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Am I weird in being not remotely interested in Disneyland? Those all entertainment parks hold little interest for me - too many too loud people around for not enough fun for me.I mostly go to make my wife happy. And for the soft pretzels. +1000% for accuracy. He really does just go to make me happy. Our friends joke that he puts up with Disney and I put up with his copious amounts of pathfindering.
My 2 cents, I'm not sure the rules are getting harsher so much that people are actually enforcing them and it seems more punitive as it hadn't been enforced before now. re: auditing; At every single convention I've had my characters audited and I've been asked to play a pregen when I couldn't produce my sources (back before the guide stated that living in the same household counted as shared resources and my other half was at another table - Origins 2013). Now I have printed copies of the appropriate sheets (or more accurately, compiled PDF's) of my characters and have their resources right handy in one PDF for viewing. It's in the guide, I've always presumed it could happen, and when I get audited IT'S OK. I also generally audit characters at my table, my expectation is that people understand how to run their characters and I am consistently disappointed since rarely can my players actually tell me how they got 30 AC, etc. etc. etc. *edited Origins year, it was 2013. How time flies.
You and me both Stephen. I'm having the same issue. I just can't take off too much time at the beginning at the year.
Cyz is off to Hawaii, and I'm off to work with about 4 hours of sleep. x.x From the G1 - WindWhistler :) she was always my favorite growing up. G3 is Baby Surfstar, I kept mine though and it's been my MLP under name for years! The new series I'm definitely Twilight Sparkle :) I just recently downgraded my collection to just a few ponies and kept only my favorites :) so if you feel the need - art or other things is better than actual ponies! But I love them all and the thought is wonderful.
White Mage type character - Took the following rolls from the table: 6: 18; 14; 13; 13; 11; 11 (they have not been placed to a stat yet)
Crafting something very loosely based on Yuna from FFX - White Mage with a touch of summoning. Magic Style/Type are - Spontaneous w/ Faith/Innate as the source.
With regards to the ACG, as an RPG player and someone who hasn't participated in the ACG organized play, when I was walking through the ball room I saw the ACG booth with a bunch of boxes on it and I tried to ask what they were. The only response I could get out of the people was "just go sit at your table and we'll have your pregens to you shortly." I get being busy, but with four people sitting at the table it would've been nice if one of them could take a second to listen to my actual question and explain to me what it was. Or at least acknowledge that they heard what I was asking instead of assuming they knew what I was asking. By improved marshaling process, you mean there needs to be one! There was no marshaling process at all (again see that we had one orange shirt allotted for all of ACG). This was one of our chief complaints.
Some of the ACG complaints have been noted here already and I spent all of my time over at the ACG tables - that being said, I would 100% volunteer for ACG again because I do love the ACG game and I feel that it's been one of Paizo's most under-represented products. Some good notes -
Some improvements:
I know that Kevin Hanley, the single sole orange shirt we had and our coordinator took back a bunch of feedback as well so I can basically leave it at that. TL:DR - I think that there was an under-anticipation for card gaming and it was understaffed this year, but lets not basically make people pay to run their own games at a convention that is entirely pay to play. Re Boons: When I handed my tokens out to players, I made sure to tell them to ask for the ACG boons since nobody at the prize table was asking (something they DID do the year before).
I want to start up a pfs in my area. Who or where can I find information about the venture people for my area. I live in Flagstaff arizona. Hi Michael, Right now we haven't had too many requests up in Flagstaff but we would love to find someone to work with to grow PFS up north! Most of our information is shared on Facebook through a group - Arizona Pathfinder Society and we have a website that is a little outdated - www.azpfs.com Most of our games are in the valley but I'm sure Steven Schopmeyer aka TriOmegaZero would love a PM from you about gaming up north. Thanks!
Who gets called Ms.TOZ more than she wants.
This was not my best PaizoCon... Some highlights were:
Some low points:
Further reflections later when I have time to step away from my feelings.
