Welcome to the discussion thread. This is the place for general questions to the DM, discussions between players about how they might react before posting in the gameplay thread, general discussion about schedule and other details of running the game - basically, the stuff that isn't actually the game, but might relate to the game.
As a reminder, we'll have sort of two tiers of encounters: those that are simple enough that they don't really require a map, and those for which we'll rely on Roll20 for logistical positioning and the like.
Roll20 allows beautiful maps and preserves some classes abilities that hinge on map positioning, and I want to leave room for that, but maps can also slow things down to a crawl.
We absolutely will use them, when necessary, at a minimal level. That ultimately means people will need to be able to access Roll20, which if you have a browser and can access the paizo forums, you can probably do - if you don't have an account already, it will prompt you to create one (they're free) when you click on the join link. For those of you in the Crypt of the Everflame Campaign, the link should remain the same... I'll be flushing the content there and replacing it as that adventure concludes.
I don't intend on getting into nitty gritty, only character x can move player token 'x'. Yes, if I was running this in Roll20 wholesale in real time, I'd do that, but mostly we need to know character's position in relation to the room and the enemies, and we should be able to trust each other not to move the tokens of other players.
I don't want to get stuck on the map and Roll20 elements. This is a PbP game, and the strength of those games isn't what happens on those maps, it's what happens in the gameplay forum, in the text of characters interacting.
Because maps can be important, and because I know sometimes there are issues accessing Roll20, there will be a google doc which I will update with the map sporadically when we're using one. I know one character has issues with Roll20, and those updates tend to coincide more or less with when he is about to take a turn.
I do feel that our gameplay in Crypt of the Everflame sometimes bogged down over the map. This is going to make me more apt to skip it than I might otherwise be. Nonetheless, you can expect that major combat encounters will still make use of a map.
Our gameplay will start with concurrently with the players concluding their adventure. This will allow some role play interactions that give Lodric and Hansyn an opportunity to really introduce those characters and get their feet wet with the role play and how they want to present them.
In these initial posts, please play careful attention: I will note who is present at the top of each one. The responses may be intermingled, so just note the location at the top of the post. We can dispense with that once the characters have been gathered together.
for example: If a scene happens in the tavern and only Hansyn and Finlogan are there, Hansyn and Finlogan can just note In the Tavern at the top of their post when they respond.
I'm not fond of splitting the party, but I also want to give some individual time for character's to establish identity, relation, and personality early on in a less free for all environment. These interludes will be brief, but I think they're important.
You'll see what I mean by them, I'm sure, once I've posted. Don't worry, you'll all be together and on your way to adventure as a group very soon.
As the original group (Aldelenna, Venssa, Finlogan, Cole, and Rankev) depart the crypt, we'll begin combining the party. Most of THAT interaction will take place in the Crypt of the Everflame gameplay thread.
I realize this means straddling two threads for a week or two as the winding down happens. I'll do my best to have appropriate pointers to help people know where what is happening.
There is a positive purpose in starting the new adventure in a new thread, and that's ease of finding all the setup and establishment information for the adventure, and making early posts easier to find. As adventures grow and forums get to a couple dozen pages, finding individual posts can become miserable, for players and the GM!
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This is the gameplay thread for my 5e conversion of Masks of the Living God. Our recruitment forum has given us two new additions! Just as a reminder, this is the gameplay thread, and so I ask that everyone try to post as their aliases.
Please remember to use blue text for out of character info and feel free to make use of spoilers if you're whispering to someone or leaving something specifically for me to look at, just be clear who you want to look at those spoilers.
Game rule discussions will be in the game discussion thread (to be created shortly) - feel free to point that you have a rules question in out of character comments, but try to keep them very minimal in this thread, they should basically say something like Attack of Opportunity question, please check discussion thread.
Unlike my postings for Crypt of the Everflame, the stage setting post won't come right away. The players in the original group are wrapping up that adventure. What I will be doing is posting a couple opportunities for Lodric and Hansyn to do some introductory roleplay that helps establish them prior to the return of the original party to Kassen.
I'm excited to have our new players joining us and we'll give them some opportunities to do some good grounding role play in Kassen shortly.
I am running a play by post here on the forums that has been my test to see how readily Pathfinder converts to 5e. The first leg of the test, Crypt of the Everflame has gone fairly well, and the players in that group would like to continue. I expect that that game will wind down in a matter of a week or two, with some wrap-up role playing in town to finish it out.
But we lost one of our star role players and so are opening recruitment for the next adventure. Current players include: a female half-elven bard, a male half-elven fighter, a male human ranger, and a female forest gnome druid.
So, for system: D&D 5e, obviously.
The adventure will be part two of the trilogy: Masks of the Living God
Adventure Description:
Razmir the Living God used his power to conquer an entire country; now he and his mask-wearing priests enforce peace and generosity—though some say their tools are intimidation and fear. His worshipers preach charity and self-worth, blaming rival faiths for crafting lies about the glories of the Living God. Now the cult has come to the city of Tamran, feeding the poor and promising happiness to those who serve Razmir. Yet ugly rumors persist of bribery, extortion, and strange disappearances associated with the new temple. Are these stories just gossip and lies spread by rival faiths? Or is the church of the Living God more than it seems?
Character Creation:
Player’s Handbook. Avoid Dragonborn. Roll stats. 4d6, drop lowest roll. We’re using primarily Player’s Handbook as our source material. If you really want to play something from Xanathar’s Guide, talk to me about it.
3rd level starting characters. No evil characters.
We’re looking for 1-2 characters to add to the existing roster of players from the first adventure. As I mentioned earlier, losing one of our star role players was a blow.
If you’re looking to use an alternate race from another source, give me a good backstory for how it fits the starting conceit for the original adventure, which is:
Characters are teens selected for a traditional quest for passage to adulthood. While this is the second adventure, we’re still dealing with starting relationships that boil down to those town relations. The town of Kassen is mostly human, but there are a smattering of other races. Even an elf or dwarf might precociously choose to participate in the ritual to be deemed an adult when their parents might not consider them so.
Other races: I know a number of other races are available through other sources. If you really want to play one, make the backstory and how it fits with the starting conceit a good one. Obviously human characters have an advantage here.
Humans: Most humans are of Chelish, Kellid, Taldan, or Varisian descent, but Nirmathas was once a trade route from Cheliax to Varisia, so other ethnic backgrounds are possible. Humans speak Common (Taldane) but humans from non Taldan/Chelish backgrounds speak their ethnic language as well (as a bonus language).
The current players:
The party currently has four players. Their fifth, a sorcerer named Rankev, will be written out of the story, since he stopped posting about four months ago.
The starting conceit of the first adventure in the trilogy was that the characters were teens coming of age in Kassen who were sent on a coming of age quest that went horribly wrong. Consider that as you consider your character choices.
AldelennaBard
A beautiful half-elf barmaid who sings at the Seven Silvers in Kassen. She is bubbly and excited to be recruited for the adventure.
VenssaDruid
Taking the place on the coming of age journey normally reserved for fostered youth, Venssa is a forest gnome druid who lives in a burrow by a menhir near to Kassen’s walls.
FinloganFighter
A half-elf fighter. Born to a local seamstress, Finlogan is the son of a wandering elf, who was too busy wandering to be a father. Aching to find his missing father, he joined the scouts and rangers, but his skills tend toward the martial side of things.
ColeRanger
The son of a renowned ranger, Cole was raised with heavy expectations, that he absorbed but also moved away from home to get away from. He values the team, but wants to stand on his own rather than the reputation of his hero father.
A bit of starting info:
The starting assumption for the original adventure was that characters grew up in Kassen, a logging community on the river in Nirmathas. Nirmathas is a meritocracy (those who pull their weight tend to have the most power) that escaped the rule of Cheliax only to find rule by Molthune was equally intolerable. Its people are practical and hard-working, and the primary driver of their economy is lumber, shipped between Skelt to the west and the capital, Tamran, to the east.
As teens growing up in a bustling logging and agricultural community, the traditional yearly trip to Crypt of the Everflame is one all the characters native to Kassen are familiar with. Usually the mayor and some dignitaries go. But every few years, youth with a particular sense of adventure are given the opportunity—some say to drive the passion for adventure out—to go to the crypt themselves to fetch the everflame. It’s been a few years since the last group went. Most have settled down and are living on farmsteads, or working with the woodcutter’s guild.
Replacement characters could come from many places in this assumption. They could have gone on the quest in years prior. They could have been passed over and be eager for a “second chance” at adventure. Or it could be something else. If you have an idea, bounce it off me and we’ll see.
There were a few npc characters the PCs met briefly that you might want to take over that would also work, most with fairly limited histories/interactions with the characters that will be listed at the end.
Classes:
All of the classes in Player’s Handbook are available. Please consider the existing composition of players as you make your choices.
Some special notes about the cleric:
Most classes translate fairly easily, clerics are the biggest difficulty, because the domain selection is so small. This means that a lot of the distinguishment of your particular faith will need to be in your role playing.
Having grown up in this small community, clerics are likely to come from one of the following faiths—5e domains noted:
Desna: Protection, Light (this is particularly appropriate for Varisian characters)
Erastil: Life, Nature (this is the most commonly worshipped deity for Kassen)
Gozreh: Nature
Gorum: War
Iomedae: Light, War (the local priest is unlikely to be helpful, but there is a paladin from Lastwall who might mentor the character in concert with the local priest)
Shelyn: Life, Protection (yeah, I know, beauty and love get short shrift domain wise in 5e)
Torag: Forge, Protection
Note that the Forge and Protection domains are NOT in the Player’s Handbook. Due to the dearth of domains, I am allowing the Unearthed Arcana article to be used. Remember you choose only one domain from the deity’s portfolio.
If you want to use a different god, give me a good reason that fits the starting conceit.
