JohannVonUlm's page

I have a skeleton character myself. Mine started as a cleric of Horus and rebuilt to an Exemplar when Horus disappeared. When playing a skeleton, you need to plan ahead for healing yourself as you can't plan for another player to sit down with that option. Still, there are options:

- Buy scrolls of Harm, Elixirs of Unlife. Cost of "living" expense.

- Train yourself in Medicine, grab Stitch Flesh skill feat at first level (common skill feat, Book of the Dead). Can't count on someone else to have this.

- Soothe spell, 1st level (doesn't have vitality) Make some Bard friends

- Pearly White Spindle Aeon Stone, level 3, 60gp (doesn't have vitality). Living and undead swear by this

- Soothing Tonic elixir (fast healing)

- Numbing Tonic elixir (temp HP)

- Belt of Health (need access from playing the beginner box). Extra HP.

- Toughness skill feat (more HP)

- Living Monolith archetype (uncommon - you need access) Makes you tough to kill.

I'm sure there are things out there I'm not remembering. It's tough, but some think the juice is worth the squeeze.

Yes, my guy had artwork commissioned of his anubis cleric as well. On the other hand, I can understand that Godsrain was meant to be a big, pantheon-shaking event that turned the heavens upside down. I suspect that no matter what gods they chose, there would be a player uproar as favorite deities were lost.

I have/had a cleric of Horus that has also been affected. After a period of mourning, I decided to try to embrace the Godsrain storyline with the character. I considered transitioning to Oracle (divine magic without the diety requirement). An aspect of or blessing by Horus in his departure perhaps.

Instead, I used the rebuild to transition to Exemplar. Horus has departed, and now this former cleric has new powers to deal with. Perhaps even a divine spark left by Horus.

It's not hard to draw a possible link to prior events in PFS. Not long ago, there was a substantial undead event in Osirion, which may have been triggered (in part) by a powerful hag. Per War of the Immortals, when a group of hag goddesses are doing something suspicious, the Osirion gods intervened. Then all disappear. In my head canon, those events are related and will affect my character's story.

It's frustrating when game changes affect your character. But I'm trying to embrace the meta-event from War of the Immortals. It's world changing. There will be hardships and disappointment. Not everyone's life will remain the same. I'm looking forward to seeing what else occurs. (Did someone say necromancer? Look out Osirionites! Life might get tougher.)

That's my list. What is yours?

Great Question HMM. Here's mine:

1. What's up with Muesello? Last we saw, he was headed off for semi-retirement and asked for recommendations of new lines of study. I'm sure he's found something interesting.

2. I'd love to go back to Bhopan. Qxal has been defeated. What's life like on the island now? I'm sure there are unexplored ruins on that island to discover too.

3. Cyclopean ruins and flammable pine trees. We haven't plumbed the depths of the Finadar Forest yet.

4. Ditto Pallid Peak.

5. What's Star up to? An ancient Jistkan automaton -- Star could probably tip the Society off to locations of ruins or sites of interest.

Got to play the season intro and quest 20 at GenCon. Ran four games there myself (Greetings to the Dallas gang that joined my tables twice!). And wrap up the month seeing my 5th glyph go live. (Johann = John). Great month of August so far and looking forward to the new season.

Enjoy PaizoCon Europe Alex!

Me and my friends are looking to play in PFS games at our local shop, but we're not sure how it works now with this mess introducing "Remastered" content.

So, because the Kineticist or Inventor class isn't in Remastered, does that mean we can't choose to play one in PFS or can we?

Classes from books that didn't get remastered (like the Guns and Gears Inventor) or from Rage of Elements (considered the first "remastered" book) are still PFS legal.

Master of None wrote:

x x 342 wrote:

Going back to PFS1, I have always and only played clerics of Gorum. So POOP.

Three questions on the 'free rebuild':
1) Can the Core Rulebook chassis be used instead of the Player Core chassis?
2) How much gp does the character get on the rebuild? The 15% tax/penalty on the remaster rebuild is a problem.
3) Will the answers to my first two questions be documented somewhere other than as a post on this forum to establish a Source of Authority?

I think the answers for all of your questions can be found in the remaster section of The Guide to Organized Play.

I think the remaster section of The Guide to Organized Play is specific to the remaster. The 'free rebuild' for clerics of Gorum is not a remaster and the rules may or may not be the same as the remaster rules. I posted my comment hoping to get my questions definitively answered by someone either at paizo or at PFS3.

Gorum's death is still a future event. I'd imagine that when the book that formailizes it is published, Alex and our PFS leadership will tell us how it works.

I would love to see Shoony get some attention outside of their one adventure path appearance.

Do we know when the options will be PFS legal?

Recently, they've been pretty good about getting sanctioning released on the day the book is available in the stores.

I have used AON to pull stat blocks for encounters into Word files to (a) centralize them, (b) adjust for 6 players and (c) apply Remaster changes. I'm not far along (players just arrived at Oleg's Trading Post). But at least in the first bit, there's really very little conversion. No adversary spellcasters, so all I'm really doing is pulling alignments.

