Theodore Meyer's page

I run a sword and board ranger, CL 9, with 2 levels of fighter and 1 level of Horizon Walker. For Feats I have:

My shield is a +1/+1 Bashing Spiked Darkwood Heavy Shield, 2d6+1+STR.

I'm pretty happy with his ability to contribute.

Now I'm thoroughly confused on the shield bash. Let me see if I've got it right.

1st level fighter, sword and shield (Full Attack)(BAB = +1): I can attack once with sword at +1, or once with shield bash (as an offhand weapon) (+1), or both sword (-5) and shield bash (-9).

1st level fighter, sword and shield, Two weapon fighting feat (Full Attack)(BAB =+1) I can strike once with sword at +1, or once with shield bash (as an offhand weapon) +1), or both sword (-3) and shield bash (-3).

Assume heavy shield. Light shield decreases penalties by 2 for both sword and shield.

6th level fighter, sword and shield (Full Attack) (BAB = +6/+1): I can attack Twice with sword at +6/+1, or Twice with shield bash (as an offhand weapon) at +6/+1, or Twice with sword (0/-5) and Once with shield bash (-4).

6th level fighter, sword and shield, Two weapon fighting feat (Full Attack) (BAB = +6/+1): I can strike twice with sword at +6/+1, or twice with shield bash at +6/+1, or twice with sword at +2/-3 and once with shield bash (as an offhand weapon)at +2.

I'm currently running a 4th level ranger/2nd level fighter, who fights Two Weapon Bastard sword (yes, I spent the feat on exotic Weapon) and spiked heavy shield. Current relevant feats are: EWP (B-sword), Weapon Focus (B-Sword), Shield Focus, Improved Shield Bash, and TWF. Melee attack bonus is +9/+4. Possible attack options would be:

B-Sword only: +10/+6
Shield Only: +9/+4
B-Sword +6/+1 and Shield Bash +5

The numbers for the shield only attacks come from PCGen, where 1 hand Primary and 1 hand Off have the same net bonus. The two weapon penalty applies only if the shield is used to bash.

I'm really curious. Let me know.

We have stock, and I just verified that Alliance, the biggest distributor in the business, has stock in every one of their warehouses.

Vic: 2 bonus points Paizo: 20 bonus points. This is what makes Paizo different from any other RPG publisher I've worked/played with, and why Paizo gets what little expendable income I can spare. Excellent, unsolicited, timely and HELPFUL assistance, and you even checked stock with the distributor. Thanks.

At the risk (certainty?) of rehashing:

I am relatively new to PFS (1-4th lvl character), I have role played in a large variety of systems for over 25 years.

To me, alignments serve as a philisophical foundation for a player to build a character's personality and morality. In any system I've played in that utilized alignments, there have been in-game consequences for majorly stepping outside of the characters chosen alignment.

PFS has ruled that "No evil alignments are allowed in Pathfinder Society Organized Play." (Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, version 4.0, page 6.) To me, this means a player cannot run a character whose actions consistently fall under the Evil alignment template.

I have seen some good recomendations in this thread for GMs to follow when faced with a player committing a non-alignment action. My interpretation is as follows:

• First: Inform the player (politely and professionally) that the action is contrary to the character's alignment, and provide an opportunity for the player to redirect the character.

• Second: Adjudicate the action and reaction to the character's action by witnesses and law enforcement (city guard, neighborhood protection, minions and hirelings etc.), as you would in any other campaign, within the framework of the current setting and situation. If the character has class-specific alignment or code requirements (Paladin is the platonic example), apply the appropriate consequences.

• Third: If the player has their character consistently commit actions outside their alignment, privately (politely and professionally) discuss the intent behind the actions, and recommend alternatives (alignment change, activity modification) with the player, with the goal of bringing the character and actions into closer alignment. (That was an unintended funny.)

• Fourth: If the character's actions are disrupting the flow of play and/or the enjoyment of the game by other players, ask the player (politely and professionally) to leave the table for this scenario. If a player (not character) consistently disrupts the table, it is the GM's option not to seat the player.

