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As a PFS GM, if I was pretty sure my group would TPK in an adventure, I'd advise them not to play it until I thought they had a reasonable chance to succeed. If I let a group unknowingly walk into a certain TPK ... well it would be a pretty crummy thing to do.
If they insisted on playing after being warned ... well, that's different.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Well, as I understood it, the reason that GMs' rewards aren't linked to the party's success is to make sure the GM doesn't have a horse in the race. If GMs only received rewards commensurate with the party's I imagine that we'd see more sessions reported with full gold, full XP, and full Prestige.
Similarly, when the party at the cusp of sub-tiers is trying to decide whether to play up or down, the GM doesn't get any greater rewards one way or the other.
Don, I'm curious. Under what circumstances would you consider a legal party for a scenario to be a "pretty sure TPK"? Generally, I've found that total wipes come from (a) bad dice rolls, or (b) parties that get in over their heads and don't know how to get out.
If there's a legal party, and you think the scenario itself will kill the entire lot of them, that speaks poorly about the scenario.
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that would be rather confusing, as I'm sure that I, and many others, have a character that's been 'dumped' into, meaning that I've applied several different tiers to the same character, effectively at random. Do I retroactively open up tiers? suddenly the tier 1-2 I ran last week is now open to 4-5 for my 6th lvl character? What about tiers gm'd from his lower levels?
This is how I'm reading the statement that the tier is relative to the gm's character. Is every gm going to chronologically check the orders of chronicles against the tier items being purchased? It's easily identifiable on played chronicles (so we hope) but if a gm leaves his chronicle unmarked, who's to say he didn't run a top tier scenario? Who's to say he did? (at the game table, I mean.)
I try completely to be honest on my own, but having gm'd 10x more than I play, I've dumped into three different characters with nary a thought as to how it applies. Obviously, at the current time these characters rarely have anything purchased for them, I'm not the type that can sit and level up a character without actually playing it. But if I make a mistake? Or worse yet, some one does it intentionally?
I really would like to know, not wishing to sound snotty. Terribly sorry I can't soften the way this post sounds.
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According to PFS rules, you're actually required to assign the GM chronicle to a character at the time of the session. You're not allowed to sit around with a bunch of unapplied chronicles and assign them later. There's been debates about this in the past.
But since you have to apply the chronicle, you should already know the level of the PC you're applying it to. The PC must qualify to play that scenario just like the PCs that actually do. Thus, if you're running a 1-5 scenario, you can't apply the chronicle to a level 6 PC. If your PC is levels 1-3, then you get the chronicle as if you'd played at subtier 1-2 and gotten max rewards. If your PC is level 4-5, then you get the subtier 4-5 chronicle with max rewards.
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While the intention/hope is that you will apply GM credits when you "earn" them, there is no specific rule forbidding the banking of chronicles. Of course they still must be applied in the order received and should be applied as soon as the character is eligible.
The subtier for which a GM’s character receives credit depends on the character’s level. If a GM with a 1st-level rogue runs a Tier 1–5 scenario using Subtier 1–2, she takes a Subtier 1–2 Chronicle sheet for her 1st-level rogue. If she instead runs a Tier 1–5 scenario using Subtier 4–5, she still takes a Subtier 1–2 Chronicle sheet, as her PC clearly falls within the lower subtier.
If the GM with a low-level character runs any higher tier scenarios that don’t include a subtier for her 1st-level rogue, she takes the lowest subtier Chronicle sheet from that scenario and holds it for her PC. Then, once her PC achieves the appropriate level for that Chronicle sheet, it is immediately applied. For example, if a GM with a 1st-level rogue runs a Tier 5–9 scenario, she would take a Subtier 5–6 Chronicle sheet (the lowest subtier for that tier) for running the scenario and set it aside. Once her rogue reaches 5th level, she can immediately apply the Chronicle sheet to her character. This means that GM characters can potentially level up in bursts.