I never knew I needed a shark with a hat in my life so badly until this very moment.

Can we talk ancestries for a minute? Because I'm having a very "SHUT UP AND TAKE MY ACP" moment in my mind right now.

I'm next in line. I need a shark character too.

Seems like everyone is missing something basic. In PFS2 you are given a chronicle which provides a text block reminding you (and any curious GM) of what your character has done. If you have a chronicle that says you fought high lord Muckety Muck and his undead army of pixie skeletons -- you shouldn't have to Recall Knowledge on pixie skeletons again unless there's something mysteriously different. That's not metagaming, that's honoring your character's documented history.

Other evidence it is possible to carry knowledge over from other sessions -- See the Pathfinder Agent class feat Thorough Reports. This gives you a mechanical bonus for retaining that knowledge in a list.

Hopefully everyone had a great time this past weekend. I think we need to share fun stories from the weekend, whether you traveled to GenCon, played online with GenCon Online or played somewhere else, ("GenCan't"). Share something fun from this past weekend.

I GM'd three sessions of PF2 and played in the Starfinder Interactive as part of GenCon Online. I had a great time playing with players from across the US, from UK and from Canada. As a GM:
- I saw a Barbarian swallowed by a giant plant and escape in the nick of time.
- I saw another Barbarian (Gnome) absolutely wreck his fellow party member on the first round of the first fight (thanks Confusion). Every initiative after that people were giving the poor guy grief (in a fun way).
- And my low level players in the interactive came together quickly and were a wrecking crew in most encounters.

As a player, I got to play one of my favorite characters (Pinky, a Contemplative Biohacker). My dice rolls were the best I've seen in a long time as Pinky became the hero of the Battle for the Bullwark. Maybe he's the only one calling himself that, but that counts, right?

What memories did you make last weekend?

I'll echo a few of the prior comments in that I'd like to see more boons tying back to the campaign. For example, I'd love to see:

Background - Dacilane Academy graduate. These are often the children of Pathfinders. Perhaps even a legacy link to a prior character.

Downtime Boon - Dacilane Academy volunteer. We've seen hints to this in scenarios. Something fun to do with your downtime. Perhaps with checkboxes to earn a minor reward. Or just a way to earn Income differently.

Downtime Boon - Lodge Builder. We've set up new lodges in a handful of scenarios. (Razmir, Qadira, etc) Someone needs to help build these new lodges. Again, maybe a downtime boon with checkboxes. Might be able to do different ones for each lodge.

Looking at my copy of Galactic Magic, this option affects the following cantrips:
Energy Ray, Hazard, Injury Echo and Telekinetic Projectile

The instructions say "Make the following changes to the spells named above at the levels the character attains in a spellcasting class.

At 3rd level it adds half your character level to your damage.
At 7th level it bumps a 1d3 spell to 2d4 or a 1d6 spell to 2d6.
etc.

So it looks to me that the bonus is based on attaining levels in a spell-casting class. So if you got to 3rd level Technomancer, you'd get the first boost. A multi-class Technomancer 3rd level / Soldier 5th level would get the first of the two boosts I listed (although for the purposes of that first boost, the bonus is based on your total character level, 8th for 4 bonus damage in my example.)

Regardless, it's a nice boost. Your energy ray would be doing 1d3+4 vs everyone else locked at 1d3 total.

That's a long way of saying, you can assign it to any character, but only a spellcaster with one or more of those spells would benefit.

If it helps, here is a small list of a few story arcs from PFS2e Season 3 that I copied from a blog. You could probably link them together in some way, even if you jump between regions.

Taldor
Part 1: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-11: No Time for Treason
Part 2: Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-16: Escape from Oppara

The best part of those scenarios is that many of them pull from or reference other adventures. For example, the two above.

You might have met Gloriana Morilla in 1-01 Absalom Initiation or maybe you met VC Museullo in Quest 9 Wayfinder Origins.

Those two Taldor scenarios also have multiple references back to 2-13 A Gilded Test.

And all of the Taldor scenarios bear the legacy of the War for the Crown (PF1 Adventure Path).

And now you are upset because you can't cheat in the same way in SFS. So you won't play unless you are allowed to cheat?

Cheat is a strong word. The system is quirky and he got 8.5 extra reputation for 17 plus hours of game-play. That isn't getting him much of anything for the time spent. It's not like he's getting extra achievement points or XP. Plus with the level cap of bounties, it's not something he can do further on that character. He might get slightly earlier access to a few boons that rely on reputation. But not it's not a big advantage.

Heck, I'm sure I lost way more reputation with the transition from paper to electronic reputation. There were several boons in PF2 at the beginning that were do X and record a reputation bonus. None of those translated as they all required the player to write stuff down.

