Outpost IV: Roll Them Bones (Play by Post)

[Yours is mined]

Hi from across the ditch, GM Aerondor!

I have no official standing, but note:

VL Redelia wrote:

Players will only be allowed to sign up for one table of a special, and only three RPG games total.

Seeing GMs can be players too. (Yes we can!)

I’d go with 3.

[GM Blake]

I could have sworn it was written in something official somewhere, but I can't find it.

Historically, it has been 1 early table sign up for GMs.

[Lady Ladile]

Yes, one early table sign-up for GMs.

Since timezone wasn't specified earlier the early GM sign-ups will open early tomorrow EST/CST per Redelia.

[Shifty]

/sighs in Australian.

Taps watch - it's the afternoon of the 26th here.

[Watery Soup]

It's also the 26th in Greenwich, England, which is the capital of the Internet.

Zulu or bust!

[Redelia]

OK, everyone, early GM signup has started.

GMs may sign up for one player table for now. You'll be able to sign up for two more when general player signup starts. (This early signup for one table is part of how we say thank you for volunteering to GM.)

Instructions:
-find a place on the spreadsheet. Completely fill in your information. (INCOMPLETE ENTRIES MAY BE REMOVED AT ANY TIME WITH NO ADVANCE NOTICE) If you are not sure which character, pick one and you may change it later.

-If your game is on Paizo, follow the link to the Gameplay thread. Dot into the game and delete your post so that the game shows up in your campaigns. (it's possible the GM might ask you to introduce yourself in character instead; follow their directions if so)

-If your game is on Paizo, post your character information in the discussion thread. Make sure you read the discussion posts carefully, in case the GM provides instructions or important information.

-If your game is on Discord, make sure you have posted in that Discord lodge so that you are easy to contact when the games are set up.

[Redelia]

Another note to GMs on Paizo:

Games on Paizo that did not have any link to the game have been removed. Some of you are instead linking to recruitment or discussion; please fix this promptly. These games may also be removed if not fixed. The cells have been locked, so you will have to contact me to get this fixed. Please do so by private message on Paizo, or by direct message on Discord if that is more convenient for you.

[Redelia]

In terms of timing, I realized that I had no specified time zone, so I erred on the side of allowing as much time as reasonable for GMs to sign up. I did not want someone to try to sign up as GM on the last evening their time only to find GM signup had closed.

[GM Zin]

Christine Bussman wrote:

Another note to GMs on Paizo:

Games on Paizo that did not have any link to the game have been removed. Some of you are instead linking to recruitment or discussion; please fix this promptly. These games may also be removed if not fixed. The cells have been locked, so you will have to contact me to get this fixed. Please do so by private message on Paizo, or by direct message on Discord if that is more convenient for you.

Does this mean you want a link to the general campaign page, or to the gameplay thread?

[redeux]

GM Zin wrote:

Christine Bussman wrote:

Another note to GMs on Paizo:

Games on Paizo that did not have any link to the game have been removed. Some of you are instead linking to recruitment or discussion; please fix this promptly. These games may also be removed if not fixed. The cells have been locked, so you will have to contact me to get this fixed. Please do so by private message on Paizo, or by direct message on Discord if that is more convenient for you.

Does this mean you want a link to the general campaign page, or to the gameplay thread?

Gameplay thread

[Lady Ladile]

Hey folks, please remember that even as a GM, you may currently only sign up early for one game. When general sign-ups open you may sign up for an additional two, but not until then!

[GeraintElberion]

Are we okay to sign up but not nominate a character yet?

I have a bunch of options at lower levels and would rather be flexible a find a niche in the party.

[Redelia]

You need to sign up with a specific character, although you can change your mind which one later.

[GeraintElberion]

Fair enough, cheers!

[Watery Soup]

Christine Bussman wrote:

You need to sign up with a specific character, although you can change your mind which one later.

Is there a drop-dead date for updating a character?

Or, more specifically, is there guidance for what GMs should do if someone registers a character and then changes it past a certain point?

Most innocuously, as Outpost begins just after a long weekend, some people may have last minute updates to their character if they're playing in conventions (tiering out of what they signed up for, etc.). More seriously, what happens if a character is locked in another PbP game that doesn't finish by the 16th? If someone drops out just as the convention begins, should the GM just proceed with one less character or recruit independently or allow the convention organizers to handle it?

Side note: can GMs recruit their games independently, like on Cottonseed, if their games are filling slowly?

[GM Blake]

When the GM starts the game is the drop-dead date. It's the same as when a random group of people is sat at my table. I expect them to know what character they're playing unless they're new to PFS and need a pregen or be able to choose swiftly if they want to make an adjustment based on what else is being played at the table.

