Week 1: Character creation and first adventure run
1st level group, 5 players, with characters as follows:
Human fighter (Feats: Power Attack, Overhand Chop)
Elf diviner w/ Bonded Item (amulet)(Will be substituted with a half-elf universalist [with cat familiar] when this player takes his turn as DM and I play)
Human necromancer
Half-elf Cleric (Liberation and Luck domains)
Half-elf Rogue
Characters will advance according to the fast-track XP chart, in order to provide playtest options over a broader range of levels. Additional character/race types will be substituted as the later versions of the Alpha playtest are released.
Adventure: "Chilled to the Bone" by Jason Little, from Dungeon Crawl Classics #29: The Adventure Begins
The group voted to start with the double hit points option, so I chose this adventure to run, which I would otherwise deem a bit too harsh for first level characters, even though that is what the module says it is built for. The characters are constantly exposed to temperatures below 0 degrees F, calling for Fort saves every 10 minutes. I felt the extra hit points would give them a fighting chance, so I gave it a shot. The hit point option kept the party moving in difficult circumstances, considering the lack of resting options given the terrain and time considerations. Even a critical hit by a starving (and thus fatigued) dire wolf on the wizard was survivable with the double hit points option (though he did drop) and he was kept in play due to a stabilize orison by the cleric.
Likewise, the specialist and domain powers of the diviner and cleric provided welcome tactical options during combats, especially in situations where there were limited melee or ranged options due to terrain features. Rather than simply delaying until conditions changed, the cleric was able to bolster frontline combatants with her domain abilities, instead of being relegated to the old "magical band-aid" position. Healing from turning also provide a buffer and continued functioning for those characters who sustained nonlethal damage from failed Fort saves against the cold.
Overall impressions of my players were positive. The orison and cantrip rules allowed for spellcasters to maintain effectiveness in combat even with the limited spell slots for 1st level characters.
Of all the skill changes, Peception was the best received. My players are fond of the overall flavor effect of having rolls based on specific senses, rather than the old Listen/Spot/Search. Likewise, the player of the rogue found the Acrobatics skill streamlined her rolls, given that the winter setting provided for a lot of difficult terrain to navigate, and combat movement generally went in an orderly and streamlined fashion.
Thus far, no major snags or problems with the rules changes have been experienced, though in the debriefing after the gaming session, some concern over the Mobility feat, which the rogue may take at 3rd level, was expressed. There is some concern that negating all AoO due to movement may be overpowering, though other players stressed that due to the inability to use multiple combat feats in a round, it won't be a problem. More on that as it develops.
This was interesting to read. I hope you keep posting.
This was interesting to read. I hope you keep posting.
My group plans on doing weekly sessions using the Alpha playtest rules for at least part of our regular gaming session each week. I'm taking notes as we go and posting our findings and general impressions of the Pathfinder rules after each session, so there will be plenty more where this came from.
Shadowborn, this post is worth its weight in gold. It'll be awesome if you can keep 'em coming -- we'll all profit from your experience.
Well everyone that is going to playtest w/me has emailed me there characters and so far...
Human Wizard... Universalist... he used the free human weapon proficiency on greatsword and bonded a staff... hmmm,i assume he is going to be using the greatsword with Hand of the Apprentice... he didnt email me what feats he took however.
Dwarf Fighter... Two-Weapon Fighting and Shielded Axe (from Races of Stone)...
Elf Rogue... Point Blank shot... w/his 16 Int he has 11 skills including Diplomacy... I guess he's figuring on making up his Cha * w/his Unearthly Beauty. He took Point Blank Shot, bought a longbow, has no money for armor.. and his only melee weapon is a free club.
Half-Orc Cleric of Gorum... took Overhand Chop and the Strength/Destruction Domains... w/a Str 16 and Int 6, I get the feeling she isn't modelling this cleric after Bing Crosby in the Bells of St Mary.
Will send a report on the first adventure after we meet tommorow...
BTW, the only rule I inposed on them beyond the changes was no multiclassing into classes not yet detailed by Alpha... though of these 4 players only Kieren the rogue player regularly multiclasses.
Thanks for all the encouraging comments, especially yours, Jason. We'll be running again this Sunday, so I'll be posting a report later that evening or Monday morning.
As for the question on the half-elves, my choice to play a half-elf was just off-the-cuff, and was made before the others had rolled up their characters. Chances are I'll switch races before I take my turn as a player. I may roll up a gnome, just to thumb my nose at the decision to phase them out of 4E in favor of...humans of questionable pedigree.
I don't see the human being less beefy than the half-elf, especially with the +2 to any stat humans have now, on top of the skill and feat bonuses.
Playtest Week 2: "Chilled to the Bone" Finale; In-town role-playing/social skill utilization; "Sunless Citadel" start
In this session my players finished the adventure I started last week. The final two battles consisted of entry into a trapped cabin where they were ambushed by a level 2 halfling rogue (modified to Pathfinder Alpha rules) and an outdoor encounter in limited terrain conditions with 4 krenshar.
