Director of Brand Strategy
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Hmmmm.
Will the new PP/Fame mechanic be easy to port over to Faction Guide, which also uses the PA/CPA/TPCA/RCRPTA (yeah, I see why the change) system?
We modeled Fame after that guide, but we also improved on it. If you use the Faction Guide, you'll just need to mentally change PA and CPA to Prestige Points, and TPA to Fame. We also named every boon in the book, so you'll now be able to refer to the benefits by name for easier tracking on Chronicles and character sheets.
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This is preposterous! Do you mean to tell me that I will have to earn the title associated with my birthright? Even more severe, that one of the unbearded could rise above his station? Perhaps even one lacking the intellect to do arithmetic, much less manage the budget of his household?
Buying a birthright? That's just not how the world works, Mr. Moreland!
-Gabrielle d'Apcher
P.S. I must thank your superiors for making the Celebrity archetype so unappealing that my own status is rather secure. Oh, and do pass on my love to whoever included the feat Antagonize; I must have quite an admirer amongst your company.
I think this direction rocks.
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Instead of there being two faction missions for each of the 10 factions, each one will have only a single difficult mission to earn that faction's Prestige Point (PP).
I do hope that "difficult" at least means "A 7-Int, 7-Wis, 7-Cha Fighter who only takes Perception need not apply; this time around, not only is he unable to earn his second point himself, but he can't leech his second point off his fellow party members."
-Matt
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So when Mark says 'tied to several success conditions of the main mission', I'm imagining something like:
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So when Mark says 'tied to several success conditions of the main mission', I'm imagining something like:
** spoiler omitted **
Actually, it'd be more like
** spoiler omitted **
Since that's the main objective of the adventure.
Ah so essentially an automatic point if you complete the main mission. A very good idea nonetheless, and particularly a good way to ensure that characters receive at least a baseline amount of Fame for each successful scenario, but slightly less cool than what I had thought based on the wording of the blog post (the use of 'several' in several success conditions made me imagine scenarios with partial successes and awesome successes, the former of which is worth the XP but the latter of which was worth style points and the extra Fame. Frozen Fingers stood out as one where that sort of distinction would be easy).
I'm crossing my fingers that equipment access is no longer limited by prestige points (a.k.a. Fame), but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
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I'm crossing my fingers that equipment access is no longer limited by prestige points (a.k.a. Fame), but I'm not holding my breath on that one.
That would be amazing--I'm blessed to have a very roleplay-heavy group for PFS, and one of our regular players who would be the one to complain about this is not involved, but I still feel guilty when running Season 0 scenarios because several of the players really want a particular piece of gear for their characters that they'll soon be able to afford if not for the TPA limit. Add to that the fact that I want to give my newbies a bunch of good Absalom scenarios and scenarios in their faction countries to give them flavor, and when you cross-check that with scenarios that can be played at newbie tier, most of those are Season 0.
Speaking of which--would it be possible for Season 0 scenarios to get an addendum that basically says "If you completed the main mission, you earned the second point of Fame?" I guess the problem with that is that the faction-specific missions for the Season 0 scenarios are easier than they will be for Seasons 3+.
That would be amazing--I'm blessed to have a very roleplay-heavy group for PFS, and one of our regular players who would be the one to complain about this is not involved, but I still feel guilty when running Season 0 scenarios because several of the players really want a particular piece of gear for their characters that they'll soon be able to afford if not for the TPA limit.
Season 0 scenarios is one thing to consider, but as you noted, it would be fairly easy to add a point for "main mission accomplished" to each of them.
I was thinking more along the lines of the second "difficult" faction point. I've seen several situations where:
- the GM has been strongly pressured by the players to give out a faction point and he has caved in out of pity; or
- one player has harboured bad feelings towards another for screwing up a faction mission (accidentally or semi-accidentally)
If Fame/prestige points are more optional than necessary, that would probably relieve some of the pressure in those situations. YMMV, of course.
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Season 0 scenarios is one thing to consider, but as you noted, it would be fairly easy to add a point for "main mission accomplished" to each of them.
Which would explain why they have been slow to convert to PFRPG, they are waiting on the new Prestige System.
Makes sense actually, enough sense that I will hold off on running season zero scenarios until I know either way.
