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Silver Crusade 3/5

Q: How does a spontaneous caster like bard or sorcerer gain access to Uncommon (or Rare) spells for their repertoire in Society play?

I have a couple of sorcerers, and I'm trying to plan their builds a bit. What are the processes by which they can take Uncommon spells?

Silver Crusade 3/5

I have some questions regarding Crafting scrolls in PFS 2e.

I am relatively new to second edition, but I have a character who is considering diving deep into scrolls. Originally I thought he would just buy a bunch of scrolls, but now I'm considering having him Craft them.

I realize that some of this post is really more appropriate for the Rules forum, but the primary question (Question 1, below) is all about Society play.

Question 1. Is it worth it (in Pathfinder Society)?
I guess this is the big question.

Please offer sound arguments either for or against. :)

The two types of costs to consider are the material costs for the scrolls plus the opportunity costs of the Skill Feat slot (to take Magical Crafting) and the Skill training (for the Craft skill).

Another consideration for my particular case is the fact that the character in question has Int –1. This makes the Craft skill less appealing and the skill training slot more valuable.

Question 2. How does it work?
I think I have the basic understanding of it, but I still have questions.

I know that I need the Craft skill and the Magical Crafting feat. I also know that I need formulas for crafting magic items (the feat grants 4 formulas to start).

Sub-Question 2a. Do I need a formula for each spell I want to Craft onto a scroll?

Sub-Question 2b. Can I Craft the same spell at different levels with the same formula (assuming I can cast that spell at different levels)?

Sub-Question 2c. How difficult is it? I am not seeing the Crafting DC listed anywhere.

Sub-Question 2d. Should I expect table variation in any of these mechanics?

Thanks in advance for your help.


F Twi'lek Mercenary Soldier ( Br 3 )( Ag 3 )( In 2 )( Cu 3 )( Wi 2 )( Pr 3 ) [ Soak 5 · Wounds 0/13 · STh 0/13 ] [ M 0 · R 0 ] | Athletics 2 · Brawl 2 · Coordination 2 · Leadership 2 · Melee 2 · Ranged (Light) 2 · Ranged (Heavy) 2 · Stealth 2 | Adversary 1 · Point Blank 2 · Side Step 1 · Stalker 1 | Shadowed |
bike:
( Si 2 )( Sp 3 )( H +1 ) [ Armor 0 · Hull 0/2 · SySt 0/4 ]

This is where the gameplay discussion will take place.


"Jedi and Sith wield the Ashla and Bogan. The light and the dark. I'm the one in the middle. The Bendu."

Placeholder for upcoming reserved game.

Silver Crusade

I have been trying to place an order in your online store to take advantage of the holiday16 discount.

When I click [Proceed to Checkout] from the Shopping Cart, I am taken to a sign-in screen. (https://secure.paizo.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/checkout)

After signing in, I am taken to the Shopping Cart.

When I click [Proceed to Checkout] from the Shopping Cart, I am taken to a sign-in screen.

This continues in what I imagine must be an endless loop.

I have tried using both Firefox and Safari on three different devices.

I have tried clearing the cache, history, etc.

None of that has worked, of course.

I am extremely frustrated at this point. I don't know of any other business that makes it more difficult for me to spend money than Paizo.


Korvosa map | Green Market map

Discussion thread open


Korvosa map | Green Market map

Gameplay thread opened for dotting.

The sun rises behind you as the ship you are on leaves Absalom and the Isle of Kortos, bound for Korvosa, the largest city-state in the wilderness of Varisia.

Feel free to role play in this thread before we get started. :)


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I am opening recruitment for a PFS table of #4-06: The Green Market (5-9).

I have three players who have never played a PbP game before, but they are all experienced PFS players/GMs, and a fourth player who has as much PbP experience as I do.

With that in mind, I am going to be very selective in who I chose for the other two slots.

Please indicate the following if you wish to be considered for this game.

Character Name
Class or major role
Level
Have you played this scenario?
Have you GMed this scenario?

Please read the following before applying.

