bigrin42's page

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!

As of now 00:01 GMT+0 March 2 Outpost VIII is live! Players and GMs alike, have fun!

Only One More Week!

GMs, with one week to go before Outpost VIII officially starts, you should be collecting player information, finalizing your tables, and making sure you have everything ready to go. While you cannot use any game text from the scenario yet, feel free to have your players start introductions and Role Play in the gameplay channels.

Solstice Scar D is now available on RPGChronicles

General Seating now open!

General seating is now open for all players. While there is no limit to the number of games you can sign up for, we do ask that everyone do their best not to overcommit. We also would ask that you not sign up for tons of games at the very beginning, to give everyone the chance to find a seat at a table. Sign up for a few, then wait a day or two to give others the chance.

Remember that the 1 game per character rule still applies to PBP games, so no signing up to play in multiple games with the same character.

Outpost VII Event Listing

General Seating now open!

General seating is now open for all players. While there is no limit to the number of games you can sign up for, we do ask that everyone do their best not to overcommit. We also would ask that you not sign up for tons of games at the very beginning, to give everyone the chance to find a seat at a table. Sign up for a few, then wait a day or two to give others the chance.

Remember that the 1 game per character rule still applies to PBP games, so no signing up to play in multiple games with the same character.

Outpost VII Event Listing

General Seating now open!

General seating is now open for all players. While there is no limit to the number of games you can sign up for, we do ask that everyone do their best not to overcommit. We also would ask that you not sign up for tons of games at the very beginning, to give everyone the chance to find a seat at a table. Sign up for a few, then wait a day or two to give others the chance.

Remember that the 1 game per character rule still applies to PBP games, so no signing up to play in multiple games with the same character.

Outpost VII Event Listing

The Outpost VIII Event Listing spreadsheet is now live!

You can’t sign up for games now, but you can see all the great tables that are being offered. We’ll update the listing every day or two, so keep an eye out.

HERE is the link for the Event Listing sheet

Remember, general signups don’t start until February 6, 2025!

I am officially closing this thread now (i.e., I will no longer be monitoring it). If you have any issues, comments, or concerns about PBP Gameday XIII, please DM me here or on discord.

That’s A Wrap!

158 games were registered, 83 GMs ran the games, and hundreds of players joined them. What a great turnout!

Once the last few games get reported, we will be mailing out 50 randomly drawn prize vouchers, so make your offerings to the gods of chance, and may fortune be on your side. Also, at the same time we will be sending out those PF1 boons to the GMs and lucky players.

We want to hear your feedback, so please fill out this feedback form. Let us know what you liked, and how we can improve in the future. This form is anonymous, but if you want us to get back to you, please let us know how (paizo forum message, discord DM, or email).

Gameday XIII feedback survey

Thank you all for participating in Gameday XIII, and be on the lookout for the next PBP event, Outpost VIII, coming this spring.

I have tried reporting, including manually entering in my players' info on the link - but keep getting a "enter a number" error message in a field which I have quintuple-checked to have the correct field entered, quintuple-checking a fields as I go!

The sheet will not let me submit until an uncorrectable error is fixed!

Here is my Characters' data for:

** spoiler omitted **

Not sure why you were having problems, but I used the "Accountless" reporting link and reported your game successfully.

Please feel free to DM me with details to see why things weren't working for you.

Only 2 Weeks Left!
GMs, with only 2 weeks left in Gameday XIII play, you should be winding down your tables (assuming you aren’t already finished) and getting them ready for reporting by our HQ crew. Hopefully you are in a good place to finish by the Nov 17 end date, but if not, please go ahead and mark your tables Ready for Reporting by Nov 17 so we can wrap up the convention. Then, finish your games as soon as you can. If you need assistance in pushing your game to the finish, please contact your PBP lodge Venture Officers.

How much leeway is there is Society GMing? I understand that one needs to 'stick to the script' and use RAW in order to consistency, but, usually when I run into something that needs adjudication and isn't covered in the ruleset, I usually fall back on the 'Rule of Cool' - if it's novel, heroic, and fun - let them do it - as long as it isn't game breaking.

But yes, I've been GMing early PFS scenarios with PCs made from later ruleset books and - oh my goodness ... the things that happen. Sometimes all you can do is laugh :)

There is actually quite a bit of flexibility allowed in many areas. not so much in others.

The stated goal of Society play is to "provide an even, balanced experience to all players". The guide specifically acknowledges that to be a stiflingly oppressive requirement, so GMs are given the flexibility to deal with rules adjudications, unexpected player choices, and wild swings of the dice.

