Hilary Moon Murphy's page

Aras, we haven't communicated before, but I love the luminary and the work that you and the rest of the Paizo Team put into it. I am so sorry to read that you are on the list of those paizo employees that were let go. Please know that your work is appreciated, and that you will be missed.

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They all truly are!

Hey loves, Bret is right. I have a Paizo gig right now, but the news about the layoffs has also pushed me to start outlining a personal project for Paizo Infinite. I want to have something ready to go when they start the Infinite Scenarios program. Being early and ready is going to be important here, and so I am dropping out of Longroads for the moment.

Love you all!

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Maya, can you please sticky this thread too? It’s super important to all of us.

Thank you!

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If I needed to contact someone about potentially needing to refund ACP or other similar issues, who is I need to contact?

I just don’t remember who.
Thanks

I would contact Alex Speidel directly at organizedplay@paizo.com. Alex has always handled such problems in a prompt manner.

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I am devastated by this news - and filled with ire at Diamond for disputing Paizo’s right to find distribution when they are no longer fulfilling that service. You all know how I am usually the calm and measured voice of reason on these boards? Well, this detail makes me want to scream, rant, and cry all at once.

To all my beloved friends at Paizo who are losing their jobs in July, I am going to miss you all horribly. I have laughed with you at conventions, hugged you in person, and written for your products. You are each a shining light, and Paizo will not be the same without you.

I love you all so much.

With tears in my eyes,
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Actually, the last blast of Avatar pictures was when Starfinder 1e came out, and they were all pictures from the Core Rulebook and the Dead Suns AP. Then they added a couple weeks later a few pictures from a different Pathfinder Rulebook and AP, and then they stopped. So... We last got pictures in 2017-2018.

I am constantly experimenting with different avatars that evoke the feel of a character without looking exactly like that character. If I truly care, I put an additional link to the characters image in their PBP profile and header, like I did with Jinglemane. You can see how I added the link to his image by checking out the first link listed above.

I'm putting some more avatar images down below for character inspiration! You'll go crazy if you try to be too literal. Just go for vibes, and you'll find something that works.

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A good thing too! We've had some 2 person tables, alas.

AWWWWW YESSSSSSS! GUESS WHO'S BACK! BACK AGAIN!

I have been waiting for MONTHS to tell people about this!

Yay, it feels good to be announced, doesn't it? Congratulations, Katie!

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Congrats to JC Sanchez for their 5th Glyph, and Bret, congratulations on reaching the trifecta! You made 5th rank in all three systems!

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I can understand some of the reasoning. As such, I present these possible workaround options, that don't exist yet in SF2S

AcP boons

*The bequethal boons that exist in PF2S don't yet exist in SF2S. So opening that option could be easy.

*(new boon) Digitized Memory Chronicles: Through magitech, you have downloaded into your memories one of the Starfinder mission chronicles. Pick one scenario that your character has not played, that character can trigger effects as if they had the selected scenario among their chronicles.

These two options do not just serve the purpose of remedying this frustration. They can also easily serve other rp purposes as well. This also could free up the writers to write the stories without feeling overly compelled to write in a specific level range.

Suggested it as a boon in the official boon request thread.

Hey, these are boons that were suggested in the 'Levels Seem Wrong' thread by Tick--Tick, and I thought them worth collecting here:

I present these possible workaround options, that don't exist yet in SF2S

AcP boons

* The Bequeathal Boons that exist in PF2S don't yet exist in SF2S. So opening that option could be easy.

* (new boon) Digitized Memory Chronicles: Through magitech, you have downloaded into your memories one of the Starfinder mission chronicles. Pick one scenario that your character has not played, that character can trigger effects as if they had the selected scenario among their chronicles.

These two options do not just serve the purpose of remedying this frustration. They can also easily serve other rp purposes as well. This also could free up the writers to write the stories without feeling overly compelled to write in a specific level range.

This is why we need slow track. So that we can play all the metaplot on a character.

One of the ways to handle this is to create a fight with no back line. Have magic mirrors that the enemies can leap into and out of, teleporting them around the room. Have a bunch of ropes and have enemies swinging everywhere around the battlefield (I did that in my adventure PFS2 7-02 Shipyard Sabotage, just to spice things up.) Have flying or burrowing enemies that come in from everywhere.

