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Huh. After page one of this discussion, my vague unease about PFS had been largely diminished, and I was even having grand ideas of starting up a Society game here in little old rural Australia.
Some of the previous 19 posts have served to make me all shy again... Totally not into that kind of nitpickery.
Which part of rural Australia are you in littlehewy?
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I play PFS because it's really the only outlet I have for gaming. With family and professional commitments taking up so much of my time, I simply can't make the space for a "regular" campaign with friends meeting weekly or monthly or what-have-you.
And I personally find the "bureaucratic" aspects a feature, not a bug. I like being able to play my characters at a convention, at a game store in some city I'm visiting, wherever. Heck, I'm going to be in Lisbon for an extended period this summer and I might look up a game there if I can find a table that plays in English or is willing to put up with me trying to find "I cast entangle" in my tourist phrase book.
The campaign also comes very close to fitting my gaming aesthetic in terms of balance and what's allowed and disallowed (though I'm actually much more conservative a gamer than the parameters of the campaign allow for). And I love the in-world "tourism" I get to do, as well, visiting dozens of different places in the world of Golarion that a normal campaign or adventure path might never get around to.
Finally, and maybe mostly, I like sitting down with at least a slightly different set of folks at the game shop on Tuesday nights, and at conventions. The wide range of gaming experience, setting knowledge, play styles, and player personalities keeps things fresh. (Okay, you have to put up with the occasional lunatic, but in a home game, you might have to put up with him or her for years!)
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Man, no kidding. At one PFS game last year at GenCon, I was the only person with a full understanding of Take 10/20. Even the GM -- otherwise really good -- kept saying we couldn't Take 10 "because there's a penalty for failure" and even if we could "it takes 10 times as long."
Once I dug up the rule for him -- which took 10 seconds -- he was fine and the game went on. It wasn't in any way unpleasant ... just bizarre to me that six more experienced PFS players all misunderstood such a basic PF rule.
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Huh. After page one of this discussion, my vague unease about PFS had been largely diminished, and I was even having grand ideas of starting up a Society game here in little old rural Australia.Which part of rural Australia are you in littlehewy?
Hi littlehewy,
I'd also be interested in which part of regional Australia you're from? PFS is really starting to take hold all over Australia. We have Venture Captains in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, any of who would be willing to help any way we can.
We all have contacts of players we've met at various PFS conventions held in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney over the last few years, and might know someone in your area we can put you in touch with? I'm aware of groups in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Rockhampton, Sydney, Tasmania, Woolongong - IIRC, and I'm sure I'm forgetting one or two. It might be possible there's a group in your region without realising it?
Many of these groups started out with a single person saying, no PFS in my town? Damn, guess I'll have to start one myself then! Talk to your nearest game store, school, public library, pub, cafe, restaurant, or any local establishment that might lend you play space once a week and a noticeboard, and advertise your sessions on Paizo's event calendar. It can be slow building a new group, but it will happen with patience and persistence.
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Sorry, it's "Wheeling Charge." It's from Cities of Golarion.That is a Nice Mounted Charge Feat!
Grayson, Halfling Defender of Lastwall, and his loyal companion Ozzy the Warpig are huge fans of "Wheeling Charge".
However, wheeling, spirited, mounted mastery, mighty charge attacks and the tremendous damage that can be done by a mounted cavalier often raise a few GM eyebrows, so I always carry not only a copy of the individual rules, but also a breakdown of where all that damage comes from.
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That's a good lesson for all players to learn Zandari. It would certainly reduce some table conflicts and/or misunderstandings if everyone did that for their character.
Course, its also probably a good thing that charging on horseback is rare, else everyone would be doing it :-)
It's actually termed ponyback in the society.
Huh. After page one of this discussion, my vague unease about PFS had been largely diminished, and I was even having grand ideas of starting up a Society game here in little old rural Australia.Which part of rural Australia are you in littlehewy?Hi littlehewy,
I'd also be interested in which part of regional Australia you're from? PFS is really starting to take hold all over Australia. We have Venture Captains in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, any of who would be willing to help any way we can.
