Free RPG Day—Awesomely Alien

Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Free RPG Day is just around the corner this Saturday, June 17th! There a tons of participating locations, so check out the program's event locator, join in the fun, and grab a copy of Paizo's Free RPG Day offerings while supplies last. Last month we met the new promo character Reepazo, so today I'd like to present two other prizes: the new Starfinder First Contact and a special Chronicle sheet that you can earn by playing anytime between June 16th and June 25th.

First Contact is an exciting first look at both the Starfinder rules and its setting, presenting 12 different creatures (including 4 different playable races). There's a lot of great content here, and I reached out to the authors to share some of their favorite parts.

Illustrations by Johnny Marrow, Kiki Moch Rizky, and Crystal Sully.

James L. Sutter: Art-wise, I think my favorite piece is the security robot. I love the sleek futuristic flavor that's part Mac Store, part Prince Robot from Saga, and part classic droid. But a lot of the monsters in here are things I've been waiting to see in print for years—both the ellicoth and the haan started life as brief name-drops in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Distant Worlds, and now here we are at last. I particularly enjoyed writing about the orocoran ichor lords—it's high time Aucturn got some native inhabitants!

Rob G. McCreary: The bone sages of Eox were first introduced back in Pathfinder Adventure Path #14, and in Pathfinder RPG they were most easily represented by liches. For Starfinder, however, we wanted to update the lich to the science-fantasy future, and thus the necrovite was born. So what makes a necrovite more than just a space-lich (other than a cooler name, of course)? Three things: technomancer AND mystic spells, the Eoxian wrackstaff, and an electroencephalon (because a necrovite has to store her soul somewhere, after all).

Jason Keeley: It was a bit of a no-brainer that goblins would be in Starfinder. As a bit of a joke, I wrote them up as "space goblins" for the playtest and gave them cobbled-together laser pistols that tended to blow up in their own faces. It turns out people thought that was funny enough to make them canon with First Contact. And the art, with their bandaged-up bubble helmets, really helped seal the deal!

John Compton: Starfinder's been a great chance to flesh out the many weird aliens Paizo—quite often James L. Sutter—has name-dropped, but it's also an exciting opportunity to create entirely new creatures. My assignment for First Contact included "New plant monster (Castrovel)" and the directive to "Make it weird and awesome." I knew I wanted a plant that wasn't a low-mobility ambush predator, and at the time I was fixated on invasive species like kudzu. What resulted was the ksarik, a ferocious carnivore that absorbed psychic energies and evolved from fairly mundane corpse blossoms into aggressive quadrupeds that can absorb others' genetic material in order to take over their ecological niches. I'm a sucker for dorsal crests, and if you look closely, you can see the eyestalks projected to either side like a hammerhead shark.

Be sure to look at First Contact for a first taste of what's to come in 2017 and beyond!

Even though there's not a new adventure featured for Free RPG Day, we want to encourage you to get out and game together. In fact, we've made a unique Chronicle sheet for the event. If you're playing a game any time from June 16th to June 25th, you can earn a copy of this sheet—just one per participant, no matter how many times you play. In fact, consider printing off some extras to hand out at whatever event you're a part of so that others can join in the benefits. Everyone gets the first boon, which allows the chance to replay (or "re-GM" for credit) one of the past Free RPG Day modules one time, and while it's certainly the spirit of this reward to use that boon for Free RPG Day this year, you're welcome to hold onto it for whenever you need it.

If you play in a Free RPG Day game—that's a game hosted by a location participating in Free RPG Day 2017—you also receive the Tome of First Contact boon. Just as you're getting a first glimpse at what Starfinder has to offer, so to has one of your characters found a wondrous bestiary filled with alien beasts and otherworldly people. Reference it to get an edge when facing creatures from beyond Golarion, and above all, enjoy Paizo's contributions to Free RPG Day 2017!

Download the Free RPG Day Chronicle sheet!

John Compton
Organized Play Lead Developer

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Crystal Sully Free RPG Day Johnny Morrow Kiki Moch Rizky Organized Play Pathfinder Society Starfinder
1 to 50 of 64 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>

1 person marked this as a favorite.

