Sebastian's page

2. I’m a completionist. I like to do all the side quests. New Atlantis broke me. So. Much. Filler.

In my most recent new games, I have gone to extraordinary lengths to avoid quests. I have to stay out of the three big settlements because you can't even walk to a shop without overhearing some dialogue and getting assigned a quest.

Agreed that the only time FO4 requires anything relating to settlement building is the teleportation chamber. I've always accomplished that through a settlement, and didn't realize it could be built on another faction's turf (I thought the other factions gifted you with a settlement and then you had to build there).

I actually abandoned Starfield - and I loved Skyrim and Fallout 4. It was just too hokey and bland for me. I wanted to like it.

I want to rage and tell you you're wrong and it's the best thing since sliced bread, but...

The game is seriously janky and a hot mess. And yet, I'll dump hours into it.

My favorite thing I did that wasn't appreciated by the game was to romance and marry Sam. Then, I wanted to see if I could marry someone else. So I romanced Andreja and asked her to marry. She said I had to break things off with Sam, so I went to him, chose the most hurtful dialogue options possible, and told him it was off. To really rub salt in the wound, I then slept with Andreja on a really small ship with Sam and his daughter on board. For like a full week. He started out angry at me and wouldn't be a follower, but by the end of the week, he had gotten over it and was neutral towards me.

Sebastian wrote:

I think you'll like it, even though it frustratingly doesn't do some things as well as Fallout 4 (e.g., settlement building and management). It's really easy to build your own head canon in the game, and

Eek... is it as tied into the story as it is in Fallout 4? That was pretty much my least-favorite part of the game, alongside the mild motion sickness.

Nope - settlement making is entirely optional and can be avoided entirely.

Sebastian wrote:

I'm constantly doing random things because it fits the story in my head.

AKA why I keep playing Skyrim and Morrowind over and over again...

The NG+ mechanic also feeds into it as well (though I'm reluctant to say more lest I spoil).

I'm not going to say Starfield is better than Fallout 4 (or even Skyrim). But it scratches the same itch.

Sebastian wrote:

As long as I'm around, captain yesterday, are you playing Starfield? I poked around looking for some of your Fallout 4-esque posts and didn't see anything...

I have not yet, which is hilarious because the whole reason I got an Xbox was to play Starfield.

I tried for a bit after it came out but I was injured right afterwards and then I started a 2nd playthrough of Elden Ring (yes I already ordered Shadows of the Erdtree). I was actually just thinking I should give Starfield another try though.

That's hilarious (I mean the buying and not playing, not the fact that you were injured - sorry to hear that!). I think you'll like it, even though it frustratingly doesn't do some things as well as Fallout 4 (e.g., settlement building and management). It's really easy to build your own head canon in the game, and I'm constantly doing random things because it fits the story in my head.

As long as I'm around, captain yesterday, are you playing Starfield? I poked around looking for some of your Fallout 4-esque posts and didn't see anything...

I had forgotten about the enemies list! It's littered with inside jokes I no longer remember.

I feel obliged to swing by the old clubhouse as well. Good to see all* you bastards again. I hope life is treating you well and that you found someone as abusive as me to put you in your place.

*RIP PMG

I'm at a loss for words. Gary was the bedrock of my Paizo experience. He was kind and welcoming to the fans, smart, and funny. I was also a culprit in the unofficial chat community, and I remember Gary bringing us a website he discovered where you could create an AI car that would evolve to perform better each time. The chatters spent the better part of a day screwing around as a group and having a great time with that silly little website.

At my first PaizoCon, we drank together and I was sicker than I've ever been (I rarely, bordering on never, drink). But it was worth it, because the conversation was interesting, thoughtful, and funny. Just like all my interactions with him.

And, of course, he once let me hold the banhammer, in all its glory. It changed me, for such power is not meant to rest in the hands of mortals. Only one such as him could truly hold its power.

You will be missed dearly, Gary. Thank you so much for everything. I was lucky to be part of your world, even if it was a small (mostly) digital slice.

Each combat/hazard encounter will normally have a header like "Moderate 6", this means its a Moderate encounter of a level 6 party.

Look up on the Encounter Budget table for the the amount of XP per character to awards. (Ie don't divide that number, give the full amount per player)

Thanks so much!

Time for a super rookie question. This is my first 2e campaign. How do I calculate XP awards for combat?!??! Help an old timer out, ye lords of the boards!

Anyone out there using a Kindle Oasis to read Pathfinder pdfs? If so, could I trouble you for some pointers as to how to accomplish this?

Sebastian wrote:

I stand by my original statement in the original FAWTL thread.

