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Good to hear!
BTW, James, can I take my hat off to you? You've been an exceptional overseer so far. Between getting us all the monster prep, and then helping us figure out how each section runs, this has been my best special experience of all time.
How has this special been running for you? I see you everywhere! Do you have time to breathe? If not, I'm totally casting air bubble on you.
Hmm
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Is anyone else having as much fun with the anchor encounters as I am? Oh, I love portraying mad people!
Hmm
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A question, perhaps a little silly, for the other GMs regarding skill checks against the Harbingers:
If 5 of my PCs aid a skill check and the sixth rolls the main check, with the total still failing the DC, does this count as all six PCs having made that particular skill check and therefore prevents any of them from rolling that skill again during that encounter?
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Yeah, they've been really great roleplaying with each of the Harbingers. I'm very impressed.
Another player has now aided the Bluff roll making the total 17 - which is just one short of the Hard check DC. I'm feeling inclined to give them a creativity bonus to pass the DC, as you suggest, rather than have them resort to combat.
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Venture-Agent, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
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I think that just access the vault we need just the discovery checks, which apparently at least 8(?) tables have done. Anchors still need to be dealt with as the dome is still there.
My table was a bit slow getting out of the Unfriendly welcome encounter so they're just on their first anchor situation right now. I do agree interacting with the anchors is quite fun and the players seem to be enjoying the RP as well.
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Interacting with anchors is one of my favorite parts of the scenario.
William is correct in his understanding - 8 tables have discovered the location of the vault, which means that everyone now knows where the vault is and can choose to go down to the vault if they wish. However, there is still a _lot_ of anchor successes that are needed, else the Pathfinders will be stuck in the past when everything goes kaboom.
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So, James... If my party gets through all the anchors and negotiates with the big kahuna... Is it still possible that we get stuck in the past? Is there any way to know how the house as a whole is doing?
EDIT: Answered my own question by re-reading the section that deals with the close of the scenario. Sigh. At least these anchor encounters go quick!
Hmm
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Wait, what? No.
These things need to happen in order for everybody to get home.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of anchor successes equal to three times the number of tables.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of discovery successes equal to one quarter the number of tables.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of vault successes equal to 1.25 times the number of tables.
- One of the vault successes needs to be dealing with Lady Arodeth herself, not just the simulacrums. This can be either defeating her with diplomacy or with combat.
If those four things don't happen, then no one gets to go home. All the tables live and die together.
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Venture-Agent, Nebraska—Omaha
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These things need to happen in order for everybody to get home.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of anchor successes equal to three times the number of tables.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of discovery successes equal to one quarter the number of tables.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of vault successes equal to 1.25 times the number of tables.
- One of the vault successes needs to be dealing with Lady Arodeth herself, not just the simulacrums. This can be either defeating her with diplomacy or with combat.If those four things don't happen, then no one gets to go home. All the tables live and die together.
I did forget about the Anchor success rate. Three times anchor is necessary.
But, Discovery checks I assumed as a precondition for getting to Lady Arodeth, and 1.25 Vault success is only for ending early. Even Code Green at 0.8 Vault success is only for making Anchor checks and Lady Arodeth encounters easier, it is not necessary for survival.
Once the PCs defeat the simulacra, Lady Arodeth is able to send them back to the present.
Just a single victory and enough Anchor successes to weaken the dome.
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Maybe I'm just a worrier. Play-by-post can go so slow at times... I want us all to succeed. Do we have anyway of knowing how close we are?
Also... Once you run out of time storms, is there anything else you can use to wrack up extra anchor successes? Or do you have to repeat endlessly on that list?
Hmm
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These things need to happen in order for everybody to get home.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of anchor successes equal to three times the number of tables.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of discovery successes equal to one quarter the number of tables.
- The group as a whole needs to complete a number of vault successes equal to 1.25 times the number of tables.
- One of the vault successes needs to be dealing with Lady Arodeth herself, not just the simulacrums. This can be either defeating her with diplomacy or with combat.If those four things don't happen, then no one gets to go home. All the tables live and die together.
I did forget about the Anchor success rate. Three times anchor is necessary.
But, Discovery checks I assumed as a precondition for getting to Lady Arodeth, and 1.25 Vault success is only for ending early. Even Code Green at 0.8 Vault success is only for making Anchor checks and Lady Arodeth encounters easier, it is not necessary for survival.
