Rani's page

Hi all,
A few of us will be playing various games including Star Wars: Edge of the Empire and maybe FATE, Numenera, as well as some board games over the next few days in the vicinity of Aberdeen/Everett and the other meeting rooms on the second floor. Drop by and join us if there's room in whatever we're playing.

We're going to scrounge up an Edge of the Empire game at around 2 p.m. today. We may be playing Zombiecide or X-Wing, or both, during the banquet tonight.
M

Hi all,
Hope it's not incorrect to post this here.

I've worked with some of you (LPJ, Dreamscarred, Black Star, Wayfinder, and others) on a few maps in the past but now it seems I have some extra time on my hands (after being laid off by my company!) so I've put together an online portfolio of my work to share with third-party publishers who might need maps for their products. You can view it at:

http://michael98136.wix.com/cartography

If you need cartography assistance I'd be very happy to try to help out. Thanks!
M

Rooms booked and tickets purchased. Looking forward to gaming with the usual suspects: zylphryx, lolrobots, Pat, Mike, and the rest.

I know we'll have some Firefly again, presented by the inimitable El-El. Will try to figure out what I'm going to run off-schedule but there will likely be some sci-fi. Hopefully some M-A again, Pat? There are many animals we haven't yet tried... ;)

If any of you are into it I'd like try out some big-group Fiasco and maybe Durance (same author). Also have enough Zombicide for two tables this year and am hoping to get some folks interested in playing some X-Wing. I've got a growing fleet and new shiny nebula battlemaps to field.

Also still deciding on the beer loadout, both types and dispensing method. I have a shiny new kegerator that would be a bit of a chore to haul up but a nice thing to have on hand for three kinds of beer on tap! Will have a think about whether I want to drive my truck up just for that or not...it's tempting!

Looking forward to seeing our "regulars" there and meeting some new regulars too. Will be in touch as the show gets closer.
M

Hi,
Don't see a way to do this through the store interface so: please could you cancel pending order #2499791? Thank you!
M

Hi all,
I'm in LA for a few days on business with a gaming colleague from the UK. He'd be interested in dropping in to see one of our gaming stores. We'd be interested in a store that has tabletop games (he plays Warhammer Fantasy, Flames of War, and some others) and RPGs (for me). We're up and down 405 every day so somewhere near that highway would be good. So. What's your favorite FLGS in LA? Thanks!
M

I just put my ticket for this event on the trading board. Unfortunately I can't make it as I have some unfinished prep for an upcoming event.
M

Hello PaizoConians!
My co-GM from my home group and I have been playing around with Burning Empires for some time now but haven't yet been able to play it "for real" for want of sufficient players. PaizoCon presents an opportunity to give it a go so I want to see if it'd be possible to scrounge up a few players interested in trying it out...or, better yet, some players that already have experience playing it.

There are a couple of options:
1) Quick and dirty: I could run a convention scenario that uses pre-gens and a pre-defined world and situation but skips some of the metagame elements. This would take four to five hours.

2) Epic mode: We could get together and burn our own world and characters and play through one or more "maneuvers". It's an involved game but I've got a pretty decent handle on the rules and some books to go around. I think we could do world/character-burning in about four hours with a couple of hours for each maneuver.

I'd enjoy #1 to be sure but my ideal choice would be #2...if it's possible to find enough players with time/interest in devoting that much effort. If #2, I'd be willing to do it in one gulp or maybe do a couple of sessions in holes that line up in our schedules. I'm relatively sure I can convince El-El to join us so that leaves finding at least two more players (more would be great). zylphrx has also expressed some interest.

Here are my openings at present:
Wednesday 3pm-whenever
Thursday 8am-noon
Friday 8am-whenever
Saturday 8am-noon
Sunday 2pm-whenever

So, if you're interested please post here and note option number and list out some windows when you'd be available to play. Hopefully we can get something going.
M

Hi all,
I'm putting together an off-schedule Star Trek game. Will run it either Wednesday evening or Thursday, before or after the Meet and Eat, depending upon player availability. Homebrew may be available, provided I don't get arrested by Marriot security.

This will be a bit of an experiment because we'll use the Marvel Heroic Roleplaying system for the game. MHRP is perfect for Star Trek: what are the Star Trek universe heroes if not superheroes? The system uses a dice pool mechanic, adding dice based on various aspects of your character. You roll against GM characters or the Doom Pool, the GM's reserve dice pool that grows and shrinks based on game events. It's easy, intuitive, and cinematic. Trust me.

I'll provide pregens of the TOS crew to choose from. First dibs on characters go to previous players in our games (Firefly, Star Frontiers, Star Wars) but I think there'll be enough to go around...and red shirts for anyone else that wants to join.

The premise: A Federation first contact survey team has gone missing on a pre-warp world and the U.S.S. Enterprise has been dispatched to find out what happened to them and retrieve the team if possible, within the limits imposed by the Prime Directive.

