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Good idea. That's a good one to add.
Posting this with less than a week to go before the official release of Starfinder second edition. I've been looking forward to the launch and thinking about characters to build in the new system. Thought it'd be fun to compare notes. Are you building something new, or rebuilding a first edition character? For me, I like to build new characters with new editions. In this case, I'm building a character from an NPC in a first edition bounty. Ajanu is a borai lashunta witchwarper. He and his mother were killed in a lab disaster. Mom became a ghost. Ajanu became a borai. Starfinders helped his mother find her final rest. He's a scientist background, analyst witchwarper. His anchor are his core memories of a mother's love. Now he's got a new career as a starfinder, but his dream is to get his garage band up and running. If you know the bounty and remember the art -- He's got grunge band vibes for sure. So who's your first character? What's the inspiration?
Honestly, I've had a lot of luck with the very first series 1 quest. A little roleplay up front, with some lessons on the Pathfinder Society. A chance to introduce exploration mode with a hazard to follow. Finally, there is a good fight option in there. Scenario has a few variable choices for GMs too. Good luck at your convention. I'll be at O'Con (Omaha, NE) running a few bounties for PF2 intros this weekend as well.
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.
... the novice mistake of spending a hero point to re-roll a failed death check, which then became a critical failure and sent the character from Dying 2 to Dead. Was there a reason the player didn't turn in all hero points to just end the dying condition. As a GM, I'd make sure the player knew that was a option. I've died once in play (I got better, ACP for the Raise Dead.) We were playing a 7-10 with only three players. My bard was the tank. Never again on that. I've killed one PC. A crit failed save (Hero point didn't help) on a Death effect spell (Vampiric Touch). At least it was someone playing a pre-gen. I'm in the 180 range (scenarios GM'd) and at least over 100 scenarios as a player.
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!
I spent the last two nights rebuilding my 5th level Life Oracle and I see why they made the mandate they did. All the Oracle focus spells lost the "Cursebound" trait. Which means - if you treat republished material with the same name as errata - An Oracle using the APG curse with the errata'd focus spells, they would never engage the curse. Net effect, I feel like, while there are differences, the character will still play the same. Quick thoughts:
I have one other Oracle to Remaster, my Battle Oracle. But I was less concerned about him honestly. My character was old enough for a remaster. But the Oracle had a a lot of their abilities tied into the Mystery. It might not be as big a change (for a life oracle anyway) as we thought. If you're unable to rebuild, you lose out on the increase of spell casting. Just my observations anyway.
It seems like some people are getting really spun up. Reminder here:
Emphasis on draft (bold text is on me). I'm sure the decision makers are reading these posts, even as they get ready for GenCon. I'm also sure that at GenCon, Alex and the gang will be hearing more opinions. "Draft" doesn't mean final. I'm sure they will take all our (hopefully respectful) concerns into consideration before going final --- which will be days after GenCon. I share concerns about the Oracle, but I'm not going to get spun up about a draft.
Careful with the Quest/Bounty. 2 days is correct for a Series 1 Quest. Bounties don't give downtime. A series 2 Quest is four days (half a normal scenario).
Welcome to organized play. It's going to feel different than a home game where you play with the same players every time. But its still a lot of fun and a great way to meet other players. Think of it like episodes of Star Trek. Each episode stands alone in that four hour block. Your character still grows and evolves, but the other characters you meet will change. There are ongoing stories, but honestly, I wouldn't worry about those as a new player. You'll grow into those stories as your character(s) do. You character is a semi-independent member of the Pathfinder Society. Every so often you're asked to accomplish a task with a group of other members who happen to be available at the time. Your character's personal story is different from those around you. But that's OK. It's your story. Personally, some of my characters have more personality than others. But building them over time is part of the fun and I don't think I sacrifice personality or growth. Hope this helps.
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.
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.I think the answers for all of your questions can be found in the remaster section of The Guide to Organized Play. 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 haven't seen anything on the remastered Champion. But my guess is they shaped the Guardian with some insight on how the Champion might change with the remaster. Overlap with how they both use reactions could be a concern, though.
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.
Just started my own run through our local PFS chapter. I started with a 6 player group. One very industrious player got the party enough influence on Linzi that her being a companion made sense. I allowed another local PFS player to join as companion Linzi (bringing us to 7 players). As luck would have it, one of the other players is moving and we are down to 6 again. But the Linzi player will have some of the companion rules. I even turned her favorite meal (sweet pancakes) into a small quest for the group.
