster.
As always, if you are the GM reporting an error or a missing session, I need you to include the photo of your reporting sheet that you should’ve taken before you turned it in at headquarters.
Sending an email will also get you a faster response than commenting on this post, I don’t spend a lot of time on the forums but I do check the email regularly.
All PFS2 games from GenCon should be reported (save for demo/quest). If you notice a mistake or something missing, send an email to the address in the original post.
I’m handling the reporting for our second edition events that ran at GenCon this year. My goal is to have all the reporting done by Saturday 8/24/2019 in the afternoon (EST for my time zone). I have some other volunteers assisting me this Friday evening and the bulk of the work will be completed then.
If you’re aware of any reporting errors, please send an email to GenConLeads@gmail.com with “Reporting Error (system) (scenario name)” in the subject line. If you’re the GM please include a photo of your reporting sheet, corrections will happen MUCH FASTER when you do that. Better yet, if it has been reported and you see an error, include the session number in your email and I’ll be able to locate and address your error that much faster.
If you have questions, send an email to the address above. :) I’ll get that faster than I’ll see a forum post.
Your patience is appreciated! I just wanted to make sure I was open with a time line for expectations now that reporting has finally gone live on the site.
We had a blast today, and I think Dave would be proud and flattered.
The charity donations will remain open until Midnight EST. You can donate for raffle tickets until then. Please include what you would like your tickets to go towards in the comments.
Thank you all so much for helping to make our event an amazing success! You can donate by following the link below.
Hey guys, we are officially live on Twitch for the David Setty Memorial Game Day event! Catch us on Twitch by following the link below! :) You can also find more info about the charity and the donation link by checking the links on our Twitch channel.
Finally got around to digging through some of my stuff.
I have...
Share the Wealth (Companions)
Pathfinder Apprentice
Fighting off Corruption (Ghoul and/or Hellbound)
Martial Tradition
Alchemical Versatility
Vanara (Race)
I'm looking for...
Aasimar
PM me to trade. I'll be attending GenCon Wed-Sun this year. I am not comfortable accepting scanned copies of a boon, or creating them, so any trades need to be done through the mail or in person.
Congratulations, Setty! I am honored to be on the list with you! It makes it that much better as you were one of the people that stepped up and helped me out when I was leading and needed backup GMs for tables.
I also owe Brent, Joe, and Chad, for being amazing teachers, and the local players in my city for putting up with me dragging them along for 150+ adventures!
So I ran this last Saturday at a con for a group in the sub-tier 3-4 range, with the Undead Crusaders in Ustalav. It was not nearly as lethal as I expected, but they had a pretty broken monk character in the group that did massive damage. They did manage to Diplomacy the final boss (who they ran into before the linked encounter, because they decided to take a weird path through the dungeon!). It lead to some really amazing role-play for the group, and a somber victory as they realized they had to destroy her to save the wards (which lead to more amazing role-play, btw). They loved Akina so much they really wanted to take her body back to the Society and demand the organization find a way to resurrect her, but I told them her soul/energy was part of powering the wards, so they would have to put her back in her tomb.
Having an occultist in the group that runs around touching EVERYTHING makes this scenario awesome for story-purposes. That's just my two cents. :)
I'm excited to run it again in the near future and explore the other two locations. I'm hoping the same group will come back with different characters, because I'll just have the VC talk about having already sent one team to the first location, and being pressed for time to get other teams out into the field. I figured that way it could almost be a mini-module for them, just told through different characters at each session.
Thanks for an amazing scenario, Andrew! :)
Are there any others that currently feature Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik as the one handing out missions?
I like having the options, but I also have players that really do go out of their way to find non-violent ways to resolve things. I fully intend to pull on their little heart strings with the fallen crusader aspect of this potential plot, as I'm running her linked threat as her former lover (likely the one who buried her and guarded the tomb for a time). Since there aren't actual hand-outs for the vellum piece and whatnot, I debated actually writing something up for them... Something to give those NPCs more depth and story.
Granted, that's me deciding to take the plot and run wild with it, because I love that stuff, and have two Carrion Crown groups running right now.
If I had players that just murdered things all the time and never actually wanted to engage with story or understand the NPCs, I probably wouldn't make the effort. It's always felt like you have to play to your group's interests, and I'm lucky enough to have a lot of story-driven players in my groups (as I'm a story-driven GM/Player myself).
I'll let you know how it all plays out after Saturday. :) I've thoroughly enjoyed putting together a dungeon with the material that was presented to us, and I enjoy having the extra options with the Undead Crusader storyline. I've always loved the villains that didn't start out that way, though.
This feels like a dumb question -- Is it possible to leave the lamp out in the Undead Crusader storyline? It mentions only picking 3 out of the 4 possible ways for the party to gain bonuses for the Diplomacy/Knowledge Religion checks, and the lamp is the 4th option. It is also exclusively discussed under each different location with a function.
I like that idea, Andrew. Thanks for the suggestion. :) It'll be interesting to see what my players decide to do with it. They're a group that commonly seeks to solve problems through non-violent means. They took it very seriously when I told them that Pathfinders are not murder-hobos. This wouldn't be the first undead creature that they've tried to resolve without weapons (and remarkably, they've succeeded a few times). It should be an exciting encounter either way!
But with undead? Only way I can see the notion even crossing players' minds is if they're using meta knowledge of the scenario's other arcs all allowing for a non-combat resolution.
I might have misread it, but it kind of feels like diplomacy is only an option with the linked threat in the Undead Crusader arc if you're using Akina (the vampire). She hides and ambushes the party, with morale stating that she fights to the death.
It does mention being able to accumulate bonuses against the linked threat. I'm not sure how to encourage that yet (though I am blessedly working with players that opted for Diplomacy in the final School of Spirits encounter too). I debated the idea of writing up actual text for that piece of vellum they find or a journal. Something that could make that creature seem more "human." I even debated having it as her former second-in-command or an unrequited love (to explain why it was tainted and so tortured by her return as an undead monster).