Some special notes about sorcerers:
The adventure conceit assumes that any sorcerers are children of the Vargidan family. The patriarch of that clan has had children with a variety of races, so humans, half-elves, or half-orcs would all be appropriate, but this is important for background. Again, there are no known sorcerer bloodlines in town except the Vargidan line, so you’ll need to explain the outsider status and history in your background if you go that route.
Cast of characters:
For background purposes, I’m detailing major characters in Kassen, as well as those most likely to serve as older friends or mentors of the characters. If you want to create relations or brothers or whatever fits your background, that’s great. The more coherent you fit in the story, the better the role playing will be. Just bear the full descriptions in mind. Father Praast, for instance, is too young to be having kids who you would be interacting with, and Asina Silvers can’t have brothers, given her background. If you have questions, ask.
cast of characters:
Cygar Anravis: Cygar is a human stranger who has been staying at the Seven Silvers for months. He’s dark, mysterious, scarred, and an outsider, which makes him in the eyes of most townsfolk untrustworthy.
Sir Dramott: a human paladin from Lastwall, Sir Dramott is a scout for his militaristic country, making sure the orcs of the Hold of Belkzen stay kept in check. As a paladin of Iomedae, he is a logical choice to mentor paladin characters, or clerics who wish to worship the goddess of valor. He is capable and wise, but a bit harsh, and too ready to believe that service at Lastwall is the only valor worthy of high honor.
Jocyn Elmaran: another resident of the Seven Silvers, Jocyn is the town’s entertainment (and to hear him tell it, they need it). He was crippled in a fight with orcs some years past, and makes his living performing in the common room of the tavern. He is a trained bard, and the likely choice to mentor bard characters. He’s a lax teacher, but in the dark hours on those occasions when he gets drunk suggest that he has seen real terror.
Grimscar: A forestry guild worker. He is a good worker, but mean and often rude to the residents of Kassen. He often picks fights, but word has it he can’t hold his liquor. He might be a friend for half-orc characters.
Holgast: a retired wizard, Holgast lives in a tower at the edge of town. He’s knowledgeable but very old and quite forgetful and spends most days puttering around his tower, enjoying a full pipe, a book, and a nap. Rumor has it he is immensely wealthy, having retired after pulling a rather hefty hoard from… something. His lessons, when he remembers to give them, are quite erratic and involve a lot of chores and little learning. Lately, though, he’s forgotten to lock the door where he keeps the apprentice spellbooks, and some of his students have been learning on their own. - NOTE: Holgast is well traveled and has some spells from outside player’s handbook. Wizards may select the frostbite, gust, or thunderclap cantrips, or the first level spell ice knife. These spells can be found in the elemental evil player’s guide.
Jimes “Short Change” Iggins: a waiter at the Seven Silvers, Jimes has a reputation for petty theft and an attitude that it’s all in good fun. He’s well enough liked that the local populace just is careful to count everything twice around him. After all, if they really need it, they know where it is. He remains determined that his nickname simply refers to his size as a halfling, and he makes an excellent mentor for rogue characters.
Braggar Ironhame: A dwarven weaponsmith, Braggar is known for his temper and the quality of his work. He makes a good mentor for dwarven characters, and is one of few devotees of Torag in town. He is also a barbarian, and can mentor characters in channeling their rage.
Guardsman Golfond Kir : A guardsman. He suffered an injury as a child (a horse kicked him in the head) and has been a bit simple since. But he is kind without fault, takes care of an elderly mother, and plays with the local children. He is often the butt of jokes and pranks, but Kir is known to be the most honest man in town.
Arnama Lastrid: In a country known for its rangers, it’s no surprise that Kassen has its own. Arnama is tough, quiet, and teaches mostly by example. An orphan of the wars with Molthune, she believes in a family made by bonds of friendship. She is impatient and has little discipline teaching, but she takes her charges—and she has several at any one time—far afield, and teaches them much just by doing.
Ilimara Oniri: One of few people not from Kassen, Ilimara is Qadiran, and a devotee of the ancient practices or Irori. The path of the monk is a difficult one, and it has yet to help Ilimara find the peace in her heart. She is willing to teach, though those who study with her suspect that she may have turned to devotion out of a darkness within. Beautiful and exotic, she is more than willing to mentor a monk character.
Father Rantal Prasst: The High Priest (really the only priest) of the village, Rantal is familiar with the practices of a half-dozen faiths, though his services are those of Erastil, he will still guide someone who is called to any of the faiths described above, and as such is the most likely mentor for those characters, teaching them priestly devotion, the basics of spell casting, and allowing them space to pray—and even preach. He will still teach the basics of priestly devotion to a budding cleric of Iomedae, but for tenets of faith demands they go to Sir Dramott. Rantal does not like violence, and supposedly gave up a youthful career as a soldier.
Asina Silvers: At only 13, Asina is already doing almost half the work at the Seven Silvers. Her father is expecting her to take over when he retires. As young people in the town, you suspect she other aspirations. She does her work diligently, and if there’s a rumor in town you haven’t heard, Asina is sure to know it.
Trelvar Silvers: The owner of the Seven Silvers public house. He never recovered from losing his wife last year, and that his son didn’t last the winter has shattered him. He puts a lot of pressure on Asina to take over, and the two run an honest business, Jimes’ occasional petty thefts aside.
Olmira Treesong: A druid, Olmira is already an unusual sight, but Olmira looks the part, dressing in grasses and clothes made of plants and bark, and always followed by a retinue of animals. She seems more concerned with her following pack of birds and squirrels, but will teach the secrets of nature to a curious character if one is looking to learn.
Mayor Jonark Uptal: An elected mayor, Jonark has held the position for eleven years. His next election is coming up and he wants to make sure this year’s Quest for the Everflame goes off without a hitch. He doesn’t trust outsiders and has a known tendency to err towards siding with locals over visitors except when there is overwhelming evidence.
Moltus Vargidan: Vargidan blood sings with magic, and the whole clan has sorcerous blood. To make sure it’s spread as far as possible, Moltus has almost a dozen children, each from a different wife, and most of the family comes to their sorcerous power without much guidance from the aloof and wealthy patriarch. Moltus is an eccentric character, with white hair past his waist.
Colbin Vetnar: The guildmaster of the woodcutter’s guild. Colbin is interested in money, and makes little secret of it. While there are other contenders for power in town (both Holgast and Vardigan are wealthy enough to confront him, and Father Prasst has enough social influence), Colbin controls much of the economic future of Kassen, and has maintained his power.
Guard Captain Gregor Wisslo: While Kassen is far from the horrors of the seemingly endless conflict with Moltune, orcs from Belzken are still a threat. Gregor is disciplined and regimented, but not very intuitive. Nonetheless, he is a capable, if demanding, mentor for fighter characters.
Zandre Vargidan: A beautiful young man whose elven heritage shows in his skin, Zandre is only twenty-two and inherited none of his father’s magic blood. His father took this as clear proof that his wife had cheated, beat her near to death, and set her out. Because Zandre was almost of age, the town demanded he be allowed to participate in the Quest for the Everflame ritual, the last time youth were sent on it. Tales tell that arcane might came to the young man, but he never speaks of it, even though his father reluctantly let him back into the Vargidan compound. He blames his father for the loss of his mother (he briefly went searching to no avail), and keeps to himself. Zandre is a warlock. The road of a warlock is solitary one, but he might act as a friend and counselor to someone who forged a pact of their own.
NPCs that characters might wish to take over playing:
There are a few NPCs that the characters interacted with during their time in Kassen who they could potentially take over. By chance most of these are heavily weighted towards arcane, I think because our lost player Rankev was so involved in the role playing at the start. Note that some of these are younger than standard starting age characters (Hansyn, Asina).
The most obvious is Zandre Vargidan (male half-elven warlock). Part of the Vargidan family, he’s practically an exile within the family itself, as his father does not respect those who gain power from pacts. While he didn’t share the most recent trip to the Crypt of Everflame, he did go four years ago, and while there was no undead invasion that time, something did go wrong, and someone nearly died. Rumor has it that Zandre came to power saving one of the others on that trip, and it was the closest anyone had come to dying on the quest in decades.
Hansyn Vargidan is a human thirteen year old boy in the sorcerous clan of the Vargidan family who lately has taken to proto-ranger messenger boy duties out of love of the head of the rangers, Arnama. He might very well sneak into an adventure as an attempt to be worthy of her. Growing up around so much magic, maybe he’s seeking this outside belonging because he doesn’t have the sorcerous spark. I can see Hansyn as an arcane trickster rogue. He has inherited all the family haughtiness, and has no humility.
Luthos Vargidan is the favorite of the Vargidan clan… by his father. A half-orc child of a orc witch with whom his father shared much affection, Luthos hates the orcish roots of his youth, and sees his father as the savior who took him away from the bloodshed and brutality of orcish life. At fourteen, Luthos has been fully mature for two years, and has struggled as those his own age are mostly human and half-elven and still very much children. His tastes run mainly towards men, a secret he carefully keeps for fear of his father’s prejudices. He is cultured and refined and has a taste for fine Taldane suits. As the favorite of the Vargidan clan, Luthos is certainly a sorcerer.
Gimble is one of Renet the Smith’s apprentices. A human male who has been ruled by his hormones, he might make a reasonable cleric, a paladin who struggles with being pure, or any number of martial choices—or a very non-standard choice for a lot of other things.
Turik is one of the smartest boys in the village. A human male apprentice to the wizard Holgast, he’s described as: a squirrely looking youth with large round glasses that made his eyes look huge and a shock of bowl cut, stark black hair that went in ten directions at once. He has a frightening memory and a talent for counting cards. Wizard is the obvious choice, but this is another one that might go arcane trickster rogue.
Asina (human female) is the daughter of the town tavern and barkeep owner. She’s had a sad life, recently losing both her mother and infant brother. She dreams of being swept away and taken from life in Kassen, as she feels overburdened with the responsibilities placed on her by her father, who expects her to take over since there will be no son to take the role. We don’t have an ethnic background for her, but if her mother was Varisian, maybe she’s quietly a practitioner of Desna as a cleric? There are some possibilities, though this is another character that would only be thirteen.
