Maze's page

This issue seems to appear every few months. There is a vocal
minority that would like to start PCs at higher level, while the
somewhat less vocal majority does not. The majority prevails.

.

I would like to see this added to the FAQ or campaign Guide.
This is not a rules question, rather it is a campaign question,
and it is frequently asked. It might save the campaign staff
and venture officers time if the campaign ruling and reasons
behind the ruling were posted somewhere we can reference.

I suggest making it simple for the GM to claim rewards.
We want to encourage folks to GM with less roadblocks.
For example, allow them to accumulate their chronicles
until they want to apply them. Chronicles are applied
with the rewards based on the level of the character.

This sounds like option #2. Note that option #1, where
they apply immediately, is really a subset of option #2.
Those who prefer option #1 can still apply immediately.

Regarding online tracking, some GM credit may be lost,
but their paper chronicle takes precedence. A similar
problem occurs with option #1 if the selected character
is not high enough level to use the reported chronicle.

Additionally, if any lower-level character is permanently
removed from play, no one wants to lose their high-level
chronicles that were applied, but were never really used.
It would be better to be able to assign them when used.

I enjoy roleplaying, but I also enjoy finishing the adventure.

Convention and game store play often has a fixed time limit.

.

The GM is the one who knows if the players are on time
or at risk of going over. Therefore, it is GM responsibility
to ensure that the players have the opportunity to finish.

The GM can also expand the scenario to fill available time.
Things like the optional encounter can provide flexibility.

This sometimes means less roleplay, sometimes more roleplay.

Prior campaigns that used certs for treasure had the system
where you either keep the cert, or sell the item for half GP.

Characters who could use the cert kept it to gain benefits.
It can be a magic sword or wondrous item or consumable.

Characters could also keep certs as virtual gold in the bank,
since it could always be sold later. They could also loan out
these certs to other players. This seemed to work out well.

The main drawback was with certs themselves, as one could
only have one copy of each item, rather than by chronicles
where every character can take the item if they would like.

I would not recommend certs, but the concept that one
can keep the found item rather than buying it at full price
is worth considering. Players can track items themselves.
They would have to know what items were full/half price.

Certainly, this is an interesting idea and would make the
chronicle items valuable. It might place older characters
at a disadvantage as they had to spend full for treasure.
Probably this is not a big deal, any more than characters
who played Year Zero adventures when worth one prestige.

It sounds like most people agree this is a good idea.

.

Here are some specific suggestions for implementation.

Do not add any additional paperwork, such as any sort
of rebuild chronicle. We have enough paperwork already.
The "new player" target audience might be overwhelmed.

Provide clear guidelines on what can be changed or not.
Examples include: name, faction, race, class, abilities.
Also make it clear how to swap equipment for a rebuild.

Is there a way to reach level 14 at the end of Eyes of the Ten?

Alternatively, is there a way to gain one XP after completing
Eyes of the Ten? Either way, it would allow reaching level 14.

.

It would be nice to earn 33+5+1=39 XP for level 14, and start
playing modules that are each worth 3 XP, for one level each.

Otherwise, the 5 XP from Eyes of the Ten are worth one level.

.
.
.
.
.

Regarding sanctioned modules, I would advocate using the simple
solution of requiring a character of appropriate level to play.
This simple solution removes the complexity of pre-gen linking.

If you want to play in a level 8 module, you need to have a legal
level 7-9 character. Playing a pre-gen for credit is not allowed.
This would match with the current rules for playing in scenarios.
It is the same model that worked well in a prior living campaign.

There would be one reward on the module chronicle, since modules
are not tiered. Everyone gets 3 XP, 4 PA, and same possible gold.
The GM would receive an identical chronicle, and use the current
rules to apply in the future if lacking an appropriate character.

A list of all the folks who give you missions, in descending order of who gives you the most missions. Don't ask, because I really don't want to tell. But maybe I'll let you know if you ask me at Gen Con. :)

Although as it was said earlier, I really would check out Seeker of Secrets for more in-depth knowledge about the VCs.

Thank you for the list. Is there any way to know what adventure

How would one find out in what other adventures he is present?

baron arem heshvaun wrote:

May I take a gander at that Arnim ?

Drop me an e-mail... I'll send it tonight.

