Hmm's page

I am so hyped for Starfinder! Let's travel the Pact Worlds and beyond! Let's see what's there! Starfinder has been my favorite campaign for optimism and joy and just plain wackiness!

I have another writing gig coming up, and I am planning a transition where I step down as VC in favor of one of my VLs and we're planning PaizoCon.

Realistically, I can't do the upcoming scenario so I am dropping out of Longroads for a while.

Hmm

I am adding an original handout, this one for the very end / conclusion of the scenario.

Enjoy,
Hmm

This one is a challenge to prep.

There's got to be some disadvantages to being a merfolk. I think one of my first purchases as a merfolk will be walking cauldron filled with water that can follow me around!

PFS handles it with a freebie feat: https://paizo.com/pathfindersociety/characteroptions

"To aid our new aquatic Pathfinders, all awakened animals with the Swimming Animal heritage get Land Legs as a free 1st-level ancestry feat. All merfolk PCs get the Shore Gift feat as a free 1st-level ancestry feat. These are in addition to their normal 1st-level ancestry feats."

Oh my gosh, how did I miss this? And I call myself a PFS Venture Captain?! For shame, Hmm!

I had been ignoring the merfolk option not realizing that the 9th-level feat was available at 1st level! Now I must make a merfolk!

I think that part of the reason that I am loving Season of Ghosts is that it is fulfilling the fantasy of the premise. You're accidental protector-heroes of a village that has been overrun with monsters and undead, and you're trying to keep it safe. There's a bit of a monster of the week vibe, but there's also an ongoing plot and mystery that is really cool.

It's okay for my APs to have surprises and diversions - but I want it to carry through with the fantasy that was sold to the players. Season of Ghosts so far has been doing that beautifully.

I agree that was the best part of large PaizoCon. I loved meeting everyone from Paizo in the old days. For meeting staff, I have to do Origins and GenCon now -- and the staff there are really busy!

We're lucky in Minnesota that we have some Paizo staff living here locally now... but it was super special when all of Paizo was at PaizoCon. Then again, KC and Cori are right that it's great that most Paizo staff don't have to pay Seattle rent anymore.

Hmm

There are little PaizoCons that are in-person. Last year, there were several locations that had 'PaizoCon@[insert gamestore here]'.

Mathmuse, you're right to avoid Extinction Curse. I signed up for the circus, and then got pulled away to save the world, and I didn't want to go. I wanted to keep going with circus shenanigans.

Actually this might be worth doing an entire thread about... I cannot stand when an adventure does not deliver on its core promise. I was promised circus shenanigans, and I'm still disappointed that later volumes did not follow through.

Hmm

I view the plots of APs as guidelines, especially if we have reached the 6th volume of the AP. If this is fairly early on, read ahead and look for ramifications of your player's choices. If not... go with your gut. If your players have found an excellent solution, not in the AP, go with that as your new reality.

I think the best portrayal of the Church of Desna is the visit to Cynosure in the Starfinder AP Driftcrashers. The Desnans are out to fix broken hearts, find lost souls, and correct injustices!

I think we all know that the point of PFS is to act as a scapegoat for why someone's pet rule issue needs to be written in airtight legalese, since obviously PFS GMs operate like punchcard computers.

Ah, but we don't.

I have never run PFS that way, and now the official rules reflect that.

Hmm

I am playing as the leshy 'familiar' of another character's sorcerer in PFS. Everyone knows my little leshy kineticist isn't actually a familiar, but we have fun with the concept.

I just looked this up, since I am running Season of Ghosts.

There are two types of items that appear in adventures:

1) Actual items intended for treasure
2) Story elements intended for plot only.

As the Lens does not appear in the adventure backmatter for any of the 4 volumes of the AP, I'm assuming that it is just a story element and not statted out.

i appreciate all the perspectives shared here.

I was considering doing PFS to get a chance to be a player rather than just GMing.

Bluemagetim -

I hope you try it and get a little bit of your player time going, but I also hope that you like it enough that you consider GMing 1 out of every 5-6 games later on. The PFS community works best when you get people doing both sides of the game. One of the advantages of the random party is that you can easily shift back and forth from the GM seat and don't have to get stuck in that role. The more casual GMs we have, the more everyone gets to play.

I love being a GM, but I do want to play as well, and PFS lets me trade off.

Hmm

So here are some of the things that I ADORE about PFS.

1) Our leadership. Alex Speidel is beyond awesome. I have no idea how he keeps up his energy.

