My "Module Madness" group has been doing exactly this. It's the same five players, so it feels like a home game, but we're using PFS rules. I'm loosely tying the modules together with some roleplaying so there's a bit more continuity. We just finished Curse of the Riven Sky last night, and we're having an great time with this campaign. Here's a list of the modules we're playing (very similar to ScorchedOne's list above):
1 Crypt of the Everflame
2 Murder's Mark
3 Masks of the Living God
4 Fangwood Keep
5 City of Golden Death
6 From Shore to Sea
7 Realm of the Fellnight Queen
8 Cult of the Ebon Destroyers
9 The Harrowning
10 Doom Comes to Dustpawn
11 Curse of the Riven Sky
12 The Ruby Phoenix Tournament
13 Academy of Secrets
14 Tomb of the Iron Medusa
15 The Moonscar
16 The Witchwar Legacy
The older modules are nice, because it's one adventure, one level so there's no need to worry about filling in missing chronicles (like in Dragon's Demand).
In case anyone is interested, here are some pictures of the terrain I made for Bonekeep 3. In retrospect, I should have made it for a different scenario, because very few people will be able to see all of it.
You cannot fly while paralyzed. The fly skill is dexterity based, which means that using it requires physical movement to use. I would rule that a character in that situation hovers in place, subject to winds, etc.
This treated wafer dissolves into a chalky paste when placed under the tongue and then gives the imbiber a jolt of restless energy. It eliminates the effects of fatigue for the next 8 hours; when the drug’s effect ends, the user is exhausted. Allnight makes its users jittery and unable to focus; they suffer a –2 penalty on all skill checks until its effects wear off.
and
Stolen Light:
School illusion (figment); Level bard 3, sorcerer/wizard 3
CASTING
Casting Time 1 full round
Components V, S, F (a gem worth at least 500 gp)
EFFECT
Range touch
Target transparent gem touched
Duration permanent or 1 minute/level (see text)
Saving Throw Will negates (object); Spell Resistance yes (object)
DESCRIPTION: Kreighton Shaine researched this spell from the fragmentary notes of a Vudrani ascetic recorded in a strange tome, and rumors credit him with no fewer than a dozen permanent stolen light gems hidden in compartments and drawers in his study. Stolen light stores images within a gem. To store an image, as part of casting you must touch a gem worth not less than 500 gp. You trap within the gem an image of everything visible within a 30-foot cone measured from the gem, in a direction of your choice. Alternatively, you can capture a less detailed image of a single object within sight. Once the casting is complete, the gem turns opaque, and the image inside cannot be seen. The stolen image remains within the gem until released or dispelled.
To release an image, you touch a gem holding stolen light as a standard action and speak a command word chosen at the time of casting. For 1 minute per caster level, the image stored within the gem becomes visible. Details can be made out as clearly as they could be perceived at the time of casting. Darkvision is of no use for making out details in a stolen image, though low-light vision or other exceptional visual talents may reveal information the caster did not see. Light sources brighter than bright light are reduced to bright light in the stolen image. Once the image has been released, it cannot again be recovered from the gem.
While there are many of us here on the forums that are happy to answer your questions, you can also check the Additional Resources for information on what is and isn't legal for Society play.
In fact, if you want to use anything that isn't in the core assumption, you have to bring the book it's from and a printed copy of the most recent Additional Resources.
With all that being said, Mr. Sin and Draven are correct: you need a special boon (usually won at a convention) in order to play a kitsune character.
As for "spawning a high level character", a PC doesn't have to actually have stats until it's time to play them. Heck, you could GM-credit your way to 12th level and then play Eyes of the Ten with him (though that doesn't sound like the most-fun use of your one playthrough of that arc).
The biggest problem with this approach is that you don't really get a good feel for the character. If you suddenly start playing at level 10 (or whatever), you might find that some feat/spell/ability isn't as great as you thought it would be. After learning this the hard way, I always make sure to play each of my characters at least once per level.