Expectations for Players

Welcome to our PbP game together. Here are my expectations for players that I find make the experience easier for me as GM, and better for all of the players. :)

Have a complete stat block in your profile:
I will only accept characters who have a complete stat block in their profile. You should be able to run your character entirely from your stat block. If you need your character sheet or ITS in front of you also, then it is incomplete. Feel free to apply in Recruitment threads with a character that isn't up to date, but make sure to have a completed profile before the game starts.

Post every day:
One to two posts per weekday and once per weekend is about the average pace of games. If you will be unable to post for a few days, please let the group know.

Move your minis on the map:
I use Google Drawings and/or Google Slides. If you are unable to manipulate the maps (iPhones have this problem), just indicate in your posts how you want your character to move so that someone else can do so for you.

Make posts interesting:
Most of your posts should include both dialog and descriptive text. Dialog should be bold text in quotes.

Make your dice rolling clear:
You attacks and damage should be on separate lines, and in blocks. They should include any bonuses. You can add the bonuses yourself or you can leave them separate (which is what I tend to do so that I make sure to count them all). Here is an example:

"Take that!" Elska says as she fires 2 arrows at the ghoul with her composite longbow.
attack 1, rapid shot, Point-Blank Shot: 1d20 + 4 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 4 - 2 + 1 = 11
damage, Point-Blank: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

attack 2, rapid shot, Point-Blank Shot: 1d20 + 4 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 4 - 2 + 1 = 21
damage, Point-Blank: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 = 8

Link to your spells and abilities:
I don't know all your spells and abilities. If it is a magic missile, you are fine. But if you cast anything even remotely more obscure, please link to it. Pretty much everything that is PFS-legal can be found at www.archivesofnethys.com. That is my preferred site.

Let me know if you have a wonky ability that I need to know about before I need to know about it:
Is your character built around some unusual ability or combo? Let me know about it up front so I can learn how it is supposed to work. If there are FAQs about it, link to those for me so that I can be up to speed before it comes into play. Is your ability somewhat up to table variation? Let me know that, and I will try to rule as fairly to you as I possibly can.

Give me feedback:
I know the rules pretty well, but I don't know everything. If I mess something up, don't hesitate to bring it up (in the Discussion thread or via PM). PbP has the advantage that rules discussions don't bog down the game like they can in face-to-face games.

Explore, Report, Cooperate!:
Remember that we are all here to have fun. Try to share the spotlight with other players. I don't care if you can one-shot every encounter; many of my own characters are built that way too. Just make sure that everyone else gets to show off too. :)

Silver Crusade

I just received my subscription copy of Feast of Dust and the pages are all falling apart. It is almost completely unbound. PHOTO


Korvosa map | Green Market map

You may dot and delete. Also feel free to RP with one another while we are getting started.

This cold subterranean records hall is dim and quiet. In front of a heavy wooden door stands Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae, one of the Society’s premier experts on the ruined siege towers near Absalom. She waves and begins speaking eagerly as she approaches, the flame of her candle struggling against her pace.

“Hello! I’m sorry to summon you to such a bleak meeting space, but I’m gathering intelligence that I can really get only here. Come, you’ll have to see for yourselves.” Venture-Captain Iorae gestures toward the wooden door behind her, saying, “Before we go in, tell me—do you know much about the Red Redoubt of Karamoss?”

Knowledge (arcana)
You may be familiar with some of Karamoss’s impressive magical achievements.

20+:
Karamoss was a wizard from Numeria known as the Machine Mage. He allegedly spent decades researching automatons inside the notorious technological dungeon known as Silver Mount, and was said to possess unparalleled mastery over all kinds of constructs and machines.

25+:
The red metal from which the Red Redoubt was constructed is called djezeteel, and has an enhancing effect on magic.

30+:
The robotic army that Karamoss used to attack Absalom is rumored to have been built within the siege tower itself, using forges powered by elemental energy from the Plane of Fire.

Knowledge (engineering)
The Red Redoubt is a marvel of engineering prowess.

15+:
The entire Red Redoubt was built in a single night out of a strange red skymetal alloy called djezeteel, said to have been invented by Karamoss himself.

20+:
Though the aboveground sections of the tower were destroyed, the underground levels seemed to be sound. As far as anyone knows, there could be dozens of unexplored levels below the surface.

