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Hello Pathfinder Society community! Thanks to your 1-1/2 years of playing, GMing, feedback, and advice, I'm happy to announce some changes to the Society that you, the community, have asked for. We want you to know that we are listening to your concerns and ideas and that because of them, I think the Society is about to take a few giant leaps forward! Over the course of the next 6 months, we will implement a number of changes to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The changes are broken into three phases. In the interests of not putting the cart before the horse, I can't discuss the future changes or their launch dates, but I'm happy to announce the changes for Phase 1.
All of these changes are legal immediately and will all be detailed and added to v2.2 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play.
GM Ranking System
In order to both encourage more reporting from our GMs and event coordinators and to offer a "bragging rights"-type reward for our GMs, we implemented a GM ranking system. This system uses stars to denote the activity of a given GM--the more times you are reported as a GM for a scenario session, the higher number of stars you'll have. The stars are visible on your Pathfinder Society ID card (which was very recently re-designed by Crystal--be sure to check it out!), which you can re-download and print off each time you gain a star. This system also serves a purpose for me as the campaign coordinator: I know who my most active GMs are and can consider them my pool of go-to guys and gals when it comes to developing future content, changes, or just seeking someone to help run a show. It also gives me a pool to recruit from when it comes time to implement a Regional Coordinator system.
The GM ranking system has two tiers. The first tier is achievable by simply GMing as many times as you can and gaining stars by doing so. It functions thusly:
10 sessions reported as GM = 1 star
30 sessions reported as GM = 2 stars
60 sessions reported as GM = 3 stars
100 sessions reported as GM = 4 stars
The second tier is achievable by both being a 4-star GM and by attending any convention that I am personally attending and where I can witness you running part or all of a scenario. Should I find your GMing mojo to be most excellent, I will award you a 5th star. 5-star GMs are the cream of the crop. There will be special 5-star GM events and even possibly future 5-star GM rewards (in addition to planned 4-star GM rewards). This is a great achievement for a Pathfinder Society GM and I hope it's an achievement that many of you will strive to gain.
The GM ranking system went live this morning and looked back through your past reporting and back-dated your rank (you'll find the stars on your Pathfinder Society ID card downloadable from your My Pathfinder Society page here). I know several of you are already 4-star GMs as of this morning (congratulations!) and should you attend Paizo Con, Gen Con, Dragon*Con, or a few of the not-yet-announced cons I may attend this year, you'll get an opportunity to become a 5-star GM. In time, I hope to "deputize" some of my 5-star GMs to aid me in making these determinations so that our crop of 5-stars can continue to grow even at shows that I do not attend.
New GM Reward System
Our current GM reward system is clunky and I'm introducing a better system effective immediately. These changes cannot be back-dated, but are the GM reward system moving forward.
A GM now gets full credit for his character when GMing a scenario. "Full credit" means the GM gets the following:
* +1 XP
* 100% of the max gold for the tier most appropriate to his character (see below)
* Full Prestige per scenario (see below)
The GM still does not get any special boons bestowed by a chronicle sheet such as free magical treasure, regional boons, or future bonus dice rolls. A GM also does not get a Day Job roll. If a GM previously received partial credit for a scenario, he must still take the partial credit and cannot run the scenario again for full credit.
The tier most appropriate for a GM's character is determined as follows: Bob is a GM and he has a level 1 rogue. If Bob runs a sub-Tier 1-2 scenario, he takes the sub-Tier 1-2 chronicle sheet for his level 1 rogue. If Bob runs a Tier 1-5 or Tier 1-7 scenario in any sub-tier other than 1-2, he still takes a sub-Tier 1-2 chronicle sheet (so if he ran it in sub-Tier 4-5 or sub-Tier 6-7, for example, he would take a sub-Tier 1-2 chronicle sheet). If Bob runs any higher Tier scenarios that don't include a sub-Tier for his level 1 rogue, he can take the lowest sub-Tier chronicle sheet from that scenario and hold it for his PC. Then, once his PC achieves the appropriate level for that chronicle sheet, it is immediately applied.
For example, Bob runs a sub-Tier 5-6 scenario and has his level 1 rogue. He takes a sub-Tier 5-6 chronicle sheet for running the scenario and sets it aside. Once his level 1 rogue reaches level 5, he can immediately apply the chronicle sheet to his character. This does mean that GM characters can potentially level up in bursts, but we feel it's a much more consistent and fair reward for GMs. Should Bob receive a chronicle sheet that, when applied to his rogue, is between tiers for the rogue (such as being level 3 in a Tier 5 scenario with sub-Tiers 1-2 and 4-5), he must always "play down" for the lower tier. This is to balance the fact that a GM character does not have to expend any resources while gaining a chronicle sheet for running a scenario. A GM may still only apply a chronicle from a specific scenario to his PC one time--e.g., he may only receive character credit for GMing #29: Shipyard Rats once. Any additional sessions GMing that scenario are for no additional credit, but will of course apply to his GM Ranking (noted above).
