What is PFS all about for YOU?


Pathfinder Society

Grand Lodge 2/5 RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

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Why do you roleplay? Why do you GM? What aspects are important to you? Why? Please try to stick to "I prefer" and not "This is The Way". It's okay for people to want other things, and your desires are no more important than theirs. This is an opportunity to learn about each other, to discover the ways in which we might not be as much the "norm" as we think we are, and thereby grow. :)

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My interest in Pathfinder includes some of the same things that motivate all my pastimes: having fun, socializing, etc. But the reason why I spend a given block of time playing Pathfinder instead of doing other things I enjoy is largely my ability to influence how the story plays out. I love movies, but PFS is my chance to switch from "Why didn't they just do X?" to "I do X." Although I love and embrace classic storytelling tropes, roleplaying is my chance to turn those tropes on their heads, to make the story actually play out differently for a change. It's the only story-related experience where I get to help shape it. It's also the only story-related experience that I can't predict (at least, without turning my brain off, which I often do during movies so I can experience "the ride").

It's my only outlet to combine storytelling and agency. I can get the former with movies and the latter with other games, but roleplaying is the sweet synthesis of the two. :)

When I GM, my main goal is that the players are free to enjoy the game for their reasons, not mine; though I do always hope to see a little of "my kind of stuff" if I'm lucky. :)

That's me. How about the rest of you?

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

I am also story-oriented.

My fun in PFS comes from the following:


  • Roleplay -- I play a definite character and I play her to the hilt. If I take a regional trait, I roleplay that regional trait, hokey accent and all. (One GM asked: "Is she going to keep up that accent all game? Really?" Heh, heh, heh. By the end of the game he was speaking in the same accent.)
  • Making other characters shine -- I want everybody to get a chance to do their thing;
  • Working together as a team to use everyone's abilities.
  • Bluffing. I love lying in game. That's why I'm doing a paladin as my next character -- ooh, the challenge of playing the straight woman!
  • Breaking the GM. If we've caused the GM to bust a gut laughing, we are doing a good job.
  • Knowledge rolls and skill checks -- digging up information, learning secrets.
  • Learning about everybody's character quirks.

You know what's not on this list?


  • Railroad scenarios that can only go one way.
  • Scenarios where every NPC attacks you, no matter what.
  • Most combat. I do combat so that I can get to the fun stuff -- roleplay and puzzle solving.
  • Lethality.
  • Players boasting out of character about who has the best damage.
  • Scenarios where I am not allowed to roll my skills, because the scenario is set up only for combat solutions.

Am I weird?

Hmm

Edited to add: It's not that I don't like combat. I do like to do battlefield control from a tactical, chess-playing viewpoint. I like to help others do well in combat. And I don't mind combat when it is story-related. What I hate is meaningless combat that does nothing to advance the story, or combat that seems solely there to be lethal.

Liberty's Edge 4/5 *

Definitely the social aspect for me. I found instant acceptance and people I met in PFS are now some of my best friends. I'm all about support characters and I can't get enough skill points. I'm a fairly light roleplayer, but sometimes that's the best part.

4/5

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As a player, I'm looking to be part of a fun and memorable story, but what really scratches my itch is problem-solving. Every encounter--combat, social, or otherwise--is a puzzle that we are trying to solve with the tools we have available to us.

I also enjoy the RP aspect and strive to make characters that are distinct, and try to filter my problem-solving through their individual points of view.

I like when we pull a victory from near defeat, but I also enjoy when someone has just the right spell or item or ability to immediately 'solve' the problem. I like seeing preparedness rewarded.

What I don't enjoy is when that one right spell or item or ability is used to solve each and every encounter, whether it's a slumber hex, a maximized empowered fireball, an irrationally high Diplomacy or Bluff or an initiative-topping, room-clearing ranged full attack. That, to me, is less "right tool for the job" and more "I have this hammer, let's see how many things I can turn into nails."

As a GM, I'm looking to be part of a fun and memorable story, but my role changes to making sure all the players are engaged.

A player once told me that I had the most annoying NPCs, which he meant, and I took, as a compliment. For me, job #1 is to try to make the NPCs unique and engaging, because it's really the only thing I can fully control in the scenario. Encounters--combat, social, or otherwise--are going to go where the players take them. Job #2 is to be as prepared as I can to handle that.

I will try to tailor the experience to the personalities and abilities at the table. If no one is engaging in the RP, I'm not going to force it. If the party is especially hapless from a tactical standpoint, I'm not going to slaughter them just because I can.

But I also try to stay true to the outcomes of their actions and the practical reactions of the NPCs. I'm not going to have the BBEG surrender when the party's clearly on the ropes unless the printed tactics tell me to. If a PC dies, he dies, though I'll do my very best to freeze the action and double-check every number to make sure it's legitimate.

tl;dr I try to offer players the experience I want from a GM, but adjust to meet their needs to the best of my ability.

Shadow Lodge 3/5

I feel like the question is a bit all over the place - what is PFS all about for you, why do you roleplay, why do you GM - those are all very separate questions with very separate answers.