Not that my expectations have any effect on reality.

I would ask for my tables that if you level your character out of the scenario, delete or change your sign-up as soon as possible so someone else can have it. If your character dies in some earlier game, delete or change your sign-up as soon as possible so that someone else can have it.

[GM Blake]

Christine Bussman wrote:

In terms of timing, I realized that I had no specified time zone, so I erred on the side of allowing as much time as reasonable for GMs to sign up. I did not want someone to try to sign up as GM on the last evening their time only to find GM signup had closed.

Do we have a time/time zone when player sign ups open?

[roll4initiative]

GM Blake wrote:

Christine Bussman wrote:

In terms of timing, I realized that I had no specified time zone, so I erred on the side of allowing as much time as reasonable for GMs to sign up. I did not want someone to try to sign up as GM on the last evening their time only to find GM signup had closed.

Do we have a time/time zone when player sign ups open?

I saw this in the Cottonseed discussion:

GM Tyranius wrote:

Watery Soup wrote:

Tyranius wrote:

General player sign ups go active on 29 Jan 2021.

Remember to address the time zone issue so there's no ambiguity with the kiwis. :)

Midnight GMT is a good time to begin signing up.

[GM Blake]

Thanks!

[Redelia]

You can switch characters any time up until the game starts.

[andreww]

Just as a note, challenge points on the PF2 special page don't seem to be calculating correctly. I see 3 7-8 tables showing as having 7 or 8 CPs with only a single character signed up which is impossible.

[Buddy Jabo]

andreww wrote:

Just as a note, challenge points on the PF2 special page don't seem to be calculating correctly. I see 3 7-8 tables showing as having 7 or 8 CPs with only a single character signed up which is impossible.

Nufriend @Redelia - A blue-haired skitter was running by, saw the problem raised by andreww, and fixed it. He smiles broadly and disappears before someone can say anything.

The Challenge Points on the PF2 Special was the same as in SFS Special (calculating average PC lvl). I took the formula from PF2 regular games and adjusted it to the special (following the rule described at the end of the scenario). I allowed myself to fix it, to relieve a bit of the organizer team from all the work that they do.

All the changes were made from the goodness of the furry heart ;)

[Redelia]

General player signup has started!

You may sign up for a total of three player tables. Only one of them may be a multi-table special. (It's possible we may raise these limits later to fill tables)

Instructions:
-find a place on the spreadsheet. Completely fill in your information. (INCOMPLETE ENTRIES MAY BE REMOVED AT ANY TIME WITH NO ADVANCE NOTICE) If you are not sure which character, pick one and you may change it later.

-If your game is on Paizo, follow the link to the Gameplay thread. Dot into the game and delete your post so that the game shows up in your campaigns. (it's possible the GM might ask you to introduce yourself in character instead; follow their directions if so)

-If your game is on Paizo, post your character information in the discussion thread. Make sure you read the discussion posts carefully, in case the GM provides instructions or important information.

-If your game is on Discord, make sure you have posted in that Discord lodge so that you are easy to contact when the games are set up.

IMPORTANT NOTE: signups that do not follow these rules may be removed with no advance notice.

[redeux]

----> Player Sign-up sheet <----
Please read Redelia's post fully or you may be at risk of breaking a rule and losing your seat!

[Redelia]

Thanks, Redeux, I had just come here to post a link.

[Pirate Rob]

There appears to be no gameplay links listed for any of the SFS Special tables. Am I missing something?

[GM Peff]

As sign ups are now open, I wanted to get my Mythweavers link up but looks like I'm locked out of editing it? Anyway I can get it unlocked or added for me?

https://www.myth-weavers.com/showthread.php?p=15361845#post15361845

Thanks!

[Shifty]

Kinda strange that on a PbP con on the Paizo boards, only 15 of 39 Starfinder tables are held here, and the majority (21) are on the on Roll for Combat Disco.

[shaventalz]

I've got the same problem as GM Peff.

The muster/advertisement/pregame thread for The Blakros Connection is here, but the actual gameplay will be somewhere else once we start.

[Redelia]

Shifty wrote:

Kinda strange that on a PbP con on the Paizo boards, only 15 of 39 Starfinder tables are held here, and the majority (21) are on the on Roll for Combat Disco.

It's not just a convention on Paizo, though, our conventions are planned to be in all our lodges.

[The Ragi]

Shifty wrote:

Kinda strange that on a PbP con on the Paizo boards, only 15 of 39 Starfinder tables are held here, and the majority (21) are on the on Roll for Combat Disco.

