[PFSACG] Flaxseed On Deck Adventure Card Guild Lodge

Game Master cartmanbeck

What is Flaxseed on Deck?
Flaxseed on Deck is part of an Online region of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Society which is “a worldwide organized play campaign” for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. Rather than play face-to-face, games here are played via play-by-post.

There are several parts to Flaxseed on Deck:
1. This page, meant to be a player resource for commonly asked questions and getting started.
2. The “Gameplay” page. This is where you can post so that Flaxseed on deck shows up under your “campaign” page. More on this later.
3. The Discussion page which is where you can ask questions if you need help with play-by-post or just talk about play-by-post.
4. The Recruiting Page which is where upcoming Games and Events will be announced. You can also post here to see if there is a game you can join.
5. We also have a Discord Server you can join at AdventureCardGameChat.com

Other Lodges of the Flaxseed Network:

The following are similar lodges for other games, including the pathfinder and starfinder roleplaying games.
1. Flaxseed Pathfinder Lodge is the PF1 Lodge.
2. Cottonseed 2nd Edition Pathfinder Lodge is the PF2 Lodge.
3. Flaxseed Station Starfinder Lodge is the SFS Lodge.

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|           The Basics:          |
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What is Play-by-Post?:

Play-by-Post is a method of playing the game via forum posts. The game is posted in a manner that a player can then interact with the cards as they go through their turn. One of the advantages of play-by-post is that it allows players from all over the world to have a chance to play. For some more info on play-by-post check out the second half of this blog post.

How do I get started?:

1. You will need a cards to play with. There are a few options: You can use adventure packs using a Core/Curse set. Alternatively you’ll need a class/character deck to play with. You can use any of these class/character decks or these Ultimate Decks.
Note that some of these have some slightly different names, here’s a general overview:
· Adventure Packs: These are built from Core/Curse sets. You can read more about them from this blog post
· Class Deck: These focus on a particular class, such as rogue, cleric, fighter, Oracle, etc. Most have 3 characters to choose from.
· Character Deck: These have a particular theme, like Occult Adventures, or Hell’s vengeance. They come with three characters who have different classes.
· Ultimate Decks: These decks can be used stand-alone or combined with any class/character deck. The Ultimate decks come with one character.
· Character Add-on Decks: Do not buy one of these for Organized Play, they are not standalone decks and cannot be used.

2. Once you have your deck, pick which character you’d like to play from your deck. Note that the Pathfinder Adventure Card Society Guide does outline some additional character options using the class/character/ultimate decks.

3. You will need to create an account for Paizo.com if you don’t have one already. Click “Sign-in” at the top of the page and click the “Register” button. Note: there are very clear opt in/opt out email checkboxes on that page. These are the only emails your sign-up will cause--there will be NO spam.

4. You will need to register your character. Go to http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/acg. Click the “Create a character” menu item. If you have never signed up for Organized Play (RPG or Card game), you will see prompts to either register a character number given to you already (example: at a convention) or to generate one. If you were not given a number then click “Join Organized Play.”
You will then see a page with a “Register a new card game character” button on it. Clicking that gives you the page where you can select your specific character. When you submit that page, you will then see a page with “My characters” with your character listed. Your character will have a number next to it-- This number is your pathfinder society number, followed by 1001 to indicate it is your first card game character.In the future when you sign up or join a game you will need to provide this to get credit for your games.

5. You will need to build your character deck. Instructions on doing this can be found in the Adventure Card Guild Guide. In general, you’ll only be using cards that have the “Basic” trait, though the Guide does outline what to do if you run out of “Basic” cards. If you need help on building your deck then feel free to ask for help in the Discussion thread

6. You will need to verify your deck ownership. All players are required to own a copy of the deck their character comes from. To verify that you own an item, simply take a quick snapshot of that item along with a note showing the date and your PFS ID (see #4). Then e-mail that picture to Mark Koopman at morkxii@orgplayonline.com. Make sure to include your Paizo forum handle and your PFS #, please!. A copy of a receipt is also an acceptable way of verifying ownership.

What do I need to play?:

You’ll need two things to play play-by-post:
1. Cards to play with (see above: “How do I get started”)
2. A “Deck Handler” which is how we handle the deck portion of the game. It is a Google Spreadsheets document which was created to try to make it easier for you, as a player, to organize your character deck without having to carry around your physical cards. The most popular version is BR Yewstance’s Deck Handler. Follow the link and find a current version of the deck handler. If you prefer, there is also a basic deck handler can be found here. Once you pick a handler, make a copy for yourself and save it to your google drive. PACS Online Deck Handler Instructions will help get it set up. Note that a deck handler is not required for online play if you have developed another way to track and post your hand, deck, character info, etc. We strongly encourage the use of the Deck Handler as it has a proven track record of being extremely helpful.

What is a Deck Handler?:

A “Deck Handler” is how we handle the deck portion of the game. It is a Google Spreadsheets document which was created to try to make it easier for you, as a player, to organize your character deck without having to carry around your physical cards. The following document will go over the Deck Handler more in-depth and help walk through getting yours set up. PACS Online Deck Handler Instructions

Okay, I got all that, how do I get in a game?:

1. New game opportunities will show up in The Recruiting Tab. This is the primary place where new games and events will be announced so be sure to check back frequently. One way to do this is through the Campaign Page.