2) Tight and interesting Scenarios. They might not have the in-depth plot that a home game offers, but they can give you the satisfaction of actually accomplishing something in 3-5 hours. And there are metaplots that carry over multiple scenarios.

3) The ability to travel the world. PFS can be weird sometimes because it sends your character everywhere. Your character gets to experience all the different cultures and craziness of what Golarian (and other planes and planets) has to offer.

4) A rotating cast of characters. In Play-by-Post or in local play, you do get to meet some players and their characters in multiple games, but you also get a constant influx of wonderful new people and fresh characters too. For me, it's like I get the best of a home game with some players that I see a lot, but also new people to shake things up.

5) The Greater Community. What a great assortment of players! How awesome it is to meet them and see and learn about so many different character ideas. I like it locally in face to face games, and I enjoy it internationally through play-by-post. I've played with people from all over the world and made so many new friends.

6) The Passion. In a home game, often half the players are distracted. They're casual players who are there for a social gathering. At a PFS table, everyone who's there is there to GAME. They're focused, and they're there to get the mission done.

7) The Cooperation. This HUGE for me. Pathfinders mostly cooperate. PFS is... wonderful. We have missions. We do missions. We work together!

Hmm

What's the Point of PFS?

I have been playing PFS for 11+ years, and it's my preferred way to game. Yes, I have been in a couple wonderful home groups, but I've also had home groups that were dysfunctional as heck. Nothing is worse than discovering that you do not like to game with your friends - some people are great at dinner parties, and then become evil awful jerks that you cannot escape when you share an RPG with them.

My PFS Story

PFS came at a time when I was ready to give up on gaming. I was tired of dysfunctional gaming groups where everyone was out for their own thing and there was no real plot except killing creatures and taking their stuff.

Then my boyfriend, Bret, tried out a game of PFS at Convergence. He liked it. He started telling me about the Pathfinder Society with their missions, and their tenets of ‘Don’t be a jerk’ and ‘Explore, Cooperate, Report!’ After a month or so, he asked me if I would like to try it. So I read the Season Six PFS guide cover to cover, and joined him in our first paired build. We came up with Omar and Zahra Senay, a Keleshite couple from Katapesh that just wants to travel everywhere and help everyone. We played Trial by Machine, a deadly scenario for a bunch of first timers just starting out... Still, the group we were in showed teamwork and perseverance, and we all came out alive and with the mission accomplished. I was hooked.

PFS has brought me a community of friends that I love and respect, and given me a chance to know people from all over the globe, as well as those from my favorite store, Dreamers. It's brought me laughter and happiness.

Role-Playing vs Roll-Playing

This is a perpetual PFS question, but it really depends on where you are playing your PFS, and whom you are playing with. Some local PFS cultures are very roleplay-heavy - especially the Play-by-Post crowd, but also at the stores at which I play locally in Minnesota. Others are less so. I have found though that if I start roleplaying in an interactive way with other players from the very beginning, most roleplay back with me.

Also, I'm more likely to get roleplay on non-repeatable scenarios, in part because there are surprises for every player.

I have more to say on this and will be back later with some of the advantages of PFS. I'll also say that it's not for everyone, and that's okay too.

Hmm

A school on an elephant who is also the headmaster? Sign me up now, please!

Wegrata -

Perhaps you misread my post?

I am all about enjoying your own thing and respecting it. The only thing that I said was mandatory was having at least one reliable damage tool. Was that the problem with my post? If so, I will stand by it. I don't care what class you are playing. Even the bardiest of bards needs to be able to do some damage with one of their tools, if only for self-protection. A single damaging cantrip will serve this purpose.

Everything else in my post was 'I love having other tools' or 'I would also want' (which is the same as saying 'in my opinion, it's best to have other tools' but a little less wordy.)

Have a lovely day, whatever your characters choose to do.

Hmm

...as we know it.

The way I look at it is that if I have a character who is a spell caster or a kineticist, that means that I can potentially have multiple tools, each specialized for different situations.

YOU ALWAYS WANT AT LEAST ONE RELIABLE DAMAGE TOOL.

Doing damage in combat is almost always useful and is often fun. That's why there are so many blaster casters out there.

But I love having other tools. With your fire / earth / wood kineticist, I would also want:

* Some reliable healing - like wood's produce option
* Some damage reduction, whether its armor for me, or walls that the party can hide behind
* Some utility, like those steps that earth kineticists can set up for other players so that the whole party can climb
* Some area damage for swarms.

Blasting is awesome. But it is nice having the other tools available for when you need them.

And if you have a reliable party, you can have some funky teamwork. When my wood kineticist creates a hail of splinters, my friend Bret casts feral shades -- which lowers enemy's fort saves if they are already bleeding.