We all have contacts of players we've met at various PFS conventions held in Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney over the last few years, and might know someone in your area we can put you in touch with? I'm aware of groups in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Geelong, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Rockhampton, Sydney, Tasmania, Woolongong - IIRC, and I'm sure I'm forgetting one or two. It might be possible there's a group in your region without realising it?
Many of these groups started out with a single person saying, no PFS in my town? Damn, guess I'll have to start one myself then! Talk to your nearest game store, school, public library, pub, cafe, restaurant, or any local establishment that might lend you play space once a week and a noticeboard, and advertise your sessions on Paizo's event calendar. It can be slow building...
Hey there Stephen, Callum, I'm from Warrnambool town. I figure my best option might be to register and get along to Geelong on a Thursday sometime and check it out. I know a good two dozen or more gamers in my town, and I'm sure there's more lurking, so if it strikes my fancy as a player and I decide to get all organisy and stuff I'll be sure to contact you guys in Melbourne :)
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Hey there Stephen, Callum, I'm from Warrnambool town. I figure my best option might be to register and get along to Geelong on a Thursday sometime and check it out. I know a good two dozen or more gamers in my town, and I'm sure there's more lurking, so if it strikes my fancy as a player and I decide to get all organisy and stuff I'll be sure to contact you guys in Melbourne :)
If you're able to get into Melbourne for the Australia Day long weekend, we'll be running FOUR DAYS of Pathfinder Society at Arcanacon! I'm sure a number of Geelong players will be down for the event, one Geelong guy is even GMing a few sessions. It's a great way to make some gamer contacts in your direction, and if you haven't yet played Pathfinder Society, a great way to check it out for yourself.
Arcanacon 2013 Mebourne
Friday 25th - Monday 28th January
Collingwood College, Hoddle Street, Collingwood
Opposite Collingwood Town Hall
near Collingwood Train Station
Now in it's fifth year, you too can join the ranks of Pathfinder Society field agents seeking fame and glory at Arcanacon this Australia Day long weekend. No experience necessary, learn as you play, beginners are most welcome!
Pathfinder Society Season 4 focuses on Heidmarch Manor - a recently established Pathfinder Lodge in Magnimar, City of Monuments, in the frontier nation of Varisia. From this base of operations, Pathfinder field agents set out to explore ancient Thassilonian ruins scattered throughout the Varisian countryside, and recover relics for future study.
More information: http://www.arcanacon.org/events/Pathfinder%20Society
Pathfinder Society session times:
Friday 25th January 2012
Session 1: 4:05pm to 11:00pm
Saturday 26th January 2012
Session 2: 9:00am to 3:55pm (lunch-break 12:00am-12:55pm)
Session 3: 4:05pm to 11:00pm (dinner-break 7pm-8pm)
Sunday 27th January 2012
Session 4: 9:00am to 3:55pm (lunch-break 12:00am-12:55pm)
Session 5: 4:05pm to 11:00pm (dinner-break 7pm-8pm)
Monday 28th January 2012
Race for the Runecarved Key: 9:00am to 7:05pm (lunch-break 12:00am-12:55pm)
Important Pre-registration !!
Pre-register your Arcanacon sessions on AON: http://aon.arsimagica.net/
... then Reserve your Pathfinder Society tables on Warhorn: http://warhorn.net/melbourne-pfs (Gaming Schedule)
Note: this year, rooms are allocated based on pre-registered player numbers only - additional rooms may not be available on the day if not already pre-booked. Therefore, we strongly encourage players to pre-register your sessions online before the event. This will help avoid having to place two tables of players in the same room, resulting in increased noise levels during your game.
There's a good range of scenarios for all character levels scheduled on Warhorn, and be sure not to miss the Season 4 Special: Race for the Runecarved Key all-day multi-table special event on the Monday!
If a session you want to play is booked out, please add your name to the Waitlist, so we're aware there is additional need for a game at your character level, or email me directly. We will be monitoring Warhorn signups closely, and adding extra sessions if required.