Yvette is a human female guardsman of Kassen. She could be studying to be a paladin, or have some other role. She was romantically entangled with Rankev, and Gimble is quite put out that she chose to go home with the haughty sorcerer instead of him.
Anyone else. Just give me a good character, these are just the ones that actually appeared in the story so far that have some good potential for a player to pick up and run with.
For obvious reasons, some arcane ability is particularly desirable, since the party lost its sorcerer.
Game play:
I do my best to keep things moving, which means I’ll be doing some rolling for the players, especially initiative to get combat going quickly. If I forget a bonus or mess up (it happens), let me know and I’ll do what I can to fix it as long as the notice is timely.
Small encounters may not have a map at all. Large ones usually will. Maps slow things down, sometimes a lot. If I think having the map will slow you down more than not, I’ll skip the map.
The plan is to see how things work with using Roll20 to share maps for encounters requiring them.
Obviously the hope is to have everyone roleplay and enhance the story that way. I know it doesn’t always work, which is why I’m starting with a relatively short adventure.
Be familiar with the play by post guides in the forums—there are two excellent ones stickied in the online games general discussion forum. They give a lot of good guidance like: Elect a leader or the first two people to agree will drive the story, make sure to use out of character text, don’t assume other character actions, and leave hooks and pushes for the characters. Try this one to start.
The expectation is a post every day (I know weekends are tough and I’ll make allowances) and if you’re going to be gone or unable to post, let folks know. No one can do that all the time—not even me. So just keep everyone informed. Even if it’s just “Hey, I’ll be gone this week. Since we’re in combat, just have me keep attacking the nearest enemy unless I get low on hit points, in which case I’ll take a potion.”
Remember that your backstory only matters to you and me (as the GM) unless you develop a roleplay connection with other characters that helps make it matter to them too—you get out of PbP what you give. Complement folks out of character when you see great role playing. If it’s really great role playing, don’t forget, if you’ve earned inspiration, you can give another character your inspiration (and give up yours) to reward them, even if it doesn’t match up to their traits/flaws.
This is a mature game. That means if you want to seduce the bandit, we can roleplay that and fade to black when appropriate. It also means you don’t need to feel too shy about describing how entrails drip out of the monster if I tell you that you critted and ask you to describe how you eviscerated the beast. But keep it reasonable. We’re on public boards, that means risque is a line that needs to not get too close to explicit. Remember you have other players too, who want the game to progress—while adult situations are all well and good, it should be something that develops the character, contributes to the game, and keeps things moving.
Recruitment is open until the party is full. If that has not happened within a reasonable period, I will reassess the game.
Welcome to the discussion thread. This is the place for general questions to the DM, discussions between players about how they might react before posting in the gameplay thread, general discussion about schedule and other details of running the game - basically, the stuff that isn't actually the game, but might relate to the game.
As a reminder, we'll have sort of two tiers of encounters: those that are simple enough that they don't really require a map, and those for which we'll rely on Roll20 for logistical positioning and the like.
Roll20 allows beautiful maps and preserves some classes abilities that hinge on map positioning, and I want to leave room for that, but maps can also slow things down to a crawl.
We absolutely will use them, when necessary, at a minimal level. That ultimately means people will need to be able to access Roll20, which if you have a browser and can access the paizo forums, you can probably do - if you don't have an account already, it will prompt you to create one (they're free) when you click on the join link. I'll post a link, pretty soon, to the game's landing screen. This will also be where I share things like graphic handouts that are harder to do on the forums.
I DO have a backup plan if this does not work well for the group, but I'm hopeful. I don't intend on getting into nitty gritty, only character x can move player token 'x'. Yes, if I was running this in Roll20 wholesale in real time, I'd do that, but mostly we need to know character's position in relation to the room and the enemies, and we should be able to trust each other not to move the tokens of other players.
I don't want to get stuck on the map and Roll20 elements. This is a PbP game, and the strength of those games isn't what happens on those maps, it's what happens in the gameplay forum, in the text of characters interacting.
Our gameplay will start with an introduction, followed by separated brief roleplay interludes with discrete groups of characters, as the characters are brought together.
In these initial posts, please play careful attention: I will note who is present at the top of each one. The responses will be intermingled, so just note the location at the top of the post. We can dispense with that once the characters have been gathered together.
(for example: If a scene happens in the tavern and only Aldelenna and Rankev are there, Aldelenna and Rankev can just note In the Tavern at the top of their post when they respond.
I'm not fond of splitting the party, but I also want to give some individual time for character's to establish identity, relation, and personality early on in a less free for all environment. These interludes will be brief, but I think they're important.
You'll see what I mean by them, I'm sure, once I've posted. Don't worry, you'll all be together and on your way to adventure as a group very soon.
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This is the gameplay thread for my 5e conversion of Crypt of the Everflame. Our recruitment forum has given us some wonderful players and a fairly well balanced group and I'm excited to get started. Just as a reminder, this is the gameplay thread, and so I ask that everyone try to post as their aliases.
Please remember to use blue text for out of character info and feel free to make use of spoilers if you're whispering to someone or leaving something specifically for me to look at, just be clear who you want to look at those spoilers.
My next post will be a stage setting post, giving the general background that all players know. Because players will start slightly scattered about, there will be a few posts with specific smaller groups of characters to help each character get a little intro time, then we'll delve into the adventure proper.
Game rule discussions will be in the game discussion thread (to be created momentarily) - feel free to point to them in out of character comments, but try to keep them very minimal in this thread. I'm so thrilled to have all of you and there will be a few starting posts shortly!
Looking to start a play by post here on the forums. This is a bit of a test to see how readily Pathfinder converts to 5e.
So, for system: D&D 5e, obviously.
The adventure will be a classic intro adventure: Crypt of the Everflame
Adventure Description:
Ok, the spoiler does actually spoil things. So the gist, if you don’t want it spoiled is this: the heroes of the town’s future are given an opportunity for a bit of adventure, recovering an eternal flame from a crypt in a yearly ceremony that goes utterly and terribly wrong.
Spoiler:
The young heroes of the town of Kassen are ready for their coming-of-age ceremony, an old tradition in which they retrieve a piece of the eternal flame burning in the tomb of the town's founder. Yet when they arrive there, they find only the corpses of their fellow townsfolk, dead bandits, and mysterious animated skeletons. The novice heroes must brave the traps and perils of the Crypt of the Everflame, discover the source of the corruption that has awakened an ancient evil, and defeat a menace that seeks vengeance against Kassen and its people.
Character Creation:
Player’s Handbook. Avoid Dragonborn. Roll stats. 4d6, drop lowest roll.
1st level starting characters. I’m looking for 4–5 players. No evil characters.
If you’re looking to use an alternate race from another source, give me a good backstory for how it fits the starting conceit for the adventure, which is:
Characters are teens selected for a traditional quest for passage to adulthood. The town of Kassen is mostly human, but there are a smattering of other races. Even an elf or dwarf might precociously choose to participate in the ritual to be deemed an adult when their parents might not consider them so.
Other races: I know a number of other races are available through other sources. If you really want to play one, make the backstory and how it fits with the starting conceit a good one. Obviously human characters have an advantage here.
Humans: Most humans are of Chelish, Kellid, Taldan, or Varisian descent, but Nirmathas was once a trade route from Cheliax to Varisia, so other ethnic backgrounds are possible. Humans speak Common (Taldane) but humans from non Taldan/Chelish backgrounds speak their ethnic language as well (as a bonus language).
A bit of starting info:
The starting assumption is that characters are growing up in Kassen, a logging community on the river in Nirmathas. Nirmathas is a meritocracy (those who pull their weight tend to have the most power) that escaped the rule of Cheliax only to find rule by Molthune was equally intolerable. Its people are practical and hard-working, and the primary driver of their economy is lumber, shipped between Skelt to the west and the capital, Tamran, to the east.
As teens growing up in a bustling logging and agricultural community, the traditional yearly trip to Crypt of the Everflame is one all the characters native to Kassen are familiar with. Usually the mayor and some dignitaries go. But every few years, youth with a particular sense of adventure are given the opportunity—some say to drive the passion for adventure out—to go to the crypt themselves to fetch the everflame. It’s been a few years since the last group went. Most have settled down and are living on farmsteads, or working with the woodcutter’s guild.
Rumor has it, this will be the year—your year.
Classes:
All of the classes in Player’s Handbook are available.
Some special notes about the cleric:
Most classes translate fairly easily, clerics are the biggest difficulty, because the domain selection is so small. This means that a lot of the distinguishment of your particular faith will need to be in your role playing.
Having grown up in this small community, clerics are likely to come from one of the following faiths—5e domains noted:
Desna: Protection, Light (this is particularly appropriate for Varisian characters)
Erastil: Life, Nature (this is the most commonly worshipped deity for Kassen)
Gozreh: Nature
Gorum: War
Iomedae: Light, War (the local priest is unlikely to be helpful, but there is a paladin from Lastwall who might mentor the character in concert with the local priest)
Shelyn: Life, Protection (yeah, I know, beauty and love get short shrift domain wise in 5e)
Torag: Forge, Protection
Note that the Forge and Protection domains are NOT in the Player’s Handbook. Due to the dearth of domains, I am allowing the Unearthed Arcana article to be used. Remember you choose only one domain from the deity’s portfolio.
If you want to use a different god, give me a good reason that fits the starting conceit.
Some special notes about sorcerers:
The adventure conceit assumes that any sorcerers are children of the Vargidan family. The patriarch of that clan has had children with a variety of races, so humans, half-elves, or half-orcs would all be appropriate, but this is important for background. Again, there are no known sorcerer bloodlines in town except the Vargidan line, so you’ll need to explain the outsider status and history in your background if you go that route.