25+:
Supplying power to the tower—and creating an army of constructs—would have required an immense amount of energy. The tower was likely equipped with a powerful energy source, possibly a massive Numerian power generator or some kind of magical reactor.

Knowledge (local)
The Pathfinder Society has been paying close attention to the fallen siege tower of late.

15+:
The uppermost surviving levels of the Red Redoubt are considered relatively safe. Junior members of the Pathfinder Society are often run through obstacle courses here set up by their mentors.

20+:
One recent such excursion took an unexpected turn when a team of Pathfinder recruits stumbled into an undiscovered sublevel of the siege tower. Since then, Pathfinder Society activity in the area has increased dramatically.

25+:
Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae has led the new efforts to explore the Red Redoubt, and she has sent scouting teams into progressively deeper levels of the tower. For the last few days, Shevala has not left the Grand Lodge, instead remaining cloistered below in a darkened records room.

Link to Map 1 and Venture-Captain Shevala Iorae's picture.


Korvosa map | Green Market map

This is the discussion thread for the PFS PbP group I am hosting in Nov 2015.


Korvosa map | Green Market map

Gameplay thread opened.


Korvosa map | Green Market map

Discussion thread opened. If you have been chosen to join this game, please post in this game under the appropriate avatar. Thanks. :)


Fane of Fangs
I am recruiting for Fane of Fangs a quest for FOUR 5th-level PREGEN characters of the Pathfinder Unchained character classes.

The Details
WARNING. This is a Pathfinder Society Quest. It awards 0 XP, 0 gp, and 0 Prestige/Fame. But it does open up a couple of nice custom items for purchase.
When. I would like to start this relatively soon. Hopefully before next weekend.
Characters. Participants will be using the pregen characters included with the quest. All use rules from Pathfinder Unchained, and all are 5th level. They are:

    Amiri female human barbarian
    Sajan male human monk
    Merisiel female elf rogue
    Balazar male gnome summoner
You will not be allowed to use your own character. I am looking for 4 players.

Recruitment
If you would like to be considered for this quest, please share the following info.
Your experience. How long have you been playing Pathfinder? How long have you been involved in PFS? How many PbP games have you played? How many PbP games have you GMed? If you are brand new to Play by Post, this could be a perfect opportunity to try it out—Fane of Fangs is only about half as long as a regular PFS scenario.
Your character preferences. This should be a list like this:

    1. Barbarian
    2. Monk
    3. Rogue
    4. Summoner
If there is a character you know you will not enjoy playing, you can include a shorter list.
Have you played this quest before? I will give priority to players who have not played this before, but if you want to play it again then it is worth asking.
A link to a PbP game you are/were in. I want to look at a game you have played in recently. If you are new to PbP, you can omit this.

Expectations
My highest priority is for a fun game.
Roleplaying. I like good character play. I realize it is more difficult with Pregens, but it isn't impossible. I expect you to be able to give personalities to the characters.
Rules. I know the rules of the game pretty well. If you think that I made a mistake, please bring it up in the discussion thread. If we need to rewind a bit then we will, but probably not more than 1 round.
Posting Frequency. My hope is to average about 2 or 3 posts per day.

Thanks!

Silver Crusade

Male Halfling Sorcerer 7, Rogue 3, Arcane Trickster 10

WELCOME!

We will use this thread to sort out the details of the game we want to play.

Once you have an account set up, please check in so I know you are here.

:)

It will be good to game with all of you again!


Korvosa map | Green Market map

We are meeting here.

Silver Crusade

My wife and I are trying to place an order. We click on the [View Cart] link, and it shows the Shopping Cart. We click on [Proceed with Order] and it goes to the prompt asking for login password. We submit the password and the site returns to the paizo.com homepage. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

We have tried each of our two different accounts on three different computers (all Mac). We are running Firefox 40.0.3.

Thank you.

Silver Crusade

Hi, a couple of us are looking for a PbP game for newbies to the PbP format, hopefully in time for the Friday start. We are both experienced PFS players, but neither of us have any experience with PbP.

Are there any GMs out there who have room in their games for a couple of players? Or are there any GMs who would be interested in taking on a game for us?