Right, like the PD ever limited Kirk and Company...

If you would like to participate please note your interest here so I can get a rough headcount. I won't hold you to it...just want to get an idea of how many players we might have. Also please note which night is best. I know some folks might not be around on Wednesday. Will post additional details and a final decision on day/time/location here when I know for sure. Thanks, and may the Force...wait, nevermind.
M

Edit: Addendum. I'm not saying whether this is set in the TOS universe or the Abrams-verse. I like both, but I know some don't care for the latter. It doesn't matter much to either the story or the characters. The characters will definitely have some "Distinctions" from both.

Hi all,
I realize I'm a little late to the game but was wondering if any other GMs or players have any experience with Burning Empires, based on the Burning Wheel RPG? We picked this up a few weeks ago and I'm very excited by the setting and the structure of the game.

We're going to give it a go with just one player and a GM. Not sure how well that will work but I guess we'll see.

Would love to hear what others have done with the game.
M

Just wondering. I had ordered the same products from an Amazon sub-vendor and they cancelled the order because they didn't have stock. Was wondering if you guys are having the same problem. I still want the products if they're available. Thanks!
M

Hi all,
Anyone else have this yet? I picked up the core rules, gamemaster's screen, and adventure book. We browsed through it the other night and tried out character creation. The books are nice and the system seems interesting (The page refs in the core book seem pretty badly borked but the Index is workable so maybe it's not a big deal.)

Anyway...is anybody interested in brainstorming some Middle Earth-appropriate adventure seeds with me? I'm very familiar with The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings but am a bit of a loss for what makes a ME adventure without crossing into D&D territory. I'd be particularly interested in coming up with some ideas that would work for a single "player-hero", as TOR calls PCs.

My co-GM created a Hobbit character with knowledge of herb lore and a bit of wanderlust. I was thinking of sending her on a bit of an adventure, perhaps inspired by the recently returned Bilbo...maybe a little trip to The Prancing Pony and some small bit of funny business in Bree. After that we could head toward the Wilderlands (Misty Mountains, Mirkwood, Dale) where the first core book is set.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Also would love to hear the experiences of anyone who has read the books fully or, better yet, played a session or two. Thanks!
M

Has anyone else tried out the Microscope RPG from Lame Mage? Designer Ben Robbins calls it "a fractal role-playing game of epic histories". It's not a traditional RPG...more of a historical story-telling game with RPG elements.

We've been playing with it a bit and have been having a lot of fun. I've posted some of our sessions on our group's blog.

The most interesting is a four-session two-player game exploring a sci-fi history featuring psionic powers. It has gone in directions we never expected. Here's the most recent post. It contains links to writeups of the first three sessions so you might want to link from there to the first post so you can follow the thread.

Our goal, sort of, is to create a setting that we can perhaps explore using a more traditional RPG system. But, that said, we've had a blast just creating the history using Microscope.

Would love any thoughts on what we've done and would like to hear about others' experiences with Microscope.
M

We started playing this last Sunday. There are, currently, two players with two characters each, though one of our irregular players "audited" the session. I've covered our first session on our group's new game blog
link if anyone's interested in reading it.

I had the most fun with Aretta, to whom they took an instant dislike based on her portrait from the paper minis. One of PCs took a swing at her at the wakeup call and got sapped for it, then she tried to conk the cleric one for talking back to the captain during their "welcome briefing". Later the PC from the morning accepted an armwrestling challenge from her and won, using her Killer Instinct trait (I think that's what it is) to really slam Aretta's hand into the sharp stuff. I think she's going to be permanently hostile to them...but I might have her proposition the one male in the party and give them a second chance if he accepts.

I also like Shortstone and played up his womanizing and Rosie's open disgust (but secret admiration), since the party has three females. They didn't like him much but he got four lashes of the cat for "taking the caulk" (second offense) and that messed him up pretty good. The cleric and Sandara did a Heal check and helped him feel better and he's now just Indifferent. I would like them to bring him over to their side so he can be on their crew going forward.

One issue that came up was the rum ration. After seeing the discussion about this on the forums here I decided to have it do 1d3-1 Con damage...i.e. from 0 to 2 damage on any given day. I told the players out of character that it's clear the rum is dangerous stuff but would give them a Cha bonus if they wanted to take the risk.

The player of the party's cleric convinced me that Purify Food & Drink would turn it into a harmless substance...with the proviso that she'd have to make Stealth/Sleight of Hand checks to do so without being noticed. I also haven't really figured out what Besmara would think of such behavior.

Reading the description of the spell I think this is a reasonable use of it. I made the check DC 20, possibly lowered by aiding Bluff or other checks by friendly characters. Any pirates that have particularly grown to hate them and are looking for a way to get revenge might get specific Perception checks to notice her "spiking" the punch. Getting noticed will result in the same punishment as tipping it away.

So. Can I get some opinions from the forum on whether this is reasonable? Any thoughts appreciated.
M

Edit: Not sure why the link I posted kept getting hosed. I think it's okay now.