I had forgotten you asked for the Ban Hammer right off the bat. :D

I prefer to think of it as asserting my divine rights, but that works.

I once held the banhammer. They told me that only the Postmonster was worthy of lifting it, but I managed the feat and it felt natural in my hands. Like it was always meant to be...

I stand by my original statement in the original FAWTL thread.

Nothing quite like a (metaphorical) funeral to bring the old band back together.

*pours one out for Sara Marie*

Sebastian wrote:

I guess as long as I'm here, I should swing by and say hi.

Oh wait, I hate you all.

Never mind.

No, you don't. Most of the old guard is long gone.

Well, unless you hate strangers on a principle.

The fact that you would even assume that I don't hate strangers on principal shows that I've been gone too long.

Well yes, I don't believe Sara did anything wrong, but still we don't really know. People under serious stress can do things no one would suspect. I have seen people that couldn't manage stress break and act in a way no one would ever suspect. Anything is possible and it was reported that...

I can't disagree. Part of me feels bad that I'm making assertions that Paizo can't dispute without putting Sara in a negative light or subjecting them to liability.

But the bigger part of me sees a toxic manager abusing their power. And the limited information I have access to paints that picture pretty clearly.

And I expect better of Paizo. More accurately, Sara is Paizo to me. Losing her is a problem.

eddv wrote:

- Sara Marie's wrongful termination needs to be investigated by that company

Do we actually know that the termination was "wrongful"? I don't think we do? So until we know the assumption that the termination was "wrongful" is just a speculation. A wild and totally made up example here: what if Sara was under such a pressure recently that she did something totally unprofessional on a whim, like, say, she spit her manager in the face? I am not saying that she did and I certainly don't believe that but the fact is that we don't know what happened and we might never know. If she kicked Jeff in the crotch would her termination still be "wrongful"?

To be fair, we don't know. It's possible Sara did something to bring this on herself. Usually, your number two won't follow you out the door in a situation like that, but who knows. And yet, even if she did something that justified the termination, all signs point to the decision being not thought out with no considerations given to the timing or ramifications. Clearly, someone thought she was disposable and not part of what makes Paizo special. I strongly disagree.

Sure, I'm giving Sara the benefit of the doubt, but I don't think that assumption is unwarranted given her extensive history at Paizo and the many, many interactions I and others have had with her over the years. She deserved better. And given her proximity to the actual customers with whom she worked, we are rightfully pissed off.

Put another way, the kind of person who spits in the face of their manager is not the kind of person who holds a position for a decade and is beloved by the customers with whom they interact.

Sebastian wrote:

I guess as long as I'm here, I should swing by and say hi.

Oh wait, I hate you all.

Never mind.

What *was* that smell?

SKITTLES, B!#*$!

Although the poster who may or may not be related to Gorbacz generally does a more than adequate job of capturing my thoughts on any particular topic (I'm not entirely certain we're not the same person conducting an elaborate nth dimension troll), I can speak for myself. I heard through the Facebook grapevine that Sara had been fired. I came to post a thank you and goodbye without knowing any context beyond the fact that she was leaving. Then I saw the ongoing s$#@show, followed the stench to the Tweet-which-shall-not-be-named, and got pissed off that the firing seemed to be less about Sara's performance (which has been exemplary) and more about her supervisor's poorly timed, ill-prepared, apparent ego trip to assert power and dominance.

Thus, my point has been limited to the fact that if your job is to supervise the customer service department, and you f!&# that up in such a manner that it erupts like this, you have failed in performing the basic functions and that should have consequences. This is some pretty basic stuff. It shouldn't be surprising that if you fire a prominent and well loved member of the community, and do it in such a way that their number two resigns in protest, your competence will be called into question.

So, I'm not here to join the hang/sanctify JP bandwagons, but the information JP provided specifically around Sara Marie did certainly inform my reaction.

(Also, I apologize for not mentioning Diego - I simply have more familiarity with Sara, though I'm 99% certain I've met Diego, and 100% certain he's a stand-up guy.)

I guess as long as I'm here, I should swing by and say hi.

Oh wait, I hate you all.

Never mind.

I don't know what Paizo's internal workplace politics are like or what led to the termination of the frontline customer service employees. And I sure as hell am not going to wade into the morass of issues raised by the infamous twitter post we've all read.

What I do know is that the people who "left" were well liked by the community, respected for the work they did, and, in many ways, the face of Paizo (particularly for those whose primary interaction is not the forums). On the one hand, I feel for those who remain behind, but, on the other hand, my patience with customer service will be limited in the future, and that falls on the management team that decided to cripple them because *shrug*.

