paizo.com Recent Posts in New...ish GMpaizo.com Recent Posts in New...ish GM2013-02-09T16:00:48Z2013-02-09T16:00:48ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#682013-05-31T00:12:21Z2013-05-31T00:12:21Z<p>Yea they will find him because of that but i thought there was supposed to be at least a rumor talking about him. I remember something about him supposedly being a guardian hired by the baron. Just a lot of info couldn't remember all of it</p>Yea they will find him because of that but i thought there was supposed to be at least a rumor talking about him. I remember something about him supposedly being a guardian hired by the baron. Just a lot of info couldn't remember all of itGreenGM2013-05-31T00:12:21ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMMark Hooverhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#672013-05-30T10:26:08Z2013-05-30T10:26:08Z<p>I thought they find Ilquis by searching the chandelry for the little girl?</p>I thought they find Ilquis by searching the chandelry for the little girl?Mark Hoover2013-05-30T10:26:08ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#662013-05-28T21:34:27Z2013-05-28T21:34:27Z<p>Started the Midnight Mirror Yesterday. They seemed like they were having fun. I had a lot of problems finding the information i needed though. Ilquis i know was a pretty big part in the whole thing and i couldnt find a way to tie him into it so i made the barkeep bring up rumors of him to the adventurers</p>Started the Midnight Mirror Yesterday. They seemed like they were having fun. I had a lot of problems finding the information i needed though. Ilquis i know was a pretty big part in the whole thing and i couldnt find a way to tie him into it so i made the barkeep bring up rumors of him to the adventurersGreenGM2013-05-28T21:34:27ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMMark Hooverhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#652013-05-16T17:23:58Z2013-05-16T17:23:58Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">GreenGM wrote:</div><blockquote> We have been doing just practice runs for the last few weeks because some people havent been able to play. Wanted to Ask. If all of them are Level 4. What CR should i be throwing out at them? and how many of those CR? </blockquote><p>It really depends on how challenging you want the encounters and how well optimized the PCs are. Generally in a 4 hr session a decent group can make it through 5-8 encounters of CR = APL. Going by that logic you might plan out 5-8 CR 4 encounters (with a couple extra for random swap outs) and be more than set for a fun night. APL +1 is a bit more, but not by much. I've found though that when I get to APL +2 my combats hit a wall time-wise and the players are well challenged.
<p>My party however is not necessarily optimized for combat. They tend to also look at each combat individually, trying to reason out the least dangerous completion always; my players are not risk-takers.</p>
<p>If you have 4 optimized combatant PCs who enjoy fights and know how to manage risk well, an APL +2 fight will probably be mildly annoying.</p>
<p>What I usually do is make myself an encounter chart (sort of like a random encounter table for a dungeon) with a range of CRs. For my current players at APL 5 I'd make a chart with CRs ranging from CR4 (goblin Alchemist 4, 2 goblin Warrior 1 with alchemically enhanced crossbow bolts) to CR 7 (a pair of Graven Guardians I created from the Water and Death domain of Pharasma known as the Weeping Maidens). Then I'd flesh out these encounters and finally I'd pepper them into the game where appropriate.</p>GreenGM wrote:We have been doing just practice runs for the last few weeks because some people havent been able to play. Wanted to Ask. If all of them are Level 4. What CR should i be throwing out at them? and how many of those CR?
It really depends on how challenging you want the encounters and how well optimized the PCs are. Generally in a 4 hr session a decent group can make it through 5-8 encounters of CR = APL. Going by that logic you might plan out 5-8 CR 4 encounters (with a couple...Mark Hoover2013-05-16T17:23:58ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#642013-05-13T14:16:54Z2013-05-13T14:16:54Z<p>We have been doing just practice runs for the last few weeks because some people havent been able to play. Wanted to Ask. If all of them are Level 4. What CR should i be throwing out at them? and how many of those CR?</p>We have been doing just practice runs for the last few weeks because some people havent been able to play. Wanted to Ask. If all of them are Level 4. What CR should i be throwing out at them? and how many of those CR?GreenGM2013-05-13T14:16:54ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#632013-04-11T20:15:46Z2013-04-11T20:15:46Z<p>If i do that I think i'll add in a book that gives instructions on the ritual. Make it so the players find a page or two and understand what is happening and also give the Big bad another incentive to hunt them down. Maybe I'll make it so He doesn't know just yet that pages are missing and discovers it after he is able to steal the Gem away.</p>If i do that I think i'll add in a book that gives instructions on the ritual. Make it so the players find a page or two and understand what is happening and also give the Big bad another incentive to hunt them down. Maybe I'll make it so He doesn't know just yet that pages are missing and discovers it after he is able to steal the Gem away.GreenGM2013-04-11T20:15:46ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMMark Hooverhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#622013-04-11T11:06:33Z2013-04-11T11:06:33Z<p>@ the GM of Green: what about, instead of finished items, the stone is part of a device that has to be constructed? Here's an example:</p>
<p>Staff of Summoning</p>