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Where's the official PFS page on Facebook? I found quite a few, but don't know which one is the primary page. I'll gladly follow it.I believe this is the page they want people to follow!
Yeah, Mark, I felt the mention of there not being enough followers read as a little underhanded; though I doubt it was really intentional. There's some difficulty in finding the page, as it's not clearly marked on this site. Besides catching the address in a message board post like this, one has to make the extra effort to do a type-search for it both on here or Facebook. My first search, and I'm sure many others did the same, was search for 'Pathinder', which yields no relevant results. The correct search term has to be 'Paizo' and new followers may not realize that.
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Yeah, Mark, I felt the mention of there not being enough followers read as a little underhanded; though I doubt it was really intentional. There's some difficulty in finding the page, as it's not clearly marked on this site. Besides catching the address in a message board post like this, one has to make the extra effort to do a type-search for it both on here or Facebook. My first search, and I'm sure many others did the same, was search for 'Pathinder', which yields no relevant results. The correct search term has to be 'Paizo' and new followers may not realize that.Where's the official PFS page on Facebook? I found quite a few, but don't know which one is the primary page. I'll gladly follow it.I believe this is the page they want people to follow!
I don't use Facebook and I am at work so I cannot access it here, but are you saying that the Facebook link under Mark's signature at the bottom of this very blog does not take you to the Facebook page they want you to follow?
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I don't use Facebook and I am at work so I cannot access it here, but are you saying that the Facebook link under Mark's signature at the bottom of this very blog does not take you to the Facebook page they want you to follow?
That is not how those links work, those links allow you to link this blog on your Facebook page.
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@ Mark:
Refering to the preview above, would an Andoran faction character only be able to liberate him/herself, or could that character "buy" the Liberation for a fellow Pathfinder (even from another faction)?
Liberation (5 PP) In the event that you are captured and forced into slavery, the faction mounts a rescue operation, freeing you from servitude without any material or physical effect. Any cost or penalty normally associated with being enslaved (including magical effects such as dominate person) is negated at no additional cost to you.
Is there anything in the wording that even sort of implies that "you" can use it on someone else?
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Oh and this blog post is why I will continue to offer the new mods when year three starts. I was dreading the idea of having to learn 20 faction missions to prep a mod to the point where I was going to walk from the table.
This post offers everything I asked for when I heard of the expansion to 10 factions and more. It is good to see you are listening instead of just telling us you are listening.
Thank you.
Den
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Quick Question: If HireHim the Bard is a member of the new faction Morland's Minions, and he plays any year 0, 1 or 2 mod, will there be a mechanic to allow him to get some Prestige Points? Or are all new faction members limited to getting PP only in the year 3 mods?
Please forgive if this has been answered (and give reference).
-Swiftbrook
Quick Question: If HireHim the Bard is a member of the new faction Morland's Minions, and he plays any year 0, 1 or 2 mod, will there be a mechanic to allow him to get some Prestige Points? Or are all new faction members limited to getting PP only in the year 3 mods?
Please forgive if this has been answered (and give reference).
-Swiftbrook
I believe each of the new factions will get bundled together with one of the old factions for purposes of missions from previous seasons.
No reference, though. ;-P
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Quick Question: If HireHim the Bard is a member of the new faction Morland's Minions, and he plays any year 0, 1 or 2 mod, will there be a mechanic to allow him to get some Prestige Points? Or are all new faction members limited to getting PP only in the year 3 mods?
Please forgive if this has been answered (and give reference).
-Swiftbrook
I believe each of the new factions will get bundled together with one of the old factions for purposes of missions from previous seasons.
No reference, though. ;-P
The reference to this would be somewhere in the thread initially announcing that there would be new factions.
New factions will have an "allied" faction for purposes of earlier faction missions. So members of the Knights of the Rose and Cross* would use the Andoran missions, while the Lollypop Guild** would use Cheliax.
*Not necessarily the real faction names.
**Or are they? ;)
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Is there anything in the wording that even sort of implies that "you" can use it on someone else?
Thank you for pointing that out... I guess.
My intention is to point out that an option to assist other PCs by meens of Prestige Points could bee an asset for an organization based on cooperation.
@ H&M: It's worth thinking about.