Should a GM receive a Chronicle sheet that indicates her character is between subtiers (for example, if she runs a Tier 1–5 scenario with Subtiers 1–2 and 4–5 but has a 3rd-level character), she must always play down, taking a Chronicle sheet for the lower subtier. This rule is meant to balance the fact that the GM’s character does not have to expend any resources or risk death while gaining a Chronicle sheet for running a scenario.
When you choose to take a Chronicle sheet for GM credit, you must decide which of your characters receives the Chronicle sheet when you fill out the tracking sheet for that table. You must apply Chronicle sheets in the order they are received. The only exception is when you hold a higher-tier Chronicle for a lower-tier character. In either case, you do not need to build the character until you actually play it.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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While the intention/hope is that you will apply GM credits when you earn them, there is no specific rule forbidding the banking of chronicles.
Are you sure, Bob? I had thought that there was some gray area there, that Mike closed.
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When you choose to take a Chronicle sheet for GM credit, you must decide which of your characters receives the Chronicle sheet when you fill out the tracking sheet for that table...
I suppose you could hang around and not fill out the tracking sheet for months, until you decide to use the Chronicle, but I don't think that's the intent of that rule.
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Like you said, the intent is that you apply the GM chronicle at the end of the session just like a player, but it can be argued that the rules stop just short of mandating it. Most of the original gray areas have been shored up, but there are some minor ways to manipulate when you apply the chronicle. I just think that it is bad form to do so.
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Like you said, the intent is that you apply the GM chronicle at the end of the session just like a player, but it can be argued that the rules stop just short of mandating it. Most of the original gray areas have been shored up, but there are some minor ways to manipulate when you apply the chronicle. I just think that it is bad form to do so.
Really Bob?... Then you have an odd definition of you must. I think that is pretty much mandating it. ;)
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GM Rewards for Dummies:
Chronicle should be credited to the PC you want it applied to at the time you run the scenario or module.
The GM (you) fills out the chronicle sheet for his (or her) PC as though he were filling out the chronicle sheet for one of his players, including marking sub-tier and filling in the GP, XP and PP boxes, and signing/initialing everything, along with dating it and putting in the event information.
Remember that the GM credit does not allow the use of a Day Job roll.
Many of us mark in the chronicle somewhere that this was a GM credit, even though it should, usually, be obvious (GM Name AKA PC Name, and signed by GM GM Name).
I, personally, also usually mark on the chronicle, "No Day Job", but I also put that in for any of my PCs (most of them) who don't get Day Job rolls due to no Day Job skills.
I also, typically, mark it in the Journal function of HeroLab when it is a GM credit being applied to my PC X. (e.g. Scenario 0-6: Black Waters (GM))
Note that you don't need to fully create your GM Credit PC until he/she is actually played at some point. If I am putting GM credit(s) on an existing PC, I tend to do my normal between scenario work on the PC, item purchases and sales, maintenance and upkeep, leveling choices, if needed.
Most of my current PC stable has a mix of GM and Player credit on them.
Notice: It can be very easy to get confused as to which scenarios and modules you have played and/or GMed, so keeping a list or application for this is not a bad idea. I use a mix of both, a spreadsheet for stability, and an Android app that lists and allows tracking scenarios & modules by both played & GMed, along with which PC the credit belongs to.
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Bob, your point about delaying the assignment of a chronicle to a PC via GM credit hinges on the part about when the tracking sheet has to be filled out. Since this must be done "at the table" when the players are there so they can fill in their information, you really don't have a case for delaying it past the end of the game.
Arguing that you don't have to actually fill out a tracking sheet and could just report the table from memory is along the same lines as saying the rules don't explicitly say that a PC falls prone when they become unconscious. And the line in the Guide about using common sense covers both cases.
