PFS #2-13: Murder on the Throaty Mermaid

[HoloGnome]

Hi Everyone - I am going to run another campaign, time is TBD based on mutual agreement and party composition, as follows:

PFS #2-13: Murder on the Throaty Mermaid
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for Levels 1–5. (Sub-Tiers 1-2 & 4-5)

While on a routine mission to escort a dignitary to the mysterious Mordant Spire aboard a disreputable smuggler's ship, the PCs find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery that could jeopardize the Pathfinder Society's relationship with the isolationist elves who call the citadel home. Can the cunning Pathfinders discover who among the ship's crew of scum and villains is responsible for the crime in time to clear their own names?

Written by Mark Moreland

Calendar Link (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/?id=1376)

Event #: 59334
Event Name: FG Online-PFS#2-13
Provisional Time: Fri, Apr 10th 11:00 AM (US PACIFIC); 7:00PM (GMT); SAT, APR 11th Various Early Morning (AUS)

I am willing to run this campaign multiple times at different sub-tiers (tentatively plan to run it twice, depending on how many confirm), but would like to stay in sub-tier, if possible. I know there are a lot of 1-2 level characters out there, so 1-2 is a strong possibility. 4-5 is also a good possibility based on the currently advancing cohort.

I have invited a number of you. If you are interested, please post in the thread indicating what character(s)/sub-tier(s) you would like to play, and I will work on some provisional times. If you indicate more than 1, please indicate your 1st choice.

Please post or send me the following info:
xml
portrait
chronicle
tracking info (as available)
pfs id
faction

NOTE: I have a full license (not Ultimate), which means that you must own a copy of Fantasy Grounds in order to play.

Thanks!

[xazil]

Sounds interesting. Ill come along with my level 4 alchemist by preference, but if the game is 1-2 Ill find something that suits. :)

[HoloGnome]

Happy to run it on 4-5 if we come up with a higher tier party. And because it's Season 2, people might be OK with a couple of 3rd levels if there are more than 4 players, but I haven't really delved too deeply into the upper tier encounters yet. I think it's going to be a game of CLUE, but on a ship, in PFS...and with some violence, of course. It's an upgrade to the board game, I think. :D

[cmdisc]

The day will be problematic for me, but if it moves to anything OTHER than that Thurs/Fri/Sat I should be good. :) I have a few characters to pick from.

[HoloGnome]

Love to have you - I guess we'll see how it goes. Hoping to run on that Friday, assuming Shades runs this Friday. If no Shades this Friday, then I may move it up a week. Or, there's divorce court. ^_^

[HoloGnome]

BK and cmdisc - I have put up a 3PM time if that brings it into "after hours" territory and lets you play...and is better for the Austrailiopfsicus primates anyway. :D

[dragonicfeline]

hmm, this seems like it could be a lot of fun, but i can't guarantee i would be able to make it until within a few days of the set time (gonna be on vacation visiting family at the time, but there is always a lull when visiting people)
for a character, i could bring seb along, but i would rather try out this new character i've been hashing out (catfolk swashbuckler). but if my lower level characters end up being a problem, no harm done

[kwarner1986]

Clue means mystery and talking to people. Most likely bringing Becca for high tier and Victoria for info on low tier.

[HoloGnome]

Dragonic - you could play a pregen on the upper tier, or Seb on the lower...or a new character if you want to make one. Also, Catfolk are not legal for PFS (at least not without a boon - there was a rare one in 2013, I think). You are restricted to races in the Core Rulebook, anything indicated by the Guide, or anything for which you have a boon (Chronicle, etc.).

Note that there is an Emerald Spire game this Thursday if you want to pick up another 3XP for a character. You might be able to ramp Seb another level to 3. I'll send you your other chronicle as soon as I receive your prior chronicle (beggar's pearl?).

Still has room: https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/?id=1375

[Farnaby]

Thanks for the invite, I'll be bringing Meredith.

[kwarner1986]

Well I think it's time for Meredith to have a reunion with Diana. Count me in.

[Victor]

What do you mean by a 'campaign'? Is this going to be like snows of summer and a multiple session thing, or is this more than 1xp 2 pp?

[Victor]

I'll probably bring Daget or Coburn.
All my characters except 1 will be level 5 or 6 by then. It seems the scenarios kinda just drove me that way. I worry about my selection range and stagnation of these 'high level' characters.

[Farnaby]

9480

Diana's here!!! :ninja:

[HoloGnome]

OK - sounds good. It would be nice to run this at L4-5. This is not a campaign - it is a regular PFS scenario.

[cmdisc]

It appears that you have enough to run with on either time listed. Unfortunately weekends are bad for me right now until the CON. So maybe I'll catch this another time. By then I'll be good to go with any tier.

[HoloGnome]

You're not fooling anyone, you know. You are obviously afflicted with a severe case of nereiphobia. Run...or swim...to your nearest psychiatrist. :D

[cmdisc]

Suffering from Nereiphobia and you suggest "swimming"? Are you mad?!?