Is this list available anywhere the rest of us can find it?

Any detailed information would be greatly appreciated.

I am looking for a list of all of the venture captains referenced
in all of the Pathfinder Society adventures, to help out players.

Does such a list exist? If so, where? Maybe on some wiki site?

It is sort of odd, that the faction missions frequently
reference an unusual skill, when the whole Pathfinder
paradigm hinges on it being a team game for the party.
.

In the party-focused world, if one character lacks some
important skill, some other character covers for them.
In the Pathfinder Society, everyone is on their own,
so the Cha 7 fighter who needs to make a Diplomacy
skill check is stuck. I find this dichotomy interesting.

In general I would allow this. Do not violate Wheaton's Law!

I assume there will be spoilers for all three mods listed in the title. You have been warned!

We are going to have a local con coming up in a couple weeks and I am running the Blackros Museum trilogy. ive played through Mists of Mwangi, but not the other two, and am wondering if anyone has suggestions for how to make the mods run more smoothly or things to watch out for etc. Ive already read alot of what I could find on here, but just in case I missed something, what do you suggest??

The maps will be done beforehand, thanks to Arnim Thayer
The Chronicles pre-signed
I have the Mist-Tainted template ready to go (again thanks to Arnim)
And obviously I'll have read the mods over several times.

What else do you suggest to make it run more smoothly and to help ensure the party has a fun time?

The usual suspects: pre-roll initiative, pre-draw maps, review stats.

Are there any scenarios that have either dark ice fey or a nymph?

.

Beggar's Pearl has a Dark Fey that is not a nymph.

I know this has probably been answered elsewhere

My 11 level mystic Theurge with 31 experiences has 46 prestige points. He may very well get squashed squished reduced to a little pile of dust by a disintegrate spell in his next adventure. I’m just curious what i can do with his prestige points. Thanks

Congratulations, you earn 23 Wands of Cure Light Wounds,

Regarding Day Job rolls for the FAQ:

You cannot take 10 on Day Job rolls.

dayJobRollsForGMs&page=1#11

T-shirt rerolls *can* be used on Day Job rolls.

dayJobRollQuestion&page=1#7

The new campaign guide lists most of the exceptions but makes no mention of Arcane Bond. The previous campaign admin (Josh) ruled that Arcane Bond was the exception to the otherwise banned crafting mechanics and thus Wizards/Sorcerers/Bards/whatever could craft certain items at half price if they met certain requirements. Was this left out in error?

See also the recent community update to the PFS Guide.

communityUpdateToThePFSGuideToOrgPlayDONE

I'll be honest and admit up front that I haven't GM'd very many sessions, but as a player I've always had the attitude that my characters ALWAYS searches every single room they enter. I've noticed though that many of the players I GM for tend not to make perception rolls very often, unless I specifically mention it. My problem with this is that I've seen that a lot of faction missions call for searching for some object, or go "dumpster diving" as I've seen it referred to.

I don't want to cheat players out of PA, but at the same time it's not my job to hold their hand. Another thing that comes up with this is the treasure usually found at the end of encounters; they rarely search and hence don't often find treasure that factors into the gold rewards at the end at the scenario or find those potions that could have really helped out with the BBEG.
Does anyone else have this problem???

I would say that most players prefer not to waste time

However, if there is some special faction mission or other
treasure requiring a high perception, you might ask those
who are skilled to roll D20 and check if they make the DC.

Regarding new players, you might mention that "you search"
and find whatever, since some other judges might not be as
friendly as you, and thus suggest they mention the searches.
The same would go for checking for traps, etc. in a dungeon.
This frequently turns into assuming "take 10" for search rolls.

No one wants to lose because someone broke Wheaton's Law.

Our local group is on Yahoo Groups. This was predicated
by our other gaming groups also being hosted on Yahoo.

Maybe we are old school, but it seems to work well for us.

Alchemist's fire and liquid ice have issues involving the wording on their resist energy and protection from energy lines. Basically, both have a contradiction on the use of the words fire and cold within the sections. I'm guessing alc. fire should be fire on both (since it buffs fire spells) and liquid ice should be cold on both (since it buffs col spells).

I have not been able to find an authoritative answer anywhere.