Don't do this everytime, but once in a while it can shake things up.

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I have to admit that I do not enjoy playing the "which metaplot must I skip" game with my Starfinder PCs. I am still hoping that we will get slowtrack in Starfinder.

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I have not seen anything in the announced adventures that looks like a Lajok sequel (and how I would love to write it - or even just run it and play it!)

Sometimes they plan the sequels in short order, especially with metaplot. Other times the plots get picked up whenever. I would love to see a sequel to Myriad Worlds, and I would also love to see us pick up the plotline from Historia's Holdout where we find the missing protoge's of Historia Prime.

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Yay! Yay! YAY!

This season you’ll also see a few new additions to the campaign, including new boons in our boon store and a generic adventure sanctioning document, which will allow players to gain XP for their Starfinder Society characters while playing longer Starfinder adventures.

Wooooooo-hoooooooo!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am beyond thrilled! Thanks to everyone on the Leadership Team who made this happen.

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Hello Southern Claw!

I was curious and looked up the Explorer's Yurt. I agree that the furnishing it comes with is kind of minimal, but on the other hand, we don't make our characters generally pay for rent, housing and furniture for our downtime living spaces.

We know that a wagon costs 25 gold, and my guess is that a nice bed and some comfy furniture probably costs the same amount as a wagon. If you reserve 30 gp for this project I think you will be fine, unless you want to go really fancy with that area rug.

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Ps Will you be allowing your teammates to crash in your yurt? You will still have the bedrolls for them.

I was looking at doing a lizardfolk ranger, but haven't dove into it too far yet as far as backgrounds and such because I didn't want to go too far down a path and find out it wasn't "Organized Play Legal". I was interested in the Woodstalker Lizard folk heritage for the Take Cover and Terrain Stalker feats and either the Lizarfolk Lore for Survival and Nature/Occultism boosts or Parthenogenic Hatchling for the disease resistance. I was thinking about going with Animal Companion though which animal I'm not sure yet.

All of that is Society Legal without a boon! Now about Animal Companions... Animal Companions eat your class feats because they require class feats to level up and require actions to command, so you want to make sure that you are getting your worth out of them. I have several characters that I have built around animal companions, and they can be a great option, but just be aware of what you are trading out for them. Because animal companions can find it difficult to keep up with to hit and damage, their support benefit may be the most important mechanic to your ranger.

What sort of ranger are you going for? There are some animal companions with excellent support benefits that might work well with your ranger style.

Bird
The bird can be a great companion for an archer ranger. Its support benefit of adding persistent bleed and dazzled to your targets is great. Keep in mind though that you will have to spend actions on hunt prey and command animal, so you will have to plan your turns carefully.

If you are doing melee, you might find the Cat and the dromaesaur interesting for the ability to make your enemies flat-footed.

There are lots of other animal companions that can be cool supports to different combat styles, but those three are generally excellent.

I hope that all this helps!

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PLEASE ASK MORE QUESTIONS!

We're a friendly bunch here on the forum, and I just threw a ton of information at you. Why don't you tell us what sort of character you are building? We can give you feedback on whether the options you selected are legal, or if they might need a boon to unlock.

Happy character building!

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How do I determine what starting equipment I start with? I've been running nothing but pre-gens that are fully equipped, so I'm not sure what to start with. Do I just figure out my starting gold and spend it in a shop?

You have 15 gold, plus whatever your character may have earned while it was a pregen. (Assuming that you took official credit when you played in previous GenCons, you would have gotten emailed chronicles for your character that earned a bit of gold - likely 14 gold for a level 1 adventure.)

There are Class Kits listed in Player Core and Player Core 2 that have suggested equipment. They are a great place to start, and will likely use up most of your starting 15 gold. If you don't do the Class Kit, at least pick up an adventurer's pack. It's got some great basics.

ONE MORE NOTE: If you took character credit at previous GenCons, and the character number that you played did at least 2 adventures, you can also equip yourself with a free Wayfinder. All PFS characters earn a wayfinder after their 2nd adventure.

BACKGROUNDS

You will want common ones for this, but keep in mind that in addition to the backgrounds in the Player Core books there are also backgrounds in the Lost Omens World Guide that you can freely use. And if you own the books, you can use common backgrounds from other sources.

CLASSES

All classes are legal in PFS Play.

