Welcome everybody and thank you for joining me on the slightly weird game. Out of Character Discussion and the like will go here.
My strong preference is to have some key stats available in your header:
No preference on order but I think here's the key info for me:
Defenses (AC/Saves/Notes)
Perception Bonus/Vision/Notes(Scent, other weirdness)
HP
Exploration Mode and Initiative.
Also, notes on potential reactions as well. Either in your header or in your posts. I don't mind rolling Reactive Strikes or the like for you as long as I know they are happening, or you're more than welcome to pre-roll them in a spoiler in your posts as appropriate.
Welcome to the town of Petitioner’s Port in Druma.
You're not entirely sure why Venture Captain Drandle Dreng has sent you halfway across the Inner Sea to check in on an Alpaca farmer or why he's sent so many of you.
But as you gather in Petitioner’s Port, outside the Meticulous Truffle Inn, you have a chance to introduce your yourselves before you head about two hours north to the Harjhack Farm to work on Dreng's cryptic mission
This is a recruitment for the level 1 Pathfinder Society2 Bounty #2 Blood of the Beautiful
This will be a somewhat unusual game, so please make sure to read carefully.
---
Pathfinder Society2 Bounties are run in Adventure Mode.
"This mode allows the GM more freedom to adapt those adventures, including running the adventure in Pathfinder using GM house rules and the ability to alter encounters and statistics found in the adventure."
Some things that will be different:
We are not limiting ourselves to 6 players. That's right we'll potentially have a whole gaggle of PCs. Adventure difficulty will scale appropriately based on how many players we get. (And since it's in Adventure Mode, you still get your rewards and character back even if things turn out to be a total disaster.)
To keep things flowing smoothly, all rolls will be made by the attacker, and enemy statistics will be fully visible, so that you can fully resolve your turns without having to wait for me. (I'll include some notes about reactions later)
Example: you cast electric arc, so instead of the enemy making saves at +5 vs your DC 17, you make +7 rolls against my DC 15. (Since the roller effectively wins ties, this has slightly boosted the effectiveness of abilities that would normally generate a save. I'm aware of that, and am okay with it.)
Also in combat I will be aggressively delaying PCs who do not act in a timely manor. (Generally around 20+ hours since they've been up without taking an action).
Do note, despite being in Adventure Mode you are required to bring a PFS character. (Ionics Pre-Gens are acceptable as well)
---
Normally I'd expect a bounty like this to just take 1-2 weeks. I'm guessing at least twice as long assuming many players, but it's just guesswork given my lack of experience in this format.
To participate you must both check in here, with the alias/character you plan to use, and fill in the sign-in sheet Here.
Eventually I'll need easy access to your character's key statistics, Preferably via header, but can work with profile if needed.
I will take everybody who signs up by the time I close recruitment about 30 hours from the time of this post, late Saturday 10/26 PDT.
---
Questions and comments appreciated as well here. We'll address specific issues as needed once we get started.
"Once you take a dedication feat, you can’t select a different dedication feat until you complete your dedication by taking two other feats from your current archetype."
was not a general rule, but one that was printed in every archetype except Flexible Spellcaster.
With only 1 total feat available for the archetype (Just the dedication), post remaster it's no longer possible to combine Flexible Spellcaster with other archetypes.
This may even be a problem for existing characters.
Can we add to the PFS FAQ or character options a note about Flexible Spellcaster not requiring additional feats to unlock further Dedication feats?
"In the event of any discrepancy between a Foundry module and a print or PDF version of the same content, the Foundry module should be treated as the latest and most up-to-date resource unless explicitly stated otherwise."
This leads us to 1 of 2 problems.
1: Andrew is not listed in Guide to Organized Play. as Campaign Leadership, and thus we ignore anything he says. (I think this technically means that people using the Foundry Errata are not following the rules as written, obviously not a desirable outcome, or what anybody thinks.)
2: What Andrew says is valid for PFS. However those without access to the Foundry material still have no way to access it that isn't hearsay. This still remains a core problem.
---
To solve these problems two things need to happen"
1: Andrew/his position needs to be added to Campaign Leadership, or at the very least confirmation from somebody who is. (Alex Speidel (Organized Play Coordinator), Shay Snow (Pathfinder Society Developer), or Josh Foster (Pathfinder Society Developer)).
2: And most importantly, the errata/rulings need to actually be posted there. A promise that Foundry is the definitive version isn't good enough, even from an official source. We need an official source of that errata that's not behind an additional foundry paywall.
