Paizo Blog: Improvements Are A-Comin'


Pathfinder Society

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Grand Lodge 4/5

5 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Booyah!

Silver Crusade 5/5 5/5 **** Regional Venture-Coordinator, Francia

Really nice news !!!

Liberty's Edge 4/5 RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

I'm really excited about these changes that are coming!

Silver Crusade 5/5

Yesss!

4/5 *

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber

Exxxxxcellent. <steeples fingers>

Dark Archive 5/5 5/5

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Mike says things most awesome wrote:
Include full stat blocks for creatures modified by the advanced, giant, or young simple templates. The exception to this would be modifications that appear in the "Scaling Encounter XYZ" sidebars. For example, if the adventure says that there should be an advanced otyugh, the full stats for an advanced otyugh will be there and ready to go. If the scaling notes say that a four-person group should instead face a young otyugh, those stats would not appear. This should at least cover the essential modifications and reduce the amount of on-the-fly adjustment that a GM needs to do.

and the announcement of our own plot line are what I am most excited about.

Liberty's Edge 5/5 5/5

Why is this in website feedback? Shouldn't it be in PFS General Discussion?

Dark Archive 3/5

2 people marked this as a favorite.

The Reduction of subsystems, inclusion of modified stat blocks and reduction of books makes me happy. I like occasional introduction of new things, like Mass Combat, but it shouldn't be put into a scenario with entirely new mechanics for monsters. (Troop mechanics, I'm looking at you.)

Liberty's Edge 3/5

I am impressed. I look forward to seeing how the additional faction task and reward system plays out in-game. Just reading it has made me more interested in the factions of the characters that will be joining mine on missions.

Sovereign Court 4/5

Quote:
Provide an appendix that includes the full Bestiary and NPC Codex pages referenced in the adventure as well as an un-tagged copy of any custom maps that appear in the scenario.

Celebrate good times, come on!

4/5 *

Lots of exciting improvements. Seems like an elegant way to make factions more relevant without taking away from the group unity that has resulted from prestige being tied to the Pathfinder mission.

I know that there are 5 seasons' worth of spoiler-light season summaries on pathfindersociety.net, in case anyone wants them... :)

5/5 5/55/5

Those are nice improvements but what happened to making more playable content? As an experienced player I really only have the new scenarios to play, I already GM 3 to 4 times a month.

Grand Lodge 4/5 Global Organized Play Coordinator

1 person marked this as a favorite.
roysier wrote:
Those are nice improvements but what happened to making more playable content? As an experienced player I really only have the new scenarios to play, I already GM 3 to 4 times a month.

Check the second to last paragraph.

Grand Lodge 5/5

Huzzah!

5/5

I feel that this is a big step in the right direction for Pathfinder Society. It will be good to see these changes in force.

One thing though:

Quote:
Include full stat blocks for creatures modified by the advanced, giant, or young simple templates.

I hope that this extends to creatures modified by other templates, such as various Mythic templates that seem to occasionally pervade monsters out there.

Dark Archive 5/5 5/5

Mekkis wrote:

I feel that this is a big step in the right direction for Pathfinder Society. It will be good to see these changes in force.

One thing though:

Quote:
Include full stat blocks for creatures modified by the advanced, giant, or young simple templates.
I hope that this extends to creatures modified by other templates, such as various Mythic templates that seem to occasionally pervade monsters out there.

I read this as for any monster affected by any template, minus those for the various for player adjustments. I could be wrong. I hope I am not.

Sovereign Court

Good news indeed. Looking forward to the changes.

Dark Archive 4/5 5/5 ****

Sounds amazing to me!

I'd really like to see that a variety of NPCs get more re-use. For example, Eando Kline has been an interesting person to chase after in more than one scenario. There's history there. But a whole cast of characters... more than just Torch. There's a rich history full of characters out there... we should use as many as possible!

Of course, that doesn't mean we shouldn't get to meet new folks as well!

All sounds great! Can't wait to hear the rest of this!

Paizo Employee 4/5 Developer

Leg o' Lamb wrote:
Mekkis wrote:

I feel that this is a big step in the right direction for Pathfinder Society. It will be good to see these changes in force.