But I'm probably over thinking it. I think using the enraged Defenders haunt will probably help in that area, forcing the characters to think of them more as fallen heroes that are worthy of better treatment.
Thanks for the response, Andrew! I'm really looking forward to running this scenario. The only hazard change I've considered is the wind hazard in the archery training room. It seems like a great location for the Animated Training Dummies, but they are considered small, so the hazard would seriously hamper them in that location. I might keep it in the sense that the players could activate it, though. It helps make that room a fitting place for the tier 3-4 loot with the wand. :)
What is the impact of using the the Tyrant's Recruitment haunt? Do the effected Pathfinders leave for the 6 hours which is the duration of the Suggestion?
I would also like to know the answer to this. I think the haunt is a really interesting idea, and I love the flavor, but I did wonder about the actual mechanical impact of it on the party.
I personally ended up opting for the Enraged Crusaders haunt instead, and instead to place it in C1 on my first run through of this scenario (it seems logical).
I'm preparing to run this for the first time in a few weeks (at a convention, no less!). I have players signed up that I know personally, and they're in my home game for Carrion Crown. That makes this whole thing pretty exciting for me, as it all sort of ties in to things of interest to them.
It's a bit intimidating to prepare though, as it has a lot of random elements (maybe more because I'm doing the undead crusaders, so there are 3 additional elements to randomize in the dungeon -- though some just have "common sense" locations to me).
Since I'm going to have to run this at a convention, I'm actually copying and pasting the entire original Ustalav section, and going through and adding my elements to each room. It means all my papers will be in order in a single stack, instead of having so many random papers to sort through.
I have to ask -- if you were going to use one of the haunts as your random hazard (either the Tyrant's Recruitment or the Enraged Crusaders) where would you place them? I've considered the Barracks or Dining Hall for the Crusaders. I'm considering the entry hall or dining hall for the Tyrant (or even the Crypts at the back of the dungeon for that haunt).
Any input is welcome. It feels like there's a lot going on in some rooms for the Undead Crusaders already, so it's been interesting trying to space everything out, but also trying to avoid stacking monsters or other hazards on rooms that already have hazards.
That's fine; the subtier you run the session at doesn't have any bearing on the level of PC you can assign the GM credit to. If you give credit for a tier 1-5 scenario to a 3rd-level PC, they get out-of-subtier gold and access to the subtier 1-2 items off the chronicle, whatever the levels of the PCs you GMed for.
Thanks! I just wanted to make sure I did everything right. :) I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions!
If you need a handy list of scenarios, I use this one.
Thanks! That should be helpful. I just made a list of what I know that player has played in a word document and figured I would check it before prepping any scenarios. This will work well for helping me know what I've run and played as well since I will be running for one group, playing in another, and played a bunch of stuff at GenCon this year.
I did have one other question, if you don't mind. If you GM a scenario with multiple tiers, are you allowed to assign it to a character of a different tier than what you ran based on your players' characters? I went ahead and assigned Among the Living to a level 1 character I have because my players were all level 1, but I also have a level 3 rogue right now that is one game away from level 4. I just want to know if that would be allowed since some of the other scenarios I am running have multiple tiers.
BigNorseWolf, that is pretty much what I have done. The player didn't know how to get access to that list until I showed him. I have now made a complete list (it's less than 10 scenarios, so it won't be too bad!) of scenarios to avoid running due to cross-over for that player. The newer players have never played any Pathfinder until that session, and they all pretty much played with pregens because they weren't sure they wanted to stay with Pathfinder long-term.
So far it seems like most of them will stick around and will be registering, so I'll have a regular home game to start out. I've personally been playing Pathfinder since 2010, but I've never taken the GM role until now. I owe that to a couple other awesome GMs I've worked with, including some amazing folks at GenCon this year. If I'm half-as-good as the GMs I've been learning from, I'll be pretty happy!
Thanks a lot for the encouragement and for answering my questions! :)
Correct. Only adventures with just the Tier 1 or Tier 1-2 ranges can be replayed for credit. If it has a higher tier range or multiple tier ranges, it cannot be replayed for credit.
Thanks, I just wanted to make sure that would be correct. :) That's a huge help!
I'm really new to Game Mastering, and most of my players are also very new to Pathfinder, with one exception in our group.
The current guide that I've read through states:
"All Tier 1 scenarios and Tier 1–2 sanctioned modules are
available for unlimited replay with a 1st-level character for
credit. The sanctioned modules may also be played with a
2nd-level character once for credit in each mode. GMs may
receive another Chronicle sheet each time they run one of
the Tier 1 scenarios or Tier 1–2 sanctioned modules, but
may only apply a Chronicle sheet to one 2nd-level character
per adventure."
I want to make sure I completely understand this rule -- does this ONLY apply to scenarios that have NO other tiers as part of them?
Example: A lot of scenarios have multiple tiers available, and you select and run the level appropriate tier for your group, and that determines the rewards they get.
I'm asking because I ran Among the Living for the new group at tier 1-2, and it turns out our more experienced player had played it... 6 years ago, on a character he doesn't even use anymore, and couldn't even remember the game. So he couldn't get credit on his new character.
I have now showed him how to go back through his session history for each character he has registered and have pulled a list of scenarios that he's already run so I know to avoid those in the future.
I just want to be clear on my understanding though, so that I can answer questions for others in my group, and definitely make sure to avoid this happening again by accident if we have any other experienced players join us for a session or two at any point.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read through all this. I hope it's not too confusing.
Alright, how will YOU be putting mechs through their paces?
Personally, I'll be dropping my PCs onto Daimalko in a few tier 15-ish mechs and counting how many kaiju they can take out before being mushed into a paste.