2. Campaign Page. The campaign page is where you will be able to find any campaigns you are actively playing in. To get to this page go to https://paizo.com/people/YOURNAMEHERE/campaigns . You can also find this page by going to the “My Account” menu in the top right, and then selecting the “My profile” option. This will take you to your profile, which is probably blank. Next click on the “Campaign” tab. The campaign tab will likely be blank or only have 1-2 campaigns on it. When looking at your campaign page it will tell you when there have been new posts in a particular campaign thread. It is recommended to bookmark this page in your browser.

3. “Dotting” a campaign. Campaigns will show up on your campaign page when you make a post in the gameplay thread. The easiest way to do this is to go to the gameplay thread and reply with a comment such as “dotting.” Once the reply posts, then delete it. You can then go back to your campaign page and the campaign will be listed. If you ever need to remove yourself from a campaign then you’ll need to contact the person who owns the campaign and ask they mark you as inactive.

4. Dotting the Flaxseed On Deck Lodge. This would be a good time to “dot” the “Flaxseed On Deck Gameplay thread” page. This will make our Card Game Lodge to your campaign thread which will make it easier to see new “recruiting” posts.

I’m signed up for a game, now what?:

Great, you’re signed up for a game, but let’s make sure you’re ready to go!

1. Verify your deck if you haven’t already. All players are required to own a copy of the deck their character comes from. To verify that you own an item, simply take a quick snapshot of that item along with a note showing the date and your PFS ID (see #4). Then e-mail that picture to Mark Koopman at morkxii@orgplayonline.com. Make sure to include your Paizo forum handle and your PFS #, please!. A copy of a receipt is also an acceptable way of verifying ownership.

2. Create an character Alias. Many players like to post under a character alias specific for that character. To do this go to paizo.com and login. In the top right corner go to “My Account” and navigate to “Account Settings.” You likely will need to log-in again when going to the account settings page. Once at the account settings page, look for a section called “Messageboard Aliases” and click on “Create New Alias.” From there, you can type in your alias name which usually is your characters name such as “Kyra” if you were playing Kyra the cleric. There can’t repeats of the same alias name so usually you’ll need to add something like “Kyra by YOURNAMEHERE”. Once you settle on a name, you can pick a profile picture. Then save changes.

3. Linking Your Deck Handler to your Alias. This is an important step so that your Box Runner has access to your Deck Handler if any questions come up. Go to your Deck Handler and in the top right corner click “Share”. A menu will pop up. Click “Get shareable link”, or if the handler is already shared you can click “Copy Link” to get the link to the deck handler. Next, go to your newly created character alias. One way to do this is to go to your “Profile” or “Campaign” page and then click the “Alias” tab. This will list any aliases you have made. Click on the alias for your character that you created. There should be an option to “create a profile” under your alias. Click on that, or the “Edit my profile” if the profile was already created. There will be a lot of fields to fill out but only one is needed. Under “Class/levels” create a link to your deck handler. If you don’t know how to format a link, scroll down to where it says “How to format your text” and click the button that will show you how to format a link. Once you’ve linked your deck handler, click “Save Changes”

Additional Resources:

1. PACS Online Deck Handler Instructions is an instruction manual for learning how to use the play-by-post deck handler.
2. Paizo Campaign Tools is a Firefox and Chrome Extension that is popular. Once installed it can be used to highlight new posts when you are at your username’s campaign page. It also lets you set a default alias for each campaign.
3. Pathfinder Card Game Wiki is useful for looking up card abilities. Note you still need to provide proof of ownership before using any adventure pack/class deck/promo cards/etc in online play.

Wait, that was a lot of Info--I’m confused! :

We know that’s a lot to take in, if you have any questions, please ask us in the Discussion thread.

Characters
You can play many, MANY characters in organized play. In general, you can play any character using a class or character deck that has a character of the same class in it.
There are also a whole bunch of unlocked options, which you can find here: Character Unlocks Blog
And here: Character Unlocks Graph

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|  Box Runner/Game Masters:  |
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So, you want to run a scenario, eh? Great! There are a couple of important points you’ll need to consider first.

What is a Box Runner?:

First of all, let’s get naming conventions out of the way: you can call yourself a GM (game master) or BR (box-runner). I like the term box-runner personally, because as a BR, you also have the option to participate as a player in your own game, which a roleplaying game GM generally can’t do.

How do I become a Box Runner?:

At this time, in order to run a sanctioned PFSACGuild game using any online medium, you MUST first contact one of the venture officers below to discuss some important items, such as the method you’ll use to track cards in the box:
Tyler Beck (cartmanbeck): cartmanbeck@orgplayonline.com
Andrew Warner (Hawkmoon269): hawkmoon269@orgplayonline.com

What are the requirements for PACS play-by-post?:

You may recruit a total of between 4 and 6 players for a scenario, including yourself. We are not currently sanctioning games with 3 or fewer players, as we want to encourage BRs to open up recruitment to those in the community, and not just play with the same people every time!

I’ve found a bug in the Database! What do I do?:

If it is just card text not being accurate, please pass that info on in the BR Hangout chat.
If it is a bug related to the Game Engine then please e-mail acgbugs@orgplayonline.com

Box Runner Resources:

1. PACS Online Box Runner Instructions is where you’ll find information on how to set up and run scenarios.It also links to resources and answers questions.