Guides, Characters, and Conventions!

Monday, August 14, 2017

Well, I'm at Gen Con in the middle of the Sagamore Ballroom. Spent the morning sorting banners and getting them ready for hanging. This afternoon, the team put the final touches on Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guides. So without further ado, the Guides!

Season 9 of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide doesn't see the upheaval of last year's changes. Instead, we reviewed forum threads to find questions and clarifications. As a result, this is a buff and polish job. The biggest changes are in formatting. Our graphic designer, Emily, changed up some layout and made a stunning product. I really like the coloring and design she put together for Season 9 and am interested to hear your thoughts.

Season 1 of the Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide borrows heavily from the Pathfinder Guide. Which makes sense, since many of the items included in the guide are organized play pieces. Much like Starfinder, you'll find many similarities. But where things are different, they are different. Some of this appeared in preview blogs over the past few months, like boon slots and infamy. We've also included the two Starfinder Society base class ships, the Pegasus and the Drake. An expanded Faction chapter outlines faction boons for each of our five factions. So while you could skim over the guide and get the bare bones, I encourage you to delve deep and enjoy the new campaign.

Both Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Quest: Into the Unknown and Starfinder Society Scenario #1-00: Claim to Salvation utilize pre-generated iconic characters. It is our pleasure to reveal these today. Starfinder Designer Owen K. C. Stevens took point on turning our iconic characters—Altronus, Iseph, Keskadai, Navasi, Obazaya, Quinn, and Raia—into playable characters. As with the Pathfinder pregenerated iconic characters, they're now available for download as a Community Use Package.

My closing bit of information is about a change in our convention attendance schedule. After some deliberation, we decided to forgo our attendance at PAX West. Instead, this November, several staffers are attending PAX Unplugged in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Of all the PAX events, Unplugged is most aligned with our products and goals and as such, we wish to focus our efforts there.

But Seattleites' should not despair. There are still a number of local conventions with Paizo organized play activities: Dragonflight in August, Geek Girl Con in September, OrcaCon in January, and Norwescon in March. In addition, after Gen Con ends, we will take a look at the schedule of organized play activities at Emerald City Comic Con next March and get more information out to potential show attendees. Of course, you can always come to PaizoCon 2018, which is scheduled for May 25-28th in Seatac, Washington!

On Wednesday, the team will continue previewing our Gen Con releases. Until then, I bid you happy reading!

Explore, Report, Cooperate!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Community Use Organized Play Pathfinder Society Starfinder Society
Grand Lodge 4/5

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Pathfinder Accessories, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Huzzah!

Scarab Sages 5/5 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Washington—Spokane

Glad to see both the Pathfinder Society Season 9 Roleplaying Guild Guide and the Starfinder Society Season 1 Roleplaying Guild Guide appear in the wild! Thank you for all involved in making this happen.

I did note that the links to 1-00 and Into the Unknown both link to the Into the Unknown product page.

If anyone finds themselves in the Spokane Area October 6th to the 8th, the Spokane Convention Center will be hosting the debut of the new convention FanNexus. A team from the Paizo Organized Play of the Inland Northwest will be there in force and will be the Spokane debut of all the new season kickoff scenarios.

Scarab Sages 5/5

The Table of Contents seems to be wrong for which page the various things show up on, in both guides.

Silver Crusade 4/5 Venture-Captain, Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh

Very cool! Might have my favorite cover of the guides, too.

I'm slowly reviewing the changes... the changes to paying for conditions earned on a pregen are welcome. I like it a lot.

Campaign mode: did this not get fixed? Or are you actually opening up campaign mode to all sanctioned APs and modules like the text suggests?

Campaign Mode: Page 12 of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide:
Campaign Mode: For sanctioned modules and Adventure Paths, GMs are allowed to use their own rules for character creation and running the presented content (the entire book or series). Credit is applied to an appropriate Roleplaying Guild character as if the character created were a pregenerated character.

Silver Crusade 4/5 Venture-Captain, Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh

PFS guide again: seeing lots of little fixes. Thank you!

The table of contents / bookmarks / outline, depending on which PDF reader you are using, has a whole bunch of hashed bookmark values appearing. I think all the normal bookmarks are also there.

Grand Lodge 2/5 5/55/55/5 * Venture-Captain, Washington—Tacoma

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Muppet arm flail!!!! YAY!!!!

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

Terminalmancer wrote:

Very cool! Might have my favorite cover of the guides, too.