One thing though:

Quote:
Include full stat blocks for creatures modified by the advanced, giant, or young simple templates.
I hope that this extends to creatures modified by other templates, such as various Mythic templates that seem to occasionally pervade monsters out there.
I read this as for any monster affected by any template, minus those for the various for player adjustments. I could be wrong. I hope I am not.

I think the main exceptions to this standard are the resolute, entropic, fiendish, and celestial simple templates, which only add a few resistances but do not modify the ability scores or derived attributes (AC, attack bonus, saves, etc.) of a creature. For non-Bestiary simple templates, I anticipate adding or not adding a full stat block based on this standard.

Grand Lodge 4/5 5/5 * Contributor

Really awesome stuff to read. John Compton said something big was coming at yesterday's game; I had no idea it was THIS big!

I'm really happy to see the focuses here. Shorter "big boy" scenarios, more quests, faction rework, all of it. Great to hear!

I do hope that the rule subsystems don't get pulled back too much though. Re-examining them is certainly a good thing, but I personally LOVE scenarios where point-tracking things come into play. For example:

Spoiler:
In Quest for Perfection part 3, PC's can earn Defense Points by doing various tasks around the town of Nesting Swallow before the onslaught. This grants advantages in the final battle like reducing the number of enemies or letting players expend Defense Points to give them direct bonuses in combat.
This was AWESOME. It allowed non-combat rules to really influence the scenario without excluding the BSF, murder-hobo types (who definitely had their challenge with the boss).

Doing things like that in more - not necessarily all - scenarios would be a refreshing mix of combat and social stuff. People who focus characters on skills and quirky tricks could accomplish tasks that still help in combat indirectly, while the full-combat folk still get to have the limelight in the end. And if everyone just wants to murder things? They get more challenging, more satisfying combats.

4/5

I'm glad to see these changes coming. I liked everything that was mentioned above, and I'm greatly looking forward to seeing these changes in action!

5/5 5/55/5

Michael Brock wrote:
roysier wrote:
Those are nice improvements but what happened to making more playable content? As an experienced player I really only have the new scenarios to play, I already GM 3 to 4 times a month.
Check the second to last paragraph.

Got it, I guess it helps if I read everything.

3/5

Like, like... a thousand times like!

Grand Lodge 5/5 5/55/5 *

Best.
Update.
Ever.

Dark Archive 5/5 5/5

John Compton wrote:
Leg o' Lamb wrote:
Mekkis wrote:

I feel that this is a big step in the right direction for Pathfinder Society. It will be good to see these changes in force.

One thing though:

Quote:
Include full stat blocks for creatures modified by the advanced, giant, or young simple templates.
I hope that this extends to creatures modified by other templates, such as various Mythic templates that seem to occasionally pervade monsters out there.
I read this as for any monster affected by any template, minus those for the various for player adjustments. I could be wrong. I hope I am not.
I think the main exceptions to this standard are the resolute, entropic, fiendish, and celestial simple templates, which only add a few resistances but do not modify the ability scores or derived attributes (AC, attack bonus, saves, etc.) of a creature. For non-Bestiary simple templates, I anticipate adding or not adding a full stat block based on this standard.

Wonderful. Again, this is most exciting in my world.

Shadow Lodge 4/5

3 people marked this as a favorite.
GM NMP wrote:

Best.

Update.
Ever.

At least until the NEXT one. :)

Silver Crusade 3/5

So much good news in one place! Bravo! Bravo!

Grand Lodge 5/5

TOZ wrote:
GM NMP wrote:

Best.

Update.
Ever.
At least until the NEXT one. :)

+1 to that. :P

Silver Crusade 4/5

I'm enthralled with the news about getting the summary information in an easy to digest form for faction/season related stuff.

Everything else looks great too, especially the appendix for GM's.

1/5 **

1 person marked this as a favorite.

All good news, but...