You can also look at the Character Creation Guidelines in the Lorespire Guide for more information,.

Hello and Welcome!

I am so glad that you are playing your first character! There is a whole page of Character Options for Organized Play and a Guide to Organized Play, but those can be sort of overwhelming to sort through the first time. So let's go through your questions a few at a time.

Are there any restrictions on what ancestries, classes, backgrounds, etc that you can use when building out a character? Are we limited to just common, or are uncommon and rare available?

Common options are a great bet, but there are uncommon and rare options available too, especially in Ancestries.

ANCESTRIES THAT ARE FREELY AVAILABLE WITHOUT A BOON

From the Core Sources (see the Character Options page), players have Access to all common ancestries and to the following uncommon options:

Player Core
versatile heritages: nephilim (formerly aasimar and tiefling) and changeling; both heritages grant Access to one additional language (see Languages below).

Player Core 2
ancestries: catfolk, hobgoblin, kholo, kobold, lizardfolk, ratfolk, tengu, and tripkee
versatile heritages: dhampir, dragonblood, and duskwalker
Note: the leshy and orc ancestries are common ancestries in the Player Core and therefore are freely available.

The following ancestries are available if you own a copy of the corresponding source book:

jotunborn from Pathfinder Battlecry!
poppet from Lost Omens: The Grand Bazaar
strix from Lost Omens: Ancestry Guide

ANOTHER YAY for Statblocks!

And I will be so excited to have repeatable content.

Pathfinder ancestry boons for Starfinder Society when?

I want to play my space kholo dangit!

I would love to have more Pathfinder boons in Starfinder. In my own personal headcanon (and when I was running Drift Crashers for my home group) the kashrishis have become the administrative backbone of Desna's home demiplane. I would love to have kashrishi in Starfinder.

Thanks for pointing this out, HMM! I'll get Alex's eyes on it for an update approval!

Thanks for looking into this, Maya!

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Bret actually also earned his 5th Star and 5th Nova in the same week. The blog failed to mention the other two 5-rank acheivements. We have all three to celebrate.

Maya... Can you update the blog? Bret reached 5-rank in three different systems: STARS, GLYPHS, and NOVAS.

He passed all three in the same week.

That surely deserves a mention.

I would love an update on this as well!

Also, welcome to the Society! No question is dumb. We were all new once.

Hugs,
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Brilliant move, Richard!

I love this answer, Tomppa. It's the best explanation that I have seen for this concept.

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Please feel free to roleplay the parade a little!

Oh, I love these ideas! So much fun!

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Oh, yay! I wanted that to be silly and fun!

So exciting to see my stuff being run! Enjoy it, everyone!

Hopefully we will all refind our groove with the blog again soon!

Thank you so very much! Happy Holidays to all!

Ron, I cannot tell you how happy I am to see you back. You have been so missed!

I hope everyone has a great New Year!

Oh congratulations to you and the lucky person you married!

I hope everyone has a great New Year.

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Welcome back! The great thing about Organized Play is that we will always welcome you back!

Happy Holidays, everyone. I am so proud and happy to be a part of this wonderful community. I hope everyone has the best of new years!

As always, I want to thank all of you for your wonderful books and adventures, and the community that I love so much being a part of. Thank you, everyone!

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I am relieved to see this conversation here, if only because I was worried when I saw 75 new posts that I would not be able to catch up with all the new guides being posted yesterday!

Thanks for your guide-ance, Maya!

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Kittyburger wrote:

Thanks, let's do this again sometime! ;)

I'm confident we will!

Ooh! I'm crossing my fingers for some more delightful stuff from Katie!

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The trick is not just writing your own book, but getting it on the production schedule and convincing a Pzizo Developer to work with you and hire a few other freelancers to do it with you.

Thanks for the update, Maya. Much appreciated.

Also I want to congratulate the new Campaign Coin Holders!

Congratulations to:

Myk Merrill, who now holds a campaign coin and OP ID# 898
and Alexandre Menard, who now holds a campaign coin and OP ID# 919!

Great job, Myk and Alexandre!

And a question for Maya, if they have time... This thread is in the Paizo forum and not the Organized Play forum. Is that going to be the new home for these threads? I missed the blog update because I was looking in the Organized Play forum. But if this is the new home, I will deal.

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Kitty, I am so excited to play what you wrote! Congratulations on your first official assignment.