TL/DR: Damage is great, but damage plus a few utility options is AWESOME.

So, Doug Hahn did a lovely listing of scenario arcs that covered Seasons 1-4. While it isn't up to date for Seasons 5 and 6, it's not a bad place to start.

In addition, Roc Me Asmodeus did a very complete listing of the Aslynn plot last year.

I would love to see a more complete listing of connections for Seasons 5 and 6 if anyone was interested in compiling one.

For example, my season 6 scenario 6-05 Silver Bark, Golden Blades takes place in the same Forest of Spirits as 1-06 Lost on the Spirit Road.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I really want to see a syrinx heritage published for the strix, since it was claimed that strix and syrinx are different expressions of the same people.

Your guide is a go to for me, and for all the players I help advise. Thanks for keeping it up to date!

Merry Christmas and Happy Chanukkah to all!

With Salera and Eddie leading the way, the party does indeed find that some of the best compost is up in the canopy!

The risuchō eagerly follow you up into canopy.

Please Feed the Squirrels (but don't feed them Eddie!)

A scurry of the intelligent squirrel-like messengers called the Risuchō gather to watch you struggling with the fog, their long rabbit-ears flicking warily. But they're regular travellers through the forest... Maybe they can help you navigate?

Nature or Diplomacy to appeal to the messengers for help, Deception to trick them into revealing information, or Performance to make them forget their wariness.

Speaking as an organized play GM with lots of gaming experience—no class goes down in fights more often than rogues. I have numerous players who’ve complained that they go down in nearly every fight that doesn’t have a dedicated healer buffing them.

I don’t mind that they eventually get three good saves.

Hmm

Also as someone who has been desperately rooting for Teki for years, thank you so much Tomas Gimenez Rioja <3

Yes, thank you so much Tomas! I was the original writer of Teki back when she was a Starstone Aspirant in the backmatter of Agents of Edgewatch. I have been rooting for her for years. I was so surprised to see her in the book that I fell out of my chair when reading it. Thank you for caring for my baby, and helping her reach her true potential.

Wooot! I am so excited for this!

Can we have this book now? Waiting is so hard!

So much talent here.

Thank you all for so many delightful deities. I was especially delighted to note the unlikely and delightful ascension of Teki Stronggut. It's lovely to see her and the other goblin hero-gods represented!

I am so glad that people are thinking about cross-system viability! I want peanutbutter in my chocolate!

I love threads like this. Thank you, Ravingdork!

Made some progress on my writing deadline, so I'm back.

I'm linking to the complaint that Maya cited in her last post as an example of a complaint without vitriol that still conveys urgency.

Also, I would like to correct a misapprehension. Nowhere did I suggest that civil discourse be limited to staff and developers. I want it everywhere, and applied to everyone.

I'm a fan of well-written and polite disagreement. We can and should complain when we need to do so (I certainly do, as I did in the case of duplicate flip-mat names.)

Thanks all!
Hmm

We still have things lingering from the start of PF2 that remain unanswered, like what exactly an instance of damage is too. Civility kind of wears thin after this long.

And all this reminds me that I too have a writing deadline due tomorrow, and so I'm going to bow out of this thread. All I can do is offer the tools to those who want them. Good luck, all.

Just the Paizo admission of even "player dissatisfaction" of things can radically reduce the amount of negativity that gets posted to the forums.

I agree with you on this point, Trip. It helps having staff interacting in this forum and does make it a calmer place.

The fact that Paizo *will* respond when community posts seem to hit a bulls-eye / threaten to go viral, like with their immediate response to the Dying rules situation, only proves that they are watching, and choosing to willfully deny these problems / bugs via omission.

...and here is where our agreement parts ways. Language like 'willfully deny' is needlessly incendiary. I agree that Paizo Staff read these boards. And I too want them to feel welcome to dive in and chat with us. But I don't think that attributing malign motivations to dev staff incentivizes them to come here and talk with us.

I'm not Paizo staff. I'm just a freelancer who occasionally writes stuff for Paizo. But I do know how insanely busy their production schedule is. My guess is that staff see the comments and complaints and note them internally to look at later rather than comment here on the forums.

And commenting on the forums is a lot of time when your job involves doing tons of writing, development and editing elsewhere. Not everyone is suited to doing it, or feels comfortable diving in. I believe that they see our comments and complaints, and internally triage them. Some things that I might see as a Priority A 'really important / must fix now' they may see as Priority D that will keep for later.

Just another way of looking at things.

