Play-by-Post Gameday VI: Ask the Organized Play Team Panel

[CanisDirus]

Will there be FLGS support for Starfinder Society in the same way that PFS and ACG scenarios are currently granted to retailers who host organized play at their locations?

Are any of you aware if Heroes for Highdelve going to be released as a .pdf?

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions like these!

[Thurston Hillman]

Tineke Bolleman wrote:

What was your biggest, "I did not expect THAT" in org play?

(Its very open ended, but I would love the stories)

This is actually a story from before I got hired at Paizo!

I'd just finished writing Pathfinder Society #7-22: Bid for Alabastrine, which Linda developed. It ended up debuting sometime around PaizoCon that season.

Both John and Linda know that I have a strong interest in Druma and the associated Prophecies of Kalistrade. Given how the scenario was the first time Pathfinder had really done anything of note in Druma, it was also a scenario where I got to start seeding several of my longer-term Druma story ideas. The scenario included several author comments of "this thing isn't super important to the scenario, but I want to establish it in canon, so I can build on it in a maybe future Druma-related project". As a credit to Linda's awesomeness, she was totally on board with my seedling story ideas, and we did a bunch of back/forth to make sure that anything she developed wouldn't ruin my "Druma Vision".

Cut to PaizoCon.

There was a table that proceeded in a somewhat... unique, manner? They basically summoned a powerful outsider to kill off one of the major evil NPCs that I'd seeded into the scenario. The GM wanted some guidance on how to proceed, and I believe the chain went: Mark Seifter heard first, who in turn rushed to get Linda, who in turn tried to find me. I was away at panels or something, so Linda & Mark helped adjudicate the situation. I later showed back up into the Org Play room to hear the story, and was floored at how Linda and Mark were willing to seek me (a then non-employee) out for guidance on how to handle that world aspect.

That stands as one of my favorite "WOW, was not expecting that" from Org Play experiences, not to mention one of the foundation blocks of the type of mutual-respect that the Organized Play team has for one another and the work we do!

Later at that same PaizoCon, I remember the infamous Pathfinder SWAT party taking a crack at my scenario. I'll never forget Jon Dehning approaching me in the hall with a giant grin on his face. When I asked how the scenario went, Jon just replied : "They tried to bribe the cops." As though that explained everything about how the scenario went (and it did!)

[Hmm]

It makes me happy to hear a SWAT story in here. Even though I have not yet had the opportunity to GM for them, I love the whole SWAT team. Their concept is hilarious!

Also I ❤ the story about Linda and Mark watching out for your Druma Lore.

Hmm

[Woran]

Awesome Thrusty! :D

[KingOfAnything]

What are some of your favorite rewards on a chronicle sheet? Are there any "this may come up later" boons you are especially interested in using?

[John Compton]

Just as a general clarification, you're welcome to ask more than 1–3 questions—particularly if we already answered something of yours earlier—but please keep them to about that many questions per post. It helps us track what we're answering and answer a set of questions in a timely fashion.

[NgoDraconem]

Good afternoon everyone.

1. Are there any plans for a major Canadian Paizo sponsered Convention? Something similar to Gen Con or Paizo Con.

2. If socially accepted Fashion wasn’t a consideration, what type of clothing would you bring back?

[IronHelixx]

Q.) If you could co-write an adventure/campaign with, or have an adventure/campaign bespoke written for you to play in by, any writer who has ever written (alive or not - and they are guaranteed to say "yes", even if from the great beyond in ghost form ;b) - who would that writer be?

[Wei Ji the Learner]

I was *at* THE table for Bid.

Went pretty much as indicated.

Don't look if you haven't played/GM'd #7-22:

We had determined that bringing in a powerful outsider would impress Vayde Petronax AND Cyran Androtus.

Well.

We DID make quite the impression on Vayde. As in, into the floor when the Planar Bound Monadic Deva put the 'evil' into it.

So a couple of the players were exchanging high-fives and there was a general mood of celebration and I immediately went to 'Panic Mode'.