GMs are not supposed to add or subtract from the number and type of monsters, or changes to stats or equipment, beyond what is stated in the scenario for scaling purposes. GMs are supposed to use the published Pathfinder ruleset and make rules calls based on their best judgement at the time. With the "run as written" restriction, it can sometimes feel like the scenario is on rails, but a creative GM can usually flex around this.

Beyond that, there is usually plenty of room for Rule of Cool, and plenty of space for the GM to use their best judgement when edge cases come up.

Does this mean that you have to be perfect? Absolutely not. Best judgement covers a multitude of sins, and so does a fun game.

For more "official" information, see the section in the Guide titled "Table Variation"

Oh, I understand the point he was trying to make. He has made it multiple times in the past. My point is that you don't walk into somebody's house and tell them how disgusting you think it is, and not expect to be shown the door.

The survey itself is actually not intended to find out why people don't GM, but rather to find out if people are interested in GMing, and what barriers are there. There's a big distinction there, and the philosophy of that distinction makes all the difference in the world.

I fully understand, and so does the entire OPO leadership, that the restrictions based on society play won't be well received by all GMs, and they're not intended to be for everybody.

The survey is intended to find potential GMs, and then help them overcome the barriers that they see to running games, potentially matching them up with mentorship as needed, training as needed, and tools is available. Any other interpretation of the purpose behind that survey, is not only wrong, it's egregiously so.

Plenty of people have responded to the survey with arguments of why they choose not to GM, and that is perfectly fine. It's when you take that to extremes, and then bring it from the survey into the public forum to piss all over everybody's fun that I start to take issue.

There are certainly ways to have a dissenting opinion without going to those extremes, I encourage everyone to use those.

There is far more to this than just getting people to gm. GMing for pfs is a whole different thing. PFS is a whole heck of a lot stricter than normal and even normal has this ridiculous notion of GMs being limited by the rules, a notion that absolutely disgusts me. To me, rules are a tool to be used or ignored at need, and pfs would not only require me to take the opposite stance but to take it to the extreme. I still remember my worst pfs experience of being told I couldn’t do something totally within the rules because it required the gm to adjudicate something because the module didn’t tell them how to do it. The conversations after that included how paizo wants consistency in how gms run the game, which to my mind is like asking a bunch of painters to paint exclusively in the same style as Picasso with no room to be themselves. I understand why paizo wants that, but I still see it as stifling. It’s hard enough to gm when one can be themselves, but the need to perfectly emulate an abstract style makes it way harder.

There is also the fact that’s is all free. If I’m going to gm for free, I’ll gm a game I find fun to run. I’d only consider running pfs if I was getting paid, because then I’d be getting paid for my time and thus it not interfere with my own games.

Not exactly an answer readily available on your questionnaire.

I think you have made your point, and it has been heard. To continue to beat that poor horse carcass is both unnecessary and unwanted. If you don't want to GM Society games, no one is going to force you. If you don't like the restrictions of PFS, don't play/GM.

You seem to be under some kind of compulsion to spew vitriol against the restrictions you don't like in Society play as if you are being forced to do something incredibly distasteful. The opposite is in fact true. If the thought of PFS rules and restrictions "disgusts" you, then I encourage you to take your toys and go home. I don't want anyone part of this program who is disgusted by what we are trying to do.

Now, I am sorry you had a bad experience and it left a bad taste in your mouth. I will say that was not the intent of the program. I will also say that your statements in this thread and others make me wonder why you feel the need to interact with this community at all.

Feel free to DM me if you would like to continue this discussion, but I would appreciate if you would stop choking up the discussion channel of those that are interested in Society play with your crap.

bigrin42 - your online PBP Venture-Captain

One month to go!
GMs, we have a month left in Gameday XIII play, which should be plenty of time to wrap up those adventures. Hopefully you are in a good place to finish by the Nov 17 end date. Some of you have asked about starting new games between now and Nov 17. The general rule is as long as you can reasonably finish by the end date, go for it. Quests, bounties, and other short-form adventures are good candidates here. We will probably stop accepting new games at the 2-week mark just to make sure games finish on time and players aren’t overly rushed into having bad experiences.

So, you asked for a clear ruling on something that is obviously an edge case and reserved for GM fiat. Your assigned Venture-Agent gave you one.

You didn't like the ruling that was given, so argument continued.

Now, your Venture-Captain is stepping in to uphold the original ruling.

A gladius is NOT a shortsword, though it can take advantage of feats and abilities that apply to shortswords. Therefore, a rogue cannot use a gladius without taking a weapon proficiency feat.