Sigh.. It breaks my heart that I can't afford more Paizo stuff.
I think you just need to write more scenarios and ask to be paid in minis! Actually, I just want more Jim Groves adventures - perhaps one that has a large water elemental in it so I can use this mini!
To keep this on topic, I'll agree with everyone above and say that I also love both of these minis. I'm glad the large is big enough that it could stand in for a huge water elemental; as far as I know, no one has made one of those yet.
A while back, I was running a game where the players encountered some fey with constant invisibility and some nasty spells. One character was hit early on with irresistible dance, taking him out of the fight. The battle lasted quite a while, long enough that the irresistible dance wore off, but the player realized he couldn't contribute much to this particular fight and didn't want to make a target of himself, so he continued dancing!
Any chance of having individual boxes for sale for previous map packs? That is one item I have had a problem finding a good storage solution for.
Try your local office supply store. I found plastic boxes for 8x5" index cards that work very well for the map packs. You can even get appropriately sized blank index dividers with a tab to write the name of the map pack on it.
I've just started this exact campaign; we had our first session last week. Here is a list of the planned order of modules:
Crypt of the Everflame
Murder's Mark
Masks of the Living God
Fangwood Keep
City of Golden Death
From Shore to Sea
Realm of the Fellnight Queen
Cult of the Ebon Destroyers
The Harrowning
Doom Comes to Dustpawn
Curse of the Riven Sky
The Ruby Phoenix Tournament
Academy of Secrets
Tomb of the Iron Medusa
The Moonscar
The Witchwar Legacy
Virtually all of them are the right level, except for the last two. Hopefully the players have some prestige saved up for The Witchwar Legacy!
We're going to use the same characters for the whole thing, so it will have a bit more of a campaign feel to it than regular PFS play. Another interesting thing is that these characters will never do a faction mission.
Some of the most fun I've had GMing was when the players took things in unexpected directions. A memorable example of this was about a month ago during a session of The Cyphermage Dilemma. Seems like a trend!
The Cyphermage Dilemma:
For some reason, the players were not picking up on the hints I was dropping about where they should look for their next clue. One of the faction missions mentioned a crime lord, and they all fixated on that. We had some flexibility on time, so I let them run with their plan. Earlier in the scenario, they were talking to local townsfolk, one of which was a fishmonger, specializing in pickled fish. He had mentioned problems with protection rackets, but didn't want any help from the PCs. They decided the best way to get the attention of the crime boss was to buy up all the pickled fish in the city, undercutting the market until the gang sent enforcers to push a protection scheme on them.
An hour and a half later, they were no closer to the next part of the scenario, so I had to push them in the right direction - successfully this time. It was a very entertaining session for everyone.
Needless to say, the pickled fish was red herring.
I think part of what makes this kind of thing so much fun is that it pushes me to step up my GMing. Like trying to juggle on a tightrope - something could go terribly wrong at any time, but it's exciting to watch!
Unfortunately, events like this can't be planned. It takes a perfect storm of the right players, enough time, and the right scenario for it to happen at all.
I played with a blackblade magus at PaizoCon. As it turned out, her blade did have slightly different goals than she did. She was sent by the Pathfinder Society to stop a person that happened to be a worshipper of Asmodeus. The spirit in her blade has the purpose to protect worshippers of Asmodeus.
Mark Moreland happened to be walking by as this was happening, and the player asked him what he thought. He said he would have the magus make a will save (vs. the blade's ego) every round to see if it would actually attack this particular enemy. As it turned out, the combat was completed at range, so the magus didn't have any problems in this regard, but it was interesting none the less.
I once ran a group of 4 low-level clerics through City of Strangers, Part 1 & 2. It was an interesting couple of sessions. They all had decent armour, and low attack bonuses, so the typical combat went something like this:
Enemy: "Misses."
Cleric 1: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 2: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 3: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 4: "I swing, and miss."