Cast of characters:
For background purposes, I’m detailing major characters in Kassen, as well as those most likely to serve as older friends or mentors of the characters. If you want to create relations or brothers or whatever fits your background, that’s great. The more coherent you fit in the story, the better the role playing will be. Just bear the full descriptions in mind. Father Praast, for instance, is too young to be having kids who you would be interacting with, and Asina Silvers can’t have brothers, given her background. If you have questions, ask.
cast of characters:
Cygar Anravis: Cygar is a human stranger who has been staying at the Seven Silvers for months. He’s dark, mysterious, scarred, and an outsider, which makes him in the eyes of most townsfolk untrustworthy.
Sir Dramott: a human paladin from Lastwall, Sir Dramott is a scout for his militaristic country, making sure the orcs of the Hold of Belkzen stay kept in check. As a paladin of Iomedae, he is a logical choice to mentor paladin characters, or clerics who wish to worship the goddess of valor. He is capable and wise, but a bit harsh, and too ready to believe that service at Lastwall is the only valor worthy of high honor.
Jocyn Elmaran: another resident of the Seven Silvers, Jocyn is the town’s entertainment (and to hear him tell it, they need it). He was crippled in a fight with orcs some years past, and makes his living performing in the common room of the tavern. He is a trained bard, and the likely choice to mentor bard characters. He’s a lax teacher, but in the dark hours on those occasions when he gets drunk suggest that he has seen real terror.
Grimscar: A forestry guild worker. He is a good worker, but mean and often rude to the residents of Kassen. He often picks fights, but word has it he can’t hold his liquor. He might be a friend for half-orc characters.
Holgast: a retired wizard, Holgast lives in a tower at the edge of town. He’s knowledgeable but very old and quite forgetful and spends most days puttering around his tower, enjoying a full pipe, a book, and a nap. Rumor has it he is immensely wealthy, having retired after pulling a rather hefty hoard from… something. His lessons, when he remembers to give them, are quite erratic and involve a lot of chores and little learning. Lately, though, he’s forgotten to lock the door where he keeps the apprentice spellbooks, and some of his students have been learning on their own. - NOTE: Holgast is well traveled and has some spells from outside player’s handbook. Wizards may select the frostbite, gust, or thunderclap cantrips, or the first level spell ice knife. These spells can be found in the elemental evil player’s guide.
Jimes “Short Change” Iggins: a waiter at the Seven Silvers, Jimes has a reputation for petty theft and an attitude that it’s all in good fun. He’s well enough liked that the local populace just is careful to count everything twice around him. After all, if they really need it, they know where it is. He remains determined that his nickname simply refers to his size as a halfling, and he makes an excellent mentor for rogue characters.
Braggar Ironhame: A dwarven weaponsmith, Braggar is known for his temper and the quality of his work. He makes a good mentor for dwarven characters, and is one of few devotees of Torag in town. He is also a barbarian, and can mentor characters in channeling their rage.
Guardsman Golfond Kir : A guardsman. He suffered an injury as a child (a horse kicked him in the head) and has been a bit simple since. But he is kind without fault, takes care of an elderly mother, and plays with the local children. He is often the butt of jokes and pranks, but Kir is known to be the most honest man in town.
Arnama Lastrid: In a country known for its rangers, it’s no surprise that Kassen has its own. Arnama is tough, quiet, and teaches mostly by example. An orphan of the wars with Molthune, she believes in a family made by bonds of friendship. She is impatient and has little discipline teaching, but she takes her charges—and she has several at any one time—far afield, and teaches them much just by doing.
Ilimara Oniri: One of few people not from Kassen, Ilimara is Qadiran, and a devotee of the ancient practices or Irori. The path of the monk is a difficult one, and it has yet to help Ilimara find the peace in her heart. She is willing to teach, though those who study with her suspect that she may have turned to devotion out of a darkness within. Beautiful and exotic, she is more than willing to mentor a monk character.
Father Rantal Prasst: The High Priest (really the only priest) of the village, Rantal is familiar with the practices of a half-dozen faiths, though his services are those of Erastil, he will still guide someone who is called to any of the faiths described above, and as such is the most likely mentor for those characters, teaching them priestly devotion, the basics of spell casting, and allowing them space to pray—and even preach. He will still teach the basics of priestly devotion to a budding cleric of Iomedae, but for tenets of faith demands they go to Sir Dramott. Rantal does not like violence, and supposedly gave up a youthful career as a soldier.
Asina Silvers: At only 13, Asina is already doing almost half the work at the Seven Silvers. Her father is expecting her to take over when he retires. As young people in the town, you suspect she other aspirations. She does her work diligently, and if there’s a rumor in town you haven’t heard, Asina is sure to know it.
Trelvar Silvers: The owner of the Seven Silvers public house. He never recovered from losing his wife last year, and that his son didn’t last the winter has shattered him. He puts a lot of pressure on Asina to take over, and the two run an honest business, Jimes’ occasional petty thefts aside.
Olmira Treesong: A druid, Olmira is already an unusual sight, but Olmira looks the part, dressing in grasses and clothes made of plants and bark, and always followed by a retinue of animals. She seems more concerned with her following pack of birds and squirrels, but will teach the secrets of nature to a curious character if one is looking to learn.
Mayor Jonark Uptal: An elected mayor, Jonark has held the position for eleven years. His next election is coming up and he wants to make sure this year’s Quest for the Everflame goes off without a hitch. He doesn’t trust outsiders and has a known tendency to err towards siding with locals over visitors except when there is overwhelming evidence.
Moltus Vargidan: Vargidan blood sings with magic, and the whole clan has sorcerous blood. To make sure it’s spread as far as possible, Moltus has almost a dozen children, each from a different wife, and most of the family comes to their sorcerous power without much guidance from the aloof and wealthy patriarch. Moltus is an eccentric character, with white hair past his waist.
Colbin Vetnar: The guildmaster of the woodcutter’s guild. Colbin is interested in money, and makes little secret of it. While there are other contenders for power in town (both Holgast and Vardigan are wealthy enough to confront him, and Father Prasst has enough social influence), Colbin controls much of the economic future of Kassen, and has maintained his power.
Guard Captain Gregor Wisslo: While Kassen is far from the horrors of the seemingly endless conflict with Moltune, orcs from Belzken are still a threat. Gregor is disciplined and regimented, but not very intuitive. Nonetheless, he is a capable, if demanding, mentor for fighter characters.
Zandre Vargidan: A beautiful young man whose elven heritage shows in his skin, Zandre is only twenty-two and inherited none of his father’s magic blood. His father took this as clear proof that his wife had cheated, beat her near to death, and set her out. Because Zandre was almost of age, the town demanded he be allowed to participate in the Quest for the Everflame ritual, the last time youth were sent on it. Tales tell that arcane might came to the young man, but he never speaks of it, even though his father reluctantly let him back into the Vargidan compound. He blames his father for the loss of his mother (he briefly went searching to no avail), and keeps to himself. Zandre is a warlock. The road of a warlock is solitary one, but he might act as a friend and counselor to someone who forged a pact of their own.
Game play:
I do my best to keep things moving, which means I’ll be doing some rolling for the players, especially initiative to get combat going quickly. If I forget a bonus or mess up (it happens), let me know and I’ll do what I can to fix it as long as the notice is timely.
Small encounters may not have a map at all. Large ones usually will. Maps slow things down, sometimes a lot. If I think having the map will slow you down more than not, I’ll skip the map.
The plan is to see how things work with using Roll20 to share maps for encounters requiring them.
Obviously the hope is to have everyone roleplay and enhance the story that way. I know it doesn’t always work, which is why I’m starting with a relatively short adventure.
Be familiar with the play by post guides in the forums—there are two excellent ones stickied in the online games general discussion forum. They give a lot of good guidance like: Elect a leader or the first two people to agree will drive the story, make sure to use out of character text, don’t assume other character actions, and leave hooks and pushes for the characters. Try this one to start.
The expectation is a post every day (I know weekends are tough and I’ll make allowances) and if you’re going to be gone or unable to post, let folks know. No one can do that all the time—note even me. So just keep everyone informed. Even if it’s just “Hey, I’ll be gone this week. Since we’re in combat, just have me keep attacking the nearest enemy unless I get low on hit points, in which case I’ll take a potion.”
Remember that your backstory only matters to you and me (as the GM) unless you develop a roleplay connection with other characters that helps make it matter to them too—you get out of PbP what you give. Complement folks out of character when you see great role playing. If it’s really great role playing, don’t forget, if you’ve earned inspiration, you can give another character your inspiration (and give up yours) to reward them, even if it doesn’t match up to their traits/flaws.
This is a mature game. That means if you want to seduce the bandit, we can roleplay that and fade to black when appropriate. It also means you don’t need to feel too shy about describing how entrails drip out of the monster if I tell you that you critted and ask you to describe how you eviscerated the beast. But keep it reasonable. We’re on public boards, that means risque is a line that needs to not get too close to explicit. Remember you have other players too, who want the game to progress—while adult situations are all well and good, it should be something that develops the character, contributes to the game, and keeps things moving.
I’m running this as a one shot. I may continue to the sequels in the series if everything goes well and the group works well together. Continuing past this initial adventure will be entirely dependent on how the game goes and whether the players want to continue and running it hasn’t totally burnt me out.
Recruitment is open until the party is full. If that has not happened within a reasonable period, I will reassess the game. I will respond to any initial questions this evening after I get home.
I'm doing a 13th age experiment in Golarion and I'm going to use some strung together pathfinder modules. So I have a couple options and was hoping someone might chime in with some pros/cons of each I haven't thought of (and if they think there's an obvious adventure for one of these groups I HAVEN'T thought of)
For game reasons I'd like to keep them roughly geographically grouped.
Option 1:
Darkmoon Vale:
Hollow's Last Hope
Crown of the Kobold King
Carnival of Tears
Revenge of the Kobold King
Hungry are the Dead
Obvious Pro: I have the Guide to Darkmoon Vale available
Obvious Pro 2: Tim Hitchcock and Nick Logue - what's not to love about that!
