December Plan

I have reported #34 - Encounter at the Drowning Stones. Everyone received full credit (1 XP, 2 PP and gold appropriate to your level. Everyone but Steve got 7646 GP plus Day Job. Steve received 5416 GP for out-of-tier reward.

I will have completed chronicle sheets for folks next week. I assumed that everyone was taking full rewards but if not please let me know as soon as possible.

Next week, the plan is to start playing #9-23 - The Ghol-Gan Heresy. This is another tier 7-11 PFS scenario. As such, I expect that we will need at least part of a second session to complete.

As there was a math/tracking error for David, after that we will need to get in one more 7-11 scenario to get Zaldon to 12th level. I am leaning toward running #2-14 The Chasm of Screams.

With only three more Tuesdays before Christmas, I am not sure that we will get both scenarios completed. If we do not, we will plan to resume in January. Once we are ready, I will contact Bill to see about scheduling the Eyes.

As folks may be rusty with their characters, I might suggest that we play some not for credit scenarios or scenes with our guys before we play the Eyes. What do you guys think?

I am planning to bring cookies and such on 12/18.

Still looking to make updates to some MASH playtest characters

I have gotten reports for how XP was spent or instructions on how to spend them from Bruce, Dave, David, Alan and Randy.

I need still input from Kelly, Dan and Steve as to how you plan to spend your 18 XP. Please let me know what you would like to do with them. I want to be able to print the characters and experiment with other people playing your characters for a short stint. To be able to do so, I need to make sure that all of the characters are up to date.

Tomorrow

We will be finishing #34 - Encounter at the Drowning Stones tomorrow. Time permitting, we will start 9-23 The Ghol-Gan Heresy when that is complete.

High Level PFS Next Few Weeks

At U-Con last weekend, Bruce and I spoke with our Venture Captain, Bill. He is still willing to run Eyes of the Ten for our group if we can get a table together. He is willing to run with as many as 7 players.

We still need to work out the details but I think that if we try, we can be ready by the start of 2019. Whoever plays needs to commit to being there for each session and needs to have their paperwork in order (character sheet, chronicles, inventory, etc.). At the moment, Bruce (Otis), Dave (Scrawny Jax), Steve (Max Plano) and myself (Sir Kalten or Stragen) all have characters that qualify to play.

I would like to run at least two PFS tier 7-11 adventures between now and Christmas (we have 5 weeks to go) to get more people qualified. The way we play, I expect that this will take 3 or 4 weeks. I will plan to start running adventures next week.

Three of you have characters needing only 2 XP to make 12th level at exactly 33 XP. That is Zaldon for David, Gizer for Alan and Ser Roland for Randy. Kelly has Dominic who needs 3.5 XP to make 33 XP exactly.

Dave and Bruce have other characters ready to play along to get you to 12th level. Unfortunately, Dan does not have a character in range and would have to play a level 7 pregen.

I am leaning toward running scenarios #34 - Encounter at the Drowning Stones and 9-23 The Ghol-Gan Heresy.

MASH Experience Reward

The characters earned and were awarded 18 XP last night. You can spend experience as follows:

Trait	Experience Point Cost
Primary Attribute	New Attribute Level x 5 points
Skill	New Skill Level x 2 points
Skill Specialization	3 points
Increase Zero Level Skill to 1	1 point
Talent	15 points
Zero Level Resource	7 points
Raise Zero Level Resource to 1	8 points
Resource	15 points
Power	15 points
Power Reserve Slot Rank	3 points
Power Stunt	3 points

You may only increase the rank/value of an Attribute, Skill, Skill Specialization, Talent, Power, Power Stunt or Resource by 1 each time you are awarded experience.

You are not obligated to spend all (or any) of your experience points if you do not want to. They may be banked for future purchases.

Please send me a list of what you bought so that I can update your character sheets. I have the current purchases for Bruce, Dave and Alan.

If you have questions regarding Powers, Talents or Resources or need some suggestions on what to buy, let me know.

