s'OK, Abi - we're just glad you're still with us!!!
Amen!
Obscuring Misty would be handy for this. Otherwise Silas is likely right.
I've been kicking myself for not asking to have the shortbow I used with the Tinker Bros! Would come in handy now.
Not sure if any of you are PFS players, but if so you should be aware of this event which is a huge effort to build interest in PbP PFS. I am playing in one! Many tiers and scenarios are represented, but you must join up at Warhorn site to officially sign up. Here is the link for the events.
Note, they all won't be on the same day via PbP format, but will kick off at about the same time. Go and sign up for your favorite game or DM.
Oooh! Are you thinking of GMing for this? I may if I can scrape together some funds and buy a PFS module. ^_^
Just playing - too many other irons in the fire to DM!!
Tell you what, though - if you get a module and run it, let me know!! And one day, I'll do the same =)
I saw this yesterday and when I checked they actually already had plenty of DMs and were not taking any more. I too think I will play - Maybe an AP that gives PFS credit. Anyone want to join up together?
Already full on GM's eh? Well, that sounds promising for the event anyway. I'll probably have to draw up a new society character since I wouldn't want to tie Kish up with Shifty getting back soon after that starts, but I will definitely want to play.
I think I'm leaning toward an archery focused Ranger or maybe a Cleric. What are you guys looking to run?
Im not too familiar with PFS, never struck me as something I would be interested in.
If my understanding is correct, you have to own everything you use, even if its a single feat from a single book, correct? Kinda off putting for me.
Id love to play more with everyone present so if someone could enlighten me further that would be splendid.
Hugo: yes, by the rules, you are supposed to own every sourcebook your character references.
In practice, nobody ever gives a fig.
I've been playing and GMing PFS for ... two years now, I think? And I have never once been asked by anyone to show possession of a book to prove my character is legal.
That is certainly the letter of the rule Hugo. The point is that at table play the DM can't be expected to have every source book sanctioned by the campaign handy - heck, its hard enough to keep strait what is and is not allowed for play. So, if you have some strange spell or piece of gear that the DM does not know about its fair for him to say "hmm. I've never heard of that. Can you show me the book its in so I can read up on it before I rule on its use? " The only time its happened to me is when my wizard used Emergency Force Sphere from Empire of Devils. I had a photocopy of the relevant page and that was good enough for the judge.
So please do not get hung up on that one little rule. In practice it very seldom comes up. I played 11 PFS games Dragon Con last month with people I do not know well and do not often game with. It never happened at a table I was at and I actually never heard of it happening at all. With a more familiar group it would happen less. And with a PBP I suspect not at all since the judge is not under the time constraints of a con time slot and can easily look things up on the internet.
As far as living gaming goes; I have been doing it for about 15 years. I have friends all over the US from the Living Greyhawk days that I still keep up with. And I have stories that I'll tell my grand kids about those games. They were that significant. PFS is trying to be as good. It is getting better over time, and in truth has better management. The annual story arcs are good and add to play. And I even like sitting down with strangers and playing. It makes it seem more real - that the Pathfinders have pulled together who was available and sent them out on a mission. You do not know who you are playing with. You might not trust them, or even like them, but you have to be a team and get the mission done. Fun.
I hope that enlightens you.
Oh, and while I encourage you to create a character at first level, you can also play pre-gens at levels 4 and 7, so you do not have to only play the low level stuff. In fact, a player who knows the rules as well as you, I would encourage you to look over the pre-gens and join a game or two at higher level. You are allowed to save those chronicle sheets and apply them to your character when they have reached those levels.
Except the pre-gens are nowhere near as fun to play as your own characters, imo. ;) ;)
Tomid speaks the truth. I recently played quite a few games at Gencon and played both pregen and my own characters. No one at any table was ever asked to provide source material for anything. And fortunately I had tables full of mostly cool people, except for this one dude playing a tengu who tried to do the voice for it as well. Shudder.
I'll probably have to draw up a new society character since I wouldn't want to tie Kish up with Shifty getting back soon after that starts, but I will definitely want to play.
Oh...you think Shifty will play through this? I may have to generate a new character, or withdraw Grim! Guess I'd better withdraw for safety - but that opens me up to play with you guys if you find a game that still needs 6 people!
What tier would you be preferring to play, Tomid?
I have 10 PFS characters (yea, I know, no life) so can play most any level. I did note somethings have filled up so lets not delay. I just signed up for Dawn of the Scarlet Sunset, which is 4-6, and I was the only player signed up. I know the DM for that one and he is pretty good. I plan to play with my 6th level druid. I also signed up to play level 3-4 in a Thornkeep game, but I was player 5 ti sign up.
I have played most of the actual scenarios, but might play 4-05, The Sanos Abduction with my level 5 ninja bard. Tomid is sorta modeled after him. Yea, signing up for that too. That is three games. Now I am feeling greedy. :)
Dien and BlueDove - do you have preferences for tier? Also, any preferences for class/role?
I haven't played any Pathfinder beyond tier 1 - although I did create a 9th level (non-PFS) character when I was first introduced to Pathfinder. Since I do all my character generation by hand, it takes a lot more time the higher I go!!