Once the PCs defeat the simulacra, Lady Arodeth is able to send them back to the present.Just a single victory and enough Anchor successes to weaken the dome.
Hm... that's interesting. That interpretation very much feels like it's not intended, but now that you've pointed that out, it seems like a much clearer reading. Imma go poke some people.
(Fortunately, this scenario will not be ending in the next couple days either way - so I have time to double check, the wonders of PbP.)
@Hmm - no, there's no way to know how the House is doing. My recommendation would be to focus on your table(s). Certainly pass aid tokens to tables who are struggling, but otherwise it's not like there's anything else you can do to help - at some point you just have to trust in the other tables.
And unfortunately yes, it is just repeating endlessly on the Time Storm list. My recommendation would be to try to pace your table so that it isn't a problem. Trust me, if there's any table that I'm not worried about pulling their weight, it's yours.
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Yeah, I probably got a little ahead here. I was worried about potentially having no wi-fi during my bike vacation in a rural area, but we had excellent wi-fi and so are now a bit ahead. I'm throwing an extra time storm in to slow them down, and then we'll enter the vault.
I am now putting all my trust in my fellow tables! Hakuna matata!
Hmm
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I also fear about this. This my third event in pbp. And the most dangerous in term of defeat and we have no way to know if our Player are gonna to survive.
How your group is doing? I realise that that killing the anchors would be the fastest way in pbp. My group have done all the pacifist way even using the double of gp necessary to have a bonus to influence Romnus.
This is very difficult from my point of view to use the killing option. Even if there part of those who killed pathfinders, they are just loony at the moment. This is a very gray area because of the survival aspect. Gosh. I think I would like to say my group is gooder than they think.
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Venture-Agent, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
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I'm a bit more concerned about the vault myself: since it takes two combats down there before successes begin to count its tricky to get hurried progress for those who haven't already gotten a start down there.
I can say our group has managed to take care of three anchors and overall talking them down has been faster than a combat would have been, but part of that is a series of good rolls. I do agree that I wish there was a way to know which was more needed at the moment, as it would help to be able to hint/guide them in a specific direction. But that's how specials go some time: c'est la vie
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Gah! This is going to be the last multi-table special I either play or run in this form. The setup of the whole thing is just too different from my PbP style to work. This is a complicated scenario, with constant combat (the way specials are), that is not a short scenario when run live. 6 weeks is no way enough time to run it in PbP, at least the way games that I've both played and run have gone. The entire thing has felt rushed. The one really meaty roleplaying encounter didn't happen because a very complicated combat and that roleplaying encounter had something like three days to complete (and we only barely got started). (If I'd been smart, I would have handwaved the Ophidian Rectory combat and just jumped straight to the roleplaying. It would have meant sacrificing a success, but since we barely got started in that combat anyway, I didn't report any successes as is! At least it would have been more fun.)
Players who are not familiar with the unrelenting meat grinder nature of specials are starting to grumble. The fact that we're so rushed the whole time isn't helping.
Realistically, I can't get in more than one combat turn in a day or two, as I just don't have the freedom to check and update three or four times a day. The schedule of this game just does not match how PbPs have worked for me. I'm not having fun, I'm just feeling frantic, like I've failed my players, and that I've got one more rushed deadline in my life I have to keep up with. Last year with Siege of Serpents I managed to adjust my style enough to keep up somehow; I'm not sure how. It helped that I had a Zen Archer at my table who could pretty much end any combat in one full action, and that (if memory serves) I only had four at my table.
I hope other people are speed-running this thing. (I've heard stories of PbP games that finish a scenario in a month and a half. To me, that sounds insanely fast, but I know not everybody has the same style.) Otherwise, we're gonna all die.
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I've been speed running. My group has wracked up 18 successes. Everyone, if you're panicked, talk down the anchors. Use your Kreighton Shaine to ID the monsters. He may be a copy but he's the Master of Scrolls. The first combat in the vault is optional. Skip it. Take down the anchors. If your group did them non violently and they're skilled, encourage them to talk to Lady Arodeth. Otherwise set them to battling her copies.
We're going home. Set your groups to this purpose. We're going HOME! Together we can do this. Get those anchors!