GMs receive full prestige award for a scenario moving forward. They cannot receive more prestige than the scenario offers (for example, most of the Season 0 scenarios had only 1 prestige--GMs can't gain 2 from one of those scenarios).
New Chronicle Sheet System
Another system that we feel was unfairly punishing GMs and simply isn't necessary, is the rule that you can only purchase items off your last three chronicle sheets. That rule is now abolished. From now on, your character may purchase items off any chronicle sheet that has been applied to him. If your character is level 8 and has 21 chronicle sheets to his name, he can now buy anything available to him off all 21 of those chronicle sheets. Keep in mind that any item that has a purchase limit is still limited (so, for example, if it's limited to only 1 purchase, then over the life of that character he may only buy that item one time off the chronicle sheet) and keep in mind that a GM holding future higher-level chronicle sheets to apply to his character may not buy anything off those "on-hold" chronicles.
Retiring Scenarios
Over the next several years the 3.5 scenarios from Season 0 will either be retired or converted to Pathfinder RPG (time permitting). We will always give a one-month warning of an impending retirement meaning you have four weeks to purchase, play, and report that scenario as official play. Once the scenario is retired, though, it is no longer legal for play, will no longer be purchasable, and will be removed entirely from the reporting system meaning you can no longer legally apply it to your character.
This is your one month warning for the following scenarios: #10: Blood at Dralkard Manor and #15: The Asmodeus Mirage. On March 29, 2010, these two scenarios will no longer be purchasable, will no longer be able to be reported on, and will no longer be legally applicable to a Pathfinder Society character.
Replaying Scenarios
Replay is a touchy subject that, when discussed, was one of the longest threads on the Pathfinder Society boards ever. After months of your feedback and hours of internal discussions, we've decided to allow an extremely limited form of replay. Those of you who adamantly opposed replay in any form in that thread, I would hope you take a moment to appreciate why we're allowing it before you react to the decision.
Replay is now legal but only in this manner:
* You may only replay a scenario in order to follow the "Play, Play, Play" rule of Pathfinder Society to make sure a legal table happens. This means that if you have previously played a scenario, but the only way to make a legal 4-person table is for you to replay it again, this is now allowed. From another perspective, if three of the four players have already played a scenario, but the forth player has not, the three players may elect to replay the scenario to insure the fourth is part of a legal table. You may not replay a scenario just for the fun of it.
* You may not replay a scenario with the same faction as you played it before.
* You may not replay a scenario with the same character as you played it before.
* If you spoil the plot for the table, the GM has the right to ask you to leave the table and is under no obligation to reward you a chronicle sheet. Be very careful about character knowledge vs. player knowledge. My best suggestion is that if you're concerned about possibly spoiling something during the course of play, take the GM aside and ask how he would like it handled. Remember: replay is to make sure fun gaming happens, not to remove the fun from gaming.
I see replay not happening very often, but adding an extra weapon to the arsenal of GMs who run smaller game sessions and often have trouble finding a scenario that fits all of the players present. Some of you have already noticed that we removed the player-check in the reporting system that caught whether or not you had played the scenario before. That check has been replaced with a character check and will inform you when your character has played a scenario before (and thus not count it).
These are a lot of changes to soak up. Take several moments to read and re-read the changes and let me know if you have any questions.
Finally, I just want to add that I sincerely appreciate all of your hard work and feedback. I know many of you are having a lot of fun playing and GMing in Pathfinder Society Organized Play and that this is a hobby, but I want you to know that even though we're all here to have fun, I'm appreciative of your dedication, commitment, and time spent making the Society something better. Though I manage it, this is your Society, and I want to make it the best Society you want it to be.
Thanks!
Director of Brand Strategy
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Wow, you've been busy! I think these are all excellent changes. Thanks for putting so much thought into the campaign and being willing to change things to make it better for players and GMs alike.
[edit:] Also, how do I not have more stars?! I thought I was fairly active, but I guess I'm less so than I estimated. Time to get to work!
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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A GM now gets full credit for his character when GMing a scenario. "Full credit" means the GM gets the following:
* +1 XP
* 100% of the max gold for the tier most appropriate to his character (see below)
* Full Prestige per scenario (see below)These changes cannot be back-dated, but are the GM reward system moving forward.
[deep groan, gnashing of teeth, tearing of vestments]
I finally "cashed in" my GM experience when I converted my Season 0 PC two weeks ago. If only I had waited!
Having vented: I see these as entirely positive changes.
Can a DM who has not gained xp for running a secnario due to running it before GM rewards were instated now replay that secnario with his own charecter instead of a Pregen in order to make a table? And would he gain the usual player benefits.
