Boon ideas for Season 9


Pathfinder Society

4/5

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Hi Pathfinders,

With the plans for Gen Con in full swing, I thought it might be fun to talk about what kinds of GM boons and regular boons we might like to see in the coming year. A couple ideas I’ve had are the following:

1. Small outsiders (GM). Boons that makes small sized Tieflings or small sized Aasimars legal to play. People may be concerned with the heritage options making these too powerful, but I think the boons could be written with some restrictions. For example, a boon could be called “Imp Blooded” and allow for a small Tiefling of standard stats that may not select another heritage.

2. Updated Mounted Tradition Boon. The old version opened up mounts for the CORE races, but we have added many races to our cast of characters. In particular, I would like to see Riding Rats added to the choices for Wayangs, because of their worship of La Shu Po, The Old Rat Woman. (Why worship a rat goddess if she gives you nothing flavorful?)

What do other people want to see?

Liberty's Edge 3/5 5/5 **** Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha

I would like to see a boon that would allow someone to make a summoner using the Advanced Player's Guide.

Will it happen? No way. And it likely shouldn't.

2/5

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A boon that allows you to upgrade a Unique Weapon or Armor would be difficult to implement, but wonderful for some people. I for one see so many flavorful unique magic weapons/armor/shields (Like pretty much anything from Inner Sea Gods) that do cool things that tie into the setting and everything...but I know that buying them for a character would be a bad idea because I can't add enchantments to them.

This would enable far more flavorful weapons in higher level games without being too obtrusive.

Paizo Employee 4/5 Pathfinder Society Lead Developer

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I'm always interested in hearing more boon ideas.

Scarab Sages 4/5 ***

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Languages. Having done some elemental games when no one in the party spoke the languages, nor had comp languages, I think it might be fun to give languages out at appropriate times.

Liberty's Edge 3/5 5/5 **** Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha

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ALERT!:
I would like to see more boons that allows someone to get a really cool artifacts that is upgradable over time.

Lantern Lodge 5/5

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Random idea:

□□Cooperative Troubleshooting: Marcos Farabellus’s constant reminders that a team “is only as strong as its weakest link” have instilled an appreciation for teamwork. You may cross one of the boxes proceeding this boon off to use a fellow party member’s skill ranks (including class skill bonus) for one noncombat STR or DEX skill check. (Your own stat modifier and armor check penalty applies.) You may cross off both boxes to instead allow your party to use your skill ranks on such a check.

I suppose a similar one could be attributed to Kreighton Shane and deal with cooperative research checks?

5/5

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I second more unique mount boons and boons that allow players to increase some of the cool named magic items. I have seen awesome stuff that being only a +1 weapon or such makes it not worth it in the long run.

In the theme of encouraging the cooperate theme of pathfinder a boon that lets me as the player select and teamwork feat per normal and then a boon that lets me also share that teamwork feat with one other player at the table for the game. Basically the tactician ability or something similar.

A boon that allows me to make a skill a class skill for my character so I don't have to multiclass so much.

A boon that can give out some sort of cool vanity option or allow it to be purchased with prestige that we normally cannot.

1/5

technarken wrote:

A boon that allows you to upgrade a Unique Weapon or Armor would be difficult to implement, but wonderful for some people. I for one see so many flavorful unique magic weapons/armor/shields (Like pretty much anything from Inner Sea Gods) that do cool things that tie into the setting and everything...but I know that buying them for a character would be a bad idea because I can't add enchantments to them.

This would enable far more flavorful weapons in higher level games without being too obtrusive.

I know a character at my FLGS who plays a "Wizard" (bloodrager) who yells out spells as he beats people to death.

He's sad because he has been beating people to death in Mage Armor (actual armor) with a stick, saying, "Take 27 stick damage" and he wants to upgrade a stave, such as a "Staff of Dark Flame", but yet, he'll be stuck at +1 to hit from his staff forever.

There should be a boon to upgrade named stuff for a little bit extra.

3/5

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Honestly, I’d like to see some old simple boons reappear.

