Keith Apperson's page

During the SF2e playtest I played Shards of the Glass Planet 3 times back to back, each time with a different character class, GM, and group of players, it played and felt different each time. Although I played D&D for decades I never played it in organized play, what about repeatable adventures made it bad for D&D? Also how frequently did new organized play adventures come out for D&D?

Having GM'd that back-to-back that many times... I don't feel there's enough variation there at all to make it interesting. There's no discovery, no changes, I'd rather double the length of it and add more depth to a single adventure.

Replaying is difficult for some people. Some players can't properly 'play dumb' like some scenarios need you to do. There's no mystery, no surprise. Some players can't help but say "OH LAST TIME I DID THIS [story time]", which makes my personal experience at the table less special.

DnD Org Play had an issue where people would get together, 4 people had played the scenario, and they'd all just say "Well, we have 3 characters that want credit for this, so lets just speedrun this" and new players didn't get a chance to actually experience the scenario at all. No, that won't happen everywhere, everyone will say "No, we won't let that happen", but somewhere, it will, because it's not technically against the rules.

I'm concerned that shorter scenarios will be less deep and screw up scheduling, that allowing GMs to slide the scale how they want will create vastly different experiences (and satisfaction) and that Infinite Replay will be as bad as it was for D&D.

I hope these changes stay out of PFS far beyond Season 7.

I do like the idea of no subtiers and making characters freely. Why couldn't we start there?

https://paizo.com/starfinderplaytest

Right next to the big blue Skittermander!

I'm just popping in to second the message of 'why be stingy?'

If someone joined in January and really wanted to play a barbarian, played 3 times, now they don't have an option for rebuild for PC2 without AcP, what's going to encourage them to buy the book?

Does it cost the program something to change the previous ruling to include these classes played in the last 9 months?

I might be missing it, but what's the suggested solution to shopping once the party hits 5th level or is looking for things Sandpoint can't provide? Is lack of available markets an intentional thing for the adventure, or should we be doing a shopping trip down to Magnimar each chapter at a certain point?

Did someone miss actually linking back to bundle on the blog post? :)

Do we know for sure if this is going back to the red cover (after the deviation with Treasure Vault)?

Put me on the list of "I bought these for consistency, I'll not be buying them if they aren't".

Hey that's us!

Very happy for all 5 Minnesotans in this blog! Congratulations everyone!

I really liked the labels you used for the reporting sheets. any way I can get the word doc for my con that is happening this weekend?

We do all of the labels in Dymo Label Writer and have thermal printers that print them. I can send you the files tomorrow, I'm not sure they have an option to convert to standard printing though.

We use Dymo 450 Turbos, so no ink cost and labels are super cheap on Amazon.

I look forward to seeing everyone both new and old! Let's show them what Pathfinders can do when raising money!

"Come to Minnesota, we have White Russians" doesn't quite feel like the advertising we need...

But yes Sebastian, come!

I was in line to get drinks during the trivia (one for myself and one for Thursty) and someone told me I could go ahead of them - because they were there for pineapple (which I was also sent for).

Someone else got in line, insisting the other person go ahead of them... because they were there for pineapple.

I'm really wondering how many people were assigned that particular sidequest...

Either way, worth it.

...or (gulp) had a pugwampi effect, I dunno.

OH GOD, WAS COSMO INVOLVED?!

I got to meet and hang out with David Montgomery, as well as David from PA and Amanda from Georgia last night, which was awesome.

Spent some time talking to Michael Sayre and finally met Jared Thaler too.

I keep seeing everyone else's swag bags from check in and see that it's stepped up a bit this year...

I haven't been able to get mine yet, cause unfortunately, I'm working remote from my hotel room today. Just waiting for a break to get my badge and such.

This 5 star confirmation table is a little bit wild, but this room of Harsks next to us is crazy loud.

Got in Wednesday and spent some time pre-Con at the Museum of Flight, then down to the market for dinner and drinks and drinks and drinks.

Did you guys know that Seattle has a lot of nerds? Our Uber driver and multiple random bar patrons were happy to talk tons of nerdy stuff with us! (Or maybe they were just being friendly?)

There's also a bar in a former morgue, so that's cool.