Yes, that's acceptable.
I have one question: "no longer purchaseable" means, I can't buy them in the store anymore?!
Correct. Which is why we give it a 1-month warning.
Interesting. Thanks for bringing in the changes Josh. I think some will have a different impact here in the UK compared to the US.
Positive impacts, I hope?
As for the thanks: you're welcome! :-)
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Regional Venture-Coordinator, Mediterranean
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Interesting. Thanks for bringing in the changes Josh. I think some will have a different impact here in the UK compared to the US.Positive impacts, I hope?
Overall, I think so. The opening up of the chronicle sheets is nice. I think the full GM rewards particularly will help with getting more people GMing. Fewer conventions and opportunities to play PFS in the UK compared to the US will mean that it will be more difficult for GMs to gain the stars or it may encourage more GMing. (It will certainly encourage reporting. I know that there are a few games I ran at conventions which haven't been reported by the con organizer which I kind of let go.)
Thanks.
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Overall, I think so. The opening up of the chronicle sheets is nice. I think the full GM rewards particularly will help with getting more people GMing. Fewer conventions and opportunities to play PFS in the UK compared to the US will mean that it will be more difficult for GMs to gain the stars or it may encourage more GMing. (It will certainly encourage reporting. I know that there are a few games I ran at conventions which haven't been reported by the con organizer which I kind of let go.)
Thanks.
And many fewer chances to Meet Josh and get that 5th star.. :)
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A GM now gets full credit for his character when GMing a scenario. "Full credit" means the GM gets the following:
* +1 XP
* 100% of the max gold for the tier most appropriate to his character (see below)
* Full Prestige per scenario (see below)......GMs receive full prestige award for a scenario moving forward. They cannot receive more prestige than the scenario offers (for example, most of the Season 0 scenarios had only 1 prestige--GMs can't gain 2 from one of those scenarios).
This brings up a question for me, do GM's running Season 0 scenarios now get GM Rewards? Or are Season 0 scenarios still ineligible for the GM Rewards program? Just asking for clarification.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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This brings up a question for me, do GM's running Season 0 scenarios now get GM Rewards? Or are Season 0 scenarios still ineligible for teh GM Rewards program? Just asking for clarification.
If you ran a Season 0 scenario after August 13 of this year and have not received credit for it previously, you are eligible for credit.
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Our current GM reward system is clunky and I'm introducing a better system effective immediately. These changes cannot be back-dated, but are the GM reward system moving forward.
I was asking if GM's running Season 0 scenarios after today will receive full GM credit for running the scenario. I have some new GM's getting in training for OwlCon next year and want to be able to tell them the correct answer to this question. I do not want any confusion.
I love seeing the GMs get rewarded, but event coordinators aren't always GMs or frequent GMs. I spend several hours each week organizing a regular multiple table game night, but you'd never know that from my GM history (I'm sure I have no stars). It's not that I won't GM, but I feel I can better serve my game group in other ways. Would you consider a way to recognize those efforts? Thanks...
Our current GM reward system is clunky and I'm introducing a better system effective immediately. These changes cannot be back-dated, but are the GM reward system moving forward.I was asking if GM's running Season 0 scenarios after today will receive full GM credit for running the scenario. I have some new GM's getting in training for OwlCon next year and want to be able to tell them the correct answer to this question. I do not want any confusion.
A little below what you quoted, Joshua wrote this:
"If a GM previously received partial credit for a scenario, he must still take the partial credit and cannot run the scenario again for full credit."
So if your GMs have run it before and gotten partial credit then that is all they will ever get for it. Only GMs who have never run the scenario will get the full GM credit.
Also, pay careful attention to the list of retired scenarios when planning future events because it would suck to set up a bunch of season 0 games only to find out a bunch of people will get no credit for some of them because they have been retired.
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Regional Venture-Coordinator, Mediterranean
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I love seeing the GMs get rewarded, but event coordinators aren't always GMs or frequent GMs. I spend several hours each week organizing a regular multiple table game night, but you'd never know that from my GM history (I'm sure I have no stars). It's not that I won't GM, but I feel I can better serve my game group in other ways. Would you consider a way to recognize those efforts? Thanks...
I'd be all for that. But not quite sure how you could implement it. I guess you could have the coordinator be the one who sets up an event and perhaps have a rating depending on how many GMs and players they have for the event?
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I have one question: "no longer purchaseable" means, I can't buy them in the store anymore?!
I ask, because I normally buy scenarios to have short adventures to spice up my homecampaign. When I miss one out, and also miss the warning, I will no longer be able to buy that scenario?!
You will not be able to add these items to your cart after they are retired (i.e. we are retiring them for a reason). That said, we understand that collectors may still want to buy these, so there will be a way to get them from Paizo if you absolutely must have them.
