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We just started a Quest for the Frozen Flame playthrough called "Broken Tusk Rising." Please give us a listen! We're having a lot of fun. Broken Tusk Rising - Apple Podcasts
We've also got a Discord server, and you can ask Mike, the GM, questions about his decisions. He's sticking as close to the book as possible. He also loves getting feedback: positive, negative, constructive, whatever.
In my opinion, PF2’s best version includes a mechanic for player character’s to perform certain skills more consistently than their party members, not just slightly better. Modifiers have been reeled in to make the critical success/failure system viable. In PF1, to make a consistently successful character, players just blow the top off of their modifier to ensure a high likelihood of success in a d20 system. In PF2, the super specialization for modifier building goes away, but we retain the variability of the d20 system. This makes for a very unsatisfying experience of player’s trying to build a character that’s good at “that”. Whether “that” is being stealthy, jumping, lying, whatever. It’s most apparent when the group is trying to stealth, the rogue rolls poorly while the cleric, with an abysmal DEX and heavy armor, sneaks by just fine. This happens more often than is fun due to RNG and the d20, as many who have played THE GAME THAT SHALL NOT BE NAMED can attest to. I believe a large portion of the player base likes to create characters that are good at “that”. The Assurance Feat is there, and it’s ok, but I’d prefer something more universal. Assurance Feat:
What are some solutions?
Ideas (some from other threads and posters):
What else can we come up with? What would be more fun? Anyone willing to test out a different mechanic and report back?
Several short threads on the advice board discuss when to full attack as GM and the mathematical superiority of full attacking as an NPC. I find that full attacking with NPCs increases the lethality of the combat almost exponentially with their high to-hit bonuses. For the ol' home game, I do what I want but what's the consensus on society play? Should we full attack only if it says so in the tactics of the NPCs stat block? 
Notes for a home game.
For...discussion. Headhunting recruitment post to follow.
Sandpoint is a small town on the Varisian Coast. Most of the buildings are single-story, constructed of wooden walls, wooden roofs, and stone foundations. The dirt, hardpack streets make for decent transportation by foot or horseback. Not even the light wagons, drawn by mule or ox, of the hinterland farmers kick up much dust. While there is some activity, the town remains quiet and conversations prone to eavesdropping. Sandpoint divides into Uptown and Downtown. Uptown—not so cleverly named due to the literal exaltation of the buildings on a level bluff on the north side—is less crowded. Downtown resides on an easy slope running down into the harbor and river. Most Hinterland residents enter into Downtown through the southern and eastern entrances, both wooden bridges over the Turandarok River. Also containing the Harbor, Downtown seems much more active than Uptown. Besides, most residents believe that Uptown lacks anywhere to get a proper drink, an opinion that Garridan of the White Deer Inn would dispute. A fifteen-foot stone wall and a gatehouse ostensibly protect the northern entrance. Gregor, an elderly one-legged guard, greets visitors amicably during the day. While Sheriff Hemlock assures of Gregor’s constant vigilance, most residents will be satisfied if Gregor will just hop over to the alarm bell and clang it a few times before a goblin raid. The cordial and industrious people of Sandpoint greet one another in the streets by first name. Strangers and visitors are welcomed unless sporting goblinoid or aberrant features. Public magic users elicit uncomfortable glances from commoners, but are not arrested outright. The residents are mostly Varisian with a few clear lines of Chelaxian descent among the wealthier humans, while other common races regularly do business in town. Many of the commoners only speak Varisian but the shopkeepers and anyone involved in politics or trade speaks fluent Taldan (common). Today’s Date: 7 Pharast, 4711
Today’s Events:
Future Events:
Rumors:
Market: A huge shipment from Qadira drove the price of linen way down. Price in copper pieces. One pound of wheat 5
For rules/guidelines and out of character discussion.
Greetings! I would like to begin a Sandpoint Sandbox PBP “Campaign” that is character driven and MMORPG inspired. Instead of a campaign, this is more of a setting. For example, I will not be coercing players to form a party to accomplish a specific task. I will plant little seeds for typical adventures, but a character could literally be mundane as can be if the player so chooses (go to work, roleplay that or not; go to the inn for drinks, roleplay that or not; walk home drunk, singing songs about Aroden—awesome!). Basically, my intention is for this to be a roleplay heavy game for anyone, and an adventure/dungeon crawler for few. There are pros and cons to this idea, but it may be nice place for someone to have a character that you can hop into and roleplay a bit without much of a commitment to a party or an adventure path, though some—I hope—will head down that route. I've drafted some "rules", but I would really like board feedback especially from those that have tried this already. Rules:
As much as I’d love to have none, for this to work we’re going to have to have a few. Books: Let’s try and stick with materials available on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Reference Document. I can’t afford to buy and read everything. Go Home: If you don’t like what’s going on, your character can go “home”. NPCs cannot interact with your character when they go home and neither can other player characters. This solves vacation issues as well as gives someone an out if they don’t like roleplaying with someone else. Home can be a room in an inn, a shanty somewhere, a tent outside of Sandpoint, anywhere a recent immigrant without much wealth might live. The Go Home power can’t be used to escape negative consequences (just snatched that lady’s purse and the guards are about to pound you…sorry, go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not go home). Player versus Player: Only between consenting players. That is, your character may not want to fight, but the player may. I would need to see both players agree in the discussion section. Fight may continue to the death with player consent. Battle must occur either outside of town or inside a private(ish) building so as not to interrupt other roleplaying. Sandpoint Based: Until I’m more comfortable, don’t have your character leave the Sandpoint area. Obviously, you can go to the surrounding wilderness and dungeons after discovering their location via role play, but no trips to Korvosa or Magnimar or wherever yet. Time: We’re going to have to be nimble with time. Some scenes will be progressing in slow motion while others going through hours in just a few posts. I will start the game with a week in real time lasting for one day in game time. Perhaps your last or first post of the week should summarize how your character ended the last day and where they’re starting in the new day. Players outside of the city of Sandpoint will go through time differently. I will try to make a post on Monday mornings signifying the next day has arrived and maybe an intro to the goings on in the city.
Guidelines:
Party by Post In the discussion section, list your likely posts per day or week. Try to stick to other characters with similar posting patterns without breaking the roleplaying narrative. Mind Ya’ Business If another party is roleplaying in an indoor location, then leave them alone unless it really makes sense for your character to appear. Roleplaying in the streets of Sandpoint should be thought of as a public activity and anyone should be able to interject or observe. Spoilers by Party or Location To help clean up the message board, once it’s pretty clear you are in a “party” with someone else, or at least heading towards a clear goal together, then put your whole post in a spoiler, aptly titled something appropriate for the group you’re in. Or if you’re in a building/private location, then title your spoiler by where you are. Formatting Regular text for character actions and other goings on. Italics for our Pulitzer prize winning inner monologues. “Bolded quotes for dialogue.”
Character Creation:
Level 1, 15 point buy, starting wealth by class, full health for first level, let’s start with only core races for now Alignments All alignments are okay with some restrictions on evil. Lawful evil are okay in moderation. If we have a game of 15 people going, then we shouldn’t have more than 2 or 3. Chaotic evil characters are only okay when paired with a Lawful Evil, and the Lawful evil is clearly the boss instructing the chaos. We’ll tread lightly with the evil characters and I reserve the right to have an epic Paladin NPC show up and smite them all if they are getting out of hand. Background All PCs should be coming to Sandpoint from somewhere else, for whatever reason. It would be difficult for me to work in PCs with native Sandpoint backgrounds.
So let me now what you think. I'd like to get at least 3 interested folks before starting. |