Bounties serve two basic purposes, (1) introductory scenarios for new players and (2) short scenarios that can fit in a 2 hour slot - for filling convention schedules or short weeknight scenarios that let people go home quickly. I'm fine with the reputation limitations.

Mainly, that after 5+ years of the Starfinder Society, the Lorespire Complex remains an amorphous mass, with features, or lack of features, that just bubble up or melt away as needed. While I do truly understand the motivation to not fully lock down your options, it would be nice if there was an internal baseline to work off in some areas.

John, I was trying to collect my thoughts and you managed to capture many of them in your post. While we have ten more years of Pathfinder history than Starfinder (so perhaps this understandable) I feel like I have way more information about what a Pathfinder is and does than a Starfinder.

Two recent Pathfinder books should be considered for Starfinder parallel books. I'd love to see Lost Omens Pathfinder Society and City of Absalom cloned by Starfinder as a Starfinder Society book and an Absalom Station book.

My personal favorites are:
Quest 1 - The Sandstone Secret. It hits all the bases introducing basic concepts like exploration mode, traps, and combat. It also has a good Pathfinder Society 101 handout.

Bounty 15 - Treasure off the Coast. It's got a well done, atypical skill challenge in the form of a hunt for sunken treasure.

Both target the hour to hour and a half play time. So are good introductions.

I feel like I need a new forum topic with no drama or angst. Just a fun celebration of the hobby we love and share.

So let's share some of the common story. Over the many years of scenarios, who is your favorite NPC. The one you just can't forget. Maybe he or she was an adversary, a friend, or just someone you met along the way.

I'll go first. My favorite NPC appeared once, in PFS1 6-15, The Overflow Archives, by Scott Sharplin. Alas, poor Virmil. A Pathfinder wannabe, he could have been any of us. Sneaks into an archive to do a little after hours exploration -- tricked by a fey, tortured by tooth fairies and ends the scenario on Kreighton Shane's naughty list. In the end, he's a bit player in his own adventure as the PCs save the day. Poor fellow. Somehow, though, he stuck in my mind.

When second edition hit, he was one of the first three characters I built. Long term exposure to the First World affected my Virmil and he's now a Fey Sorcerer. I've had great fun giving this poor overlooked NPC a slightly more heroic history.

So who's that NPC that stuck with you, and why?

However, I am unclear about how giving bonuses differs from adjusting DC's in any manner other than semantics. Under GM discretion in the guide it says that a GM would be permitted to allow "Alternate or creative skills used to bypass or overcome traps, haunts, and skill checks. (Although the DCs and results of the check are part of the mechanics and should not be changed.)" This seems to imply that even if I were to allow "Ancient Osiriani Lore" as a substitute for Thievery on a trap or Occultism for a haunt, that I should keep the same DC. Granted the skill substitution could be a benefit in some cases, there seems no allowance for a DC reduction, or a bonus here.

I will also state that there seemed like no opportunity to find "easier checks" while dealing with these haunts. It still feels like all of these tactical changes could be obviated by better strategic thinking in advance, and that was all my original post was asking for.

A lot of good posts since you asked this. I'll try to be focused in my reply.

As a GM, there are mechanical and story aspects to a scenario I can't change (like DCs). But I am able to reward good roleplay and encourage creative solutions. I recognize that not all GMs do this in the same way. But granting a circumstance bonus to a skill check is a simple way to do this.

Skill challenges and hazard are probably harder to write than they look. Generally, they'll list 2 or 3 skills for a task. For the mushroom picking example I gave, maybe the list Nature DC 20 but Herbalism Lore DC 14. At this point, there are dozens of lores and backgrounds out there. They can't realistically list the DC for dozens of skills. So they give us 2 or 3. As a GM, I'm charged with describing the task and the PC tells me how they want to do it.

If a player tells me "I roll Nature", they don't give me much to go with as a GM.

If they tell me, "I'm a forest elf druid from the Mwangi with the Mushroom picker background." I can give a circumstance bonus to their check based on their character.

If they tell me, "I'm city-born, but there are two dozen villagers nearby, I'm going to go talk to them and see if they can help me harvest the mushrooms we need." That's a creative solution I can work with. Make a Diplomacy check.

In society play, you won't know what your GM will entertain without giving them something to work with as a player.

If you only play, you may not realize some of the subtle mechanics in how they write the skill challenges and hazards, though. That's got to be on the GM to explain. And it doesn't hurt to ask questions as a player.

For example:
All players may attempt -- is different from -- Two players may attempt. The DCs will be different. Probably higher if all players at a table can attempt.

Also, the DCs are different if you need more successes than half the PCs (round down) vs you need one success only. The DCs on an obstacle that everyone must attempt (ex Acrobatics/Athletics) is probably lower than a skill that only the best player should attempt (Thievery to disarm a trap, for example).

Certainly, some scenarios are tougher than others. And I'd agree 1-2 subtiers need to consider the capabilities (and vulnerabilities) of characters at that tier. But as GM's running that tier, we have to make sure understand what the mechanics are and that it's OK to find creative solutions.

