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Player death for 1st level newbies. I haven't killed a PC yet, but I have pulled punches. Some scenarios can easily kill 1st level pcs in one swing so I just put them at negt 1. Is this OK?
I feel your pain. Unfortunately, you have to follow the Core Rulebook when it comes to negative HP and death. Maybe one of the players will start playing a cleric.
No one wants to run a cleric. I've come up with unique healing methods like pink paste that heals 1d6 but makes you glow neon pink. The more you use the brighter you glow. I do limit the amount to just under enough to heal everyone. How do I get someone to want to play a cleric?
I don't recall pink paste in the core assumption. Maybe a PF expert will be able to cite the page.
In PFS, you can't hand out free healing unless the scenario states otherwise ("you open a chest and find two healing potions"). If the players are in an urban setting, they can pay like everybody else for healing from a local temple. Anywhere else, the players can bring their own healing potions.
Clerics aren't the only source of healing; they're just really good at it. Druids can cast healing spells, use healing scrolls, and healing wands. I *think* the oracle can as well.... I'd have to check the PRD.
-Perry
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Don't pull punches. Let the dice fall as they may. If you pull punches people will call you a soft ball, if you are too hard people will call you a killer GM. Neither is what you want. Just let the Dice Gods decide who lives and dies.
If I'm understanding your first question. The correct response is the character dies. At best, assuming they haven't gotten credit yet and it's their first scenario, you can file off the character number and give it the next one in the line ie, you killed #1, they file off the #1, and put #2.
You can't add in fake healing paste. If anything that is one reason you don't have anyone playing a cleric, or other form of healer. This may be brutal, but if they have a death or two, maybe they'll rethink the not playing a healer idea.
Tough love does work in this case.
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Let me emphasize that in Pathfinder Society Organized Play we should not be altering scenarios, introducing house rules, or passing out new equipment that is not in the Pathfinder rules. In particular this applies to the pink paste, which I gather is a local remedy to the lack of clerics. Let players play what they want, but I would also allow them the opportunity to feel the effects of a less balanced party. If having to spend substantial chunks of cash or PP on healing potions, wands, and NPC spellcasting, so be it. A scenario does not require a particular mix of party roles, but scenarios are usually easier if there is a balanced party.
The other great way that I know to encourage cleric-building is to emphasize the excellence that is the pantheon of Golarion and the associated domains. If a player becomes really excited about a deity, that player might also be more interested in playing a cleric — not because it's "taking one for the team," but because playing a cleric is fun.
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To add a bit about pulling punches, I would encourage you to pull punches for new players through slightly more generous tactics. Instead of altering the results of the dice, have a foe verbally threaten a nearly-unconscious character before turning the foe's attention to a healthier target (e.g. "You're half dead already, fool. Stand down, and I'll give you a head start in running away!" [attack different character]). You might also begin fighting defensively, attempt a combat maneuver, or anything else.
In my view, it's important to give newer players a positive experience. Avoiding cutthroat tactics and showing a little bit of mercy can go a long way in encouraging a player to keep playing. Just don't set up unrealistic expectations for higher level play.
Then around level 5 start teaching them valuable uses of 16 PP...
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The other great way that I know to encourage cleric-building is to emphasize the excellence that is the pantheon of Golarion and the associated domains. If a player becomes really excited about a deity, that player might also be more interested in playing a cleric — not because it's "taking one for the team," but because playing a cleric is fun.
I had fun with the "Gentle Rest" from the Repose Domain against a two-weapon fighter *snicker*.
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The other great way that I know to encourage cleric-building is to emphasize the excellence that is the pantheon of Golarion and the associated domains. If a player becomes really excited about a deity, that player might also be more interested in playing a cleric — not because it's "taking one for the team," but because playing a cleric is fun.I had fun with the "Gentle Rest" from the Repose Domain against a two-weapon fighter *snicker*.
My experience with this tact involved a friend who I was running through the Beginner Box adventure. She was rather amazed that clerics could (from her perspective) do just about anything, and she became really excited when I began telling her about other domains beyond Sun and Healing. The next week she had a smile on her face and a cleric with the Death domain. My how Kyra can change with a little bit of player ingenuity...