I gave the enemy rogue the Resiliency rogue talent, which managed to keep him in the fight for one more round (and sneak attack) before the fighter mashed him into the floorboards. The party's elf diviner, Lucien, was caught off-guard by the hidden rogue, being the first PC to enter the room. However, he prevented the rogue from succeeding on more than one sneak attack with his Specialist Bonus. Being able to act on the surprise round enabled him to cast his Shield spell, thus upping his AC before the rogue was able to attack again.
In the battle with the krenshar, the fighter failed his Will save vs. their fear effect, causing him to flee. The cleric, Lycia, had a Remove Fear prepared (they had encountered a dead specimen earlier, identified by a sucessful Knowledge (arcana) roll from the Necromancer) and was able to get him back into the fight without further delay. She would have been hesitant to use it, as it was her last prepared spell for the day, but since she was able to heal after the battle with the turn ability, she felt free to use her spell for combat purposes, rather than save it for healing later.
Once back in the fight, Markham the fighter was able to deal effectively with the krenshar using the Power Attack feat. With his two-handed maul, he was able to up his average damage from 11.5 per hit to 13.5 per hit at the cost of a a -1 to his attack rolls. This meant a downed krenshar a round with a successful hit.
Downtime in town allowed for use of non-combat skills. The ability to use Appraise combined with Detect Magic to identify magic items was considered a great feature by the players. The DC for success was considered reasonable and the removal of the 100gp cost per item meant the party managed to save more GPs for reequiping and upgrading. The variable DCs for item cost for the Appraise skill was considered a good idea by some, however we talked about how it could also be structured around item complexity/rarity. (i.e. a gemstone, which has standard measurable factors such as carats, color, etc. would have a lower DC than, say, a portrait, which would have to be judged on less tangible factors, such as market availability, artist's reputation, and such)
No major revelations occurred with the social skills, though the consolidation of various skills seems to be accepted as a good thing all around.
I thought running "The Sunless Citadel," the first WotC module for 3E, would be appropriate for a playtest of the next step in the (divergent) evolution of the game. Fairly standard play, but we had to end on a cliffhanger with the party being surprised by skeletons. The player running the cleric is chomping at the bit to test the new turning rules in a combat situation.
Until next time...
The ability to use Appraise combined with Detect Magic to identify magic items was considered a great feature
I'd just like to echo this. My players really like not only the fact that they can easily identify magic items themselves; but also that shop keepers no longer charge as much to do the job if the PCs fail.
Good feature all round, and makes appraise a much more useful skill.
Curious how was the Human Necromancer - 1 with control 8 HD of undead a level class special was used in the game? Thanks.
Curious how was the Human Necromancer - 1 with control 8 HD of undead a level class special was used in the game? Thanks.
Considering that he can't use that ability yet, probably not much.
Although interesting note:
-Frank
My player running the necromancer also assumed that her character had the ability to control 8HD of undead per level, meaning that at 1st she could somehow create undead. I assured her that wasn't the case. Until she reaches a level where she can cast Animate Dead, or multiclasses to cleric of a god that grants the rebuke ability, it wasn't a viable power. However, given the confusion evident, it might be a good idea to reword that description, perhaps putting a caveat line in for clarification.
Mr. Trollman brings up a valid concern that I initially shared. However, after reading the description of the item, I don't think there will be a problem. As for passing the aforementioned item around, I think I'll stick with the interpretation that physical ownership is a necessity for control. Therefore, no armies can be made simply by passing the item off. Pass the item, and control of the previous owners "playmates" passes to the new owner.
Even if I stuck with that particular loophole, the necromancer's ability would still be moot. Without a way to gain active control, each pair created by the item would simply remain under the control of the character that used the item. This would make the necromancer jealous, and no doubt give the party cleric cause to make liberal use of her turn undead ability, or just cause undead casualties due to the 30' radius of the effect.
Remember that animate dead is an instantaneous effect. Control is determined by whether you have a sufficient control pool based on your caster level when you cast the spell. It's a really weird mechanic, but a party can vastly increase the number of undead they can control by taking a Ring of Spell Storing and having each character in the party (especially the non-casters) use it to "cast" an animate dead that the party wizard or cleric prepared.
Items such scrolls and
-Frank
Playtest Session 3: Turning, Cover Mechanics, and Dragon Wrasslin’
The session stared off with the surprise round for three skeletons on Markham the fighter, along with Lucien the diviner’s action on the surprise round from his specialist ability. Then combat began in earnest.
Lycia the cleric was the star here. The Pathfinder turning rules allowed her to directly attack the undead while healing the damage taken by Markham during the combat simultaneously and reducing the amount of hits taken by him during combat. Only one of the three skeletons failed its Will save, and it couldn’t run (small room, cleric at door,) but the -2 penalty from the frightened modifier combined with Markham’s high AC ensured no further hits from that skeleton during the combat. Between Lycia’s turning and Markham’s warhammer + Overhand Chop feat the combat was short-lived.