That is the ruling. If you still are unhappy with the ruling, please take it up with Jason Bulmahn or one his fine Ultimate Combat authors Tim Hitchcock, Colin McComb, Rob McCreary, Jason Nelson, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, Owen K.C. Stephens, and Russ Taylor. I am sure they will be delighted that content they put together over 15 years ago is still causing such a stir today.

Now, please accept the ruling, or not, but stop clogging up this channel with nonsense.

Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!

As of now 00:01 GMT+0 September 8 Gameday XIII is live! Players and GMs alike, have fun!

I'd like to report a small error in the GAMEDAY XIII Event Listing Spreadsheet:

In the PFS1 special tab the formulae in column J (Open seats?) do not include the sixth player info.
Therefore, all tables look like they have open seats although some of them are already full.

As the fields in this column are protected I cannot change the formulae (that's good!).
Please correct it. Thanks!

Thanks, I thought I had already fixed that. It is now taken care of

I was informed that scenarios were granted today. GMs keep an eye on your inbox!

General Seating is now open!

Open seating is now available for both players and GMs. As always, we ask that you moderate your signups so that you don't overcommit, and be sure to leave some seats open for people that may have to wait a day or two to sign up (Don't be greedy!).

Other than that, I wish you all the best as you pick your tables.

Gameday XIII Gamemasters: GM Early access is open!

(this is just a reminder)

Note that it is limited to 1 regular game and 1 special. You can sign up for the rest of the games when general player seating opens.

Hi, I'm Dming PF2, 5-19 a Demonic after party on GM choice/lottery. Please move that game to the FCFS page.

Please re-submit your game as a FCFS and I'll delete the old one.

I signed up to GM a FCFS table of The Great Toy Heist on Paizo. I would like to limit the table to 4 players.

I'll take care of that for you.

I noticed the Cosmic Captive page says it needs at least 6 tables to run, is that still the case? Do we need more tables for it to fire?

I am getting special dispensation to run at 4 tables for this event. Hope things work out.

Hello All! I had a GenCon Experience I would say was sub par? I am a pretty forgivning person and undestand some GMs are there all day-but this event was the ...anyway.,... How do I leave review? The 1st GM had a website we could go to and leave a review. I cannot find that now.

Incoming DM

... Never mind, you have DMs turned off. Please message me if you would like to talk. I am on the Organizing Committee for Gen Con 2024.

Quick Update on Special GM Selection

Due to Gen Con business and then a metric (not imperial) crap ton of work when I got back, Specials GM notification will go out tomorrow instead of yesterday. The past is now the future.

The Gameday XIII Event Listing spreadsheet is now live!

You can’t sign up for games now, but you can see all the great tables that are being offered. We’ll update the listing every day or two, so keep an eye out.

HERE is the link for the Event Listing sheet

Remember, general signups don’t start until August 15, 2024!

The Gameday XIII Event Listing spreadsheet is now live!

You can’t sign up for games now, but you can see all the great tables that are being offered. We’ll update the listing every day or two, so keep an eye out.

HERE is the link for the Event Listing sheet

Remember, general signups don’t start until August 15, 2024!

The Gameday XIII Event Listing spreadsheet is now live!

You can’t sign up for games now, but you can see all the great tables that are being offered. We’ll update the listing every day or two, so keep an eye out.

HERE is the link for the Event Listing sheet

Remember, general signups don’t start until August 15, 2024!

So no Starfinder 2 during gameday, oh well.

So I can better craft these posts in the future, what about that announcement led you to believe no SF2? Feel free to DM

PbP Gameday XIII Event # 2,715,873
When: September 9, 2024 - November 17, 2024

Secondary HQ location: Our channel on the Organized Play Discord at PFSchat.com #pbp_gameday_XIII

Reporting Links
We will be using RPG Chronicles for signup management and reporting. [u]If you have an RPG Chronicles account[/u], you can manage signups and chronicle generation (including emailing chronicles to your players) simply by logging into your existing RPG Chronicles account and using the Gameday XIII event code.

[u]If you do not have an RPG Chronicles account[/u] and don’t wish to create one, no problem. Simply click the link below to report as a “guest GM”.

Gameday XIII Reporting

For more information about using RPG Chronicles for reporting, please check out this link

★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★

Greetings Pathfinders and Starfinders!

We’re all very excited to announce the upcoming PBP Gameday XIII! I will try to keep this as brief as possible so that folks can find all the information quickly. We will be having adventures of all sizes, including quests, bounties, scenarios, and even the latest multi-table specials!

We welcome Society players and GMs of all experience levels, from grizzled veterans to wide-eyed newcomers.

★ ---- ★ ---- ★ ---- ★

Important dates:

As of today (sorry for the delay) the chronicles are emailed out. If you don't see your emailed chronicles please check your spam folder (thanks Google algorithms). Please mark it as not spam and whitelist RPGChronicles.net to help prevent this in the future.

