Just Ordered...

[S'mon]

OK, I just finally ordered the Pathfinder Beginner Box, and I'm planning to use it for an old-school open-group Gygaxian Sandbox for PCs level 1-5 at the London D&D Meetup, set in EGG's Yggsburgh campaign setting. Feeling excited & nervous!

Here are my current plans - not having received the box yet...


PATHFINDER BEGINNER BOX YGGSBURGH OPEN GAME
Pathfinder Beginner Box! I was thinking of using it for an occasional newbie-friendly open-player game at the weekends using Gygax's Yggsburgh setting. PCs would always start at 1st level and would top out at 5th, when they could establish dominions, become knights, crime lords, high priests, build wizard towers, etc, and retire as part of the 'establishment'. Most adventures will be for 1st-4th level PCs, once a PC reaches 5th level they will normally retire from regular play and you can bring in a new 1st level PC, such as a retainer or apprentice of the retired PC.
http://paizo.com/pathfinder/pathfinderRPG/products/beginnerbox
http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy8osv
PC Start Level: 1st
Races: Human, Elf, Dwarf
Attributes: Either pregen or best 3 of 4d6 as desired, if you don’t like the result you can use 15 14 13 12 10 8 instead.
Classes: Fighter, Rogue, Cleric, Wizard, & Barbarian (online).
XP & Advancement: Standard, typically expect ca 2-4 sessions to level up. Levelling up takes place during training ‘down time’ between sessions.
NPCs: Halve listed C&C level, and max 5th level.
Schedule: Irregular Saturday or Sunday afternoon, 1.30pm-6.30pm. About every 3 weeks is likely, so that regular PCs might reach 5th level in about 9 months/12 sessions of play.
Maximum # Players per session: 8+ as space permits.
Adventure Level: Most adventures will be for PCs of 1st-4th level. Once several PCs reach 5th level I can potentially run any level (1st--5th) sessions, typically focusing on high level PCs seeking to establish their own (eg) Dominion , Wizard’s Conclave, Temple or Thieves’ Guild, or several high level PCs uniting to deal with major threats.

I have a good deal of experience with 3e D&D but I wanted to check with people who have good experience of the BB, how does that sound? In particular, is my expected advancement rate of once per 3 5-hour sessions realistic using defauly BB XP? Would you expect it to be a lot faster, or slower? My guess is that the first two levels might take 2 sessions each, then slowing down - since I'll be running mostly 1st-3rd/4th level adventures. But I've never played or run Pathfinder before, so I don't really know.

 

[S'mon]

Here's my draft notes on Passage of Time & Subsistence.

The Passage of Time: Time will normally pass at the same rate as in the real world, eg if there are 3 weeks of real time between adventures, then 3 weeks pass in-game.

Subsistence
Yggsburgh is not cheap. Standard subsistence costs are as follows, to be deducted between sessions for continuing PCs. Subsistence costs cap at 4 weeks if desired, it’s assumed that in cases of longer gaps between adventures the PCs can find routine employment sufficient to cover their expenses at an appropriate level, usually Basic.

Poverty: 1.5gp/week. Sleep on the floor, gruel and soup, small beer. Normal for day labourers.

Basic: 3gp/week. Shared room, cheap but hearty meals, small beer. Normal for common mercenaries and down-at-heel adventurers.

Standard: 7gp/week. Private room, decent meals with lots of meat, good ale. Normal for Level 1-3 PCs and moderately successful adventurers.

Luxurious: 15gp/week. Large private room, excellent meals, fine wine and possibly pleasant ‘companionship’, occasional dinner parties. Normal for Level 4 PCs and the Upper-Middle class, including mercenary officers and successful adventurers.

Elite: 30gp/week. Luxury villa, superb dining, finest wines, hosting ‘Society’ events. Normal for Level 5 PCs and members of Yggsburgh’s ruling class.

 

[enrious]

Here's what the PRD suggests:

Cost of Living

An adventurer's primary source of income is treasure, and his primary purchases are tools and items he needs to continue adventuring—spell components, weapons, magic items, potions, and the like. Yet what about things like food? Rent? Taxes? Bribes? Idle purchases?

