Ah-ha! I thought you had a lot of great material. So when I came along with a character concept for a polynesian inspired front line fighter you were all ready. But you never ran the game?

Didn't Beni talk about a polynesian game that a couple of you had been in?

Well, I just about slapped myself when I looked at the map and wondered what would be west of where we were.  Of course it's Parrot Island!

Hey! No meta gaming! Well, Parrot island was a fair guess. They weren't going to get fair in a row boat after all.

Well, looking at the map makes it pretty clear.  It's the only place that makes sense!  Combined with the thread title just makes it blindingly obvious.  (But I still needed the map to get there!)

Well done. Bonus XP for actually looking at the map.

That would be survival, right? I think i'm starting to learn this game - i hope? :-)

Yup! There's even specific rules for tracking by scent: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamema...abilities/#TOC-Scent
Generally, it's a DC 10 survival check +2/hour since the trail was last made. I'm guessing we're at around 12 hours since then? Another issue is that Kibeti doesn't have the track/hunt trick so I'll have to hit a DC 25 handle animal check to push him to do it, and he doesn't have any ranks in survival, so it's just wisdom which is +2.

Luckily, there's another option! Kassius can use his animal focus ability to gain scent for up to 2 minutes! Given the RAW survival DC, Kassius still probably can't make it, but it's worth a shot. Kassius might also try conventional tracking, per these rules: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/skills/survival
which start higher (for a hard surface, which I assume the city is), but the tracks decay slower. Anyways, let's roll and see what I get!

In reply to Kassius (msg # 743):

We wait for Kassius and Alohan ? or we start the talking ?.

In reply to Angati (msg # 744):

Alohan and Logan are on the other side of the city so you can't meet up with them until the end of the day. So it is just the three of you guys handling the Santos situation. How about we make it into a mini skills challenge? I need four passed diplomacy checks at DC 10. Each fail increases the threat level by two which indicates the number of family members that come to kick you ass when the proverbial hits the fan. You must wait for another character to post after you do, and Kassius must post at least once!  (despite his shitty inter personal skills)

Obstacles to consider: hillbilly/barely reformed pirates, finding out which room in the big crumbling mansion is Brissa's, talking you way past papa Santos on the stairs...

You guys are really kicking ass in this skill challenge. Except for Kassius but we all knew it was coming.

Thing is, in real life I really abhor telling lies, but with Angati here, is like they pile up on my lips. I am having quite a bit of fun with this character all in all...

Actually I am having fun with all characters in the game :-)

By the by... if you enjoy Sci-fi, a friend of mine recomended me I read The Martian by Andy Weir before I watch the film whenever it comes out.

I am reading it and loving it, I highly recommend it, really direct quick and entertaining writing, the story catches you up from get go, and the writer has taken pains to inform himself... so its really sci-fy at its best. (Oh, its not like super futuristic or high scy-fy just in case you are wondering).
This message was last edited by the player at 06:34, Mon 10 Aug 2015.

Yeah, I forgot charismatic Angati and Celene are... But it would have been metagaming to raise the DC of the challenge, those two are geared towards diplomacy so they deserve to do well in these circumstancces. Maybe I'll force Kassius to make another roll, he is a lot more fun to play with :D



I can really feel Angati's chaotic neutral nature coming through. She's not evil by any measure, but she is happy to break any rules if she needs to and seems to enjoy doing it.

I'll look up the auidobook version of The Martian - I've seen the trailor for the movie and it looks like something I would enjoy.

Guys (esp. Ron) take a look at this blog posting.

http://tauntingcthulhu.blogspo...erspective-part.html

It has some interesting points. What do we spend most of our time doing in this game? Roleplaying. What does Pathfinder mostly have rules for? Combat. How do we handle roleplaying in this game? There is only one mechanism, make a diplomacy check.

Don't worry! I'm not suggesting that we change the game system! But it is interesting to think about. Maybe the pathfinder rule set will pay off more when we get into our first big dungeon.

I completely agree with the article..... HOWEVER:

- To say that a system that you know from the begining what its aiming at, is not doing what you would like it to do... well... you know, there are as many systems nowadays as you like, so pick your fit.
- Systems are to be bent.... just do whatever feels best in the moment. And if players are getting to tied up to plans... well... just play without them, nothing forces you to do it one way or the other. And I don't see why playing pathfinder now, forces anyone to use maps and figures on every single combat....

that said:

- This is not only rp but also PBP.
- Writing down takes a LOT longer than talking... the comunication while at a table is 1000 times faster if not more, and the amount of info you pass if only through tone of voice or mimic is much more than it can be here.
- So... you see, I have tried things like FATE here and I HATE IT... as much as I love storytelling games, here that just does not seem to work, because its a writing game.... so it comes to a point where just posting a picture of the map, saves hours of talking and writing,... its just convenient.