Medtec,
I've had a similar GM experience as Jocelyn, so I'll share a couple of my GM tricks.

No, you can't change DCs, but as GM you can give bonuses to skill checks for creativity and get to determine when similar skills apply. I was playing a scenario that asked for Herbalism Lore as an option to harvest mushrooms. The GM let us use the Farming Lore skill that the pre-gen fighter has with a similar DC.

You can't change the monsters, but you do determine their tactics. Mindless and animal intelligence monsters don't understand Attack of Opportunity and may not understand flanking. Their actions on the battlefield shouldn't imply they do.

I had one scenario in PF1 where ALL the PCs were paralyzed by ghoul bites. I could have easily pressed to a TPK. That said, this was a boss villain, so I had him "Bond villain" monologue. Now that I have you in my power Mr Bond, let me explain the genius plan I have in store. One round of monologue let one PC escape from paralyze and we had an epic fight as he tried to extend the fight to let other PCs recover.

During character introductions, I'm not just looking for who is at the table, I'm listening to what the character story or background is. When opportunities come up, I will emphasize the Dwarf Miner in an underground adventure or the Investigator's abilities in the murder mystery. Give those characters a chance to shine in adventures made for them.

Lastly, in low level adventures, I spend more time explaining skill challenges and hazards. They're complex. Make sure the players understand ... there may be easier skills hidden behind the harder DCs. Make sure the players understand how to find the easier DCs. You can often explain mechanics without spoiling the encounter.

I'd start by asking the kids what experience they might have. You might be surprised in what they've played. I'm sure plenty of people on the boards started in high school.

I'd consider the Beginner's Box for both D&D and PF2. Those simplify the games quite a bit.

You might consider a simpler game like Kids on Bikes. I played a session of that two years ago at GenCon. The scenario was based on the Attack of the Broccoloids (Old Power Puff Girls episode). I thought a session based on The Goonies (old movie) would be fun and easy too.

Less common, but also easy like Kids on Bikes -- Junior Braves Survival Guide to the Apocalypse. Scouts meet the Zombie apocalypse (or alien invasion, you pick).

Good luck. I hope your group takes off.

This looks like another really cool set. Though, I was hoping to see a Shoony in the mix.

I remember reading another post ages ago that put it simply, but resonated with me.

When you build a character, think about the basics:
- what you do in a fight?
- what do you do when your main fight strategy is blocked (can't melee, have something ranged; monster has resistance - have a backup damage type)
- What do you do in a social encounter?
- What do you do in a skill challenge?

Ignoring any of those things makes you less than useful in a good chunk of a scenario.

From a story standpoint, spend a couple of minutes on developing your character introduction.

"I'm a big dude with an axe" is so much less interesting than "I was a bartender at the Wounded Wisp and heard all these Pathfinders talking about the Whispering Tyrant's escape and all the refugees they helped escape his hordes. I just felt I needed to help somehow, so I signed up."

I didn't mean to divert this discussion or spawn off a side discussion when I asked about Bob, the new player. I simply was trying to encourage some thought about how to target this kind of article towards a new player.

That said, back to the point ....

Have any other tips for character building in PFS, or do you have a cool new build you’re looking forward to fleshing out? Share them below!

I have ended up building out 10 PF2 Society characters. (Involves a lot of repeatable scenarios as a GM.) I find I have a few different categories.

The first two were characters I pulled from previous games (3.0 and Rolemaster). The main thought was to see how the characters built out mechanically.

The next two were tied story-wise to the ongoing Lost Omens narrative. One was based on a NPC briefly mentioned in a 1st ed scenario. The other was a Champion from a country that ceased to exist recently. Mostly tried to ground these in the narrative.

The remaining ones were based on interesting classes or ancestries - several of which cost me ACP - but not all. Having played/GM'd the first four, I had enough to do some interesting things. I applied backgrounds I earned with other characters, or built a character centered on some element of the story.

My main advice to a new player would be to pick something you're familiar with, from a prior game, a movie or TV. Then build something that resembles that. The character may not perform exactly like you expect. But the character (like the player) is new to this Society stuff. Feel free to let the character evolve with the story as you experience it. That character evolution as you gain experience is the best part of Pathfinder.

Unlike Experience Points and treasure, which stay with a character, Hero Points are granted and used on a per-session basis. At the start of a game session, you give out 1 Hero Point to each player character. You can also give out more Hero Points during the game, typically after a heroic moment or accomplishment (see below). As noted on page 467, a player can spend 1 Hero Point for a reroll, or they can spend all their Hero Points to recover when near death.

If a player is playing a pre-gen, I don't think there's any doubt that player should get a hero point.

I assume that you are perhaps filling an empty seat to fill the four character minimum. I would suggest that in that case the "non-player character" is still a player character in that circumstance - since it is fulfilling a minimum player requirement for the table.