We have the following games that we all have not played, by tier:

Tier 1-5
#6-22: Out of Anarchy

Tier 3-7
#4-21: Way of the Kirin

Tier 5-9
#5-18: The Stranger Within
#6-03: The Technic Siege

Tier 7-11
#20: King Xeros of Old Azlant
#5-17: Fate of the Fiend
#6-04: Beacon Below
#6-23: The Darkest Abduction
#7-04: The Ironbound Schism

We also have many games available for the Core campaign (I haven't played any Core games, but my friend has).

Thanks for any help. :)

Silver Crusade 3/5

2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

There is a misunderstanding that crops up periodically. I've seen it twice today. So I thought this thread might help spread the word.

A player may always choose to play an in-tier pregen.

Here is the text from the PFSRPGG.

PFSRPGG v.7.0, p. 21 wrote:

If you play a 1st-level pregenerated character, you can apply the credit to a newly created character of your very own. If you play a non-1st-level pregenerated character, you choose one of your characters to assign the chronicle to at the end of adventure, and then apply the credit to your character as soon as she reaches the level of the pregenerated character played. You may not assign a Chronicle sheet earned with a pregenerated character to a character that was already at the level of the pregenerated character or higher. If you have multiple Chronicle sheets from pregenerated characters, they are applied to your character’s Chronicle sheet stack in the order played when your character reaches the appropriate level, even if this would advance your character several levels.

You may also opt instead to apply the Chronicle sheets earned with a non-1st-level pregenerated character to a 1st-level character with the amount of gp gained reduced, and any character specific boons earned must wait to be utilized until the character is of the same level as the subtier on the Chronicle sheet unless otherwise noted. You do not lose access to any of the Prestige Points, or items listed on the Chronicle sheets that were earned during the adventure, but you do forego downtime.

    1. You may use a pregenerated character for any scenario for which the pregen is in tier.
    2. You do not need to pretend that you forgot your character, or that your dog ate your character, or any other such nonsense.
    3. You may apply the credit from a scenario that you played a pregen.
    4. The only restriction is that you cannot apply credit from a pregen to a character whose level is as high as (or higher than) the level of the pregen you played.
    5. You can save the chronicle to apply to a lower-level character when they reach a sufficiently high level, or
    6. You can apply the chronicle to a 1st-level character immediately.
    7. Both choices have upsides and downsides.

If you are wondering about sanctioned modules and APs, that is covered also.

PFSRPGG v.7.0, p. 30 wrote:
For modules and Adventure Path content below 9th level, if you do not have a character in the correct level range, you may use a Pathfinder Society pregenerated character, available on paizo.com or the 1st- and 7th-level iconic characters on pages 275–297 of the Pathfinder RPG NPC Codex. You must apply the credit to your character as soon as she reaches the level of the pregenerated character played. If you play a non-1st-level pregenerated character, you may apply credit from the pregenerated character to one of your 1st-level characters, with the gp gained reduced to 1,398 gp (or 699 gp for slow advancement track characters). If you play a non-1st-level pregenerated character, you may apply the credit to your character as soon as she reaches the level of the pregenerated character played. Equipment listed on the pregenerated character sheet may only be sold to clear conditions, such as death, during the play of the module and any remaining gold does not carry over at the end of the module.
    The rules are almost the same, but note that some of the pregens from the NPC Codex are also legal choices.

Silver Crusade 3/5

I've been in PFS only since Jan 2012. So please forgive me for not having proper historical context in which to frame this question.

In the time I've been here, I've seen several rules changes through either FAQs or errata. The ones that stand out are: (1) the Ultimate Combat errata, Crane Wing in particular; (2) spell-like abilities and spellcasting requirements for prestige classes; and (3) the current ACG and ARG errata. Those three rules changes were all handled very differently—I think Paizo is actually getting better in their handling of these issues, but I digress.

What would happen if players were allowed to totally rebuild their character (minus spent prestige) following a rules change?

Is there some reason that allowing full rebuilds after the rules change would be bad for the campaign?

Please share your most dire predictions. :)

Silver Crusade 3/5

14 people marked this as a favorite.

I just want to take a moment to thank John Compton for taking the time—during GenCon, what must be the most stressful and busy time of year for him—to listen to player concerns over the recent pair of errata documents, AND for letting us know that he is listening!