Congratulations! You have completed 1-12: the Burden of Envy!

I hope everyone had a great time, and enjoyed your (mostly) author's table!

I will work on getting those chronicles out today.

Please join me in wishing a speedy recovery to your author and (original) GM of this adventure, and I hope to see you across the table again real soon.

I will also ask that they mention the PBP part on the Blog, so it is visible to everyone (whether you check this thread or not).

**HOUSE GM ANNOUNCEMENT**

“Done!” Heraxia shouts. “Get out of here before—” Heraxia’s words are cut off as she disappears completely, shuddering back into existence a few moments later with a tear-streaked face. Looking confused, she shakes her head, then eyes the vault door with determination. “Seal me inside the vault, then go!”

As the surviving Pathfinders flee through into the Maze of the Open Road, Venture-Captain Armeline and Eando Kline hurry to the vault door, dragging it shut and sealing Heraxia inside the ovoid chamber.

Pathfinders gather inside the Maze of the Open Road, bloodied but alive. As time passes, nervousness flutters through the crowd. Suddenly, Armeline and Eando tumble into the Maze, panting from exertion. “It’s done,” Eando grunts.

“Wait,” Armeline interjects. “We need to give her time to leave...” After a few minutes, Armeline steps through the portal that led to Akiton. She returns moments later, smiling. “It worked! The Maze of the Open Road is repaired. We did it!”

A cheer goes up among the Pathfinders.

“It’s time to go home.”

---------

The surviving Pathfinders travel through the Maze of the Open Road, back to Woodsedge Lodge. As medics tend the wounded and fresh food circulates among the returning heroes, Venture-Captain Armeline Jirneau takes the podium. “Congratulations, Pathfinders! Each and every one of you has performed exceptionally, showing bravery in the face of danger and teamwork throughout uncertain, desperate, and—let’s face it—downright strange events. You should be proud of yourselves.

“On behalf of myself, Heraxia, and the Pathfinder Society, thank you for your efforts. I can’t tell you what will happen with Heraxia and Felise, but your deeds here today will echo into an unknowably distant future. And as for the present, well, I’m sure everyone back at the Grand Lodge will be eager to hear the tales of what you have accomplished here today.”

That concludes the adventure! Thanks for playing, everyone, and especially all the Table GMs whose hard work made this event possible.

@URI - try this link for the Starfinder template

During Outpost VII, we will be offering the following specials:
Pathfinder 1e 6-97 Siege of Serpents
Pathfinder 2e 3-99 Fate in the Future
Starfinder 2-00 Fate of the Scoured God

All prize vouchers have been emailed out. Congratulations to those that won the door prizes.

Please check your inbox (or spam folder) for a message titled "Gameday XII door prize"

Player Boons have been sent out, as has the first batch of GM boons. I am still waiting on several GMs to get back to me with their preference on boon selection.

Prize vouchers will start going out tonight.

I was making a list of the games I had played and GMed here (and elsewhere) so my VC could update his records and I noticed that my GMing if the Season 2 special for Gameday XII wasn't in the Paizo session list.

It should have been credited to Valea Quicksilver (124312-22 Concordance)

Could someone check it out please?

Oddly, the reported session (51) was completely blank. I have fixed it now.

Thanks to all the GMs and players. We had a HUGE showing and not a lot of problems on either side of the screen. We can't wait to see all of you again for Outpost VII.

Incidentally, the game (Tide of Morning) was Core. Based on the previous behavior of RPGChronicles, I figured I'd request that the PCs be reverted to Core status before the complaints start coming in. Let me know if you have any questions.

The game was cleanly reported as CORE by our fearless HQ team.

I finished my last game, but discovered that 3/4 of the players hadn't entered their data into RPGChronicles--I'll report as soon as they've done that.

^Similar situation; game is mostly done but I'm missing RPG Chronicles info for two players. As soon as I have that, I'll get 'er reported.

I've found that threatening to smother them with kisses works really well. YMMV

Gameday XII - That’s A Wrap!

187 games were registered, split almost evenly between GM Choice and First Come First Served recruitment. 96 GMs ran the games and hundreds of players joined them. What a great turnout!

Once the last few games get reported, we will be mailing out 50 randomly drawn prize vouchers, so make your offerings to the gods of chance, and may fortune be on your side. Also, at the same time we will be sending out those PF1 boons to the GMs and lucky players.

We want to hear your feedback, so please fill out this feedback form. Let us know what you liked, and how we can improve in the future. This form is anonymous, but if you want us to get back to you, please let us know how (paizo forum message, discord DM, or email).