"Casting a spell requires the caster to make gestures and utter incantations, so being unable to speak prevents spellcasting for most casters." Player core 299. If you review the spell lists in Player's Core, most have the manipulate trait, the concentrate trait, or both. Older spells (with somatic or material components) have the manipulate trait. Core Rulebook 303. Reactive Strike triggers off (among other things) "a creature within reach uses a manipulate action" Player Core 138. Attack of Opportunity uses the same language with respect to a manipulate action. Core Rulebook p 142. Remaster won't cause either reaction to fail vs spells based on changing the traits. Auditory is a trait in both editions. In both, spells tagged with that trait require the target to be able to hear it. See the index in the back of either book. That should only apply to spells with that trait. Force Barrage does not have that trait.
In the time frame allotted, you're probably going to be looking at bounties and quests. Full scenarios take longer. I'm partial to Quest #1. I've run it many times and find it lets me introduce all the basic concepts. However, it only has one fight. The new quest #15 fits the timeline and the quantity of combats you want. But I think it could be more challenging to new players. Those are my first two thoughts anyway.
Early season 1 and 2 scenarios had the boons on the chronicle. For those you probably don't need the extra print. Later seasons only print the boon title -- for these you'll need the extra print to know what they do.
That boon (inherited wayfinder) should be assigned to the character number you tagged for the ACP purchase. It sounds like you purchased it on one character, then expected it to be available for a new one? In general, I'd register the new character number first, then purchase any ACP boons you want to assign to it.
I'm next in line. I need a shark character too.
Just to be complete. That mean's adding a NPC iconic pregenerated character who can be run by the GM or a player so you have the minumum four characters at the table. Great answer, Pirate Rob. I just thought if someone is new, the additional detail might help.
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:
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.
Just ran it online last night. Online it's easy to cut/paste and present. In person, if you can't have a handout print, the town map can be described instead. People won't be missing it.
I've seen a number of variations in how it's run. I've seem some run the influence as a secret check or the discovery as an open check. When I run these as a GM I'm running as B. But I give the mechanical introduction up front. Including that Perception is almost always a discovery skill AND Diplomacy is almost always an Influence skill. Discovery is used to find out other options, but if you pay attention to how the NPC is presented, you may see hints in the roleplay. I've seen players guess influence skills from that.
You need access to the subsequent feats, as they're Rare. We have deliberately not allowed the full feat chain at this time. And before you ask, no, I will not provide information on why at this time. That's really all the clarification I need. The difference between the feat trees is intentional and I had the right interpretation. I do absolutely love the section on Bhopan and hope to go back.
Let me say up front, I was thrilled to see the Bhopan section in the new book Impossible Lands. I'm always thrilled to see little nuggets of Society play appear in published game content. That said, I have one request for an update to the sanctioning with respect to the feats in the section. When LO: Pathfinder Society Guide was published, we saw Rein of Embers published, along with two additional feats that required it as a pre-requisite. Rein of Embers is a rare class feat for which access is available if you play the right scenario. Since the two subsequent feats are common, only access to Rein of Embers is required. With Impossible Lands, they published another feat that debuted in a scenario - Fey Influence. In this book all the feats that use this as a pre-requisite are also rare. So even though I have the pre-requisite, it appears "standard availability" means I still need access. Can we get a clarification on access here? Is having the pre-requisite enough? Or does a character need both the pre-requisite and "access" to the other feats?
Looking at my copy of Galactic Magic, this option affects the following cantrips:
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.
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.
For your first question, refer to the Character Options, (go to pull down menu above, select Organized Play / Starfinder Society - then look for the link to character options.
I don't see anything in the text of the boon that exempts you from that requirement.
I ended up high sub-tier with a large and two huge creatures. Based on the description, everything is trapped in there. I used the black puddings' ability to attach to the ceiling to leave "space" for PCs and the large creature. Then I made the huge puddings deal with having to "squeeze" everywhere. The scenario did run long - about 5.5 hours. Partly for the reasons you indicate - lots of damage mitigation and immunities. I had to rush the finish more than I'd like.
Getting ready to run this one. I like the story, but it took a few reads to get every the details down. Has anyone who has run this got some tips for Encounter A? The baseline at high sub-tier is a large and two huge creatures in a room that's 3 x 4. Best I can think of is the huge creatures drop from the ceiling in the larger grand hall - after the PCs trigger by opening the door.
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).
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