My reading of this spell's description is that it could be used to turn a poison into a harmless substance. Would that apply to a drug like pesh? If not, why? A player wants to use this spell to hide the fact that her character's not taking a drug she's expected to take and I'm not sure how to handle it. Thanks!
M

Hi all,
I and another from my group will be arriving at tomorrow and we plan to try to get together a few off-schedule games during the event. Here's what's on tap:

1) On Thursday evening - Star Frontiers: The Equinox Incident. The Equinox is the pride of Pan-Galactic Cruiselines fleet but this trip promises a bit more than buffets and stunning vistas. Using D20 Modern/Future. Up to eight players. 6th-level characters, handouts, etc. provided. Not sure of the gaming situation (i.e. where we'd play) so I'll find out and post a definite time and location once I get there Thursday afternoon.

2) On Saturday evening - Firefly. Using Deadlands (which is an awesome system for it!). Characters and materials provided. Likely held in an open gaming room, specifics later.

3) On Sunday late morning - PaizoCon Banquet: The Morning After. We're not sure whether it was the chicken or the fish...or the beer...but something bad happened last night. The game involves gamers...and maybe some zombies. Using D20 Call of Cthulhu. Characters provided. Held in an open gaming room, specifics later.

First come, first choice of pre-gens. If you want to post and say you'll be there that's great, but we won't hold you to it. There may well be some home-brew for those of age and bearing an official PaizoCon beer glass.

As noted, I'll post specific times/places when I can.
M

Never thought I'd be interested in running a pirate campaign...but I seem to be changing my mind and we're between fantasy campaigns at the moment. My players, however, have more than a few bad experiences with the whole "you've been captured and all of your gear stripped away" thing from past jerky GMs.

So. I was hoping for some advice from folks that have read the first issue more thoroughly than I: would there be any major upset to recruiting the PCs rather than having them get slipped a mickey and waking up in the hold?

The PCs all, theoretically, want to be pirates anyway. What about having a silver-tongued recruiter from Wormwood working the bars to grab up the most promising new swabs? Maybe he does some over-promising, so they're properly resentful and will follow the mutiny hook by the end of book one.

Most of their stuff could still be taken away when they come on board, I guess. "If you need a weapon, the captain will give you a weapon. Until then, here's a mop. Get swabbing!"

Any thoughts appreciated.
M

You might actually get me to play one...

I can't possibly be the first person with a thread on this? Didn't see any. Edit: Probably 'cuz I'm blind...
M

Anyone know of a good source of Next Generation-era Star Trek minis useable for gaming? I've looked around and found some TOS-era minis (from FASA, maybe?) but nothing modern except action figures. Any help would be much appreciated.

I'm going to be running a GURPS Star Trek game set in 2376 (post Dominion War, pre Voyager return) for a couple of players (playing three characters of varying skill each). If anyone's interested I've posted the deckplans and campaign maps I made over at the Cartographer's Guild. I'm also working on some 1" battlemaps of key areas on large paper, but image posting at CG is offline.
M

Hi guys,
I know it's not a tech forum but figured I'd see if anyone here has had a problem like mine and successfully fixed it.

Last night I dropped my iPad (first generation, wi-fi) and the sound (speakers or headphones) no longer works. Everything else seems fine. I stripped off the case (one of the Apple thin ?neoprene? ones) and notice a small dent on the corner nearest the headphone jack.

I did some searching online and have tried toggling the mute button near the volume control to no effect (this is a common problem because apparently the screen rotation lock has become a mute button in the latest iOS).

Also, whether headphones are plugged in or not, the on-screen volume indicator always says "headphones". I *think* that "headphones" used to go away when nothing was in the jack.

My suspicion is that some of the hardware around the headphone jack has gotten borked so that 1) the jack itself no longer works, but 2) the iPad thinks headphones are plugged in so switches into headphone mode.

That said, I'm no Apple engineer so I'm hoping someone out there has some idea how to move forward without a complete replacement or a visit to a costly repair shop.

I'd be fine if (assuming I'm right above) the headphone jack was just permanently busted and I had some way to force iOS to always use speaker mode no matter what.

Any help? Thanks!
M

Hi all,
Just started a new Star Wars game out with a discussion about what sort of characters the players wanted to run. Turns out they wanted to try being on the other side (at least to start) and we eventually decided that they'd play privateers working for the Empire shortly after the destruction of the Death Star. It was completely unexpected but I like that they want to try something new.

I had prepared some rough outlines of possible games set during the Old Republic and Rebellion eras...but this isn't something I had even considered. It was completely unexpected but I like that they want to try something new.

So, in the first hour of introductory play they were staking out a system in revolt that the Empire didn't have enough naval assets to cover. They spotted a small freighter and, since the system is under Imperial interdict, they went after it. Its engines are down and the ship is adrift. Next session they'll board it and we'll go from there.

