JamesH's page

I did enjoy my time in the Sagamore, although I might change how I handled my judge/play balance next year. Not sure which way it will go (this depends on how situation changes between now and then).

That being said, I see ways that I need to improve to make my Gen Con experience better.

Thank you for the comments, but I will try to use the Token Tool to make my pieces so that I can run this game at my local game store. I remember a forum member who made standee art for past Starfinder Free RPG games.

Is there someone on this forum who can convert the pregen art into tokens that we can use for Free RPG Day? Just asking nicely.

As happy as I am about this season, I am slightly disappointed that I had just bought the Morlamaw achievement boon. Oh well.

I am still hyped about the direction that this season is going in, if only because I plan on having a lot of fun with my archaeologist biohacker.

Ryandale_ wrote:

James Martin wrote:

Linda, can we get the pregens in advance of Free RPG Day? I'm supposed to run it and I'd love to have them for the day! Thanks!

Second for this! I am in the same boat

I am wondering if this is a possible as well.

I too am wondering if there are pregen sheets available as I will be running this for a local store on Saturday.

I paid for the $35 level tier, and have not received a notice for shipment of my physical copy of the Starfinder Armory.

This event is all about retail stores. We encourage GMs who want to create a better player experience to go into the store and ask for early copies to more fully prep for the event. Use the event to build relationships.

I'm just waiting for Red Raccoon Games in Bloomington, IL, to get their stock for Free RPG Day. There's a bit of delay for this, but I am in contact with them to make sure that I can snag a copy before Saturday.

I see that the product description says that the map list is in the front cover for this scenario. However, I am running this for Free RPG Day next weekend, and the store's product is currently not available. Can you list the flip mats that are needed for this so that I can prepare for this?

Lots of things that I love about sci-fi, a few that I have not heard about, and there were a few omissions. Overall a good list of inspirations.

Some love to Marc Miller's Traveller game, and a good amount of popular series. The gamut from Trigun to Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys. Would have loved to see Gundam or Exo-Squad, but both of those were less pulpy than what Starfinder seems to be aiming for.

I'd be up to catching a game on Sunday after the convention. I can help with the clean-up in the Sagamore, but I plan on staying at the hotel and checking out on Monday morning. I'm personally looking for some high tier games to help my level 10 rogue to be able to play Eyes locally.

I would also volunteer to run a round at Scotty's on Wednesday. I need more events to get me to my 4th star.

Donated, and this has been passed around on the local Pathfinder Facebook pages. Best wishes for your friend.

Season 8 for the Exchange: Wouldn't it be better for them to be using Diplomacy instead of Intimidate for their one goal?

I believe there is an error on page 25 under skills. Investigators should get to use the Craft (Alchemy) instead of Craft (Gunsmithing), as the latter is best used by Gunslingers.

I remember running the Spice Girls (five bards and skalds) at last year's Gen Con. Anyone want to bet that the Sailor Moon and her friends show up to this year's Gen Con?

Has anybody had any luck printing out the maps in this scenario? I have looked at PosteRazor, and the map does not look very good. And I wanted to separate the two parts on page 30 of the scenario to take to Staples, but I am not able to cut the page to make things easier for me. The scenario looks like fun otherwise.

I'll most likely take the images to Staples to make the maps, but I was able to isolate the images with IrfanView (after I extracted the page in a format that IrfanView was able to handle), and then a quick edit to get rid of the parts that I did not need, and I got the maps. Now to make them usable for minis...

Has anybody had any luck printing out the maps in this scenario? I have looked at PosteRazor, and the map does not look very good. And I wanted to separate the two parts on page 30 of the scenario to take to Staples, but I am not able to cut the page to make things easier for me. The scenario looks like fun otherwise.

Evelyn Jones wrote:

It's entertaining to see how an "Evil" campaign will be done, and hopefully it will be well-written (I have high hopes, considering most of the writers are not the "big-name" ones and will therefore have new views and opinions).

I'm trying to embiggen my name! :-)

Ron, do not sell yourself short. Those of us from Verbobonc remember your contributions to the Living Greyhawk campaign and beyond. ;)

As for this adventure, I would really like to play in it. My local group has had experience in playing in an Evil PC campaign (one of my friends was so evil, she invented sky-writing advertisements to bring more traffic to her brothel). But we also did not devolve into PvP fighting as we all had a common enemy. My only issue will be time.

Now, if only somebody would print the map for me for the convention. I do not have the time to get a proper map made (and my skills are lacking). I'd cover the cost of doing it for me (or maybe one dinner during the convention). *sigh*

I have one question about this scenario for Gen Con. Are we judges expected to bring the iconics with us to the convention, or will the convention provide them?

Last year, I did a combination of things. For flip-maps I had, I used them. For the rest, I printed them out (in color) and mounted them on card stock, cut down so that no section was larger than 8.5"X11" so that everything for a scenarios fit in the storage clipboards I bought for this at Walmart.

I will be doing the same this year, though I'd best get stared given that I have six scenarios to prep!