I think I like mid-tier games the best-- in the 5-7ish range. Characters are tough enough and skilled enough then to be fun, and casters and martials can each contribute about the same to the party (as opposed to casters struggling at low levels, and casters dominating at high levels).
As far as role, I will play just about anything. In PFS, I currently have a Level 3 Cleric, Level 2 Summoner, Level 8 Druid, Level 1 Barbarian, Level 6 Bard/Barbarian/Dragon Disciple, Level 7 Witch, and my Level 13 Fighter ;). (Arguably not really IN PFS anymore, but she's running through the retirement arc, Eyes of the Ten, at the moment).
If I were to say the 'best' character for PFS, it might be bard, just because you have versatility and so you are rarely sitting around going 'welp, my character can't do anything here'. I've noticed that pure melee classes can get bored whenever PFS throws social or knowledge challenges at them. (I personally don't, but some players might.)
Im a bit confused...If this is an "event" does that mean that its a short "wohooo adventure" and then just "aaaand we are done, have a good one, cya"?
I prefer my PbPs to have some staying power to them. Nothing worse than having a good character going, only for the game to collapse.
Id probably be interested in trying to build a cleric I like, take up the challange.
That's the good part about PFS. You play the same character, as a Pathfinder operative if you will, from level 1 through level 12 and beyond. Sometimes you will be teamed with old friends whom you have adventured with before and others you will be assembled in to a group with totally new faces. But each time your character will be based on the sum of his experiences to date, including his successes and failures. His gold, his reputation, his prestige, and perhaps even past deaths will shape the character.
Most PFS scenarios are designed to be played in 5 hours or less, in one sitting. They are completed, the DM sums up the conclusion for you, maybe describing how your actions thwarted some great plot, or not, and does some paperwork that records your participation and to some degree your performance in that scenario. Success or failure can shape the entire game world. You will get a chronicle sheet detailing what you found, what wealth you earned, what special rewards if any (things like maybe "You impressed the venture captain and news of your success has spread. You get a +1 to diplomacy checks with other pathfinder.")
But, in addition to these 5 hour scenarios there are full blown modules, some of which are parts of APs or can be played in a series to create a constant environment of play for months and months.
The system is set up to level you when you complete three scenarios. Some people prefer to level at a slower pace and so you can choose to "slow track" for a while if you like, taking half gold and experience, and so lingering at a level for 6 scenarios instead of the standard 3. I did that with my rogue at what I considered a sweet spot.
Does that answer your question? You can go download the guide to organized play too if you like. You can find it under the PFS area of the website under downloads. I am happy to answer more questions too.
Im a bit confused...If this is an "event" does that mean that its a short "wohooo adventure" and then just "aaaand we are done, have a good one, cya"?
I prefer my PbPs to have some staying power to them. Nothing worse than having a good character going, only for the game to collapse.
Id probably be interested in trying to build a cleric I like, take up the challange.
That's normally the way a live event at a con would run, but these PBP campaigns have a big window within which to complete the campaign. We will have "between Saturday, Oct. 5th, 2013 and Saturday, Jan. 4th, 2014 to complete their scenario. From our experiences with the community, most scenarios can easily be completed within 3 months."
But as Tomid says, that character goes back to the pathfinder lodge and you sign up for another game later with the same character and just continue his personal story as a Pathfinder agent. This was the big draw for me. Playing tabletop with friends who can't coordinate their schedules to ever play consistently has always been my curse, so I've played on and off for over half my life and I can count on one hand my characters that rose above level 2 before the group changed or the campaign was scrapped. Even PBP parties seem to break down eventually, but it doesn't end up feeling like a loss if the character continues on.I'm not usually likely to use pre-gens, so I'd be a lvl 1 or maybe 2 character if I used Kishara. I enjoy playing the diplomatic role in the PFS games, I'm not running a Ranger currently, but it is my strongest skill set, player-wise. Probably what I would want to draw up. Do I need to submit the character to sign up? If so, I might be delayed.
Nope-you just say what class or role you want to fill and what level. Easy!
So, we potentially have a two people who can play a bard or anything else, a cleric, and a ranger. I can probably role-play most anything, and tend towards half-elves and humans. Although I was toying with an Aasimar paladin concept...
So which one are we joining then? The one Tomid suggested? Or something else?
The lower level tables are filling up pretty fast. I went ahead and volunteered for the Tide of Twilight, run by our buddy Capricornus(Tikrit in our current PFS game, Andy).
Did you not sign up to play?
GMs
1.Jesse Robb
Players
1.Scott Nolan Monk 2
2.Hailey Martin Druid 2
3.Matthew Trent Bard 1
4.Andy Garlington Paladin 1
Which game is that?
Its gonna be hard for me to play a low level mod with you as I have played most everything in the 1-5 range. I can replay the intro mods.
Yeah, I figured it would be hard to get us all in the same group. I did fix my sign up for Tide of Twilight with Capricornus and now there's one more spot at that table.