I am going with the above interpretation during the meanwhile.

As mentioned in the main thread about AA, the garrote can't be as lethal as it is in real life because we don't want bands of heroes running around garroting tough monsters to death, nor do we want entire groups of PCs killed by much weaker monsters using garrotes.

I compiled several rulings from various messageboards threads.

Someone really needs to go through the threads very carefully.

.

Characters with the Rune Domain receive Spell Focus not Scribe Scroll.

pathfinderSocietyRules20Questions&page=7#301

Composite Bows can have their Strength upgraded by paying the difference.

pathfinderSocietyRules20Questions&page=9#433

Small, Medium, as well as Large size weapons can be purchased normally.

pathfinderSocietyRules20Questions&page=10#453

Roleplaying requirements for prestige classes are hand-waved in PFS.

pathfinderSocietyRulesV21FAQ&page=1#30

Summoner Eidolons have d10 hit dice, so hit points = 5.5 * hit dice.

pathfinderSocietyRulesV21FAQ&page=1#41

Characters can buy scrolls such as an Arcane Scroll of Silence
at the price for a Divine Scroll of Silence and a Divine Scroll
of Darkvision at the price of an Arcane Scroll of Darkvision.

pathfinderSocietyOrganizedPlayRulesV22FAQ&page=1#5

Found gold spent during an adventure is deducted from adventure rewards.

pathfinderSocietyOrganizedPlayRulesV22FAQ&page=10#491

Characters can upgrade a +2 ability enhancement item to +4 and/or +2/+2.

pathfinderSocietyOrganizedPlayRulesFAQV30&page=5#210

When making a Day Job roll, use your full skill bonus for the skill.

pathfinderSocietyOrganizedPlayRulesFAQV30&page=8#376

Pathfinder Savant requires Spell Focus, not any one item crafting feat.

pathfinderSavantInPFSOP

If you find an item and it is destroyed, you can still buy it later.

isSunderingEvilYouBeTheJudge&page=1#14

Please add that Rune Domain = Spell Focus.

pathfinderSocietyRules20Questions&page=7#301

There is a lot of important feedback from prior PFS rules update threads that never made it back into the official PFS rules.

I am still waiting for "The Beggar" to reveal his secret identity.

Since characters can follow evil deities, this hardly seems like an issue.

Sorry for rehashing this question but I need a definitive answer. Is casting a spell with an evil descriptor an evil act? Or is it even allowed in PFS Organizied Play at all? I have a player who wants to play a witch and take the Plague Patron Spells. However most of them have a evil descriptor

AdAstraGames wrote:

One way to look at GM credits is this:

Your PFS character will get to play a grand total of 67 scenarios from 1st to 12th, assuming they get XP for each scenario.

That's 67 games (at ~28 games per year) or about 2.5 years worth of play assuming sane scheduling.

The GM gets to run those games - and they're fun for running - but each game you play is part of a finite path in exploring a character's motivations and story arc.

The reward is the journey, not the destination.

GM credits are there so that GMs can, from time to time, relinquish the wheel to their players and play at roughly the same level. Most GMs I know seem to try to keep a character at the same level as their primary play group, and try to build up at least one, and often two or more PCs that they keep stockpiled at lower levels.

I know this is how I operate. When I first heard about GM credit I was ecstatic, but as time progresses, I've found myself less and less interested in giving GM credit to PCs, mainly because I then don't get to play them. What I have been doing though is stockpiling a bunch of characters to level 2, mainly because I find level one less than fun.

Agreed. I prefer to play my characters at higher levels,

I try to use the credit wherever they have a weak spot.

Can anyone point me to threads where GM replay credit was discussed? It seems to me that you'd want to encourage GMs to replay. The first time I GM a scenario I realize I something I could do better, but there is not incentive to re-run it. I'm in more than one PFSOP group, and everyone want to play, no one wants to GM, so I end up GMing more than playing. It'd be nice if I could amortize my prep work across groups and still be able to see some of my characters progress.

This is an interesting idea. The current replay rules

I enjoy judging, even without credit, but I also like
building characters and credit allows for advancement.

One is allowed to upgrade strength bows in Pathfinder Society.

Reference from Tue, Sep 15, 2009.
.