Gameday XII feedback survey

Thank you all for participating in Gameday XII, and be on the lookout for the next PBP event, Outpost VII, coming this spring.

Gameday XII - That’s A Wrap!

187 games were registered, split almost evenly between GM Choice and First Come First Served recruitment. 96 GMs ran the games and hundreds of players joined them. What a great turnout!

Once the last few games get reported, we will be mailing out 50 randomly drawn prize vouchers, so make your offerings to the gods of chance, and may fortune be on your side. Also, at the same time we will be sending out those PF1 boons to the GMs and lucky players.

We want to hear your feedback, so please fill out this feedback form. Let us know what you liked, and how we can improve in the future. This form is anonymous, but if you want us to get back to you, please let us know how (paizo forum message, discord DM, or email).

Gameday XII feedback survey

Thank you all for participating in Gameday XII, and be on the lookout for the next PBP event, Outpost VII, coming this spring.

Gameday XII - That’s A Wrap!

187 games were registered, split almost evenly between GM Choice and First Come First Served recruitment. 96 GMs ran the games and hundreds of players joined them. What a great turnout!

Once the last few games get reported, we will be mailing out 50 randomly drawn prize vouchers, so make your offerings to the gods of chance, and may fortune be on your side. Also, at the same time we will be sending out those PF1 boons to the GMs and lucky players.

We want to hear your feedback, so please fill out this feedback form. Let us know what you liked, and how we can improve in the future. This form is anonymous, but if you want us to get back to you, please let us know how (paizo forum message, discord DM, or email).

Gameday XII feedback survey

Thank you all for participating in Gameday XII, and be on the lookout for the next PBP event, Outpost VII, coming this spring.

Only 2 Weeks Left!
GMs, with only 2 weeks left in Gameday XII play, you should be winding down your tables (assuming you aren’t already finished) and getting them ready for reporting by our HQ crew. Hopefully you are in a good place to finish by the Nov 20 end date, but if not, please go ahead and mark your tables Ready for Reporting by Nov 20 so we can wrap up the convention. Then, finish your games as soon as you can. If you need assistance in pushing your game to the finish, please contact your PBP lodge Venture Officers.

Only 2 Weeks Left!
GMs, with only 2 weeks left in Gameday XII play, you should be winding down your tables (assuming you aren’t already finished) and getting them ready for reporting by our HQ crew. Hopefully you are in a good place to finish by the Nov 20 end date, but if not, please go ahead and mark your tables Ready for Reporting by Nov 20 so we can wrap up the convention. Then, finish your games as soon as you can. If you need assistance in pushing your game to the finish, please contact your PBP lodge Venture Officers.

Only 2 Weeks Left!
GMs, with only 2 weeks left in Gameday XII play, you should be winding down your tables (assuming you aren’t already finished) and getting them ready for reporting by our HQ crew. Hopefully you are in a good place to finish by the Nov 20 end date, but if not, please go ahead and mark your tables Ready for Reporting by Nov 20 so we can wrap up the convention. Then, finish your games as soon as you can. If you need assistance in pushing your game to the finish, please contact your PBP lodge Venture Officers.

I'm planning to take the plunge and start GMing here in a few weeks. I've enjoyed the games I have played so far (thanks to some great GMs and fellow players) and would like to contribute back. I'll start with Q15: In the Footsteps of Horror and be running the low tier.

Looking back I've seen a few other people have started with an experienced GM playing at the table and mentoring them. Would anyone be interested in doing that?

Thank you for asking! I can think of several of our experienced GMs who would be happy to do this. Make sure you include a request for this in your recruitment post, along with some way for interested mentors to identify themselves. If you don't have any takes (and I would find that extremely unlikely), then DM me and I would be happy to join in.

I think there's been a problem reporting CORE Campaign games. My Core game of Year of the Shadow lodge got reported as Standard Campaign.

It appears my Core "Race for the Runecarved Key" Special from last year's GameDay may have been reported as Standard as well.

Along with other Core games.

Can the reporting be fixed and all PCs be converted back to Core?

Looking at the records, unless someone changed the reporting it was reported as Core and all the PCs are still listed as Core according to the admin tools I have access to. If you or your players are still seeing conflict, then it will definitely need to be escalated to Alex.

Bertram recaptures his spellbook and moved through the painting to follow the others. As he stepped through, the book coughed up a piece of paper. Looking at it, Bert said, "Okay, who is teaching my spellbook fart jokes? As if I didn't know?"

He inspected the statues in the garden with both his eyes and arcane senses to see if there was anything interesting about them.

perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14