Thank you.

4/5 5/5 * Contributor

Oooh, we have a player at the Philly Lodge who'll be ecstatic to hear of the Slow Track / Normal Track change; he's been stuck in Slow Track since finishing the Emerald Spire Super Dungeon.

Silver Crusade

I have a halfling character in PFS who wants to be a Red Mantis Assassin.

This is what her build looks like right now:

CG female halfling
Abilities Str 7, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 16

    1. Swashbuckler 1: Swashbuckler Finesse, Quick Draw
    2. Slayer 1: studied target, track
    3. Slayer 2: Talent (Weapon Focus [sawtooth sabre]), Slashing Grace (sawtooth sabre)
    4. Slayer 3: sneak attack +1d6, Dex +1
    5. Slayer 4: Exotic Weapon Proficiency, Two-Weapon Fighting (slayer talent)
    6. Ninja 1: Sneak attack +2d6
    7. Slayer 5: 2nd studied target, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
    8. Slayer 6: Talent (Improved Two Weapon Fighting), sneak attack +3d6, Dex +1
    9. Slayer 7: Stalker, swift studied target, Improved Critical (sawtooth sabre)
    10. Slayer 8: TALENT
    11. Slayer 9: FEAT, sneak attack +4d6
    12. Slayer 10: Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, 3rd studied target

I was hoping that she would be able to fight with two sawtooth sabers. With the errata to the Advanced Player's Guide, that does not seem possible now. It has been clarified that the only thing that can be retrained on this character is Slashing Grace, because only the feat changed.

With the errata, she will be taking a –6 to attack and damage if she tries to go the TWF route, as planned.

She is currently 4th-level.

Suggestions?

Silver Crusade 3/5

41 people marked this as FAQ candidate. 1 person marked this as a favorite.

This gets discussed very frequently. Can we please put it into the PFS FAQ?

Which Tier is Master of the Fallen Fortress?

Dark Archive

I'm looking for suggestions for a miniature to represent my Lyrakien Azata familiar (size Tiny).

I found this one, by Reaper, but I don't really care for it too much.

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Silver Crusade 3/5

Here's what the FAQ says:

FAQ wrote:

Do Eidolons add to day job rolls?

The Eidolon is not a permanent effect, therefore does not apply to day job rolls.

A familiar is permanent. Can the Improved Familiar (lyrakien azata) use aid another on the Craft (shoes) check for a witch PC cobbler?

Dark Archive

My PFS character (an arcanist with the occultist archetype) will be taking Improved Familiar to gain a lyrakien azata familiar.

The familiar comes with
Feats Agile Maneuvers, Improved Initiative.

I want to replace the Agile Maneuvers feat, and I want to keep the Improved Initiative feat.

I'm looking for suggestions for what to substitute in place of Agile Maneuvers.

The familiar has the School Familiar (Divination) archetype, so I can only share spells or deliver touch spells from the divination school of magic. Sometimes, I cast true strike on her (which is why I'm not too concerned about Agile Maneuvers), but that is about it.

One possibility that I've considered is Additional Traits. It would benefit the PC to have the familiar's Initiative bonus be very high, so one of the traits would be Reactionary. I'd be happy to hear suggestions for a second trait if I go this route.

Another option would be the Extra Item Slot feat, which would allow her to have a magic item other than her ioun stones. I'm just not really sure what item I might want to give her.

I'd love to hear some other Feat/Trait/Item ideas!

More about the PC:
Zranashta is a follower of Desna. She is very much Varisian. She uses a harrow deck for a lot of her powers. She has the Harrow Chosen race (human) trait, and the Harrowed and Harrow Summoning feats.

She summons creatures in combat more than she casts spells. Most of her spell slots go toward replenishing her arcane pool.

Thanks in advance! :)

Silver Crusade 3/5

For older scenarios where Grandmaster Torch gives the mission briefing, but is otherwise not involved in the scenario, should we leave him in there, or use another Pathfinder associate?

3/5

To the campaign leadership,

Can we please revisit the rules for Slow Advancement?