(Changes made to 6-01 are listed, but there's no assurance that future changes will be listed, or assurance that changes to previous products will be made public)
---
Thank you Paizo/Andrew for taking the first steps of creating a place for the errata/rulings to exist, we're just not quite there yet in terms of a fully workable solution.
For those of you not in the loop, here's my Previous Thread going into detail on the issues behind discrepancies between Foundry and the PDFs.
With thanks to Isis, I think I've finally figured out what's bothering my about the alchemist remaster.
With ~6 encounter power and ~8 dailies, it feels like there's this expected pattern of having about 3 rounds of quick bomb + spend 2 actions to use an elixir (or move and throw a second bomb). You can basically get through an infinite number of those encounters a day, and still have the Quick Vials and 8 dailies as back ups for when things go long or encounters stack or whatever.
This is fine, and it's nice to give alchemists a nice expected plan. The problem is it's too narrow. There are plenty of alchemists out there, who's players saw the class and built something that doesn't fit into the paradigm.
Personally I have 2 in PFS, a Chirurgeon who hands out buckets of items at the beginning of the scenario (some infused, some real which I generally don't tell the other players that some aren't infused so they won't be shy about actually using them) and then barely has enough bombs to get through the day.
I think this'll technically be an improvement for them. The ability to chuck quick healing vials or quick bomb vials when I want to contribute without actually using any resources. Much more encounter level flexibility in making niche healing/condition removal items.
But I'm sad to lose all the cool items and index cards I made to hand out to people pre combat. I like prepared spellcasting. Alchemists getting to prep 2x/3x items or get 1 on the fly was a mechanic I really liked.
My other one is a lvl 6 "assassin" They are a sneaky toxicologist/archer dedication. Their combat routine is to hide and fire lots of poisoned arrows via double shot. Now instead of say spending 5/11 daily reagents making 15 poisons and just poisoning all their arrows ahead of time, they get 8 dailies + 6 encounter. Applying poison in combat is too action intensive to be effective, and they can use 2 encounter powers to prep 2 extra poisoned arrows meaning they can have 2 per encounter + 8 total and still have some other encounter powers. So it's a little less poison but much worse if the encounters are uneven. 2 long encounters is much harder to deal with etc. Also maybe I want to use 1 of those regenerating VVs on Quicksilver which will be nice to always start with and not have to try and guess when an encounter will start. Of course a couple more levels and they'll get access to triple shot, which I'm seriously reconsidering at this point.
So it's probably an improvement for alchemists in general, and certainty makes them much simpler to be basically effective, but with the way PFS treats the remaster they cut off the ability of alchemists doing weirder things and I like doing weird things.
With Player Core 2 out, I decided to try and figure out how they would function without a rebuild. Here's my reading of things. Please let me know if you see any mistakes or even things that aren't completely clear. Obviously I could avoid this all by rebuilding but I wanted to think about how it would work.
---
After Aug 12th until rebuilt (Once they finish their current pbp), they'll still have the old chassis, but the new mystery.
Looking at feats first (because they are easier):
Blessed One is in Player Core 2, The Dedication seems the same
Old Mercy did fear or paralyzed. Now I have to choose a category of Body/Grace/Mind and get several conditions to remove. Technical action economy changed slightly but not effectively. (From 1+1 to 2)
Level 8 Debilitating Dichotomy now just gives me a Cursebound ability {instead of a revelation (cursebound) focus spell} Scaling is slightly worse (scales at even levels 10+ instead of odd levels 9+). Casting it no longer uses focus points though.
Level 2 Divine Access now an 11th level class feature with the same name and function as my level 2 class feat. I obviously don't get the new one as I don't get the new chassis. I think this makes my current feat choice invalid (Since it's now a class feature and not a class feat) and since it shares a name it counts as errata and I have to replace it. (Not 100% sure though)
--
Biggest changes are of course the mystery.
Cosmos Mystery loses Physical DR (2+ 1/2*level)
Granted Focus Spell Spray of Stars got improved damage. The chassis says "Revelation spells have the cursebound trait" so even though Spray of stars no longer inherently has it, my chassis gives it the trait.
Related Domains (Choose a domain spell, it gains the cursebound trait.) There are more domains available, but Moon remains on the list, and Moonbeam (already in PC1) has improved damage. Note that since it's the Oracle Chassis, and not the mystery that gives this spell the cursebound trait, it retains that trait.