It's the last part I am trying to figure out. I do have access to Gimp 2 to edit the maps, but I have not done this before.

Hi, guys. I am preparing to run several scenarios at Gen Con this year, and I have a bit of a problem. I need some advice for printing out the maps in the scenarios. Do you more experienced DMs have advice as to make inexpensive maps of your scenarios? I have used gaming paper in the past, but wanted to hear what other DMs do on a budget. Thank you.

How much stuff are we expected to bring to run Quests? I know when I played them at GenCon in the past, the maps appeared to have been printed on card stock and supplied to the GMs. Will we need our own minis? Not that I can't supply any of this. I just hate having to do a lot of prep 5 days before I have to get on the plane to GenCon.

I plan on bringing some tokens with me to stand in for the enemies. Will save me some weight that will be used for scenarios, battlemats, and electronics. But, then again, I only have to drive to Indianapolis.

Monday, August 3
PFS @ the Common Room, Bloomington IN (less than an hour from Indy!) - come and join us if you're still itching to play while in the area!

I might be convinced to go over to Bloomington if the schedule is right, but that depends on how I feel after Sunday. As for my schedule:

Wednesday, July 29
Slot -3 (0800-1230): Hopefully playing Darkest Abduction
Slot -2 (1230-1600): Hopefully playing Fires of Karamoss
Slot -1 (1600-2100): Hopefully playing Sewer Dragons of Absalom

Thursday, July 30
Slot 1 (0800-1300) OFF (to the dealer's room)
Slot 2 (1300-1800) GM 7-01 (overflow)
Slot 3 (1900-2400) GM Siege of Serpents

Friday, July 31
Slot 4 (0800-1300) GM 7-01 (overflow)
Slot 5 (1300-1800) GM 7-01
Slot 6 (1900-2400) GM Harbinger Special

Saturday, August 1
Slot 7 (0800-1300) GM 7-01
Slot 8 (1300-1800) GM 7-01
Slot 9 (1900-2400) GM True Dragons of Absalom special

Sunday, August 2
Slot 10 (0900-1400) OFF to play a game or to just hang around
If there are games happening post convention that I can get in on, I'll be up for one. Otherwise I plan on having a board game with me to play.

I know I'll be getting the third star sometime during the convention. My other goal is to get in another game with my sorcerer. Gotta get that one ready for Tapestry's Toil.

I want to get a Terror Bird, if only for the show of having my Tengu cavalier ride his true mount in a PFS game.

I plan on going to Winter War as well (I am a staff member, so I kinda have to go). I'll offer to help GM for Stonelords and will volunteer to run levels in Emerald Spire if needed. Let me know what you need, Bob.

Thank you for your reply and the information. I also knew that something was up when I was checking my bank account and saw the payment for this order show up... But this lets me start planning on a future home game.

Because it is a map and not bound printed matter, the cheapest rate we can ship it is the one that it is set at, $13.97 for USPS Priority.

Thank you for that bit of information. But is there a time frame for when I should expect this order to be delivered?

I was just inquiring as to the status of my order for the Emerald Spire map pack. Is it possible for me to change my shipping options, as the convention that I needed it for has passed, and I no need the expedited shipping to my location. And any other news as to my order would be helpful.

Thank you for your time.

I've played the first level with five players and GMed it with six, and the challenge level of the monsters isn't an issue. In fact, adding more monsters is going to complicate matters and not achieve the result you are looking for.

The problem is maneuverability. There is only so much space on the map for the PCs and the monsters.

Depending on the party composition, five players is too many. Six absolutely has them stepping all over each other regardless of party composition. The tight confines of the map mean that at any given time, two or three players are on delay or readying for space to open up for them to be able to do anything and the monsters get to concentrate fire on one or two characters.

Limiting the number of PCs is definitely the way to go for maximu8m fun for everyone.

I can't limit the players as I am not the person who created the event. I'm just the one who volunteered to run the game. But I thank you for the advice.

I am on schedule to run the first three levels of the Emerald Spire this coming weekend at a convention, and I have this question. The book tells me on page 21 to add monsters to the dungeon for tables of more than four players, but does not say what adjustments to make. Do any of the judges on this page (or maybe if a Paizo staff member reads this), could you give me any tips?

I got mine with the store credit I earned for judging at GenCon. She was a pain to put together, but she looks oh so sweet on the shelf on top of my TV. And when my players reach her in Shattered Star, they will get the shock of their lives... My only regret was that I put her together during the convention instead of waiting to get home, but I really wanted to see her in all of her glory. :D

Way to go, Tracy.

This looks like a great scenario, but the mapping is going to be a bear. My kingdom for a simple map. And my budget will not allow me to have it done commercially. I'll do the best I can.

Well, I just hope that I can squeeze in a trip to the dealers' room to use some of the Paizo store credit that I am getting for this trip. Mike has me down for Secrets Stones Keep for every slot except for the Special slots. Yes, I know that I have asked for this schedule, but I am going to be rather busy during GenCon. At least this keeps me from over-spending at the convention.