On Soviet Castrovel, plant harvest you!


4 people marked this as a favorite.

I would have really enjoyed having a sample Starfinder adventure to run for Free RPG Day this month.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Huzzah!

4/5 5/55/5

Out of curiosity, for the PFS boon could it be used with the game that earns it? I'm running Risen Sands on the 17th and curious if that means players who already played Risen Sands could now sign up and effectively use the boon right away for that game?

3/5

I don't suppose this boon can also be acquired by those running games during that span? I've dropped both games I was going to play during that time span in order to GM instead as we were short GMs. It'd be nice to not miss out on a replay boon as a result.

Thank you for the consideration.

Paizo Employee 4/5 Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Matthew Hudson wrote:
Out of curiosity, for the PFS boon could it be used with the game that earns it? I'm running Risen Sands on the 17th and curious if that means players who already played Risen Sands could now sign up and effectively use the boon right away for that game?

Absolutely. You can use the boon to replay an adventure that very day.

Paizo Employee 4/5 Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

2 people marked this as a favorite.
DrakeRoberts wrote:

I don't suppose this boon can also be acquired by those running games during that span? I've dropped both games I was going to play during that time span in order to GM instead as we were short GMs. It'd be nice to not miss out on a replay boon as a result.

Thank you for the consideration.

Absolutely. Anyone participating in the game qualifies, whether that person's a player or a GM.

3/5

John Compton wrote:
DrakeRoberts wrote:

I don't suppose this boon can also be acquired by those running games during that span? I've dropped both games I was going to play during that time span in order to GM instead as we were short GMs. It'd be nice to not miss out on a replay boon as a result.

Thank you for the consideration.

Absolutely. Anyone participating in the game qualifies, whether that person's a player or a GM.

Thanks, John!

Silver Crusade 3/5 5/5 Venture-Lieutenant, Online—PbP

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Do we acquire this boon for play-by-post games? Do they have to start in that time window, end in that time window, or just be played during that time window?

Grand Lodge 4/5

Can this be used on Core games too? Looking at what we have scheduled during this date, next Tuesday is our monthly Core game. If not, we'll have to try figure something out.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Any adventure played counts for applying the boon, and it can be used any time thereafter.

1/5

Four new playable races and space liches.

Go on...

Scarab Sages 4/5

Another boon question... Does the GM for the game need to sign off on it, or is referencing the chronicle number, event number, etc. enough? I ask because I'm scheduled to play a game online on the 17th, but I doubt the GM was expecting to be generating additional chronicles for everyone when the game was first listed.

Paizo Employee 4/5 Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Ferious Thune wrote:
Another boon question... Does the GM for the game need to sign off on it, or is referencing the chronicle number, event number, etc. enough? I ask because I'm scheduled to play a game online on the 17th, but I doubt the GM was expecting to be generating additional chronicles for everyone when the game was first listed.

I don't quite follow. Are you asking if the GM needs to sign the bottom of this Chronicle sheet? If you're playing a game face-to-face, I'd just get the GM's signature/number on the bottom and fill in the rest. As for online, I'm touching base with a few folks to double-check how we want to handle that and other matters. I'm of the mind to do what's honest and the least hassle to go have fun.

Scarab Sages 4/5

Thanks John. Yes, that's what I was asking, whether, since it's an online game, it's ok for me to sign the boon myself and reference the chronicle # and event # that the GM provides as proof I played a game during the required timeframe. That way I wouldn't have to ask the GM to fill out and scan a second chronicle (the boon).

Another option maybe would be to fill out everything but the signature/GM number and see if I can get my VO to sign it later if I show him the chronicle from the online game.

1/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I agree with the designers, by the way, the robot looks like someone weaponized a macbook.

Paizo Employee 4/5 Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

11 people marked this as a favorite.
thecursor wrote:
I agree with the designers, by the way, the robot looks like someone weaponized a macbook.

"HUMAN. YOU HAVE MISSED A CRITICAL SOFTWARE UPDATE. INITIATING CORRECTIVE MEASURES."


Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Cool.

Scarab Sages 5/5 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Netherlands

Hooray!

4/5 5/5

Nice!

