A change to consider for the future PFSOP Rule Books


Pathfinder Society

Silver Crusade 4/5

Something I would like to see: Is there anyway we could do what we did for The Beginner's Box, where we had a simplified character building guide just for players? And in doing so, separate the rule book between the character building section that doesn't change very much, versus the GM sections that seem to always change?

Don't panic, hear me out first:

If you really stop and think about it, the player build section hasn't changed since the start of Season 3 and unless we do something major like raise the point buy build or add more factions, it's not going to change much more. And the smaller details from other books are already implemented in the "Additional Resources" for us GM's.

The GM's section seems to always change as we are a growing group that is changing all the time. It would be nice to save some paper and not have new players wading through a whole bunch of stuff they are not interested in or ever plan on using. It would also be a good time to add Additional Resources to it, or utilize erratas between major changes.

It would be cost effective, Eco/Paper and Ink friendly, and would help all of us GM's not feel so darn behind in updates, when only a few sections change, but I still have to print out the 40 page guide.

All opinions are welcome so long as they are respectful.

Thanks!

Liberty's Edge 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Missouri—Cape Girardeau

As I posted in the other thread where you brought this idea up...

"I was under the impression from something said way back that this was the direction they had planned to go with Guide v4, but somehow this failed to happen. I think it would be a great idea. The current Guide is daunting to a new player that you are trying to introduce to Pathfinder in general and PFS in particular. Breaking the Guide into a Players Guide and GMs Guide would go a long way toward making Organized Play more accessible."

Liberty's Edge 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Missouri—Cape Girardeau

Bob Jonquet suggested formatting the Faction information to be similar to a "one page hand-out", which I also see value in. This would make the information for Factions also easily accessible.

Silver Crusade 4/5

I'm all for a simple hand out as well, but explaining the factions, is where a little more space is needed.

Bob also mentioned putting a page break as well so that there would not need to separate the two files.

I just wanted a more open discussion there so we keep the thread together. I go and edit my post.


From the Paizo Blog of April 4, 2011:

Quote:
In July, we'll release not one but three new campaign documents, each with a different target audience. The first will be a 4-page introduction to the campaign with only the basic overview of the campaign and how someone can get started right away. This will be aimed at people new to the campaign who wander up at a game store or convention and just need the bare minimum to get started right then and there. We'll also have a longer, more detailed version of the player's campaign guide with extended information on additional options and explanations of factions, traits, day jobs, spending Prestige, and so on. The third book will be a GM- and coordinator-oriented information about creating sessions, reporting, and other organizational elements of the campaign.

Only Mark and Mike could tell you why this never happened, but maybe it is still on their schedule and it will actually happen when version 4.2 is released at the start of Season 4.

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/5 ***

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It was probably something that Hyrum was working on before his departure. Who knows if that project remained in his possession or if he turned it over to existing leadership.

I don't think we can crush any of the sections down to the single page handout, but I think the Guide can be formatted so there are essentially three "books."
The first would be player intro info like PC build rules, campaign description, and the factions.
Book II would be the post session player stuff. Leveling, buying equipment, etc.
Book III would be the GM's part.

I would rather it stay as a single file with removable sections, rather than separate files, but that's just my opinion. I think this can all be accomplished by GenCon for what we expect will be v4.2 of the guide.

Silver Crusade 4/5

Mr. Bob J Sir, I like your plan.

I was wondering, if there was anyway we could attach an Additional Resources section to it, at least for the other core books? (APG, UC, UM and eventually Advanced Races Guide-ARG, Ultimate Equipment-UE, and the Bestiary Trio) As for the companions, as they would change, they can stay the same format we already have here. It would just be great for us GM's who know they have players with all the resources at their fingertips.

Off Topic: Oi. Two more books this year.. My back and my GM warchest groan at the thought.

Shadow Lodge 4/5 5/5 RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8

+1 to the ideas floating around on this thread. Lets get some buzz from the brains behind the books and see what they think ;)

2/5 *

I completely agree with Lady Ophelia, however I'm just writing my own (bullet point) character creation list of things to do (and pay attention to). I have two new players, but both feel intimidated by the character creation process. I supposed they're also too lazy to read the entire PFS guide, it seems like many players just want to play.