<p>Firstly a length of wood must be cut; this wood should be still alive but scarred by fire. The stone that adorns it must be the one the PCs have. Also the device must be used to steal life energy (souls) to power the reaction, so as part of the construction a force that consumes such energy like a vampire must sacrificed to it. Finally it needs the proper enchantments to perform the summoning, requiring additional materials such as powdered silver, sulfur and brimstone.</p>
<p>I suggest all of this because then you could have the big bad be gathering the things he/she/it needs in the background. The party is in a town when a terrible forest fire happens. Later an alchemist's shop is found robbed and the proprieter murdered by a vampire. Tracking the vampire the party finds that the creature has itself gone missing.</p>@ the GM of Green: what about, instead of finished items, the stone is part of a device that has to be constructed? Here's an example:
Staff of Summoning
Firstly a length of wood must be cut; this wood should be still alive but scarred by fire. The stone that adorns it must be the one the PCs have. Also the device must be used to steal life energy (souls) to power the reaction, so as part of the construction a force that consumes such energy like a vampire must sacrificed to it. Finally it...Mark Hoover2013-04-11T11:06:33ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMAnsel Krulwichhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#612013-04-10T16:44:45Z2013-04-10T16:44:45Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Jaelithe wrote:</div><blockquote> <div class="messageboard-quotee">Ansel Krulwich wrote:</div><blockquote> Killing your first player is always the hardest and you'll never forget it.</blockquote>Did you do it right there at the table, or wait until most everyone else had gone home? </blockquote><p>You were never there. You can't prove anything!Jaelithe wrote:Ansel Krulwich wrote: Killing your first player is always the hardest and you'll never forget it.
Did you do it right there at the table, or wait until most everyone else had gone home? You were never there. You can't prove anything!Ansel Krulwich2013-04-10T16:44:45ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#602013-04-10T16:23:32Z2013-04-10T16:23:32Z<p>Ok so i think that i'm going to make it so it is the The big bad that wants the stone and the Orc leader that the Barbarian wants dead is a minion of his. Maybe make it part of a set so that there is a wand, the stone and maybe a dagger that when brought together summons a demon lord.</p>Ok so i think that i'm going to make it so it is the The big bad that wants the stone and the Orc leader that the Barbarian wants dead is a minion of his. Maybe make it part of a set so that there is a wand, the stone and maybe a dagger that when brought together summons a demon lord.GreenGM2013-04-10T16:23:32ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMJaelithe (alias of JM1776)https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#592013-04-09T00:45:35Z2013-04-09T00:45:35Z<div class="messageboard-quotee">Ansel Krulwich wrote:</div><blockquote> Killing your first player is always the hardest and you'll never forget it.</blockquote><p>Did you do it right there at the table, or wait until most everyone else had gone home?Ansel Krulwich wrote:Killing your first player is always the hardest and you'll never forget it.
Did you do it right there at the table, or wait until most everyone else had gone home?Jaelithe (alias of JM1776)2013-04-09T00:45:35ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMMark Hooverhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#582013-04-10T16:43:33Z2013-04-08T23:42:34Z<p>@ Ansel: I disagree; it NEVER gets easier. Their screams haunt me to this day; every...last...one.</p>
<p>"No!!! I've had this PC since level 1!"</p>
<p>"You SUCK as a GM!"</p>
<p>"There's no WAY he'd have done that much damage!"</p>
<p>I hear them clawing at my mind like a cat at the door that wants to get outside in the summertime. They are relentless, they are legion, and they never let me forget...</p>
<p>But seriously, he's right GM: use the Hero Points. Also use the obligatory +2 for cool ideas and such. These go a long way to not only encouraging roleplay but also prolonging characters.</p>@ Ansel: I disagree; it NEVER gets easier. Their screams haunt me to this day; every...last...one.
"No!!! I've had this PC since level 1!"
"You SUCK as a GM!"
"There's no WAY he'd have done that much damage!"
I hear them clawing at my mind like a cat at the door that wants to get outside in the summertime. They are relentless, they are legion, and they never let me forget...
But seriously, he's right GM: use the Hero Points. Also use the obligatory +2 for cool ideas and such. These go a...Mark Hoover2013-04-08T23:42:34ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMAnsel Krulwichhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#572013-04-06T15:55:25Z2013-04-06T15:55:25Z<p>Killing your first player is always the hardest and you'll never forget it. I remember mine. My wife is still angry at me for it.</p>
<p>Anyways, it gets much easier after that.</p>
<p>If you don't mind adding an extra mechanic to your game, use the Hero Points optional rule from the Advanced Player's Guide. Then, be lethal and unforgiving. Your players have their hero points to fall back on.</p>
<p><a href="http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advanced/advancedNewRules.html#_hero-points" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Hero Points</a></p>
<p>(Then, in the final climactic moments against the big bad villain boss, have <i>him</i> use his hero point for a +8 bonus to confirm that 3x critical on the party's armored hero. I guarantee you will have made a lasting impression on your players.)</p>Killing your first player is always the hardest and you'll never forget it. I remember mine. My wife is still angry at me for it.