Enemy: "Misses."
Cleric 1: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 2: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 3: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 4: "I swing, and miss."
Enemy: "Hits cleric #2 for 4 points of damage."
Cleric 1: "I channel positive energy, de-selecting the enemy. Six points back to everyone."
Cleric 2: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 3: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 4: "I swing, and miss."
Enemy: "Misses."
Cleric 1: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 2: "I swing, and miss."
Cleric 3: "I swing, and hit! 2 points damage."
Cleric 4: "I swing, and miss."
Etc, etc.
I think each scenario took about 6 hours to play, but everyone had fun. It sped up a bit when they got the hang of aiding another on attack rolls, but I think they had an average DPR of 5 for the entire party.
Malag brings up a good point. I forget who said it first, but I've heard that "You can't be a good GM without being a bad GM first." Everyone is always learning, and hopefully improving. This is a very complex game, with so many variables that it can be hard for even an experienced GM to get everything right.
In addition, GMing at a major con can definitely raise the level of nervousness. You're GMing for a bunch of random players and you don't know their play style. They very likely use different class abilities/feats/spells than you are used to. Sometimes a group just doesn't mesh well, or isn't on the same wavelength as the GM, leading to a poor experience.
Also, at an event like this all the GMs are volunteers. Of course, the hard-core, experienced GMs are going to make up a large chunk of the total number, but there are going to be newer, less skilled (yet) GMs as well. Especially when there are 50 players standing in the hall waiting for a chance to play anything, the organizers might have to throw a scenario at someone and say "I need you to run this - you have 5 minutes to prep". This isn't an ideal situation, but it's better than turning people away.
In a perfect world, every GM would know every rule, have the scenario prepped so well that they don't need to look at the pages, every player would play their character well, and in sync with the rest of the table, and every game would be awesome! Unfortunately, this rarely all comes together. We should all just try to have fun anyway.
If you're looking for something that doesn't require an electronic device, there is a great checklist on the Southern Ontario Pathfinder Lodge website.
Here is a link to their download page, it's the first document under the "Player Documents" section.
After a long journey, the majestic city of Absalom finally comes into view. The streets are filled with teeming masses of people from all over Golarion, and some perhaps even farther away than that! The tallest tower of Skyreach comes into view before the immensity of the Grand Lodge itself, the fortress towering above the rest of Absalom. The gates stand open, as if anticipating your arrival. Surely anyone entering these gates is humbled by the scale and grandeur of the Grand Lodge.
As if sensing some hesitation, an older, slightly grizzled guard at the gate calls out, “So, You want to be a Pathfinder, eh? My name’s Brunon, and if you can spare a couple of minutes before you rush in to find your destiny, I might have a bit of advice to help you achieve your goals.”
Taking your hesitation as permission to continue, Brunon continues, “The first thing you have to know is that the Society is looking for people that can work together in groups. If you want to succeed here, you have to be willing to help your comrades, and trust that they will do the same for you. If you’re looking for glory for yourself alone, you might as well go join up with the Aspis.” Brunon drawls the last word, turning it into a slur.
“That being said, you also have to be able to take care of yourself. You shouldn’t assume that someone else will take care of the healing, or the fighting, or the magic. If the only healer in the group is dead or dying, you better have a back-up plan!” Seeing the look on your face, Brunon changes his tone a bit. “Don’t worry, the Decemvirate and the Venture-Captains are amazing. We have a very high success rate; you just have to keep your wits about you and you’ll do fine.
“I don’t know what you think you can offer to the Society, but I’ll warn you that you’ll have to have more than one trick up your sleeve to really prosper here. If all you can do is swing a sword, you’ll find that you might have some problems. There’s nothing wrong with swinging a sword, that’s one thing that I’m good at, after all. Just make sure you study a variety of different things during your training.
“Keep in mind that this works both ways. You could be able to sweet-talk the mask off of Razmir, but that ain’t going to help you when a troll is looking for lunch.”
