PFC - #3-01: The Frostfur Captives - CORE

[Blackfoot]

A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for Levels 1–5.

Tasked with escorting a group of goblin prisoners from their camp to civilization for interrogation by the Pathfinder Society, you must protect them not only from the beasts and hazards of the wilderness, but themselves.

Written by Jim Groves.

Sign up on the Game Calendar (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/index.xcp?id=1942).

NOTE: This will be a CORE Campaign game. All players MUST play CORE ONLY characters. Ask in the thread if you have questions of what that means.
I will need the following info posted here to reserve a space:
Character Name:
Level:
Class:
A copy of your Previous Chronicle Sheet

If you do not have a previous chronicle then I will also need:
PFS #
Faction:
Starting Gold (after starting purchases):

[Blackfoot]

I am looking at running this game either on Tuesday or Friday afternoon Eastern Time. (4/19 or 4/22).. probably at 1pm eastern. I will list both dates/times on the calendar.. please select all that work for you when you sign up.

[Blackfoot]

Note: There is an element of followup to the Shades of Ice series in this one... although we may have glossed over the details that were linked here.

[cmdisc]

I'm all signed up and ready to go. I only have two 3rd level characters, so I can play up or down. If Dave and I both play down with our 3rd levels, we'll be the big kids on the playground. If Farnaby wants to play a 4th level pregen instead, we could probably play up to the 4-5 and he could apply the credit to his 1st level wizard.

Just a thought, but I can go either way.

[Farnaby]

I'm in for Friday

[d1wright]

I would like to play up if we can. How hard can it be protecting a gaggle of goblins?

[Farnaby]

I have Layni, a lvl 3 cheerful paladin of Iomadae if you want to play up
or Neeha, a level 1 conjurer

[Blackfoot]

My friend is interested in playing. (the one I reserved the slot on the calendar for) But he would be a brand new PC or a pregen. I advised him to play his own.. who really wants to play a pregen in their first go at PFS?

[Farnaby]

No one

[cmdisc]

Umm....I did.

[cmdisc]

To expound on that, the first PFS game I ever played was We Be Goblins Too. Doing it that way gave me a chance to test drive a premade character and have an idea of what I might like to try and how the game mechanics worked.

BF, if your friend doesn't want to commit to creating a build in time for the game, a pregen is a good way to look over how a character is set up in FG and to test drive something.

[JWMK]

My first experience was with a pregen as well.. Harsk. In fact, it was also playing Frostfur Captives... :)
Definitely helped me get the game dynamics before I got into character creation so I could better understand what I was making.

As for me - I got a Level 5 Barbarian, Vul'Gar - I think most of you know him. Based on that, and if I can join in, I would of course prefer to play up.

JK

[Blackfoot]

To expound on that, the first PFS game I ever played was We Be Goblins Too. Doing it that way gave me a chance to test drive a premade character and have an idea of what I might like to try and how the game mechanics worked.

BF, if your friend doesn't want to commit to creating a build in time for the game, a pregen is a good way to look over how a character is set up in FG and to test drive something.Honestly, the pregens in WBG are a very different situation, the scenarios are geared specifically for those characters and so you have a very specific role... you are part of the story. Something like Serpents Rise. Playing in a story with a character that the story is built around is fun.

[cmdisc]

BF, this isn't to argue one way or the other concerning what your friend wants to do. Whether they want to play their own build or a pregen is up to them. JW and myself are just saying that playing a pregen right out of the gate isn't really a terrible thing. Having something premade and set up for you can be a good way to get your toes wet. Up to them.

JW, with that said, you might want to consider another build for a few reasons.

#1 If you have more than 13XP before beginning the Post-Tournament scenarios, you're going to be too high in level for some of the first few scenarios that are planned as they are 1-5 tiers and the few we have left in Pre-Tournament will easily carry you into 6th.
#2 A 5th level character in a 1-2 run is just too overpowered. It will throw off the challenge for the party and will earn you less gold than you want. A 4-5 earns around 1800 and a 5-6 gets about 2500. Being out-of-tier in a 1-2 is only going to get you around 1150gp. So you're really robbing yourself of anywhere between 700 and 1200 gold.