I find that when the "How to build a character" section isn't summarized quickly (for example, it's contained in paragraphs over 4 pages), players tend not to read it. The way to do it, is to summarize the important details quickly and have them reference sections (or documents) if they need more information.

Bottom Line: It would be really nice to have a short, summarized, document to introduce new players to PFS. It's very important that this document is NOT overly wordy, with flowery text about how wonderful Absalom is etc. That s#&@ just makes most players eyes glaze over. A 1/2 page document, maximum.

Enevhar Aldarion wrote:

From the Paizo Blog of April 4, 2011:

Quote:
In July, we'll release not one but three new campaign documents, each with a different target audience. The first will be a 4-page introduction to the campaign with only the basic overview of the campaign and how someone can get started right away. This will be aimed at people new to the campaign who wander up at a game store or convention and just need the bare minimum to get started right then and there. We'll also have a longer, more detailed version of the player's campaign guide with extended information on additional options and explanations of factions, traits, day jobs, spending Prestige, and so on. The third book will be a GM- and coordinator-oriented information about creating sessions, reporting, and other organizational elements of the campaign.

This would pretty much fix the problem.

Grand Lodge 4/5 *

Here are some docs I provide to new players, which try to condense the basics into one page handouts. Feel free to use as you see fit.

Character creation cheet sheet

Factions cheat sheet

2/5 *

Scott Young wrote:

Here are some docs I provide to new players, which try to condense the basics into one page handouts. Feel free to use as you see fit.

Character creation cheet sheet

Factions cheat sheet

Thanks for posting your guides.

I like you character creation guide. One thing though, Factions are changeable, with a penalty. And TPA is now "Fame". Besides that it looks good, I think I'll nab it.

Faction cheat sheet: Like I sas saying before, it's too long, it's almost in the same format as the OP guide. I'd prefer a single sentence or two to describe each faction. If people want more, they delve into another document to get details. This is especially important if the person if sitting down at a PFS table for the first time, a document of that length is just overwhelming.

I like the last page of the document because it has information on it that all players need.

Silver Crusade 4/5

Hi Scott!

Thank you for the short guides, I wish I had them a little sooner while I am at convention but it will be helpful for other games for the remainder of the weekend!

Keep coming up with the ideas!

Liberty's Edge 4/5

I want to see the restrictions on buying elephants removed. Also I want DM's that kill Kyle's character to get an extra star :)

Seriously on the subject of fudging die rolls, I think its one thing if you're running a table of experienced players in Eyes of Ten and you have a table of kids playing pre-gens at a convention. At some level the goal should be to let the players have fun. If your dice are hit and you're criting the kids left and right...I think their level of fun might be lowered if you kill or or two of them. So I don't think that a rule disallowing DM die fudging should be in place. I think we shouldn't micro manage the DM's but if the experienced players think a DM is actively cheating then by all means call them on it and if it continues report the player to the local VC.

Mike

Grand Lodge 4/5 *

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My guides have been updated to correct a few errors and now include the community use statement. You can find them here:

Lamplighter's PFS Character Cheat Sheet v4.1

Lamplighter's PFS Faction Guide v4.1

Liberty's Edge 4/5

Scott Young wrote:

My guides have been updated to correct a few errors and now include the community use statement. You can find them here:

Lamplighter's PFS Character Cheat Sheet v4.1

Lamplighter's PFS Faction Guide v4.1

You should replace the Fame buying chart with the current version, which has 5 instead of 4 or less for the 500 gp level.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

I'm really hoping for a change on the permanent and instantanious spells. It does break believability and also does shift the balance of power in ways that the game was not designed, while limiting certain character ideas, which in itself should be more important than an reasoning against it in my opinion.

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

Scott Young wrote:

My guides have been updated to correct a few errors and now include the community use statement. You can find them here:

Lamplighter's PFS Character Cheat Sheet v4.1

Lamplighter's PFS Faction Guide v4.1

I've just seen these and they're great!

The only thing I would comment on is the statement that +1 to a skill for taking a faction trait isn't worth it. That's true, but if it also makes it a class skill it's +4, and that probably is.

Silver Crusade 4/5

*nods* My society has been eating these sheets up! I'll be definately be taking these to my next conventions and game days for sure!

I also have a player FAQ's to add to the goodies sheet.

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