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So you are correct, for the most part; Aid Another does exist for animals, but two problems; 1: Itsa trick (Urk doesnt know it) and 2: It comes from Ultimate Wilderness (which isnt legal for Core). SO yea, instead, can we say I had Urk just on Guard for the doorway? He wont allow the skeleton through in that case, but will allow allies. Doesnt require a push, and its a trick he does know.
Kitsune, Nagaji, and Wayang for free. No more Tiefs and Aasimars. I still have my tengu! (caw!) I like the delves idea. Those are helpful as I get new folks who dont realize these are 5 hours sessions sometimes. I have been asking upfront recently, and those who cant make it all 5 hours, well, they tend to leave. I do apologize to them, but I cant make it go faster if it doesnt. Thank you guys for these new items coming forward! I cannot wait to see this years bringings!
We also got to see a Hellknight inducted into her order, and Michellia Blakros hit on me. (Well, maybe I dreamed that last part.)I still have that Hellknight's shield. It looks good hanging on the wall ;) It was quite an honor to have that happen in my Lodge! (Gods I loved playing Ambrus) I look forward to another Grand Convo and possibly reprising my role as the GL VC. I just enjoyed working with everyone and interacting with the players who werent involved with the live action set themselves. Some even dressed and acted as their characters they were playing at PCon, which made it that much more awesome. See some of you this year, and those who didnt make it, next!
I just got finished prepping it today. Dungeon crawl. There are 11 encounters, plus a few traps and one puzzle... This would fill a 4 hour session easily. All Free RPG day modules have been worth 1XP and 1PP in the past, I see no reason why this wouldn't be the same. Just waiting for the chron sheet now :)
Huu-Yuu pretty much said it. We play every week at Ancient Wonders, start time is 3PM. We get about 2-3 tables a week now, but always welcome new players. When you show up, ask the folks behind the counter for me (Jester) or for the PFS group. Any of them will gladly take you up stairs to us :) I will not be on hand this week (anniversary) but all of my normal good folks will be there to help you out!
-When my table of players are laughing about the antics at large than fighting over rules. -The look on players faces when one of them wants to do something unbelievably stupid and I ask, twice, "Are you sure?" -When my players resort to roleplaying out a complete discussion than simply letting the dice roll determine if they succeed or not. -When the players actually look through old boons which give them a boost to do something at the current session, all because of roleplaying that one scene. (No, really. I had a guy who had some goblet which would add to his diplomacy, and he used the boon to simply "Give his character some added pompousry" to make his cover story stick. It was awesome) -Having people who only met you once a year ago contact you a year later just to ask what tables you are running so they can play there again. -Being Ambrus Valsin ;)
In my opinion; Yes, Id let it ride. How many times have we, being movie type people we are now a days, seen a number of folks fight with weapons in movies and use them how they were not intended? In the thick of battle, sometimes you do what comes to mind immediately. While it may be the *best* idea in the world, it can save your neck, all going your way of course. I almost harken this question to using weapons as they are not intended; See dealing non-lethal damage with lethal weapons. The penalty is there because you are not using the weapon as intended. Now, would I count the weapon as improvised? No. So no feats or such would alleviate the penalty. Would I allow AoO with the butt of the spear? No. I literally see this as a last ditch effort to make an attack that may save your life, or your compatriots lives, should that be the situation. TL;DR I would allow the attack, but with a -4 penalty with no possible reduction.