Most of these are simple bonuses.

Also look at the boon trading thread and see what's most asked for.


  • Trained Eye: +2 Perception
  • Extra Trait
  • _____slayer. You gain on all attack rolls against ______. Additionally, you gain either _____ as a bonus language or treat Knowledge ______ as a class skill.
  • Missing Mentor
  • Debt to Society
  • Prosperity

3/5

If not upgrading unique items, at least allowing them to be purchased with special materials would be nice, maybe even costing a mix of PP & gold depending on the upgrade (ex. named armor to mithril might cost the gp amount of the armor, plus 4 PP for light, 8 PP for medium, 12 PP for heavy).

Additional boon thoughts:
:

Regional expertise boons (may make knowledge local checks untrained in the area, if you have knowledge local get a +2 circumstance bonus to the check. This bonus also applies if you are interacting with natives of the area for pick two: bluff, diplomacy, intimidate, knowledge geography, knowledge nobility or sense motive rolls.)

Language tutor. Reduced PP cost for learning a language via retraining rules. (Maybe regional languages as cheaper than planar or much more common languages.)

Vanity Boons - at slight discount, so that CORE players or those who don't have access to out of print resources may have access to some of the vanities for additional PFS flavor.

CORE Race Focus - list of the CRB races listed. Allows a different race to use one of their favored class bonuses instead of their own at rate of <insert appropriate PP cost here, either per level or static>. Extra cost for non-CORE races.

Expanded Race Focus - similar to CORE Race focus, but reversed where CORE races can pick up one of the other races' FCB or another non-CORE can pick up a different non-CORE race's FCB at a better discount.

They Know Their Own - limited use chronicle where you can use your GM star to instead force the GM to re-roll a d20 roll once per game and take the 2nd result.

Cooperation's Reward - limited use chronicle. If you end up completing a faction other than your own's mission in a scenario where you do not receive the full prestige reward, you may check off a box to gain one of the missing prestige.

An Experiment in Sympathetic Magic - [flavor]you participated in an experiment with the Dark Archive regarding sympathetic conjuration magic. [/flavor]The next time you would need to spend prestige to have your body or equipment retrieved, you may cross off this boon to reduce the cost by 3 (minimum 0).

Pickled Plunder - [flavor]you accompanied a group of Pathfinders to the Pickled Imp for one of the semi-annual fire sales that resulted from a pathfinder-in-training dropping an alchemist' fire.[/flavor] You may check off this boon to spend one minute searching through your equipment to find any one piece of non-magical gear that weighs less than 5 lbs, costs 10gp or less, and has the broken condition. This equipment may not be sold. If you have a handy haversack, the time is instead reduced to a move action, per normal.

It's that time of year again - may be used to utilize an old holiday boon so long as the game is played in that same time period, albeit on a different year. No character may have the same holiday boon applied to them more than once.

1/5 5/5

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Brought this one up last year, but don't know if it ever made press...

A version of 'Sharing the Wealth' that allows one to move intelligent/unique items from one character to another (instead of an animal companion or familiar).

How many times has someone sat down, played a scenario and gone Oh, wow, that's a nice boon... FOR THE CHARACTER I DID NOT PLAY...

This one would also help prevent parties that have *all of a given type of class* because MacGuffin Boon A is really important to that class (for those who have an inside track on such information).

More boons in scenarios that allow one to race-change at the cost of PP, possibly discounted if other boons were acquired before.

More boons for the CORE campaign, since the recent leaning was towards race boons and the like not applying to it.

EDIT: Could not forget.. A 'Glutton-Lite', perhaps with two or three checkboxes.

Silver Crusade 5/5

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I'd like to see boons that let you get faction specific traits and Prestige Awards from now defunct factions. I know there was Spirit of the Shadow Lodge and the Sczarni equivalent that sort of did the same thing, but these could apply to brand new characters. For example, "Character gets access to Shadow Lodge Prestige Awards, and if applied to a level one PC they may take one of the following traits in place of a trait from their own faction." That's something I'd like to see.