[Blackfoot]

I haven't heard back from my friend yet as to whether he is interested in playing a pregen or not... so who knows. He's a longtime gamer so I expect he has a handle on it but.. perhaps the pregen option might work out for him. I offered it up ..

As for JW.. if we play up.. that's fine.. if not.. well that's fine too. Seems like you are playing Vul'gar a fair bit outside of our group so you'll have no issue continuing to level him when he leaves us behind. I've been planning since the start to run all these wintery scenarios in order to make some use of the Snowmask boons.

[JWMK]

Let's see how the group looks. Vulgar just hit 5th level, so I have got him out of the squishy zone as far as I am concerned, and would be interested in starting another Core character. Let's see how it goes. I will level up my XML for Vulgar, and if I want to start a new char, I don't mind playing a pregen.

[Blackfoot]

I have yet to hear anything from perrin634 despite sending him an email recommending that he post... and as such his slot is not reserved. My friend is a 'maybe' for Friday and a pregen for Tuesday... basically sounds like he'd be willing to play a pregen on Friday if he can make it. Therefore.. I guess it comes back round to Farnaby. If you want to get some XP for Neeha or play Layni. Seems like Layni would be a better fit for the group thus far.

[Farnaby]

Okay, but Layni is a 3rd level paladin. We don't really have divine or arcane spells, or healing for that matter.
Granted Neeha is only 1st level, but I'm not enamoured of playing a pregen.

I'm willing to play either so please tell me which one you prefer.

[cmdisc]

For healing, Fengard can slot a few CLW spells and there will probably be a few wands floating around that he and Layni can use.

If we play down to 1-2, Fengard will probably be taking more of a backseat unless the dice are against us like the last time we played down. I've already gone through this one in Standard anyway so it would be fitting.

[Blackfoot]

I may have an issue with this game on Friday, my cooling fan died yesterday and they are telling me it might take a week to get it fixed. Hopefully I can do better than this but I'm not optimistic.

[cmdisc]

If you're not able to run anything, I can either run Echoes of the Overwatched or Tide of Twilight on Friday depending on what I have together first. Keep me posted on your computer progress.

[cmdisc]

If I need to run something, it looks like at this point I'm not going to have time to get Echoes parsed before friday. I have Tide of Twilight already built, so we're good there. Has anyone already played that scenario for CORE credit?

[Nemori]

Hello guys, would you take in a new player (provided the game is still taking place)?

I haven't played PF before, but I've got experience with 3.5 from PC games and I used to GM a couple of games of our local D&D clone back in the days, if that's worth anything :)

I have a PFS number, but I haven't created a character yet. I don't have anything against playing a pregen, but I could put together a ranger or a druid tomorrow, it doesn't really matter until the first level-up I think.

[cmdisc]

Nemori, as of right now there is space on the calendar. You can find the link in the OP on the first page. Sign up there in addition to posting here.

Blackfoot mentioned a potential problem with his computer. He's hoping to have it fixed in time, but if he can't run his game, I was going to run Tide of Twilight instead. At this point, I'd recommend a pregen for you. The preference from most of the group is to play up to the 4-5 subtier. So playing a 4th level pregen and then applying the credit to a new character is the best way to tackle that (taking a 1st level PC through a 4-5 is asking to be killed unless you are confident you can stay to the back and avoid melee attacks and AoE spells/traps). Plus people may differ on this opinion, but I happen to think it can be a good introduction to Fantasy Grounds and the Pathfinder ruleset as everything is set up to work for you. It's just a matter of seeing which class you want to test drive.

So let me know which pregen you want and I can make sure to have him/her prepped for you.

That said, I had recently posted on another thread that we are currently going through Season 3 and are still in the Pre-Tournament phase of things. We only have 6 scenarios left that are planned and it's imperative that anyone wanting to continue on in the Post-Tournament phase needs to have at least 1 character with a minimum of 7XP (11 to 13 would be ideal). So if you can make most or all of the sessions that Blackfoot, d1wright, and I will be offering AND if you have another means to earn XP for your character, then you will be able to continue into the next phase. I don't want to speak for Blackfoot, but I know he's been willing to offer out-of-season scenarios or modules to give people a jump (Crypt of the Everflame offers 3XP, iirc). He might be willing to do that again for folks that have characters at or near the 7XP threshold. Plus I'm sure if we're talking about a few people falling short by 1XP, I could prep something additional to run also. The more people we can get into the 7 - 13 XP range before starting the 2nd phase, the better.