You can certainly handle these minor expenditures in detail during play, but tracking every time a PC pays for a room, buys water, or pays a gate tax can swiftly become obnoxious and tiresome. If you're not really into tracking these minor costs of living, you can choose to simply ignore these small payments. A more realistic and easier-to-use method is to have PCs pay a recurring cost of living tax. At the start of every game month, a PC must pay an amount of gold equal to the lifestyle bracket he wishes to live in—if he can't afford his desired bracket, he drops down to the first one he can afford.

Destitute (0 gp/month): The PC is homeless and lives in the wilderness or on the streets. A destitute character must track every purchase, and may need to resort to Survival checks or theft to feed himself.

Poor (3 gp/month): The PC lives in common rooms of taverns, with his parents, or in some other communal situation—this is the lifestyle of most untrained laborers and commoners. He need not track purchases of meals or taxes that cost 1 sp or less.

Average (10 gp/month): The PC lives in his own apartment, small house, or similar location—this is the lifestyle of most trained or skilled experts or warriors. He can secure any nonmagical item worth 1 gp or less from his home in 1d10 minutes, and need not track purchases of common meals or taxes that cost 1 gp or less.

Wealthy (100 gp/month): The PC has a sizable home or a nice suite of rooms in a fine inn. He can secure any nonmagical item worth 5 gp or less from his belongings in his home in 1d10 minutes, and need only track purchases of meals or taxes in excess of 10 gp.

Extravagant (1,000 gp/month): The PC lives in a mansion, castle, or other extravagant home—he might even own the building in question. This is the lifestyle of most aristocrats. He can secure any nonmagical item worth 25 gp or less from his belongings in his home in 1d10 minutes. He need only track purchases of meals or taxes in excess of 100 gp.

 

[S'mon]

Thanks enrious - the Yggsburgh setting has higher wages & costs than standard 3e or PF, but I will be capping subsistence at 3 weeks' worth. I see PF uses higher default arrays than 3e, so I'm planning to change PC gen to best 3 of 4d6, if you don't like it take 16, 14, 13, 12, 10, 10 or 16, 14, 14, 12, 10, 8 - which are two Pathfinder Society organised play options.

 

[S'mon]

Beginner Box game Level Titles

1 – Novice
2 – Veteran
3 – Master
4 – Elite
5 - Lord

 

[enrious]

Not at all - I use a different cost of living scale as well (I prefer the one in Ptolus) but I figured it wouldn't hurt to establish the baseline.

The titles harken back to the sort of meta-game nonsense typical of the 1e era - and something that I miss. I think they'll be a fun addition.

As for XP advancement, my own personal style is speed of the plot.

 

[S'mon]

Not at all - I use a different cost of living scale as well (I prefer the one in Ptolus) but I figured it wouldn't hurt to establish the baseline.

The titles harken back to the sort of meta-game nonsense typical of the 1e era - and something that I miss. I think they'll be a fun addition.

As for XP advancement, my own personal style is speed of the plot.

Thanks - it won't be 'plot' based, since every session will be a single discreet adventure, which could be a delve into a large dungeon or clearing out a small dungeon. All PCs will start at 1st level, old school style, and gain XP for adventures played and survived. For it to work as planned PCs should not advance faster than about once per 2 sessions, or slower than about once per 4-5 sessions.

 

[S'mon]

Beginner Box game Level Titles

1 – Novice
2 – Veteran
3 – Master
4 – Elite
5 - Lord

eg, for Wizard:

1 – Novice Wizard
2 – Veteran Wizard
3 – Master Wizard
4 – Elite Wizard
5 - Wizard Lord

 

[enrious]

What I meant was that I think the game has no problem if a DM just says whenever that the party advances.

Yes players like xp, but only because it brings them closer to a new level. But xp has no intrinsic value otherwise, so I don't think it's required.

 

[Reynard]

What I meant was that I think the game has no problem if a DM just says whenever that the party advances.

Yes players like xp, but only because it brings them closer to a new level. But xp has no intrinsic value otherwise, so I don't think it's required.

What has value is what you attach XP to. If the majority of XP comes from a certain activity or a certain playstyle, it will encourage that. That's why there is such a different approach to AD&D vs 3.x or PF when it comes to adventuring and dungeon crawling in particular.

Also, I just cannot abide "I level them when it's appropriate" -- smells too much like there's some sort of inherent "story" going on, which I think entirely misses the point of D&D.