gatherer818
One Thousand Club
Hey all, RPDom keeps growing and we've gained some new RPers that could use some more experience with the d20 system. One in particular has requested a small Pathfinder game and I've decided to take up that mantle and run either a few Adventure Modules or a full Adventure Path for a handful of players. I will prefer new players over experienced ones, but experienced players are still welcome - having at least one old hand in the party will surely help smooth out any learning the new guys have to do.
So, a few things to sort out before I go about submitting the RP proper:
So, a few things to sort out before I go about submitting the RP proper:
Short of it being a Pathfinder Module or AP, I have very little preference. If there's a Module or Path anyone is interested in, feel free to speak up. I can likely get my hands on whatever AP or Module is chosen if I don't already have it. If there is very little opinion on the subject, I am likely to run either a handful of Modules set in or near Falcon's Hollow (both Crown of the Kobold King and Carnival of Tears are ones I've wanted to see played for a while now, even though I think they're technically written for 3.5 instead of Pathfinder), the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, or if we're looking for a shorter game, just We Be Goblins and We Be Goblins Too.
Everyone is free to express interest, and I will refine the selection parameters when we get to the submission phase if we have more people than I can take. Most of the APs and Modules are written for four or five players, and I'm not familiar enough with the content to actively scale for a significantly different group, so the final selection will either be exactly the number the content suggests (for older content that was written with 3.5 characters in mind, the power boost moving over to Pathfinder will preclude any additional characters) or up to one more than the suggested number (for content written for Pathfinder originally). New players will be given priority if they show interest in both steps, but I'd prefer at least one experienced player - and if fewer new players show up than I'm expecting, those slots can be filled by anyone, of course.
Obviously, we can't answer this question until we know what we're running. In general, if a Module doesn't specify that it MUST be run using provided pregen characters, I'm open to basically any appropriate characters. Since we're expecting new players and using a scripted setting, though, there are a few restrictions on what might be considered appropriate:
3a) Alignment, personality, and history: For Modules, any PC who would reasonably be found with the group and participate in the adventure is probably appropriate here. For Adventure Paths, this means building a character according to the associated Player's Guide. Some leeway or individual exceptions might be made, but for the most part, the character needs to fit into the adventure.
3b) Power level / specialization: For you older players, this should not be considered the chance to try out your "gamebreaker" builds. Remember that your fellow players will be playing some of their first-ever created characters or possibly using pre-generated characters. Some optimization will happen, of course, that's how the game is played, but if you're putting out more DPR than the rest of the party combined AND doubled, we might have some problems sharing the spotlight.
My work comes and goes and causes my posting schedule to be erratic - some weeks I'm here all the time, others I only check in once or twice a week a week. Because of this, we shouldn't expect the game to advance significantly more than once per week. If, however, everyone's posting schedules permit, it may move much faster at times. But please don't get frustrated if it slows back down to only one or two posts per week per player. (In combat: I will do my best to make sure everyone knows the initiative order and resolve posts as quickly as possible. Generally, if the previous player's action doesn't matter to yours, you don't need to wait for me to resolve theirs. Additionally, I'll give specifics after a few rounds, give or take, so you can resolve your own stuff.)
I hope I haven't scared you all away, but I've found getting those questions out of the way sooner rather than later makes for a much smoother experience. Please let me know what you want to play (and how much Pathfinder experience you have) and we'll get this party started! I will be busy the next two days, but I'm hoping to read all the responses and get the submission itself up this weekend! (Unless my RL group unexpectedly meets Saturday, in which case, it might be Monday or Tuesday before I get the submission up... sorry all, but my [occasional] Saturday group has no internet access and my [every] Sunday group demands all my attention.)
Everyone is free to express interest, and I will refine the selection parameters when we get to the submission phase if we have more people than I can take. Most of the APs and Modules are written for four or five players, and I'm not familiar enough with the content to actively scale for a significantly different group, so the final selection will either be exactly the number the content suggests (for older content that was written with 3.5 characters in mind, the power boost moving over to Pathfinder will preclude any additional characters) or up to one more than the suggested number (for content written for Pathfinder originally). New players will be given priority if they show interest in both steps, but I'd prefer at least one experienced player - and if fewer new players show up than I'm expecting, those slots can be filled by anyone, of course.
Obviously, we can't answer this question until we know what we're running. In general, if a Module doesn't specify that it MUST be run using provided pregen characters, I'm open to basically any appropriate characters. Since we're expecting new players and using a scripted setting, though, there are a few restrictions on what might be considered appropriate:
3a) Alignment, personality, and history: For Modules, any PC who would reasonably be found with the group and participate in the adventure is probably appropriate here. For Adventure Paths, this means building a character according to the associated Player's Guide. Some leeway or individual exceptions might be made, but for the most part, the character needs to fit into the adventure.
3b) Power level / specialization: For you older players, this should not be considered the chance to try out your "gamebreaker" builds. Remember that your fellow players will be playing some of their first-ever created characters or possibly using pre-generated characters. Some optimization will happen, of course, that's how the game is played, but if you're putting out more DPR than the rest of the party combined AND doubled, we might have some problems sharing the spotlight.
My work comes and goes and causes my posting schedule to be erratic - some weeks I'm here all the time, others I only check in once or twice a week a week. Because of this, we shouldn't expect the game to advance significantly more than once per week. If, however, everyone's posting schedules permit, it may move much faster at times. But please don't get frustrated if it slows back down to only one or two posts per week per player. (In combat: I will do my best to make sure everyone knows the initiative order and resolve posts as quickly as possible. Generally, if the previous player's action doesn't matter to yours, you don't need to wait for me to resolve theirs. Additionally, I'll give specifics after a few rounds, give or take, so you can resolve your own stuff.)
I hope I haven't scared you all away, but I've found getting those questions out of the way sooner rather than later makes for a much smoother experience. Please let me know what you want to play (and how much Pathfinder experience you have) and we'll get this party started! I will be busy the next two days, but I'm hoping to read all the responses and get the submission itself up this weekend! (Unless my RL group unexpectedly meets Saturday, in which case, it might be Monday or Tuesday before I get the submission up... sorry all, but my [occasional] Saturday group has no internet access and my [every] Sunday group demands all my attention.)
I'll look at the content and the numbers on how many are new players and how many are not, and see what's up tomorrow after I get home from work, I expect to have a little free time between work and family stuff. Since pregen content is quite a bit easier on the DM than creating stuff from whole cloth, I can probably do two at once without getting overwhelmed 
