Dungeon Master S: Tide of Morning PbP

[Dungeon Master S]

Welcome to my table! A quick introduction, my name is Chris and I've been playing Pathfinder Society since Season 0. I've been playing this family of RPGs since the final days of 1st edition. You'll find that I'm a very reasonable GM. To create a fair and fun "table" let me get some bookkeeping rules out of the way.

1. Please be honest. There's no way I can stop you from cheating, but if you're cheating....why play? Also make sure you're all aware of the PFS rules. This ranges from wealth and XP to no PvP. Don't forget about Paizo's forum rules! If you're unsure of how to play, please send me a private message and I can help you out.

1. Please use the text formatting and discussion vs. game play tabs correctly.

2. Please provide access to your PC stats somehow: your Paizo profile, an Obsidian Portal link, a googledoc, etc.

3. As this is an official table, no one can make decisions about your character's actions. I ask that you endeavor to post AT LEAST once every 24 hours. More is better. That being said, if you trust your teammates and are willing to give them "marching orders" I will allow it, but you've got to stick by their decision, no mulligans. If you're going to be away for more than 24 hours, please post in the Discussion tab.

4. I would rate myself as being fairly strong with the rules. If you have something a reasonable person would consider an oddball combination or corner case combo don't surprise me with it, let me know (and "show" me that you own the resources.)

5. Have fun. While I can't play fast and loose with the rules in PFS, particularly eloquent, exciting, and just plain awesome posts can get you pretty far.

[Khamûl Unqualë]

per #4:

Not terribly out there, but I forgot to mention last scenario (since there were no undead) that Khamul has Command Undead through his necromancy school power so he can channel several times/day (7 I think, I'll have to double-check) but only to take control of undead. The necromancy school power says you can take feats/etc related to channeling but only if they affect Command Undead so he also has the Sacred Conduit trait which raises his DC by 1, the Improved Channel feat which raises the DC by 2, and the Undead Master feat which raises the number of HD of undead he can control at a time by 4 (usually maxed by your HD-so he can control 6 HD of undead).

Nivik, on spellbooks:

To copy spells from another wizard's spellbook, you basically just have to make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level) and pay the scribing cost. You can take 10 on the Spellcraft check so if your Spellcraft is high enough you shouldn't fail*. The scribing costs are:

0: 5 gp
1: 10 gp
2: 40 gp
3: 90 gp
4: 160 gp
5: 250 gp
6: 360 gp
7: 490 gp
8: 640 gp
9: 810 gp

When you are playing with another wizard PC (or if you find a spellbook or scroll during the scenario), that's all you have to do and then the spell is added to your spellbook permanently.

In between scenarios, you can actually scribe spells from a random NPC's spellbook (I like to think of it as Aram Zey's Giant Spellbook of Every Spell Ever), but NPCs charge half the scribing cost to access their spellbook. So if you wanted to learn a second level spell in between a scenario you'd pay 40 gp for the scribing cost and 20 gp for the access, for a total of 60 gp.

But since PCs can't charge each other for access (and who would want to be a jerk like that anyways?), we can just trade spells without the access cost.

*although I think you still take a -5 for spells in your opposition school. but you're probably not terribly interested in your opposition spells anyways.

[Khamûl Unqualë]

Nivik: although, since it takes a bit of time to scribe (an hour/lev I think?) we probably will have to wait until the scenario is over unless this one takes place over more than once day or we have a few hours to spare in the middle of the adventure. . . I GM'd it a while back but I can't recall if it does or not.

[Mikhaere]

Hello! This is Sigrun from the last game. I did some super-sleuthing to ninja my way here (so let me know if I need to be kicked out ;P).

I'd like to play my druid in this scenario, but I'm open to playing my ranger again if need be!

[Dungeon Master S]

...didn't I send you the link? :-). glad to have you back. Druid is just fine. We have 5 now.

-Posted with Wayfinder

[Mikhaere]

Not that I can see! Unless it was in the Chronicle email. But hey, ninja-sleuthing skills to the rescue. :P

[Dungeon Master S]

First, sorry you didn't get it. Second, nice ninja skills!

I'm looking to make the introductory post on Friday. I know at least on of us isn't American, not sure about everyone else. So, next week may end up being a slow week on Thursday and Friday. Otherwise I can usually post multiple times per day.

It's a short module, but this looks like it's a good group, so we should have plenty of fun.

[Mikhaere]

I just played Tide of Twilight in the PFS PBP Game Day with Mikhaere - it looks like this is a sort-of prequel to it! Should be interesting... :)

[Weaver, a Pathfinder]

Equipment question:

I can pick up Bracers of Armor +1 right now; I seem to recall that force field type things like that don't stack with other AC bonuses. Did I make that up? Or do the Bracers stack with armor, but not shields? And I assume they don't improve Touch, just AC and FF like other armor?

