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Read more of page 32, GMs are allowed to modify tactics in certain situations thus changing the math of the mechanics...
Does that mean having NPCs jobbing like a professional wrestler? I'm not certain I find that solution very fair.
Also from page 32:
"However, if the actions
of the PCs before or during an encounter invalidate the
provided tactics or starting locations , the GM should
consider whether changing these would provide a more
enjoyable play experience."
Yeah, I totally understand that. But a low level character showing up to the table is not a PC action. And I don't see the "pulling punches for the level 2 guy" clause in there anywhere.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Actually, if you follow that thread a little further, I believe Mike Brock backs away a little from the position in his original post.
He reiterates the rule that you can't apply a chronicle from a pregen to a character of the same level, and further states that in that case the player should have used that character and not the pregen, but seems to leave the door open to playing a higher-level pregen (or to running a pregen of the same level as the 'real' character, but applying delayed credit to a different, lower-level, character).
That's good to know, John. (If I understood Adam right, that thread is on the VO boards.)
It doesn't resolve all the issues, but the ones left unresolved seem to be corner cases.
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I can't help but feel the original topic has derailed and I contributed to it.
I believe it's How to make an unbalanced party enjoy the session during the occasion when tier factor will result in a TPK due to rules that need to be followed where "bullying" is concerned.
Am I mistaken?
The answer is to balance the party. Which means that there needs to be some give and take. And it means that occasionally one or more players needs to show some flexibility in what they are willing to play. There are quite a few times I've played my oracle when I really wanted to play my magus, and others in our group have simmilarly made adjustments to make a table work.
This is a SOCIAL activity, which means we need to consider others when making our own choices.
My magus (he's not particularly well built) has been kicked to the curb for my cleric so many times now it's kinda depressing. But, once again, I don't make characters I don't like ot play. But my cleric is almost 10, so that gravy train is nearly done for the 5-9 crowd. :)
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Read more of page 32, GMs are allowed to modify tactics in certain situations thus changing the math of the mechanics...Does that mean having NPCs jobbing like a professional wrestler? I'm not certain I find that solution very fair.
Also from page 32:
"However, if the actions
of the PCs before or during an encounter invalidate the
provided tactics or starting locations , the GM should
consider whether changing these would provide a more
enjoyable play experience."Yeah, I totally understand that. But a low level character showing up to the table is not a PC action. And I don't see the "pulling punches for the level 2 guy" clause in there anywhere.
It's right there as you posted. Does a player not create tactics with the low level character as they play through the scenario?
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I'm going to go on record here that the whole approach to faction missions has been fraught with reverses and bad directions. I accepted the fact that authors were getting tired with writing 10 faction missions per scenario. Why did we go through the drama of eliminating two factions when it turns out now the deal is to only write for one or two, and encourage this player drama of shopping for scenarios based on faction? At this point, I'd rather go back to ten faction missions of mixed quality than this mess.Actually, if you follow that thread a little further, I believe Mike Brock backs away a little from the position in his original post.
He reiterates the rule that you can't apply a chronicle from a pregen to a character of the same level, and further states that in that case the player should have used that character and not the pregen, but seems to leave the door open to playing a higher-level pregen (or to running a pregen of the same level as the 'real' character, but applying delayed credit to a different, lower-level, character).
That's good to know, John. (If I understood Adam right, that thread is on the VO boards.)
It doesn't resolve all the issues, but the ones left unresolved seem to be corner cases.
I'm not even sure how to tell which factions go with which missions. So I just play whatever. :)
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It's right there as you posted. Does a player not create tactics with the low level character as they play through the scenario?Read more of page 32, GMs are allowed to modify tactics in certain situations thus changing the math of the mechanics...Does that mean having NPCs jobbing like a professional wrestler? I'm not certain I find that solution very fair.
Also from page 32:
"However, if the actions
of the PCs before or during an encounter invalidate the
provided tactics or starting locations , the GM should
consider whether changing these would provide a more
enjoyable play experience."Yeah, I totally understand that. But a low level character showing up to the table is not a PC action. And I don't see the "pulling punches for the level 2 guy" clause in there anywhere.
Yes, the tactics of a level 2 in a subtier 4-5 will be different than in 1-2, but I don't see those tactics invalidating "when players are in position X, nuke them with level 6 lightning bolt". Yeah, if someone casts darkness or invisibly sneaks in and grapples the guy, sure the tactics are invalidated. But there is nothing inherent to being level 2 that invalidates anything. There is a high probability of being turned into a chicken nugget in this example.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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David, I'm going to speak to a broader issue. Forgive me if it seems off-topic.
A good GM tries to sense what the players want, and then endeavors, within reason, to provide a satisfying experience. I try -- with varying levels of success -- to guage whether my party wants a lot of atmospheric and role-playing opportunities, or they're a tactical squad who want tough fights.
For example, a party that had a choice of subtiers and decided to play up, probably wanted tough fights. A party of people who'd just come from Bonekeep, all of whom has just spent 20+ prestige getting back to human body temperature, might not.
Without changing the NPCs' tactics, I can be a stickler for rules ("You move across the room and then draw a scroll. You provoke an attack of opportunity, and you won't be able to cast it till next round.") or I can cut people slack. ("Are you sure you want to do that? Rather than shooting now, you could ready an action to shoot if she starts casting a spell." "You heard the guards complain aabout darkness, remember? Just checking: does anybody want to prepare any spells or purchase any items to deal with that before you go down?")
I can keep the NPCs hidden, or give the PCs more opportunities to see / hear what's coming up. I can harden the NPCs' hearts against favorable negotiation, or give the party more opportunities to avoid combat entirely or escape and avoid pursuit.
(Not because I like some parties better than others. But because some parties want tough-but-fair combats, and others want other things.)
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area South & West
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I'm not even sure how to tell which factions go with which missions. So I just play whatever. :)
If you're set up to receive PFS-related email, you'll occasionally find something from a faction head in your inbox alerting you to an upcoming scenario you might want to pay attention to.
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Most scenarios have a limit of APL+2 for encounters. Subtier 4-5 of a Tier 1-5 scenario is written with assumption of APL 6 for the party. That means usually the hardest encounter(s) will be a CR 8. That CR 8 can be a 9th level NPC, two 7th level NPCs or any monster between CR 7 (advanced) and CR 9 (young).
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I think it is horribly rude to admonish to any degree someone for whatever reason they choose to do with their free time. If someone decides for ANY reason not to play at a table that is their choice.
I have a small list of people I now refuse to play with because in my preception they try to make other player not have fun.
There are DMs I refuse to sit at their tables because I believe I will not have fun and be frustrated. One of the big reasons I DM is because I do not want anyone to suffer through that type of game. I have walked away from a table due to a DM allowing one player to over talk everyone and even move thier character around without their permission knowing that could damage my character recieving 1 xp and no gold or prestige. If the DM chose to, lucky for me he did not.
Those are my choices and I expect others to respect them as much I respect your choice to play or not.
If I we were mustering a table for people in an adventure and I felt off for any reason I might not sit as well. If someone tried to guilt or coherse me to play, I would find that highly insulting.
If this were my game I would bust out another scenario. There is always we be goblins.