Greetings, spacefarers! I’m Jimbles, and I’ll be your GM for this adventure, if you so choose. I'm looking to recruit one or two additional PCs for my table of Dead Suns, which started with six souls but has been reduced to four by the ravages of time.
For those of you unfamiliar with Dead Suns, it is the inaugural Adventure Path for Starfinder, and it takes a group of hopeful adventurers on a whirlwind tour of the Pact Worlds and beyond as they battle multiple factions for the fate of the galaxy. It’s a fairly on-the-rails adventure with minimal downtime, although I try to find some moments to explore the characters’ personal stories as they advance from everyday Joes to professional heroes.
Player Expectations
I’m looking for one or two additional players (I already have four PCs) who are interested in a classic space-opera adventure, play well with others, write well, are eager to add to a shared storytelling experience, and can generally post consistently every day or two. Starfinder system mastery or a deep history of PbP is not required - I’m more than happy to help you get caught up to speed as we continue the adventure.
Character Expectations
As the campaign currently stands, the PCs are all members of the Starfinder Society. While new characters need not be members of the Society (see Role Playing below), new characters should generally espouse the Society’s principles and agree with its goals (I feel this is an easier bar to meet than restricting characters to a set of alignments). For more information on the Society, see pg. 479 of the Core Rulebook.
For the maximum amount of fun, I recommend creating a character that is generally a good person, is willing to experience new things, and is unafraid to take risks for the benefit of others. Although I encourage character flaws, I discourage you from building characters with traits that limit interactions with others, whether it be a character that’s uninterested in social interactions or an actual space-racist (please, please do not build a space-racist, space-sexist, or any other space-ist).
Current Party Members:
As it stands, the party contains:
A half-elf envoy with the phrenic adept archetype and the icon theme
A nuar mystic with the star shaman connection and the ace pilot theme
A summerborn ryphorian operative with the detective specialization and the outlaw theme
A scyphozoan technomancer with the cyberborn theme
Roll Playing:
Please adhere to the following criteria when building your character. They mostly follow the standard character creation rules, but I’ve adding a few restrictions for the sake of story.
Point Buy
All characters should be built with the standard 10-point flat buy. Rolling your stats is old-school. Welcome to the future, old man.
Theme
Characters may choose any theme from the Core Rulebook, Pact Worlds, or the Character Operations Manual, with the exception of "Themeless". If you feel that none of the available themes work well with your character concept, let me know and we can discuss options. Themes from other Paizo sources may be allowed with GM permission and a compelling backstory.
Race
The following races are permitted (races from other Paizo sources may be allowed with GM permission and a compelling backstory):
The Core races (android, human, kasatha, lashunta, shirren, vesk, ysoki)
The Legacy races (dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, half-elf, half-orc)
Any races from the Alien Archives that are native to the Pact Worlds or the Veskarium
Any races from Pact Worlds (astrazoan, bantrid, borai, khizar, SRO, strix)
Alternate racial features from the Character Operations Manual are allowed.
Class & Archetype
All of the published classes are permitted as well as any class options, spells, or feats in the Core Rulebook, Alien Archives, Pact Worlds, Armory, or the Character Operations Manual. New characters start at 3rd level, and you can expect to reach 13th level by the end of the campaign. Please indicate if you plan to multiclass or take an archetype in the future. Any archetypes from the Core Rulebook, Pact Worlds, Armory, or the Character Operations Manual are permitted, provided the archetype does not require membership in a group other than the Starfinder Society. Archetypes from other Paizo sources may be allowed with GM permission and a compelling backstory.
Equipment
Characters start with 4,000 credits of equipment from the Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, Pact Worlds, Armory, or the Character Operations Manual. No item may have an item level greater than 5, and items from Alien Archive are limited to characters local to those items (e.g., only a character native to Castrovel would have ready access to a pair of reckless gloves).
Role Playing (Minor Campaign Spoilers):
At this point in the campaign, the PCs have journeyed to the city of Qabarat on the planet Castrovel, looking to find information on a mysterious asteroid they encountered full of ancient alien tech. Unbeknownst to them, an unknown enemy has heard of their discovery and already divined its importance. This foe has preemptively kidnapped the party's contact and traveled across the planet, looking to find ancient knowledge within the jungle ruins of a vanished civilization - knowledge that could put countless star systems at risk of total annihilation!
New members of the party may fall into one of the following roles:
Veteran Starfinder: already a member of the prestigious adventurer's guild, you've been sent by the Lorespire to bolster the party's skill set and manpower.
Wilderness Guide: living on the fringes of the wilds, you offer the party guidance as they trek across the untamed jungles of Ukulam in a bid to save their contact and discover their new foe.
Academic: affiliated with either the university in Qabarat or the research station on the edge of the jungle, you decide that tagging along with the party is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to further your research, the risks be damned.
Law Enforcement: a defender of all the residents of Qabarat, you won't rest until the kidnapped victim is safe and their abductor is brought to justice.
Cult Hunter: you've been tracking a cell of mysterious cultists for some time now, and now by joining forces with the party you might be able to take them down for good.
If you'd like to join this table, go ahead and read through the spoilers above before posting your character. You don’t need to create an alias yet, but please leave a post including your character’s name, a brief description, and a spoiler containing an in-post character statblock. Recruitment will be open through midnight CST on February 7th (two weeks from now). If you have any questions, please let me know!
Starscape Chamber, Lorespire Complex, Absalom Station
A hemispherical room with rows of plush theater seating encircling a central projector, the starscape chamber is often used to share astronomical findings (or watch 4D vids when the rookie Starfinders think the administrators aren't paying attention). At the moment, however, the room sits quietly, gently projecting the constellations of the Pact Worlds against the domed ceiling.
With a few minutes yet until their meeting with Venture-Captain Naiaj, six Starfinder Society contractors (playtest characters) filter into the space.
