OPA Musings
Recently, I foolishly declared that because a couple of our major conventions were delayed, this summer wouldn’t be as bad on the convention front. I retract this statement! We’ve got PAX Online this month, PaizoCon Europe Online next month, and Gen Con after that. Oh, and after that is my wedding. So much for my relaxing summer!
Artists Sebastian Rodriguez and Mark Molnar
Title Changes
We’ve been shuffling around some job titles and responsibilities on the Organized Play development team over the last few weeks to account for the transfer of the Pathfinder and Starfinder One-Shots product lines to this team. To reflect this shift, we’re going to start calling the team the “Digital Adventures Team,” rather than a title more closely associated with our OP programs, as their creative remit now covers items that aren’t directly related to our Organized Play campaigns. (They'll still handle those products as well, just alongside these new items on their docket.)
- Linda Zayas-Palmer is now the Development Manager (Digital Adventures) and manages the Digital Adventures Team, of which the “Organized Play Team” is a subset.
- Thurston Hillman is now titled Developer (Digital Adventures), and will be focusing on Paizo’s One-Shots, Bounties, and Society Interactives.
- Jenny Jarzabski is the Starfinder Society Developer, and Mike Kimmel is the Pathfinder Society Developer, though both share the official title of Organized Play Line Developer. Jenny and Mike are running the day-to-day development of Starfinder Society and Pathfinder Society, respectively.
Most of this is just bringing job titles in line with the developers’ day-to-day duties, but we wanted to announce them in case anybody noticed the changes in the masthead of new scenarios.
Starfinder Society Year 4
We’ve got a couple points of clarification with information we’ve released about Starfinder Society Year 4. In addition, we wanted to post an update that we’re currently working on compiling the common questions about the shift away from Fame and will have answers to some of the outstanding issues and boons prior to the Fame spending deadline.
Table Size
It was brought to our attention that there was an additional rule change with Year 4 of Starfinder Society that didn’t get the spotlight it should’ve. As of the beginning of Year 4, the maximum player count for a table is six players. Seven-player tables are no longer permitted. We didn’t intend to sneak this change by anybody, we just forgot to announce it with the rest of the changes!
New Ships
We have one final piece of business to attend to with our new year of Starfinder Society, and that’s the Azata! This brand new ship is available to all players, and its statistics are now available in the Starfinder Society Guide.
Artist Mark Molnar
Pathfinder Society Year 3
Last month, we announced the title for Pathfinder Society Year 3: the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries. We’re excited for you all to experience this new storyline; from what I’ve read so far, it’ll be a great year for veteran and brand-new players alike. One of the highlights for new players is the three-part introduction arc we talked about in the Paizo Intro Blog last Thursday. Mike Kimmel did an interview with the Danger Club Podcast—go check it out for some more teasers, and stay tuned to the blog for more news!
Sanctioning
The big headline for this month’s sanctioning update is for our First Edition players! We’re pleased to announce that updated versions of the PFS (first edition) Additional Resources and Campaign Clarifications have been released and take effect immediately. We anticipate that this will be the final version of these documents, barring any major issues. We’re still working on sanctioning documents for the final Adventure Paths, but their rules options are all factored into this update.
I don’t have as much to report for our active programs this month. For Pathfinder Society, sanctioning documents for the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path and Malevolence are both ready to go live when the books are released on July 7th. Next on the list for PFS is Lost Omens The Mwangi Expanse and the Strength of Thousands Adventure Path. For Starfinder Society, I’m pleased to announce that the Character Options page has been updated to include the options in the Galaxy Exploration Manual. We weren’t able to get Fly Free or Die or Devastation Ark’s character options out this month, but we’re working on those as our next priority.
GM Recognition
Whether stars, novas, or glyphs, achieving a 5 ranking in any program involves a substantial amount of time. To achieve the 5th milestone, a GM must run 150 games, of which at least 50 must be unique scenarios and 10 special scenarios, as well as run between one and three games for venture-captains (program dependent). A conservative estimate of the time needed to reach the 5th milestone is 650 hours!
This month, we have several GMs to recognize!
5th Star: Filipp Kovalev, Lindsey Long
5th Nova: Michael Beck, James Carter, Rebecca Fehn
Congratulations to our GMs, and thank you for your dedication! If you believe you have achieved your 5th rank but haven’t been announced, email us at organizedplay@paizo.com.
Upcoming Conventions
Remember that you can use the new Conventions calendar to check out all the upcoming conventions with a Paizo Organized Play presence! I also wanted to republish the information for all our major shows here so it’s all in one place.
PAX Online – July 15-18
Warhorn link: https://warhorn.net/events/paizo-organized-play-pax-online-2021
GM registration form: https://forms.gle/X8ansVaoyjD2zd7A7
Contact email: paizoorgplayhq@gmail.com
New releases: None; convention focused on acquisitions and new players
PaizoCon Europe Online – August 19-22
Warhorn link: https://warhorn.net/events/paizocon-online-europe-2021
GM registration form: https://forms.gle/nekXPhFXtbskCm1BA
Contact email: paizoconeurope@gmail.com
New releases: PFS Intro 1: The Second Confirmation, PFS Intro 2: United in Purpose, PFS Intro: Year of Shattered Sanctuaries
Gen Con Online – September 16-19
Website link: https://www.gencon.com/online
GM registration form: https://forms.gle/EcmxjF36GmVrR7979
Contact email: GenConLeads@gmail.com
New releases: PFS and SFS Interactive Specials
Until next time - Explore! Report! Cooperate! And get outside and enjoy the summer sunshine!