Ill echo many of the things said here, and add my own experiences with "trouble players". The best thing ever, is to talk to the group as a whole, with the trouble player there. Bring up the points that have been stated by you (or others, without naming names) and say "This is what we are going to do from here on out." If the trouble player disagrees, then he has the choice to leave the table or agree and stay. This puts the entire responsibility on his shoulders on whether or not he wants to play well with the rest of the group. If he tries to argue something, hold up the single index finger and say "Stop. You agreed to the rules set down, done. If you wish to argue, save it until after the game." If a fit is thrown (I have seen this happen too) then ask them to leave the table and come back when they are ready to talk about it all (this may be a long time too, depending on how strongly they feel to be "in the right"). As for hogging the spotlight, I have taken to a point where when it starts, I point at a person and say "What do you say/do/etc" I then go in turn to each person at the table, and consider their actions over all. I typically give about 15-20 seconds to each, and if they hem-haw the entire time (or disagree with something I made a ruling of) I simply move on to the next person. If they try to talk over them, I give "the Look" and ask them to be quiet, they had a chance. Usually, they fume for a minute or two, but do calm down after they realize they are the only one who isn't being utilized by not only the party, but the game as well. If you don't like asking them to leave the table, start slapping them with XP penalties or demerits (I love that word :D). Have a chart drawn up on what constitutes an XP pen/Demerit, give it to all the players so they are surprised by it, and move along. Its a bit harsher in my opinion, but you would be surprised how much gamers are willing to change so their character isn't being slapped with some penalty because they back-sassed the GM over a rules call.
Melf, we spoke on this privately too. Unsure if that was before or after this post, but I do hope you took what I said to heart in considering the changing of the names. Home games, no problem. While there may not be any written black and white text stating these kind of things are good or bad for PFS, we have to remember that PFS is a community event and organization. We have people of all ages who come to play this game, from all walks of life. I think an easier way to ask this kind of question is; "If I go to a convention where no one from my area is playing PFS, how well would this name be received by those people there?" If you even have a doubt of how easily someone might accept a name, the best idea is to step back and rethink the name. I personally have no problem with what you are trying to do; I see the joke in the name, and understand the idea (its Krusty the Klown, folks). But as a public facing group and community of gamers, we also need to think of the public at large who may not be involved with the joke, or even understand it. Not attacking anyone here, but what I say kind of goes to everyone on these boards. Its very Bill and Ted in its execution; "Be excellent to each other."
Kyle, Thank you for coming up with this. This is perfect for the new folks in the region I just started, both players new to Society and the ones who want to GM for me. While I may not be a huge fan of all of your work, this is definitely a scenario worth saying "Thank you" for. So, Grazi ;)
Don't know if this was suggested, but just in case it wasn't; When Channeling, why not allow the Warpriest to, instead of healing, add a Sacred bonus to all allies within 30 feet for Saves, Attacks (hit and damage), Skill bonus, or AC (each Ally selects upon time of casting) lasting a number of rounds equal to the Warpriests level. In this way, the Warpriest can actually do Blessings which would hold for a good time, fill in a role as a buffer, and have a unique ability which designates it quite well I would think. Since the channel builds slowly it wouldn't be overly powerful, but enough to be useful for each time the Channel ability increases. This also forces the Warpriest to have to pick between healing bursts and Buff bursts so it doesn't pull entirely away from other channeling classes and there would be a reason o have both in a party. Call it Blessing of Fervor or something akin.
Unsure if anyone posted about this yet, but a little clarification on these please; Charming Presence (minor): At 1st level, as a standard
When the ally uses an AOE, does that count for *every* enemy hit by it, or specifically the one targeted by the spell? Selfish Healer (minor): At 1st level, as a swift action you
Just to make sure this is clear, the Cure spell itself must have been prepared, not cast as a spontaneous casting? Thanks!
If the base WIP here is anything to go by, the finished product should look amazing. And the music is a good choice, for the video at least. Will it be the same within the game? I like the fact you guys are not prescribing to standard female armors in fantasy settings. High heels and underboob does not armor make (distraction, sure, but not armor). I understand aesthetics, but sometimes you need to weigh it against logic :p Will the armors be mix/match type, where you can keep the look of a certain piece but keep the stats/particulars of a newer/higher level piece (ala Guild Wars2)? I cant wait to see some of the spell effects and how those work!