I think you are fine with that call.

Interesting article, but I think we're missing an example that would be really useful.

Zonya, Alex and Minda are all players who are experienced with Organized Play. Alex and Minda have played enough to have ACP to buy boons with. Zonya has experience with first edition PFS and can probably figure things out.

What about Bob? Bob is a new player who just finished playing a pre-gen at a convention or game store and would like to build a PF2 organized play character. He enthusiastically bought several books and wants to build a character. I think Bob needs this kind of article more than Zonya, Alex or Minda.

Just my two cents.

Hello Everyone,

I'm terribly sorry to disturb you if there already exist some step-by-step starting guide which I didn't find, but still I hope for you patience and understanding.

I'm new to Pathfinder Organized Play, and I want to start playing group in my city (or online, as we have covid here too).

- What do I have to do to start such group and make it legal?
- Is adding an event in "My account" enough?
- Should all my players also register here, or I can just report their progress?
- Is it allowed still play scenarios from 1e? Is conversion system for 2e as a whole enough? or should I use 1e rewards?
- As a local game organizer do I have any priveleges when buying paizo products?
- What else shoud I know before starting this enterprise?

Thanks in advance,
and my apologies if I posted in wrong place.

First, let me say welcome to Pathfinder and Organized Play. It can be a lot of fun and is a great way to meet other gamers.

- Not much is required if you want to a home based game with friends. If you want to host an open game with other players, you'll want to look for the local Regional Venture Captaint. They can help you get started in your region. There may even be a local group already.
- Assuming you've already registered your own player number, then there is an event page under "My Organized Play". You can register an event to get an event number. You'll report your sessions under that event number with all your player numbers (and yours as GM).
- Your players should register for their own player numbers to ensure they get credit for the games and the rewards for playing.
- You can still play 1e scenarios with the 1e rules. But you can't play a 1e scenario under 2e rules (or vice versa) the systems are separate.
- Venture Agents do get help with the scenarios. Otherwise, you'll need to purchase those still.
- That last question is pretty open. I'll put a short list together in a separate post ... and recommend others do so as well. I'm sure I'll miss stuff.

Hey gang --

Three boy scouts spent the better part of the weekend insulating my garage, and they've asked me to GM for them as a partial reward for what they did. They haven't played any Organized Play Pathfinder 2 stuff, but I have been mostly GMing Starfinder (and the occasional PF2 repeatable when needed) for my local venue. I'm not as familiar as I'd like to be with the PF2 storylines. I'd like some scenarios that are related to each other but are mostly stand alone on their own, and low level since they will all be level one.

Give me your suggestions, please! The boys range from 13 to 17.

Hmm

I ran the Beginner box twice in January. I think it's a pretty good match for young, new players. It's built pretty well to slowly introduce new rules as you go. Plus, it's sanctioned so they can get PFS credit for it. It splits well into two sessions (upper level and lower level of the dungeon).

From there, you can go into a scenario like 1-01 or the new 2-11. Or you can continue with material not quite sanctioned yet from the new module or AP.

... The only way I see Guns being viably added in Heroic Fantasy are as one-shot per fight tools that are extremely lethal, so use it at the most opportune time. Another part of the power of a Gun is the intimidation factor. Because they are so lethal it makes everyone worried about being the one who makes you decide it's time to use it. Until you get to things like revolvers, the threat basically goes away for the rest of the fight (at least with how short Heroic Fantasy fights are) once it is fired. ...

This is an interesting discussion thread. I've often had similar discussions with friends.

Let's assume that by "Heroic Fantasy", you're referring to the Pathfinder and D&D model of fantasy games. They're designed as level based games, where you gain hit points, skills and other abilities as you advance on a level tier. We all understand that the Kobold that was a threat at first level becomes no threat at higher levels. Mechanically, weapons, monsters and hazards are designed against that level based system. The same has to be true for firearms or the game breaks down.

If you're looking for more realism from weapons in general, you need instead to be looking at some of the more simulationist RPGs. Rolemaster and Harn come to mind. Simulationist games tend to me more complicated mechanically, but will make weapons function more realistically.

If you're looking for more accurately portrayed firearms, look at more simulationist games like Aftermath! or Morrow Project. To get more realistic effects, many of these simulationist games drop the level system altogether.

I think the Fatal trait is an elegant way to bring guns to Pathfinder 2e. In most fights, they will fit right in with the normal threat levels for the game. But the threat of a critical is still cause for caution. Think about the scenes in any adventure movie, the characters kick, punch, stab and even shoot at each other -- and when the story needs it -- the gun kicks in for massive damage.

Looks like another neat synergy with the Beginners Box and the Adventure Path. Trying to think of what that is on the cover, though.

Not much has been published on the new Summoner Iconic - and maybe I'm posting this too late to influence anything. I have no idea when the new book goes to print. This new Summoner iconic appears to be a young girl with a pet dragon.