There's plenty of reasons I like playing and running PFS, but notably so over regular Pathfinder:

I like that you don't have to commit to a single group (though you can if you want to) and that you don't to have commit to regular sessions (though you can if you want to).

Mixing up parties is inherently interesting.

The way factions are used is a really nice added touch; a bit of built-in character backstory.

The simplicity of character creation are, for the most part, really good house rules.

One more I'll add even though it relates to regular Pathfinder, on the topic of GMing: I like either trying to be a better GM for my own sake - sometimes with the help by seeing the example of other GMs, or showing other GMs a better way it can be done. I'm extremely grateful to do it both ways.

Dark Archive 4/5

I like to watch the story unfold and provide intelligent solutions. I generally prefer to analyse and "solve" the scenario, both in and out of combat. It is about understanding the details of the story and about the journey, though I do enjoy the opportunity for influencing the RP and the smart one liners.

I prefer mine and others PCs with a toolbox of solutions rather than a single uber-power that makes them one dimensional, though not too broad either. Focused but not too focused. Hence I generally prefer to play spell-casting classes - which fortunately is most of them.

I dislike pure combat scenarios just because they tend to have less story to them.

As a GM I enjoy learning all about the various components and what the limits are. And working out the problem areas in advance. I also like to run scenarios at least twice to try and get the most out of them as I get better with each run through. It is also interesting to see how different groups fare against the same scenario.

I like PFS because of the availability and consistency and no weird house rules. Though that is offset by its inflexibility at times.

5/5 RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32

As a GM, it's an issue of investing in the enjoyment of other people. The ability to spend my time preparing a scenario, drawing up a story and characters, voicing people and locations all so that my friends and community can enjoy themselves and let off steam for a few hours each week is very relieving to me. I have a deep and abiding need to ensure that other people are enjoying themselves, and PFS allows me to see that happen. As a result, I almost exclusively GM. For some odd reason, nobody's complained or tried to throw me out yet.

3/5

I get to role play, hang out with my friends and play some Pathfinder outside of my regular Sunday night game.

4/5

As a player, I like to try out my brain child's ability on the battle grid. I like combo's and synergies and getting things to work. I like making adjustments when they don't. It's like a moving puzzle for me to figure out with my PC as my constant. And I like to roll dice and get big numbers! Numbers are fun. Big numbers are funner! (So is bad grammar.)

(Now I also write up a back story for each guy and think up his personality and motivations, because I want to play nice with others, but it's the numbers that bring me back.)

As a GM, it's weird but I'm the opposite. I'm about the story. I like to tell stories. PFS makes it easy on me because tactics and NPC feats and such are already chosen, so I just focus on telling a good story.

I love you.

Dark Archive 1/5

I try to create things I have not seen or heard of before and then make them effective. As far as role play goes, I strive to develop a camaraderie in the time allotted. My hope is that in some weeks or years down the line, I'll hear stories from people about my characters' shenanigans without them realizing they are talking to the player of that character.

The Exchange 3/5

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For me, I just enjoy playing the game with friends or playing with people I'd like to be friends with.

A bad personality at the table will the ruin the game more than story, game breaking combos or anything else crazy like that. Heck, I don't even care usually if we failed our mission, sometimes it sours a bit, but as long as everyone had fun along the way, that's really all that matters to me at least.

As a GM, the same sort of thing goes, I enjoy GMing for people who are there to have some fun. I am pretty chive, I can dig it. If someones idea of fun is to maximize empowered fireball round 1, well that's okay, finally gives me some time to use that fancy sidebars the author(s) love giving us to help explore the setting!

Liberty's Edge 2/5

for me its making combinations work and watching the reactions those things can get. I play with my family a lot and enjoy creating character pairs. Like the Nagaji Barbarian (Groot) and Kitsune Gunslinger (Rocket) that i just created with my youngest. If its not different its not worth doing and I enjoy seeing the different ideas other people come up with and how they react to what i come up with.

I agree with Cadanous, what i dont like seeing is the Gunslinger Musket master, or Zen Archer, because we know what they are and they will dominate, making things not fun for anyone else. Seen that way to often at tables.

Lantern Lodge 5/5

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I play to make a difference. When a fellow player at the table (or, better yet, a player at a different table) recalls a story about one of my characters (good or bad) I feel like I've accomplished something. Scenarios have success conditions. Having a story last beyond the scenario is winning.

Being able to tell a story about someone else's character is also winning. It's why "Ab'dar" is now one of my favorite gods, and why "F*** YES AIRSHIP!" never hesitates to garner laughter. It's stories of Waking Rune suicide runs (no one's ever come back!) and Greater Shadows draining 15 of your STR (leaving you with the other 15, much to the chagrin of the GM). It's being told of frightened succubi being grappled by charmed fighters, with the succubus desperately trying to flee and the fighter magically compelled to hold on to her...

As a GM, if I can foster an environment where people have stories they enjoy telling far after the game ends, that's winning to me. It's especially great if they're telling stories that wouldn't have been possible without the entirety of the group. Then everyone wins.

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