To me, pathfinder rules are attractive, they are not top notch... I much MUCH prefer Vampire system (White wolf games) to me it kept a very nice balance between rolling and roleplaying/storytelling, and the charsheets were much more adapted to this, with many more subtleties in the socialisation rules.

Still... fantasy like pathfinder is made with a specific objective that I think it does nicely. The rp'ing can still be done just with a bit of common sense by all the parts. Am I missing any of those things in this game ? hells no !!. If there was a system like Vampire but for fantasy I'd probably be wanting to play that but this is working for me so far. :)

You might be interested in the Alexandrian's alternate rules on Diplomacy, inspired by Rich Burlew (writer of the Order of the Stick). They're a bit more complicated, but the key change is that diplomacy no longer makes someone more friendly towards you, but instead persuades them to agree to a specific deal (i.e. "tell me this information in exchange for 5 gold pieces", or "help me fight the evil overlord and gain eternal glory"), and specific defined circumstance bonuses for relationship between the characters and the fairness or lack-thereof of the deal.

There are also a few new supplemental uses of diplomacy

The rules are here: http://www.thealexandrian.net/...rules/diplomacy.html
With an essay explaining the problems with the current system and the process of the new rules here: http://www.thealexandrian.net/...iplomacy-design.html

Well, I have always thought that Logic was never part of the story...

That is, Kassius might be the least charismatic person in the world, and still if he is talking with someone logical and without prejudices, if what he says makes sense to him, he will go for it....

We reflect that with bonuses, in these kind of games... but I like much better just doing what feels good for the game.

Yes, but you can argue something logically, but if you sound hesitant and uncertain, people will doubt you even if what you are saying is actually correct. That's what the bonus represents.

Also, I just cannot pass charisma based skills can I? I know my bonus is crappy, but I've also rolled a 10, a 3, and a 1 on my past three diplomacy/gather info rolls.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:32, Mon 10 Aug 2015.

You cant make this shit up-
11:26, Today: Kassius rolled 0 using 1d20-1. diplomacy/bluff?

This made me laugh out loud.

In reply to Alohan Nuari (msg # 754):

LOL I Had not seen that.... Oh my god !!!! Kassius HAHAHAHA

I like how Kassius' portrait matches his social skills.

John's article comes off a bit.. whiny. The guy writes that DnD and Pathfinder are tactical combat games(?) but then makes the argument that 3.5/PF isn't like the earlier D&D editions in regards to social RP... I wish he'd make up his mind. I mean, I get that 4e is on one end of the spectrum, but the author surely didn't look into 5e. Why write that blog post when the release of 5e was later that same year? Why not hold judgement and allow WotC to fix their 'mistakes?'

Anywho, I know the DnD/PF social rules leave much to be desired (and I do like the Alexandrian's alternate) but it more or less boils down to the same mechanics. Roll to see if my character makes a convincing argument/alters their attitude towards me/persuades them/talks them out of their clothes. I really haven't come up with any alternates.

What I do in my game is 'storybooking.' I essentially... make hypothetical questions up on the fly and have the players define the results. "This NPC doesnt like you, why? What happened between you two in the past?" The essentially have creative reign in coming up with an answer. Most of the stuff is flavor but I had one player come up with an entire potential plot. He is a white draconic, dwarven sorcerer who got slipped a note. I asked him "what does this note say?" It took him all session to come up with what that note read but when he did, it did not disappoint. "We know what you are." Its really nothing to do with Diplomacy but helps cultivate the non-combat side of DnD. I mean, I love a good roleplay.

So yea.. within the framework of DnD, Diplomacy is just making an argument the player might not be able to, but the character can. I dont have much experience outside of DnD when it comes to social interaction. I am curious -Can everyone share their favorites? Non DnD?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:10, Tue 11 Aug 2015.

Oh Ron, don't be so hard on yourself. I mean, you managed to actually have a wife and kids, it can't be THAT bad. And a lot of us RPs have that issue as well, anyway...

Sorry, couldn't help myself :-), carry on with your otherwise sober and insightful discussion, which i'll just follow from the sideline :-) (too busy these days, sorry!)

Lol.

Heh heh, I read it the same way at first.

Anyway, to answer the question seriously.

I am afraid that my only experience outside our current Pathfinder game is in oD&D, namely BECMI (Basic, Expert, Companion, Masters, Immortals) by Frank Metzner. That is right at the 1st Edition end of the spectrum with rules for almost nothing - even combat wasn't well specified - let alone roleplaying.

I like the storybooking idea, and I would use more of it if I wasn't stuck on the railroad that is a 12 module adventure path. (Toot toot).

I have such mixed feelings about what we are doing. So Angati comes up with some cunning plan to trick the robber into giving information, why am I making her do a check on it then? Shouldn't logic be enough? But then why bother putting points in those skills if the DM ain't gunna use them?

Well, the DM is intelligent enough to make ideas go through the filter of what each character could or could not do.... :D