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Okay. Woof. First of all, I'm sorry if I'm posting this to the wrong thread. I just feel like it will reach the people I'm trying to talk to best here. Second, I can only claim limited experience with PFS, so I apologize if I make any mistakes about it, and I would appreciate it if you educate me on the matter. Third, I might ramble and this post is probably going to be long.
As you could probably infer from the title of this thread, I'm going to rant about my opinions on why Starfinder Society is a great idea, and not-so-succinctly list the reasons why. So, here we go!
Alpha: Starting a new canon for an organized play experience will attract new players to the playstyle. That's... a lot to unpack there. I guess I'll start with an anecdote. About two years ago, I decided to try PFS. Nobody at my group particularly liked PF-fair, since a lot of them were new and 5e was a lot more friendly to new players-so, I decided to jump in. I was immediately overwhelmed. Oh, I understood the mechanics just fine. My wizard was slinging 4d6 of any elemental damage at level 1. It was the story. People were slinging around names and events and places that I didn't have an inkling about all the time. It wasn't just the NPCs. The players looked at me like an alien when I asked around every ten minutes "who is this?" and "wait, why is that relevant?" I eventually caught on after a deep dive into PFWiki and after playing a few older scenarios, but diving into the deep end may have turned a lot of players off. Starting a new story for the new system should attract a lot of players who felt intimidated by the complexity of PFS' story before, and they'll be plenty excited to shape the world as the plot moves on.
Deux: Unlike the Pathfinders, the Starfinders have a clear mission. Don't get me wrong, the idea of an adventurer's guild who collects dangerous magic and artifacts and does... something with them is interesting. But it doesn't supply a sense of mystery. An overarching plotline that extends even beyond one or two seasons. That wonderful sense of uncovering an important discovery that slots another clue to the BBEG's identity into place. Starfinder does all of that. In the blog, the devs mentioned that the Starfinders seek what happened to Golarion. They hunt down tiny clues, by the margin of a few years of remembrance, to find out what happened. That's thrilling. Plus, characters who err on the side of good should stop feeling slightly uncomfortable because they don't know what happened to the immensely powerful artifact that they just brought back.
Tres: Opportunities for stories that Paizo would not otherwise be able to put into the module/AP line will present themselves. PFS not only serves as a great organized play experience, it also lets the devs who got a cool idea for a story, but don't have room or time to fully develop into a module or AP, express themselves. With a cool science fantasy setting such as Starfinder, with multiple planets and space stations to explore, the ideas will explode. Starfinder Society should be able to take the load off of devs who have to cull dozens of ideas just because they don't fit into the most recent module or AP, and instead turn them into cool scenarios for our characters to explore.
Wow. That was a biggie. Please, let me know you're opinions below, and elucidate me on all of my mistakes, or provide counter-arguments for my ideas.
Okay. Woof.
Yes?
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Has there been an announcement? Although I would love a Starfinder Society, I didn't think any resources were being put into it.
HERE is the previous Starfinder Society thread (which has links to other predecessors as well).