Whatever the reasoning or background behind the scenes, this entire fiasco is a self-inflicted wound that leaves a sour taste in my mouth as a fan and a (former) long-time member of the community. Terminating the customer service manager without a transition plan in place or an effective communication strategy is unprofessional, and well below what I expect of the company. Having the number two person quit in response is even more damning.

I can't speak for everyone, but to me, if you want to make this right, you need to make some management changes. Some loud management changes. Starting with the person directly responsible for the decision to terminate (and I suspect we all know the name of that person). This reeks of petty infighting, and whoever decided that it is in the best interest of Paizo to fire the person who we know, for a fact and with a metric ton of evidence, helped us, supported us, and provided good service, needs to go.

I want blood. I want that person out. Their incompetence is evidenced by this post, this thread, this drama. Whatever justified this termination pales in comparison to the harm it has created, and someone needs to be held accountable.

Now give us a press release saying they are gone. They deserve it after creating this situation.

It's been ages since I've been a regular here on the Paizo boards. And I've been tempted to post beyond my fond farewell to Sara in customer service. But then I see (Totally Not) Gorbacz's posts, and am reminded that I am entirely redundant. Hats off to you, Mr. Bag.

Thank you for being the reassuring email, the pleasant post, the calming presence in the chaotic anger of the internet that spilled into this forum.

Thank you for the lunch, the office tour, the replacement map when a lamination machine when rogue (or rouge, if you prefer).

Thank you for the kindness, the understanding, the helpfulness, the patience.

Thank you for everything.

You will be missed.

I've sent an email, but haven't received a response to a handful of other prior emails. Can you please cancel my order of the Starfinder Pocket Edition? I need to have it in hand before Thanksgiving, and I can't seem to connect with anyone who can expedite the shipping. As a result, I am ordering off of Amazon instead. Thanks.

John Compton wrote:

bdk86 wrote:

So, I'm really wondering about these rules and if they were influenced by the "Mecha Crusade" mini-campaign in Polyhedron from back when Paizo did Dungeon Magazine. I may have just dug it out of a comics long box to confirm I didn't imagine it.

For the curious, it was issue Dungeon #95/Polyhedron #154

I was an avid Dragon reader for many years, but my exposure to Dungeon was fairly limited. Neither Amanda nor I (co-authors for the mech rules) were familiar with that article. Maybe there's some inadvertent overlap!

Oh, I figured it was a long shot. I mostly found it a fun sort of "full circle" back to the kind of content Paizo made pre-Pathfinder.

For what it's worth, you're not the only one who made that connection.

*Gazes longingly out the window; pulls out a faded photo of himself, young and hale, standing next to Dragon and Dungeon magazine laughing at the beach; let's out a deep sigh.*

I like mechs, but the nanocyte sounds more like a species or template. I don't quite see how that's a class...

Mech pilot, now that's a class.

What the what?! A whistle blower who actually exists, and was not made up by me for purposes of this post, just handed me a stack of top secret internal documents from Paizo's marketing team. They show that the projected profits from a 1e hardcover compilation of Kingmaker are ELEVENTY BILLION DOLLARS!!!! There's even a footnote. Here's what it says:

"As shown above, the profits from printing a hardcover book for an edition we no longer support would be massive. The only thing that would generate more profits would be to continue supporting 1E indefinitely. However, this would go against our core philosophy of hating our customers and driving ourselves out of business."

(I must confess, I would actually buy a 1e hardcover Kingmaker compilation. I had forgotten that 2e was a thing when I saw this headline, and was sad when I realized this was a different beast. I'm optimistic I will someday love this beast, but I'm still learning about it, and right now, we're at the Netflix sans chill level of our relationship. I'm sad for you as well, you edition warriors, who you also love this 1e beast that doesn't and won't exist. I hope that you learn to love the new beast, or maybe find some different beast, or maybe otherwise find a different windmill to tilt at in anger and defiance. I honestly wish you the best, and hope that you are able to find peace and happiness in a world that doesn't supply the things you want most.)

Will there be conversion rules for Eberron? Because if not, I'm never playing 3.5 again and will tell all my friends, and they'll never play again, and then you'll go out of business, and your children will starve, and I will walk by you lying in a pool of your own vomit and misery and spit on you and yell "SEE HERE, ALL YE WHO DO NOT SUPPORT THE ONE TRUE EDITION, THE FATE OF ALL WHO DEFY ME."

But then I'll feel bad, and maybe buy you some coffee and a sandwich and we can talk about why you're too obtuse to appreciate that Eberron is, was, and always will be the pinnacle of gaming.