GM's advised solution was to increase the DCs of all of our Influence checks, because every time we tried to talk to one of the REMAINING bidders, Myrosope or an agent of hers would say "You can't trust them! They're Pathfinders! They're murderhobos! Look at what happened to Vayde!".

In addition, because we had eliminated a bidder, it went Hard Mode, as we had one less bidder to leverage among the sections of town. We pulled it off, somehow, but it was a lot closer than it would have been under a more conventional run.

Again, thank you very much for taking the time to answer these questions for us!

Questions: Round Two:

Gen Con Question: Has it ever been a consideration to have 'Organized Play Team'-run tables at Gen Con, perhaps as a charity fundraising option, similar to how Thursty runs some tables at SKALCon?

Starfinder/Pathfinder Question: Will there ever be a 'crossover' event/Special?

Personal Thought Question, All: If you had to play a pregen for any given reason, which pregen would you play?

[Thurston Hillman]

Answering the questions I feel comfortable answering. (Which, FYI, are mostly personal questions / questions related to the Starfinder Society campaign. Not so much Organized Play logistics / conventions / VO-related questions, which are outside my general wheelhouse.)

If you could co-write an adventure/campaign with, or have an adventure/campaign bespoke written for you to play in by, any writer who has ever written- who would that writer be?

I'm going to go with two of my favorite Warhammer 40k authors for this one, and make it a split between Dan Abnett and Aaron Dembski-Bowden. I know they're not RPG writers, but they've both produced some of the most compelling sci-fi stories I've ever read, and to have campaigns come from either of them would be mind-blowing. If you've never read Know No Fear by Dan Abnett, I would HIGHLY suggest it, as it's easily in my top novels of all time, and is the pinnacle of planetary warfare writing that I've ever read. Conversely, Aaron Dembski-Bowden makes compelling characters, and his Night Lords trilogy turned a group of space marines known for being "gang members, torturers, and murderers" into an actually compelling cast of characters to follow.

So yeah, either of them!

Gen Con Question: Has it ever been a consideration to have 'Organized Play Team'-run tables at Gen Con, perhaps as a charity fundraising option, similar to how Thursty runs some tables at SKALCon?

I would absolutely love to do something like this! It was floating in my head this year, but I got a bit paranoid of "everything falling apart" for Starfinder Society, so I was more interested in making myself available for Q/A.

Ideally, I'd like to come up with a convention exclusive scenario, that I could run at events like Gen Con / PaizoCon / SkalCon, and still be able to provide credit for Org Play players. In that vein, I've been SLOWLY (and without any promises) been working on a personal project that should fit that very nicely. I've even been hinting about it fairly recently... >_> *innocent whistle*

Starfinder/Pathfinder Question: Will there ever be a 'crossover' event/Special?

It's really difficult to do something like this. John and I have bandied the idea (mostly jokingly) back and forth. I think the campaigns are much stronger as unique organizations and campaigns, and that we should focus more on making them unique, than trying to bring them together.

Personal Thought Question, All: If you had to play a pregen for any given reason, which pregen would you play?

Harsk.
... OMG, HE PICKED HARSK! *TABLE FLIP*

[IronHelixx]

Concur on your choice of writers - that would be pretty awesome - and Harsk is always the correct answer. :)

[Qstor]

Thanks everyone for their hard work for PFS!

What NPC that hasn't been in a PFS scenario in a while, would you want to bring back? :) Caudron Wallace? Osprey?

[MadScientistWorking]

So I have a few questions:

1) After playing 9-2 I have to wonder what thought process goes through when picking monsters for scenarios? I know in some cases its because of an affinity for them. I only single out 9-2 because the one fey monster in particularly was a good unexpected choice.

Spoiler:

The gerbie

2) In regards to the Druma incident they not only managed to kill something they shouldn't have but they killed a plot seed for future scenarios?

[Hmm]

These are for Thursty and John:

QUESTION ONE: How are you balancing SFS Ship Combat? Are you planning on every crew member bringing in ship boons and tricked out characters?

So far I've GMed multiple SFS Ship Combat scenarios, and I think I'm finally getting a hang of how to run these smoothly as a GM. However, I noticed something that I found interesting. In the scenarios where one cannot bring boons, the ship combat was balanced right for newcomers. However...