Stay tuned!
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Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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You will not be able to add these items to your cart after they are retired (i.e. we are retiring them for a reason). That said, we understand that collectors may still want to buy these, so there will be a way to get them from Paizo if you absolutely must have them.Stay tuned!
Have I said lately how much I love this company?
I love seeing the GMs get rewarded, but event coordinators aren't always GMs or frequent GMs. I spend several hours each week organizing a regular multiple table game night, but you'd never know that from my GM history (I'm sure I have no stars). It's not that I won't GM, but I feel I can better serve my game group in other ways. Would you consider a way to recognize those efforts? Thanks...I'd be all for that. But not quite sure how you could implement it. I guess you could have the coordinator be the one who sets up an event and perhaps have a rating depending on how many GMs and players they have for the event?
Having the person who reports the tables or a separate listing for organizer (similar to GM) count as the event coordinator might work. I agree that you would have to scale the ranking in some way.
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You will not be able to add these items to your cart after they are retired (i.e. we are retiring them for a reason).
My only question: if you've purchased a scenario and it is later retired, will it still be a valid download in "My Downloads"? Knowing the kind of company Paizo is, I'm sure the answer is "yes," but I'd like explicit confirmation so I'll know whether or not to make an extra back-up.
-Skeld
My only question: if you've purchased a scenario and it is later retired, will it still be a valid download in "My Downloads"?
The answer is, indeed, yes. :-)
So what criteria are you using to decide what goes and what stays?
That's not a process I wish to discuss. Sorry, man.
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My only question: if you've purchased a scenario and it is later retired, will it still be a valid download in "My Downloads"?The answer is, indeed, yes. :-)
Cool; just wanted to make sure.
So what criteria are you using to decide what goes and what stays?That's not a process I wish to discuss. Sorry, man.
My guess involves Cosmo and a dartboard.
-Skeld
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So what criteria are you using to decide what goes and what stays?That's not a process I wish to discuss. Sorry, man.Not a problem. Not necessarily trying to get ahead of the game myself. I'll either figure it out or go mad trying...much like those attempting to read the dread gameronomicon....
I know one of these modules is known to be tougher than the other modules in the same tier - range
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Hi all -
One concern that I have brought up previously and would like to see modified is the Faction Shirts. First I'm a TALDOR supporter [yes, I do yell that out loud each time]. I would love to wear my shirt all the time - but as it looks like a Burger King shirt, I prefer not to do so.
However, during a four-day con, I can't see wearing it for four days. Much less the idea that it would further the idea that gamers can't clean themselves, but more importantly, when I first ordered it, only XL was available. I wear XXXL. So not only would it begin to stink after a few days, I might not even be able to get past the first day because of my belly hanging out.
Thus wearing of the shirts should not be required to utilize the one free dice roll. The shirt should have to be presented to the GM before the start of the adventure - showing that it belongs to said person and for use with their character at that table.
Next and only partially related. Going back to the look of TALDOR being like Burger King - can we get new shirts? Shirts that are blue or green to match our nations colors? Even if the crown of gold and red outline, but not on a red shirt. I'd much rather see the colors be the gold crown with either a blue or a green outline - especially in relation to the name. I love the font, but red and yellow just doesn't look like the colors Mr. Frost presented in the TALDOR companion.
Be Well. Be Well Tadoraned.
Theocrat Issak
We'd have to pretty much sell out of the first wave of shirts to order any more. They're not inexpensive to produce, unfortunately.
As for the shirt vs size issue, I'm only concerned that you possess the shirt at the table.
Wonder when we start seeing our Stars, Josh?
Assuming you have been reported as the GM for more than 10 tables, you should see them now on your Pathfinder Society ID card.
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Assuming you have been reported as the GM for more than 10 tables, you should see them now on your Pathfinder Society ID card.
It should be very interesting to see if you get an influx of tables getting reported with the new star system. I'll bet it will wake some people up that may have been procrastinating to making sure everything is reported and up-to-date.
Joshua,
For all those that ran over the weekend, are the new changes starting today based on the date of the event or the date of the reporting? In other words, if someone ran a game yesterday but did not report it til today, what do they get credit for?
Venture-Captain, Missouri—Cape Girardeau
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My new Pathfinder Society card (great design, by the way!) only has one star... but I run a session every other weekend at our FLGS. The store owner does all the reporting, but my number should show up as GM. Is this possibly just an oversight? Or do I only get credit for running a session the first time?
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My new Pathfinder Society card (great design, by the way!)
Great design indeed :-)
A friend of mine used to print CD covers onto sheets of overhead transparancy, and then fold them into the jewel case with a blank white card backing. It gave the CD covers a neat translucent look, and I suspect it might work well for Society cards too.