I'm slowly reviewing the changes... the changes to paying for conditions earned on a pregen are welcome. I like it a lot.

Campaign mode: did this not get fixed? Or are you actually opening up campaign mode to all sanctioned APs and modules like the text suggests?

** spoiler omitted **

The text just under that says:

Event Mode: Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild characters are the only characters allowed to play in games run in event mode, and all Roleplaying Guild rules must be followed. Most modules can only be played in event mode.

Which is a different way of saying: The sanction document determines if campaign mode is legal.

Grand Lodge 2/5 *

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

In the Pre-generated Iconic Characters the files Mystic 1, 4 & 7 are actually Mechanic 1, 4 & 7 duplicated; the Mystic all levels file is correct.

Silver Crusade 4/5 Venture-Captain, Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh

Woran wrote:
Terminalmancer wrote:

Very cool! Might have my favorite cover of the guides, too.

I'm slowly reviewing the changes... the changes to paying for conditions earned on a pregen are welcome. I like it a lot.

Campaign mode: did this not get fixed? Or are you actually opening up campaign mode to all sanctioned APs and modules like the text suggests?

** spoiler omitted **

The text just under that says:

Event Mode: Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild characters are the only characters allowed to play in games run in event mode, and all Roleplaying Guild rules must be followed. Most modules can only be played in event mode.

Which is a different way of saying: The sanction document determines if campaign mode is legal.

Ah! Thanks for pointing that out. That's not where most people will look for it, but at least it's somewhere in this version... maybe in version 10 we can get a blurb under the Campaign Mode heading.

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

Terminalmancer wrote:
Woran wrote:
Terminalmancer wrote:

Very cool! Might have my favorite cover of the guides, too.

I'm slowly reviewing the changes... the changes to paying for conditions earned on a pregen are welcome. I like it a lot.

Campaign mode: did this not get fixed? Or are you actually opening up campaign mode to all sanctioned APs and modules like the text suggests?

** spoiler omitted **

The text just under that says:

Event Mode: Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild characters are the only characters allowed to play in games run in event mode, and all Roleplaying Guild rules must be followed. Most modules can only be played in event mode.

Which is a different way of saying: The sanction document determines if campaign mode is legal.

Ah! Thanks for pointing that out. That's not where most people will look for it, but at least it's somewhere in this version... maybe in version 10 we can get a blurb under the Campaign Mode heading.

Yeah, it could have been more clear.

Silver Crusade 4/5 Venture-Captain, Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh

Woran wrote:
Yeah, it could have been more clear.

I was even looking for it, and never thought to check there. Ah well. Thanks again.

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

4 people marked this as a favorite.

The guide is gorgeous! Love the ships and all the faction boons!

Errata for Version Two

That said... There was a major omission on P 47: Please include this as its own region in Version Two, either at the top of the list or on the bottom. There's still room on the page.

_______

ONLINE

Online: Venture Captain Jesse Davis (jesse@pathfindersocietyonline.com) Virtual Table-Top, Play-by-Post.

_______

A Plea for both Online Regions

I believe strongly that both online regions (Virtual Table Top & Play-by-Post) have come of age. We are not just for random pick-up games anymore. We are full blown communities that are growing, active, and vibrant. We are the home for people in rural areas where there may be no PFS. We are the place where players and GMs can meet and play across international boundaries and learn about each others regions.

I was thrilled that you guys recognized us with the 'Digital Presence' boon. This made me unbelievably happy.

But please, help our players find us. I know that Jesse may not be officially an RVC, but he administers two disparate regions that are incredibly active and diverse. I think that Online needs to be listed in the guides along with the face-to-face regions.

Ad Astra!

Hmm
Venture Lieutenant of the Play-by-Post Communities

3/5

Darrell Impey UK wrote:
In the Pre-generated Iconic Characters the files Mystic 1, 4 & 7 are actually Mechanic 1, 4 & 7 duplicated; the Mystic all levels file is correct.

Looks like the Mystic files may be updated Mechanic files. The Mystic level 4 file shows the Mechanic level 4 with the correct Int 16 (+3) instead of the typo in the actual Mechanic level 4 of Int 16 (+0). My guess is someone was updating some information and saved in the wrong place.

Liberty's Edge 1/5 5/55/55/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Illinois—Fairview Heights

Terminalmancer wrote:
Woran wrote:
Terminalmancer wrote:

Very cool! Might have my favorite cover of the guides, too.