Feedback Follow-up

I wanted to be clear as to the feedback I am looking for. I am trying to determine is any specific Powers are too weak or too powerful.

I am looking for things like:

Is Regeneration too good (heals too fast)? Does it seem fair to have a prerequisite Talent which is potentially rendered useless?
Do Attribute Drain and Siphon have too small of an effect?
Is Magical Aptitude too versatile, too limiting or too complex for the casual player?
Is Power Reserve too versatile, too limiting or too complex for the casual player?

As far as character construction and relative power to each other, XP should bear out. Basic Talents, Powers and Resources each cost 15 XP. All rank 1 item should be approximately the same power level. Higher ranks in an item still cost 15 XP but might yield a greater benefit than another rank 1 it. That said,  it is not an exact science.

Some examples:

Malachai has expended 4 ranks (60 XP) into being a sorcerer - Rank 3 Blood Legacy:Fey and 1 Rank Magical Aptitude: Pyromancy. This gives him +4 bonuses to both Intelligence and Charisma. This significantly bonuses his skills and his roll for casting rituals. The plus side is that he can do a wide scope of things but the downside is that he can be slowed down by having to successfully activate powers and may suffer damage to do so on a more timely manner. Many of his powers could benefit other characters as well but would again slow down the activation process. He can be slow to start but powerful once he is rolling. He is versatile and at the same time limited as to what he can do at the same time (limited to 3 rituals active at the same time).

Anku has expended 4 ranks in Talents and Powers that make him one of the most physically capable characters of the group. He also 2 ranks in Artifacts that grant a significant boost to combat (highest attack of the group) and defense of self and others.

Leech is physically tough and can increase that with the use of his Drain and Siphon powers (4 ranks - 60 XP). Even at full bloat, he is in the middle of the pack with attack strength but defensively creeps to the top.

Unlike in other games, flaws do not necessarily equal a specific weakness. While they can be, the majority are role playing opportunities that earn you Style Points during play.

I would also like to address the grass is greener sentiment I am seeing. In the near future, I would like to perform a character swap to allow other folks to play the other characters. I think this may help to gain a better understanding if the perceived inequities between the characters are real and if they are mechanical, conceptual or execution based. I suspect that the same character in the hands of a different player may seem significantly different. This should prove instructive to both me as the GM and designer and you are the players.

Modern Age Super Heroes next week

I will be awarding XP next week but I am unsure as to how much I will award.

That said, I am curious where are folks looking to spend their experience?If you have any ideas, please share.

Will what you plan depend on the amount awarded? i.e. if you only got 5 or 6 points would you increase a skill or buy specializations rather than save up for the next 15 point expense like a new talent, power or resource?

If you have any ideas, please share. I want to see where you are planning to take your characters. I also want to make sure that I am prepared to help you purchase what you need. (Still not ready to turn over documents to the masses but I am getting closer all the time.)

After several weeks of playing, I am also interested in feedback on how things are going so far from the players' perspective. I know that there may be some story and pacing issues which has more to do with me knocking off the rust and getting to know the characters and the world they live in. I will take feedback about those topics but I am more interested in other items.

How do you like your characters? Do they seem to fill you concept as starting characters? I am trying to determine if 75 XP is enough to make a starting character feel super but not necessarily god-like.

Does anyone seem to be over powered? What makes you think so?

Does anyone seem to be under powered? What makes you think so. What do you feel is missing?

How are the the advanced powers (Magical Aptitude, Super Science, Power Reserve) working? Are they easy enough to use and understand?

For those of you using them, how do you like the characters sheets I supplied with the stat block and the detailed power descriptions? Would the stat box only be enough for you if you had access to a book listing your talents, powers, rituals, etc.? Is there anything else the sheet should include? i.e. Active Defense, Passive Defense, Armor, Sanity and Shock.

I am also open to other feedback. If you have suggestions or comments of specific skills, powers, rituals, etc., please feel free to let me know.

Tonight's Game

Who plans to be there tonight?

I know Steve will not be there. Anyone else?