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Instead of altering the results of the dice, have a foe verbally threaten a nearly-unconscious character before turning the foe's attention to a healthier target (e.g. "You're half dead already, fool. Stand down, and I'll give you a head start in running away!" [attack different character]). You might also begin fighting defensively, attempt a combat maneuver, or anything else.
Expanding on this a little more, on the subject of players that are entirely new to tabletop RPGs. One excellent thing that this method fosters is the idea that this world is more versatile than "Attack this thing, cause it's gonna attack you no matter what." Video games breed this mentality because computers can't accurately repond to every possible stimuli. Playing enemies based on their morale earlier on (especially with humanoids whose motives are more money-driven than faith or "RAWR I'M AN ANIMAL"-oriented) teaches them that they can play smart and not have to be a 2-Handed Fighter and power attack everything all the time to win.
Not that "Gorumite, Smash!" is a bad tactic, but it's just not the ONLY one.
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have a foe verbally threaten a nearly-unconscious character before turning the foe's attention to a healthier target (e.g. "You're half dead already, fool. Stand down, and I'll give you a head start in running away!" [attack different character]).
I like that idea. I do this without the bit of RP. Didn't think to RP it at that moment. Consider this concept stolen...
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Let the dice fall where they may. Explain what happened and why, though.
As to CLerics, as mentioned, there are plenty of other healing options that are viable at first level.
Witches, Oracles, Clerics, Druids, Inquisitors, and Bards can all cast Cure Light Wounds, or use that 2 PP wand of CLW that someone bought. Most Rangers and Paladins can use that wand of CLW, too.
Sorcerers, Wizards, some Clerics, Oracles, Maguses, Summoners and Witches can all cast Infernal Healing or use that 2 PP wand of Infernal Healing...
Potions of either Cure Light Wounds or Infernal Healing can be used by anyone.
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Maybe I'm missing something here...
Unlike a video game 0 doesn't mean dead so once the battle is over they have time to patch people up and escape if it goes to bad, or if they are loosing they can grab the KO'ed character and hoof it.
I have run a few 1st level games in pathfinder and one or two characters inevitably go to 0. It's life at 1st level. everyone has a Healing skill trained or not and can stabilize a KO'ed character given enough time. That's enough for them to limp their sorry butts back to town and grab some healing potions or a cleric or what ever they need.
Personally I let the dice stand but if the players are being particularly noobish, which happens with any new game I would let them make a intelligence roll or knowledge roll and if they make it give them a rule hint, "hey you can fight defensively and get a AC boost", "you realize that your barbarian can make a longer jump from his higher speed" new players usually have no understanding of the rules beyond the basics and will miss simple things. I was thinking of creating a rule cheat sheet for players because people usually don't know what a bull rush is or what a grapple does, or even a move through.
I have to steal John's idea, usually I just had the enemies beat a player down then move on to the next guy. Mocking them and moving on can work just as well.
This sort of thing pops up frequently in law and legislation. The concept is generally that if judges fix "bad" rules, the legislative body needn't fix it; if the judges don't "fix" it, you get very harsh rulings and the legislative body fixes it.
(1) Following the Principal-Agent Model, judges are given the authority to review and invalidate legislation to enforce the choices of the constitutional framers over recalcitrant legislative majorities. (2) By contrast, under the Trustee Model, judges are given the power of judicial review to act as trustees of the political system: their task is to ensure that the legislative process produces the “best” outcomes or, at least, policies that are Pareto-optimal.
Why trot this out for PFS? PFS is designed to be a agent model -- we follow RAW as best as we can, use GM fiat when we need to, and otherwise run it straight for consistency.
No healing? That's a self correcting problem.
Bad tactics that gets people killed? That's a self correcting problem.
If the GM fixes it, the players have no incentive to try to solve it themselves.
PFS scenarios /are/ survivable with pregens and nothing special.. if you communicate and use good tactics (not just combat, but skill, diplomacy, etc.).
Part of the fun is knowing that this /can/ result in character death and knowing you survived anyway.. What's the reward worth if you didn't have any risk?