Once your character is ready, post a quick description of them and their attitude towards this new job they've taken (however temporary) with the Starfinder Society. The briefing will start once everyone's arrived.
The Church of Triune approaches the Starfinder Society with a stunning discovery: a centuries old Society starship has been found in the Drift! The PCs must search the Lorespire Complex for all the information they can on this starship before heading into the Drift and uncovering what befell the lost vessel...
Greetings, spacefarers! I’m Jimbles, and I’ll be your GM for this adventure, if you so choose. I'm looking to open up a scenario specifically for those people interested in participating in the Starfinder Character Options Playtest.
I've chosen the scenario "The Beacon Code Dilemma" because it's (1) repeatable and (2) doesn't have the starship tag. I'm planning to run it at subtier 3-4 to accommodate playtest characters of 4th level.
Characters
You don't need to participate in the Playtest to play in this scenario, but I will be reserving at least three seats for players with playtest characters. If you are participating in the playtest, neat! You don't need to build a character before grabbing a seat.
Expectations
The playtest only lasts six weeks (ends January 16), but that doesn't mean we have six weeks to play! With the end of school terms and holidays all crammed into this time of year, it'll feel more like four weeks, so we need to play quickly! To better facilitate that, I will ask everyone at the table to post botting instructions before we begin and commit to posting 2x/day when feasible (with generous concessions for travel and the holidays and such, of course - we still want to have fun, after all).
Other Stuff
I'm tentatively holding two seats for players in another game of mine, so there are at least four seats open. I'll seat people in the order of posting.
I hope to launch the game before the end of the week, so if you're interested, drop a post and get to building that playtest character!
Greetings, spacefarers! I’m Jimbles, and I’ll be your GM for this adventure, if you so choose. I’m looking to open up a PbP Dead Suns campaign that takes full advantage of the new player options in Alien Archive and Pact Worlds. I’m reasonably familiar with PbP (fourth game overall, second as GM), and this will be my second Dead Suns campaign (I’m running another table IRL).
For those of you unfamiliar with Dead Suns, it is the inaugural Adventure Path for Starfinder, and it takes a group of hopeful adventurers on a whirlwind tour of the Pact Worlds and beyond as they battle multiple factions for the fate of the galaxy. It’s a fairly on-the-rails adventure with minimal downtime, although I’ll find some moments to explore the characters’ personal stories as they advance from 1st to 13th level.
Player Expectations
I’m looking for one to three additional players (I already have three seats filled) who are interested in a classic space-opera adventure, play well with others, write well, are eager to add to a shared storytelling experience, and can generally post consistently once or twice a weekday (once a weekend). Starfinder system mastery or a deep history of PbP is not required - I’m more than happy to help you get caught up to speed as we start the adventure.
Character Expectations
Dead Suns opens with the PCs journeying (separately or together) to Absalom Station in order to apply to the Starfinder Society. All characters should generally espouse the Society’s principles and agree with its goals (I feel this is an easier bar to meet than restricting characters to a set of alignments). For more information on the Society, see pg. 479 of the Core Rulebook.
For the maximum amount of fun, I recommend creating a character that is generally a good person, is willing to experience new things, and is unafraid to take risks for the benefit of others. Although I encourage character flaws, I discourage you from building characters with traits that limit interactions with others, whether it be a character that’s uninterested in social interactions or an actual space-racist (please, please do not build a space-racist, space-sexist, or any other space-ist).
Roll Playing:
Please adhere to the following criteria when building your character. They mostly follow the standard character creation rules, but I’ve adding a few restrictions for the sake of story.
Point Buy
All characters should be built with the standard 10-point flat buy. Rolling your stats is old-school. Welcome to the future, old man.
Theme
Characters may choose any theme from the Core Rulebook or from Pact Worlds with the exception of "Themeless". If you feel that none of the available themes work well with your character concept, let me know and we can discuss options.
Race
The following races are permitted:
The Core races (android, human, kasatha, lashunta, shirren, vesk, ysoki)
The Legacy races (dwarf, elf, gnome, halfling, half-elf, half-orc)
Any races from Alien Archive that are native to the Pact Worlds or the Veskarium (barathu, contemplative, dragonkin, drow, formian, goblin, haan, ikeshti, kalo, maraquoi, nuar, ryphorian, sarcesian, shobhad, skittermander, urog, verthani)
Any races from Pact Worlds (astrazoan, bantrid, borai, khizar, SRO, strix)
Class & Archetype
All of the core classes are permitted as well as any class options, spells, or feats in the Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, or Pact Worlds. Characters start at 1st level, and you can expect to reach 13th level by the end of the campaign. Please indicate if you plan to multiclass or take an archetype in the future. The following archetypes are permitted:
Either archetype from the Core Rulebook (phrenic adept, Starfinder forerunner)
Any archetypes from Pact Worlds that do not require membership in an organization other than the Starfinder Society (Arcanamirium sage, divine champion, Starfinder data jockey)
Other archetypes may be available with GM permission and a compelling backstory.
Equipment
Characters start with 1,000 credits of equipment from the Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, or Pact Worlds. No item may have an item level greater than 3, and items from Alien Archive are limited to characters local to those items (e.g., only a character native to Castrovel would have ready access to a pair of reckless gloves). Each character also starts play with an additional 25 credits’ worth or less of personal items (defined on pg. 230 of the Core Rulebook).
Role Playing:
Quality writing is perhaps the most important aspect of a good PbP game. Below is the transcript of a video sent to your character by Duravor Kreel, a recruiter for the Starfinder Society whom you will meet in person early in the adventure. Write an in-character response, and do your best to include your character’s appearance, surroundings, and mannerisms along with their spoken words.