Droning On:

In 1-03, Yesteryear's Truth, that drone fight is a BEAST. At GenCon, my players only survived because I cut hull points in half on the drone launcher and gave my 5 player group of newcomers the four-player adjustment. They barely made it out of the fight.

Then, at SkålCon, I had an experienced group of Level Three players who had played through as a team both the Quests and Incident at Absalom Station. They were an experienced group who all knew their ship, had worked as a team, and all had ship boons... And I still had them fearing for their lives. I nearly destroyed them. They made it through only because of a couple of lucky crits at the end.

I know that you have to future-proof scenarios, to make sure that Ship Combats stay challenging for powerful and experienced groups. But is there any plan to offer the GenCon adjustment option to GMs to cut hull points when we get newcomers at the table?

_____

QUESTION TWO: There is a huge difference between 4, 5 and 6 player groups in Starship combat. Being able to devote a second gunner to Starship Combat makes a world of difference. Are there any plans to open up the 4 player adjustment to 5 player groups? Or have an optional 5 player adjustment that GMs can apply?

Thanks for all your answers!

[Hmm]

One final question, this one aimed at someone whom I know is reading this thread, but was not listed on the panel. I hope you don't mind me asking a question of a fellow audience member.

Mark Seifter, you're not officially on this panel, so you don't have to answer this if you don't want to do so. Still, I know that you're a designer who is allocated to the Organized Play Team. What does this mean? What do you do for Organized Play?

Any other member of the team who wishes to answer this may do so as well!

[Sabretooth Turtle]

Hi gang! Thanks for taking the time to engage our curiosity! Just one question: what motivates the inclusion of unusual mechanics (chases, Influence, verbal duels, etc.) in scenarios? Are they generally part of a design brief, or the author's invention?

[Thurston Hillman]

In regards to the Druma incident they not only managed to kill something they shouldn't have but they killed a plot seed for future scenarios?
They sure did! Of course, the plot seed remains unaffected, since we don't necessarily have the actions of a single table determine the fate of the overall campaign. It was just something that really showcased how PCs can think 'outside of the box' in a scenario.

How are you balancing SFS Ship Combat? Are you planning on every crew member bringing in ship boons and tricked out characters?
There's some planning around boons, but ideally we want to make sure that bare-bones ships can handle things. A lot of the current starship combat encounters are fairly difficult (especially the one mentioned in your spoilers). Playtesting these is somewhat difficult, especially as John and I become more experienced with Starship Combat. That being said, we're aware of some of the difficulty and are still fine-tuning.

There is a huge difference between 4, 5 and 6 player groups in Starship combat. Being able to devote a second gunner to Starship Combat makes a world of difference. Are there any plans to open up the 4 player adjustment to 5 player groups? Or have an optional 5 player adjustment that GMs can apply?
I don't think you'll see a 5-player adjustment anytime soon. Instead, you'll notice some more significant 4-player adjustments to starships. Expect to see this start in #01-04, where the starship combat includes a pretty hefty modification.

What motivates the inclusion of unusual mechanics (chases, Influence, verbal duels, etc.) in scenarios? Are they generally part of a design brief, or the author's invention?
It's a bit of both. As a freelancer, I received outlines that specifically called out certain mechanics I should use. As a developer, I've sent out outlines to freelancers, and then the freelancer requests to use a subsystem in their expanded outlines. So, from my experience, it's a bit of a mix of both. Sometimes, scenarios include subsystems just to see how the players react to them—we don't know if players dislike something without using it once or twice!

[Linda Zayas-Palmer]

What was your biggest, "I did not expect THAT" in org play? (Its very open ended, but I would love the stories)

I'd say that award would have to go to the table that played an entire scenario backwards.