Tilquinith wrote:

Looks like the general consensus is no. However it seems to me like it should be possible. I'm not sure what the developers intended but at least in my own game which I GM, I'll likely allow it if a player asks about it. However it looks like I'm probably out of luck for the games I get to play in, as well as for the PFS.

Thanks for everyones input.

PFS I think effectively allows you to sell the old weapon and buy a new one for the difference.

Mechanically there is no way to increase the pull of a standard composite bow. because the strength rating is due to the choice of materials and the construction.

There have been examples of bows that magically adapt to the strength of the wearer but that's not of any help to your question.

There seems to be a fair amount of apathy around reporting
Pathfinder Society events. Once players have their signed
Chronicle Sheets, there is little incentive to report online.
.

I understand that there is benefit to Paizo regarding tracking
Pathfinder Society play, so I am hoping that you can provide
some sort of permanent benefit rather than just some artwork.

It would be great if there was a "carrot" rather than a "stick"
used to encourage people to report their PFS games on time.

Perhaps some token Paizo product credit ($1 per game judged)
for the judges and/or coordinators who have to do reporting?
This would certainly help to defray the costs of adventures.

Stephen White wrote:

Just a heads-up, I have all my reporting done, bar maybe two. I thought, why is it I haven't reported these two? They were two sessions that ran late into the night, my players grabbed their chronicle sheets and hurried out the door. I tidied the house up after hosting a roomful of gamers and gamer snacks, and went to bed.

Much later I realised I hadn't reported these sessions, but by then I'd forgotten which players attended each session? Fortunately, they're all members of my (extended) home-group, so I've emailed the likely suspects and just waiting to hear confirmation before reporting players to each of these sessions.

I think in this situation, if I had printed the reporting sheet at the same time as the chronicle sheets, they would have all been signed together. So I think it might help if the session reporting sheet was part of the same download, eg included in each scenario PDF, maybe the page after the chronicle sheet, this would help keep things together and not forget reporting.

Cheers,
DarkWhite

This is something we're definitely going to be doing ASAP.

Hyrum.

kelvingreen wrote:

or accepted rulings on the matter?

Groups I've seen tend to handle these kinds of things (forced re-rolls, etc) as occurring before damage is dealt/crits are confirmed.

But the player has to be given the chance to do so. So if the DM says 'you're hit by an arrow for 12 damage' or 'you're crit'ed by an arrow for 36 damage' you can elect to deflect it.

Meanwhile if the DM says 'You're hit with an arrow', then picks up dice and rolls them, saying 'wow, take 24 damage' you don't get the chance to deflect at that point.

In general though, unless its an organized play/convention game you likely know that the PC in question has deflect arrows and as a DM can say 'you're hit by arrow #1, care to deflect?' as much as you would say 'the goblin provokes an AOO from you, care to take it?'.

-James

Deflect Arrows tends to be less useful than the alternatives,

They can even wait until after critical hit confirmation
and after checking to see if their Fortification activates,
plus any form of miss chance such as Blink/Concealment.

We also roll our attack rolls and damage rolls all together,
and it would slow down combat to have to separate them.

Of course, NPC monks should use whatever conventions you
select for the PC monks in order to keep it fair for everyone.

"You" means you, not your allies.

.

I suppose you will automatically know if the opponent is dead yet,
since the bow will start working again against your other enemies.

As I read it, you can use a cestus and wield a weapon, brass knuckles SPECIFICALLY note that you may hold but not wield a weapon. Brass knuckles also indicate that you must make a concentration check to cast a spell with Somatic components.

I have seen many archer characters using Spiked Gauntlets.

Usually the GM allows the archer to fire his bow and/or
cast without removing the gauntlet or spiked gauntlet.
This seems predicated by the gauntlet being described
as coming with medium and heavy armor. As there are
no penalties to use a bow with medium or heavy armor,
the gauntlets must not be interfering with bow usage.

You can also use a Buckler, but you lose the shield bonus
whenever using a bow or making an attack with that hand.

I would say a Cestus should use the same rules as above,
given that you can "wield or carry items in that hand".
Basically it means you have your hand available for use.

