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Thank you, Shifty!
I must admit that, as some other GMs expressed it, I felt a bit frustrated about the waves of elementals being ended so quickly and abruptly. I'm aware that the pace of the tables in PBP have been very different and I have not been the fastest, by far. But I think that we could have had a little more time. We couldn't even finish wave 1.
That said, I thank you for your work, Shifty. You have been very efficient and I appreciate it! :)
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Zinou, that happens even in Face-to-Face specials. The slowest tables always have monsters disappear on them. In later ones, they have a mechanic for explaining this. Other pathfinders join you in the battle, and your monster dies, and you move on. In this one... Meh. Monsters disappear on you.
Then the overseer started having us roll dice until we got to a nat 20. We had no idea why.
It was confusing. It was disheartening. It was one of my worst experiences as a player in PFS. However, looking back, this experience really helped me crystalize who I wanted to be as a GM. I made a vow that whenever I GMed a special (or anything else) to prep the heck out of it. This was a turning point for me, and really helped me become the GM that I am today. So I did get something out of it!
My personal goal as a GM this time was to reclaim this special for myself, and do it right. I wanted to just have fun with it, and to give a good experience to my tables.
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How do we find a balance?
Balancing out slow tables and fast ones is always an issue in Specials. Slow tables can feel left out. Fast tables will burn up resources as those endless waves of baddies come at them... By the time the house has wracked up enough successes, they can be exhausted and in danger of dying because spells and defenses are gone. As a fast GM, there have been several times where I deliberately dawdled here so that my group did not wind up racing too far ahead or get pushed too hard.
One thing to keep in mind is that specials are written for face-to-face play, with the idea that no table will finish everything. There is this huge time pressure, and most tables get exhausted after 5-6 hours worth of being in a special. It is expected that there will be content that some tables will only see in passing, or miss altogether.
So... some of this may be a matter of changing GM and player expectations. Maybe it should be stated outright that you may not get to all content in a special, and that is okay.
Future Directions?
As one of the people who will be adapting future specials to PbP format, I would love feedback on this. I am aware that I am very fast PbP GM, but I want the one post a day crowd to be happy too. I don't want slow tables to feel horribly left behind, and I don't want fast tables to be bored. Striking a balance can be really challenging. How do we help slow and fast tables to better co-exist?
(Which reminds me. One GM sent me a lovely PM with some of his ideas about PbP specials a while ago. I should write back to him and thank him for that! I'm not using all his ideas, but I found his post thoughtful and informative.)
I also would like some feedback on Special length. Some think six weeks is too short, but I know that I, by week 6, get exhausted. If we extend out a week or two... Do we risk even more GM burnout? The next special that we are adapting is that behemoth, Cosmic Captive. It is a 100 page BEAST with three different routes. I am seriously thinking of extending the time to complete it, but once again... don't want to increase GM burnout by dragging it out too long.
Speaking of GM burnout, I want to applaud Shifty and the backup GMs (great band name!) for helping reduce mine. Having a few breaks as a GM really helped me keep my sanity. Even better, we had an organized and very present Overseer. Shifty, having you on board to answer questions and interact with all of us has been wonderful.
Thank you!
Hmm
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I think it is pretty unlikely that you're a lousy GM, Nightdeath.
I know that in my last special (not this one) I had to be ruthless with player botting in order to keep to the frenetic pace of Sky Key Solution. Without PbP botting, games only move as fast as their slowest player.
It may have been luck of the draw getting slow players this time. Here's hoping your guys manage to snag themselves a monk before the end!
Hmm
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My personal goal as a GM this time was to reclaim this special for myself, and do it right. I wanted to just have fun with it, and to give a good experience to my tables.
Being a stand-in for GM Hmm's table for two short periods (each a couple of days) I can attest that she has reclaimed the special. Her table is enjoying the heck out of themselves.
Yes, she has great players. But it also takes a great GM to bring a table to life like that one is brought to life. Thank you for showing me that Hmm.