Con: Having Darkmoon Vale limits interaction of One Unique Thing and backgrounds
Option 2:
Varisia:
The Godsmouth Heresy
Murder's Mark
Feast of Ravenmoor
Dawn of the Scarlet Sun
Conquest of the Bloodsworn Vale
Seven Swords of Sin
Obvious Pro: I have the Rise of the Runelords Player's guide available
Con: a fair amount of travel between adventures, as these are much more scattered than the darkmoon vale adventures.
Option3:
Nirmathis/Last Wall area:
Crypt of Everflame
Into the Haunted Forest (possibly first, unsure)
Masks of the Living God
Fangwood Keep
City of Golden Death
Pros: Crypt of Everflame has a very strong 1st adventure together hook.
Con: That limits backgrounds somewhat for 13th age, possibly more than I'm comfortable with.
I'm looking at starting an online game and was thinking about using 13th age - but I have all these pathfinder books, and I thought it might be cool to use Golarion and some of my pathfinder adventures as a base.
The one big game element that pathfinder lacks is a set of icons. I played some 13th age at GenCon and I thought the icon relationships really gave some good life to the game, so I'm looking for some suggestions.
I'm thinking about starting an online 4e game with the pathfinder setting. I'd prefer to do one of the pathfinder APs, but I am unsure which one would work best, both in terms of ease of conversion and for running in an online setting.
I'm looking through the first few GameMastery Module products, and I'm not seeing the declaration of product identity or of open game content. Am I just missing these? I've checked both D0 and D1.
Okay, since a monk's unarmed strike is considered both a natural and a melee weapon (and can be affected by spells or effects that target either), can a monk effectively gain the unarmed attack damage a monk one size larger by taking the Improved Natural Attack feat?
I've checked the errata and FAQ and haven't been able to dig up an answer.
For relatively high hd creatures with class levels, I'm finding the point at which they hit epic progression, and which parts of classes hit epic progression confusing...
A medusa cleric 15 has 21 class levels - 6 monster levels, 15 cleric levels. Does she stop receiving spell slots (the epic rules would suggest so), or does the spell level progression continue until hitting 20th class level?
I'm finding epic progression a little confusing... this is probably why I focus on low and mid level adventures.
I have a question on progression for monsters with class levels, especially for spell casting monsters:
A medusa cleric has 6 hit dice from it's "monster" levels... at Cleric 15 - does the epic progression start??? which is to say, under epic rules a creature stops gaining additional spell slots at 20th level... and Cleric 15 would put the medusa at level 21.
epic levels aren't my strongest suit, and with monster and multi-classed characters I'm finding some of the rules a little confusing.
"Going out again, my son?" The voice, so soft that Solon almost suspected the lightbringer of touching his mind, was enough to cause him to turn. Hanamelk sat, calm and still, on a cushioned pedestal in the great hall performing his primary function - for he was the passive voice of change, his meditations the relentless weapon of the kalashtar to bring down the Dreaming Dark. It had been more a statement than a question, but with the unearthly calm and patience that marked the race Hanamelk stood, gripping his walking stick, and waited for a response.
With piercing eyes reflecting a mix of crystal sky and emerald forest, scarcely visible in the shadow of the deeply cowled cloak Solon favored, he answered simply, "I have a client, lightbringer, would you have me stay?"
"My son, this is not a profession you have chosen. Selkatari has nothing but praise for your skills in combat, for your grace in the dance - only your meditations suffer. And for you, above all the others, the meditations must not fail. You were too long away from us, and we all walk a line of madness. This life you have chosen represents a legacy of pain from your past. You can be more. And I fear if you continue to abandon your meditations that you will fall into the abyss of the darkness."
The boy's eyes suddenly became hard and focused. "You do not understand, lightbringer. My past may have guided me to the door, but I choose to walk this path, I was not fated to it." Solon lowered his head, a sense of shame filling him for a moment, "My talents have never been with my mind. We have turned from the flesh and reflected within because we are more - but I have never felt that way. Artisans and performers - philosophers and priests - all of these for il-Yannah, to turn the age to light. But my memories are nightmares and madness, a reflection of my past. I do not forget. My meditations are not forgotten, lightbringer, they are with me in that moment. And maybe they are with my client too. You may not see me as one, but I too am an artist, a performer, and yes, my friend, even a priest." The boy turned back to the door and without waiting for a response fled the Gathering Light.
A woman, lithe and beautiful with a grace that bordered on supernatural, stepped from the shadows. "Will we lose him too?" she asked.
"I am a philosopher and a seer, Selkatari, but that I cannot see. The boy believes his words. But the trauma of his past is deep, and we will never know how much it has truly impacted him. He hates the Riedrans, and that was never our goal. Opposition, change - these things we need, but if he embraces that hate the madness could take him. As for his "profession" - the boy is a monk and priest of il-Yannah. That he sells his company is troubling, but remember - you found him because of it. We had long thought him dead."
"He could be a master, Hanamelk. And there are too few of those. The darkness that dreams doesn't have the same lack of soldiers and priests. I need him whole. Let him wander and whore if he must. As long as he comes home."
Hanamelk did not need to see to feel her leave the room. His mind was attuned to everything in this chamber, from the crystal mosaics on the walls to the comings and goings of every member of the community. Her troubled thoughts lingered hanging close to the floor at the edge of his perception, and he could not blame her for them. They had come so close already to losing Solonovakhtash - so dreadfully close.
The boy stopped only two bridges from the hall of Gathering Light. Briefly he considered hiring a courier to cancel his rendezvous and going to talk to Havakhad at the shrine, but, though he would never admit it to Hanamelk, he would never interrupt his devotions for just any client. He wished they would not invoke his past so much as an attack against him. Why did they attack his devotions? Why was ecstasy and sex not an appropriate offering to the Light? Why did they care so much about his past?
-------------------
Solonovakhtash witnessed tragedy from an early age. The son of an unknown kalashtar, Solon was raised by his mother in the Ship's Towers district of Cliffside in Sharn. They lived a simple life and spoke his mother's native Riedran at home. And then one day they came for his mother. He had heard the Riedran voices, the insistent "Where is he?" of the men. He peered through the porthole of the houseboat he shared with his mother just in time to see the men rape her, and then break her neck. A memory of holding her on fields of sunlight passed through him, and then he fled into the seedier districts of Cliffside.
Solon fled initially to the homes of friends. His friends in Ship's Towers had been mainly families of goblin servants who served in the many districts of Sharn. They could not keep him forever, he knew.
Solon did not wish to be a burden to anyone. Solon possessed the extraordinary good looks common to his race, but lacked the kalashtar height, and most on the street assumed him to be a golden child, a gorgeous young human child. Strong and muscular for a youth of twelve, his looks soon had him receiving offers of compensation for his companionship. Realizing quickly that these men did not realize just how young he was, Solon seized upon selling his body and companionship as a means for him to support himself, to rely upon his own talents. Solon left the homes of his goblin friends and adopted the name Sultesh to help obscure his origins. Diligent searching and careful inquiries soon led him to a "reputable" establishment led by Ilara, a halfling madame of House Ghallanda. A dragonmark heir, Ilara had deep affection for her charges, especially those who came to her young. She ensured that Solon had two sets of paperwork - one for him to keep safe and secret that revealed his kalashtar heritage, the other with his adopted name of Sultesh, naming him a servant of the house of Ghallanda. Ilara taught him many things about seduction, teaching him to use his special talents and grace to enhance his own pleasure, not just that of his client. She also enforced schooling for all her charges, teaching them to read and write both common and goblin. She quickly realized the fierce intellect Solon possessed and engaged special tutors to complete his education.
At twenty, Sultesh was chosen from Ilara's charges to attend a human soldier of the citadel - Selar, a young man of some rank. Acting as a body servant, and providing special services when requested, Sultesh spent five years in the field of the Last War, most of them away from actual battle. When the soldier returned to Sharn, the war finally over, Sultesh found that Ilara's establishment was gone. Unable to find any trace of her, or the establishment that he had called home and lacking any connection with the kalashtar community of Sharn, indeed unaware that they even existed, he took a final payment from Selar and established himself as an independent escort in the embassy district of Ambassador Towers. With his company in demand by both men and women, Sultesh's profile raised slightly too high, and he caught the notice of a malevolent Riedran guard from the embassy. Somehow, despite his usual precautions, the guard discovered his heritage. Brutally raped by the soldier in a dead-end alley, Sultesh was rescued by a small group of kalashtar, led by the head of the monastic community in Overlook, Selkatari. She looked upon the brutalized young man and immediately recognized both his heritage, and the spark that made an exemplary monk. She knew that spark well, having spent her life training the community at the Gathering Light.
Selkatari took the still young Sultesh in. For the past eighteen months Sultesh has excelled in the training she has provided, especially the early stages of the Path of Shadows. He has refused, however, to give up his chosen life. Taking clients only from outside Upper Dura, and avoiding his once favored haunts in the Ambassador's Towers district, Sultesh struggles to be part of a community that is still somewhat alien to him.
------
Now I just need to work in relations with the other characters.
My husband would like to submit an adventure query with me jointly (we're working on the adventure idea together). The Standard Disclosure form is clearly intended for an individual submission, and the writer's guidelines don't seem to cover this situation.... how would you prefer to receive the query? Should we both just sign on the Submitter line...
I was struck by a couple of things in issue #118. Erik's editorial was one... Too Young for Nostalgia - I wish I was. I can't be much older than Erik, but I certainly have enough nostalgia for things to go around. I remember the poster maps from that boxed set, and I am still hoping to see Saltmarsh properly labeled when I see the appropriate part of the new map. While I am happy to see the map a reality (and I am, as a child of cartographers I have a great love for maps), adventures are what tend to call to me in the nostalgia department. When Dungeon did its review of the top 30 adventures of all time, I was thrilled to see so many of my favorites. I was especially pleased to see that B4 made the cut. It was the first adventure that I ever owned, and I've always had a soft spot for it.