In short, this is a very tough scenario. I have suggested to my normal folks to NOT play pregens for this, and bring the best strategies they can to the table the night we play it. Use your boons, your items, everything you may have that will help. As a GM, I dont go out of my way to kill players. But this doesnt mean if the dice fall where they may, it wont happen. Without risk of death, then what is the use of playing for reward? I want my players to always feel like they earned the reward they got at the end. I want them to feel like they accomplished something important. Sometimes, its good to have that feeling of "I may die in this fight" than "Well, that boss was really a cake walk. Waffles anyone?" Just my pennies worth :)
Being my first GenCon (but far from the first Con I have GM'd for Paizo) I have to say this was one of the smoother run events I have participated in. When it started on Thursday, yes, there was a bit of chaos about mustering, tables for GMs, ticket types, but as we moved forward, everything did get easier. I had no issue finding my marshal, getting to my table, and having plenty of time getting my maps ready for the game I was putting down for the players. Out of all the slots I ran, only one got changed up at the last minute (I helped run a 1-5 table I wasnt slated for after my 7-11 didnt show. Thank you again Bruce and Dan for filling seats so those two could play!) and going from the 7-11 in the special to a 1-2 instead (yes, I prepped only the 7-11, next year I will prep both the tier I am set for and the 1-2 tier *just in case*). I had one slot actually get flattened because all the tables were actually filled for what I was supposed to run, and so got placed on a table to fill so the players could enjoy their scenario. Overall though, still a very pleasant experience. Now, on to my kudos/suggestions (the suggestions, FYI, are from things I personally experienced or I overheard/got mentioned to me. If the suggestion itself has no basis or merit, feel free to correct me) My kudos;
The special seating was probably one of the best musters I have seen for a large event like this. The fact we had a bit of leeway in the scenario for this really helped I think. (As for the real vs generic argument I see for the Special, I thought I saw this posted on the actual mustering foam boards saying that only real ticket holders would get seated for the special. I would have to see the foam boards again to be sure) The GM's were overall willing to help each other out and were relatively friendly to each other as well. I can understand how the weekend would grind us down depending on how much we run, but we kept up our positive attitudes none the less. Runners. Thank you for the water, tokens, ticket take, etc. Without you, I am sure I would have a much worse voice loss right now :) Suggestions;
Would it be possible to maybe tier out the sections going from a left to right kind of thing in the hall? 1-5/WBG/WBG2 start at the left, with the 7-11 finishing at the right? Leave Sneak Attack where it was though, I think that was perfect placing. I believe this might help the overall mustering since folks would be able to have a general idea over the weekend where they need to go to find their table (and us GMs, too) I may get shot for this one, but here it goes; Giving the Tier 1 GMs at least one slot off during the daytime to be able to enjoy a bit of the Con and Dealer room? (Honestly, I have forgotten what it took to be considered Tier 1 GM, so this suggestion may be moot.) Food. I understand pizza can be delivered to the convention hall. Would it be possible to maybe have some sitting at HQ and made available for the GMs/HQ staff to purchase by the slice and then use that money to rotate in more pizza? Just a thought to keep the volunteers fed and not have to run far if they have little time between slots. I overheard from someone that the HQ staff didnt get tokens or boons for helping out. If this is true, could we maybe look into fixing that? While not running scenarios they are filling in important roles for this entire thing to move much smoother. I believe that should cover what I have for now. Again, a HUGE thank you to the volunteers for everything you have done to make this GenCon great, a round of applause to Thursty for another special event that I enjoyed, and cheers to Paizo for continuing the level of excellence we have all come to expect at these events.
I think the short of it is; Use common sense. You are in public. If you think the word might offend even one person at the table, you DONT USE IT. If you do get offended by something someone said, either tell them to stop directly, or ask to speak to the GM privately and let them know. If nothing comes of it, move up the chain. While understood that this is a fantasy world, we are players in that world, not folks who actually live there. While our characters may say these things on a normal basis, we as players do not need to say them. If the language is considered to be on the FCC's naughty list for regular TV (not cable), you dont bring it to the table. Its that simple. Yes, I understand it slips out once in a while. Accidents happen. But make it a continuous stream of verbiage and you will be asked to leave my table.