I'm slowly reviewing the changes... the changes to paying for conditions earned on a pregen are welcome. I like it a lot.

Campaign mode: did this not get fixed? Or are you actually opening up campaign mode to all sanctioned APs and modules like the text suggests?

** spoiler omitted **

The text just under that says:

Event Mode: Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild characters are the only characters allowed to play in games run in event mode, and all Roleplaying Guild rules must be followed. Most modules can only be played in event mode.

Which is a different way of saying: The sanction document determines if campaign mode is legal.

Ah! Thanks for pointing that out. That's not where most people will look for it, but at least it's somewhere in this version... maybe in version 10 we can get a blurb under the Campaign Mode heading.

Campaign Mode and Event mode are distinct and independent. Event Mode is not a sub-bullet or subsection of campaign mode.

Campaign Mode

Spoiler:
Campaign Mode: For sanctioned modules and Adventure
Paths, GMs are allowed to use their own rules for
character creation and running the presented content (the
entire book or series). Credit is applied to an appropriate
Roleplaying Guild character as if the character created
were a pregenerated character.

Event Mode

Spoiler:
Event Mode: Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild
characters are the only characters allowed to play in
games run in event mode, and all Roleplaying Guild rules
must be followed. Most modules can only be played in
event mode.

In fact it goes on to further clarify that if you are playing higher level content for credit on a PFS character, you have to have a PFS character already in the level range to receive it.

This is an "OR" situation of multiple options, not an "AND" situation of compounding restrictions.

IMHO Paizo is not in the habit of attempting to lawyer their content any more than is required. RAW using common literary structure, these are independent and equal level options within the document. As worded, the third paragraph supports the structure of the paragraphs above in that same context.

This is actually not new, but more easily clarifies and polishes the wording on campaign mode. This allows players to explore all aspects of their product without having to choose between a PFS and non-PFS character when their play time is limited.

Grand Lodge 3/5

Will the Faction Journal Cards come out before the Con starts?

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 *** Venture-Agent, Nebraska—Omaha

They are expected later today.

Community & Digital Content Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.

The Starfinder Society Pregens have been corrected, Faction Journal Cards will be available later today, and the Guide PDF bookmarks, TOC, and GM Nova language will be fixed as well.

3/5

Sad that the character death update from GtOP 8.0 that actively enables griefing-style play is still in the Guide, but glad that it appears a bit less punishing to recover from.

Do find it interesting that the Free RPG Day mods don't fit under any of the listed categories under "types of games" on page 5.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Venture-Agent, Georgia—Atlanta

If you are no longer going to Pax West, why not add Dragon*con back into the rotation?

Sovereign Court 4/5 * Organized Play Manager

Hmm wrote:

The guide is gorgeous! Love the ships and all the faction boons!

Errata for Version Two

That said... There was a major omission on P 47: Please include this as its own region in Version Two, either at the top of the list or on the bottom. There's still room on the page.

_______

ONLINE

Online: Venture Captain Jesse Davis (jesse@pathfindersocietyonline.com) Virtual Table-Top, Play-by-Post.

_______

A Plea for both Online Regions

I believe strongly that both online regions (Virtual Table Top & Play-by-Post) have come of age. We are not just for random pick-up games anymore. We are full blown communities that are growing, active, and vibrant. We are the home for people in rural areas where there may be no PFS. We are the place where players and GMs can meet and play across international boundaries and learn about each others regions.

I was thrilled that you guys recognized us with the 'Digital Presence' boon. This made me unbelievably happy.

But please, help our players find us. I know that Jesse may not be officially an RVC, but he administers two disparate regions that are incredibly active and diverse. I think that Online needs to be listed in the guides along with the face-to-face regions.

Ad Astra!

Hmm
Venture Lieutenant of the Play-by-Post Communities

While I appreciate your request, we are not at a point where we are adding any regions. We recognize that online play is a unique area, and that we cannot treat it the same as our established regions. At this time, Online works directly under the Organized Play Manager, not an RVC, and we look at every piece of the program as it impacts both our physical and online players.

Speaking of which, there are some proposals in the works to discuss after Gen Con and my vacation.

Any changes we make we will be sure to announce it in a more public venue, not slip into the guide updates.


Uh the "Starfinder Society Scenario #1-00: Claim to Salvation " link leads to the "Starfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Quest: Into the Unknown". The correct link is THIS ONE

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Fixed. Thanks!