Quote:
  • Provide an appendix that includes the full Bestiary and NPC Codex pages referenced in the adventure as well as an un-tagged copy of any custom maps that appear in the scenario.
  • Cap the number of required GM resources at four books per scenario (including the Core Rulebook). This should be relatively easy if the Bestiary pages are already included in the back of the adventure, as in most cases approximately half of the books referenced are Bestiaries.
  • Include full stat blocks for creatures modified by the advanced, giant, or young simple templates. The exception to this would be modifications that appear in the "Scaling Encounter XYZ" sidebars. For example, if the adventure says that there should be an advanced otyugh, the full stats for an advanced otyugh will be there and ready to go. If the scaling notes say that a four-person group should instead face a young otyugh, those stats would not appear. This should at least cover the essential modifications and reduce the amount of on-the-fly adjustment that a GM needs to do.
  • Limit the number of rules subsystems in scenarios. Subsystems aren't going away entirely, but we need to avoid relying on subsystems and simply save them for the times that they'll have the greatest impact. Should an especially large subsystem such as mass combat appear in a scenario again for whatever reason, it would be advertised on the product page. Simple point-tracking mechanics that only the GM sees (for example, keeping track of how many clues the PCs uncover) are likely to show up a little less often but are still a useful tool.

...are particularly welcome. Great update!

4/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Sounds good, there's lots there that is really encouraging for future play

Scarab Sages 4/5

Awesome news, cant wait!

4/5

Overall, I think there are alot of changes here that are positive. I like the idea of making faction related stuff optional, although if you manage to complete it, then you get some perks. Its reminiscent of how it was with LFR 4e.

"Story So Far" segments are a big one. I can't recall how many times I've been asked for storyline stuff or background info that I just don't know anything about. Even then, I always felt listless as a participant in PFS.

GMs around the world are rejoicing over providing more stat blocks in scenarios. Possibly my biggest gripe was having to look through all sorts of various materials just for one mook and then finding its template to adjust it. Honestly, if PFSPrep.com didn't exist, I probably would've quit GMing for PFS a long time ago.

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

*applause*

Shadow Lodge 3/5

Quote:
If the scaling notes say that a four-person group should instead face a young otyugh, those stats would not appear. This should at least cover the essential modifications and reduce the amount of on-the-fly adjustment that a GM needs to do.

For regions that regularly run only 4-player groups, this is still going to be a problem. Maybe a decent half-way measure is to include somewhere in the scenario how to adjust to a young template (or whichever template is relevant for that scenario).

Grand Lodge 5/5

Avatar-1 wrote:
Quote:
If the scaling notes say that a four-person group should instead face a young otyugh, those stats would not appear. This should at least cover the essential modifications and reduce the amount of on-the-fly adjustment that a GM needs to do.
For regions that regularly run only 4-player groups, this is still going to be a problem. Maybe a decent half-way measure is to include somewhere in the scenario how to adjust to a young template (or whichever template is relevant for that scenario).

Templates are all in the back of each Bestiary as well as on the PRD already.

Liberty's Edge 4/5 5/55/5 **

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Just to be contrary, because you need a little of that in every post...

I hate these changes!!!!!

Edit: I Kid, I kid! ;)

Shadow Lodge 3/5

Seth Gipson wrote:
Avatar-1 wrote:
Quote:
If the scaling notes say that a four-person group should instead face a young otyugh, those stats would not appear. This should at least cover the essential modifications and reduce the amount of on-the-fly adjustment that a GM needs to do.
For regions that regularly run only 4-player groups, this is still going to be a problem. Maybe a decent half-way measure is to include somewhere in the scenario how to adjust to a young template (or whichever template is relevant for that scenario).
Templates are all in the back of each Bestiary as well as on the PRD already.

I know, but not having to look up other books is exactly what this improvement is trying to resolve.

Liberty's Edge 5/5

Starfinder Superscriber

This all sounds good. I like the idea of "Story So Far" handouts, although part of me worries about spoilers. I see that the intention is to keep the spoilers to a minimum, so I trust that this will all be good. Just a bit of feedback to encourage the idea of keeping the spoilers to a minimum.