Well, the only groaner name that I have is my druid's animal companion. Yes, Tobias Briarroot's tiger companion is named Cat. And this is the second tiger so named.

My other names:

Ranosa Agrimon (beastbrood tiefling rogue)- Ranosa was an old name for an NPC from an AD&D campaign. It is 'sonar' backwards with an 'A' attached to make a usable name. I'm not sure where the surname came from, but it fits her

Bart Masterson (human pistolero)- Well, there was Black Bart and Bat Masterson in the western US in the late 1800s. So, I mashed names together for him.

Trade Prince Jared Helzberg (aasimar inquisitor of Cayden Cailen)- Two jewelery chains went into this name, and he trades gems and beer.

Ataru (human alchemist)- I'm a fan of Urusei Yatsura anime. I'm thinking of making a character based off of Lum, but I am not sure about that one.

And, one shout-out for a character I played in the Living Greyhawk game. My bard Euripides Burton. I remember being asked in an online game if I was Greek. No, I'm from the midwest US (Illinois), but the name sounded cool. Yes, his performance was dramatic acting.

Gunslingers. I'm getting tired of using my Necromunda juve for my human gunslinger. And then I'd like to see the other flavor of aasimars and tieflings.

I like how John Kovalic draws his Pathfinder Goblins like non-furry Kobolds (take a look at the Kobolds Ate My Baby game).

The inclusion of the magic item slots for animal companions was something I advocated in writing my sections of the book, as something that I felt the messageboard community had long wished for some clarity on and I'm glad people like that part. Ask and ye shall receive... at least sometimes. :)

I am glad to see this clarification, and this is going onto my must-buys, as I am currently playing a druid in PFS. This will give me some future ideas for character concepts. I'd like to wait until the PDF comes out, but if the book is at the store tomorrow, it is getting bought.

My party had major problems with the Seugathi.

Question regarding the Seugathi in room K21. In the Bestiary 2 on page 243 the weapon it has equipped is a masterwork short sword that does 1d8 damage which implies that the weapon is actually a short sword designed for a large creature (of which the Seugathi is). So does that mean that the +1 Keen Longsword that it is using instead in this adventure does 2d6 damage and is it a large longsword? If so, how do you you other DMs handle this? I mean, no one in the party is a large character and would not use the large weapon due to penalties to hit so do you just say that it is a medium weapon instead for this fight or do you allow weapons to shrink or grow to accommodate whoever will end up wielding it?

There were definitely a couple of very fun moments at the tables.

Probably the most epic image in combat at my tables was Seth and Kristen Gipson's tag team attack when I GMed The Devil We Know, part 4. His wizard cast Spiked Pit under two bad guys, who fell in. Her companion animal is a large ape, so the ape climbed part of the way down into the pit, hung upside down 10 feet above the bad guys, and proceeded to pound on them. And if that image isn't epic enough, her ape has reach, and the bad guys don't. So they couldn't reach to fight back with melee weapons, and they couldn't fire their ranged weapons without provoking. Needless to say, it didn't take long for the ape to pound the mooks into paste while the rest of the party dealt with their leader. And it's not like they planned any of this in advance - Kristen came up with the idea to send her ape after the mooks only after they were in the pit and the rest of the party was ignoring them.

Well, I heard from some people in the room on Sunday about not being able to buy minis. I was not able to make it to the dealers area due to playing, con duties, and other needs (eating and sleep come to mind). So I may have been mistaken. But I can only say what I heard.

I was asked at the recent Winter War game convention why there were no Paizo miniatures being sold at the convention. I did not know about other dealers, but I know that my local store (Armored Gopher) has not really carried them. I then attended our staff dinner after the convention ended, and found out the real reason why has to do with the way that the products are distributed. Paizo's miniatures first go to the pre-orders and subscribers first, then go into the general distribution channels. I personally would have liked to have seen more Paizo miniatures at the convention as I know that there would have been some sales of those products there (players and GMs as well).

I wish that I could have run more, but I had a blast playing at Winter War. My favorite table was the Feast of Sigils table. I ended up helping another player complete his mission to have him (and hid father) complete my own, and thus I ended up playing up the consequences.

I'm in the process of getting ready for Gen Con. It's shaping up to be a busy weekend of reading, picking out assorted minis for my games, and other preparations for the trip on Wednesday. Oh, and I plan on being over at Scotty's for some games before jumping into module running.

By the way, this may be my first time DMing at Gen Con for Pathfinder, I have judged previously for LFR. And with my experience with the old Living Greyhawk days, I am used to manic prep work before a convention.

I just downloaded the special, and now I have to add "buy new color ink cartridge" to my list of things to do this weekend. *sigh*

The one issue that I can find is with the PrC Nature Warden in the Advanced Player's Guide. It specifically states that they are usually druids (or druid/rangers) and then the Prestige Class has a prerequisite that only a druid/ranger would have (favored terrain class feature), unless the PC had a level in the PrC Horizon Walker (which would defeat the purpose). Not that I was going to do that, but I was thinking of taking a prestige class with my Pathfinder Society druid.