4/5

personally, I think Vanity Boons should be restricted to chronicles. You really want those to hit the players and not just a few random people. Faction missions are also advertised on Scenario blurbs. Players do try to match PC's factions to advertised scenario faction missions.

Some things are tied to releases and Starfinder is on the horizon. New Races? Hobgoblins? Off world races? ooooo on the silly side I could play a medium sized shuggoth(hello Mr.Shiney), elder thing, yithian, or lovecraftian ghoul(done that - Mordiggian). Sensible in-game dialogue is rather limted as a gibbering mouther...bwaHaHaahaaa, okay back to seriousness...

PFS has never taken on the more advanced races, and to represent advanced abilities you could have a drain on chronicles. Thus a wyrwood (20RP) could take 6 XP to advance to second level and/or take 4 XP to gain a level. The XP, Prestige, and gold on sacrificed chronicles would be lost but the earned boons, access to items, and day job kept. Slow advance PCs would lose twice the chronicles. Just a thought.

Scarab Sages 4/5 5/5 **

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So, I'm going to suggest a rather crazy Charity boon here (very wishful thinking but could potentially raise a fair amount of money ):

Test of the Starstone

This boon may only be used at GenCon. Allows player to attempt a special one-on-one challenge. Record your PFS and Character on one of the lines below. If the challenge is successful, the character is permanently retired and becomes a legal god in Golarion. If the challenge is failed, the character is considered permanently dead as all availble prestige must be immediately spent to allow another character to take this challenge.

You would work with Paizo to develop successful the portfolio of this new god, and you may designate a new character to play the first high priest of this new diety, which would provide some benefit worked out between you and Paizo.

(Essentially, other than the slight bonus as a new high priest, this boon would just allow a character to be a new god and considered in Canon.)

4/5

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A boon to upgrade a class item only ignoring materials or special materials would be fantastic, such as;
   an Amulet of Spell Cunning(silver) to an Amulet of Spell Mastery(platinum).
   a Ring of Sacred Mistletoe(mistletoe) to a Ring of Invisibility(silver).
   a +1 masterwork steel sword to a +1 masterwork adamantine sword (must be a class items such as a bonded item, black blade).

a (separate) boon to upgrade an item. I'd have the player choose one from a list of specific upgrades. The PC would also have to have the connections/play experience to qualify for the upgrade, which is the second line. Upgrades such as;
   +3 chainmail into +3 Celestial Armor, armor maintains it's material type but not other enchantments. Have successfully negotiated peaceful with a celestial or Good cleric of CRX in a scenario by having a favored of N boon.
   Recharge 2 tech batteries or tech items (up to 20 charges total). PC must have earned 2(1 if slow track) prestige in one of; 6-01, 6-03, 6-20, 8-04.
   Upgrade ioun stone from cracked or flawed to standard ioun stone of its type. PC must have earned 2(1 if slow track) prestige in one of; 7-09, 7-22, 7-23.
  

Grand Lodge 4/5 Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston

I'd like the text of boons to specify how they interact with core campaign.

A race boon may simply say "This boon may not be used in the core campaign", while something like Mounted Tradition might say "only mounts found in the core rulebook and bestiary I may be used in core campaign."

4/5

Retrain a trait into Adopted by Goblins trait at the time your character qualifies free of cost when your character has credit for 2 others in the series on the We Be Goblin series 2017 chronicle. The PC must be a race of small or tiny size.

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

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Wei Ji the Learner wrote:
A version of 'Sharing the Wealth' that allows one to move intelligent/unique items from one character to another (instead of an animal companion or familiar).

Wei Ji, I have this boon. It already does this.

Share the Wealth:
"You may not have been the one to impress a prospective familiar or sentient relic, but your fellow agent who did can introduce you to make the most of the strange allies befriended during an adventure.

As a player, choose one boon earned by one of your characters, and transfer it to another one of your characters. The recipient's level must be high enough that he could qualify to have played the adventure; he still qualifies if his level is above the adventure's level range. Once the boon is transferred, the original recipient is treated as though she no longer possessed the boon. You can only transfer a boon in this way if it opens up access to a new type of familiar, animal companion, or similar creature associated with a class feature. Record the boon's name, Chronicle sheet name, and the creature type below.