As a possible additional suggestion, if there are scenarios that are best played after other particular scenarios for reasons of spoilers and such (e.g. "Among the Dead" after "Among the Living", the Blakros Museum sequence, etc.), having a list of those at the beginning of each scenario would be nice. I know that often the ordered scenarios come as a set ("The Devil We Know I" through "IV" for example), but they don't always. (I suspect for existing scenarios there are message board posts that provide that information; anybody have a link handy?) That would allow players who have options for which scenarios to play to choose the order, and might also encourage GMs to run things in a certain order. (As a set of online games, I ran the three "Among the..." scenarios with more or less the same ground. Was jolly.)

Dark Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.

It would help immensly with problems getting GM volunteers if Full Statblock(of relevant stats, skills they aren't going to possible used don't need included) for every single monster in a scenario were published. PFS is the only living campaign I've ever played in that doesn't have full statblocks of every monster in each adventure, and it's also the only living campaign I've ever played that there is a problem getting judges to volunteer. Rewards can help bribe judges into volunteering, but nothing will help more than removing obstacles to judging, and lack for monster full stat blocks is a big obstacle.

It would increase game quality too. All the time I spend prepping the monsters for a scenario (which is the vast majority of the couple hours I spend prepping for running a game) I could instead spend on getting to know the scenario better and think about ways to provide a better experience for the players.

It would also greatly assist situations where a GM is forced to run something with mimimal prep time. I realize that in PFS games in the areas where the Paizo Staff live are very well organized and this isn't a problem. But it is a very different situation for a large chunk of your players. Sometimes only 4 people show up to an event, and 1 person has already played what you prepped. Sometimes a judge is a no-show at an event and you have to scramble for a replacement. Sometimes someone could be really familiar with a scenario and able to run it with little prep, if only all the material they needed to run it was presented in the scenario itself.

I understand that word count is important, and even if I don't quite understand why, you seem like you are trying to shorten the length of scenarios. If the word count freed up could go towards complete monster stat blocks, it would be greatly appriciated, and immensely helpful. Especially for monsters that aren't in the Beastiary 1, if you have to exclude some statblocks.

Shadow Lodge 3/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.

That's actually an excellent question - why is word count important on a published PDF-only scenario?

The Exchange 4/5

2 people marked this as a favorite.

I hope the next announcement is about how gunslingers, swashbucklers, and summoners will not be legal after season 6. The power creep is definitely the biggest problem I've noticed with society play.

Liberty's Edge 4/5 *

Victor Zajic wrote:


I understand that word count is important, and even if I don't quite understand why, you seem like you are trying to shorten the length of scenarios. If the word count freed up could go towards complete monster stat blocks, it would be greatly appriciated, and immensely helpful. Especially for monsters that aren't in the Beastiary 1, if you have to exclude some statblocks.

Actually the reference to shortening the scenarios isn't about the word count, but the time required to play the higher tier scenarios. In fact, removing an encounter from a 7-11 could even potentially free word count up to give more background, better descriptions, or the like.

And I *believe* the intent is to either not tie the stat blocks into the word count, or give the authors some "wiggle room" for them.

Grand Lodge 4/5 Global Organized Play Coordinator

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Avatar-1 wrote:
That's actually an excellent question - why is word count important on a published PDF-only scenario?

Because developers still need to develop and editors still need to edit.

Grand Lodge 4/5

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber
Demoyn wrote:
The power creep is definitely the biggest problem I've noticed with society play.

I think you'll enjoy our solution once we finish hammering out the creases.

Avatar-1 wrote:
That's actually an excellent question - why is word count important on a published PDF-only scenario?

Development time required, as Mike just said. The more words, the more time needed to edit and layout. So you can't just add more wordcount endlessly or you end up missing deadlines.

Paizo Employee 4/5 Developer

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Avatar-1 wrote:
That's actually an excellent question - why is word count important on a published PDF-only scenario?

This came up in a related thread, actually. Take a look at my first response and then a second one.

Awww…ninja-ed while searching for proper documentation!

Shadow Lodge 4/5

Wo-pah!

4/5 *

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber

TOZ is definitely a ninja's ninja when he can ninja John.

2/5

I have never been so proud to be part of an organization as I am now, seeing these changes (with others to come) becoming a reality. ^_^

Sovereign Court 2/5

This all sounds pretty awesome.. Just would like to see how it goes once implemented

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