4/5 5/55/5

John Compton wrote:
Matthew Hudson wrote:
Out of curiosity, for the PFS boon could it be used with the game that earns it? I'm running Risen Sands on the 17th and curious if that means players who already played Risen Sands could now sign up and effectively use the boon right away for that game?
Absolutely. You can use the boon to replay an adventure that very day.

Awesome, thanks John!

I had another question come up on this one, specifically because I'll have three new players for this event. Do players using pre-gens for Risen from the Sands *have* to use the 4 pregens in the adventure? I remember it was that way when it came out in order to spotlight the upcoming classes in the ACG, but can the now PFS legal level 4 versions of those classes along with all of the other pre-gen classes be used? I can't find any explicit verbage on the chronicle or reporting document that were put out that says other level 4 pre-gens can't be used outside of the day it was released, or excluding things other than the pre-gens the way the We Be Goblins line had to be explicitly noted. In the interest of new players getting to pick whatever class seems most interesting to them, I'd normally say they can use any pre-gen now, but I wanted to check with "the authorities" :)

4/5 5/5

As a VC, aren't you "the authority"?

4/5 5/55/5

Magabeus wrote:
As a VC, aren't you "the authority"?

You would think, but that's not always the case! I've been wrong on some things before, nothing earth stopping, but I try to stay exactly by the book as much as I can.


I want that Goblin to become forum avatar-ready.

FOR REASONS.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Looks like no special boon for our lodge this year. The local stores have lost too much money over the past few years, and with no Paizo announcement back then, they've opted out. A few people will still get the sheet and other boon, but that's it. Super disappointed.

One store said "give more than 3.5 days notice on such things."

Shadow Lodge

Play a game? does it have to be Pathfinder or may it be any RPG game?


Pathfinder Starfinder Accessories, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Are the boons specific to Pathfinder Society or will they be usable with the upcoming Starfinder Society?

4/5

This is a nice boon. I'm glad to have something to give to my players, and I'm *really* glad it isn't tied to Starfinder. Thank you.

Grand Lodge 4/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Harold Ervin wrote:
This is a nice boon. I'm glad to have something to give to my players, and I'm *really* glad it isn't tied to Starfinder. Thank you.

Technically the exclusive Free RPG Day boon can be argued that it's thematically Starfinder.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Quick question regarding the June 16th to 25th replay boon. Do those games have to be at a brick and mortar game store, or can any PFS game gain that benefit?

Sovereign Court 4/5 * Organized Play Coordinator

Cadi wrote:
Are the boons specific to Pathfinder Society or will they be usable with the upcoming Starfinder Society?

This boon is for Pathfinder Society.

kevin_video wrote:
Quick question regarding the June 16th to 25th replay boon. Do those games have to be at a brick and mortar game store, or can any PFS game gain that benefit?

The first boon is for any game played in the window, regardless of location. The second boon is only for brick and mortar stores who participate in Free RPG day.

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Minnesota

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Tonya, one more clarification is needed.

Do the games have to start in that window, or is it okay if they are in progress during that window? I ask this on behalf of the 25 tables currently running Cosmic Captive in Play-by-Post, and all the other PFS PbPs currently running right now.

Hmm

Dark Archive 4/5 5/5 *

wyliepalmer wrote:
Play a game? does it have to be Pathfinder or may it be any RPG game?

actually curious about this one - Some of the places prefer the quickstarts from the pack to be run (but i am hoping to sneak in some We Be Goblins!)

Shadow Lodge

Was gonna run starfinder until I found out there is no encounter
Some players are not impressed
So I been asked to run a different game system
Shadowrun

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Minnesota

2 people marked this as a favorite.

We're running We Be Goblins, but are substituting the map of a crashed Shirren spaceship for the pirate ship in WBG. Keeping all the encounters the same, but giving it a bit more of a Starfinder feel.

Because nothing bad happens when goblins find spaceships.

Hmm


Clutches his favorite towel in one hand, his trusty coffee pot in the other.

IsitSaturdayyet!

Icanhardlywaitwhoneedssleep!!!

Paizo Employee 4/5 Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

5 people marked this as a favorite.