Hmm
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I'm running a 10-11 tier and they have wracked up 9 successes (and probably will get a couple more pretty soon). I think that's pretty good for 10-11. :p
Lots of people going at different paces, but hopefully it works out in the end. I will say I am having a blast GMing this special (and enjoyed the Year of the Shadow Lodge special too), but "lessons learned" could be that this format is not for you.
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I'm running a 10-11 tier and they have wracked up 9 successes (and probably will get a couple more pretty soon). I think that's pretty good for 10-11. :p
Lots of people going at different paces, but hopefully it works out in the end. I will say I am having a blast GMing this special (and enjoyed the Year of the Shadow Lodge special too), but "lessons learned" could be that this format is not for you.
But in this play. We have total destruction as a defeat. That change a lot.
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Yes, there have been TPKs in this special. At least one was posted in this forum.
However, we have one whole week to go! Anchors Away! We can do this, but we're all going to need to push our groups and encourage them to post, post!
We can do this!
I'm running a 10-11 tier and they have wracked up 9 successes (and probably will get a couple more pretty soon). I think that's pretty good for 10-11.
GM Andrew, your group is doing great for 10-11. I'm running 5-6. It's much easier to get successes at my group's level. The DCs at 10-11 are really high! At my group's level, they're much more achievable!
Hmm
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My group successfully negotiated with the Real Arodeth.
So... We have that. If everyone else can take care of as many anchors as they can in the next three days, we all have a chance of going home!
1) Have one anchor encounter lead seamlessly into the next. Have Romnus, the dragon infected one, run past you with a handful of loot. Have Omandi Mil yell at the party. Start the interactions yourself to get your party going. Encourage your party to talk if they have skills. Talking is faster than combat in PbP.
2) Have Kreighton identify the time storms. He's a loremaster wizard. He can do this! Monsters that the party knows how to handle will be handled far more quickly.
3) Skip encounter G1. It's optional. Go straight to the Many Arodeths after you handle your anchors.
4) Run monsters on the same initiative to speed things up if you have to, and bot players so that the round can move forward again!
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My group is currently negotiating with Lady Arodeth and should probably have their Vault success by later today, if everything goes well. I've been upfront with them about the current status of the special and the sense of panic that's arising as a result of the approaching deadline, and they're keen to blast through some more time storms and get as many anchor successes as possible. It's all we can really do!
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Yeah, I need to talk to my group and warn them as well. Thanks for the reminder, GM Red! We're going to kill some Lady Arodeth simulcra to get a second Vault Success and then we need to get those time storms.
I used my last unused time storm to get an extra anchor success for my group before heading into the vault, but we could probably face a few more undead or ankylosaurs.
James, is there a way to send an email out to all GMs explaining the need for anchor successes? I think that many don't understand how badly we need to release the anchors, or how dire failure can be.
Hmm
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[Intro]
A long, long time ago
Pathfinders searchin’ for pieces of that sky key
And we knew if we had our chance
We could move through time in a trance
And travel through empires lost to history
Going to Sesshigoss made me shiver
With every serpent death we delivered
Bad news in the Slave Pens!
Revolution all over again!
I can’t remember if I cried
When all the serpent priests were fried
Secrets from Azlant were pried
The day of our time slide
[Chorus]
So bye, bye, let’s let Aroden lie
Time to berate the Anchors of Fate the best we can try
And them murder hobos looking at death in the sky
Singin’ this’ll be the way that we die
This’ll be the way that we die
Did you write the book of fate
And know the prophecies they relate
If Arodeth tells you so?
Now do you believe in destiny
Will one asteroid set us free
And can you take me to the vault beeee-lowwww?
Well, I know you reset fate on a whim
Though your chance of success is slim
You’re bathed in that green glow
Oh babe, you gotta go!
But now I really can’t complain
We’ve got a copy of Kreighton Shaine
But I worry we’re out of luck
The day of our time slide
[Chorus]
So bye, bye, let’s let Aroden lie
Time to berate the Anchors of Fate the best we can try
And them murder hobos looking at death in the sky
Singin’ this’ll be the way that we die
This’ll be the way that we die
Now for two hours we’ve been on our own
(Well, us and our Kreighton clone)
So Alrule thinks she’s an Azlanti
And Binui shuffles harrow for the Queen
Calling doom on all he’s seen
Trying to con the likes of you and me
Gad Gemple thinks he’s a god newborn
Omandi Mil was left forlorn
Her hopes like skin were all burned
No one could say what she learned
And then Romnus stole his golden hoard
So he could be a dragon lord
Yeah, he kinda went overboard
The day of our time slide
[Chorus]
So bye, bye, let’s let Aroden lie
Time to berate the Anchors of Fate the best we can try
And them murder hobos looking at death in the sky
Singin’ this’ll be the way that we die
This’ll be the way that we die
Helter skelter there’s nowhere to shelter
If you meet the witch can you melt her?
