GMing 6-98 Serpent's Rise-related scenarios

[Alexandre Gayk-Lemay]

I have a question for PFS GMs and, ultimately, the PFS campaign head-honchos. It stems from the fact that GMs normally receive everything on the boon-sheet, regardless of whether the PCs found/earned a given item (as long as the tier is correct, of course).

Now, season 7 includes some content gated by specific players who have participated in the 6-98 Serpent's Rise special. If such a player is not at a table, does a GM still obtain a chronicle sheet with all boons available (in accordance with subtier) including content that will have been gated for players at the table?

My instinct says no, if the GM wants the special boon he needs to find a player who gave life to the appropriate NPC during a friendly bout of of the Serpent's Rise special, but I want to know if there are specific instructions to that effect somewhere... because if not, I have to assume that the gated boons are available to GMs as normal.

Also, the roleplaying guild guide tells me, on page 39, that: "The GM may select any special boons bestowed by a Chronicle sheet, such as free magical treasure, regional boons, or future bonus die rolls." So I'm inclined to disagree with my first instinct. As you can see, I'm in dire need of enlightenment!

Thanks in advance!

[DrParty06]

A GM can only select 1 ever of the Serpent's Rise related boons regardless of if there is a player of the associated character at the table or not. When they decide to take one, they must cross out all others on the 6-98 chronicle. They are then ineligible for any additional Serpent's Rise associated boons from other chronicle sheets. If a person who played Serpent's Rise then GMs the associated scenario for the character they played, they automatically receive the boon.

[Farrindor]

I do not have a quote or link handy, but the instructions I have seen on the follow up adventures is the character you assign the chronicle to has to have the right unlock on 6-98 to access the bonus on the follow-up, and that GMs still need to pick one of the boons on 6-98 to be the credit that their GM credit for 6-98 counts as, and do not treat that sheet as 'all' unlocked.

[Alexandre Gayk-Lemay]

So if a scenario says something along the lines of "If the PCs defeat [Aspis NPC A], players with the [Aspis NPC A relevant] boon earn [Aspis NPC A]'s Foe boon on their Chronicle sheets, which allows them to purchase [gated reward]."
It applies to GMs as if they were players, if I understand correctly?

Sounds about right to me, thanks a bunch guys!
I'll look forward to someone providing the relevant quote/instructions or point out where these are within the relevant scenarios.. It would be unfortunate if some GMs wrongly assume they get what's on the chronicle sheet because they haven't clearly been told otherwise...

[andreww]

GM's generally receive any boons they want from a Chronicle. They can ignore any negative boons normally.

There are some exceptions. There is an Emerald Spire level boon which can only be obtained by playing the level for example. For Serpent's Rise it specifies in the module that a GM only gets one Spoils of the Siege boon.

If you want a quote then page 22 makes it explicit so there should be no doubt:

Quote:

GM: The GM can apply the effects of one of the Spoils of the Siege boons. Once the GM chooses to activate this boon in a scenario, she crosses all other Spoils of the Siege boons off her Chronicle Sheet.

[Alexandre Gayk-Lemay]

Maybe I'm not getting my meaning across properly. Allow me to reformulate: how do the many GMs who do not have access to 6-97 Serpent's Rise's content know this? When one picks up Trouble in Tamran, Blakros Connection or one of the many upcoming scenarios that will include similar gated content, what prevents that GM from grabbing the gated boon if (s)he's used to getting everything that's positive on a boon sheet because (s)he doesn't consider him or herself as a PC?
Because, as you mentionned, GMs generally receive any boons they want from a Chronicle.

Allow me to post an edited segment from one of the relevant scenarios which should highlight the troublesome language:

Quote:

If the PCs defeat [NPC Aspis], players with the Spoils of the

Siege (NPC Aspis A) boon earn the [NPC Aspis A]’s Foe boon on their Chronicle Sheets, which allows them to purchase the boots.

I hope I don't seem like I'm being obtuse and I hope that you can see what I mean...

[DrParty06]

"Players" is in this case a word that refers to both the GM and those that used their characters in the scenario. The exception is that the GM does not require the players to meet the condition of defeating [NPC Aspis], if they have the Spoils of the Siege boon [NPC Aspis], then they get the associated content.

[KingOfAnything]

Alexandre, I think a GM can have access to the gated boon as if they had played at a table where someone had the requisite Spoils of the Siege boon.

In general, GMing gives us the opportunity to pick up rewards we may have missed out on when playing through the scenario.

[andreww]

KingOfAnything wrote:

Alexandre, I think a GM can have access to the gated boon as if they had played at a table where someone had the requisite Spoils of the Siege boon.

In general, GMing gives us the opportunity to pick up rewards we may have missed out on when playing through the scenario.

That doesn't count for Siege of Spoils based boons. You must have the relevant boon as GM or player as far as I can tell.

[KingOfAnything]

Okay, I was reading the conditions for the [NPC]'s Foe boon incorrectly. Only players with the associated Spoils boon have access to the Foe boon, but it makes the encounter more difficult for the entire party.

Not sure I like it, but I agree that the GM only gets the Foe boon if they also have the appropriate Spoils boon. Only a limited number of GMs have access to a second Spoils boon, so it makes the Foe boons more unique.