[Khamûl Unqualë]

Bracers of Armor give an armor bonus so they do not stack with standard armor.

Basically you have to pay attention to what type of bonus something grants; if it grants the same type of bonus, they don't stack. So a Ring of Protection +3 gives a deflection bonus (which applies to T and FF as well as regular AC) but if you are wearing a Ring of Protection +3 and someone casts Protection from Evil on you (which grants a +2 deflection bonus to your AC), the deflection bonuses do not stack and you are left with the same +3 from your ring.

So if you are wearing armor and already have an armor bonus, the Bracers of Armor do not stack. If you are a wizard or monk and not wearing armor though, you can wear Bracers of Armor, although the spell Mage Armor also grants an armor bonus so again the bonus from these two sources will not stack.

Hope that helps.

*Amulet of Natural Armor:

Note that the Amulet of Natural Armor grants "an enhancement bonus to his natural armor". Because it is an enhancement bonus to natural armor, it will stack with existing natural armor such as that of animals or that granted by some sorcerer bloodlines and other sources. You don't have to have natural armor already to use the Amulet though; your natural armor is just considered 0 and the Amulet grants an enhancement bonus to that 0.

[Weaver, a Pathfinder]

That makes sense, thanks. I already have an Amulet of Natural Armor, so that makes my shopping choices easier.

Thanks!

[Dungeon Master S]

holy crap! I know Season 0 is quick, but this may be the shortest Season zero (and honestly the least exciting). Not that we're done yet... just sayin' :-)

[Mikhaere]

Yikes, this has been quick if we're nearly at the end! Haha. I think it helped a lot that my Calm Animal spell completely shut down the rat swarm at the beginning, and the control spells we used helped with the gnomes too.

[Dungeon Master S]

Yeah, Mikhaere was the right character for the job. Definitely. We're not at the end yet though. And of course I'm ready for more. This is a good group, so I just need to be told what to run!

[Khamûl Unqualë]

Yeah! I kinda like the simplicity of season 0 stuff (even if it does tend to be easy) but I forgot just how short this one is.

Since I think I'm the most limited on games I can play, here they are:

1-5 and 1-7:

01-30 The Devil We Know Part II: Cassomir's Locker
01-41 The Devil We Know Part III; Crypt of Fools
02-17 Shades of Ice Part II: Exiles of Winter
02-23 Shadow's Last Stand Part I: At Shadow's Door
02-24 Shadow's Last Stand Part II: Web of Corruption
05-04 The Stolen Heir
05-11 Library of the Lion (not out yet)

In one more game Khamul will hit 3rd and then I can play these with him:

3-7:

03-16 The Midnight Mauler
05-09 The Traitor's Lodge

*I have other level 3s if people wanted to do a 3-7 now but I figured we'd keep the same group. Also I like playing Khamul, not least of which because of this boon I need someone's help with before I forget:

Research Specialist wrote:

You are an expert researcher, but some of your greatest discoveries come from the first-hand accounts of your companions and not from musty tomes. At the beginning of a scenario, you may select a fellow party member. Up to once during that scenario, if that character tells you of his or her exploits in an earlier adventure that your character has not played, document the name of the scenario, the agent's name, and that player's Pathfinder Society number on a line below. For every three stories you collect in this way, you gain a permanent +1 bonus to one Knowledge skill of your choice; you may not choose the same Knowledge skill twice. If you successfully fill all 30 lines below, you gain a +1 inherent bonus to your Intelligence score.

Important: When sharing these stories, endeavor to avoid important spoilers

Khamul has played in:

04-18 The Veteran's Vault
00-01 Silent Tide
00-24 Decline of Glory
05-01 Glass River Rescue

And someone has already told him about:

03-01 The Frostfur Captives

[Mikhaere]

This is a retelling of #0-14: The Many Fortunes of Grandmaster Torch

At some point (probably on the way back from their mission en route to Absalom), Mikhaere regales Khamul with one of his first missions... and why he has come to loathe one Grandmaster Torch more than any other being on the planet.

"Oh boy, let me tell you about that g~*-d**ned sonuva swine Torch..."

"First we're sent off to freakin' Sedeq. Some idiot tried to steal Osiriani artefacts and then sell 'em on the Qadiran marketplace. Sedeq's a horrible place, about three thousand degrees and filled with so many half-wits that I'm surprised the whole place didn't collapse around itself the moment we left."

"Then, when we finally find the idiot thief, he runs off into a bathhouse--where good ol' Torch is washing his bloody ugly mug. His guards are all nuts, so they kill the guy out of nowhere. Torch tells us that he'll help us find the relics for a "measly" 3,000 gold pieces. Apparently it's our fault that his guards aren't worth two knobs of goat s$*~e. In the end he tells us to go look for four blokes who bought the relics."