I'd like to ask that we not see child iconics. Pathfinder as a game involves combat against a variety of beasts and monsters. Art and fiction depicting a child iconic as either the target of violence or the instigator seems inappropriate.

Indeed, PFS has a ground rule that your character must be at least a young adult. Probably because they want to avoid just that situation at the table.

Maybe I'm mistaken, and this is an adult Halfling or Gnome. But the initial art did not seem to reflect that.

I recognize that there are plenty of ways to run home games and that we have child players playing Pathfinder. I'm sure all those GMs can handle that situation in a appropriate manner. I'm mainly concerned with the public image that iconic could present.

Just my thoughts. Open minded to other thoughts.

Quests and Scenarios are adventures written specifically for PFS. Bounties, Adventure Paths and stand alone adventures were not written specifically for PFS. They need to be sanctioned.

Bounties: Short one-hour adventures aimed at introducing new players to the game or representing what characters do in between Pathfinder missions. Bounties are sanctioned for use in the Pathfinder Society campaign. As a sanctioned adventure, bounties do not give down time.

Sanctioned adventures operate in Campaign Mode, which does not use Pathfinder Society rules. GMs set the rules on character creation and may freely modify the encounters and story.

Reference:Org Play Guide

Normally, sanctioned content can be run outside PFS rules and structure, but we get credit to an existing character. Bounties have a little bit of extra status from a blog.

Bounties - These adventures are not part of the Pathfinder Society line of scenarios/quests, but they are produced by the Organized Play team. Thus we are able to auto-sanction them at time of production instead of issuing sanctioning documents. It is our intention that Bounties run at Society events are for PFS legal characters. GMs running Bounties outside of Society credit can choose to run in PFS mode or Campaign mode. We’ll get this language updated in the Guide shortly.

Reference: Year 2 Blog

So based on these two sections:
- bounties require PFS legal characters
- bounties do not grant downtime.

What is left open is the question about "campaign mode". Is the intent that bounties be run in a modified "campaign mode" limited to PFS legal characters? Or is the intent that they be run by PFS org play rules? I would say the later, based on ".. run at Society events.."

If in a modified "campaign mode", then the GM can make whatever decisions they prefer. If in a "Society event", I would say GM glyph hero points should be awarded and any resources the character has acquired through ACP should be available.

The school free item may be a grey zone. Your character is not on an official Society mission. That said, as GM I'm not going to take away the free skill you get from your school, why should I object to a minor healing potion from your friends at the Society?

From a mechanical sense, if the target audience is new players, I want to make sure they have Hero Points and a free minor healing potion. I want them to enjoy the experience and not walk away with a dead character. Both of those give the new player a measure of survivability.

I agree with the request to add the tracker boxes back to the form. But I have an additional request.

I just got done running 2-05, Balancing the Scales. The chronicle format is the new format. One other new change is that the item rewards are now not broken down by which tier they appear in. So it's on the GM (per the guide) to line out all the items not encountered.

Treasure Access: Items that the PCs did not encounter must be crossed off the treasure access list by the GM.

Since my players were low sub-tier, I had to go through the scenario and find each item where it was presented. In low-sub tier, I ended up lining out five of the six items on the chronicle.

It sure would make a GM's life easier if the items were listed by the tier on the chronicle.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but wasn't Junia "J" Dacilane a girl?

Open letter to the Organized Play staff.

I am in the process of closing the books on Nuke-Con 2020. I know you're seeing a lot of "feedback" on some of the other posts. I just wanted to say thank you:

- To OP staff and program in general. As always, your convention support is appreciated. The Paizo vouchers are always a big hit. This year you got the scenarios to our GMs faster than I've seen for any of our local conventions in the past.

- To Alex. For quickly responding to and answering my questions.

- To the authors. The scenarios we've played over the last year are engaging and interesting. I look forward to experiencing the new story lines.

To sum up what I wanted to say. While we may discuss, debate and deliberate on mechanics, rules and implementation .... The Paizo family of organized play games are great fun and are very appreciated.

I can go either way on this debate.

As someone who GMs much more than plays, when I play I enjoy doing so in a scenario I know nothing about. Getting the chronicle at the end with a cool boon is like unwrapping a present.

Of course that means that those boons sometimes end up an a character that can't use it. I can always pick a more suitable character to credit when I later GM the scenario. Plus 2nd ed now has a means to transfer through ACP.

So I appreciate the no spoilers policy.

That said, my Cavalier picked up a really cool named (but broken) sword in a certain PFS 1st ed scenario. The sword is unfixable in any normal PFS way. Given that there are 11 seasons of scenarios and six seasons were published after that scenario, I don't think it was unreasonable for me to ask "How do I get it fixed."

I still had to play several levels worth of scenarios before playing the sequel. So it wasn't so much a short cut as providing a direction to my quest.

I am definitely looking forward to another trip the Museum.

I think I get where you are going. But I do have some questions.