Earthfall’s high and falling fast
Now I don’t mean to be crass
But I don’t want to wind up on my ass
In a crater of molten glass...
Now the vault is open is there room
To convince Arodeth she’s a loon?
And now the simulcra advance
Well, they haven’t got a chance!
'Cause simulcra tried to take the field
The Pathfinders refused to yield
Do you recall what was revealed
The day of our time slide?
[Chorus]
We started singing bye, bye, let’s let Aroden lie
Time to berate the Anchors of Fate the best we can try
And them murder hobos looking at death in the sky
Singin’ this’ll be the way that we die
This’ll be the way that we die
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation lost in space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Snuff anchors like a candlewick
‘Cause we don’t like where this may end
Oh, and as we came upon them in the vault
We doubled the strength of our assault
We wouldn’t let the cult
Determine our end result
And as we stacked anchors high that night
To light the sacrificial rite
I saw Arodeth shrieking full of fright
The day of our time slide
[Chorus]
She was singin’ bye, bye, let’s let Aroden lie
Time to berate the Anchors of Fate the best we can try
And them murder hobos looking at death in the sky
Singin’ this’ll be the way that we die
This’ll be the way that we die
[Outro]
I met a girl who wanted sense
But realized that we’d be past tense
If her followers had their way...
We went down to her secret vault
She told us it was not our fault
And to fix things she would have to stay
And in the streets, Azlanti screamed
The lovers cried and the poets dreamed
But not a word was spoken
The prophecies were broken
And the three men I admire most
Shaine, GM Mars, and Aroden’s ghost
Told us to flee or we’d all be toast
The day of our time slide
[Chorus]
And they were singing bye, bye, let’s let Aroden lie
Time to berate the Anchors of Fate the best we can try
And them murder hobos looking at death in the sky
Singin’ this’ll be the way that we die
This’ll be the way that we die
They were singing bye, bye, let’s let Aroden lie
Time to berate the Anchors of Fate the best we can try
And them murder hobos looking at death in the sky
Singin’ this’ll be the way that we die
This’ll be the way that we die
With special thanks to Weird Al, McLean and King of Anything
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I just realised... the anchors transform the negotiation with arodeth into something extremely easy. If you doing them all and non violently the rolls are becoming very easy.
Yes! Blessed are the meek!
Hmm
EDIT: IAMMARS, do you know which interpretation you're going with for success conditions? This will help me decide how to spend the remaining time, vault or anchors.
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Venture-Agent, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
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Short of magically barring them, have an obviously high-level character stumble out wounded or dead. Or maybe have them look down the hall and see Arodeth holding her own as disitegrates are flying around and dodging summoned T-Rexes.
Also if they still have their Shaine, he should be advising them no as much as possible. Flighty as he can be, he's still a Master, and he could mention how another of his copies is inside and he can sense how outmatched they are.
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Short of magically barring them, have an obviously high-level character stumble out wounded or dead. Or maybe have them look down the hall and see Arodeth holding her own as disitegrates are flying around and dodging summoned T-Rexes.
This would be my first instinct as well. If she's primed to attack the PCs because of how they treated the anchors, cast greater invisibility and start using shocking grasp or corrosive touch through disarms and possibly trips. (Maybe not shocking grasp - maybe corrosive touch will be better for this. 12.5 avg damage as opposed to 17.5.) If you normally hide the enemies' rolls, "forget" to hide them this time. Let them see the ridiculous CMB numbers she's getting while invisible. But importantly, if they're looking to retreat, don't AoO them or press further - you've done your job. (And besides, it's what Lady Arodeth would do - she needs to save spells for the higher level tables.)
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... (and am the one writting that.)
could we not clog the overseer thread? I know we are anxious. But that is something our players shouldn't see.
And... that is maybe a impression. But we haven't heard much about the overseer and I wonder... you know... he is playing us? My players are dreading right now. That what their character should be.
What your players are doing now to save their life?