"So we go and find the first guy, telling him that he shouldn't cast spells because the relics react to it or somethin'. Except that's the first thing he does, and then he bolts and leaves us to deal with the aftermath. Poor Maaarv - good bloke, he is - he nearly died!"

"Then the second - we head off, and he's some fat merchant being harrassed by some street thugs. So we go to help him! But apparently he doesn't WANT that, and he'd RATHER pay the bloody thugs protection money than have us deal with them. Don't ask me."

"Then the third! We go looking for him to talk business, but the moment he spots us he runs off into a freakin' spice factory. Let me tell you, I got a mouthful of the crap trying to stop him from bolting, and it tasted worse than hell."

"And the last? Another freaking merchant, he doesn't want to barter at all, but then he resorts to violence the moment we start to put pressure on him. And WE'RE the ones who get in trouble for starting a fight after! Ugh!"

"So at least we got the bloody statues back after all that, but we owed Torch a 'favour' for him 'helping' us. Riiiight. What an arse. He pulled it on us, too, but that's a story for another time..."

[Weaver, a Pathfinder]

Obyrn will hit level 3 at the end of this scenario (assuming he survives), so playing 3-7 is good to me. If we want to stick to 1-5 (1-2 subtier), though, I have a level 1 that I can play (an alchemist named Boom) until everybody has a level 3 to play.

I haven't played any earlier scenarios than this one, I'm afraid. Maybe next time!

[Khamûl Unqualë]

Thanks Mikhaere!

I have a level 3 available for a 3-7 but I'd like to keep playing Khamul as much as possible because I don't want to put any GM credit on him due to the above boon. If one of those 1-5 or 1-7s I listed above works, maybe we can try that. If not I can switch to another character and we can try for one of the 3-7.

Eventually I'll just have to drop out because I'll be out of things I can play for credit, which is fine. I was just trying to keep playing with this group as long as possible.

[Weaver, a Pathfinder]

I'm happy to use Boom for a round; the only 1-5 on your list that I've played is 2-17.

[Mikhaere]

Mik will likewise hit level 3 after this scenario, but I've got plenty of back-ups who can fill in for a lower tier game. :P

Of the ones you've got left, I've only played The Devil We Know Part II (but not III). Would kind of like to play Part III and IV on my character who did Part I and II though...

[Dungeon Master S]

I have played AND run everything on the list (with the exception of Season 5 stuff). I don't mind using up one of my DM replay stars once, but the Season 5 stuff I really want to play since I've got the same boon that Khamul needed, and I don't have a lot of lower level characters.

[Khamûl Unqualë]

@DMS: you're running Serpent's Skull? How's that going? I'm currently running Reign of Winter and playing Carrion Crown in real life. Both have been a blast. I love the Mwangi have wanted to play Serpent's Skull forever but the reviews aren't that great and someone locally who has played it said it was his least favorite AP. I'm sure with any AP it depends on the GM and the players and how much they get in to it; even if the story weren't the best I'm sure I would get a kick just out of being in the Mwangi.

[Dungeon Master S]

It's definitely DM dependent. There are stretches of monotony. I actually think I'd like it more PbP as the parts that make it unique are best done with detailed prose. That being said, we've had a blast. The first 2 modules are awesome, really really good stuff. The final four are very sandboxy, and if your group is into that, then awesome.

I'm in Reign of Winter now (Thunderspirit is the DM). I'm loving it. Good stuff.

I'm also DMing Crimson Throne via PbP and absolutely love it.

Next up for the actual table is Rise of the Runelords, and next online is either Skull and Shackles or Carrion Crown. Thoughts on those?

[Khamûl Unqualë]

We almost finished book 4 of Reign of Winter last night. Story is excellent and my players are having lots of fun. Plus, it takes you to some truly stellar locations and has some fantastic NPCs.

We just started book 2 of Carrion Crown last week. First book is pretty sandbox (at least the first half of it) and we were a little unsure what to do until the mysteries started unraveling. But it has been a blast so far. (same group but I'm playing instead of GMing.) Don't really know yet what the overarching plot will come to so I can't say anything definite about the AP as a whole but the first book was definitely a lot of fun.

I'm in a S&S PbP but our GM disappeared for a month and we just got moving again with a new GM (and minus two players who also disappeared in the interim). Haven't played enough to make a decision about it. I think the first book at least would be a lot easier in real life. There's a lot of influencing and daily actions that can get kinda book-keep-y over PbP and stifle the RP.

Don't really know much about RotR or Crimson Throne. I'm GMing Shattered Star and Jade Regent via PbP as well (Thunderspirit is playing in Jade Regent). Haven't gotten too far in Jade Regent but the story set-up seems pretty neat.