Some speculate that it is a lust for gold or power which makes a man turn neutral, but I believe they were just born with a heart full of neutrality.

Scene: A party of adventurers arrive in an ancient, crumbling temple. The rogue brushes aside spider webs, and holds up his torch, peering at some ancient text on the wall.

Wizard: "What does it say?"

Rogue: "It appears to be dedicated to Kazutal, Goddess of Safety. It says 'Beware, he who would run with scissors, for it is dangerous, and injury is likely.' Wait! There's more. 'Always swim with a buddy, and not until 30 minutes after eating.'"

Fighter: "That is safe."

I am very sorry that you arrived late to a game with a table of four people and were unable to get seated together. I sincerely hope that in the future you arrive on time, so that you can experience the amazing community of volunteers that we have, and enjoy this game that has brought us all together.

To be clear, I showed up, on time (I was told be there at 8 am after everyone else was seated), after having come by the night before to tell the event organizers that I would be showing up, the next morning, with 3 kids really interested in playing Pathfinder (not Starfinder - they'd just had a lot of fun building characters for Pathfinder). So, not only was I on time, but I also gave as much advance notice as I possibly good because I knew that seating 4 people together would be difficult.

The message I received was not "show up at 7:45 if you want a table" it was "show up at 8 am after everyone else has seated, and maybe we'll fit you in." Which is why it came as such a shock (and made me angry enough to post here) that I showed up at 8:00 am, as discussed the night before, and was told there were no games for us.

But thanks.

I see the society’s quality of experience and commitment to bringing new players into the game continues electronically. I apologize for being a beginner and not realizing how far in advance I needed to plan and provide notice. I would’ve thought reaching out to beginners would be something important for the society, but I will take my bad experience and self inflicted injuries elsewhere.

Four last minute sign ups is pretty rough for anyone to organize around. You are asking for an additional GM and an additional table to become immediately available.

Fair enough, except it wasn’t last minute. I came by the night before and told them what I needed and then they sat a group of four over us.

I’m seriously bummed about my pathfinder society experience here at Paizcon. I take some of the blame for not signing up for events in advance, but given that tickets are sold at the door, I didn’t realize it was 100% mandatory. I came with 2 boys, ages 14 and 12, just getting into the game and excited to play. Did they get to play? I’m glad you asked...

Day 1, I show up in the morning and there’s only 1 table with 2 seats open. That’s fine, the boys play, I sit and watch.

In the evening, my daughter decides she wants to play. So I go down and explain. I have three kids, very excited to play, plus myself, which makes 4 - basically a table ready to go can they please make sure that we have a GM for us in the morning. I’m told I can’t sign up in advance, but not a big deal. They will find us a game in the morning.

We arrive in the morning. Nope, no game for us. Can they ask a GM to come help (maybe one of you lovely scheduling people can help)? Nope. Can you maybe see if some of he other players will switch tables so that we have 4 seats? Nope, this other group has 4 people who want to be together.

Okay, fine, we will take 2 seats at 2 tables. After we’ve begun, I learn that the boys are replaying the same scenario they played in yesterday.

Fine. Day 3, we show up again (back down to 3). No seats available unless we want to play the same game the boys played the past 2 times.

I guess we play our own game. Im not sure what I was expecting, but some support would have been nice. Especially when I’m showing up every single morning and getting the same dog and pony show about how there are no seats.

Greetings, friends. It is me, your magical pony friend, back here at Paizo, basking in the warm glow of the flames and heat created by the launch of a new edition.

Now, as we're all aware, gaming was a much better pastime back in [insert the year in which you started] and has only recently been ruined by [PF2e/Millenials/4e/The Lack of Support for Eberron]. Rather than debate the future of this godless dystopia we all currently inhabit, I wanted to extend a hand to all my former comrades in arms and accursed foes (you vile scum sucking bastards), and welcome you to sit here, have a virtual beverage and slice of pie, and enjoy the pain and anguish of Those Damned Kids fighting the same war we once partook in ages ago.

So, hey, long time, no see. I hope the wife/husband and kids/pets are well.

Edit: Sorry friends. I thought we could have something nice and friendly, but I forgot how edition wars work. Kiss the spouse and kick the dog for me. I'll be back when the sun sets in the east and mountains blow in the wind like leaves. (Okay, I'll probably be back sooner than that, but mostly to talk about Fallout.)

Fare ye well, edition warriors.

It's interesting being on the opposite side of an edition change. I was on the other side of the 3.5/4E break. Now it looks like I'm in the 2E camp.