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Pace and size of specials makes for some really awkward situations. In 8-00 when I played in person we got shoved forward within a round of several of the more interesting encounters and that wasn't particularly pleasant. I think that the general concept of overseer announcements needs to be reconsidered in specials as a whole, both PbP and F2F. The best special that I played in was Siege of the Diamond City, and I think a lot of that had to do with how it was divided up. I might recommend that in the future, if a table triggers the special to move forward really early (like mine did... sorry guys) that it would be more than fair to have the overseer pop into that thread and call for a 2 day break or so (or 5 minute break in person).
I was at a table for the Siege of Serpent special that I liked to call 'buff buff boom' where one round of combat was 4 party buff characters handing out massive bonuses like candy, followed by a strength rogue, a swashbuckler, and the druid's feline companion removing everything from the battlefield in awesome teamwork fashion. We had a blast, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if we were pushing the pace forward a bit.
When I played in Cosmic Captive, our table had several complex casters and characters with prep rounds (including my occultist) that had almost every encounter cut short, sometimes before even a round was completed.
I probably won't be GMing Cosmic Captive when that comes up for PbP for a couple reasons. 1: I'd like to give it another playthrough since my F2F experience certainly was missing a fair bit, and 2: I don't think I'll have the time later in the year to keep up with such a beast of a scenario. I'll likely put my name in as a backup GM though.
Once the next special is announced though... I'm going to be doing my best to nab a spot at Hmm's table though... gotta learn from the masters.
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MBtC --
There are so many awesome GMs in the Flaxseed and Mythweavers Lodges. I know that I study how other GMs do things all the time. I have really admired how many GMs in this special have used description and turns of phrase. I think we've all glanced at each other's tables from time to time and admired each other's grace In handling a situation.
I'm not a master. I'm working as hard as I can to become one, though. It's an ongoing process. I can honestly say that I'm learning and growing as a GM all the time, and I'm proud of that. But there are so many areas where I still need to improve!
Hmm
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@Shifty, or anyone
I told my players that the stairs up and down the dais are considered steep, so no running and charging, but I admittedly got that from the game in which I'm playing. When I went to check the scenario, I can't seem to find anything that talks about the difficulty of moving up or down the dais. Is there?
This where you just make a reasonable GM call. I wouldn't let them charge up the dais, but I think they could move normally. Charging down could be okay... It is your call.
Hmm
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Thanks for the reply. I recall Michael Brock saying something about GMs being authorized to add modifiers based on environment, so I'm inclined to agree that is up to the GM. I'm going with difficult terrain on account of the dais not really being up stairs, but wide step-ups.
It looks like everyone has made at least the basic interpretation that the slope is not fit for running or charging, and spas to difficult terrain - all are reasonable GM calls.
Happy with that!
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Wave reporting:
Monk defeated/Sucess report link
8 = Code white
17 = Code grey
24 = Code black
5 down so far!
19 to go!
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Haha, no no. Sorry forgot to add the smiley face. :) Scanning through your table and it's amazing how they are plowing through the monks! More amazing is how everyone is posting minutes after each other. ;P
Mine are onto the 2nd monk. Hope they have better luck this time!
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Zinou, that happens even in Face-to-Face specials. The slowest tables always have monsters disappear on them. In later ones, they have a mechanic for explaining this. Other pathfinders join you in the battle, and your monster dies, and you move on. In this one... Meh. Monsters disappear on you.
Thank you for your answer. As some others, it seems, I have been following your table as well. And enjoying it! :)
I have been enjoying a lot the special overall but felt rushed, as a GM, in the mausoleum area.
The monks are brutal, indeed.
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For expedience we'll also have them act on the same initiative. Also... just to speed things up we'll have them all target the same player. S-S-S-S-S-SCORCHING RAY-Y-Y-Y-Y-Y!!!!
Let's see... Jin-Goro's touch AC was 16, so those all hit on 2+... I see 2 miss and 1 crit threat...
Congratulations on breaking through the line! Here's a reward!