Further on in their explorations, the PCs encountered two areas where they were ambushed by goblins using a low wall as cover. This admittedly slowed down the game, as I had to pause to double-check the cover bonus, but that wasn’t so much a flaw in the rules as it was poor planning on my part. The AC bonuses from the cover rules allowed for a prolonged combat that made two measly goblins a moderately difficult encounter for a half dozen 2nd level characters. (The players were bottlenecked by a 20’ long, 10’ wide hallway strewn with caltrops, with the two goblins at the end behind a wall with a large supply of javelins.) While Lucien’s unseen servant swept away a 5’ section of caltrops every round, the party exchanged missile fire, using the doorway into the hall as cover where they could.
Shortly thereafter, another group of goblins used the same tactic. However, in this instance, Markham was able to close for melee, reducing the goblins’ cover bonus (and their morale, once he delivered a 27hp critical on his first attack.) Lucien kept one goblin from fleeing for reinforcements with his Daze cantrip long enough for others to get over the wall and eliminate him.
The only snag we could find concerning cover rules is this: The situation in the adventure is intended to give the goblins a significant advantage in the combat by providing them AC and Reflex save bonuses due to the wall they’re behind. However, with the rules as written it could be implied that since the wall also blocks lines drawn from the goblins to the PCs squares, their cover would also work equally well for their opponents. Obviously this isn’t the intent, but there is nothing in the RAW that specifically counters this argument if a rules-lawyer wanted to make the case.
The end of the night saw the party attempting to capture a white dragon wyrmling alive. This was a ripe opportunity for the grapple rules and the CMB to come into play. I believe the general intent of the rules was proven, as combat was fluid and fast-moving, without being bogged down with overly complicated mechanics. DCs were quick calculation and the direct roll-to-result mechanic was generally approved by everyone. The wyrmling was a tough catch, so Valentina the necromancer assisted with a timely Ray of Enfeeblement and a Touch of Fatigue to weaken the beastie. Lowering the DC was a piece of cake, and allowed a somewhat frostbitten Markham to pin the dragon, the rest of the PCs to pummel it into submission, and the party to return victoriously to their kobold “allies” with a sack-full of conquered dragon.
On a final note, the changes to the rogue’s sneak attack ability brought up another point of discussion. Since Ivy the rogue could have conceivably utilized her sneak attack ability on the skeletons, if the opportunity had arisen, another question came to light: What about critical hits? The sneak attack is essentially a planned, precise shot to a weak point on a creature’s body. A critical hit is the same thing, though had through luck and circumstance. So it seems feasible that any creature a rogue can sneak attack should also be subject to critical hits. Just our two copper pieces…
Thanks.
Playtest Session 4: Bullrushed by a Quasit, Tactical Healing via Turning, and Finally, Level 3!
The evening started with the PCs tromping off to a new region of the Sunless Citadel for some major combat and loot, followed by several small-scale combats vs. goblins, rogue vs. trap encounters, and general roleplay, not much to report from early in the evening, except for positive voices about cleric/wizard powers and an opportunity to utilize the CMB once again.
Once again, the domain and specialist powers were crowed about. The group continues to reiterate the usefulness of having powers which can help the party dynamic, beyond just prepared spells. Lucien the diviner was able to help Markham muscle open a sealed sarcophagus by using his specialist power to apply a +2 to his roll. Sure, it's not a major thing, but having multiple options to operate in a support capacity really seems to resonate with my players.
Valentina the necromancer was on the receiving end of a bull rush by a nasty little quasit. Calculating CMB for the quasit was simple (+3 BAtB, 0 Str mod, -2 for size) as was the DC (15 + 1 for V's CMB). I was uncertain whether Pathfinder allows for the 3.5 PHB bonus of +2 for a charge action, so I went with the rules as written and left it out. One high roll later, Valentina was at the bottom of the spiked pit she had been at the edge of, in a lot of pain, and the quasit was on the opposite side from the other PCs, laughing it up.
Later, during a battle between the PCs and the goblin chief, his cleric advisor, and a bodyguard 8 strong, Lycia the cleric had her first taste of having to position herself for a turn-as-healing without accidentally healing the enemies. It takes a little footwork, sure, but if nothing else it keeps the players on their toes and keeping an active interest in the round-by-round positioning of enemies on the map.
At the end of the session I calculated and awarded XP. I'm finding the XP calculation to be quick and balanced. Working with one fixed number per encounter and adding a running total is simple, effective, and less clumsy than the 3.5 method.
The PCs had enough for level 3 and leveled up in short order. The only snag came up when Lycia's player decided upon Turn Outsider for her feat. As written, there seems to be the possibility of a misread of its intended effect. Under benefits, it states: "You can choose to have your turn or rebuke ability affect outsiders of your chosen alignment subtype as if they were undead. You must make this choice each time you use your turn ability." The repetition of the word "choice" in these lines and the initial choice of alignment subtype (when the feat is taken, as I understand it) appear to be the source of confusion. My player misinterpreted it to mean that each time she chooses to turn outsiders, she can choose which subtype she turns. I uncovered the problem quickly enough, but my concern is that the feat as written might be generally unclear without close reading of the text.
(Oh, and one of my "armchair editor" players would like to mention that Turn Outsider and Turn Elemental are listed out of alphabetical order...)
That's all for this week. Happy gaming.