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Congratulations to Terry Thambipillai (universally known as Terry T) for achieving his 5th GM star. Terry is a GM of puissant skill. He manages to balance a very firm grip on his players with a gentle sense of humour. He runs games tirelessly, both online and in person, and his tables are always full. He gives his time very generously at most of our UK games conventions. Terry is an ornament to the Pathfinder Society in the UK and in Europe, albeit a slightly cracked urn. He is a remarkable ambassador for the game in Europe and has led many an adventuring party of Brits across the Channel. So far he has avoided starting any international incidents – probably because he is regarded as an English eccentric. Amazingly, they keep inviting him back for more. He is a very popular guest. I love his games and I hope to play in many more of them. Rock on Terry.
This is a wonderful adventure and I am just limbering up to run it for the second time but
I've just reported a game of Plunder and Peril. The players did all three parts which entitles them to 12XP and 18PP but the reporting system only allows them 4PP. I thought there might be three different places to report it. i.e. Plunder and Peril I; Plunder and Peril II; Plunder and Peril III. Am I missing a trick or is the technical department still working on this long term issue?
We played Plunder and Peril over this weekend and had a great time. It is a wonderful mix of different challenges and it manages to incorporate just about every pirate theme possible. I would score it a certain 5 star adventure and a good improvement of Raiders of the Fever seas. The first adventure seemed a little short and we played that in a long evening until 1.00am in the morning. It set the scene very well. Part 2 was a very long haul and took all Saturday. It was pretty challenging for the players. Part 3 took us about 8 hours and I had to miss out a couple of arbitrary encounters so that people could get home. The whole story hangs together very well and it would be a real shame to break it up. These adventures are not three separate part they are one tightly scripted long saga. Please help. The final bonus 4th chronicle for playing all three is ambiguously word and nearly led to bloodshed around our table. The last paragraph "Shackles Paragon", seems to offer the choice between taking an extra 3XP and an extra 6 PP and extra 11,787 gold (total 12XP 18PP and gold for the whole module) or else taking 2pp the three boons above listed it on the sheet. One player read it as literally as award all boons on the sheet including the extra XP, PP and gold. Surely that can't be true.
I am delighted to congratulate Benoît Gros on achieving his fifth star for GM'ing. He sets the Gold Standard for running Pathfinder games and recently I was honoured to play in some of his games at GardenCon, Geneva. Benoît plays the characters like a professional actor who has learned his roles to perfection and he sets the scene and the atmosphere like a master of storytelling. What makes that even more remarkable is that he does so in several languages. On an international table, he will sometimes run in more than one language to make sure all the players are comfortable. Amazing! The other great quality of Benoît's games is the tremendous verve and energy that he generates as he drives along the action. He manages to set just the right level of challenge, allowing his players to enjoy the games but feel pushed close to their limits. It goes without saying he is very knowledgeable on the rules and clearly spends a serious amount of time to properly prep his games. I know of no other Venture Captain who has done more to encourage and organize an exchange of players throughout Europe. He is a very welcome visiting GM to our UK games conventions and without his help we would often be stuck for language support. And, of course he is a wonderful host to players from all over Europe at his own convention in Geneva, Switzerland. Well done Benoît!
I am delighted to announce that Carol Tierney is our new Venture Lieutenant for England. Our VO Team unanimously voted Carol Tierney as the ideal candidate to take up the post. She is already doing most of the work of an energetic Venture Lieutenant and we wanted to recognise her efforts and make her official. She has been instrumental in running the "Open Skies" Pathfinder Lodge in Cambridgeshire with regular games. The group has built formidable reputation within the UK. Carol organises the "3XP" Pathfinder Conventions and this has been so successful and popular that it often runs twice a year to cover special events. Last year Carol wrote and ran the first player-scripted Pathfinder costumed LARP in the UK at "Conception" games convention. It was a wonderful special event for a convention and she is writing and organising a similar event for Conception 2015. She is one of the "Wyrd Sisters" who cook up hot and healthy grub for harassed GMs at that same convention. Of course Carol is also an excellent GM, and fast gaining more stars. We would be lost without her and her talent for organising. Watch out for great things to come, in her area and beyond.
Here is our schedule but you can expect it to vary a little. We will leave Aston at the dot of 7.00pm on Friday 25 July to arrive at 60 Severn Street, B1 1QG, before 7.30pm.At the Banqueting Hall we allow half an hour so you can buy wine or beer at the bar, get yourself seated and we need to make some fire exit announcements. Dinner will be served at 8.00pm with 'tween course stories from our Blue Badge Guide. Dinner will finish around 9.30pm. (This will vary.) Walk starts soon after and we hope to finish by 11.30pm. Ideally it will be closer to Aston and we will walk back. Of course the Ghost Walk isn't compulsory, and you can get taxis if you don't want to walk with us to the banqueting hall. Do check the weather and take an umbrella if it look changeable. There is no dress code but it's a great chance to wear a bow-tie. Stilleto heels are probably not a good idea and stilletto knives are banned entirely.