The ship is indeed carrying weapons and supplies for the rebels on the planet (who are currently outmanned and outgunned by the Imperial garrison there). Unfortunately, they're part of a shipment from Jabba the Hutt and payment has not yet been received. I figure, if they take the stuff (and they will), that may get Jabba interested in them. The traders themselves will be in prison so his best shot at getting his money or goods is by going after the privateers.

And...that's all I got. Anybody have some suggestions for expanding this existing thread or some thoughts on how to eventually turn the campaign toward the characters seeing the evil of the Empire and considering pitching in with the Alliance? It's okay with me if they stay on the Empire side but I want to bring it in as a possibility.

Details: there are four players with equal shares in a slightly modified YT-1300. They're operating under a letter of marque and reprisal granted by the Empire. The terms are: captured ships are impounded by the Empire, crew takes spoils less 25% share of equipment or proceeds (with the proviso that the Empire may confiscate particularly dangerous items, with compensation), and the ship has onboard an Imperial "advisor" to ensure compliance (if he fails to report in on an unknown but regular schedule a bounty will be placed on their heads). The Empire has recently nationalized the Bank of Coruscant, which holds the note on their ship, and is not requiring payment or accruing interest during their service.

I think that's about it. Any advice will be appreciated!
M

Hi all,
To the GMs out there: If given a stat block for a city in a published product, using the new city stat format presented in the Game Mastery Guide, would you prefer to see something like "Minor Items 4d4; Medium Items 3d4; Major Items 2d4" or be presented with a pre-generated list of specific items (as was done for Ravengro in volume one of the Carrion Crown AP)? Any feedback appreciated. Thanks!
M

Hi guys,
Just wanted to share this, Roleplayers Chronicle's new "Designer's Diary" column. The editor at RC asked me to put together one for my upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone.

One highlight is at the bottom, a two-page preview of the adventure intro (link). The layout's not final but the text likely is. Posting the direct link to that here...hope you dig it!
M

Hi all,
I might try to get a game on the schedule this year but I'd also like to do some off-schedule gaming.

1) My friend and I won't be attending the banquet this year and I'm sure some other folks missed out on tickets as well. We'd like to try to get together a 1920's Cthulhu game (Chaosium, 6th edition) during the banquet time slot - and probably continuing a couple of hours afterward as well.
2) I've run Star Wars games (Saga) at the last two events and might like to do it again this time if anyone's interested.

All details TBD. If you're up for either of these feel free to post here - but drop-ins will certainly be welcomed. As we get closer to the event I'll post a time and tentative location.
M

We just got back to Rise of the Runelords after a long break, the first session being the Battle of Sandpoint at the beginning of chapter 4 (Fortress).

So, I had planned that Longtooth, seeing the giants jump the gun at the north gate, would come hauling south along the road, flying low to avoid any AA action. Shortly after he starts his run (and loses sight of the wall because he's hugging the terrain) the party's wizard casts wall of force to protect himself and the guards hunkered down there (it extended about 5' over the top of the wall).

The battle proceeds apace, with the fighter and rogue heading out to fight the stone-throwing giants in the woods north of town and the wiz and cleric heading toward the new incursion east of town at Tanner's Bridge. Longtooth didn't see him cast the spell, so he's flying in like a cruise missile at 400'/round. At the last minute he pops up to clear the wall and...BAM...into the wof that he didn't see cast, couldn't detect, and therefore didn't know about.

(note: I did give LT a Perception check to notice the spell as it was being cast and a Dex check to maybe notice it at the last minute and swerve to avoid the worst of the damage. He badly botched both.)

Unless I did something incorrectly that's 20d6 falling damage and a nice cartwheel to land somewhere near the northwest corner of the Sandpoint Cathedral. Nualia (who survived chapter one and hooked up with Mokmurian) was riding Longtooth, packing heals to keep the little guy in the air. She took a fair chunk of damage as well.

By this time, they've more or less handled the Tanner's Bridge incident so the wizard and cleric come back around to see what's up and, just as Longtooth had dusted himself off and taken to the skies again (toasting the wooden wing of the Cathedral at least) there's the wizard with an empowered lightning bolt to finish him off. Nualia had not much offensive in her arsenal (except a miserable negative channel) so she went down shortly thereafter.

It was an ignominious end to poor Longtooth but a pretty happy-making outcome for the players. Even if I botched a ruling somewhere along there I'm okay with the way it turned out.

Of course, the PCs think they've won the battle and aren't that concerned about the three or so giants that crossed Miller's Pond and are wandering around Sandpoint unchecked. They've only recently given chase and Teraktinus has made it to the Old Light and is rooting up a stone as I type this. Only the fighter is heading his way so it's possible that he'll still get away and complete the mission (the rogue and wizard are each chasing down a giant and the cleric is riding her magic carpet up to check out the fire at Scarnetti Manor).