Curse of the Sky's Call is part of my mystery and shares the old name. Now it enfeebles and reduces defenses against forced movement based on my "cursebound value"
My curse also has the Oracle Feat "Oracular Warning." and "Granted Spells" It's unclear to me if I receive these or not, since the Legacy Oracle Chassis doesn't provide information on what to do with these features. Is the "Reading a Mystery" section in the remastered oracle part of the chassis that I don't have access to, or it it just instructions for how to use the new mystery, which I am using? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It looks like I still retain the Minor/Moderate/Overwhelmed Curse progression(Major and Severe at higher level). Still can't reduce below Minor during the day, but Minor/Moderate no longer do anything.
Overwhelmed still locks out my Revelation Spells, but doesn't stop me from using things like my new Debilitating Dichotomy (Since it's no longer a revelation spell, and my overwhelmed only says "you can't Cast or Sustain any revelation spells"
---
Tl;DR: I lose DR, and the jumping/weight benefits of Cosmos. I think I have to replace my Divince Access feat. I may or may not get some spell access, and the Ocular Warning ability. I'll never actually trigger the Cursebound #s to make my curse do anything. My low level focus spells are slightly improved, but I can use my high level cursebound feat every round (will quickly lock out my cursebound focus spells, but not my LoH from Blessed One.
---
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or error corrections. <3
Are these changes/clarifications official? Who made them? Why are they behind an additional $150 product and not present on the product pages or GM discussion threads, or updated PDFs?
Instead of reading a clarification/errata from a source I know to be official, such as the Developer of a Scenario or an OP official. I have a forum poster, claiming that foundry claims, that Paizo told them. (I have no reason to disbelieve the poster, or Foundry, but no way to confirm either)
Let me be clear: This is a problem.
Links below go to GM discussion, noting the foundry changes, spoilers for those scenarios present (duh).
I'm currently looking for a few Pathfinders for [PFS2] 1-23 Star Crossed Court (Levels 3-6 Replayable)
For play we'll be using these love Gameplay and Discussion threads as well as Google Slides.
Some basic expectations for this pbp: Obviously some times real life can get in the way but please try and post more than once a day. Even if you don't have anything to move forward with even a small post with a bit of roleplay or description lets me know that you've read and are engaged and that I don't need to wait for you.
If it approaches 24 without a response I will likely "bot" you forward taking whatever reasonable action makes sense to me for your character. If you wish feel free to leave "botting" instructions in your profile and I'll happily follow them as well etc.
Looking to start within the next 24 hours, so you'll know quickly. This is not a first come/first serve recruitment and posting speed expectation are significantly faster than "once most days" that is most common in these forums. I hope with your collaboration and speedy posting that we'll be done before PaizoCon but I can't guarantee it.
Things I would like from you for this recruitment:
What character you would like to bring.
Have you played/GMed this before? (It's replayable)
Something about you the player that's awesome.
I will not be seating BattleCry! playtest characters for this game. As always let me know about any questions.
Is Rasuna a Pathfinder, or just studying the Maze with their permission etc?
She says "“I’m an elementalist working out of the Grand Lodge, and Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin gave me permission to study the disturbances we’ve been seeing lately. I didn’t expect to end up in this situation!”
---
Various Rewards:
"If at least half the PCs succeed at their retuning check, the raw energy responds to their desire, so long as it’s unanimous."
Do I just ask the players if their characters want a diplomatic boon or a combat boon, and then provide nothing unless they hive the same answer? I'm a little puzzled by the expectation here.
---
Plane of Metal:
Folded Hounds can get the speeds and strikes of animal forms. I've included them in the spoiler below.
Rust Beetle gains a rust cloud aura (as metal wisp) but Metal Wisps are not statted anywhere in the scenario.
So this text might be useful: Rust Cloud A metal wisp is constantly surrounded by a cloud of rust flakes that cause it to be concealed from creatures more than 5 feet away from it.
---
Plane of Fire:
Please read the chase rules as the scenario incorrectly describes them.
"Each round, the PCs face a fresh challenge unique to one area of the Incandescent Terrace"
That's not true. PCs advance in a chase when they accumulate enough points, potentially mid round.
The Development then goes on to say "Development: After the flame flowers, Farah leads PCs through a small cave behind a lavafall that’s spilling over a basalt cliff. If the group earned at least 3 Chase Points per PC, they make it before the lavafall spatters explosively"
So I guess it is just 1 obstacle per round, and the chase points listed in each round are actually not relevant, and instead we've removed the one bit of agency in a chase which is choosing what order to have PCs try and overcome each obstacle.
It feels like whomever wrote this encounter did not understand the chase rules.
---
Plane of Water:
I pity the party with a troublemaking goblin or gnome etc who doesn't follow instructions well and picks up the shell before the party gets all bubbled and causes some of them to drown since it takes a minute to turn the shell back on.