1st Option
Spoiler:
Lysander Human (Varisian) summoner (unchained, story summoner) 1 (Pathfinder Player Companion: The Harrow Handbook, Pathfinder Unchained 25) CG Medium humanoid (human) Init +0; Senses Perception +2 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 12, touch 10, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor) hp 11 (1d8+3) Fort +2, Ref +0, Will +4; +1 trait bonus vs. charm and compulsion -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor) Melee armor spikes (rosewood) -6 (1d6-2) or bladed scarf -2 (1d6-2) or unarmed strike -2 (1d3-2 nonlethal) Summoner (Unchained) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5) 7/day—summon monster I Summoner (Unchained, Story Summoner) Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +5) 1st (2/day)—mage armor, shield 0 (at will)—acid splash, detect magic, read magic, resistance -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 7, Dex 10, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 18 Base Atk +0; CMB -2; CMD 8 Feats Extra Evolution[UM], Resilient Eidolon[UM] Traits loyalty across lifetimes, varisian tattoo Skills Acrobatics -6 (-10 to jump), Knowledge (arcana) +5, Knowledge (history) +5, Knowledge (planes) +5, Spellcraft +5 Languages Common, Elven, Varisian SQ eidolon (unchained), life link, storykin eidolon Other Gear rosewood armor, bladed scarf[ISWG], backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, flint and steel, mess kit[UE], pot, soap, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin -------------------- Tracked Resources -------------------- Storykin Eidolon (7/day) - 0/7 Summon Monster I (7/day) (Sp) - 0/7 Torch - 0/10 Trail rations - 0/5 -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Eidolon (Unchained) Can summon a powerful aspect of an outsider. Life Link (Su) Damage that dismisses Eidolon can be taken by you. It weakens if not in 100 ft. Resilient Eidolon When you are knocked unconscious, fall asleep, or are killed, your eidolon remains with you Storykin Eidolon (7/day) Std. act: Draw harrow card: +4 enhancement to abil. score drawn. Summon Monster I (7/day) (Sp) Standard action summon lasts minutes, but only 1 active at a time and can't use with eidolon. -------------------- Eidolon (Unchained)
2nd Option
Spoiler:
Katydid Female human witch 1 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player's Guide 65) NG Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses Perception +2 -------------------- Defense -------------------- AC 11, touch 11, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex) hp 9 (1d6+3) Fort +2, Ref +2, Will +4 -------------------- Offense -------------------- Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor) Melee longspear -2 (1d8-2/×3) or unarmed strike -2 (1d3-2 nonlethal) Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19-20) Special Attacks hexes (fortune[APG], healing[APG]) Witch Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +6) 1st—burning hands (DC 15), mage armor 0 (at will)—detect magic, read magic, stabilize Patron Ancestors -------------------- Statistics -------------------- Str 7, Dex 14, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 9 Base Atk +0; CMB -2; CMD 10 Feats Accursed Hex[UM], Extra Hex[APG] Traits arcane temper, sacred touch Skills Acrobatics -4 (-8 to jump), Heal +6, Intimidate +3, Knowledge (history) +8, Knowledge (nature) +8, Knowledge (planes) +8, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic Device +3 Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Common, Elven, Sylvan SQ witch's familiar (spider, drain named Cuja) Other Gear light crossbow, longspear, backpack, bedroll, belt pouch, candle (10), chalk (10), flint and steel, ink, inkpen, mess kit[UE], pot, soap, spell component pouch, torch (10), trail rations (5), waterskin, 119 gp -------------------- Special Abilities -------------------- Accursed Hex Target a creature with a hex a second time that day if it made its save the first time Empathic Link with Familiar (Su) You have an empathic link with your Arcane Familiar. Familiar Bonus: +3 to Climb Checks You gain the Alertness feat while your familiar is within arm's reach. Fortune (1 round) (Su) Ally in 30 ft can roll 2d20 for an attack, save, ability, or skill check (and take higher) once/rd. Healing (1d8+1) (Su) Heal touched creature, but each target can only benefit once per 24 hrs. Share Spells with Familiar Can cast spells with a target of "You" on the familiar with a range of touch. Witch's Familiar (Ex) Gain the services of a special familiar that stores spells. -------------------- Cuja
Let me know what works best for the rest of the party or if I need to make changes Liz.