That's where we ended the session...so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns up. Anybody else have something like this happen?
M

Hi all,
Been a while since I've posted an update here. Those of you who've been following the site or roleplayerschronicle.com have probably seen some of this but those who haven't may be interested in some of the recent updates to the Acacia Games site (link).

I've just posted the final couple of pieces of art from James Sinclair for Curse of the Emperor's Stone. Also is a pic and the artwork from the new Acacia Games bookmarks...if you're going to PaizoCon I'll be more than happy to take care of all of your bookmarking needs! I think there are also some older art previews on there that I haven't show off on these boards yet.

So, lots to see if you're interested. Thanks!
Michael
Acacia Games

Guess I was slow this year - PaizoCon's getting like a rock concert.

If anyone bought banquet tickets and finds out they can't go to the show I'll buy them from you. Would be willing to pay a reasonable 'mark up' given the scarcity of this apparently prized commodity. If you've got a pair of tickets you don't plan to use please contact me: michael at acaciagames dot com.

Thanks!
M

Wow. C'mon. This is the Internet. Surely some one has strong feelings about this one way or the other. :) Love it? Hate it? Meh?

Here are a couple more from this adventure (link)

I should have some more portraits (and maybe more bestiary illos) in hand soon but the next scene from James is taking a little longer than expected because of other obligations.
M

Hi all,
I'd like to provide customers of our upcoming products with downloadable extras that are useful in their games. The first thing that comes to mind is art (maps and illustrations) for use with VTTs. Unfortunately, apart from a few sessions with Fantasy Grounds, I'm not terribly familiar with these great tools. So I'm asking you guys, the experts: What do you need or want from downloadable assets?

* What VTT software are you using?
* Are there any requirements (format, size, etc.) for maps or images used with your VTT?
* What else would be useful? Plain-text statblocks? Box text? Something else?
* Besides VTTs, what other uses do you have for downloadable assets? Handouts formatted for easy printing? Condition tracker sheets for NPCs? What else?

I'm open to suggestions here...and I'm sure other 3PPs would benefit from your advice on the subject as well. Fire away!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
If you've seen any of my posts you probably know that I'm working on a couple of products for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Unfortunately Acacia Games is currently a one-man show (me) and I don't do art...which leaves me looking for budget to hire freelancers.

I do make a pretty good map, however, so I've put together a small portfolio [link] and figured I'd share it here. If any of you fine folks are looking for cartography help on any of your projects and like what you see please get in touch. There's a contact link on the portfolio page but you can also reach me directly by e-mail at michael at acaciagames dot com.

Money's great but, frankly, I'd also be interested in swapping services with another small 3PP...trading maps for character portraits and other illustrations, for instance.

Appreciate your time. Feel free to get in touch to discuss, heap praise, toss insults, or whatever. Thanks!
M

[edit]Ahem. Yeah, not just for 3PPs I guess. Paizo, if you want a map from me just ask. I'd be honored! :)

Are there any codified rules for haggling over the price of goods or services? I can't recall ever having seen any and I didn't turn up any with a search of the PFRPG core book, the GMG, or this site. Seems like something that should exist...so am I just missing it?

In our home games we generally just roll diplomacy checks with situational modifiers to improve shopkeeper attitude (usually indifferent unless the heroes have done something good or bad that has influenced them already). Anyone do anything else?

As I write this I have a sinking feeling that I've just been missing something (i.e. the presence or absence of real rules for this) for many years... :)
M

Final cover artwork is awaiting delivery but this (link) is a pretty-close-to-final mock-up of the front cover for Curse of the Emperor's Stone. The figure at the right is the eponymous Emperor's Stone, the artifact at the center of the adventure. The final artwork will, hopefully, be an action scene showing the adventure's PCs running headlong into an allyway ambush by the Lushou. Hope you like it.
M

Acacia Games

Hi all. We're going to be getting back to Runelords in the next couple of months and I've begun to do some background prep. We left off at the end of Ch. 3/Hook Mountain so we'll be starting up in Sandpoint with Ch. 4/Fortress.

They let Nualia escape in Ch. 1 so I want Nualia to play a part in the battle that happens there...she promised to see Sandpoint burn and will be returning to town on the back of a red dragon. When we last saw her she was in the process of becoming a demon thingie. How do you think that would have progressed over the last few months? How can I represent it in-game or should I even bother and just make it flavor?

Any advice appreciated!
M

Hi all,
I've just posted a new map on the Acacia Games site (article here). This is a battlemap for the upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone, detailing the site of an ambush by the heroes' enemies, the Lushou crime organization. Hope you all like it!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
I've just posted a new map on the Acacia Games site (article here). This is a battlemap for the upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone, detailing the House of the Four Winds - the site of the adventure's climactic battle, where the PCs will fight alongside the Sifeng monks against agents of the Lushou and their allies for possession of the Emperor's Stone. Hope you all like it!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
I apologize if any of this has been discussed before but my forum-fu is weak. I have a couple of specific questions about playing RotRL with the Pathfinder rules. First some background:

We started the AP using the 3.5 rules and rolled stats (4d6, drop lowest). Some of the PCs ended up with crazy-high stats and I adjusted a couple of the weaklings upward toward the range of the tougher ones, just so things weren't too off kilter (I know, play 'em as they lay, but I was feeling sorry for them.) Switched to Pathfinder rules around the beginning of Skinsaw Murders.