Have a slice of pie with me, TOZ. ;-)

Also, while it's inevitable that a small number of people will first learn about this from someone pointing them to the FAQ, we're trying to point people to the Pathfinder Playtest page, which pretty quickly gets to "All Pathfinder Playtest products will be released as FREE downloads exclusively at paizo.com on August 2, 2018. On the same day, we'll release limited-edition print versions..."

I'm sure this is on your radar, but I hope you guys are ready for the massive traffic load on launch day. I still remember another edition launch having an inauspicious beginning when the countdown reached zero and then the company website went down for 1d4 days...

P.S. - I'd be happy to help and download my copy early.

That's good for you if you have been playing since the beginning, but some of us haven't been around nearly as long. I just dropped $250 on some hardcover PF1e rulebooks two weeks ago, and today I'm finding out I probably should have saved it for PF2e stuff.

As a fellow gamer who always, always, always buys a computer and/or phone immediately before the new version launches and makes my purchase obsolete, you have my deepest sympathies.

Sebastian wrote:

Woot!!!!

Ah, so that ambulance chase didn't end up with you getting a heart attack, good to know!

Well, I have all of this old edition warrior gear just lying around, gathering dust. And this pie, which, frankly, wasn't even any good the first time around when I was the one who had to eat it. But *blows off dust*, once I microwave this and definitively convince everyone on the internet with a differing opinion that they are wrong (you know who you are, don't make me call you out), pie will be served.

Oh yes.

Pie will be served...

PIE!!!!!

Woot!!!!

Greylurker wrote:

Today the Island reinforced a particular lesson that I should have learned long ago

Leave the Chickens Alone

Today's lesson was taught by a Legendary Fogcrawler that charged me in a rage the moment I shot the Chicken.

~laughter~ Skyrim taught me that lesson a long time ago.

Rookie. Everyone knows that this lesson was originally taught by Zelda.

Fallout is a helluva drug. XBox had a sale over the weekend, and, unlike the PS4, it supports significant mods. So, now I'm the proud owner of 2 copies of Fallout 4...

So after a night's rest I head over to the ironworks to scavenge up some stuff.

To my surprise the forge have already moved back in.

Did you clear out the Gunners right by the ironworks around the same time as you cleared out the Forged? As I mentioned upthread, I cleaned out the Gunners originally and left the Forged alone, and the Gunners came back pretty quickly. Once I cleared out both, they stayed cleared (at least as of the last time I played).

They MIGHT actually be way better in Survival since the Forged shouldn't keep coming back all the time. Once you do eventually clear those areas they should be relatively safe. Get some supply lines and build up their defenses fast, and the places will be able to defend themselves well if and when any respawns eventually arrive.

I had an interesting situation in Survival involving the Forged and the Gunners nearby. I was worried about taking on the Forged (I remembered that the final encounter didn't have much cover and was difficult when not on survival), so instead I took out the nearby Gunners. I got distracted, and did a few other missions, and a relatively small amount of time passed in game. I decided to go back and wipe out the Forged and, lo and behold, the Gunners were all back (even though other areas I had cleared at about the same time remained empty). I'm not sure if the game was set up to respawn the Gunners more quickly if the Forged remained active or something else happened (maybe that Gunner nest just respawns quickly).

I finally wiped out the Forged and then the Gunners right afterwards. I should check and see if either of them came back next time I fire up the game.

And yes, with the Institute you can fast travel to the Institute and then fast travel somewhere else if needed. (I admit I did mod survival too, and allowed myself to fast travel once I allied with the Institute, just pretending it was always the teleporter.

What?!?! I just assumed you could only fast travel to the CIT Ruins, I didn't realize you could fast travel anywhere from the Institute.

Survival is tough. I ultimately gave in and installed some mods to make life a bit easier (particularly the underground railroad mod which let's you do a little bit of fast traveling between a set of fixed points). My modded survival character is close to 50th level, and now has a couple different options for fast traveling (either by calling a vertibird from the Brotherhood or teleporting to the Institute (which allows for one way fast travel even in Survival mode)).

I would echo DeathQuaker's comment regarding Starlight Drive-In and Hangman's Alley. Those are my primary settlements in survival because the former is in a fairly central location and the latter is right by Diamond City.

This discussion of the ties between the various Fallout games makes me wonder what (if any) foreshadowing is in FO4 for FO5. Any thoughts/speculations?

Just gonna leave this here.

Interesting and exciting. Direct sequels aren't really Fallout's thing (I'm not sure if Fallout 2 was a sequel to the original Fallout - that's before my time with the series), so it'll be interesting to see how they will handle the original game's consequences.

Super unimpressed with creator's club. Prices are way too high for what you're getting.