Getting notifications on your phone every time someone takes a turn/comments really speeds things along.

And now RFC has the options to use avatars for posting in-character (an old feature around here)... it's getting pretty good.

[Pirate Rob]

Robert Hetherington wrote:

There appears to be no gameplay links listed for any of the SFS Special tables. Am I missing something?

Still trying to make sure I'm not missing something here...

[Shifty]

The Ragi wrote:

Getting notifications on your phone every time someone takes a turn/comments really speeds things along.

Not chipping the format, obviously it has value, but more that a PbP con which is normally a Paizo forums thing is mostly happening elsewhere. It seems to be an RFC con, with a Paizo boards originated badge on it.

[GM Dennis]

Hi folks. Due to demand, we've opened another tier 1-2 table of the PF2 special. If you were looking to sign up for that and found it full, now's your chance.

[The Ragi]

Shifty wrote:

Not chipping the format, obviously it has value, but more that a PbP con which is normally a Paizo forums thing is mostly happening elsewhere. It seems to be an RFC con, with a Paizo boards originated badge on it.

PF1 tables are mostly here, and it seems at least half of the PF2 tables are here as well, while the rest are all over the place - looks like the server migration is a Starfinder specific situation.

Ah, both specials are also mostly focused here, though the SF one is more balanced between Paizo and RFC.

Seems like the RFC server is a hotspot for Starfinder players - though being a user there, it still seems like PF has way more tables running.

[phaeton_nz]

I've signed up for three Starfinder scenarios - two of which are repeatables. For the Discord tables, I took the liberty of adding my Discord name in brackets after my name. Maybe it might be an idea to add an extra column for Discord Handle or Paizo Handle in the player signup special.

And yes - a lot of pbp play happens on RFC, not just Starfinder.

[Watery Soup]

Shifty wrote:

Not chipping the format, obviously it has value, but more that a PbP con which is normally a Paizo forums thing is mostly happening elsewhere. It seems to be an RFC con, with a Paizo boards originated badge on it.

I'll chime in with some data. I snapshotted the PFS2 sheets and made histograms of the data. Someone can do the same for the SFS and PFS1 data if they want; I don't want to.

PFS2:
- There are 39 tables on Paizo and 19 tables on RfC Discord.
- It has been 28-ish hours since general signups were opened.
- There have been 111 signups on Paizo and 42 on RfC Discord.

=> Average table occupancy on Paizo is 2.9, RfC is 2.2.

Paizo:
0 signup games: 8
1 signup games: 8
------------------v 59% of total tables meet PFS quota already
2 signup games: 4
3 signup games: 2
------------------v 43% of total tables are non-mergable with other tables
4 signup games: 6
5 signup games: 1
6 signup games: 10 <-- mathematical mode! (26% of total tables are full already!)

RfC Discord:
0 signup games: 2
1 signup games: 8
------------------v 47% of total tables meet PFS quota already
2 signup games: 2
3 signup games: 3
------------------v 21% of total tables are non-mergable with other tables
4 signup games: 1
5 signup games: 1
6 signup games: 1

I have no doubt that a high percentage the tables will eventually fill. But here's my question for consideration: how many of the later signups will be people signing up for the 2nd choice games, or 2nd choice platform?

Dennis has started rearranging 2-00 tables to make supply match demand, which is great, and, to be clear, I think it's the right thing to do.

I think the same should be done for the non-special tables. 2-04, 2-08, 2-11, 2-12, 2-13, and 2-14 - all Paizo-based tables of more recent scenarios - filled up lightning fast. Surely, second tables of these games would fill. Is this is considered a problem, or at least, a market inefficiency?

At some point, shouldn't we be politely asking / pulling in favors for GMs to start rearranging?

To be clear, this has nothing to do with which site is better or which site I prefer. I don't know why SFS has more Discord tables than Paizo and PFS2 is the opposite. I don't know if SFS is filling Discord tables faster than PFS2 Discord tables. But live conventions need to set their schedules a few weeks in advance so they can get the handbooks sent to the printer - online conventions have the luxury of being more fluid with the schedule.

[GM Sedoriku]

I did find it interesting that this trend is happening though. I wonder if something about starfinder makes it more conducive to discord play. Or could it just be the trend for discord play has been slower to be picked up than paizo and so more people that frequent those servers haven't played as many of the earlier scenarios? Is it just a one off thing and next convention it will be flipped?

[GM Blake]

The above having bern mention...

Just for the organizers' information, I am willing to be reassigned to another more demanded scenario (or tier for the PFS(2) special) if any of my tables remain below legal numbers.