My initial thoughts were that you couldn't amp a cantrip that came from a spellheart.
Assuming it's one of your psi cantrips I now think it works but wanted to see if I was missing something.
Relevant notes:
You can apply an amp only to a psi cantrip, which is called the amped cantrip.
At 1st level, you learn three psi cantrips determined by your choice of conscious mind; one is a unique psi cantrip and two are common cantrips, typically from the occult spellcasting tradition, that you always cast as psi cantrips.
Polished Demon Horn
Activate Cast a Spell ; Effect You cast daze.
---
Activate Polished Demon Horn makes you Cast Daze.
Psi Cantrips says that you always cast Daze as a psi cantrip.
Therefore, it’s a psi cantrip and you can amp it.
...You can spend Downtime erasing the item’s stubborn curse. This uses the same rules as you would to Craft the item, with the following exceptions. First, you must use Arcana, Nature, Occultism, or Religion in place of Crafting for all purposes. Second, you only need to spend 2 days of Downtime before attempting your first skill check and subsequently beginning to reduce the item’s effective cost.
Naturalist wrote:
...Making the item with the Verdant Wheel’s method the standard rules for Crafting the item, with the following exceptions. First, you must use Nature, Survival, or Herbalism Lore in place of Crafting for all purposes. Second, you only need to spend 2 days of Downtime before attempting your first skill check and subsequently beginning to reduce the item’s effective cost.
So I had always assumed that these boons let you craft.
Recently however I've encountered the opinion that they do not remove the need for any of the prerequisites, including the need for crafting feats.
A strict reading seems to support that, but also makes these boons a lot less exciting.
Is there some clarification I'm missing somewhere, and if not, any chance we can make that happen. (My preferred resolution is that they cover crafting feat but none of the other requirements to avoid weirdness with potentially crafting items above level)
Repeatable: Players and GMs may receive credit for scenarios with this tag an unlimited number of times, though characters can still only receive credit once for a given scenario.[/url]
(As a side note big props for extending the special back up to level 8, it's clearly a lot more work, but I think makes a big difference for letting our most dedicated Players/GMs feel like they get to bring out their special high level characters that don't see much play)
The adventure begins in the Grand Lodge of the Pathfinder Society in the great city of Absalom.
Inside the Grand Lodge’s central hub structure of Skyreach, you wait to meet with the three deans of the Pathfinder Society in one of the lodge’s many meeting chambers.
I'm currently looking for 2-3 more Pathfinders for [PFS2] Intro 2: United In Purpose (1-2) Replayable
For play we'll be using these love Gameplay and Discussion threads as well as Google Slides.
Some basic expectations for this pbp: Obviously some times real life can get in the way but please try and post more than once a day. Even if you don't have anything to move forward with even a small post with a bit of roleplay or description lets me know that you've read and are engaged and that I don't need to wait for you.
If it has been more than 24 hours without a response I will likely "bot" you forward taking whatever reasonable action makes sense to me for your character. If you wish feel free to leave "botting" instructions in your profile and I'll happily follow them as well etc.
Looking to start in the next day or so, so you'll know quickly. I expect, but don't guarantee that we'll be done before game day.
For play we'll be using these love Gameplay and Discussion threads as well as Google Slides. You can also find the link in the header of this campaign and in my "character" header as Wishes.
There are a couple slides there I would like you to fill out before we get started for ease of play. Also the RPG chronicles link in the campaign header should be filled out so I can easily provide chronicle sheets.
You have all received a letter from Ambrus Valsin.
See page 2 of slides (linked in my header and in the campaign header.
Having arrived in the Blackwood Swamp around the same time the group of you all have some time to kill and introduce yourself before meeting with any of leaders mentioned in the letter.
I'm looking for 4-6 Pathfinders for 1-09 : Star Crossed Court (HH) Level 3-6 for GM X (Game will start Sept 6).
Please note that while I'm not quite as fast as posting as I used to be you should be able to post more often than the 1/day standard for many games on these forums. I tend to get antsy and bot people forward after about about 20 hours of inactivity.
To apply please post here with the following information:
1. Something awesome about yourself.
2. A bit of info on the character you're most interested in bringing. (Applying from their alias works well, or even just a brief description if you don't have a functioning profile yet).
Things you'll need by game time if selected: A character sheet and Profile Header that I can read. Access to Google Slides. (Please note I'm recruiting players rather than characters so you're not locked in to your preference from above.)
As always if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to post those as well.