I promised Painlord a blog post.. mostly about my thoughts on GenCon va. PaizoCon. Firstly, I was so surprised to run into Painlord at Scotty's on Thursday. Since coming to GenCon was a literally a last minute con from Mike Brock at PaizoCon, I hadn't planned to be here long term. I can also say that since I am off summers I tend to do a lot of traveling and going to conventions. When I arrived on Wednesday there was a huge cluster regarding our room... in which we didn't have one. By the time I'd actually gotten to the hotel there was a room... a single king-sized bed in a small room for 4 adults. I was definitely not okay with this and very nearly said F-it and spent the weekend with my in-laws, I stuck through it though and by the time my room-mates arrived the front desk had called. I simply explained that the room was not okay at all and was not going to work. They upgraded us to a suite, which at least had two beds. So that made things moderately better. Some thoughts, for pure PFS/PF things I would say that I genuinely prefer PaizoCon. Paizo has more control over than venue, the technicalities, and advertising than they do at GenCon. There are more players at GenCon, but more doesn't always equal better. For something as large as GenCon I would love to see more 'trial' games like the Goblin Invasion and Quests - GenCon is big with a lot of stuff going on, spending 4-5 hours on a single slot can sometimes feel like a waste of the convention time. I know that there are some veteran players that go to play, so for sure I'm not saying do away with everything, but I would like to see more balance in how PFS/Paizo is attracting new players at GenCon. Sadly I also noticed a lot of players and even GM's bashing new players and pregens when I was walking around. This is definitely one of my pet peeves when working with new players... there is no quicker way to make people feel less welcome than constant negativity. Perhaps because this is my first GenCon I misunderstood what the point of the con was (to draw in new players). PaizoCon also allows for that intimacy with the nature of Pathfinder, especially the most recent year with the change in slots it was nice to be able to take things at the pace it was needed. Which isn't to say that GM's are always great.. I had a terrible GM for my Sunday Night special at PaizoCon (he was also at GenCon so I'm glad I wasn't playing). Slots at GenCon were pretty much back to back and were exhausting. I worked HQ almost the entire time and there was plenty to do. I've been reading through the Feedback thread and some of the feedback is very interesting. I did not see nearly as many familiar faces as I thought I would. Some of the familiar faces were ones I recognized from previous PaizoCons (I've been to the last 5). This was my first GenCon, GenCon while very interesting as a convention wasn't as fun as Origin's was in terms of playing new games and having the opportunity to do so. I didn't have as much time to wander and explore GenCon as I would have liked so that may be something that is available, but that I didn't get to experience. I wished that I had exchanged my Core table tickets for PACG tickets - when I realized that pretty much no Core tables were going off (I only brought paperwork for my core character) I could have spent time doing something else on the slots I had off. So I skipped out on the two tables I purchased tickets for ... one because I slept in both times (see exhaustion above) and two, because while I don't mind pre-gens I had specific characters I'd rather play those scenarios with (Darkest Abduction and Out of Anarchy). I did enjoy working with the HQ staff, though I would prefer a better adherence to the schedule we were given. Sometimes it was hard to know what to plan for when I showed up for my slots. Final thoughts, if making a choice I would pick PaizoCon hands down, I preferred that pathfinder experience to the one at GenCon. For gaming I would pick Origins. For people watching I'm going to continue to keep with San Diego Comic Con. Gencon seems to want to be a lot of things and as such with the growth in commercialization I think it loses some of it's accessibility (so does SDCC; by a lot) to new gamers that want to try new things. I also tend to prefer conventions that are not pay to play. That was something I disliked about Origins and GenCon. Frankly, when I have a crappy experience at PaizoCon I know at least I didn't shell out $6 or $10 for the experience ontop of my badge and other fees. I will also say that my experience got off on the wrong foot since we didn't have a room and then got different room-mates than planned since June. Nick Greene and Mizkitty were great and I am so glad we got them as roommates, but that definitely didn't begin the con on a positive note. I also realized as I got home that my copy of Occult Adventures ended up sprouting legs from our hotel room and walking away (I didn't want the book... but still a =/ moment). Some highlights -
I enjoyed seeing the specials from the other side as it were. I played 2 of the 4 at PaizoCon and at some point TOZ will run the Kobold adventure for me and friends. I don't know when I'll do the Season 7 opener, but I'm sure it will be just as fun. I met a ton of nifty people and I would have loved to chat more but I felt super awkward (see anxiety disorder above). I'm generally open to talking to people about just about anything. Seeing Chris Hayes table (3d Terrain... all my <3 there) and Thursty's table was such a blast. I seriously couldn't contain my laughter. I know I'll be at PaizoCon this coming year, Phoenix Comic Con, and San Diego Comic Con. I'd like to try GenCon again, but that depends on my work schedule and contract.