Currently, the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play reads

GTPFSOP, p. 21 wrote:
At character creation and each time your character gains a level, you decide if you would like your character to be on the standard or slow advancement track for the entirety of that level.

I believe it would be better for the campaign if this rule instead read as

Proposed Change wrote:
At character creation and at the start of every scenario (when you sign in), you decide if you would like your character to be on the standard or slow advancement track.

Why?

The Emerald Spire Problem is well-known, so I won't rehash that here.

We also have cases like this where not being allowed to change to slow advancement between levels is actually causing a player to choose not to play.

Here is another instance of a player choosing to not play because he cannot switch to slow track mid-level. In this case, he wanted to play slow so that he wouldn't leave his girlfriend's character behind. That is the purpose of slow track to begin with, as far as I understand it, so that we can play when our friends cannot and not get too far ahead of them.

Searching the boards, there are many other such instances, I don't think I need to link them all.

Please consider making this change.

Silver Crusade

Does anyone know of any (PFS legal) feats or magic items which increase the number of times per day that a cleric can use her domain abilities?

This particular cleric already has a headband of Wisdom. Her domains are Chaos and Charm.

Dark Archive

Hi. I'm playing a PFS arcanist focused on summoning and divination spells. I'm looking for suggestions on items to buy.

About the Character
Halona is currently level 5. She is an arcanist 4 (with the occultist and unlettered archetypes), sorcerer 1 (with the harrow bloodline).

She has 5,900 gp and 19 Fame (item purchase limit 5,250 gp). I'm looking for suggestions for items under 8,000 gp, her next Fame limit.

Halona focuses on summon monster spells and an array of divination spells. She also has a fox familiar.

Her feats are Harrowed, Harrow Summoning, and Good Summoning. She has the Harrow Chosen trait, and uses her heirloom harrow deck as a focus for her divination spells and her mundane harrow deck to power her summoning spells.

Thematically, she is a Varisian fortune teller and harrow summoner (not the class, just in flavor).

What she has now
Really, the only two items of interest she has now are a headband of intelligence +2 and a pathfinder's pouch.

What she is thinking of getting
The next purchases she is considering are dragonbone divination sticks (6,400 gp, Ultimate Equipment) and a staff of minor arcana (8,000 gp, Ultimate Equipment).

Anyone have any better ideas?


3 people marked this as a favorite.

If Paizo were to sell miniatures of specific Pathfinder Society personalities (in addition to Sheila Heidmarch), which would you most like to see? Your top 5, say?

Me:
1. Grandmaster Torch
2. Osprey
3. Zarta Dralneen
4. Drendle Drang
5. Nigel Aldain

3/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Please reconsider the method used to determine which subtler is played.

A Simple Proposal for Determining Subtiers
Count the number of characters who would be in tier in each subtier. Do not count characters who are between subtiers. Play the subtler that has the greatest number of characters in tier. In the case of a tie, play up in Seasons 0-3 and play down in Seasons 4-6.

Why? What’s Wrong with APL?
APL is ok at measuring the power level of the party, but it isn’t perfect. There are funny situations that can arise quite easily. I have seen these happen over and over again.

Example 1. Consider a party of five, levels {4, 4, 4, 3, 2}, playing in a Season 3, tier 1-5 scenario. The APL is 3.2, so they must play down. That means that 4 players are playing out of subtier, while only one is playing in subtler. If the 2nd-level character weren’t there, the group would be playing up instead. Another way of looking at this: one character (the level 2) is determining the subtler for all four other characters, likely against their wishes.

Example 2. Consider a party of six, levels {5, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1}, playing in a Season 4, tier 1-5 scenario. Their APL is 2.67, so they must play up with the four-player adjustment. Only one of those characters is in tier. This group is set up to get creamed. Again, one character (the level 5) is determining the subtler for all of the other characters, because if he wasn’t there, the group would be playing down.

Why is Plurality Better?
Using a plurality system as proposed has a few advantages.

First, we will always be playing in the subtler which is appropriate for the most characters at the table. Plurality prevents a single player from forcing all the other players to play at a subtier that they might not enjoy.