- GMs don't award Fame. As of today, I assume? The article references "as of season 2 launch", which was over a month ago. We aren't planning to go change chronicles since GenCon, right?

- Your edict is GMs don't award Fame. You don't deliberately say "Players can no longer spend Fame". Can a player binge on Fame spending between now and the Guide release?

- Will we be able to keep and use those boons we spend our fame on? Maybe a question for conversion. But until your projected October blog, are those things available for use? Will items (ie, wayfinders) purchased with fame still available to players?

I honestly don't mind changes to the campaign. However, it seems a little abrupt to kill Fame now and then tell us we'll find out what comes next sometimes in October. It leaves an awkward period where players are left hanging.

Update: This product has been moved to a December release.

When you push back a product like this, can we get it moved off the "New Releases" portion of the main page. I saw it on the list of new releases and spent 10 minutes with my local game store trying to figure out why they didn't have one of the new releases in stock. Finally went to the product page and discovered it was delayed.

New releases should be the products that just went out to stores.

Thanks.

Leaving aside the "why" things are dropping off the chronicle for a moment. The thing that really gets me is how empty the sheet looks.

The sheet will have some header information, a brief adventure summary, some info on the right edge and then on the bottom of the page. Rough estimate, the page now has about 40% dead space. That seems off putting to me.

I'd like to suggest doing something with that space. Some thoughts:

- map and/or description of where the adventure took place. Dedicated players know Golarion. But new players typically don't know the map or the world. This might help connecting them to the campaign.

- picture and/or description of the VC who assigned the mission or a key NPC. Again, reinforce connection to the campaign. New players typically don't pick up on who's who.

- add one of the images from the scenario. The latest scenarios do a great job of adding visuals for GMs to use. Pick a key one and show it on the chronicle.

These would add to and reinforce your memory of the scenario you played and maybe return a little bit of the cool factor to getting your chronicle.

John Brinkman wrote:

Where and when I grew up, there were certain topics you didn't bring up in "polite company" - politics, religion, and sex.

This topic isn't really about any of that, either.

I'm imagining that where and when you grew up, it was easy to tell who presented as male and who presented as female, so nobody asked.

Now imagine instead a gala where everyone is wearing a costume and a voice synthesizer, and you can't easily tell.

How would you go about asking?

Fair assessment.

Honestly, I'd probably start with "Hi my name is John, what's yours?"

Count me among the clueless geeks. I read the first 30 or so posts last night before running a quest. I'm continuing to follow because I'm not afraid to learn or evolve, and the topic is interesting.

I will admit to being clueless and not understanding the full meaning of some of the terminology involved I find myself guessing at context sometimes.

I guess I was a bit more self aware of that in the game last night. I GM'd Quest 8. I find as a GM I don't usually use many personal pronouns for my players. I have developed a style where I want to personally interact and remember people who play at my table. So I am much more likely to use your personal name or your character name. If I use your name 20 times in a session, I'm more likely to remember your name weeks or months later.

"Bob, what would Knuckles like to do?"
"Bob, you took a crit for 36 damage."
Etc.

But I stumbled a moment with box text and an NPC of all things. There is an NPC in the quest - a non-binary human. The box text was clear "they" was the appropriate pronoun. But I found myself stumbling particularly particularly outside of box text. I caught myself trying to insert he or she. Prior adventures, I'd likely have done a quick "rewrite". But it was an interesting self observation to try to go with it as written.

Where and when I grew up, there were certain topics you didn't bring up in "polite company" - politics, religion, and sex. I'm typically not going to ask those personal questions of you. If you want me to know you are welcome to tell me. But otherwise, it's none of my business.

I want everyone to enjoy the game and feel comfortable at my tables. But I might have to ask for some patience here. My personal evolution may take some time.

Real life, what a bummer when it interferes with our beloved hobby.

Good questions, though.

(a) The PF1 guide had a little better guidance on what partial credit looked like. Assuming the player experienced at least some substantial portion of the play after the mission brief, my first thought is to give them a partial credit boon. Full XP. Fame/Reputation based on what had been accomplished up to that point and same for Treasure bundles acquired.

(b) I would not penalize the remaining players for the one leaving for real world issues. I would pull out a pre-gen to get back to four players and (if needed) adjust the CP of the future encounters.

The closest I came to that situation was a live game shop game where I got a call from my wife that a tornado had hit our neighborhood. I apologized to the players and gave them full credit chronicles before I rushed out the door. They had completed 75% of the PF1 scenario, so I felt that was the fairest thing I could do for them.

... but it's also the case that, especially at low levels, a single TB is hardly worth 2 Fame ...

I'll happily concede the point that no one should feel compelled to to spend Fame (or other resources) because other players expect it. But, I wanted to come back to the value of that 2 fame expenditure.

There's an all factions boon, available at tier 0 (ie, as soon as you have any fame) that kind of sets the bar for gp value for boons. The Wayfinder all factions boon. For 2 Fame, you can own a level 2 magic item worth 28 gold. You'd have to be 8th level before a single treasure bundle gets to 30gp.

