Venture-Lieutenant, South Dakota—Rapid City
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You don't need stars to start up games. I'm basically in the same situation myself and probably can't keep up with the requirements to be a Venture Captain or Lieutenant and my closest Venture leader is over 250 miles away and without one in my state.
However, you can still organize games. Talk to your regional venture leader for support in organizing games and events, and see if you have a community center or FLGS to host the events.
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You don't need to be a VC or VL to get games started. You just need passion for the game, and a commitment to a good time. Don't hesitate to ask questions of the folks on here who do coordinate events, they'll likely be able to help you get the society off the ground in your area. Good luck, and may the dice be ever in your favor!
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The vast majority of Pathfinder GM's Im guessing do so because they love the concept of running the show, of playing the npcs and determining the fate of the player characters. So yeah Im echoing the people before me in saying you dont need to be a VC Or VL. As long as you have a semi stable player base you should be fine.
Im actually thinking of trying my hand at being a PFS GM, its been a long time since I ran some Living Ghk
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Yeah, what Matt said. Also, 128 miles is nothing. I'm planning on driving from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to run Eyes of the Ten in the coming months. I've driven from Detroit to Iowa City just to run a single scenario for a group of friends. So what are you looking to play? Maybe we can set up a day with back-to-back scenarios.
RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I'm planning on driving from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to run Eyes of the Ten in the coming months.
Man, I need to hurry up with my Eldritch Knight. Sitting at 9.2 while everyone else is at 10-11 in preparation of your visit!
Or if I was feeling REALLY ambitious, I could see about taking my cleric all the way from 3.2 to 12 before you get here...
...maybe not.
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I'm planning on driving from Milwaukee to Minneapolis to run Eyes of the Ten in the coming months.Man, I need to hurry up with my Eldritch Knight. Sitting at 9.2 while everyone else is at 10-11 in preparation of your visit!
Or if I was feeling REALLY ambitious, I could see about taking my cleric all the way from 3.2 to 12 before you get here...
...maybe not.
Jiggy, if you want to get Thomas there we can make that happen. I'm only half joking, too.
Jamie 13, I'll echo what the Wisconsinite folks have said: what is your real world location? I'm about 20 minutes from Saint Croix Falls, if you're in that area and none of the Wisconsin VOs mind, I would be glad to help you get games off the ground too. As long as you don't get your cheese on my horned helm.
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RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Jiggy, if you want to get Thomas there we can make that happen. I'm only half joking, too.
O_o
That... would be something. He needs another 25XP to hit 12.0, and even if he got credit every week (starting this weekend), that's what, the end of April? Except later than that, because I'm booked to GM a couple of scenarios for which he can't take credit.
On the other hand, Kyle conceived that tiefling, so having him run Thomas through EotT would be downright poetic.
....Baird is from Milwaukee?
Excellent.
Kyle, next PaizoCon, you fly out of Madison and I'll tell you how to kill PCs more effectively.
Well damn, that's outside of my specialty.
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Jamie, like others have said, you don't need to be a VC or VL to run stuff. My VC and nearest VL both live 300km away and when I started PFS the nearest (only) VC was an 8 hour drive and there were no VL's back then.
You just need a place to run/play and some players to get started. Get the word out and you'll find that if you build it they will come.
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I live in North Central Wisconsin and there is no one here to run a Pathfinder Society group. The nearest one is in Milwaukee, 128 miles away. The other two are 166, and 168 miles away. All three are in Southern Wisconsin.
Now I would like to get this area opened up for the Society but I don't meet some of their requirements. Even though I have payed Pathfinder RPG since the first beta test, ran events for them at GenCon, and played D&D since it came out in the little white box, raising two children has taken up my time. So no playing Society games (I do run a Pathfinder game though once a week, every week).
Now I have the time, resources, and loads of experience. I just don't have the stars for GM rating on my account or the two years experience playing for the society (though my RPG Club has been running nonstop since 1980).
Any ideas on how to move forward on this would be helpful as I would like to see this area get opened up for Society play.
Find a place to play. If you don't have a good game store that you can play at, try a library or a resturaunt. Many of those have meeting rooms.
Advertise event at local game store, online, wherever.
Go to game, see people show up. Count on one table at first. Then expand to two.
You don't need a star or anything. Basically, you just have to do it. Remember, you are building a community and this takes time, so don't get frustrated.
If you build it, they will come.
Venture-Captain, Ireland—Belfast
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Jamie,
I'd like to echo the wise words others have spoken on this thread and share my own experiences.
There are no VO's at all based in Ireland. Dave 'Wintergreen' Harrision is the U.K. VC but while that technically covers N.Ireland, he's based in the neighbouring island (England) and the geography makes it very hard for him to get over. He has been hugely helpful but until mankind finally invents flying cars there is only so much he can do!
Plus we don't have a large gaming population and what we do have is divided up over the length and breadth of the place and Pathfinder is far from the only game in town.
Despite this we have regular monthly events, put on a bit of the old razzle dazzle with Hirst Arts 3D dungeons at gaming conventions, supported PFS GMs at FLGSs & run events at university gaming society days.