Second, this system has the huge advantage of simplicity! Just count how many characters would be in subtier, and choose the one with plurality. Yes, taking averages is not that hard, but in my experience, most GMs still resort to using calculator. And I have still seen mistakes made. Much easier to just say “Raise your hand if your character is level 1 or 2. Okay, 2 of you. Now raise your hand if your character is level 4 or 5. Only 1. We will be playing down today.”

Lastly, it still does a great job of measuring the power level of the group. If a plurality of characters is in the higher subtier, then that is a more powerful group than one where the plurality is in the lower subtier.

Please discuss.

3/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'm stealing Ascalaphus's idea here. I thought the idea warranted its own thread.

Proposal
Award a second prestige point for characters who play in Master of the Fallen fortress upon completing the secondary success condition of rescuing Balenar Forsend from Area 11 and returning all of his gear to him.

Reasoning
I can't think of a better reason for PCs to gain prestige and fame within the Pathfinder Society than rescuing one of their agents.

(In fact, this might even be a better primary success condition, with exploration of the tower being the secondary condition.)

Also, since this is such a good introductory scenario, it would be nice to new players if they received 2 prestige for their first characters.

Secondary Proposal
Reward GMs who run this with only 1 table credit instead of 2.

Reasoning
This is a short module. It takes roughly the same amount of time to run as a scenario, and the player rewards are the same as a scenario. It is reasonable to count this as only 1 table credit for GMs.

3/5

This is the place to tell other players why they don't need a high Initiative modifier in PFS. Go nuts.

Liberty's Edge 3/5

One of the goals reads:

Liberty's Edge Faction Card wrote:

⬜⬜ Adventure in two of the following locations: Andoran, Cheliax, Okeno, Numeria, or the River Kingdoms.

A couple of questions:

1. Is each checkbox for one region or for two regions?
2. Must both locations be adventured in during the same scenario?

Please help. Thanks.

Silver Crusade 3/5

A different thread got me thinking about this.

What are the factors that make a game session fun or not fun for you?

For me, in order, I think the biggest factors are:
1. The other players. I can play in just about any scenario using any character (even a pre-gen) and have a absolute blast if the right players are at the table. There are just some players that are a complete joy to have in the game. By and large, these players know the rules well and have solid characters, but are also more interested in having fun, enjoying the game, and making sure everyone else is having fun too.

2. The GM. A good GM can go a long way toward making an otherwise blah scenario into something of legend (or at least something to talk about weeks later). A couple of my favorite GMs are a little weak on the rules knowledge, but they are amazing GMs dedicated to running an enjoyable table.

3. My character. As long as the character I'm playing has some personality, I'm usually pretty happy. It is certainly nice to feel like I am playing exactly the right character for the scenario. If I feel like I'm playing exactly the wrong character for a scenario, that can kind of sour the experience a bit. (Which is why I have taken to making more generalists than specialists.)

The actual scenario is pretty low on the list. There are certainly some scenarios I enjoyed more than others, but it just isn't the largest factor for me.

What are your thoughts?

3/5

A couple of my friends in PFS have spectacularly high Initiative bonuses. What is the highest Initiative bonus you have seen in PFS? If you have a high Initiative character, how did you do it?

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.

LINK to the news story.

Edit:

Here is the letter sent by Gen Con LLC to Governor Mike Pence.

The Exchange 3/5

2 people marked this as a favorite.

A more thorough poll of your character's demographics is now up and running.

The Poll
The Results

Note: Feel free to take this survey for as many of your characters as you would like. It would be best to only include information for your "active" characters, but I will leave it up to you to decide what "active" means in this context.

Silver Crusade 3/5

2 people marked this as FAQ candidate. 24 people marked this as a favorite.

I originally made this proposal in the blog post regarding languages in the Core campaign. John indicated he was open to hearing discussion of the idea. Let this be the thread for that discussion.

The Proposal
Please allow half-orcs and half-elves to substitute a human ethnic language (such as Hallit or Tien) in place of their racial language (orc or elf, respectively).

For half-human characters raised in human communities, it makes more sense from a role-playing standpoint to begin knowing the human languages of that community than the non-human language that they might not have been exposed to.

Just to reiterate: the suggestion is to replace one language with another. The total number of starting languages would remain the same.

Silver Crusade 3/5

3 people marked this as a favorite.