[Victor]

Pathfinders belong to the School of Tough Love.
To conquer your fears you must face them. We are right behind you! *(at a safe distance)

[HoloGnome]

Pathfinder Shish Kabobs For All!!*

*made from real pathfinders

[HoloGnome]

OK - Party for later this week is as follows:

Lord Kavos: Ulgar-Barbarian/5
kwarner1986: Diana-Rogue/4
xazil: Ulheim-Alchemist/4
Victor: Coburn-Warpriest/5
Farnaby: Meredith-Ninja/5
Rivver: TBD/Pregen (or go at subtier 1-2 below if you want to play your own characters)

Run will be on subtier 4-5.

I will run a 2nd time for the following people at subtier 1-2 - will try to find a compatible time:
BK, Ferrin, NaomiLynn, cmdisc, evloret, +1 other

[kwarner1986]

hmm, I might bring Rebecca just in case. Looks like we might need her.

[NaomiLynn]

roger sounds good, cuz i will be working friday anyway. wont be off until 1730 MST. every week is like that for me so 1800 MST games work good for me on fridays, and i can play any time on saturdays and early morning on sundays.

[cmdisc]

Yes, once the CON is done, I will have more free time. For a 1-2 subtier I'll have a half-orc invulnerable rager/urban barbarian to bring along.

[HoloGnome]

OK. Sounds good. I don't think I will have time before the CON for a 2nd run at this point.

[Lord Kavos]

Here are Ulfgar's files...

[Farnaby]

Here's Meredith:

[Ferrin]

So that second run is not happening? Does not come as a surprise, could you at least forward the two chronicles you have for me? On second thought never mind I have lost interest in PFS keep em.

[cmdisc]

So that second run is not happening? Does not come as a surprise, could you at least forward the two chronicles you have for me? On second thought never mind I have lost interest in PFS keep em.

???

The second run will be happening, but not before the upcoming Convention on the 17th-19th. There is a bit of work to get done for that and HG is running several games so he's going to be quite busy. He'll be available to run it though once all that is done.

Either way, he's actually doing many of us a favor. As a PFS GM you only get credit for a given scenario once. Running it twice means he's basically doing it "for free" when he could be spending that time doing something else that earns him credit. So I'm actually thankful that he's got the time, inclination, and wherewithal to do that.

[Ferrin]

Listen friend, it was my mistake for posting this message in the forums and not privately messaging him. Rest assured I do not go around getting pissy because I feel left out. I am also sure none of you cares why this bothered me and I dont really care to explain.HG probably will not care to explain either. So carry on.

[Victor]

Thanks for the run Hg. That was a B**ch of a scenario, you did a good job trying to keep us moving along as we stumbled about, clueless.

[HoloGnome]

Thanks, Victor! Among all the scenarios I have played or GM'd, this one is the most RP heavy as an investigation/sandbox, which gives it some challenges on both the player and GM side, not to mention free will and random PC choice. Net game time was about 5 hrs. sans breaks and it was a very educational module from a GM standpoint.

Ferrin - we had a full table yesterday for the 1st run and I will be doing a 2nd run. See my earlier comment:

I will run a 2nd time for the following people at subtier 1-2 - will try to find a compatible time:
BK, Ferrin, NaomiLynn, cmdisc, evloret, +1 other

It will be after next weekend once we all get through the CON. This upcoming week is packed for me. I should have your chronicles soon.

[Farnaby]

Thanks for the game, it was a bit tedious at times, but that was because of splitting the party and doing nothing for 10 - 15 mins at a time.
Nothing to do with you.

Loved the murder/mystery though.

[HoloGnome]

Glad you liked it. Yeah - from a GM standpoint, I should have round-robin'd in shorter intervals. Good to keep in mind when dealing with sandbox scenarios where parties may be prone to splitting.

[Rivver]

My PFS no is 163517-3. Thanks for the game.

[HoloGnome]

Everything has been reported for this session.

[NaomiLynn]

hey, any word on this? if its cancelled then its cool, was just curious. trying to find some 3.5 or 5e perma games to get into anyway

[HoloGnome]

need to reschedule for cmdisc - he couldn't make it...not enough people.

[cmdisc]

Sorry guys. Mother's Day today. Being a bit busy helping the kids coordinate for their Mom. A 4pm game is just not going to work as it's in the smack middle of me wanting to prepare a nice dinner for my lovely Bride. :)

[NaomiLynn]

thats all good because i have a game today at 2pm MST anyway lol. so even if you could make it, i wouldnt be able to.

[HoloGnome]

I would like to run this for the 2nd time this coming weekend. Please see the times on the calendar - thx.

[GM BK]

Although I wanted to bring something different for this, I've decided to bring my Cleric to help move him closer to the next tier. There's a possibility i may get to play in the Feasts of Ravenmoor, but I'll need a 3rd level character for that, and he's the closest one i have to getting there.

So, enjoy the healbot! :)

[BCal86]

I'd like to be able to jump in, but I think Saturday would be be the only day I could. When I looked at the Calendar, it had an option for 6am Mountain Time on Saturday. Is that a typo or just an early morning suggestion?