I promised Painlord a blog post after chatting with him for a few (I also promised I would get TOZ to write more than three sentences about his experiences too)... These are just a few of my thoughts and my experiences from the Con. Most people that saw me around the Con will remember me by the bright purple hair (blue&pink as well) .... or as Ms.'s TOZ (not sure how I feel about that one, but after 8 years I'm keeping him). Thursday, having learned my lesson from previous conventions I usually try to arrive the day before and leave the day after. We were arriving early enough that we signed up for an afternoon pre-con game of Wrath of the Accursed. We had a fantastic time. The GM did a great job of instilling paranoia and rolling with some unexpected things that our characters did. I don't recall forum names (if I actually know them... I don't) but I thought that it was a great table. I had great time being the psudo-healer with my Warpriest Valkyrie (she got the most play this weekend). We also spent some time chatting and hanging out with friends that we saw. It's always great to spend time with old friends and meet new people as well. Some people were friendlier than others. Attempted to head off to bed for the early start on Friday; but got sucked into an ACG game of Skull and Shackles which was surprisingly fun! It wasn't at all how I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it. This means I will probably attempt to go and play more often locally now. Friday I began my 8am slot with Fires of Karamoss; it was a pretty good table. I played my Warpriest again (realizing I really really need to get some scrolls of carry companion) with a group of lively individuals. There were some new players at the table and the GM was fantastic. It's a good scenario and I hope that when I GM this at Phoenix Comic Con I can do as well! Jetted off to do lunch after the slot so I could make my 2pm seminar with Nick Logue (GMing on the Fly), which was a really informative session. I realized I do quite a few of the things he mentioned, but I learned a lot of new things and took information away. The big three were to create relationships, try to say 'Yes' as much as possible, and be flexible with the world (so you can build it with the players). I love this idea and will be attempting to incorporate more of this in my PFS play. I often feel limited by the PFS - run as written rule - but I already do much of that in my home games (Skull and Shackles presently). I then headed off to dinner with friends before prepping for the Special that night - I had initially planned to play 3-4 or 5-9 tiers, but I ended up in a high level party with two new friends and 3 old friends (Rusty ironpants, ???, Holly, Daniel, and Jonathon) - I had a lot of fun playing my Beloved of Aram Zey sorceress; Justin Riddler was an awesome GM and I completely respect his skill and the fact that he shifted from one tier extreme to the other with ease. Only minimal loading time and completely understandable. The table felt 100% fun as the group would continue to RP while we were waiting for Justin to finish reading/prepping as necessary. All in all a fantastic day for me (My sorceress had a rough day though). Saturday started with me feeling quite bleary eyed - I always have brief thoughts of sleeping in after the specials. I am glad that I didn't - I played Returned to the Sky with several awesome players. I had an great amount of fun playing my seriously unoptimized gunslinger (just ask the table, I didn't one-shot anything!); I was glad I'd taken several feats that really helped me and my table out. The roleplay was also great (people should stop Audrey from talking, that +0 Diplomacy is a killer) and the people all seemed like they had fun. Overall I thought that it was a great scenario to play in and I was glad I had gotten up. My table ran late and despite having an entry ticket to the "Crayon of Vecna" I decided to get lunch first. After a leisurely lunch with friends I ended up getting sidetracked by the card-game and built some decks with the help of my friendly local Cardgame VL. I then headed to the Horror in RPG's seminar - also interesting an informative with how to add some spooky elements to a game. After that there was dinner and a rousing round of Wrath of the Righteous card game; I honestly did not enjoy it as much as the Skull and Shackles game previously. Sunday morning came way to early; started the day with a game of Tapestry's toil with one of the VL's that was working on getting his 5th star. It was an amazing table. Just awesome; I played my Warpriest again and the group had a great time. One of the players was hyper focused on completing his faction card things and it detracted a little bit, but as a party we took this in stride and incorporated it into the RP around the table more often than not. It was a great scenario and we had a fantastic GM who just made