A few online play clarifications and answers to inquiries i've read over the past couple days:

Play during the window: Did you start an online game during the window? Were you in the middle of a Play-by-Post game during the window? You qualify. The important thing is to participate in a game.

Finish the game: To earn the boon, someone in an online game needs to finish the game. If someone’s starting the game and wants to use the bonus replay boon (e.g. join a We Be Goblins Free! game with the intention of using the boon for replay credit), just let the GM know ahead of time.

Online is not a Free RPG Day site: Online play only qualifies for the Free Replay Day boon, not the Tome of First Contact.

GMs get one: You get a boon for participating, regardless of which side of the screen someone’s one.

Be honest and have fun: While it’s preferable to have the GM handle signing the boon, I’m fine with a player physically printing out the boon and recording the online event’s number and title at the bottom. Just communicate with your GM and determine which solution will work best for that game.

Grand Lodge 4/5

I assume it's not spelled out because it goes without saying, but I'm going to ask the stupid question anyway:

The boon only discusses assigning it to a character, not to a player. Each player should only receive one copy of this boon, right?

Paizo Employee 4/5 Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

Stephen Wight wrote:

I assume it's not spelled out because it goes without saying, but I'm going to ask the stupid question anyway:

The boon only discusses assigning it to a character, not to a player. Each player should only receive one copy of this boon, right?

One per participant, please, even if you go to multiple events.

Grand Lodge 2/5

@Stephen Wight "If you're playing a game any time from June 16th to June 25th, you can earn a copy of this sheet—just one per participant, no matter how many times you play."

Edit: Ninja'd by John

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Minnesota

3 people marked this as a favorite.

Thank you, John! I will spread the word in the PbP Community. This is awesome.

Hmm

PS A crashed Shirren ship, after a Goblin has gotten to it.

PPS A side view.

We Be Goblins! We has ship!

4/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

As an aside, methinks the Tome of First Contact would also count as Recovering a Named Text, for purposes of a faction card.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Jurassic Pratt wrote:

@Stephen Wight "If you're playing a game any time from June 16th to June 25th, you can earn a copy of this sheet—just one per participant, no matter how many times you play."

Edit: Ninja'd by John

(Feeling dumb. I scoured the boon pretty close, but I didn't go back to the blog.)

Grand Lodge 4/5

So with We Be Goblins and We B4 Goblins being replayable scenarios to begin with, is there really any relevance in letting those be part of the replay boon? I'm assuming it's strictly for the ability to play with a 2nd level character for a second time.

Shadow Lodge

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

:( I wish we had a game store :(

Silver Crusade 3/5 5/5 Venture-Lieutenant, Online—PbP

I went to my local gamestore. They were participating in Free RPG Day, but because of a convention, they had no one to run games, so it was just a table of stuff to look over and take a few things if you wanted. This means that even though I went to a store, I can't get the Tome of First Contact. (I can't complain too much, though, since I got the last copy of the Starfinder First Contact book.)

Scarab Sages 1/5 5/55/55/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

I was at a store that was running some events for Free RPG Day, but they were not an "Official Location" on the Free RPG Day site. Is it still possible to get the Starfinder Chronicle or did they have to be listed on the site?

Scarab Sages 4/5 5/55/55/5 *** Venture-Captain, Australia—NSW—Greater West

You would get the first boon, but not the second one.

Grand Lodge 4/5

maldar wrote:
I was at a store that was running some events for Free RPG Day, but they were not an "Official Location" on the Free RPG Day site. Is it still possible to get the Starfinder Chronicle or did they have to be listed on the site?

From what I gathered, they have to have paid into Free RPG Day and give away the dice, pencils, and books associated with the day.

Silver Crusade 5/5 5/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Germany—Bavaria

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

Thank you, John! I will spread the word in the PbP Community. This is awesome.

Hmm

PS A crashed Shirren ship, after a Goblin has gotten to it.

PPS A side view.

We Be Goblins! We has ship!

Your maps are impressive as usual^^

1 to 50 of 64 << first < prev | 1 | 2 | next > last >>
Community / Forums / Organized Play / Pathfinder Society / Paizo Blog: Free RPG Day—Awesomely Alien All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.