(Kudos to my mate Hugh Adams who I asked to run a bit of PFS at the university 24 hour gaming event last weekend: he ran First Steps 1-3 AND all of Crypt of The Everflame consecutively!!!)
This coming weekend we are again rolling up to Gaelcon in Dublin's fair city. Previous years I ran ad hoc games but this year we are part of the official programme and thanks to Dave and Mike (Brock) we have even got prize support.
I guess what I am trying so say is the PFS product is good, it is just question of getting the word out & if a gray haired oul' grognard like me can get a bit of a buzz going, I have no doubt anyone who wants to can do at least as well.
W
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....Baird is from Milwaukee?we won him in a very strange deal with... well, let's just call it an outsider...
I had the pleasure of meeting Kyle last weekend at Rock-Con, and I think all of this Baird monster talk is overrated. Four of the five tables he ran survived and got away with the full prestige award. I think he killed a pre-gen in the tier 7-11 game, but c'mon, isn't that what they are for? The award for getting closet to a TPK at Rock-Con goes to Chris Mortika, who filled in his name on the subsequent tracking sheet as Chris "the killer" Mortika. I probably would have chosen a nickname like "Mortality", but in any event, Kyle has some real competition out there. Regarding killing players instead of PCs, there are a few that I haven't heard back from yet...
To address the original thread topic - there are a lot of great folks in the area who can help you get things started. Many of them have already chimed in, so be sure to follow up on their offers to help.
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Don't fear, those 4 tables who survived were all 1st level. I try to make it a point not to kill n00bs. I prefer to let them get invested in their characters before crushing their hopes and dreams.
Chris, on the other hand, timed it perfectly. He waited for those characters to get to 3rd and 4th level. A perfect blend of "investment" and "can't afford a raise dead." Well done Mortakiller.
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Don't fear, those 4 tables who survived were all 1st level. I try to make it a point not to kill n00bs. I prefer to let them get invested in their characters before crushing their hopes and dreams.
Chris, on the other hand, timed it perfectly. He waited for those characters to get to 3rd and 4th level. A perfect blend of "investment" and "can't afford a raise dead." Well done Mortakiller.
(chuckles evilly)
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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... The award for getting closest to a TPK at Rock-Con goes to Chris Mortika, who filled in his name on the subsequent tracking sheet as Chris "the killer" Mortika. I probably would have chosen a nickname like "Mortality", but in any event, Kyle has some real competition out there. Regarding killing players instead of PCs, there are a few that I haven't heard back from yet...
To be fair, it was Kyle who wrote my name and "nickname" on that tracking sheet. I always feel bad when I watch characters die at my table, and I would hate to have people think I take it frivolously.
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Madison area currently has 1-2 PFS games a week (one on wed nights and one nearly every saturday at a rotating store :D)
Drive to Misty Mountain tonight and play first steps 2 :D /shameless plug.
Good to hear. Last time I checked into it there weren't any games in Madison. Where do you organize game days? Post a URL so I can pass it onto a friend.
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... The award for getting closest to a TPK at Rock-Con goes to Chris Mortika, who filled in his name on the subsequent tracking sheet as Chris "the killer" Mortika. I probably would have chosen a nickname like "Mortality", but in any event, Kyle has some real competition out there. Regarding killing players instead of PCs, there are a few that I haven't heard back from yet...To be fair, it was Kyle who wrote my name and "nickname" on that tracking sheet. I always feel bad when I watch characters die at my table, and I would hate to have people think I take it frivolously.
I should have known Kyle had something to do with the nickname. And I thought I was the one instigating more banter on the topic. In Chris's defense, it was clear he took all his GM duties very seriously and was trying to judge the situation fairly. But that doesn't mean that he won't get a bit of "deadly GM" reputation out of this. These guys both made Rock-Con a fun event, and we are lucky to have them both "in the area", or at least close enough to drive in and game with us on occasion. Perhaps after I invest a little more into my characters, I'll get to play at one of their tables and report with more first-hand experience on who really does strike the most fear into their players.
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there's plenty of Pathfinder Society in the Appleton and Green Bay areas. Sean, our Venture Captain, is based in the Marshfield area. Where exactly are you located?
I have family in Appleton who might be interested in playing Pathfinder Society if they knew where it was being played. Is it held at Chimera or at another location?
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there's plenty of Pathfinder Society in the Appleton and Green Bay areas. Sean, our Venture Captain, is based in the Marshfield area. Where exactly are you located?I have family in Appleton who might be interested in playing Pathfinder Society if they knew where it was being played. Is it held at Chimera or at another location?
out appleton games are held at chimera. you can check out the yahoo group for PFS in wisconsin for more information. i believe the chimera games are listed on the calendar.
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For the record, if you needed to be a Venture Officer and needed stars in order to start doing a game day...then how did they get started in the first place? LOL
Basically all of the VOs started in this way...we saw a game we loved, wanted to perpetuate it, and just...started a game!
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Venture-Captain, Ireland—Belfast
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Very true Nani! I was just thinking about this thread. The reason being that when I posted back in October I was saying we had no VO's in Ireland but since November when I was made one the "VC - Ireland " bit is now linked to my name above the post!
It does go to show that you don't need a VO to run PFS and if you do it enough you never know what can happen!!
W