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Ooh ooh, I know what they should do. Have the monks retain their Quivering Palm ki power instead of taking a Qingong power at 15th. That way each monk they fight at the high tier table has a chance to one-shot someone. Then watch the high tier table just sit there and toy around with the second monk for the rest of the encounter.
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There’s a gnome with bewildering koan on my table, so I don’t think my guys are in any danger from a lone opponent.
Yeah I know that player, he took that 'Bewlidering Koan Gnome' into Risen from the Sands, you know, the Egyptian/Mummy themed adventure that just screams Undead and animated objects? The sort of 'last thing on Earth you'd sign that build up for' kinda place?
He wasn't cool about it.
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Dear all, I also need some advice.
As expected, one of my players had her character bypass the monk and move to touch the Emissary. I thus set it up that there is some field surrounding him which weakens as each monk is defeated. I had hoped that this would be sufficient hint to stop bothering the Emissary and help with the monk, help that the rest of the party sorely needs.
But instead, she is now (literally) wrapping herself onto the Emissary, waiting for the field to weaken. I have no issue with her taking herself out of combat. (The rest of the players have kind of gotten used to it by now after the previous encounters.) But this would mess up Shifty's random rolling later to determine who actually touches the Emissary. Chances are it will turn out not to be her, and then she would dispute with me why it wasn't her.
So any good ideas how I could logically get her away from the Emissary? I could have the monk scorching ray her but (1) she would likely die (not just fall unconscious) as she was already previously injured, and (2) since she is not bothering the monk, there is no reason why the monk would attack her.
Or perhaps I could have the Emissary's fireworks display at the end bullrush her away?
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So any good ideas how I could logically get her away from the Emissary? I could have the monk scorching ray her but (1) she would likely die (not just fall unconscious) as she was already previously injured, and (2) since she is not bothering the monk, there is no reason why the monk would attack her.
Or perhaps I could have the Emissary's fireworks display at the end bullrush her away?
Ah. Just saw your question, Kuey. Yes, that's what I would do. Just have her get displaced when the Emissary's field does down. It blows out, bullrushing her away.
Sigh. She really needs to support the team. These monks are deadly. As for the whole scorching ray thing... A player on the emissary would be the most likely target in my mind. They're supposed to be loyal, and out to protect the emissary.
Hmm
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Or perhaps I could have the Emissary's fireworks display at the end bullrush her away?
This.
She can pretty much curl up in his lap like a cat of she chooses, but once he has his 'flashdance moment' and starts floating and popping sparkles then she will be dumped on the ground.
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Now on the other hand, I disagree with you - the Monk would probably be keen to get her off the Emissary, she is being (at the very least) impertinent and disrespectful of Sifu/Sensei/Sempai. if I was that monk, she'd be my number one target, and it wouldn't be for a belly scratch and hot cocoa. The one thing the Emissary and his monks seem to lack is a sense of humour.
It might be enough to have the Monks (all of them) glare at her for her 'outrageous display' as a warning for what is about to happen if she doesn't move.
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I've been kinda handwaving the displacement duration. I figure if my party begins having a near death experience then the monks may find that their displacement potions have run out due to them prematurely imbibing them. For the lst 2 monks my party dispelled it and then proceeded to pummel him until dead. They are all flying and hasted, so their maneuverability has been overcome as well. For now they are 4 rounds in with 2 dead monks, so at this point I think its safe for me to treat the remaining potion durations as nebulous.
As for the 'run up and touch the monk' deal, I simply inferred that should they try to cheat they would likely be facing all of the remaining monks at once. They stopped.
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15/24 - We will soon hit Code Grey.
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All:
Last time I ran this (it was F2F) the minute we got the applause all sorted at the end, there were a shedload of players asking what time the Ruby Phoenix Tournament would be starting. They were only half joking, because although they knew it wasn't scheduled, there was certainly a fair amount of interest.
Is anyone looking to run RPT at the end of this? If so, I would be happy to advertise the tables/recruitment threads in the final Overseer post along with the final prize roll offs.