#2-10 Fury of the Fiend:

After the mission briefing, the PCs discussed how to proceed. Based on the briefing, they thought there was a good chance that Benton would be dead, but they had a Cheliax faction PC, who mentioned that there would be someone named Marianix Karn at the dig site. So the PCs figure-let's scry on her and teleport in, bypassing the Hellknights and going straight to the dig site. I start laughing, and the players ask if that messes up the scenario too much. I tell them to give me 5 minutes and let's go for it. As you may remember from the scenario, Marianix Karn isn't just in the dig site—she's a prisoner of the final encounter. So Marianix fails her Will save, and the PCs pop right into the final encounter, surprising the hell out of the retriever and its hostages alike. The PCs then carefully escorted the hostages in reverse through the ruins. When morlocks descended upon the elevator, most of the PCs were seriously worried about how they could possibly protect their charges from the hordes, but then the wizard pulled out a perfectly-placed fireball. The diplomacy with the Hellknights at the end was hilarious too. The Hellknights confronted the PCs coming out of the ruin for trespassing on restricted territory. Fortunately, one of the PCs was a Hellknight. After some great roleplay coupled with high rolls, she twisted him into a corner. He had to either admit his group of Hellknights was inefficient and had failed in its duties, levy direct accusations against her order, or let the whole situation go and play along and take credit for fixing it without telling anyone Pathfinders were there (he chose the last one). Only then did the morlocks and stone golems lay siege to the Hellknight camp. The Hellknights didn't question the PCs when they insisted upon leading the charge against the siege, and the PCs secured a resounding victory.

[Linda Zayas-Palmer]

1) After playing 9-2 I have to wonder what thought process goes through when picking monsters for scenarios? I know in some cases its because of an affinity for them. I only single out 9-2 because the one fey monster in particularly was a good unexpected choice.

We look at three main factors when selecting creatures. First, does the story hinge upon certain NPCs or creatures? Then those go in. Next, which are the creature types people are going to expect to see based on the scenario's basic description? If a scenario sounds like it promises to have undead in it, we want to make sure it has undead. Finally, we want scenarios to have a balance of creature types. Sometimes this is tricky for very urban adventures, but we do our best to keep things varied.

In the case of the specific creature from your spoiler, that was Alex Greenshield's idea as the author, and I agree that it was a great choice.

[Linda Zayas-Palmer]

Personal Thought Question, All: If you had to play a pregen for any given reason, which pregen would you play?

When I play pregens, I like to let the table choose. If they don't care, I usually play Kyra.

I helped start a running joke in the Boston Lodge about an "Order of Kyra", in which Kyra was a saint of Sarenrae best known for three great deeds, completed at 1st, 4th, and 7th level, respectively. Members of the Order of Kyra are clerics of Sarenrae who eschew their previous identities and adopt the name and gear that the original Kyra had at the time of her three great deeds. When they are not 1st, 4th, or 7th level, they perform other duties for the church. Silly? Absolutely, especially when we started getting into discussions about traditional vs. reformist members of the order. In honor of the joke, in my home games, Saint Kyra is a 19th level cleric who lives in the Padishah empire.

[Linda Zayas-Palmer]

What NPC that hasn't been in a PFS scenario in a while, would you want to bring back? :) Caudron Wallace? Osprey?

For a while, I had a definitive answer to that question in Eliza Petulengro, but we finally did bring her back. As for right now, I'd say stay tuned for who else resurfaces in Season 9 :)

[Linda Zayas-Palmer]

GM Aerondor wrote:

A biggie here... ** spoiler omitted **

Eyes of the Ten Spoilers:

We're very careful with putting in information that could give spoilers for Eyes of the Ten in general. That makes the situation with Condria tricky. The Maze itself has a cameo appearance in the very beginning of #9-02: A Case of Missing Persons. The PCs are required to don blindfolds when passing through the maze. We've left in intentionally ambiguous whether this is only to prevent them from memorizing the maze or if it is also to protect them from Condria's gaze. If we do revisit the maze more seriously in the future, we'll want to do it proper justice.

[Mark Seifter]

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

One final question, this one aimed at someone whom I know is reading this thread, but was not listed on the panel. I hope you don't mind me asking a question of a fellow audience member.

Mark Seifter, you're not officially on this panel, so you don't have to answer this if you don't want to do so. Still, I know that you're a designer who is allocated to the Organized Play Team. What does this mean? What do you do for Organized Play?