Anyways, it gets much easier after that.
If you don't mind adding an extra mechanic to your game, use the Hero Points optional rule from the Advanced Player's Guide. Then, be lethal and unforgiving. Your players have their hero points to fall back on.
Hero Points
(Then, in the final climactic moments against the big bad villain boss, have him use his hero point...Ansel Krulwich2013-04-06T15:55:25ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMMark Hooverhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#562013-04-06T12:32:55Z2013-04-06T12:32:55Z<p>In preparation I've been following a PBP <a href="http://paizo.com/campaigns/TheMidnightMirror/gameplay#1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">here</a>. I don't know if it's moving fast enough for your own prep work but there you go.</p>
<p>These games threaten the death of the characters - end of story. At the same time there's always tricks you can pull. Fudging die rolls, setting DCs too low, adding a sudden +2 to a roll b/cause of some handwave you just ruled, these are just some of the ways to bring the PCs through.</p>In preparation I've been following a PBP here. I don't know if it's moving fast enough for your own prep work but there you go.
These games threaten the death of the characters - end of story. At the same time there's always tricks you can pull. Fudging die rolls, setting DCs too low, adding a sudden +2 to a roll b/cause of some handwave you just ruled, these are just some of the ways to bring the PCs through.Mark Hoover2013-04-06T12:32:55ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#552013-04-06T01:12:07Z2013-04-06T01:12:07Z<p>Nervous on running it... The reviews i've read said that at least one person died. I wanna get em close but not kill em... I want an actual challenge for them. Which i guess this is a challenge, just might be too hard.</p>Nervous on running it... The reviews i've read said that at least one person died. I wanna get em close but not kill em... I want an actual challenge for them. Which i guess this is a challenge, just might be too hard.GreenGM2013-04-06T01:12:07ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMMark Hooverhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#542013-04-04T20:10:38Z2013-04-04T20:10:38Z<p>I have Midnight Mirror but haven't run it yet. I'm guessing for my group it'd last 2 6 hr sessions. In the first they'd probably make it through the investigation phase to figure out what's going on in town and get back to the Baron. The second session would probably be clawing through the dungeon and epilogue.</p>I have Midnight Mirror but haven't run it yet. I'm guessing for my group it'd last 2 6 hr sessions. In the first they'd probably make it through the investigation phase to figure out what's going on in town and get back to the Baron. The second session would probably be clawing through the dungeon and epilogue.Mark Hoover2013-04-04T20:10:38ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMCyrad (RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16)https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#532013-04-03T23:46:10Z2013-04-03T23:46:10Z<p>Most modules I used last three 4-hour sessions, but it varies greatly depending how you present the dungeon and how cautious your players are.</p>
<p>My best advice (that isn't taken yet) is examine the modules. See what the standards are for encounter building.</p>
<p>Also, ask your players how they feel about the game. Get feedback.</p>Most modules I used last three 4-hour sessions, but it varies greatly depending how you present the dungeon and how cautious your players are.
My best advice (that isn't taken yet) is examine the modules. See what the standards are for encounter building.
Also, ask your players how they feel about the game. Get feedback.Cyrad (RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16)2013-04-03T23:46:10ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#522013-04-03T21:49:22Z2013-04-03T21:49:22Z<p>I got the Midnight Mirror Module to tide them over until i for real have the story planned out. Modules last more than one night right?</p>I got the Midnight Mirror Module to tide them over until i for real have the story planned out. Modules last more than one night right?GreenGM2013-04-03T21:49:22ZRe: Forums: Advice: New...ish GMGreenGMhttps://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pgno&page=2?Newish-GM#512013-03-26T05:41:06Z2013-03-26T05:41:06Z<p>I don't really know who wants the Gem yet. I led them to believe that it was the dark Orc leader but never actually said it. Whoever it is has some strong power and controls not only his own race but things like doppelgangers and stuff.</p>
<p>And to the players the gem protects from 10 damage from fire, frost, lightning or nature damage 1/day.</p>I don't really know who wants the Gem yet. I led them to believe that it was the dark Orc leader but never actually said it. Whoever it is has some strong power and controls not only his own race but things like doppelgangers and stuff.
And to the players the gem protects from 10 damage from fire, frost, lightning or nature damage 1/day.GreenGM2013-03-26T05:41:06Z