Ultimately the spirit of the GM credit rule is to ensure that the online records match the printed Chronicles. So if a particular GM was also the event coordinator and has access to editing the record for that table online, they could always delay picking a PC and then just edit the online record once they decided which PC got the Chronicle sheet. The only restriction to this is that the Chronicle would need to be added in chronological order (unless it was being held until the PC reached the lowest level of the scenario). But it is a lot easier to just say, "when you fill out the tracking sheet for that table."
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If I'm GMing at a Con where someone else will be entering the info, I put the info for the character I want credit for on the tracking sheet. I usually know what I'll be GMing ahead of time, so its relatively easy for me to know in advance which character I'll plan to apply the credit to.
If I'm GMing a store event (or home event) that I will be entering the info for, I assign my character at the time I report the event. The main reason I do it this way is to keep the game moving at the start and to be respectful to the store which is often closing after we wrap up. I usually prepare multiple scenarios and make a decision about which to run shortly before the game because we often have variance in our attendees and new drop-ins.
While it wouldn't take long for me to decide the character I'd want to assign the credit to, it is one more thing for me to have to do at the start that would slow the session down. Nine times out of ten, I report the event the same day and when I don't, it gets reported within the week.
Oh, and I also use a Google spreadsheet to keep track of all of my characters and whether it is GM credit or Player credit. Very handy.
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First, let me be clear, I do not condone the banking of chronicles, and I never have. In fact I was one of those who said you needed to apply them immediately back before there was any additional clarification of the rules. All I was trying to say is that there are those who argue that certain circumstances exist where chronicles are banked. Whether or not there still exists a "loop-hole" that could/would allow such a thing, I do not encourage nor condone it. IMO, the RAW and RAI are clear. If you intend to take GM credit, you (1) chose which character to apply it to by the end of the session the credit is earned. (2) It is applied immediately. Of course, if the character has not yet reached a level to legally apply the credit, it is temporarily held or "banked," but must be applied immediately when said character can legally receive the credit. If there are more than one "banked" chronicle, they must all be immediately applied when the character reaches legal level AND they must be applied in the order in which they where earned.
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Sort of a related question here, I have a stack of GM credit all assigned to a single character, but that character has never been created. So they are not banked per say, they are assigned. My question is the order in which I apply them to the character. I have a chronicle from "the confirmation" that is technically the second chronicle for that character. But the way finder boon only really works if it is applied to a character with 0 experience.
As the character doesn't exist, can I apply The Confirmation first and then the second without cheating?
Moral I'm feeling pretty grey here regardless of the answer because I GM'd
Destiny of the Sands 1, The Confirmation, Destiny of the Sands 1, and Destiny of the Sands 2. So if I had the foresight to not assign the first destiny of the sands to that character until later in the con the question would be moot. But as I'm not the one filling in the reporting tool I don't want to hassle them.
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I have a chronicle from "the confirmation" that is technically the second chronicle for that character. But the way finder boon only really works if it is applied to a character with 0 experience.
As the character doesn't exist, can I apply The Confirmation first and then the second without cheating?
No, chronicles must be assigned immediately and applied in the order they are earned.
The only exception is when a GM chronicle is assigned that is a higher tier than the GM PC (e.g. a tier 5-9 chronicle assigned to a PC that is currently 4th level). The chronicle is held, and then applied as soon as the PC reaches the lowest level on the chronicle (5th level in this example).
I GM'd Destiny of the Sands 1, The Confirmation, Destiny of the Sands 1, and Destiny of the Sands 2. So if I had the foresight to not assign the first destiny of the sands to that character until later in the con the question would be moot. But as I'm not the one filling in the reporting tool I don't want to hassle them.
I'd explain your unintentional error to the convention PFS co-ordinator; it's only a few clicks for them to correct after all.
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I have a chronicle from "the confirmation" that is technically the second chronicle for that character. But the way finder boon only really works if it is applied to a character with 0 experience.
actually, not entirely true.
you would apply it as your second chronicle, in the order that they were received. you just don't receive the second benefit of that boon.