[HoloGnome]

Hey BCal - would be great to have you...and not a time typo. The times that are posted are the ones I would like to use. I'm in the Pacific timezone and am starting the game at 5AM. Helps keep the day free. :) However, it looks like the game is actually going to run on Sunday AM. Any chance you could do early Sunday? Or...maybe we could convince shadowmurloc for Saturday.

That being said, if there are enough unique signups for both days, I will run it both days. It's Season 2, so parties of 4 should be OK.

[jenovvson]

Hiyas! I'm Geliriel! Looking forward to taking my 1st job with the society!

[HoloGnome]

Great! Welcome Geliriel!

Here is something to get everyone in the mood. It's going to be a Pathfinder Society Murder Mystery (in case you didn't know)!

[BCal86]

I checked to make sure and Sunday definitely wouldn't fit for me. Don't worry about it too much for me though. Had a few other things pop up and might not even be able to hop in for Saturday. Thanks for the consideration though!

[HoloGnome]

OK - sorry to hear that - maybe next time! :)

[jenovvson]

Alright Here's my Character's XML holognome!

[HoloGnome]

Thx - Jenovvson - I'll take a look. Please post your starting gear costed out and also a pic that you'd like to us as your token. :)

Attached are some images for your review.

[jenovvson]

Can it be a custom token or does it have to be one of the preloaded ones?

[jenovvson]

Great! Welcome Geliriel!

Here is something to get everyone in the mood. It's going to be a Pathfinder Society Murder Mystery (in case you didn't know)!

All we need in a medieval fantasy minstrel to play Ye olde the who and the experience will be complete. XD

[HoloGnome]

Currently, your build is sitting at 23 points, so you're 3 over.
For a Rogue, if you want a DEX build (especially with unchained) with no dumping: STR: 10; DEX: 17+2; CON: 14-2; INT: 12+2; WIS: 10; CHA: 10. But...just an example. It's best to figure out what kind of Rogue you want to be and whether or not you want to stat dump, then build your character from there. Here is a helpful guide, but bear in mind that nothing covers all character possibilities: https://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/community-creations/rogue-eidolon-s-lab/rogue-eidolon-s-guide-to-rogues

Also, you can add inventory items to your character by opening the library at the bottom right and draging weapons and items to your inventory tab. Let me know if you need help.

If you need a point calculator, you can use this one: https://tools.digitalightbulb.com/pbcalc.html - just choose the race and start putting in numbers until you're satisfied and at 20 points. ;)

[jenovvson]

Ok. I think I understand now. So it's less you have 20 points to spend and more restricted to only 20 points total add up?

[HoloGnome]

All the stats start at a base of 10, then you can either add points or take them away. As you add points, the build cost goes up, as you take them away (and especially below 10), you get points back. :) For Pathfinder Society, you get to spend 20 points total to configure your starting abilities any way you like, taking into account how you would like to build your character.

When you go below 10, that is called "stat dumping," because you give your character a minus in one stat to benefit others. However, depending on how you want to do your build, you may decide that you can live without 1 thing to excel in another (specialization). When you do that to an extreme, including using racial bonuses, traits, feats, etc., it is called "min-maxing" to squeeze every last bit of optimization out of your character.

It's also possible to make a character who is a good all-rounder and one that you know will eventually progress in the long haul as/when you are able to afford stat-boosting items and as other benefits that accrue with levels (feats, skill points,additional stat points at level 4 and 8, etc.). So, you choose a more moderate approach to stats, where you may not excel in one stat, but because you have intermediate bonuses in multiple things (+1 or +2 vs. +4 or even +5), you are more of a generalist and your character can, perhaps, do well vs. multiple types of challenges (rather than winning or losing in a big way with a min-maxed character). It's really a personal choice and it depends on class and your character concept.

There's more to playing and building a character than just maximizing a single stat. Also, with time, all characters improve. So, consider the degree of build specialization you need and what sacrifices you would like to make based on how you want to play the character, then choose stats that support your character concept, personality, abilities, etc.

If you're still not sure, there are a lot of references on the web and you can also even look at the Pathfinder Pregenerated Characters. All the pregens have level 1 versions and you can see how different stats combine in various classes to bring a character to life. I hope that info helps.

You can find the pregenerated character PDFs at Paizo.com. Also, make sure you have created a Paizo account and Pathfinder Society ID for your character and chosen a faction! :)

[HoloGnome]

If anyone else wants to play, we still have 2 spots open for Sunday AM.

[HoloGnome]

This game starts in 1 hour. If anyone else would like to join with a level 1-2 character, there is room. We have at least 2 spots open.

[HoloGnome]

Good game this morning - congrats on the mission success and, especially, surviving the first battle - that was definitely a highlight and an impressive demonstration of occult power and self-preservation instincts with 1hp left! Save me, Tony the Pony, my trusty meat shield! Also, Arnold was impeccable (to the extent that that is possible for a barbarian) as a head-basher and torturer. And I would be remiss in not celebrating the accomplishments of Jo'Qar, the crit master!

I'll have your chronicles to you soon. Thanks for playing! :)

[HoloGnome]

I have finished the chronicles/reporting for this one. If you need any changes, let me know.