Much room for improvement and stylistic changes. I know that the Pathfinder line probably wanted to stay consistent in how they presented information - this is a great change to change the status quo.

w00t back in the play-by-post saddle!

So, the Kobolds:
Athrax the Mad Bomber (Alch 4)
Engashez the Dragon Speaker (Bard 4)
Fazgyn the Trap Master (UC Rogue 4) Tineke
Pethjunk the Muscle (Fighter 4)
Skyrahk the Disciple of Destruction (Cleric 4)
Varanog the Master of Magic (Sorcerer 4)

Don't forget Con of the North February 16-18 in the Twin Cities!

I'm a PFS Venture Captain - in addition, I'm running 2 non-Society Pathfinder games, running 1 non-Society Starfinder game and playing in another. They exist. I just happened to have met all of my players/GMs in Society.

I had to get creative with my spell slots toward the end, but it's something you get used to with Specials - you aren't going into a 4-encounter-with-a-rest-in-the-middle-and-one-is-social-anyway scenario.

Not having a weapon at all is a great thematic choice, but at the same time, you should have something to do when a golem shows up, or lots and lots of mooks, or anti-magic.

Pick up scrolls (5 for 2pp of Level 2s) and Wands from chronicles - every little thing helps. Even a single Magic Missile (or Mind Thrust) off a wand is better than doing nothing or even worse, becoming a liability in melee.

At the same time, I find it perfectly reasonable as a caster to sometimes start off combat with a simple buff (Bless off a wand, Prayer off a scroll) then hang back and see how things go. You don't have to take an action each round and delaying for if things go sideways is perfectly reasonable if you're managing limited spell slots.

Thurston Hillman. Nuff said.

That's IF folks have day jobs.

That's a big 'if' in some cases with a possible dearth of skill points...

In the limited amount of scenarios we've had so far, Professions have been much more useful and flexible than nearly any PFS scenario I've played or run. Added onto the fact that you can flex them to whatever mental stat you have best (and there's no benefit to 777'ing in Starfinder) and taking 10 generally means you get 22 credits per scenario, there's much more reason to divert a single point to it, if not more.

Flagged to move this to the GM Discussion forum.

A6:
I would assume they are arranged:
E F
C D
A B
As that puts to motes as far as possible away from them and gives them a chance to learn.

A7 (Maybe A8?):
I'd assume it would go by the passive grease rules:
A creature can walk within or through the area of grease at half normal speed with a DC 10 Acrobatics check. Failure means it can't move that round (and must then make a Reflex save or fall), while failure by 5 or more means it falls (see the Acrobatics skill for details). Creatures that do not move on their turn do not need to make this check and are not considered flat-footed.

A16:
I think you're thinking of a vertical axis through the center, so it's spinning like a top? But I think it's like a long triangle shaped bridge, so it starts with the bottom facing up as the walking platform. Every two rounds, it rotates on its length, moving the top to the side and a side to the top.

The balancing factor is definitely the Resolve Point cost. Every channel is reducing your options for 10 minute rests and making death that much closer via falling unconscious.

It also makes you choose between 'Maneuver' and 'Evade', which should be your two go-to's when you don't have anything special to do and your engines aren't damaged.

Nothing better to thaw you off in the middle of February than a room with 23 tables of Pathfinders and Starfinders!

Pair it with Coordinated Shot and your party will love you.

Tallow wrote:

andreww wrote:

Steven Schopmeyer wrote:

I'm actually starting to audit my tables, now that you mention it.

I never stopped but online is much easier.

What do you look for when you audit a table?

Me?

I'd be interested in material, shape, how many legs, and if it's wood, wht species, cut, and stain...

Stability.

Where can I sit as a GM so my legs are comfortable?

Congratulations to my locals, Jeffrey and Danny! I enjoy every table of yours I get to play at!

Also, congrats to my state-neighbor Zack!

I've been comparing it to Plane Shift (since the Drift is a Plane) which still has a 500 mile potential offset. Every time you enter the Drift, you might be just a little off from where you started last time. Your exit point might also be just a little off from where you want to exit.

Both times I have run this by the way most PCs have just dropped over the side of the wall. (Controlled fall, first 10 feet are treated as non lethal, DC 15 Acrobatics to negate damage entirely and not go prone.)