[cmdisc]

Oh and I thought I mentioned it already, but maybe not.

IF I do end up running something in place of Blackfoot's game, I'd like to start an hour later at 6pm GMT instead of 5pm.

[Blackfoot]

Oh and I thought I mentioned it already, but maybe not.

IF I do end up running something in place of Blackfoot's game, I'd like to start an hour later at 6pm GMT instead of 5pm.Hopefully, I'll get the new fan sometime today and am able to get it installed by tomorrow.. assuming that all happens, I can run.. otherwise I'll be playing Zwootwick on my kid's machine.

[cmdisc]

If you DO end up running, then maybe I can run something next weekend (either Friday or Sunday).

[Nemori]

Ok, thanks for the info, I signed up at the calendar. Since I started making a half-orc ranger, I'd go with Harsk pregen, lvl 4 then.

So if I understand things right, I could in theory play three adventures with lvl 4 pregen and use the chronicles to get my own character to level 2, but no more. So even though those 6 scenarios you have left would give me 6 out of the 7 required XP, in practice I'd have to get at least 3-6 XP bump somewhere in between. Which might be a bit trickier due to this being a CORE campaign.

It's a bummer I missed the FG Con :mad:

[Blackfoot]

Our games aren't the only CORE games out there. You are welcome to join us, but obviously you are best off playing your own character in games that are appropriate to his level. You do have the option of playing out of subtier.. but there is generally a risk involved there.

[cmdisc]

It's also possible that if you ask very nicely and promise to buy the pizza, Blackfoot might run a low level Module to give a 3XP bump to those that need it.

(Blackfoot, here's your chance to get those car payments covered for a few months!)

[Blackfoot]

Oh.. if there's money in it I can run every day 3 times a day. Let's see..
5 hours a game... $20/hour = $100 a game.. /6 players.. I can probably do it for $15 US/person/game. That does not include character portraits... those are extra.

[cmdisc]

Sell them cheap enough and EVERYONE can have gnome portraits....even for their Kitsune and Aasimars.

[Blackfoot]

Even though gnomes are cooler... I'd probably give them Kitsune or Aasimar portraits for their Kitsune and Aasimar.

[Blackfoot]

Still no sign of my replacement fan. I'm guessing that I will not have time to get it installed, at this point, even if it arrives before gametime tomorrow.

[cmdisc]

Ok. In that event, I'm going to need everyone to start sending me their XML files and latest Chronicles in case Blackfoot has to bow out last minute and I need to run Tide.

For Harsk, I can dig up a 4th level version of him somewhere and make sure he's set up and ready to go.

Anyone playing a pregen in place of a new character can just provide me with a Pre-Chronicle so I have names, PFS #'s, etc ready to work with.

[d1wright]

Just for luck, I suppose we should send them to both GM's, just in case.

I'll be bringing Lucia, 3rd level fighter.

Also remember that cmdisc is pushing the game up an hour so keep your head up and log in early or the bus leaves without you.

[Blackfoot]

OK... so.. I'm happy to say that I'm posting this from my laptop with my new fan silently whirling away.
I am able to run tomorrow. I would prefer not to push the start time back .. but will if folks need me to.
I still need PCs from most (if not all) of you.

[Nemori]

Congratulations on getting your fan fixed in time :) I sent you the PC as well, so my bases are all covered now, I hope.

[cmdisc]

Congrats on the upgrade. I'll look at running something next weekend then. Maybe I'll stick with Tide of Twilight. Or maybe I can get Echoes of the Overwatched ready in time. I'll know more after this weekend.

I believe you have the most recent version of Fengard as yours is the last Chronicle he has, but I can repost him here just in case.

I'm seeing the game starting at 5pm GMT which is 7pm here and 1pm EST....just to make sure everyone is on the right time.