Brunon seems to notice your gaze drawn once again to the massive towers of Skyreach. “Well, I can see you’re eager to see if you pass the test to start your training, so I’ll finish my story now. Just remember: your comrades are relying on you just as much as you rely on them. Don’t be afraid to get to know them, and let them get to know you as well. Share your childhood stories around a campfire. Make sure they know what you’re capable of, and learn how they can help your mission as well.
“Speaking of which, when you are finished your training, don’t forget the advice you got from old Brunon at the gate. I’ll be happy to share some ale with you and hear about some of your adventures.”
There was a group of LG players around here, and I supported them, that when they released the now infamous Kobold Card and a neighboring region (in tune with their plot) basically banned them wanted to play all Kobold tables. I dunno, all Fetchling might be fun but I want an all Tengu table.
Speaking in the voice.
At GenCon.
On video.
Challenge on guys :).
There is a group of local players that are all planning on making Tengu bards, then playing them together. They're going to call the group Counting Crows.
If anyone is interested, I made a chart to help track the pertinent player info (will saves, etc.) as well as a breakdown of all the residents of the temple with a little quirk to make them more memorable.
(and able to be read within 10 seconds, not just a PDF on a thumb drive in your pocket).
Wait, I thought as part of the Canadian Health Care Program all Citizens of Canada had Datajacks implanted into their heads that would allow direct connection to thumb drives? Or is that only specific to a province? ;)
It's true, but due to government bureaucracy they're only USB 1; it takes forever to access files greater than 2 MB.
And everything needs to be in English and French, so we have to buy every PDF twice!
I'm the one responsible for this terrain. So far, it's gotten very positive responses, which is exactly what I was going for. Thanks to everyone that played at my tables so far!
I think access to vanities could be a great option for boons, whether they are holiday boons, convention boons, or even just something that appears on a chronicle sheet.
GM: You hear a wet splat somewhere near the carriage.
Player: I make a perception check. 18!
GM: The goat in the pen is gone, replaced only with a hanging chain. The dismembered leg of the goat is sliding down the front glass window of the carriage. It's too dark to see anything else.
Player: What!? I activate my sunrod.
GM: Your sunrod blasts into life just in time to see the enormous pupil of an adult male T-Rex dilate, right outside your carriage door.
Player: !!!
GM: Roll initiative.
Player 2: I'm going to hide in this toilet stall made of straw...
Animal companions are like everything else, sometimes you need to reign it in so that the other people at the table can play too.
If it's a full table consider leaving your animal companion at home or just not bring it up to the front line.
I agree with Feral 100%. The main thing is to remember rule zero:
Don't be a jerk.
The problem here isn't with the character, it's the player.
If you have a character that overshadows everyone else in the party, it's time to reign it in. It doesn't matter if that character is a druid with an animal companion, or a magus doing ridiculous damage with shocking grasp, or whatever. Let everyone else play too.
There's nothing wrong with having a powerful character, and many people get great enjoyment out of finding interesting rule combinations that can make some pretty surprising things. The trick is to "play down" to the level of your party (or even the level of the scenario in some cases), and then pull that awesome trick out of your hat when it's needed most. Think of Inigo Montoya from "The Princess Bride".
[fencing]
Inigo Montoya: You are wonderful.
Man in Black: Thank you; I've worked hard to become so.
Inigo Montoya: I admit it, you are better than I am.
Man in Black: Then why are you smiling?
Inigo Montoya: Because I know something you don't know.
Man in Black: And what is that?
Inigo Montoya: I... am not left-handed.
[Moves his sword to his right hand and gains an advantage]
Man in Black: You are amazing.
Inigo Montoya: I ought to be, after 20 years.
Man in Black: Oh, there's something I ought to tell you.
Inigo Montoya: Tell me.
Man in Black: I'm not left-handed either.
[Moves his sword to his right hand and regains his advantage]