Any other member of the team who wishes to answer this may do so as well!

I am the Design Liaison, so I liaise. That means I go to OP meetings and mention things that I know due to being on the Design Team, then tell the rest of the Design Team what I learn from OP meetings. Since I'm at the meetings, I also participate in discussions even when it's not strictly related to design, which means I occasionally contribute the spark of an idea that shows up in plots or policies.

Nothing terribly unexpected, probably!

[John Compton]

Fedor Checherov wrote:

Will there ever by Expanded Narrative Boon free download for Season 9, like it was for season 8 http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/v5748dyo5lj36?Familiar-Places-New-Adventures ?

For earlier seasons?

I wouldn't expect an Expanded Narrative boon for earlier seasons—not sure how that would work. I imagine there should be one for Season 9, though, so I'm writing that down on my "things to investigate/do" list.

[John Compton]

Tineke Bolleman wrote:

What was your biggest, "I did not expect THAT" in org play?

(Its very open ended, but I would love the stories)

#3–01: The Frostfur Captives:

Toward the end of my time in Georgia, Georgia PFS held a "Bard Night" special event at a tavern where we periodically hosted events. The guidelines were simple: all PCs must have bard levels (ideally only bard levels), and all of the scenarios had to support fun roleplaying. I decided to run [i[The Frostfur Captives[/i], and I got a table of 1st- and 2nd-level PCs, including two teenage boys. The first was playing the bard equivalent of Highlander, complete with a greatsword and kilt. The second brought a halfling enchantment-focused bard named something like Mazaro the Magnificent.

We got to the encounter on Flip-Mat: Mountain Pass, where most of the party ran in and was making efficient work of the goblin enemies. Mazaro's player, however, looked at the map, looked at me, looked at the map, and pointed at the bird nest printed on it. "So, is that really there?" he asked. Having established that the cliffs were about 30 feet high and that there was little way I expected him to mess with the nest, I shrugged and confirmed that it existed. "Okay, I took this trait that lets me use my whip as a grappling hook, so I lash it to that first ledge there. After that, I want to get up to the top of the cliff from that ledge."

How bold!

Seeing that the rest of the group was now chasing goblin foes around the tower and didn't need Mazaro's dubious assistance, I went with it. The halfling made his way to the top, peered into the nest, and lo, there was an egg—an immense egg, just as pictured! He immediately voiced his desire to steal the egg, which looked from the art like it might be about six feet long.

Me: So what's your plan?
Player: I climb into the nest, and I start pushing the egg out.
Me: *Confirms that the rest of the group is mopping up the last goblin foe* Huh, okay. You rock it back and forth a bit, but boy is it heavy. Make me a Perception check.
Player: 19!
Me: Great, so as you're rocking the egg, you notice a shadow pass overhead. It seemed to move quickly, yet it shades you for at least a full two seconds before passing by. You hear the sound of massive wingbeats overhead. You probably have a moment to run before whatever it is lands.

Mind you, at this point I assume the player's had some fun, so I've brought in Mommy Roc to scare him away and get back to the action.

Player: I pull out my short sword—
Me: Oh?
Player: —and I stab it into the egg and make a hole.
Me: ...really? Okay, you punch a hole in the egg. Now what?
Player: I crawl inside.
Me: Huh. Escape Artist check.
Player: 6?
Me: You get the top half of yourself into the egg, where you can see the fairly chick inside. At that point, your trousers snag on part of the shell.
Player: I wriggle! I wriggle!
Me: Okay, your legs feel the battering whoosh of air as something alights near the nest. Escape Artist check.
Player: 17!
Me: You slip inside!
Player: I hide behind the baby bird! 22 Stealth!
Me: As you're holding your breath and trying to peer through the egg's fluid, you see the light of day fade through that hole and a giant eye peer inside. You...you think that maybe the parent has spotted the wriggling egg.
Player: I want to stab it in the eye!

At this point the rest of the table explodes in protest, with numerous people pointing out that 1d4–1 damage won't do diddly against a creature with 100+ hit points. The player reconsiders and decides to wait.