I am delighted to tell you that our UK Venture Captain, Dave Harrison is now a Five Star GM and I am honoured to be the one to submit this to Paizo. Dave was the "mad fool" who rashly volunteered the idea of the first PaizoCon UK. Without him the event wouldn't exist and many UK players wouldn't be playing Pathfinder, at all. He is a lovely guy, a good friend and a huge asset to the hobby. He is often willing to drop everything and run a game to make sure everyone else has a chance to play. Dave is certainly one of the most talented GMs that I know. I find him an inspiration! Dave's new 5-Star status is endorsed by a host of really wonderful comments that I have from some of the players and GMs that he has entertained and supported:
Read what they say about Dave: --- Having played in many of Dave's games I've always found them to be among the most atmospheric and engaging of all those I've played. His background knowledge of the world of Golarion really contributes to making our characters truly immersed into the role of Pathfinders and that our actions matter. His running of Eyes of Ten for our group is among the most memorable of all games I've ever played. It was just awesome. - Andrew B --- Dave Harrison has been a friend and mentor to me through the last two and half years since I have taken up playing PFS. From the moment I met him, he was encouraging and welcoming to a shy player at her first con. As a GM, he brings the world of Golarian to life, ensuring that each player in included and has fun. He is fair with the rules and the complete ambassador for the whole of the Pathfinder Society. I have loved every single game I have played of his, feeling immersed in the world and that exilhirating feeling of knowing you defeated the enemy with only a hit point or two to spare. He has been totally supportive of my time so far as a GM, including sitting at my table as a player, He is positive, open and such a fun person, that I am now honoured to call him friend. Without his guidance and support, I don't think I would have ventured into starting my own events and broadening the numbers of games in Sussex. - Chris BB
If ever there was a perfect example of where the journey mattered more than the destination it is one of Dave's games. The smiles on the player's faces, the laughter at the table and the retelling of the war stories after the event is all the evidence anyone needs that here is a great GM. Pathfinder Society and all of the players/employees who are involved in it should feel very proud and indeed lucky to have someone of Dave's calibre involved. On a more personal note, I feel privileged to have been able to play when Dave ran the first (and so far only) UK 'Eyes of the Ten' table. That weekend is one of my most enjoyable roleplaying experiences so far in my 15+ years in the hobby and is I will never forget. The camaraderie between the players as our characters accomplished the seemingly impossible was something special. Such was the enjoyment had in that weekend that we as players 'reserved' Dave to run the module 'Academy of Secrets' with our new Venture Captain characters so we could 'get the band back together'. If you'll excuse the paraphrasing; if a company can be judged on the quality of its GMs, then well done Paizo, you're second to none. - Alex S
Dear Chums, thanks so much for the kind words. It's very humbling...but that won't stop me celebrating with a few beers this Friday with the usual crew down in Saventh Yhi. I recognise lots of familiar names from Europe and America above and I really look forward to playing with you lovely people again. ...'til the next time.
We have entered all the reports for all the games but there were quite a lot of reports with missing details, names and factions that didn't agree with the database etc.
Thank you all for your comments. They are very valuable to us. We always run an online survey to collect feedback from you good people ready for our meeting in early October, at OddCon, when we plan the next year's PaizoCon and other events. Please give us your feedback on our 10 question online survey. There's plenty of space for extra comments.
You were brilliant one and all! This year it was our goal to make it a truly international event. It was so good to get so many lovely people from Denmark, France, Germany, Slovakia, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia and America. Please come again and bring all your friends. We were so grateful to our GMs. This year we had such support that we could spread the load and let (almost) all our GMs get a chance to play, as well as referee. Please keep volunteering. You were awesome. In early October we meet to plot and plan next year's event. Please make sure you let us know of anything that you would like to change -- anything that you would like more of -- anything that you would like to have less of -- anything that wasn't clear. We will prepare an online survey so you can give us feedback but we are open to any comments in any form.
Like the rest of you, we do what we do because we enjoy it, but it was very humbling to be honoured in this way and to get that special medal and the bragging rights on that low, low PFS number. Wow! Thank you very much, Mike and Paizo.
Yup a Balti is a curry and the curries that they serve in Birmingham's Balti Triangle tend to be quite fiery. Adils is no exception and it is a set menu.
Early play for Rivalry's End
I have spoken with Gosta Green pub and they would be delighted to have you on the Friday afternoon. They will save you a table if we remind them closer to the time. I said you were mostly well behaved and probably wouldn't break any furniture or start any barroom brawl...so be good or I’m in trouble. The contact there is Stefan (0121 359 0044) and they are open from 11.00am. Would anyone who is playing this please let us know because we will need to re-format the tables on Sunday to make up for the gaps. Thanks v much.
To be clear, this is NOT for anyone who is already signed-in to play the adventure on Sunday afternoon. It's for those who must leave early for planes and trains and therefore would miss it or at least miss the end of it. They have first call, but it would also be a good slot zero for an GM who wants to play it before running it.