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Yes most of them have bought the core rules (at least via PDF) but I'm fine with them playing even making characters using non-core rules because first and foremost the goal of PFS is to get people playing.
As long as you are warning your players before they create those characters that they will need to have a copy of all the sources they use if they are to play that character elsewhere then I would be cool with that.
What I would hate is for a player of yours to create a character using Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Equipment, Inner Sea Magic and Advanced Players Guide (despite not owning any of those books), play that character with you so they get to level 6 or higher, then get excited about going to PaizoCon to play their character there only to find out or be told at that point they will either need to buy all those books (in PDF at least), borrow copies to take to the convention, or make a new PFS level 1 character.
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It's actually termed ponyback in the society.That's a good lesson for all players to learn Zandari. It would certainly reduce some table conflicts and/or misunderstandings if everyone did that for their character.
Course, its also probably a good thing that charging on horseback is rare, else everyone would be doing it :-)
I thought the term was dogback, given that it's usually riding dogs that are used for this sort of thing.
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It's actually termed ponyback in the society.That's a good lesson for all players to learn Zandari. It would certainly reduce some table conflicts and/or misunderstandings if everyone did that for their character.
Course, its also probably a good thing that charging on horseback is rare, else everyone would be doing it :-)
Actually, in Grayson's case it's pigback :)
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Yes, there are PbP forums here as well as some scattered throughout. Though I'd wager you'd be able to find some people in your area who play. I mean, here in Denver we have people coming from an hour and further from north and south so come and play. I'm sure others would be willing to travel. And, as ever, keep an eye on the events page. Might get lucky.
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I'm excited about joining PFS but I don't have a group so I'd have to play on my own :p. I have contacted my local leader to see if there are any groups near me but my leader is quite a long drive for me so I'd need to find a group near me. Is there a way to play remotely like by post or via Skype.
There are groups which do both, though I don't know offhand of where such games are organized, unfortunately (hopefully someone else will be able to post that info).
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Yes, there are PbP forums here as well as some scattered throughout. Though I'd wager you'd be able to find some people in your area who play. I mean, here in Denver we have people coming from an hour and further from north and south so come and play. I'm sure others would be willing to travel. And, as ever, keep an eye on the events page. Might get lucky.
Are the PbP forums here part of the PFS and if so how would you receive cards for your play sessions?
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Are the PbP forums here part of the PFS and if so how would you receive cards for your play sessions?
It looks like a few are, but most are not.
If you're referring to the Chronicle sheets (detailing the rewards your character earns in the adventure), most DMs who run online games (be they real time or PBP) will scan and e-mail them to their players.
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Are the PbP forums here part of the PFS and if so how would you receive cards for your play sessions?It looks like a few are, but most are not.
If you're referring to the Chronicle sheets (detailing the rewards your character earns in the adventure), most DMs who run online games (be they real time or PBP) will scan and e-mail them to their players.
Ahh thanks for the info, well if I can't get into a group in the real world I'll have to look into one of those. Thanks very much for the info.
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Online PFS using VTTs:
Pathfinder Society Online Collective
The members/GMs of this group use the following VTTs and supporting software:
MapTools v1.3b87 is the current production version.
TTopRPG v2.0 is not used by many of the GMs.
Fantasy Grounds 2 paid VTT, there is also a PFS FG2 forum used for posting games atGame Announcement thread
An Australia-based group uses a VTT called Combat Assistant which is a free program, mainly a map visibility tool, with all movement handled by the GM.
Most of the groups use Skype, Ventrilo or TeamSpeak 3 for voice chat at the same time.
The Australian group also uses IRC for text-based chat during their games. Yeah, three programs.
Some of the GMs are also experimenting with roll20.com and Google+. Those can have embedded voice chat, although it is still early days, so they sometimes have to fall back to a Skype conference call.
Hope to see you there. I use the same username there as here.
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There is a thriving PFS play-by-post community over on RPG Geek.