The video starts without preamble, showing a spartan but clean room with a large table and several empty chairs scattered around it. On the far wall is a window overlooking a crowded plaza, full of bustling people and the occasional hover tram gliding through the frame. The perspective of the camera shifts slightly as the speaker picks up some static before a figure walks into the frame from behind the camera’s perspective, sits across the table from the camera, and sets a battered datapad on the table in front of him.
“G’day t’ ya. My name is Duravor Kreel.”
Duravor is perhaps four and a half feet tall and relatively lanky (for a dwarf, at least). His thinning hair and bristling beard are both iron-gray, and deep-set eyes smile out from under bushy eyebrows. His well-worn and oft-repaired coveralls would imply him to be just a common dock worker, but a badge bearing a stylized compass rose sits brightly on his chest, showing him to be a member of the Starfinder Society. He smiles before continuing.
“If you’re receivin’ this missive, then you’re one o’ several prospective applicants to the Starfinder Society. Now, first off, I must apologize - in days past, I would have performed these interviews in person, but recent events have left us short-staffed, an’ I must remain here at Absalom.”
The dwarf clears his throat as he looks down at the datapad in front of him, holding it at arm's length to combat his nearsightedness.
“Now. I have a few questions here. If you are indeed interested in joinin’ the Society, please send a response to each question ‘without any omissions or falsehoods’.”
Duravor reads this last section in an exaggerated tone, rolling his eyes. Muttering something under his breath about “personnel management”, he continues reading monotonically, his pad still at arm's length:
“Prospective applicant: please tell me about yourself. Where are you from? What is your family like? How has that impacted your personal growth?
“Prospective applicant: what is your educational and occupational history? How would you apply your skills and talents as an agent of the Starfinder Society?
“Prospectiv- ah, gods.” Duravor sets the pad down and rubs his eyes. “I can’t handle any more o’ those canned questions. Let’s do the rest o’ this freestyle, eh?”
The dwarf’s eyes twinkle as stabs a thick finger towards the camera. “Tell me this. Why do you want t’ join the Society? An’ then tell me this - what was the one thing that almost held ya back?”
Looking at his pad again, Duravor sighs. “Alright, one more question for th’ desk jockeys. ‘Are you currently dealing with, or do you have a history of, any legal or extralegal trouble up to and including a violation of Pact Worlds law?’” Waving his hand dismissively, he continues, “that’s not a disqualifyin’ situation, you should know. We got all sorts on th’ payroll, but the bigwigs don’t like surprises.
“An’ that’s it! I hope to hear from ya soon.” The video ends with Duravor walking out of frame, picking up the camera, and fumbling with it for several moments before finally ending the recording.
If you'd like to join this table, go ahead and read through the spoilers above before posting your character. You don’t need to create an alias yet, but please leave a post including your character’s name, a brief description, and spoilers containing an in-post character statblock and a writing sample. Recruitment will be open through midnight CDT on April 25 (one week from now). If you have any questions, please let me know!
If you've already been invited to this campaign because you're special (you know who you are) please post your stat block and writing sample so others may see who's already at the table.
So the spell schools have taken a bit of a backseat in Starfinder - as far as I know, at least, there are no abilities or equipment that have a school-dependent effect; that is a mechanic saved for the spell descriptors instead (fire, mind-affecting, etc.). Ergo, any quibbling about which school a particular spell falls into is a completely pedantic and unnecessary argument.
Having said that, however, I just need to ask - why in the world is fabricate scrap (Pact Worlds pg. 205) a universal spell? Up until now, there were just two spells in the universal school - wish and miracle, both of which are accessed through capstone class abilities. Fabricate scrap is a charming little spell, but why oh why does it enjoy such august company? And why does it have a note to "see text"? What about the text of the spell explains its selected school?
If an FAQ for Pact Worlds gets put together, this question is certainly dead last in priority, but I would still love to see an answer.
I haven't found anything that states if reduced rounds (surprise round or the staggered condition) are a subtraction of action (that you could then add more actions to) or a hard cap (if you're staggered, you can't take more than a standard action no matter what).
Absalom Station Job Board Posting #00A26583B9 wrote:
Crew Needed - Single Journey - Combat Experience Preferred
Captain Heerdon Ross of Ross Shipping is hiring crewmembers for the inaugural run of the newest ship in the Ross Shipping fleet, the Inscrutable. Positions are open for first officer, pilot, and science officer; a number of engineering and gunnery positions are also available. Positions are expected to be short-term and variable in nature.
Interested applicants can interview with Captain Ross at Starsailor’s Rest Inn & Restaurant between the hours of 2000 and 2200 while this advertisement is posted.
Combat experience is strongly preferred.
Just One Run is a homebrewed Starfinder adventure for 4-5 3rd level PCs within the Pact Worlds setting. It’s short and sweet and hopefully a good test run for you (if you’re new to Starfinder, new to PbP, or if you’ve trying out a new character concept) and some good PbP GM experience for me.
Character Creation Rules
Characters start at 3rd level. You will not level up during the course of this adventure, so don’t build for the future.
Characters start with 4,000 credits each and may purchase equipment of 5th level or lower.
Any character or equipment options from any Paizo-published Starfinder source are permitted. This includes the Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, and the first three volumes of the Dead Suns AP.
This adventure will feature starship combat, so be sure to prepare your character for one or more starship combat roles (the "first officer" position in the advertisement refers to the captain role in starship combat).
Submitting a Character
If you’d like to submit a character, include the following items in your post, each within its own spoiler tag (I like a good clean thread):
A stat block (please put it in-thread, no outside links).
A brief character description. I don’t have a terribly high standard here (short adventure, fairly on-rail), but I would like your character to be more than a gun with legs.
Your character’s responses to Captain Ross’ interview questions (see below).
A rough estimation of your experience with tabletop RPGs, Starfinder, and PbP gaming. I won’t base my selection on your response in this section, I just want to know where my (potential) players are at.