One thing that struck me from reading this thread is that some posters might want tools in their communication toolbox about how to disagree politely and offer feedback without personal attacks.

I started a thread on that a few years back, and I'm linking it here:

How to disagree without being disagreeable

I think that polite complaints and feedback are more likely to have impact and be read fairly. When you throw insults in about the developers or freelancers, emotions kick in and people won't be able to process your suggestions with an open mind.

Thanks for listening, everyone. Also...Great to see you here, Maya!

This is a new map with the same name as the previous Space Station.

(Which is going to be frustrating for those of us who track the various flip mats used in scenarios.)

★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★

I can foresee some serious problems with this sort of naming.

PROBLEM 1:

A GM contacts a friend to ask them if they have a flip-mat they can borrow.

"Hey, do you have Space Station?"

"Absolutely! I can bring it this Wednesday for you!"

But... it's the wrong flip-mat because neither the lender nor the lendee realized that there were multiple flip-mats with the same name.

PROBLEM 2:

A GM needs a flip-mat for a multi-table special at GenCon or some other major convention.

They call their local game store asking for the flip-mat, then ask their spouse to pick up the flip-mat they ordered. The spouse picks it up and purchases it, not realizing that is the wrong flip-mat.

★ --- ★ --- ★ --- ★

This is going to cause lots of confusion down the road.

May I echo the call and request that names going forward be slightly different than the names of existing maps? It would have been fine if this was 'Space Station 2'.

Thanks so much for listening Paizo Friends!

Spellhearts for the win. Ray of frost has a lovely range.

Scarablob wrote:

Yeah, I never really understood why in DnD gnome were a "core race"

D&D 4e agreed with you and dropped gnome from the core lineup.

...and faced a storm of protest, for gnome fans are as mighty in spirit as they are small in stature.

Matt Duval wrote:

Good luck, Starfinders! The Vault Lord said they're really excited for your visit. They've got some cool stuff to show you. :-)

"He is really. Really. Going to regret not letting me ride the rollercoaster..."

"I know, right? Maybe we'll be able to punch their ticket."

Charli is so ready to confront that vault lord.

I cannot wait to play this train-themed adventure.

"ALL A-Bauccccckkkkkkk!"

"Now, now. It is not polite to murder my guests during tea-time. I believe that the appropriate time for duels is just after sunrise, but perhaps you might wait until after the mission is completed?" Amara Li raises a warning eyebrow at Bun.

“I need you to investigate something for me,” Amara Li says as she pours golden buckwheat tea into simple yet elegant cups. “Despite the vast and somewhat dangerous wilderness that surrounds it, the Spirit Road is the lifeblood of trade between Hongal and Minkai, and now it has been inexplicably blocked.” She pauses. “The Forest of Spirits is home to departed souls and kami, the spiritual guardians of the forest. Travelers through this region rarely dare to stray from the road for fear of offending either.”

She passes the cups along the table, and then continues. “Some merchants that I hired to transport goods to Hongal reported that a thick and disorienting fog laid across their route. One woman told me that she heard howling ghosts when she tried to enter, and another was bitten by relentless tiny teeth. The merchants soon found themselves leaving the fog where they had entered. Shaken by this experience, they turned around and reported back here.” Amara Li sighs. “There is another group of merchants who left from Hongal, and have not been seen since, and other merchants coming from Minkai have reported being unable to pass through. "

She pauses. "Are you all with me so far?"

Nice to see you again, Aaron. We have missed you so much!

Gnomes!

Half my Pathfinder 2e characters are gnomes. I am so sold on them! I will say that gnomes vary so much in coloration (especially gnomes with various gnomish and versatile heritages) that I think that you could have gnomes with any coloration that you want.

I simply adore Pathfinder and Starfinder's gnomes. I adore that they seek out danger to avoid bleaching. I love their obsessions and crazy colorations and weird ancestry feats.

Maya, tell your GM that your coloration is perfectly fine on a gnome. Gnomes have all the skin tones humans do and more. The gray hair is unusual for a non-bleached gnome, but I'm imagining that yours has tiny sparkles in it.

Hmm

Welcome, Maya! We look forward to meeting you more throughout the coming year!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a different group of heroes is gathering at the Three Gates Lodge in Minkai, waiting to see Venture Captain Amara Li.

Silver Bark, Golden Blades

The lodge is lovely, with a spare beauty and the understated design of the Minkai aesthetic. As you all come forward, it's the perfect time to introduce yourselves.

And the perfect time to fill out Macros and RPG Chronicles!

Darling, we will always have you.