Me: The egg suddenly steadies and a large beak begins flaking away bits of the shell. Mother's trying to help her baby hatch!
Player: I punch a hole in the other side of the egg! Then I escape!
Me: Escape Artist check!
Player: Nooooo! 4!
Me: You jam your upper half, dredged in egg gunk, into the outside world and try to clear your eyes to see. That's when your waist gets stuck in the hole.
Player: I start rocking the egg to escape!
Me: You heave with all your halfling strength, sending both you and the egg careening out of the nest...
Player: Uh oh
Me: ...and down the cliff...
Other Players: *Collective wince*[/b]
Me: ...and crash into a snowbank taking [ooc]*rolls dice only 8 damage!
Player: I'm at 0! I hide in the snow until the bird's gone!
Me: With a mournful screech of despair, the immense bird gazes over the cliff at the shattered ruin of her offspring before surging into the air to fly away.
Player: I stagger back to the party and demand healing!
Me: The Frostfur goblins seem utterly appalled by the icy, icky monstrosity that's stumbling toward them.
Another bard: What the...what were you doing?
Player: I fought a roc and won! Ha ha!
Me: So that wraps up that combat.

I knew that once it started, I wasn't going to let Mazaro die because he had gone looking for trouble in a way that wasn't remotely related to the adventure; killing him with that roc was never on the table.

Mazaro remained utterly enamored with his near-death experience and—much like a fan who might proclaim that he's never washing his hand again after shaking hands with a celebrity—he insisted on not bathing, wanting to keep the remnants of his sticky-yet-slimy baptism for as long as possible. The other five characters gave him allllll the space he wanted.

Cut to the village of Harvest's End. The team decided they were going to hang out on the outskirts and send in a couple PCs to scout around for some way across the river—lovely plan. Mazaro immediately volunteered, and Mr. Highlander (also part of the Andoran faction—important for later) reticently joined in. They wandered around the village of, what, 60 souls for a bit and found the one drinking establishment to gather information. It should have been so simple, but Mazaro had other ideas.

Me: Okay, this is a pretty simple place with about 15 Ulfen people nursing drinks and chatting quietly.
Mazaro: I walk up to a table with a few of the toughest-looking people.
Mr. Highlander: I'll...stand by the door.
Me: The table has two rather grizzled Ulfens, each wearing a bit of armor and with axes at their hips. As you approach, they look at you and wrinkle their faces in disgust. "Ugh, what...what are you? If you need the help, I'm open to dunking you in the river before it freezes for the winter!" Several patrons laugh at the jest.
Mazaro: I stand as tall as I can and proclaim, "I am Mazaro the Magnificent, and I fought a roc!"
Mr. Highlander: I die a little on the inside.
Me: The two Ulfens look at each other and then back at you. One remarks, "You fought what? A pile of pebbles? Then what, fell in a mud pit?"
Mazaro: "No! A roc! A giant bird! I fought it and won!"
Me: The Ulfens shake their heads and start turning back to their drinks.
Mazaro: "Fools! You will pay attention to me!" I cast hypnotism on them.
Mr. Highlander: Oh no...
Me: That's pretty aggressive. You sure?
Mazaro: I cast hypnotism. Nobody ignores Mazaro the Magnificent.
Mr. Highlander: We're going to die. This is how death happens.
Me: Okay, go ahead and roll your 2d4. 6? Great, that might get both of them. Let's say they both have a +1 on their Will saves. *I roll a 17 and an 18* They both shake their heads a little before glaring at you. The one on the left grimly asks, "Are you jadwiga?"
Mr. Highlander: So, uh, I supposedly have a faction mission contact here? I'm going to start looking for him.
Me: Do you know what a jadwiga is?
Mazaro: No, but it sounds pretty impressive.
Me: Do you have Knowledge (local)? Knowledge (arcana)? Any knowledges?
Mazaro: My archetype got rid of bardic knowledge.
Mr. Highlander: Same with mine.
Me: Cool, so they've asked if you're jadwiga.
Mazaro: "Yes, yes I am. I am jadwiga."
Me: Every person in the building stands up and draws a weapon.
Mazaro: "Wait, I mean, jadwiga? Did I say I was jadwiga? Um, no! I said that he (pointing to Mr. Highlander) was jadwiga. Yeah!"
Mr. Highlander: "Don't bring me into your problems."
Mazaro: Oh. Damn. I start running.
Me: They start chasing.
Mr. Highlander: I stand aside to let them past.
Me: Great. As people are filing out of the building with violent intentions, you spot your Andoran contact.