No need to create an avatar yet, but if you do, please be consistent as to not confuse me. If you have any questions about your build, this thread is a great place to ask; I love answering questions.
Deadline
Well, we’re kinda in the middle of the holiday season here, so I’m gonna leave this hanging out there a bit longer than I normally would. Recruitment will be open for two weeks, closing on Sunday, December 31st, at midnight CST. What a way to bring in the new year.
I've been having a lot of fun with Starfinder since it launched, and I think the boards could use a little more of it. I've never run a PbP game before, though, so it may be prudent to get some practice in with a oneshot before I go and launch a whole big campaign. I'm planning on something that would look very similar to this:
Story Teaser: Captain Ross is hiring a new crew for her newest freighter, the Inscrutable. She says that she wants a combat-ready crew due to the recent rise in piracy, but is that her only rational for all these guns?
Character Creation
PCs start at 3rd level with regular WBL cash
Adventure won't be long enough for PCs to reach 4th level
All Paizo-published character options are fair-game (Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, AP01 - AP03)
Adventure Style
Completely homebrewed adventure, but in a similar style to published adventures
Takes place within the Pact Worlds Setting
5 PCs and 1 GMPC
Mixture of ground and starship combat
Anyone interested? This could be a good taste test for anyone new to Starfinder or someone trying out an experimental build. If I get some good attention, I'll probably open recruitment next week and launch the adventure in early Janurary. Oh, and I'll finish writing it. That might be important.
Every time I go to pick a feat for a character, I need to slog through a big list of feats where at least half of the options are not useful or not available. In order to speed things up a bit, I made this handy little tree diagram, and I thought some of you might find it helpful.
The categories are loose and somewhat arbitrary, but I think they help to clean things up a bit. If you like this, lemme know what else you think could use the tree diagram treatment.
Since Starfinder came out, the class I've been tinkering with the most is the envoy. I'm not sure why - I suppose that its tendency to accrue a broad library of abilities instead of just improving the same thing over and over is attractive to me. Anyhow, I've been making notes on the class for a while, and figured I just just go ahead, clean it up, and put it out there as a class guide:
Let me know what you think! I would appriciate any (constructive) criticism you've got, as well as any insights to the class I may have missed, or sections I should have included.
As you may or may not be aware, Starfinder has a lot of equipment. I've noticed that the most tedious part of creating or leveling a character is buying gear, simply because you need to wade through tables full of items you either aren't interested in or are unable to purchase. So, because I'm such an exciting and adrenaline-seeking person, I went ahead and tabulated all the equipment in Starfinder in a spreadsheet:
If you're not super familiar with spreadsheet filtering, try this out - navigate to the tab of your favorite kind of equipment and hit the filter icon (right next to the print icon) near the top left of the window. A drop-down icon will appear in each column. Play around with these filters - you can do things like
create a list of all weapons of third level or lower that are basic melee weapons or small arms, in order or price
create a list of any magic items that are consumables and cost less than 500 credits
create a list of wearable magic items that are not helmets
create a list of all the advanced melee weapons in the plasma category from source books greenlit by your GM
...and the list of potential lists goes on. I've included all the equipment from all the books I have as of today (October 2017): the Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, and the first two chapters of Dead Suns. I'll do my best to keep this spreadsheet up to date, but no promises. I'm certainly open to suggestions, so if you see an error or would like an additional attribute column to sort by, let me know!
I'm a bit of a visual learner, so when I'm tinkering with character options, I like to sketch out my options. Add in some procrastination this morning, and I ended up diagramming the improvisation tree for envoys. I'm dropping it here in case anyone else finds it useful.
I'm, uh, not exactly a graphic designer. It's not terribly pretty, but hopefully it illustrates how the improvisations relate to each other, both as prerequisites (which are fairly simple) and as modifiers (which are slightly less simple). The four colored improvisations improve other improvisations, and the affected improvisations carry color-coded tags. Improvisations with other improvisations as prerequisites always have the same restrictions and modifiers as their prerequisites.
I was surprised by the impact of (most of) the modifier improvisations. Expanded Attunement, Long-Range Improvisation, and Clever Improvisations affect most other improvisations. Universal Expression, on the other hand, only impacts Dispiriting Taunt, so only the most Intimidate-based envoy builds should even consider it.
I've really enjoyed reading the play-throughs of other groups, so I thought I might add mine to the mix. I think I bring something different to the table - I'm a greener GM than most on these forums (Pathfinder was my first RPG experience, and that was just two years ago; my only GM experience is a run-through of Jacob's Tower), and I cater more to the play experience than to hard and fast rules. I have four players at my table, three with moderate Pathfinder experience and one with more extensive RPG creds going back to 3.0.
As for this thread, I'll try to keep things succinct, focusing on decisions the characters made and their effects on the story. And of course, your questions/comments are welcome. I'm mostly writing this up because I enjoy hearing myself talk (or watching myself type?), but helping others is a fun bonus.
Player Characters
Fisher: male human starfarer mechanic 1:
Fisher speaks common with a strange accent and carries a bag full of starcharts everywhere he goes. He seems strangely intent on the Starfinder Society's records of inhabited planets.