Looks like the higher tier tables are more open. Play something new and fun for you guys that have the higher level characters to use. I'm still new to pathfinder so it's all new to me. ^_^
Ok, tried signing up for Tide of Twilight then, not sure I did it right though, since its apparently done by writing a comment as opposed to filling out a form. Just wrote id like to join Tide of Twilight (Capricornus), playing a Cleric.
Please correct me if I need to do something else, or something more.
Hugo, you did something wrong. First make sure you are signed up for the event. That changes what you see when you click on a game. Then you should see the name of the DM (if he has checked in) and the names of each player along with what role they are filling and what level they are. You should have the ability to choose a role and level too. There are both actual classes from 3.5 sign ups and roles from 4.0. So you could choose fighter 2, or striker 2 to mean the same thing.
"You are registered to attend this event on an ongoing basis.
You are cleared to sign up for sessions.
Get started by browsing the event schedule."
Thats what it says after I wrote my application into the field that appeared when I clicked on "Register for this event"
Clicking on a game only shows me what the level range is for it, not who is in it.
After I "registered", clicking on Register for this Event just brings up a new page with the following:
"Welcome to Pathfinder Society Online Gameday for Play-by-Posts. This is where we will do scheduling and table recruiting for Online PbP for Pathfinder Society.
If you have any questions, send an e-mail to PFSOnlineVOs@gmail.com with the subject line "Online PbP Questions". Thanks!"
Nevermind, fixed it. For some reason the damn thing defaulted to the wrong month, leaving with staring at a blank page.
I had trouble with this too, Andy told me how to fix it.
I also had to click on October before I even saw the events, but I hit the volunteer button at first.
EDIT: Ah good, you got in! ^_^
Same. Earlier I had said make sure you are in October, because that was not the default.
So how does the character aspect work for this? Do I need to submit it or...Does it need full background and appearance and the like? I just got done working on another character for another game, and am feeling a little burned out on fluff building at the moment.
The fluff is like my favorite part.
Even though I've never had a PFS game where it mattered. :(
Fluff is not required. Its all mechanics. Build a character, but its for your own use. The DM will likely expect a full alias but no background outside of race and faction. And faction is another story all together. I'll not go into it now (not enough time) but will say it is not mostly color and for fun since they eliminated faction missions.
Roger. Ive been meaning to play a small race, likely a halfling, for some time now, but whenever the muse struck me it was for a character that either worked better conceptually and mechanically with another race, or not at all (i.e Str character)
Halfling cleric looks intriguing to me, since the charisma atleast makes up for no wisdom.
Gonna have to think more on it.
As usual I had a really hard time getting excited about a cleric, so I changed to a sorcerer, since Ive been eying the Tattooed Sorcerer for a while now and this group comp looked like it could use an arcane caster.
So, which of the other characters in Tide of Twilight are you guys?
I'm the Paladin =)
Grizelda / BlueDove is the Ranger.
We know the GM from another game we are playing
Fantastic. Im having some difficulty settling on the right setup. Sadly, Tattooed Sorcerer cannot be combined with Wildblooded (Empyreal). It appears that since Empyreal changing the 9th level Bloodline Power, and the Tattooed Sorcerer then removing it in place of the Archetype power, doesnt work.
My Tattoo covered dwarven sorcerer who uses Wisdom to cast, cannot come to fruition : /
So im debating whether to stick with the dwarf side or the Tattooed Sorcerer side of it.
Never seen a dwarven sorcerer. That would be unique, in my experience anyway.
Wish I could run for you guys. I have been on the boards for over a year and have not yet tried to run. I need to learn how to use Maptools or an alternative, but am looking forward to doing so, and then running some.
For the record, I've found Roll20.net to be my favorite for maps/etc. /two cents
I am using PowerPoint to import an image (Mars surface pictures for the current adventure!), insert a table on top of it and size it accordingly, then save it as a .jpg. I import that and your character icons to Google Docs. Works in a pinch and it don't cost nuttin'!!
Oh wow...this right here GM...just might get me to try GMing a game!
Ive considered it before, but while I encourage "Theater of the Mind" at my gaming table, I find PbP needs a map to flow well in combat. But all the programs ive tried have been awfully restricted in what you could do.
How do you get the character icons btw?
From this page, I right click on your icon and select "save picture as". I save t to a folder on my computer with your name, and then upload to Google drawing as a picture =)
Another trick - when you insert the table on top of your background image, and after you've added the proper number of rows and columns to show how many 5' sections you want, make sure the height and width are the same number =) otherwise it may look square but won't be!
Next question, my PowerPoint-fu is rather limited. When you say "insert a table" is that an actual function of the program?
And the last bit you mention, does that mean the number of rows and columns need to be the same number, or are width and height a different thing?
=) I am a PowerPoint Advanced Red Belt!
Insert a table is an actual function of PowerPoint. You can have different numbers of columns and rows. Once you have the table inserted you should have two "Table Tools" tabs - Design and Layout. Go to the Layout tab and look for the Height and Width fields - there will be numbers like 0.41" and 4.31" Make these the same number (effectively making squares...)