We've had between five and seven PCs for the first few books and just finished up Hook Mountain a while back (on a break now). With their high stats they've been pretty well breezing through the encounters, which I have not really been beefing up too much. BUT, because there is a larger party than expected, the PCs are behind in XP going into Fortress (8th and the adventure calls for 10th, IIRC.) Some of the assumptions about what the party has at hand are, accordingly, a little off-base because of this.

When we get back to it I'd like to offer the players a deal: rebuild your character (or create a new one) using point buy but starting at 10th level with level-appropriate wealth (they're actually quite a lot behind that curve as well). I want to allow anything from the core book as well as the new APG.

The main question, for those that have played using the new rules from the beginning, is what's the best point buy value for me to offer? I'd like to go with 20 points but wonder if that's good enough?

The secondary question, is are there any problems with the wealth-by-level guidelines in the core book? Is it enough? Is it too little?

Anything else I should be thinking of?

Appreciate any advice you guys might have!
M

Hi all,
I've just posted a new map on the Acacia site (article here). This is an area map for the upcoming adventure Curse of the Emperor's Stone, detailing the docks area - which serves as an introduction of the PCs to Haibianr and to the mystery of the Emperor's Stone. Hope you all like it!
M

Acacia Games

Hi all,
Just posted a small preview of Curse of the Emperor's Stone, an upcoming adventure from Acacia Games. You can read it here.

Curse of the Emperor's Stone is an adventure about an artifact: The Emperor’s Stone. While this long-lost treasure of the First Emperor offers its bearer, over time, great power, it often brings more woe than weal. When one of the adventure’s heroes, through an unfortunate series of events, winds up becoming the artifact’s “Chosen One” he and his associates quickly find themselves on a run-away rickshaw ride that just won’t end…at least until they find a way to rid themselves of the Emperor’s Stone once and for all.

Also recently posted a brief introduction to Shijie, the campaign world where this adventure is set. You can read that post here

Hope you like it!
M

Hi all,
Small moves, but I just wanted to drop a note that the Acacia Games site (link) is now up and running. Two in-development products have been announced so far:

1) Curse of the Emperor's Stone is an adventure about an artifact: The Emperor’s Stone. While this long-lost treasure of the First Emperor offers its bearer, over time, great power, it often brings more woe than weal. When one of the adventure’s heroes, through an unfortunate series of events, winds up becoming the artifact’s “Chosen One” he and his associates quickly find themselves on a run-away rickshaw ride that just won’t end…at least until they find a way to rid themselves of the Emperor’s Stone once and for all.

2) Haibianr - The City of Ten-Thousand Alleyways is a city setting book covering the cosmopolitan city of Haibianr - an independent city-state, located on the northeastern coast of Dazhou, that is the “Gateway to the West” for Shijie’s eastern civilizations. It details all facets of life in Haibianr, information on the city by district as well as surrounding areas of interest, people and organizations, the city’s long history, as well as secrets for the Game Master’s eyes only. The book also includes a collection of generic and named NPCs that can be found within the city, random encounters by district, a Haibianr-specific bestiary, and a pronunciation guide.

There's not an ETA on these but I'm hoping CotES will be ready in the Fall, at least. Until then, please come by the site for a quick look - and then check back for news and previews as they become available. If you'd like to register I'll put you on our mailing list, but will bug you for only important stuff...promise! :)
M

Well, we don't have everyone onboard yet but I'm late
getting this started so: let's roll!

A revolution just isn't without guns. The newly established Alliance to Restore the Republic needs a reliable supplier of weaponry and thinks it might have found one in the person (or, rather, slug-like creature) of Lorga the Hutt, an up-and-coming crime lord that lairs on the Smugglers' Moon, Nar Shaddaa.

Major Jander, chief of procurement for the Alliance, recently invited a motley crew to board the Nebulon-B frigate Republic Rising for a briefing on this sensitive matter. His goal, to arrange the acquisition of an initial lot of 50 BlasTech DL-75 blaster rifles or similar weapons, would be furthered by reaching out to Lorga. To accomplish the mission he made available to the group a total of 100,000 credits - 50,000 for the weapons, 25,000 for expenses and bribes, and another 25,000 just in case Lorga decided to drive a hard bargain. He also authorized the use of an old, but reliable YT-1300 freighter, the "Shortcut".