A Prison Mail writer in the same issue asked for more classic adventures to be redone or paid homage to in the pages of Dungeon magazine (for that writer's information, in case he didn't know and is reading, Keep on the Borderlands was revisited in Return to the Keep on the Borderlands, a late 90s title I regret I do not own). Since classic adventure locations and characters do occasionally appear in both Dragon and Dungeon, I was wondering what the process is. All of the material is clearly copyrighted... is it fair game for queries, or does Wizards of the Coast, or your editorial board, need to specifically solicit such adventures or backdrops? Just curious.
While I'm very much in favor of playtesting and having lots of options for characters, players should be aware that not every GM keeps up with the playtest material.
Personally, I'm not able to keep up with published stuff, much less playtest stuff - I'm pretty familiar with Player Cores 1&2, Secrets of Magic (un-Remastered), Guns & Gears (un-Remastered), Dark Archive (un-Remastered), Book of the Dead (un-Remastered), and Rage of Elements. I'm still working on Howl of the Wild and War of the Immortals, but don't even own Battlecry. I'm not as active as I used to be, but I bet there are a lot of people in my position where the books are simply coming out faster than I can play through them.
If someone showed up at my table with a necromancer or runesmith, 10 minutes ago, I wouldn't have even known that those classes existed - I completely missed the playtest and any announcement of it, much less the nuances of playing one in PFS. I only heard about them (as well as the current playtest) through this second-hand discussion.
Don't get me wrong, players at my tables will still be welcome to bring playtest material, and I'll try my hardest, but PCs have to understand that I'll be taking their word for things a lot of the time. The excess burden is going to have to be taken up by the PCs, especially if there are multiple classes I'm unfamiliar with (like exemplar / animist / guardian / marshal). I know I can't be the only GM that feels this way.
Thurgan says "friend" in Elvish and Dr. Q says "Yllaldo" at the exact same time. It's unclear which one is correct, but one certainly is, and the door swings open.
As soon as the door opens, the heroes feel an alien vibration within each of their own bodies. What at first feels like a light hum quickly grows into a shiver and then an overwhelming but inaudible tone that the heroes feel throughout their own bodies.
Something different is happening to each of you. You are free to share your spoilers if you wish, but please do not open others' spoilers unless specifically allowed to do so.
What happens is completely random, and I'm including unspoilered die rolls to underscore that fact. This means that some of the things will be net positive, some net negative, and some might be completely neutral. It'll be a small boon or small debuff for the remainder of the Adventure, and it's not fair. :)
Type:1d3 ⇒ 3Feat:1d5 ⇒ 1
Ashen gasps as his body flickers momentarily, and almost disappears from view entirely.
Ashen:
You have gained a deviant ability for the remainder of this adventure.
EERIE FLICKER ↺
Trigger A enemy’s Strike would hit you and you weren’t already concealed, hidden, or undetected by that enemy. Your body flickers momentarily into the Ethereal Plane. You become concealed for 1 round, and the flat check for concealment applies to the Strike that would have hit you. If the flat check fails, the Strike misses you.
Awakening When your body flickers, you momentarily assume a terrifying form. If a creature fails the flat check against concealment from your Eerie Flicker, it becomes frightened 1, and it doesn’t reduce the frightened condition from this effect at the end of the same turn it gained the condition.
Do note that this reaction belongs to Ashen, not TWWNL (or any other summoned creature).
Type:1d3 ⇒ 1Feat:1d5 ⇒ 1Quirks:2d10 ⇒ (6, 6) = 12
Garrush coughs repeatedly, and as he coughs, lightning begins sparking from his claws.
Garrush:
You have gained a deviant ability for the remainder of this adventure.
BLASTING BEAMS ◆
Requirements You have a free hand.
Do note that this ability was chosen randomly, and as a result, its utility to you was not in consideration - this ability requires a free hand, and while holding a shield in one hand and your esoterica in the other, you do not have a free hand.
A directed beam of heat or an arc of lightning is one of the simplest ways to project energy. You fire a blast or beam from one hand. Make an attack roll against a creature within 30 feet. If you succeed, the beam deals 1d6 damage for every 2 levels you have to the target, or double damage on a critical success.
Awakening Your beams blast through targets. Instead of making an attack roll to damage a single creature within 30 feet, you can use Blasting Beams as a 2-action activity to damage all creatures in a 60-foot line, with a basic Reflex save.
Type:1d3 ⇒ 3Feat:1d5 ⇒ 5
Kiresh feels as if an otherworldly presence has entered his soul. He cries out, and everyone else feels the specter of death in his voice.
Kiresh:
You have gained a deviant ability for the remainder of this adventure.
ENERVATING WAIL ◆◆
You release a terrible wail that tears at the spirits of all nearby. All living creatures in a 20-foot emanation take negative damage with a basic Fortitude save. The damage is 4d6, plus 1d6 for every level you have beyond 6th.
Do note that, in accordance with PFS rules, you'll need to obtain your teammates' permissions to damage them.
Type:1d3 ⇒ 2Feat:1d5 ⇒ 1
Pei feels as if a thousand spikes are being run through her body.
Pei:
You have gained a deviant ability for the remainder of this adventure.
BONE SPIKES ◆
Sharp shards of bone tear forth from your elbows, wrists, or other parts of your body. For 1 minute, you can make bone spike unarmed Strikes, which deal 1d6 piercing damage and have the versatile S and sweep trails. When you take the Bone Spikes action, you can choose one weapon on your person and duplicate its weapon runes onto your bonespikes (with the exception of any runes that couldn’t apply to the bone spears).
Awakening Your bones grow longer, lashing flexibly at range. While you have bone spikes, you can Interact to give your bone spikes reach 10 feet until the end of the current turn.
Type:1d3 ⇒ 1Feat:1d5 ⇒ 1
Quatar coughs as Garrush does, sparks flying from his hands.
Quatar:
You have gained a deviant ability for the remainder of this adventure.
BLASTING BEAMS ◆
Requirements You have a free hand.
A directed beam of heat or an arc of lightning is one of the simplest ways to project energy. You fire a blast or beam from one hand. Make an attack roll against a creature within 30 feet. If you succeed, the beam deals 1d6 damage for every 2 levels you have to the target, or double damage on a critical success.
Awakening Your beams blast through targets. Instead of making an attack roll to damage a single creature within 30 feet, you can use Blasting Beams as a 2-action activity to damage all creatures in a 60-foot line, with a basic Reflex save.
Do note that this ability belongs to Dr. Q, not Eureko.
Type:1d3 ⇒ 3Feat:1d5 ⇒ 4
Thurgan feels an invisible hand close around his neck, and reaches up to pry it off, but there's nothing to grab. It fades before he passes out.
Thurgan:
You have gained a deviant ability for the remainder of this adventure.
GHOSTLY GRASP ◆
An invisible arm extends from you to grab and manipulate objects. The arm reaches up to 15 feet, grabs an unattended object of 1 Bulk or less, and immediately deposits it in one of your free hands or at your feet. Alternatively, it reaches up to 15 feet and performs a simple Interact action like pushing open a window, though it can’t perform actions that require significant mechanical dexterity.
Awakening Your invisible arm can grab on to an unsuspecting target. You can modify the power’s target to be 1 creature within range. You make an attack roll against the creature’s Fortitude DC and add the attack trait to the action. On a success, the target is grabbed by the arm (or restrained on a critical success). This lasts for 1 round or until the creature Escapes.
I'm going to give you a chance to react, but also post descriptions for the next few rooms.
Season of Ghosts | "Lan" | male (he/him) skilled human (Tien) sorcerer (phoenix) 7 | ◆◇↺ | max HP 71 | AC 25 (26) | P+9 (NV, NH), F+14, R+14, W+12 | 25' | Explore: Scout | Spells: Focus 2/2, 1st 4/4, 2nd 0/4, 3rd 4/4, 4th 1/3 | Hero: 2/8 | Active Conditions: vital beacon 4d10
Is it just me, or can other people not stop giggling at the image of this enemy being one of the inflatable frog costumes at the Portland ICE protests?
Garrush holds up a piece of aquamarine that looks like a drop of water. Critical Success - unfortunately, I've already given the most pertinent weakness information to Pei. Instead, I'll give you two pieces of information, one of which I should have given to Pei with Strategic Assessment. Their Will save is their weakest - by far. Their Reflex save is their strongest.
Garrush Strides up threateningly. That is a Success - I told you their Will save was low.
Red surprisingly ignores Garrush for the time being - it charges into the middle of the group, and then unleashes a Blazing Howl. Everyone except for Kiresh, please make a Will save.
Fire:4d6 ⇒ (3, 4, 2, 6) = 15 DC 19 basic Will save, plus frightened 1 on a CF.
Season of Ghosts | "Lan" | male (he/him) skilled human (Tien) sorcerer (phoenix) 7 | ◆◇↺ | max HP 71 | AC 25 (26) | P+9 (NV, NH), F+14, R+14, W+12 | 25' | Explore: Scout | Spells: Focus 2/2, 1st 4/4, 2nd 0/4, 3rd 4/4, 4th 1/3 | Hero: 2/8 | Active Conditions: vital beacon 4d10
Lan has Diplomacy +18, so it's quite possible that he can beat Auntie Wu's 30, and I'm going to roll separately and hopefully not roll a nat 1.
Quote:
“it’s rude to interrupt someone’s idle moments. Why are you here? Why should I not feed you to my pets?”
"A thousand apologies. But surely you can guide us, knowledgable one, and your hounds can protect us. I feel like we have done this before, that you are a friend. Just a sense of deja vu, I guess."
Diplomacy:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (19) + 18 = 37 Will reroll a nat 1.