Meticulous Appraisal is a Tier 2 boon for Grand Archive members. Which means you need to have a 30 reputation (which means you earned 30 fame) and are probably half way through 3rd level. Assuming you spent a few fame on other things AND you are banking 25 fame for that emergency Raise Dead -- That means you'll likely be 4th level before you want to consider using Meticulous Appraisal. Your treasure bundles there are worth 10 gp each. So maybe not as valuable as the Wayfinder boon, but if you multiply that by 6 players, you've given 60gp back to the table. Which is pretty useful.

If you compare that to the other boon I see a lot of people using, Storied Talent (Horizon Hunters, Tier 2). That costs you 4 Fame. Granted, you only have to buy it once and slot it. A normal third level character could earn 1.6 gp per session (trained success, lvl 1 task) and the Storied talent player can earn 4 gp per session (trained success, lvl 3 task). Net 2.4 gp per session difference. Jumps to a 3.2gp per session difference at 4th level.

So Storied Talent is looking at roughly 10 sessions to match the 30gp of the wayfinder boon. But since he paid 4 fame, they really need 20 sessions to break even against that mark -- assuming they always get a success. Takes longer if you fail a few dice rolls.

Compare it to Meticulous Appraisal. The HH Storied Talent player will take roughly four sessions to make up the 10 gold he lost from one treasure bundle at fourth level (again, depending on dice rolls). The GA Meticulous Appraisal player gets to keep that treasure bundle AND still make an Earn Income check.

Agreed, no one should feel pressured to spend their resources because the table didn't get a treasure bundle. But I don't think Meticulous Appraisal is a losing trade by any stretch. Even as low as fourth level.

At 3 gp per day, the group physically cannot spend all the money in 30 days.

I would explain the inflated price by saying prices are higher than CRB in unknown or unfriendly places.

True. But looking at worst case (high sub-tier, 5 players)

5 PCs x 23 days x 3gp each = 345gp
add 10gp for the bribe at the docks
and 40gp for the ritual
The grand total is 395 gp. 145 more than what is given to them. Does the scenario intent to bleed the PCs personal gold and then not award the final 3 treasure bundles?

Or the other way, worst case (high sub-tier, 4 players)
28 days x 3gp each = 84g +10 +40 = 134gp.
Can't fail and the PCs get the final 3 treasure bundles.

Given - the check table provide assumes the PCs hire 3 workers
Given - the prices given in the CRB as noted above
Given - the only purchasable items in the scenario (healing potions) are not marked up and no local inflation is mentioned.
Given - the somewhat vague wording of the that we have gone back and forth about

I tend to believe the 3gp is an attempt at a simplification of bookkeeping an an already complicated downtime/skill challenge.

I'm going to argue the counterpoint in the intended cost assessment.

The services table (CRB, pg 294) indicates a skilled hireling costs 5 sp / day and an unskilled hireling costs 1 sp per day. So for 3 gp, I could hire 3 skilled hireling (the scenario provides a stone mason and 2 carpenters) and 15 random non-skilled hirelings.

That totals 18 NPCs which would be the maximum for a 6 person PC group to hire for a single day. I think it's much more likely that the 3gp per day approximates this. A four PC table could technically pay less, each day, but the math difference is minor, (1.5gp plus 9sp = 2.4gp per day). Not really worth the effort math wise.

If you want to push what the PCs spend (and this isn't in the scenario), ask the PCs where they are staying and what they're eating. The keep isn't habitable until they clear out the barracks. The one Inn probably charges 1sp per day per person. Food wise, figure 2 square meals and a poor meal (sack lunch?) and each PC will spend another 1 sp per day.

Honestly, I think rounding all that to 3gp per day for the group is a simple and easy way to account for the above. I don't think the intent is to turn this into an accounting drill.

I've really enjoyed the story arcs of PFS The Year of the Open Road. And as a frequent GM, I've enjoyed seeing the evolution of how the scenarios are presented. So I'm excited to see more evolution in the way you present scenarios.

I'm curious about the Pathfinder Bounties, though. I've really enjoyed the idea of having 1 hour scenarios that can be presented in a weeknight evening without pushing the boundaries of closing time for my local game store. What are the implications of not assuming that the player characters are Pathfinders? Is this supposed to open up storylines? Will regular players with PFS characters see any difference in the organized play mechanics? I'd love to hear more about the concept.

It seems to me that the West actuator may be missing a skill. Only two lores are given and both are duplicated elsewhere, so it seems odd that they are the only ones given.

Based on the text description and the other locations, it seems like perhaps Thievery at DC 18 was omitted. Does this sound right?

I'm preparing to run this one shortly. Are there any other places to find out more about the Bhopan Empire referenced in the background material. Sounds like it was something that in the past included territory in the Mwangi. But I'm not aware of any other references to it. An old Campaign Guide maybe?

Thanks.