Narrator's note: The Andoran faction mission involves finding an undercover contact, passing an encoded message, and ensuring his identity remains a secret.

Mr. Highlander: "Oh hey! Are you [contact's name]? I'm supposed to give you an encoded message!"
Me: The man stops in his tracks before the two people next to him ask, "Wait, [contact's name]? I thought your name was [cover identity]."
Mr. Highlander: "No, he's [contact's name]. I need to talk to him about his mission."
Me: The two witnesses start muttering about spies while your contact stares daggers at you. A small group of armed warriors grab your contact and drag him away.
Mr. Highlander: Can I at least give him the message?

Mazaro tried to fight the whole village, only to be cornered in an alley. I refused to let the halfing die to a fictional bird, but once he started casting spells on unsuspecting people, proclaimed he was an ice witch, and performed several other acts of mayhem in his haste to escape, he had pretty much handed me a pile of coffin nails.

And yet the player sure seemed to be having fun. I guess that's what matters.

BARD NIGHT!

[John Compton]

GM Aerondor wrote:

A biggie here... ** spoiler omitted **

Spoiler:

With the introduction of the Hao Jin Tapestry, the Maze of the Open Road sort of fell into disuse. It didn't help that the latter was only really discussed in the sole seeker-level series rarely discussed in public so as to avoid spoilers.

There might be an occasion to revisit Condria and the Maze, but nothing's pencilled into the schedule just yet.

[TOZ]

*coughLiberty'sEdgecough*

[John Compton]

Magabeus wrote:

What kind of data-analysis do you perform on all the data you gather from the reported games?

What surprised you most about the data?

Did the reported data change anything (and what) in the future scenarios?

We've pulled critical data for about six scenarios that I can think of off the top of my head when outlining new adventures, and we've looked at the data for numerous others largely out of curiosity. Overall, the numbers have supported the Pathfinders doing the "nice thing" far more often than not. There's only one scenario for which I remember the PCs' canonical actions were decidedly Not Nice, and my recollection is that Linda and I got to write that into the subsequent adventure.

The more we explore some of these past plot threads in Season 9, the more we're expecting to pull that data and show key developments based on what you've reported.

[John Compton]

TOZ wrote:

*coughLiberty'sEdgecough*

Andoran at the time, so that's how I tell it

[John Compton]

CanisDirus wrote:

Will there be FLGS support for Starfinder Society in the same way that PFS and ACG scenarios are currently granted to retailers who host organized play at their locations?

I don't have any substantive information about that one—more a Tonya question.

Quote:

Are any of you aware if Heroes for Highdelve going to be released as a .pdf?

I'm not sure, and I'll ask to see if we can get some official clarification from somebody better informed about our deal with Games & Gears.

[Hmm]

Bard night sounds absolutely awesome. I would love to play in a Bard's Night game. Or GM one!

Also I realize that our Panel appears to be running over time, so I want to thank all the participants for giving us their time and wonderful stories.

Thank you for letting me run with this experiment. I hope that I can hit you up again for next year's PBP Gameday. This was lovely!

Hmm

[Woran]

Thank you for your lovely stories!

[thistledown]

James Anderson wrote:

A trio of scenario questions.

1. Are you ever going to bring back the nautical Venture-Captain Retief VanSchuyver, or has that upstart Benary entirely plundered his role?

2. The briefing for King of the Storval Stairs says that the reason they're sending caravans through there is the society has teams in the ruins of Xin-Shalast. That was 5 years ago... is the campaign ever going to visit Xin-Shalast on-screen?

3. Any plans for Arcadia?

Sad that my questions never got answered.