Please arrange yourselves in marching order and fill out your Perception and Initiative modifiers on Slide 2.
For those that are unaware, the Dark Archive case files begin rather abruptly - they're meant to be integrated into other, longer adventures, so each adventure begins the same way - you fall asleep, cross the somnambulist's bridge, and wake up somewhere else.
Even though this is not a PFS adventure, I'm willing to honor the GM glyph system - the Hero Points will not reset between adventures, though.
For games concluding and being reported prior to February 1st
Can you publicly clarify the nitty gritty of this for PbP idiosyncracies? I think I know the answer to these, but I just would rather have everything in one post from an authoritative source.
1. The reporting date should be the date that the game concludes, correct? As opposed to the date that the game started, or, since there's sometimes a significant discrepancy, the date that the Chronicles are handed out? So, for instance, if a game started in December 2025, and ends in March 2026, the GM would use the 2026 number? And if a game ends on January 30, 2026 but the Chronicles aren't handed out until February 2, 2026, the 2025 number is used?
2. What constitutes a game that qualifies to be reported? If a game is posted with public recruitment in Cottonseed, it qualifies, but what if a game has N seats filled from private recruitment and (6-N) publicly recruited? What happens if a game is a continuation of a previous game, e.g., someone publicly recruits for Beginning Box Part 1 in 2025, and then the game rolls over into 2026 and Beginner Box Part 2 completes in 2026? Does Part 2 count as "publicly recruited"? If it differs, what happens if it's not an official 2-parter? So, for instance, a group runs #2-09 (Dacilane Academy), and they love playing together so much that they roll over into #3-18 (also Dacilane Academy)?
I think there's a significant difference between two levels and a big difference between three, but that people overemphasize playing "up" or "down" because the highest CP low tier is comparable to the lowest CP high tier.
If there's a 2, 2, 2, 2, 3 (16 CP) game, there's not a lot of difference between the sixth player bringing a Level 1 character (18 CP) and a Level 4 character (22 CP).
---
I shrug at is the PbP concept of "first come, first serve" as if the people who post first somehow have higher priority. Just because the first 3 people to post are bringing Level 1s shouldn't obligate me as the 4th poster to match their level.
A third of the world is asleep when I post, so posting "the next person who posts gets to set the rules for everyone else" is going to favor a very specific set of people.
I'm happy to level match based on other priorities. I'll level match my kids when I'm playing with my kids, and I'll level match new players since they don't have flexibility with their characters.
PbP conventions, which largely run on a FCFS system, annoy the heck out of me. Note that as a US Pacific Time Zone player, I'm one of the greatest beneficiaries of the "Midnight GMT" system, so I'm not annoyed because I'm at a disadvantage.
---
But the thing that probably bugs me the most, and this is just in RPGs in general (although I think the PF2 system exacerbates the issue) is people just not adjusting their strategies for others on the team.
Yes, your ranger ideally wants to be 30' away so they can use their longbow without volley. But if you're Level 4 with a bunch of Level 1s and 2s, you have the most hit points, the highest AC, and even with your volley penalty, you've probably got the best to-hit. Congratulations, you've been field-promoted to Tank, and everyone else should be Delaying so that you can trigger the AoOs and give them flanking.
The same principle, but opposite effect, goes for low level characters. You might be a greatsword fighter, but maybe you shouldn't be tanking and Striking the 28-CP BBE 3x.
I swear this is relevant so bear with me: PFS2 has a disproportionate number of group skill challenges, i.e., 4 Successes to proceed. This means that often, the fate of the group is decided by the 4th best or 5th best at a skill - the Trained-but-0-INT Arcana roll, for instance, or the low-tier character who's rolling against the high tier DC.
tldr: Yeah, it's not great having a low tier character at a high tier table, but it's also not the end of the world if people pitch in.
Prey for Death | "Sien" | male (he/him) aiuvarin human magus (aloof firmament) 15 | ◆◇↺ | AC 36 (37) | HP 203/203 | P+19, F+26^, R+25, W+22^ | Explore: Scout | 30', DV, NH | Spells 4th SS [ ][ ], 7th H [ ][ ], 8th MR [ ][ ] | Poison 4/4, VV 4/4 | Focus 1/1 | VB [ ][ ][ ][ ] | Hero 0/3 | Active Conditions: truesight, darkvision, vital beacon (5th)
Since his brother took mid-200s damage, I'm going to make another lethal Spellstrike in the expectation that it won't drop him. Apologies if this ends up critting and dropping him.
◆ Recharge Spellstrike
◆◆ Spellstrike:1d20 + 28 ⇒ (5) + 28 = 33 vs flanking
Slashing:3d6 + 10 ⇒ (3, 6, 1) + 10 = 20 plus Cold:1d6 ⇒ 4 plus 2 force plus Gouging Claw:9d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 4, 6, 1, 5, 2, 1, 1) = 30
17 healing to everyone, DC 24 (DC 25 + Frightened 1) Fortitude save from the ghost vs -17 spirit damage.
At the end of Lan's turn, he is 60/71, Frightened 0, not focused, vital beacon 4d10, holding guardian staff.
I think Sigurd and Vekka's damage is missing on the tracker. They took -28 slashing, so they should each be at -11 now. Kazuki took -14 slashing, so he should be full now. And Auntie Wu should be full, too.
Season of Ghosts | "Lan" | male (he/him) skilled human (Tien) sorcerer (phoenix) 7 | ◆◇↺ | max HP 71 | AC 25 (26) | P+9 (NV, NH), F+14, R+14, W+12 | 25' | Explore: Scout | Spells: Focus 2/2, 1st 4/4, 2nd 0/4, 3rd 4/4, 4th 1/3 | Hero: 2/8 | Active Conditions: vital beacon 4d10
Vekka Tchakon wrote:
It seems the DC to aid is even above 21 :sweats:
Aid is a circumstance bonus, so it doesn't stack with other Aids. Kazuki rolled a 31, which was labeled a Critical Success (nat 19, so the DC is 21 or lower) - nobody else's roll (except for anyone who Critically Failed) mattered at the time, because he gave a +2.
When Kazuki and Lan lost focus, Kazuki's Aid dropped.
Auntie Wu (primary) 19
Kazuki lost focus
Vekka (secondary) 21 (Success, +1)
Lan lost focus (undecided whether to renew)
Sigurd (secondary) 19 (unknown)
So, we're sitting at 19+1 right now, and one of the reasons I want to see if a Disable is possible is because it may not be Lan worth renewing focus (Vekka and Sigurd would both have to lose focus for Lan's roll to matter).
Open Recruitment for the Dark Archives Case Files 3-9 (Levels 6-13).
This is open recruitment for 4-6 PCs for a set of seven 2-XP Adventures (14 XP total) found in the Dark Archives sourcebook. Each case file is a self-contained Adventure, but PCs will be required to run the same PC, leveled up, through all seven Adventures.
DA3: A Song of Making and Unmaking (Level 6)
DA4: Lady of the Harvest (Level 7)
DA5: The Verdure of Iblydos (Level 8)
DA6: Wishes in Krasnoprudny (Level 9)
DA7: Tomorrow's Feast (Level 10)
DA8: The Last Dream (Level 12)
DA9: In Darkness (Level 13)
Priority will be given to active PFS GMs who have run games in a lower level range (1-4, 3-6, 5-8), but are hesitant to run higher (5-8, 7-10, 9-12) games because they don't have a lot of experience playing PCs in that range. One seat is reserved for cmlobue, who has expressed exactly this reluctance.
SIDEBAR: What about The Beast of Birchfrost (Level 3) and Shaking the Helping Hand (Level 5)? Well, for starters, I think the target audience for this is going to be well-versed at Levels 3-5. There are PFS pregens for playing at those levels, so playing those levels in this context is not really necessary. In addition, there's a practical reason - I've already run those for my kids. Besides, a 14-XP series is long enough without making it 18 XP. If anyone else wants to run those, I'd be happy to play them as a PC.
I'll be issuing PFS Chronicles for each Adventure as it finishes. They can go onto any character, although those with weakness OCD should note that the number of XP assigned is not a multiple of 4. XD
---
In order to apply, please post a build for a character in any level between 6-13 using either the Lump Sum or Items Plus Currency methods in Treasure for New Characters. You will not be committing to this build, but it's just a quick check of where you're at, experience-wise. Between each Adventure, you will have the opportunity to give feedback for each others' builds, and have a limited rebuild for your character (being able to walk back the feats from the previous level). Please use PFS character creation rules (Common options plus a few exceptions).
I'm also going to ask you to post your GM history, no matter where you've GMed (F2F, VTT, PbD, PbP). Levels of things that you've run is what I'm looking for - the goal is to help active PFS GMs get more comfortable at running higher level scenarios. If you've GMed a game on the Paizo forums, pointing me towards that game would be really helpful to show that you're part of the target audience for this. If you've never GMed a game, I encourage you to just GM a Level 1 Bounty or a Level 1-2 scenario instead of applying here.
Additionally, please explicitly acknowledge you understand the scope of this commitment - it's 14 XP in total, which is longer than a standalone Adventure. I can't commit to posting every day (I'd say 4-5 times per week), and even then, it can be variable depending on how busy work/life is. I'm projecting this will take a year to complete. This is not a quick fix for anything, more of a long-term investment in higher-level GMs.
---
Because the selection process for this campaign is complex, I'm opening recruitment for at least 5 days - until Sunday evening Pacific Time. Then, depending on the complexity of the applications, I might need another few days to make a decision. Then, the accepted members can talk character creation.
Missed the record-setting tuna auction, but we did catch a relatively tame auction a few weeks ago.
Took a ton of pictures of kitsune and tanuki statues at various shrines and temples, hehe.
Did not get ONE THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH on the street, much to my kids' chagrin, but I did create a rushing goat monk named Kancho with one of my GM-babies. Expect future shenanigans.
My body is back in the US Pacific Time Zone but my brain is still in New Zeallipines time, so I'm sliding back into things gradually.