Maze wrote:

sundered - unclear - you gain access, but it is not specified if you lose the gold associated with the item - needs clarification - assumption - use consumable rules - no penalty for sundering

I think Josh would have pointed that out with his original clarification. In my mind the same 'mending' that takes place off screen to allow it on your Chronicle also yields full sale value.

Maze wrote:

sold - unclear - can you sell a found item to pay for Raise Dead? - assumption - items sold turn into "gold" - which cannot be used

Actually I think this is pretty clear as per the Guide.

The Guide, pg 22 wrote:

PCs can also sell off gear at 50% of its listed value to raise money to come back from the dead, though they can only do so in a settlement and they cannot sell off any items found during the current scenario that they haven’t purchased.

Zizazat, thanks for the pointer to this relevant text.

"they cannot sell off any items found during the current
scenario that they haven't purchased." - PFS Guide (p.22)

This is under "Character Death" but it seems reasonable
that it applies to consumables/spellcasting/bribes/etc.

Here is my updated summary of what you can do with loot.

consumables - go ahead and use it, no penalty on chronicle sheet
gold - if you spend any, then deduct it from your chronicle sheet
sold - you cannot sell any found items during the current scenario
- well, you can buy them at 100% and then sell them again at 50%

I am still unclear on if you get the gold for sundered
equipment or just the access on the chronicle sheet,
but again the spirit seems to be you do get the gold.

Maze wrote:

Just to be clear, in addition to being able to buy the item

off the chronicle sheet, do the Pathfinders receive the gold
associated with consumed/destroyed/sundered/etc. items?

Yes.

Quote:

If yes, is it legitimate to use any gold found in the adventure

and/or items sold for gold to pay for consumables or maybe
spellcasting, without subtracting from the final gold earned?
This would help to fund Raise Dead and similar spellcasting.

No as per this thread.

Thanks for the pointer. Sometimes it can be tricky to find details.

It sounds like we have the following rules, combining both posts.

consumables - go ahead and use it, no penalty on chronicle sheet
- note that consumables are things like potions, scrolls, and wands

gold - if you spend any, then deduct it from your chronicle sheet

sundered - unclear - you gain access, but it is not specified if
you lose the gold associated with the item - needs clarification
- assumption - use consumable rules - no penalty for sundering

sold - unclear - can you sell a found item to pay for Raise Dead?
- assumption - items sold turn into "gold" - which cannot be used

Joshua J. Frost wrote:

Finding the item, regardless of what happens to the item, means you can buy it off the chronicle sheet. To use the OP's example, if you destroy the BBEG's awesome armor in the process of defeating said BBEG, then you still have the opportunity to buy the BBEG's armor off the chronicle sheet at the end of the scenario.

Cool. It was not something I had thought about before this thread as I have almost never played with people who use sunder, and those who do make sure to not sunder on the good stuff. :)

Just to be clear, in addition to being able to buy the item

If yes, is it legitimate to use any gold found in the adventure
and/or items sold for gold to pay for consumables or maybe
spellcasting, without subtracting from the final gold earned?
This would help to fund Raise Dead and similar spellcasting.

This is a great summary of the policy. Could you please post a link
to the original 2009 post where all these rulings originate? Thanks!

Kyle Baird wrote:

Tue, Sep 15, 2009, 03:19 PM

Deussu wrote:

A question about bows.

If you have a +1 Composite longbow with a strenght bonus of +1, can you upgrade the strength bonus by paying the difference (100 gp per increase)?

Josh, can we get an official answer on this? Seems like not being able to simply upgrade the strength bonus would be a huge penalty for ranged characters who manage to increase their character's strength.

ex. Having a +2 Flaming Composite Longbow Mighty +2, and wanting a +2 Flaming Composite Longbow Mighty +3 would cost the character 8,350 gp!

Joshua J. Frost wrote:

Tue, Sep 15, 2009, 04:39 PM

Upgrade by paying the difference.

James Risner wrote:

Just to be sure, you are referring to both the Magical (+1 weapon to +2 weapon for 6000 gp) and the non-Magical (Masterwork Composite Longbow of +1 STR to +2 STR for 100 gp) are both available by paying the respective differences, 6000 gp and 100 gp?

Joshua J. Frost wrote:

Tue, Sep 15, 2009, 07:11 PM

In the specific case of bows, yes.