After an uneventful trip through Hutt Space, the group reached Nar Shaddaa and berthed in Bay 42 of the Doree Sector Spaceport - near which was located "The Down Low", the spacer lounge supposedly frequented by Lorga's agent, Hleb. He wasn't present though a Black Sun representative, a bith named Zax Leem, was. After brief negotiations it was determined that the Syndicate's prices were likely too high and the group managed to locate Hleb, who gave them directions to Lorga's estate.

All was not well, however, and it soon became clear that the group had stumbled into some sort of criminal turf war. Syndicate thugs tailed them back to the spaceport, where they rented a speeder. Despite some excellent navigation and piloting, Black Sun agents soon picked up their trail and gave chase though they were shaken quickly by some Boonta Eve Classic-style airspeeder piloting. Against all odds, another group located the group and gave chase. It was a hairy race through the airways of Nar Shaddaa, but a combination of good piloting and shooting along with miserable collision avoidance on the part of the thugs soon had the bad guys' airspeeder plunging into the foggy depths of the undercity.

After the excitement of the journey the arrival at Lorga's estate, high atop a city spire, was almost an anti-climax. The hutt's majordomo, a twi'lek named Cravon Deimos, introduced the group to Lorga and they made a subtle pitch. "So, you want weapons?" said Lorga, "I don't sell weapons to just any nerf herder from the Outer Rim. We'll have to get to know each other first; learn to trust each other. In the meantime, enjoy the hospitality of my palace."

It's doubtful anyone had a good feeling about that but everyone made themselves at home while the zabrak businessman in the group chatted up the suspicious hutt - and, through force of charm, managed to win him over at least a little. Lorga's mood somewhat improved, the hutt called for servers to bring in a feast for him and his guests!

Yum. Now for dinner with a hutt. Where's Judith Martin when you need her?

For those of you new to this, check out the tags you can use in your post (formatting, out of character - ooc, and dice). Please post an ooc description of your character and just the basics on who he/she is for the readers at home and to refresh everyone's memory. When everyone has done that we'll have some refreshments and entertainment - gangsta hutt style. Lorga da OG yo!

Oh, yeah, still no word from two of our players. I'll make another query and then we'll call them MIA and either play them as NPCs or find a couple of new players...we'll need both a mechanic and a pilot, methinks.

Hi all,
Hopefully I'm not jumping the gun here but just wanted to promo an upcoming event, as it seems that one of my fantasy maps (link) will be appearing in it.

It's an exhibition of digital cartography at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Art (link) to be held from July 16th through the 29th (free to the public). The maps are displayed in digital frames and will be available for purchase as prints on canvas or paper (apparently pretty high quality).

Still working out the details for the appearance of my map but, unless something goes horribly wrong, it should be there...along with a whole mess of even better cartography from *real* artists. I'm just a hack but some of these cats are world-class. Hope you kids living in the NY area can stop by and see the exhibit. Wish I could make it out.
M

NB: I put this in the "Compatible Products..." sub-forum because the map in question is for a Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatible setting product I'm working on...and because I couldn't find another section other than "Off Topic" where it might fit. Mods, if you think this belongs in that section please feel free to move it.

Hi all,
So, I've decided I must make time to finish off our Paizocon Star Wars game. Let's use this thread to discuss starting it up again and for OOC discussion during play. We'll at least finish this adventure...but maybe we can keep something going if everyone's having fun and has time to do it (no guarantees there, but I'll try).

If I recall, attendees were: mearrin69 (Me/GM), Attic Whisperer, Zylphryx, Laughing Goblin, senshi_shinri_teki, and EL-EL. If I've missed someone please let me know. Give me a hand raise to let me know you're onboard with continuing PBP and we'll pick up where we left off. If we don't get everyone back I may recruit someone from the boards to fill a role.

A brief refresher:

Hopefully we can get it going.
M

I'd definitely be up for playing if so. If not maybe I'll try to put a game together...but I'd rather play. :)
M

Hi all,
Apologies if I've put this in the wrong place, missed some important change, etc. Haven't been very involved in the messageboards lately and I can't get search to do no kind of tricks for me...I thought I sucked at the Google machine but Paizo's search functions are a complete mystery to me. Okay, caveats out of the way:

Is there an error in the oracle's lore mystery entry, specifically: On p.25, under the "Class Skills" header it says "An oracle with the lore mystery adds Appraise, Spellcraft, and all Knowledge skills to her list of class skills." BUT Spellcraft is already a class skill (noted on P.18) so that doesn't make a lot of sense.

The logical fix here seems to be swapping Lore's Spellcraft addition for Linguistics, which is really a needed/wanted class skill for an oracle with that mystery. This is what we've done temporarily, pending clarification from someone in the know. So, is it a booboo? Did we intuit the correct fix for it if so?

I played on Saturday for the first time using this character and had a good time with it. My guy's a halfling oracle 3 (lore) with funky stats but a nice high score in Cha and Int. The two revelations I picked are the Sidestep Secret (trade Cha for Dex on AC) and Automatic Writing. Chose the Clouded Vision curse and that has been fun too.