Shattered Star is very dungeon-crawl heavy. We just started book 2; book 1 took over 6 months via PbP (which I guess is still pretty good). But it was basically room after room after room. It got kinda monotonous, although I think it was less so via PbP than in real life (I tend to get bored with long dungeon-crawls IRL). We're still having fun with it and I've got a good group of dedicated posters but my main complaint is that it's too PFS-y. The beginning of each book is basically Sheila Heidmarch telling you to go out and find a relic. Then you spend the whole book dungeon-crawling to get the relic. Celebrate, rinse, repeat. At least that's how the first two books go and the overarching plot kinda indicates they'll all be that way, as you're trying to find the seven shards of the Sihedron and you find 1-2 per book.

[Mikhaere]

I'm playing in an online game of Shattered Star via Roll20. We've been playing for maybe 6 months now and we're halfway into the 3rd book. (We only play for 3 hours a week.) I don't think it ever gets less "PFS" as you describe, but I've been having fun with it anyway. The group is fairly roleplay light with lots of jokes though, so that may be why I'm not too fussed.

My favorite adventure path is still probably Savage Tide though. :)

-Posted with Wayfinder

[Mikhaere]

Sorry for the double post, can't edit on my phone. But does anyone have any experience with Wrath of the Righteous? My friends are bugging me to run that sometime. I love epic demon slaying battles! (See also why I love Savage Tide)

-Posted with Wayfinder

[Khamûl Unqualë]

Oh yeah, we're having a good time with Shattered Star. I didn't mean the "too PFS'y" in a totally bad way-but when I play an AP I'm kinda looking for a different experience than what I get from PFS is all.

Wrath of the Righteous looks really good and I've heard great things. I'm not terribly familiar with mythic rules (other than owning the book and flipping through it a few times) so you'd have to familiarize yourself with that first. Sounds like a cool setting and set-up though.

[Dungeon Master S]

This is good stuff. I just got my gen con email the other day any of you guys going in 2014? Next year will be my eighth consecutive year, but I think I am going to have to start going every other year after that.

-Posted with Wayfinder

[Khamûl Unqualë]

Haven't figured out if I can go. Only live 45 minutes away right now (Bloomington) so I've gone the past couple years but next summer I'm getting married, buying a house, and moving away to a yet-to-be-determined location (dependent on the phd program I get in to). So I'll probably have to play it by ear next year.

[Mikhaere]

All I remember from the Mythic rules was "OMG, Mythic Eldritch Heritage is everything I've ever wanted and more". So... yeah, probably need read the rulebook a little more. :P

I hope to go to GenCon one day! Alas, the plane ticket from Australia is a little expensive. My intention is to move to North America once I graduate, though, so it might be more manageable in a few years... Who knows?

[Dungeon Master S]

Khamul, I'm in a pretty similar boat. Though I'm looking more at 2015. Mikhaere, good luck!

[Khamûl Unqualë]

With Crafter's Fortune:
Craft (alchemy): 1d20 + 8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 5 = 18

Nivik: my spellbook is in my profile for you to look over and copy from. Where is your spellbook listed? Not sure if you've got any Khamul would want but with a bonded item I like to have as many as possible (except abjuration and enchantment, which are his prohibited schools).

[Dungeon Master S]

Soooooo you guys tell me, what should I run next for those who are interested. I'll gladly use a DM rerun star.

[Mikhaere]

Those horrible dice rolls, wow!

No day job for me. And I'll play pretty much anything. :)

[Khamûl Unqualë]

I'll repost my list in a bit (or it's in my EndlessForms profile). I'm fine if you guys move on without me though. I only have a couple available and at least one (Shades of Ice Part II) is being saved for another character currently committed to a game.

Shades of Ice spoiler:

I've got a gnome paladin of Smiad (archon empyreal lord of dragon-hunting) named Fizzbeard Dragonfiend. Part II has a dragon. I HAVE to play that character in that scenario and smite ALL THE DRAGONS!

[Khamûl Unqualë]

1-5 and 1-7:

01-30 The Devil We Know Part II: Cassomir’s Locker (1-7)
01-41 The Devil We Know Part III: Crypt of Fools (1-7)
02-17 Shades of Ice Part II: Exiles of Winter
05-11 Library of the Lion (not out yet)

So yeah, not many options. Unless you want to wait another week or so until 05-11 comes out. I don't want you to burn one of your star replays on me. Save it for a chronicle that has a cool boon on it, that's what I've been doing with mine.

So we're basically left with either Devil We Know Part II or III. I'm fine sitting the next one out though. I've got enough characters and enough PbPs going on, so it's really no big deal. I'm sure I'll see you all around in the future. If you hear of any high-tier games, let me know! I'm much more flexible with those.

[Mikhaere]

I've played TDWK II.

[Dungeon Master S]

I've played all of Khamul's list. We can catch up another time. I'm always looking for games at every tier.

-Posted with Wayfinder