[GM bigboom]

Robert Hetherington wrote:

Robert Hetherington wrote:

There appears to be no gameplay links listed for any of the SFS Special tables. Am I missing something?

Still trying to make sure I'm not missing something here...

I don't believe you're missing anything. I'm signed up to GM one of the tables in the SFS special and we're currently awaiting additional instructions regarding getting set up. The start is still 2.5 weeks away so sit tight - I assume we'll be getting instructions soon, including the go-ahead to setup the gameplay threads.

[Palandri]

When is the 3 game sign-up limit likely to be lifted?

[Tyranius]

Robert Hetherington wrote:

Robert Hetherington wrote:

There appears to be no gameplay links listed for any of the SFS Special tables. Am I missing something?

Still trying to make sure I'm not missing something here...

Not missing anything yet, they will be getting added in very soon, GM's are making their way to the GM thread.

Blake wrote:

The above having bern mention...

Just for the organizers' information, I am willing to be reassigned to another more demanded scenario (or tier for the PFS(2) special) if any of my tables remain below legal numbers.

We will look at lifting the limits here very soon and have already started converging tables on the Specials, will begin looking at others real soon.

[Shadow Dragon]

If there's enough interest in one particular table of a PFS1 module, could another table of that module be added? Or would it be up to the GM to run a second, split table?
Thanks!

[Watery Soup]

GM Sedoriku wrote:

I did find it interesting that this trend is happening though. I wonder if something about starfinder makes it more conducive to discord play. Or could it just be the trend for discord play has been slower to be picked up than paizo and so more people that frequent those servers haven't played as many of the earlier scenarios? Is it just a one off thing and next convention it will be flipped?

It may be thematic; people drawn to adventures in future may just like loading up the Discord app on their tricorders while people drawn to adventures in the past just like nailing their theses to the wall for others to read.

It may also be age-related; I don't know what the age distribution of PFS vs SFS is, but people aged 40+ may have had exposure to D&D for a decade before any space-themed TTRPGs became popular, while people aged 30- have had an equal chance with fantasy- and space-themed RPGs. If PFS tends to be older than SFS, that could be a factor.

It could just be advertising-related; maybe a few SFS GMs just like Discord better so they've been actively trying to get people to switch over.

I'm guessing every regular RPG player has learned how to use Discord in the past 10 months, so I'm guessing it's not a technological issue.

[Redelia]

Shadow Dragon wrote:

If there's enough interest in one particular table of a PFS1 module, could another table of that module be added? Or would it be up to the GM to run a second, split table?

Thanks!

We are not going to add more tables.

[Tyranius]

Watery Soup wrote:

It could just be advertising-related; maybe a few SFS GMs just like Discord better so they've been actively trying to get people to switch over.

I think a lot of it has to do with what the player started on and feels more comfortable with. Once folks are in that comfort zone it is hard to get out of and learn something new, especially when what they are playing one works fine.

We transferred a bit of the communication aspect over to Discord / Hangouts several years ago during the great Paizo outage in the middle of our Gameday Con Special to keep communication open. We also did PlayDis Con a little bit ago which was Discord only to try and teach a few more the ins and outs of PbD. This helped beef up their numbers along with this Pandemic which is what the increase you are seeing is from.

[GM Chyro]

If a mission has (currently) 2 PCs, but not pregens of its own, can the empty 2 slots still be filled with the common pregens, to make a table minimum?

[Shifty]

Thanks Watery - just did the same.

SFS
- There are 14 tables on Paizo and 21 tables on RfC Discord.
- There have been 34 signups on Paizo and 31 signups on RfC Discord.

=> Average table occupancy on Paizo is 2.4, RfC is 1.4.

Paizo:
0 signup games: 1
1 signup games: 6
2 signup games: 3
3 signup games: 0
4 signup games: 1
5 signup games: 0
6 signup games: 3

50% (7) of Paizo based tables are now 'legal' for play.
Paizo has less tables on offer yet more sign ups.
The single 0 player table is an older scenario being with two tables on paizo running this con.

RfC Discord:
0 signup games: 6
1 signup games: 6
2 signup games: 2
3 signup games: 3
4 signup games: 4
5 signup games: 0
6 signup games: 0

42% (9) of RfC based tables are 'legal' for play.
No tables of the RfC games have 5 or 6 players.

Other note:

Paizo has 11 unique GMs
RFC has 12 unique GMs

[eddv]

Id like to request that players signing up to play on discord please include their discord tag as their username to make it easier to build the channels.

[Watery Soup]

For those of us who requested scenario support, when can we expect scenarios to drop?