I have gotten to try D&D Next while at Norwescon this year. The person running is one of the current designers and developers of the game, and was doing it for feedback as well as testing what he had in place currently to see how well it worked. My opinion? Its a different beast. 4th edition felt like too much of the WoW-on-tabletop to me, and when I speak with some others and use such words to describe it, they typically agree. D&D Next goes back a little bit to 3.X, but seems to have simplified down even further in the terms of skills, abilities, and class models. I will say that due to the simpleness of the skills, it almost felt like they were trying to get people to imagine and role play a little bit more than what 4th edition offered. They wanted people to think about things, try some things out by simply being ingenious and describing how they would be performing said act and allowing the DM to come up with whatever roll he wanted them to do to see if they succeed. Did I like it? I had fun. Will I play it when it comes out? Nope. It didnt feel like D&D anymore. It felt like another fantasy game system which is trying to keep a market presence while drawing in new players. Im not going to say it will fail; It has a very good chance of catching the attention of new players with its simplistic system. I do not think, however, it will pull people away from the 3.X/PF games they are currently playing for any considerable length of time.
Hey Enoki! Yep, that would be me that ran you through the scenario last week. I do hope to see you at my table again soon, and I am planning on showing up at GLG more often to make games happen and help out Christie with it all. Look forward to seeing you more at the dice coliseum! -Jester
I believe they mean tables per slot. Our Typical Fridays and Saturdays here in Redmond are single slot runs (except one Saturday a month where we run side by side with RPGA and do two slots which will usually net us 7-8 tables for the day just for PFS). I would like to see some more GM 101 for new players who are interested in running games more. I think maybe even doing something like a Beginner Box Bash (we had one last Halloween here) would be a good "Learn to Play" type thing. Sure, it wouldnt be completely PFS, but it does get people in the seats and if they get hooked, they will want to play more with folks. Just my thoughts.
I for one welcome our change(d) overlords! In other words, I dont see much here that, honestly, takes away from the game in order to keep a balance between all the players at a table. A lot of what I am hearing on many things can simply be taken care of by the GM paying attention to what is right, knowing the rules, and even applying some common sense to situations. I dont think I have ever had a player argue with me on a basis of common sense, when I display my reasoning behind my calls. Our jobs as GMs, besides running the game, is making it fun for everyone. Being in the Society, we have some limitations impposed on us, but we are still under the gun for making sure everyone is having fun and playing well together. Sorry for the tangent, just wanted to get that out there. As for the new guide, thank you for the changes, really. More races at the tables, some cleaner info on the Fame and Day job tables, and finally GMs able to get boons from scenarios they run. Lets see how this Season comes out!
Highlights:
Thurston: For the great Convocation work! I enjoyed playing out my role as Ambrus, and the entire storyline was phenom! I cannot wait to see how it churns the story waters this upcoming year! To all the folks who NPC'd for the convocation: You all did awesome work, and were great people to play off of and work with this weekend. For those of you who arent even part of PFS, you did really good jobs at playing out the characters you were given and hope you had fun as well! Downsides:
Past that, I think the whole event was a wonderful time and I look forward to next years!
My first Paizocon... I have to say, for the event overall, I feel pretty damned good about everything. I want to say thank you to everyone who did show up in the first. That right there shows the strength of the PFS community in a whole when we get folks from all over the world to come to this. A huge thank you to all of the players who did sit at my tables (and after Friday were very patient with my lack of voice. Doing my Valsin impression tore up my throat a bit) and had a blast playing. I really hope to see many of you again in the next Paizocon, or even come to visit the Redmond WA area some time! A round of applause for Paizo themselves who put this all together and made it as fun as it was! We would have been just "another con" if it wasnt for the extra step and mile you all went through in order to make this what it was. I met so many folks this weekend, and time was such a blur, I wish I could remember them all. For fear of leaving anyone out, I will simply say this; You all are great folks, and I am proud to call myself a gamer and a Pathfinder. Through many of the societies I have been involved in, be it for fun or for real life reasons, this by far as some of the best people I would consider working and playing with without hesitation. Travel safely home those of you who have far to do so, and we shall meet again soon! -Jester (aka Ambrus Valsin)
Im in with this one. Being a DM/GM who has run a table that had 7-8 players before, I can only say I would have much preferred the 6, and leave it at that. Its not necessarily the amount of multi tasking that is required to engage all the players, but the fact you need to modify the current scenario/adventure to allow for the extra 1 set of hands. With home brewed games, this is no problem, as you can modify on the fly. With scenarios, and being hard coded, its a little rougher to do that without some kind of imbalance brought forth, be it the players advantage or the GMs.
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