the table. Went off to my afternoon game GM'd by rknop where we got to be magical cats and it was SO much fun - I had a great table to play with and we all enjoyed hanging out. Then time for dinner and the special - I was pretty excited about getting to play in the special though a little hesitant because I knew I would end up with a random GM. Set up a group of 6 while in line and we had a pretty solid group. We got to our table and I'll just say things went incredibly south from there. I can honestly say that I did not enjoy my experience at the special; especially after having some reflection time to realize just how incredibly awful it was. The scenario was great, the characters were great, and it had all the ability to be completely awesome; but it was not - My GM was entirely unprepared, there were no maps except a 2x8 square hallway and maybe an 8x16 set of greenery for all the other maps. We also got some 'harder' enemies. My character did not survive and I was not told ahead of time that the character I applied the credit to would die so I am more than a little frustrated with that - even if I understand that there is precedence for it (I didn't realize We Be Goblin's Too was this way as well till I read it here). I had a very bitter experience with the special and left feeling quite upset. Monday morning I had planned to sleep in and skip my morning lottery slot since I was still feeling crabby from the previous night. I am SO glad I didn't - this game was my highlight of the con! It really made up for the lackluster performance of the night before. Stephen Helt was my GM for Midgard: Goblins in the Brewery and my table was amazing! I literally laughed so hard I needed to use my inhaler because I could not breathe. It was an amazing time. We spent most of the afternoon just hanging out and doing a reading of 'Old Man Henderson' for some new friends. Then we started a pick-up game for Returned to the Sky, ran by dinketry. As usual, this was the perfect ending to what was an amazing con! Aside from the one blemish, I had a great time at the convention and I hope to see many of the same faces next year; I am terrible with names but I am always open to just hanging around and chatting.
As TOZ's other half - I had been waiting to see what other options were provided. I couldn't ever find a good mini for a musket master so that's what really caught my eye. In terms of cost-benefit the 10 package to share between the two of us just made the most sense. Audrey This is my initial design that I have been sitting on.
Waiting at the airport to head home from Seattle, it was another very fun Paizo*Con, I love getting to see people year to year. Now that I have been going for 3 years I am beginning to recognize and connect with people - some highlights of this year included getting to be a part of Chris (thunderspirit on the boards) Assault on the Wound table, which was AMAZING. Then of course my last table where I got to sit with Chris from Nevada (also awesome people). Best of all was getting to meet Brian Darnell and Rob Knopf - the mythic game was amazing! Lots of chatting with W. Kristoff Nolan too (awesome guy!) and all of the great hanging out with the Phoenix Peeps - Congrats again Tom! Thanks to the awesome staff and people that make this event happen every single year! It has only gotten better, for me at least.
Another TPK tonight. The pregen paladin and the ninja/sorcerer didn't run from the big evil. And then the eidolons got maneuvered to be blocking the way to the stairs. Acrobatics DC29 to escape was unachievable. I would definitely say that Don't Split the Party is a huge thing to learn. ;)
Okay here is my thought (This is Shanna BTW)... I'd actually prefer to play the House game/Shackled City since I won't be available the next weekend (August 4th/5th) and that way you can finish out First Steps without having to figure out how to add a new player part way through. I know it seemed to be something of a concern. As long as we are gaming here, I'm fine with keeping it on Saturday's the group just needs to decide if they want to get together morning's or afternoons. I'd be fine with games running from say 11-3 (3:30) or we could start them later like 1- 5(ish). Basically we are available for play any time during the time block between 11-6. We don't have kids, so really, just let us know what time(s) work best for you and your families. Additionally, if Friday nights are better, I would be OK with that. But we wouldn't be able to start until later in the evening probably between 6:30-7. Since I won't get off work in Houston till 3:30-4 and I'll be driving home. We would play until 10-11ish. Just let us know, what works best. We are also okay for alternating since we have a Sunday game in Austin on every other Sunday.
Afterall warfare is great in dealing with my favorite currency.... information rather than all that heavy gold stuff. |