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On the other hand, Diego, let's not create a culture where roleplaying a PC as if he were an agent of the shadow war for Absalom makes the player look like an a$!@&&! because he would rather not call in favors with his faction to help out someone of an enemy faction.
Plus, why would the NPC Andoran agents help out an outspoken agent of Cheliax? Expecting that kind of help is unrealistic at best.
Cooperating within the mission presented by the Pathfinder Society is one thing, but cooperating within the shadow war is something else. As presented by the campaign literature, all the PCs are teammates within the former, but the PCs are for the most part enemies within the latter.
-Matt
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On the other hand, Diego, let's not create a culture where roleplaying a PC as if he were an agent of the shadow war for Absalom makes the player look like an a#!~#%% because he would rather not call in favors with his faction to help out someone of an enemy faction.
Plus, why would the NPC Andoran agents help out an outspoken agent of Cheliax? Expecting that kind of help is unrealistic at best.
Cooperating within the mission presented by the Pathfinder Society is one thing, but cooperating within the shadow war is something else. As presented by the campaign literature, all the PCs are teammates within the former, but the PCs are for the most part enemies within the latter.
-Matt
I know it rarely is the case at any table, but it is still the assumption for PFSOP that players keep their faction affiliation secret. If that is tha case no one can rightly expect anything from another player. On the other hand there is more to character relations (and player relations) than faction affiliation. Why would an Andoran faction player pool strings to have a Qadira faction ally liberated from captivity? How about, because differences aside, they are friends and would help each other however they are able. Even if you do not buy that argument (which I personaly think is bullet proof) there will also be situations where a PC will want to help another PC of the same faction.
This IS a game of cooperation.
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I could see allowing one to trade prestige points to help another PC of a different faction at the cost of double the prestige points required to help oneself. It's that much harder to track down faction agents willing to help the enemy, and that much harder to cover tracks within the PC's own faction.
By doubling the costs, that also serves to alleviate my original concern.
Redirecting the conversation: this thread has given me an idea. If the shadow war does not appeal to a certain segment of the player base, perhaps one of the ten factions could serve as the "opt-out" faction? By "opting out," the PC and his player does not participate in the shadow war for Absalom, and as a consequence, is only eligible to receive one "gimme" prestige point per scenario.
That way, the campaign can freely make the other factions more immersive and involved, since those players who don't enjoy that style of play could opt out.
-Matt
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We modeled Fame after that guide, but we also improved on it. If you use the Faction Guide, you'll just need to mentally change PA and CPA to Prestige Points, and TPA to Fame. We also named every boon in the book, so you'll now be able to refer to the benefits by name for easier tracking on Chronicles and character sheets.Hmmmm.
Will the new PP/Fame mechanic be easy to port over to Faction Guide, which also uses the PA/CPA/TPCA/RCRPTA (yeah, I see why the change) system?
That's good to know! I'm a huge fan of the Faction Guide, so it's great that it's not been rendered obsolete by the new Prestige Point / Fame system!
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while the Lollypop Guild** would use Cheliax.
*Not necessarily the real faction names.
**Or are they? ;)
Awesome!!! What about the Lullaby League?
So now I know what you meant by "propel the adventure into unexplored territory for the remainder of the season"
we are going to Munchkin Land!
Yes, it looks good to me too. And while it was not publicly acknowledged at the times the suggestion was given, I am glad to see that you listened to myself and the many others who wanted the change in earning PA to being one from the Society and one from the Faction. It just shows that even if you do not publicly say anything at the time, that you really are listening to our ideas and taking them seriously.
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Why would an Andoran faction player pool strings to have a Qadira faction ally liberated from captivity?Why would the Andoran agents the PC is pulling strings with go along with freeing an enemy Qadiran agent from captivity?
-Matt
Because the agent in question has enough prestiege and/or fame to ask the Andoran faction for that particular favor.
That said, I doubt it'll be allowed. I really would like it to be, maybe at a higher pa cost, but doubt it will be.
That would be a both logical and fair option.
I hope it will be taken into consideration by H&M.
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If that is one of the new factions I would certainly consider playing a halfling or an gnome. Most likely a bard. I would also sing at the table until I got stabbed.
Den
That would be a both logical and fair option.Definitely just hilariously misread Diego's post out of context.
That would have been my answer to uncleden as well :D