I first posted this proposal in the thread regarding the FAQ change, here. But I wanted to repost it in its own thread to facilitate discussion of the idea.

The Proposal
I think grandfathering without notice is great, but I hope that Mike and John will consider grandfathering all characters who have, as of today, at least 4 XP with at least 1 XP as player credit at 2nd level or higher.

That would allow everyone who is currently building toward a prestige class (and counting on early entry) to do so, and it would mitigate—if not eliminate entirely—concern of a mad dash to create your prestige class characters.

The only characters currently in play who couldn't be grandfathered in under this plan are those who are eligible for a complete rebuild anyway (1st-level PCs and GM babies).

This solution would go a long way to lessen the blow to those who are most affected by this decision while having little impact on the rest of us.

If the goals are (1) do the least amount of damage to characters who are built around that option, and (2) eliminate the potential of a mad rush like the planetouched rush, then I think this solution is better than just grandfathering those PCs who are already in prestige classes.

(1) Everyone who was actively working toward a prestige class will be able to continue to do so using the same plan they originally had (or retrain if they are still level 1 or a GM baby)

(2) No one who wasn't working toward a prestige class will be affected. The cost of retraining a character who wasn't on that path just so you can get in during the mad rush would be too onerous.

Please discuss this proposal here. If you want to discuss the merits of prestige classes in general, or the effect of early entry, there are better threads for that. Likewise, if you want to discuss the merits of the FAQ as it relates to PFS, please use the thread I linked above. If you want to discuss the merits of the FAQ in general, go here. Thank you.

Silver Crusade 3/5

One of our local games has two players that are both relatively new. They are both well-liked and we all hope to retain them in PFS. The problem is that due to outside forces they must leave each week about halfway through the scenario.

This presents a problem for both themselves (partial chronicles) and the rest of the people at the table (losing one or two party members at a 4-player table really increases the difficulty).

We had initially been handling this the way we would usually handle someone needing to leave early: that player gets a chronicle with 1 XP (if they completed 3 encounters), 0 or 1 prestige (depending on which success conditions they've completed, and partial gold (based on the treasure found while they were there). The GM introduced a pre-gen (of the closest class and level to the character leaving) to assist the rest of the party for the remainder of the scenario.

But that was before we recognized that this would be an ongoing issue, week after week. The above solution seems to be less than ideal. The players who leave are frustrated at not getting full chronicles; the remaining players are frustrated that they are carrying all of the risk though the final encounters (which are usually more difficult); and the GMs are frustrated that this situation is making the game they are running less fun for everyone.

I wonder if it is possible to suggest that those players who need to leave play pre-gen characters instead of their characters, and we leave those pre-gens in play after the players are gone, and the players are given a full chronicle for that scenario when we meet the following week?

Or maybe someone has a better suggestion to handle this somewhat frustrating situation.

Bottom line: Please help.

Silver Crusade

5 people marked this as FAQ candidate. 1 person marked this as a favorite.

1. When I cast a touch spell, I am allowed to touch an ally as a free action. I may move between the casting of the spell and the touch. May I make that touch in the middle of my movement?
Some argue that it is a free action, so it should be allowed at any time. Others argue that the rules specify the only times that this particular free action is allowed.

Relevant rules text:

CRB, Combat wrote:
Touch Spells in Combat: Many spells have a range of touch. To use these spells, you cast the spell and then touch the subject. In the same round that you cast the spell, you may also touch (or attempt to touch) as a free action. You may take your move before casting the spell, after touching the target, or between casting the spell and touching the target. You can automatically touch one friend or use the spell on yourself, but to touch an opponent, you must succeed on an attack roll.

2. If I hold the charge on a touch spell, can I use the free action to touch an ally when it is not my turn?

Some free actions (e.g., talking) can be taken when it is not your turn. Others (e.g., drop prone) I don't think you can take when it is not your turn.

3. If I hold the charge on a touch spell, can an ally touch me to gain the benefit of that spell as a free action on their turn?
Can I cast cure light wounds and move 30 ft. toward the barbarian who is 50 ft. away, then allow them to move 20 ft. toward me and touch me to gain the benefit of the spell on their turn?

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