• Fifth: If a player is consistently violating the "No Evil character" clause through a character(s) actions, consult with your VC and Pathfinder campaign management for direction. "If a particular issues comes up repeatedly or causes a notable problem in one of your games, please raise any questions or concerns on the Pathfinder Society Messageboards at paizo.com/pathfindersociety and the campaign management staff or the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game development team will work to provide you with an answer to avoid confusion in the future." (Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, version 4.0, page 25.) As always, document the instances in question, so that the VC and campaign staff can make an informed decision.
  

In regards to chronicle sheets, I am of the opinion that comments, positive or negative, regarding character actions/achievements of note are perfectly acceptable. I received a note on my first chronicle regarding a combat victory my character accomplished, and still have a warm fuzzy when I review what my character has done. They provide no in-game advantage or penalty, but merely document what the character has done that is worthy of mention. Having played PFS at Origins this year, I can understand that a GM has little time to carefully review the chronicle series for every character at the table, but in the face of repeated out-of-alignment actions during a scenario, a request to review a character's sheets for comments would not be out of line.

To finish (finally), a GM has control over their table, and over the flow of play induce by the actions of the characters within the scenario. There is a mechanism in place to obtain a formal ruling on the status of a character with consistent, documented actions.

For what it is worth,

Ted

I'm looking at running PFS adventures as my regular home campaign.

Reading the Guide, it looks like there is no way to create new characters higher than 1st level.

So if a new player joins the group in progress and the group is level 5, said new player needs to come in at 1st level? If a new player wants to join the group and the party is 7th level, he can't join our group (because you can't play up outside your tier)?

Also if a character dies in the home game (and is not able to be raised), I'm guessing he will have to create a 1st level character no matter where the rest of the party is?

Am I right on these assumptions?

If these are correct, how does one keep a PFS campaign fair for players whose characters may die and open for new players to join?

Or am I thinking about this wrong? Should I not run PFS as a part of an ongoing home campaign and instead run them as occassional games at cons or gaming stores (and stick mostly to Tier 1 games)?

Not trying to sound critical or snarky. Just want some answers.

Out of curiosity, is the intent to utilize the PFS scenarios/modules as content alone, or is the intent to create legal-for Society-play characters. If the former, you're GMing a home campaign, so do as thou wilt. If the latter, then you have a bit of a sticky wicket. The only way I know of to create a PFS legal character is to create at level 1/ 0 XP/ 0/0 Fame and prestige.

It is legal for a GM to assign their GM chronicle to a character of appropriate tier (which has not received a player chronicle for the same scenario), but that leaves you with the same situation: running a series of low level tiers instead of the upper level ones the rest of the players are involved with.

Again, if your merely using the Society scenarios for content, with no intention of using the same characters outside of your own home game, merely figure the standard experience per encounter and knock yourself (better yet, someone else: unconsciousness is unpleasant) out.

Mark Garringer wrote:

Chris Mortika wrote:

But the "First Steps" series can be replayed for credit. So you can (a) revise your summoner PC as you please,and then (b) replay the same adventure, and then (c) carry on.

And by revise your summoner PC Chris mean with a character number that is at least 1 higher than the original one, which is implied but perhaps not clear. I think :)

Why?

My character number 5 has never received a chronicle, either for playing or GMing. He just has a name and faction. Meanwhile, my character #6 is now second level, as I've assigned three GM chronicles to him. Are you saying that I cannot make any character choices from more recent books for #5 just because he's behind one that's active? I wouldn't even have a clue what books were in print and which weren't when I picked his name and assigned him to Taldor.

It seems to me that if the character has not been played (as evidenced by receiving no chronicles) it can be freely updated. Once played, then it would be locked in (See Mark Garringer's post of yesterday, 6:44 pm).

Edit: spelling.

Kyle, I am in awe. Ricky, many thanks for beating me to it.