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I am planning on using Bennies. Depending on what I feel is an appropriate scene change, and I intend to be somewhat less rigid about refreshing them.

As much as it might be a bit more work, I like the idea of action cards each round. If it is too cumbersome, we will adjust, but that is my current plan. I will likely keep a thread for cards, and deal them out by my computer, and track them. Though if we find an appropriate tool for online play, I am happy to use it.

I like that, Pande. I'm excited to learn the system as the creators intended because I'm a mechanics nerd. I like the idea too of how once an initiative is used, it's gone as an option until a Joker is drawn and there's a shuffle. Pretty much means all the things that happen from a Joker will happen eventually. I find it interesting to strategize too.. like if you're last in a round and decide to, say, focus on defense for a +4 to Parry... you've lost the chance for it to be effective in that first round and then you might be first in the next round.

I have to admit I’m foggy on that part of the system. Perhaps someone can summarize?

As I understand it:

Every round in combat, all the PCs and the NPC Wild Cards (like named villains) and each group of mooks get dealt an Action card from a standard deck. Some character traits let you get two and choose one. Then the DM counts down in order from Ace to two. Ties are broken by suit in reverse alpha order (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs) and if a Joker comes out, whoever gets it gets bonuses to their rolls that round and everyone on their side gets a Benny or a shared pool for mooks.

Next round everyone gets a new Action card. But from the remaining deck, unless a Joker came out, in which case it got shuffled and is fresh all 54.

So the longer you go, the higher the probability of a Joker.

What I was saying is... Say Catalena found herself cornered by 4 Goblins with help coming but not there yet. She might think to go defensive instead of taking an Action. But if she goes later than the Goblins due to card draws, she doesn't get the benefit until her turn. Say she went at the end of the round with a two of clubs. If she goes defensive its until her next Action which, if she goes early in the next round might mean she wasted her Action. But if she goes late again, then it's a useful strategy.

You see, unlike regular D&D with a predictable cadence of turn order, that kind of thing has an effect.

Or, say there's a spell ritual that takes a long time by design so it can be interrupted. If you happen to start it at the end of your first round and then you go early the next round then it takes no time at all! But I don't even know if such a thing is in Savage Pathfinder.

You know what Bennies are, right? They're rerolls you can spend. You gain a set number each "game session" or "scene change/act" or however Pande is going to do it. You can gain Bennies in between sessions for roleplaying and there are certain abilities, like Catalena's Elan, that if she spends a Benny, she gets +2 on her reroll.

In short, in each round, we will draw cards for initiative. I will post them, and then we will act in the order as appropriate when in combat, of course. That way edges like Level Headed come into play each round.

I don't believe anyone took luck. So everyone has 3 bennies to start.

Are we ok with moving to the church?

Are there other things the PCs would like to do?

This day in the game is pretty free form, and tomorrow is the day of the Swallow Tail Festival.

We seem to have some interesting things going on in this game. Where the party members are much more suspicious of everyone else, the charm spell on the friendly guard, heck a detect evil prior. Is there something I need to know about how all of you see the game world that I don't?

While I had intended this game to run traditional party style, it doesn't have to. The plot can allow for splitting up the group.

What do I need to do to make this game more of what people would like? How do we arrange for the PCs to get along better, or will they not?

We started off well, but we seemed to have hit a stalling point which surprised me. Help me understand what you want from the game if you haven't done so via PM already. If you don't feel comfortable discussing things here, send a PM. I honestly want to know what people want.

If this game is not what people want, we can kill it. I have had aborted games before, and I won't take it personally if that is the choice people want.

Dad is in hospital so my ability to keep up posting is very limited.

Detect Evil was due to Aendell having had a visit from a distraught family in Magnimar who lost their life savings after a Tarot reading by Catalena. He's been asked to track her down and recover what he can. They, of course, believe they were fleeced. I believe Catalena gave them a real reading, but it just didn't turn out well. Aendell doesn't know that and now that he found her he is trying to determine how to approach it. Her now being a member of the Watch complicates things so he is biding his time.

Vryx and I worked out this background hook early on.

It is not our fault that we are suspicious of a character being played by Vryx - clearly there is form in the game already

Coral is going to cast charm on anyone where she thinks it will give advantage.




At the moment, Coral has not got her own driving goal and is allowing herself to be influenced by others' goals and attitudes. I think we just need time to allow the characters to get used to each other.
I am happy with the game as it is.

Me too - just by the way things are, interaction with selaim is, at the least, limited. And this has until now been inventory week.

You mean that bit with the ghost? I mean, IC, you wouldn't know who was playing a character, right? But I think you're saying you're just joking.



Yup, and I really loved that you did a Detect Evil on her! I'm really looking forward to playing this all out between her and Aendell. There are also multiple perspectives there and Aendell may hear a side of the story the family wouldn't have told him.

I would really like to play but unless we do a sandbox style where characters go off on their own, maybe there needs to be at least some ooc agreement to try to progress as a group in a cooperative way.

Ummm what did I do?. Can't help if Selaim is stuck in a narrow visioned world. Aendell at least has found a way to get her to shut up.

Things are more antagonistic than I originally had envisioned. I don't expect everyone to read the barcodes on the other character's foreheads and automatically know they are PCs.

I am fine with going on, I was just trying to sort out some of the stuff that I was seeing, and of course, we had slowed in posting. I get that several of us have been busy, so that is some of the reason, but I wanted to make sure there wasn't something underlying that I was missing. We aren't sitting around a table where we can read each other's body language cues. Instead, we have flat text on a page, which doesn't offer a lot of insight.

Nothing specific... Save I'm really scratching My head trying to figure out ways to get interaction with her. Both in character as Zak and ooc as me. I want to but he’s not going to much if it’s just going to be nothing but hostility. Non productive loops, so to speak. I'm sure I can eventually figure it out, just right now, no clue.

The issue is the jealous Hindrance. I have her being jealous of both Zak and Aendell. I think I have a way to tone it down some. And get a taste of redemption for Zak. Sending something to you Zeim and Pande shortly

I have a big post drafted for the cathedral intro but wanted to run it by Pande first.

Pande, SavageFinder doesn't seem to utilize Golarian dialects like Hallit, Varisian, Skald, etc. which were a big part of Pathfinder for spending of language slots. I'd like Catalena to speak Varisian but what she knows, I chose from the list of languages in the SavageFinder book. Are you planning to use dialects at all? If so, I'll swap one out but if not, I won't.

I would say the best way to handle that would be Common with an accent. That would free up a language slot, and that is fine. What do the rest of you think? It fits the more common Fantasy trope of a Common tongue for humanoid races with flavoring.

Fine by me. More communication is a bonus.

Yes. Prefer a single common language and then racial languages rather then separate "country" languages. More of the D&D style.

I'm happy with that! In Pathfinder, it's pretty easy to pick up new languages with lots of skill points per level so maybe one reason why they have so many. It has been a challenge to DM because every time they go to a new region, I have to keep straight which languages the NPCs speak and who in the party can understand them.

The next two weeks I'll be traveling on family vacation. Catalena needs to fulfill her Major Obligation hindrance anyway so happy for her to be off-screen for a while.

Have a great trip!

I had intended to cut to the next morning, ie the day of the Swallowtail Festival. I imagine that it will take us a couple of weeks just to get to the noon events when the festival starts in earnest. I would prefer to have all the PCs in the square when the speeches begin at noon.

We can continue into this first evening in town, if people prefer, which will give Vyrx time to enjoy his family. Then we can cut to the crowd gathering just before noon if that works for all of you?

I am fine either way.

That works for me