FISHER
Male human starfarer mechanic 1
CG medium humanoid (human)
Init. +2; Senses Perception +4
DEFENSE SP 6; HP 10; RP 4
EAC 13; KAC 14
Fort. +2; Ref. +4; Will +2
STATISTICS Str. 12 (+1); Dex. 14 (+2); Con. 11 (+0); Int. 16 (+3); Wis. 10 (+0); Cha. 10 (+0)
Skills Athletics +5, Computers +8, Engineering +8, Medicine +7, Perception +4, Physical Science +8 (reduce DCs of checks to recall knowledge about strange new worlds or features of space by 5), Piloting +6, Profession (astronavigator) +7
Feats Iron Will, Mobility
Languages common, akitonian, vesk, ysoki
Other Abilities artificial intelligence, bypass
Combat Gear frag grenade I; Other Gear azimuth laser pistol, battle staff, second skin, tactical baton
FISHER'S DRONE
Drone 1
N tiny construct
Senses Perception +3
DEFENSE HP 10
EAC 14; KAC 14
Fort. +0; Ref. +5; Will -1
OFFENSE Speed 30 ft.; fly 30 ft. (average)
STATISTICS Str. 6 (-2); Dex. 16 (+3); Con. -; Int. 6 (-2); Wis. 8 (-1); Cha. 6 (-2)
Skills Acrobatics +7, Perception +3
Feats Iron Will
Languages common
Drone Mods camera, flight system, weapon mount
Fred: female damaya lashunta outlaw envoy 1:
"Fred", a native Castrolvellian, is on the run from something she refuses to talk about, although she constantly emphasizes her innocence. Hoping to make some coin and earn a bit of political capital, she's signed up with the Starfinders in order to build a new career.
FRED
Female damaya lashunta outlaw envoy 1
CG medium humanoid (lashunta)
Init. +2; Senses Perception +5
DEFENSE SP 6; HP 10; RP 4
EAC 13; KAC 14
Fort. -1; Ref. +4; Will +2
STATISTICS Str. 10 (+0); Dex. 14 (+2); Con. 8 (-1); Int. 14 (+2); Wis. 10 (+0); Cha. 16 (+3)
Skills Bluff +9, Computers +6, Culture +6 (reduce DC by 5 when recalling knowledge about the criminal underworld), Diplomacy +7, Disguise +7, Intimidate +9, Perception +4, Sense Motive +4, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +6
Feats Multi-Weapon Fighting
Languages common, castrovellian, akitonian, sarcesian, vesk
Other Abilities expertise
Combat Gear frag grenade I; Other Gear azimuth laser pistol, second skin, survival knife, tactical auto-pistol
Splinter-1: male android xenoseeker solarian 1:
Splinter-1 is tremendously nondescript, even for an android. Although he considers himself male, he deliberately keeps his appearance androgynous to further capitalize on his ability for disguise. Hailing from the Diaspora, Splinter-1 is quiet about his motivations for joining the Starfinder Society.
SPLINTER-1
Male android xenoseeker solarian 1
CG medium humanoid (android)
Init. +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0
DEFENSE SP 7; HP 11; RP 3
EAC 13; KAC 15
Fort. +2; Ref. +1; Will +2; +2 vs. disease, mind-affecting, poison, and sleep effects (unless the effect targets constructs)
OFFENSE Speed 25 ft.
Melee solar weapon +3 (1d6+2 S)
Ranged azimuth laser pistol +2 (1d4 F; crit. Burn 1d4)
Offensive Abilities black hole, solar manifestation (solar weapon), supernova
STATISTICS Str. 15 (+2); Dex. 12 (+1); Con. 10 (+0); Int. 12 (+1); Wis. 10 (+0); Cha. 14 (+2)
Skills Bluff +6, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +6 (+8 when imitating a voice), Intimidate +6, Life Science +6 (reduce DC by 5 when identifying a rare creature); -2 armor check penalty
Feats Heavy Armor Proficiency
Languages common, sarcesian
Other Abilities stellar mode
Gear azimuth laser pistol, lashunta ringwear I, vocal modulator
Zenka: Host shirren starfarer mystic 1:
Raised in the perpetual sunlight of Verces, Zenka was forever changed when they first saw the stars on their first spaceflight. Now Zenka strives to spend as much time in space as possible, and seeks membership with the Starfinder Society in order to get paid to do so.
ZENKA
Host shirren starfarer mystic 1
NG medium humanoid (shirren)
Init. +2; Senses blindsense (vibration) 30 ft.; Perception +8
DEFENSE SP 7; HP 12; RP 5
EAC 13; KAC 14
Fort. +1; Ref. +2; Will +6
STATISTICS Str. 10 (+0); Dex. 14 (+2); Con. 13 (+1); Int. 10 (+0); Wis. 18 (+4); Cha. 8 (-1)
Skills Culture +4, Mysticism +8, Perception +8, Physical Science +4 (reduce DCs of checks to recall knowledge about strange new worlds or features of space by 5), Piloting +6, Survival +8
Feats Longarm Proficiency
Languages common, shirren, vercite; limited telepathy 30 ft.
Other Abilities healing touch, walk the void
Gear azimuth laser rifle, second skin, tactical baton
So I'm toying around with a character built around high mobility and touch spells - run up, slap 'em with a spell, and run away. So far I've decided on a ysoki themeless technomancer (ysoki for the moxie ability, themeless for Acrobatics as a class skill, and technomancer for a greater selection of offensive touch spells). Here's my build up to 6th level:
1st Level:
Str 9, Dex 18, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10
Feat: Fleet
0th Spells: daze, detect magic, psychokinetic hand, transfer charge
1st Spells: jolting surge, magic missile
2nd Level:
Magic Hack: Energize Spell
New 0th Spell: telepathic message
New 1st Spell: grease
3rd Level:
Feat: Mobility
New 0th Spell: ghost sound
New 1st Spell: disguise self
5th Level:
Str 11, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 10
Magic Hack: Spell Grenade
Feat: Agile Casting
New 2nd Spell: Microbot Assault
6th Level:
New 2nd Spell: Mirror Image
For gear, I'm looking at a decent pistol, some good light armor, a personal upgrade for Dex, a miniaturized Tier 1 computer, and a handful of situational spell chips.
What do you think? Any feats/spells/gear/magic hacks that I should pick up instead? What should I go for at higher levels?
So, the description of the back matter in Temple of the Twelve includes this bit:
Store wrote:
Details on the destructive Cult of the Devourer, including a new mystic connection and new cult gear, by Owen K.C. Stephens.