I'm familiar with the Pathfinder version of that, but haven't found that in the Starfinder CRB outside of 'If you are falling and you can fly...' (pg 135).

Last game of PaizoCon! Icebound Outpost in the lobby! 2 seats open. Also, Tineke, if you see this, stop by cause we have stuff for you.

Posting up a quick update since I haven't yet.

Spent my morning with Amber Scott getting immersed in the Aethera setting. The early morning was getting to all of us, but we had a great time anyway. I'm excited to take a look at more of that soon and to talk to Amber more and see the upcoming APs she's working on.

Now sitting down for Legendary Planet with a bunch of great people.

Wait, neither of those are PFS...

Uhhh... Solstice Star is tonight!

It's something that ends up being interpreted different ways - I don't enforce it while playing PFS, but in home games I treat them as one, based on the Mounted Fury from Ultimate Intrigue including text that I find clarifying:

A mounted fury’s bond with his mount is strong, with the pair learning to anticipate each other’s moods and moves. At 3rd level, the mounted fury’s mount shares all his teamwork feats, without needing to meet the prerequisites (although while mounted, the mounted fury and his mount do not count as separate creatures for the purpose of these feats).

Posted on Warhorn here.

"Yeah, but no thanks to you and your evil particles, I'm going to Hell because of it. Thanks a lot..." mourns Frank.

But luckily, the temple has Special Incense that Frank can pay 500g for and wipe away all his evil particles!

You could use it by dropping it, enlarging yourself, then picking up the Large weapon as a Medium creature (still oversized).

Otherwise, some items just aren't meant for all characters. The Fighters won't get much from the Pearls of Power on their chronicle sheets either.

Interesting to note, as far as Escape Route goes, that Ultimate Intrigue brought up an alternate rule for that:

A mounted fury’s bond with his mount is strong, with the pair learning to anticipate each other’s moods and moves. At 3rd level, the mounted fury’s mount shares all his teamwork feats, without needing to meet the prerequisites (although while mounted, the mounted fury and his mount do not count as separate creatures for the purpose of these feats).

Since Ultimate Intrigue clarified many things (including a subtle rule change to Feint) I've adopted this for home games as well as a general rule, instead of specific to Mounted Fury. Just food for thought.

That is correct. (Best to get a restoration instead of a lesser at that point.)

Or just sleep for a month! It'll wear off. Eventually.

Yup, you've followed the rules correctly. There's a feat to assist with that though (which also serves to clarify the rule): Phalanx Formation!

The biggest problem with a tiny Unchained Rogue scenario is that there are no weapons available with Reach that can be used with Weapon Finesse, unless you count a Long Lash Kobold Tail Attachment.

I would like to introduce you to the Elven Branched Spear of Melee Tactics Toolbox:

1d8 ×3 10 lbs. P brace, reach

Behind this long pole weapon’s spearhead, several short branches project from the shaft at irregular intervals, each angled forward and tipped with a smaller leaf-like blade. When you make attacks of opportunity provoked by movement, you gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls. You can use the Weapon Finesse feat to apply your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls with an elven branched spear sized for you, even though it isn’t a light weapon. Elves treat elven branched spears as martial weapons.

Asking about the boon as well. It should either be

'reduce the cost by 16,000gp'

or

'reduce the cost to 16,000gp'

Gotta represent Minnesota well, so I'll be there.

Thank you all! Seeing the posts here, I know I'm in good company. :)

Corrin (2 Melee Wizard)
Idris (3 Frontline)
Glenn (2 Grippli Cav)

Sorry John, my post wasn't clear - while I appreciate the clarification, I was just trying to draw attention BACK to the Hell's Rebels, while also bringing up the relevant issue to this post:

Curse of the Crimson Throne book 4 is giving 12-14 gold for a 10-12 chronicle. Could we get clarification if this is intentional?

Thanks John! Just wanted to verify, since there is still a lingering issue with Hell's Rebels (Dance of the Damned) giving far too much gold - it appears the Crimson Throne Book 4 is giving 12-14 gold for a 10-12 chronicle. Could we get clarification if this is intentional?