---
I do want to echo that I'd rather not see run-of-the-mill PbD games advertised here, but I think it would be beneficial to keep announcing larger events like conventions, since there's probably enough crossover. Or special events that might entice primarily-PbP players to put up with PbD for a really special game.
Also, just as a purely practical matter, since the PbD player pool is bigger than that of the PbP player pool, us PbP luddites will probably soon find ourselves shut out of many events if we don't remind them that we exist. We're already not-always informed of convention dates.
Prey for Death | "Sien" | male (he/him) aiuvarin human magus (aloof firmament) 15 | ◆◇↺ | AC 36 (37) | HP 203/203 | P+19, F+26^, R+25, W+22^ | Explore: Scout | 30', DV, NH | Spells 4th SS [ ][ ], 7th H [ ][ ], 8th MR [ ][ ] | Poison 4/4, VV 4/4 | Focus 1/1 | VB [ ][ ][ ][ ] | Hero 0/3 | Active Conditions: truesight, darkvision, vital beacon (5th)
I thought I had given a heads up about this earlier, but I went to quote my post and I can't find anything. I apologize for not making this clearer earlier:
I'm going to be traveling from December 20 to January 4, and I'm not sure what my posting situation is going to be. I'll be in a country with Internet, but I'm not sure whether I'll have time to post, or it might be irregular.
Religion:1d20 + 17 ⇒ (18) + 17 = 35 vs DC 20
Society:1d20 + 21 ⇒ (11) + 21 = 32 vs DC 25
That should cover the last factoid.
Quinoline flips through Binding Contracts and the Dire Results of Breaching before the Drunken Packhorse takes it. It's decent, but clearly meant to be a coloring book based on the illustrations.
Thank you all for playing, it was fun. To be honest, I didn't think much about the semi-conflicting goals for the PCs. One of the privileges of playing with experienced players is that I can trust you guys won't get antagonistic about the inter-PC interactions.
I'm taking a small break over the holidays - I'm taking a big, international trip with my family, so I'd rather not have any games to GM. But in 2026, I'll probably be launching a Dark Archives run, and if any of you are interested, I'd be happy to extend first rights of refusal.
I've never run a 7-10 scenario. Is that feasible for someone who's never run above 3-6?
Just my two cents, but it's neither easy nor unfeasible. It's solidly in the feasible-but-difficult territory.
A big part of it is the sheer number of things characters have going on. You'll need to track weapon crit specializations and a lot of temporary conditions like frightened and persistent damage. If you've got a good system / tracker, it's fine. It's easier in PbP and can be downright maddening in person.
You'll need to remind characters of things like S->CS on saves, as many become Master at those levels. If the PCs are responsible, or they are willing to accept consequences if they forget, there's no problem. But I find there's a lot more "oh wait I forgot" retcons or potentials for retcon.
The major variable is how well you know the classes and especially the archetypes/dedications. So, for instance, you might know how an Investigator's Devise a Strategem works, but do you know how the Investigator Dedication's Devise a Strategem works off the top of your head? Again, you can count on PCs to be more responsible at these levels, but also, it just adds to the mental load to constantly having to look things up.
In my home games, I jumped from GMing a Level 8 homebrew to a Level 11 AP, before any of my PFS characters got up that high, and I found a significant learning curve with all the changes. The saving grace was that my PCs (my kids) made the same jump, too, so they didn't squawk too much when we all ended up forgetting about features that weren't built into Pathbuilder, and I did end up nerfing several encounters from Levels 11-12 as we all grew into the new paradigm.
Kyle's responsive on Discord, and he sent me his GM/PC number. I'm remote right now, so I can't log into Discord (long story), but I'll take care of reporting this evening.
I'll also get the information to him for revised Chronicles.
Quinoline tries to sever the shadowpact from all the remaining statues.
◆ Occultism:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (19) + 23 = 42 vs Blue, DC 28
◆ Occultism:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (14) + 23 = 37 vs Green, DC 28
◆ Occultism:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (2) + 23 = 25 vs Orange, DC 28
Will Hero Point that since Quinoline has 2.
Occultism, Hero Point:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (5) + 23 = 28 vs Orange, DC 28
Heroic Intervention wrote:
Your heroic moments grant others the will to keep fighting. When you spend a Hero Point, you and any allies within 30 feet who can see you regain 4d6 Hit Points. This healing also affects dying allies, even if they cannot see you due to being unconscious.
[X] Spend 20 gp on raw materials and burn 1 day
[X] Make a Crafting check vs the Item's DC (Item Level 3 = Item DC 18)
-[ ] On CF, lose 10% of the raw materials and start over (but you can only start 1 project per Downtime unit, so you'll have to find something else to do for 7 days)
-[ ] On F, you have to start over but get the full value of raw materials back.
-[ ] On S, you Earn Income based on your character level and proficiency (Character Level 5 = Task Level 5, Expert = 1.0 gp/day)
-[X] On CS, you Earn Income based on your character level+1 and proficiency (Character Level 5 = Task Level 6, Expert = 2.0 gp/day)
[X] Apply that amount toward your completion every day you choose to work on it. It doesn't need to be contiguous.
Day 1: Lead Time
Day 2: +2 gp, 22/40 completed
Day 3: +2 gp, 24/40 completed
Day 4: +2 gp, 26/40 completed
Day 5: +2 gp, 28/40 completed
Day 6: +2 gp, 30/40 completed
Day 7: +2 gp, 32/40 completed
Day 8: +2 gp, 34/40 completed
Next Downtime block
Day 1: +2 gp, 36/40 completed
Day 2: +2 gp, 38/40 completed
Day 3: +2 gp, 40/40 compelted
And you'll have 4 days left over to start a new project or whenever.
Link to Lorespire: https://lorespire.paizo.com/tiki-index.php?page=pfs2guide._.Player-Options- and-Tools#Downtime_Crafting
Two minor weirdnesses:
1. If you level up during a project, I've been told that the amount automatically adjusts. So, for example, if Lokoloko leveled up after this adventure, the downtime wouldn't change for this Chronicle, but for your first Chronicle at Level 6, you'd automatically increase to +2.5 gp/day (Character Level 6, Task Level 7) and complete the item on Day 2.
The weirdness is that I cannot find this in the rules (rulebooks or Lorespire), and as a result, I do NOT apply this to my crafting characters. If you want to Craft bigger things (things that might span more than a level), you should probably figure this out.
2. If you have a formula of an item, you have the formula for all the levels of that item. So, for example, you don't need to buy a Level 3 formula for moderate bottled lightning - you can buy the Level 1 formula for lesser bottled lightning, instead.
Again, the weirdness is that I cannot find this in the rules or Lorespire. But this one I read myself on the Paizo forums from someone official-ish, which seems official enough for me. I apply this to my crafting characters. On a practical level, the cost of formulas is relatively small: your 40 gp batch of moderate bottled lightnings would have a one-time, 1 gp surcharge if you can use the lesser bottled lightning formula, 3 gp if you have to use the moderate formula.
Season of Ghosts | "Lan" | male (he/him) skilled human (Tien) sorcerer (phoenix) 7 | ◆◇↺ | max HP 71 | AC 25 (26) | P+9 (NV, NH), F+14, R+14, W+12 | 25' | Explore: Scout | Spells: Focus 2/2, 1st 4/4, 2nd 0/4, 3rd 4/4, 4th 1/3 | Hero: 2/8 | Active Conditions: vital beacon 4d10
Religion:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30 vs DC 20
Lan ponders philosophically about his spirit essence. Is this cycle meant to be broken, or is it beneficial for us to be trapped? What happens if we die, here or in Willowshore?
Just in case anyone else is reading this and wondering why everything is still up, the announcement was updated to say the boards are going down at 12 pm Pacific (approximately 35 minutes from now).
Was there any resolution reached on migrating reviews and having 'verified'/unverifieid reviews as mentioned being discussed here?
I didn't know the reviews were getting nuked, and I didn't participate in the linked thread, but I just wanted to be clear to TPTB: I am not saving my old reviews, and I'm not reposting them. I've always reviewed things as a favor to Paizo and to the other players/GMs, not for rewards. If it's not valuable enough for you to save, it's not valuable enough for me to save.
The next time I start a Level 1-4 game, I will save lilythium a seat, assuming nobody by the name of flora-ine comes around and reacts first.
There's probably enough alumni-niums of Gameday games to start a game. Sulfur those people, I may offer #1-02. I'll make sure they get a seat before all the seats argon.
But this bro-mine is a little busy for the next week or two, so I don't have enough time to zinc into a game.
open | male (he/him) skilled human (Nidalese) champion (Shelyn) 9 | ◆◇↺ | HP 125/125 | AC 29 (30) | P+12, F+18^, R+18, W+15 | DV, NH, 30' | ↺ Retributive Strike, Shield Block | Hero: 1/3 | Focus: 1/1 | Active Conditions: resist cold 1, electricity 1; Experienced Mountaineer
Proposal: Nagakaze and Jun-Mei can protect the ranged combatants at the main entrance, and Emdi and Yakuthiel can cut off their escape at the east. I'm moving Emdi to the southern box in anticipation of people being okay with it, but if not, feel free to move Emdi back to the main entrance. Emdi would prefer starting within 30' of a combatant because he gets a free Demoralize with Battle Cry.
Quinoline glances over and sees whether Astrid's Ego is blocking the guargantuan creature.
◆ Devise a Strategem:1d20 ⇒ 15
Only partially.
◆ Greater Bottled Lightning:15 + 23 = 38 Electricity:3d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 6) = 12 plus 11 splash electricity plus off-guard (1 round) plus DC 31 Fortitude vs dazzled (1 round)
Quinoline begins ◆ Striding towards Arrus in case he needs some help with poison. She's got a big jar of urine that she can use. Oh, wait, that's for jellyfish stings. Never mind, but she can whip up an antidote.