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

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Tonya wrote:

Speaking of which, there are some proposals in the works to discuss after Gen Con and my vacation.

Any changes we make we will be sure to announce it in a more public venue, not slip into the guide updates.

Fair enough... I just like people to know whom to contact!

See you tomorrow at GenCon, Tonya!

Hmm

Grand Lodge 2/5

Perhaps this is one of those changes that Tonya says she'll look into after vacation (You'll need it after Gen Con!), but at HMM's PaizoCon panel, Tonya stated that the Season 9 guide would remove the requirement that one have paper copies of chronicle sheets as long as you have scans that you can show should you be audited. This was well received, and is a huge boon to someone like me since I occasionally play with a local group somewhere in the world on a layover.

Unfortunately, I don't see that in the new guide. Were there issues with implementation? I'm disappointed, and hope that it will be addressed in the future.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Nomadical wrote:

Perhaps this is one of those changes that Tonya says she'll look into after vacation (You'll need it after Gen Con!), but at HMM's PaizoCon panel, Tonya stated that the Season 9 guide would remove the requirement that one have paper copies of chronicle sheets as long as you have scans that you can show should you be audited. This was well received, and is a huge boon to someone like me since I occasionally play with a local group somewhere in the world on a layover.

Unfortunately, I don't see that in the new guide. Were there issues with implementation? I'm disappointed, and hope that it will be addressed in the future.

I don't know about the PFS one, but the SFS guide explicitly says you can use digital copies of your chronicle sheets in the "Keep Good Records" section on page 4. Is there not something similar in the PFS one?

Grand Lodge 2/5 5/55/55/5 * Venture-Captain, Washington—Tacoma

1 person marked this as a favorite.

It is on page 4/5 of PFS guide as well.

PFSGuide:
You must bring either paper or digital copies
of your character sheet and all accompanying Chronicle
sheets of any character you wish to play to Roleplaying
Guild events. If using paper copies, we suggest keeping
your character sheets and Chronicle sheets in a binder with a dedicated pocket folder for each character. Digital copies
must be on a device you are comfortable showing your GM.

Liberty's Edge 3/5 *

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

PFS Guide Page 40

Pregenerated Character: These are pre-made characters of 1st, 4th, and 8th levels designed for quick use by players who may not have a character of their own or want to try a new character class. Some exclusive events also provide special pregenerated characters.

8th?

Grand Lodge 4/5 **** Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento

Yup

4/5 5/55/55/5 *** Venture-Lieutenant, Minnesota—Minneapolis

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Looks like a copy and paste error from the SFS guide to me.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Page 46 mentions a Welcome to Starfinder for a players -701, but this boon isn't listed anywhere as far as I can tell. Where can it be found?

Grand Lodge 2/5

Pakishi wrote:

It is on page 4/5 of PFS guide as well.

** spoiler omitted **

Thank you Rooneg & Pakishi. My eyes glanced right over that at least once. Happy now!


Is it true we are not allowed to play any of the PFS races accept Humans in StarFinder Society games even though they have full rules for them in the StarFinder core book?
(Elves, Dwarfs, Etc)

Paizo Employee 5/5 Starfinder Society Developer

Paramus wrote:

Is it true we are not allowed to play any of the PFS races accept Humans in StarFinder Society games even though they have full rules for them in the StarFinder core book?

(Elves, Dwarfs, Etc)

This is correct. We're looking at ways to allow access to legacy races, but we wanted to focus on the new primary Starfinder races at release. Expect to see more announcements on how we'll be handling this in the near future!

1/5

Thurston Hillman wrote:


This is correct. We're looking at ways to allow access to legacy races, but we wanted to focus on the new primary Starfinder races at release. Expect to see more announcements on how we'll be handling this in the near future!

If you find a way, please keep me informed. I might consider joining then.

Liberty's Edge 2/5 5/5

Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Dead Suns 1 is not available to add to an event.

Sovereign Court 5/5 5/5 RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16, 2011 Top 32

Khaelin wrote:
Thurston Hillman wrote:


This is correct. We're looking at ways to allow access to legacy races, but we wanted to focus on the new primary Starfinder races at release. Expect to see more announcements on how we'll be handling this in the near future!
If you find a way, please keep me informed. I might consider joining then.

Run a SFS game during the PBP Gameday and the GM boon is a Legacy Races boon for SFS, we're told.

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