Pete puts it so nicely. Actually, anyone who doesn't choose their games and indicate their combat role and level on Warhorn PDQ will be allocated to a table of five high level squeaky voiced halfling bards with a deathwish.
We are very excited to announce that we have two new Venture Lieutenants for England. Their names will be no surprise to Pathfinder Society players who attend games conventions in the UK, because they are both regular GMs and organisers. Looking after the north and working out of Sheffield we have Pete Pollard and a little further south and working out of Peterborough we have Tonya Woldridge. Pete is an Oscar Nominated GM who regularly covers every game slot at most of the big game conventions and has a talent for bringing the adventures to life in a frighteningly vivid way. For many years he has been a rock that we could depend on at games conventions and he runs a lively regular local group in Sheffield. This year he is handling the table assignment at PaizoCon UK. Tonya runs the gaming half of CrispyCon and she gets an award for the smoothest running game convention in England...ever! She has been our mainstay for the scheduling of games and GMs at the big conventions and she is one of the "Three Wyrd Sisters" who run the soup kitchen for poor GMs at the Conception 5-day games convention. All her family are dyed-in-the-wool Pathfinder fanatics and in her spare time she organises them, too. As if that wasn't enough, she is also an ace GM. Wow! These two great people will be helping Dave Harrison and I as our team of star Pathfinder GMs attend more and more local conventions to spread the word to new players and entertain game hungry veterans. Please say hiya to them and wish them luck.
As Dave says, it is very, very early days and we still have plenty of capacity for more tables of any adventure. It would have been foolish for us to open up 20 plus tables and find there wasn't enough demand or to split the adventures half low level and half high level and find we had a very heavy demand for low level adventures.
Don't rush this one, it's far too good to trundle through. The atmosphere and the creep factor is brilliant if you get it right and have players who will run with it. There are weird inbred citizens, continual rain, haunting crows, town guards who look like crows, an Edgar Allan Poe-like Mayor, a foul industrial area and stinking marshes all around.
If you can print out the maps at full size, or draw them out in advance you will save a lot of time. Reading the "The Dunwich Horror" by HP Lovecraft will help get you in the mood. Slurp, slurp. Enjoy.
Jens, you caught me wrong footed as I am still in recovery from Conception where several records were broken and we increased our Pathfinder slots by over 50 percent on last year. See our PaizoCon UK website Several GMs deserve congratulations for achieving official star-rating at Conception. Chris Brockley-Blatt completed enough games to get a one-star, Chris Manning achieved a one-star, Shawn Comiskey achieved his two-star, Crispy won his four-star status. Jens Loesel ran his 151st games, and gained appreciative comments from players…enough to apply for a five-star rating. I'll be sending in a formal submission with player comments over the weekend. Meanwhile, hurray, for 4-star Crispy. His adventures are vivid, flavorsome and often deeply threatening. When you sit on his table you are NOT at his table, you are right there in the middle of a thriller and living the action. He is a world-class GM and you should elbow your way on to his table at any cost.
Just yesterday the same point was made to me by another player who chooses to Slow Track his Characters at upper levels. I couldn't give him a good answer. It is a mystery to me. I could think of no reason why they should be disadvantaged for choosing to play their character through more games. I would endorse Findas' request for an adjustment as soon as convenient, unless there is a good reason to the contrary.
Hiya Guys. May I check a stat for this one? In my PDF I have 44 hit points for the King Crab Familiar on page 16. I can't square that with the Bestiary Stats on Page 50 which gives it only one HD. Is this in fact a Giant Crab or a Huge Crab or an Enlarged Crab or a typo? I played this one a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it though we were well challenged by a long Bearded Devil fight. I'm running it on Friday for my home group and I hope to bring out more of the excellent back story somehow or other.
Wow! Thank you all so much for the kind thoughts and words. This one came out of the sun at me so I am still getting to grips with it. I am very, very honoured and I'll do my best to shape up to the high standards that other people have set. I really appreciate your good wishes but expect the usual blood, murder and carnage (in a loving way) if you sit down at my table. I'm looking forward to working with Dave to try and make England the hummiest place to play Pathfinder. I've bought a new pirate hat to celebrate!
What wonderful news. I can't think of a better person to be in charge of the Ireland Grand Lodge. Well done William. Do keep in touch. I know UK players will be interested to know what's going on in Ireland and I would be delighted to place any notices you have of events on the PaizoCon UK website.
I see my players enjoy an adventure best if the theme is carried through consistently -- pyramid adventures with the right sort of challenges like the "Rebel's Ransom", gothic adventures that create a really threatening mood like "Midnight Mauler", cthullu-esque adventures like "Mists of Mwangi" and "Voice in the Void". BUT if we're talking monsters I would like to see:
Let's lay off the swarms, haunts, bearded devils, dretches and lemures for quite a while.
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