Edit: Ok, looks like you don't have the most recent versions of Fengard as his new purchase isn't reflected. Attached.

[Blackfoot]

I had added the gametime that you had proposed to the calendar entry before I got my fan fixed... unless there is a problem I would prefer to stick with the original time of 12pm Eastern... umm.. 4pm GMT? I can never keep that stuff straight.

[Blackfoot]

Also.. I need characters for Vul'gar and Layni... I should have a copy of Harsk Lvl 4 around here somewhere.

[cmdisc]

I've updated Harsk from 1st to 4th if you need the xml for him AND his pet, Biter.

[Nemori]

Ok, the paperwork is making my head spin. Here we go:

Character Name: Lugor
Level: 1
Class: Ranger
PFS # 214178-1
Faction: Grand Lodge
Starting Gold: ???

The character isn't finished, so I have really no idea about the starting gold. But IIRC the PFS Roleplying Guide says that I can change any aspect of my character until it has been leveled up for the first time, so this shouldn't really matter.

[Blackfoot]

I've updated Harsk from 1st to 4th if you need the xml for him AND his pet, Biter.
I've got him thanks.

[Blackfoot]

The character isn't finished, so I have really no idea about the starting gold. But IIRC the PFS Roleplying Guide says that I can change any aspect of my character until it has been leveled up for the first time, so this shouldn't really matter.For starting gold it will be 150, all your starting purchases will go on your actual 1st chronicle where you go to use the stuff. You'll want to rebuy everything after this anyway since you'll have a lot more to spend.

[Farnaby]

Here's Layni:

Chronicle (https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Byi37alIzB4rVW5XWllaOEx5bW8)

[cmdisc]

With a 4th level Harsk along, we'll have another Animal Companion in the party. Good. Someone for Gorduvo to play with.

[Blackfoot]

Btw. Nemori, the trick to posting to the thread is the 'Go Advanced' button .. once there you'll find options for posting files to the thread. Useful info for next time. :)

[Blackfoot]

The server is up and the address is listed on the Calendar (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/index.xcp?id=1942) in case anyone needs it.

[Nemori]

Ok, thanks. I hope things will be a bit smoother on my side next time.

Just to make sure, the timezones and all, we start in an hour and half? Or in half an hour?

[Blackfoot]

OK.. Right. I was confused. I DID originally schedule this game for 1pm Eastern. Sorry for the confusion guys. This whole computer hosed thing has me completely through for a loop. I'll see you guys in an hour.

[Blackfoot]

OK.. Right. I was confused. I DID originally schedule this game for 1pm Eastern. Sorry for the confusion guys. This whole computer hosed thing has me completely through for a loop. I'll see you guys in an hour.Wow.. I'm not even sure what language that is.

[Blackfoot]

I cannot find anywhere that the subtier issue for this chronicle is 'officially' being changed/resolved/altered. Therefore I have to assume that since this scenario has been run thousands of times, the gold has been taken as it stands in all cases. Therefore the gold is as it written on the chronicle.
Totaling the Subtier 4-5 gold awards:
166+125+418+167+424=1300

[cmdisc]

Yeah, just another of those little bugs that a scenario has but Paizo doesn't really care to spend the time to fix. Even when the writer of the scenario has a back and forth with a developer on the forums about it, yes the writer says the numbers are wrong and yes the developer agrees, but no that doesn't make it 'official errata', so it doesn't really count. So you're getting shorted 500ish gold at 4th level, which can be quite a bit at that point.

But the good news is by the time you're 11th and sitting on over 100k of it, you can look back and laugh at how immature and worried over money you were in your younger days.

[Farnaby]

But only if you survive getting to 11th level and didn't die because you couldn't buy the equipment needed to survive because you were missing the 500 gp at 4th level. ;)

[Blackfoot]

Them's the breaks.

Anywho.. everyone should have an email from me at this point. Two of the completed Chronicles have been sent out already and the rest are done waiting on approval and/or answers to questions.

[cmdisc]

Got your email and no additional purchases.

And yes "Them's the breaks" all around as the GM gets hit with this too unless he gives the credit to a 1st or 2nd level.