Alternatively, you can transfer access to a unique intelligent item, which the recipient can now purchase. This follows the same restrictions as if you were transferring access to a new familiar type. If the original character had already purchased the intelligent item, she must sell it before the recipient can purchase it."

I would love for this boon to see a wider distribution, or to become available once to everyone for a prestige point cost. This is one of the roughest aspects of society play -- finding out you played the wrong character on an adventure with a special companion boon.

Hmm

4/5

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

...

I would love for this boon to see a wider distribution, or to become available once to everyone for a prestige point cost. This is one of the roughest aspects of society play -- finding out you played the wrong character on an adventure with a special companion boon.
Hmm

Share the Wealth is a good convention boon.

Those kind of rewards in Chronicles as of late do have options for guys that can't use it as a familiar/companion/mount, usually a boost in NPC spell casting or skill checks. I'd have to review chronicles for consistency, but this is just off the cuff chat.

Should a Share the Wealth option be standard with a Prestige cost? hmmm... I'd say yes but to the 'buyer' and 1 PP is pretty cheap considering retraining costs. Maybe RoundUp[price/1000 or 2*CR] PP.

4/5 5/5 * Contributor

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John Compton wrote:
I'm always interested in hearing more boon ideas.

Donning the Troll Cap.

Freelancer Day Job: Pathfinders across the world use the many talents and abilities that you have contributed in their quest to explore, report, and cooperate, and such lessons prove to be a lucrative service. Whenever you roll a Day Job check, all players sitting at the table must reveal all Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Player Companion, and Pathfinder RPG products that their current character has taken as a legal character option. For each product revealed for which you are included as a contributing author, you gain a +1 bonus on your Day Job check.

Removing the Troll Cap.

:-P <3

Dark Archive 4/5 5/5

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Respected Scholar: This characters insight is sought after by fellow scholars she/he may select a single knowledge skill to use for Day Job checks.

4/5

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Davor Firetusk wrote:
Respected Scholar: This characters insight is sought after by fellow scholars she/he may select a single knowledge skill to use for Day Job checks.

This would make a nice vanity, too, if more of those are ever published.

5/5 5/55/55/5

probably don't want the loreoracle ability to apply to that one...

Dark Archive 4/5

Rename Treasure Map to Trust Fund...

1/5 5/5

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Alternatively, a Treasure Map that instead of taking 'day job' checks, instead takes the roll that would have been given by the day job, then added together 'x' number of times then averaged out and given some multiplier?

Could call it 'Salaried Workforce' or something like that?

Liberty's Edge 3/5 5/5 **** Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha

An idea I had while driving for boon is similar to the boons granted in the Retail program.

One of the locals we play at has a "graveyard" of characters. It is for another game but they put something about what caused the player to die "He thought he could steal the dragon's gold."

What I think would be cool is if a player has a character die at a location, the player can receive a boon for a new 1st level character that increases the starting gold or has some type of benefit for the character if it is played at the location. The was a similar boon given out last year.

To earn the boon, the player needs to post allow the character die and post the character sheet in the store's graveyard.

Liberty's Edge 3/5

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Had this thought for a boon idea... how about allowing elements from the Wayfinder fanzine issues as a source for boons?

Of course, the downside of this proposal is that it would require the okays and blessing from the folks behind Wayfinder and it would require some careful consideration by the PFS officials since the Wayfinder stuff obviously wasn't created under the official brand/developer oversight by the Paizo staff.

The upside would be that the Wayfinder pdf's are free and would require no special purchase beyond their availability.

4/5

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CyrusC2010 wrote:
Had this thought for a boon idea... how about allowing elements from the Wayfinder fanzine issues as a source for boons? ...

there are obvious real legal issues. While game rules cannot be copyrighted under US law, flavor text (artistic expression) can be. Paizo has designers and developers so it would be easier and cleaner to create their own material.

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