I'm interested in that new mystic connection - it'll be the first non-equipment customization option presented after the CRB. What do you think it's like? The Devourer is already associated with the Mindbreaker and Star Shaman connections. What abilities do you think the new Cult of the Devourer connection might have? Going by the Cult of the Devourer art and description in the CRB, I thought that perhaps the new connection might revolve around giving allies permanent boosts in exchange for long-term penalties.
Its prerequisite feats, Minor Psychic Power and Psychic Power, both allow you to take the feat more than once, acquiring a different SLA each time; however, Major Psychic Power does not have this callout in the feat text. Is this an error of omission, or is there some balance reason to disallow a character access to both augury and status as SLAs?
All of Starfinder's core classes can be competent combatants, even the spellcasters. As I muck about with character building, I've noticed that it's natural to build a caster around ranged attacks - give a technomancer or a mystic the longarm proficiency feat, invest in Dex and your casting stat, and you're good to go. Just for fun, I'm trying to do something a little different - build a melee focused caster. In order to prevent accidentally building a melee combatant with token spellcasting abilities, my one rule is to keep full spell progression (no dipping into soldier, no matter how attractive it looks). Here's my initial foray:
Vorital, human mystic (mindbreaker) 1:
Human mystic (mindbreaker) 1
Priest (Basmara)
CN medium humanoid (human)
Init. +0; Perception +7
DEFENSE SP 6; HP 10; RP 4
EAC 11; KAC 12
Fort. +0; Ref. +0; Will +5
Defensive Abilities Share pain
OFFENSE Speed 30 ft.
Melee Tactical pike +4 (1d8+4)
Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with tactical pike)
Spells Known (CL 1st)
1st (3/day) - fear (DC 14), mind thrust (DC 14), reflecting armor (DC 14)
0th (at will) - daze (DC 13), fatigue (DC 13), grave words, telekinetic projectile
STATISTICS Str. 17; Dex. 10; Con. 10; Int. 10; Wis. 16; Cha. 10
Skills Athletics +4, Bluff +4, Intimidate +4, Mysticism +8, Perception +7, Sense Motive +7, Survival +7
Feats Advanced Melee Weapon Proficiency, Weapon Focus (Advanced Melee Weapons)
Languages Common
Noncombat abilities Healing Touch, Theme Knowledge (Priest)
Combat Gear Mk 1 serum of healing (2), spell gem of charm person Other Gear Consumer backpack, everyday clothing (2), hygiene kit (human), r2e (5), second skin, tactical pike, 22 credits
SPECIAL ABILITIES Share Pain (Su) - Whenever a foe deals damage to Vorital, he can spend 1 Resolve Point as a reaction to shift some of the pain back onto that foe. Unless the foe succeeds at a DC 13 Will save, he reduces the damage he takes from the attack by his mystic level (to a maximum of the attack’s damage), and the foe takes an equal amount of damage. This is a mind-affecting pain effect.
What do you think? Is there a race better suited to melee caster than human? Is mystic or technomancer a better choice? How should I level out this character? I'm particularly stuck on point-buy; I want to maintain a high to-hit and spell DCs, but I don't want to loose too many skill points and I need to find some way to increase my AC.
One of the things that frustrated me as a rookie GM learning Pathfinder was that it was so difficult to find monsters that fit a concept & CR that I was looking for. With the sheer amount of content out there (five bestiaries by the time I started playing), the perfect monster for a particular encounter was probably out there, but I didn't really have a way to comprehensively search for it. Now that we're on the eve of Starfinder, I'm trying to think up some low-effort tools that would be helpful to inexperienced GMs and put them together myself (emphasis on low-effort; I'm no programmer).
In that vein, I've thrown together what could become a simple Monster Database in Google Sheets, using the stat blocks from First Contact as an example.
When you open the spreadsheet, hit the Filter button near the top left (next to the printer icon) to put your own temporary filter on the database (if you're spreadsheet-literate, skip to the next paragraph). Now you can use the filter icons in each column to weed out monsters you're not interested in, not unlike online shopping. For example, you can use the filters to find all monsters with a CR of 4, low-light vision, and a climb speed, or combatants with a CR between 3 and 7 that speak common, or large-sized creatures that deal ranged damage against KAC and have a bluff modifier of at least +10. If this is a new concept for you, (1) this help page goes into filters in more detail, and (2) welcome to the wonderful and exciting world of spreadsheets!
I've included all the info I thought I would need to search by. If this might be useful to you and there's a column you'd like to see included, let me know. I cut out some attributes (like Init. mod) because I couldn't see them being a useful metric and this thing is wide enough as is.
I hope to expand and update this sheet as the APs and Alien Archive come out.
P.S. - as soon as I get my hands on the CRB, I plan to do something similar for spells and equipment as well.
A few semi-hypothetical questions, based on a character concept one of my players is toying with for our upcoming campaign:
How flexible is the physical appearance of Androids? Are they always blue with glowing circuits just under the skin, or do some appear more biological/human-like than others?
Is there an equivalent for Pathfinder's Pass for Human feat?
Is there an augment (perhaps for the skin system) that allows a character to pass for members of one or more races without making a Disguise check?
Would an Android, born into a body in some abandoned factory all alone (like the iconic operative Iseph) but wearing a disguise race augment, know that they are an Android at all?
Every group plays at a different speed. How fast do you think your group will move through Dead Suns?
I've never had the opportunity before to play a Pathfinder AP, so I'm quite uncertain as to how quickly my group will play Dead Suns. How fast have you moved through Pathfinder APs in the past? Assuming Dead Suns contains an equivalent amount of content per volume, are you concerned about playing the game faster than it is released?
If so, what's your plan? Are you going to schedule fewer sessions? Play something else halftime? Run some Starfinder one-shots, or try to slip additional material into the Dead Suns campaign?