Oh, further question: with Sidestep Secret does the oracle keep his Cha bonus to AC when flat-footed or otherwise "denied his Dex bonus to AC"? Thanks!
M

First, please don't take this post as griping. Just looking for information.

I've been waiting around *forever* for the Bestiary because I have my RPG shipments bundled with my AP shipments (and part three of Council of Thieves is off schedule). Received a "shipping soon" notice the other day and my wife told me this afternoon that my credit card has been charged for this shipment...but I have received no shipping notice and the downloads aren't available in "My Downloads".

So:
1) How much of a delay between being charged and receiving my downloads should I expect in this instance...and in the future if this is a special delay for some reason.
2) Is it at all possible to be charged and receive the PDFs of products I have ordered even though the physical product won't be shipped for some time to come? I realize you can't charge until you ship (or at least that's how it is with my cc acceptance agreement) but I would count giving me access to the PDF as "shipped" and be happy to pay you for the book in advance in that case.

Okay. That is all. :) Thanks!
M

Oh, order number is #1270220 in case you need to check it out.

Hi all,
Apologies if this has been asked before but are there any good guidelines for the minimum and maximum number of players at a PFS scenario table? At PaizoCon, Joshua seemed reluctant to have a table with less than 5 players. I didn't note a maximum, but we weren't exactly full up.

I'm running an event that has 8 confirmed attendees (including myself and a DM for a possible second table) and a few (3-5) maybes. If only 8 of us show up can I run a scenario with 7 players? If we get ten can we run 2 tables with 4 players? Ideally we'll have twelve or more so we can have 2 tables with at least 5...but I'm not sure that'll happen.

So, advice? Thanks in advance! :)
M

Edit: If the scenario matters at all, we'll be running #24 Decline of Glory for one table and adding #14 The Many Fortunes of Grandmaster Torch for a second table if we open it.

FYI, we have 7 confirmed attendees and three "maybes" for this event via Meetup.com. A couple more from this forum have said they'll try to make it. Hopefully we'll also get a drop-in player or two at the store on the day of the event.

If anyone not registered for it at Meetup wants to join the fun please note your interest here and come on by. We'll only be able to fit in about 12 (to maybe 14) attendees because the store is pressed for space that day.

Assuming this goes well I'd like to try it again in a month or so and recruit another DM so we can have more than two tables - if you're interested please let me know. I guess we'll be switching to Pathfinder RPG rules by then but I haven't looked into how to transition old characters and such. Gotta do my homework on that.
M

Hi all,
I'm in the process of trying to get together a regular, multi-table PFS "group" hosted at a local (Portland, OR) gaming store (Guardian Games). So far, maybe because it's summer, it has been difficult to get folks to commit but I think I've finally got at least one table together for 8/1/09. I'd like to make this a monthly thing with multiple DMs running different scenarios...help spread the Paizo love in Portland.

So, the question: is there a Paizo program to get some sort of freebies to entice new players to come check it out? If not, could one be created? Would this have to go through the gaming store or do you guys "trust" local DMs enough to hand out some copies of the Bonus Bestiary or something similar as a way of getting players interested in PFS, and Pathfinder in general?
M

So. When are we getting some Tianxia love? You guys working on this? Need some help? What's up?

If it's going to be a long time coming, how a gazetteer covering Golarion's "Far East"?

In the meantime, I'm working on a Hong Kong-like city-state called Hai Bianr in which I hope to run a few one-shot adventures with my group. Hopefully I can just stick it on the coast of Golarion's "China" when it's introduced and use it as-is. Don't snag my name yo. :)
M

Hi all,
I made the following post on the Portland RPG Meetup site:
link

Boils down to, "is anybody in Portland/Vancouver interested in PFS gaming?" I'd be up for running the occasional PFS game for folks interested in advancing their characters in the Society. Also wouldn't mind getting a little "organized" with other DMs to the extent of maybe getting several of us together somewhere like Guardian Games on a particular night to all run PFS sessions and promoting it to attract new players to PFS/Pathfinder RPG.

So. Anyone?
M

Hi all,
I'm going to be running some scheduled Pathfinder Society (D&D) games at the show but was thinking about getting together a Star Wars game at some point too.

Been talking to a Zuxius (a *huge* SW minis fan - this guy's got quite an army!) about it so I think that's one confirmed player if we can get something going. Anybody else interested?

I'm open to running a game in any era...but I don't have a lot of experience GMing higher power levels so I'd probably want to go somewhere between 1st and 7th level.

Feel free to post here or e-mail me (michaela at acaciarg.com) if you're up for it. I'd be more than happy to play too...if someone else is thinking of running something.
M

P.S. If anyone's thinking about running a Dark Heresy game I'd love to join you for it. I've got the core book and have read through it. I'm not up to actually GMing the system yet but I would certainly like to give it a try as a player. I could probably help out with minis, maps (SW Galaxy Tiles, wet-erase map), and stuff for such a game.