Pathfinder Society Retail Incentive Program Announced!

Awesome! But, any way we can get the associated pdfs for our game store purchases as well?

Two questions, can you buy third party stuff, probably not, and does it require a physical receipt? I do love the idea, btw.

Awesome! But, any way we can get the associated pdfs for our game store purchases as well?

How do pdf purchases help your FLGS? If there is some way, I would love to hear it.

Belabras wrote:

Awesome! But, any way we can get the associated pdfs for our game store purchases as well?

How do pdf purchases help your FLGS? If there is some way, I would love to hear it.

I think the question was "Is there a way I can buy a physical product from my store and gain this benefit, but also get the associated pdf?" ^_^

Two questions, can you buy third party stuff, probably not, and does it require a physical receipt? I do love the idea, btw.

You can buy a sandwhich and have it count, so I imagine Tribbles of golarion counts in the same capacity

I'm very excited for this program! Now, off to go talk to some store liaisons.

Two questions, can you buy third party stuff, probably not, and does it require a physical receipt? I do love the idea, btw.

The receipt need not be for Paizo products; the storeowner may include any products the venue sells as qualifying purchases.

Is there another option between recover from wounds and bonus wealth? Or is this just a typo?

Can we purchase Vouchers for PFS scenarios through Local game stores?

Is something like that on the docket?

When does the Retail Incentive Program start? Now and post our findings? Or later with a following "Get Started" announcement?

Nohwear wrote:

Belabras wrote:

Awesome! But, any way we can get the associated pdfs for our game store purchases as well?

How do pdf purchases help your FLGS? If there is some way, I would love to hear it.

I think the question was "Is there a way I can buy a physical product from my store and gain this benefit, but also get the associated pdf?" ^_^

Exactly.

@Nohwear - It requires some proof of purchase. Physical receipt is the most reasonable. If stores don't do receipts, they can work with their Venture-Agent to work out something.

@Brett - that was a formatting issue. Will get it removed asap.

@Tothric/Belabras - not at this time.

@Protoman - NOW! No need to wait.

@Protoman - NOW! No need to wait.

AWESOME!

Its really great to see PFS giving local venues some love. This is a great program!

Yay! I'll point this blog at the Dreamers Team and our store liaison!

Hmm

Cool Idea!!!

Does this count at conventions held at hotels? If I purchase a $10 lunch at the Paizo Bed and Breakfast, which is hosting PFS-Con, could I use that receipt at the table? Or if I made purchases in the dealer hall?

So if I have a table and 3 players have a $10 receipt do they then get the Cheaper Healing, Recover from Wounds, and Bonus Wealth?

If I have 2 players both with a $5 receipt does that trigger the normal reward?

If I have a table and 5 players have a $10 receipt does the table get the enhanced benefit of one thing? Does this interact strange with the first question?

As a subscriber doesnt this kind of encourage me to not subscribe? My shop is sort of small and hit or miss on products where as my subscription hits my doorstep regularly and reliably. And all joking aside i only need so many sets of dice, or bones minatures.

@Tothric/Belabras - not at this time.

Thanks Tonya. Still excited about this.

All my game stores do tabs, so I'm wondering how this'll work out since we close our tabs out at the end of the game...

All my game stores do tabs, so I'm wondering how this'll work out since we close our tabs out at the end of the game...

If stores don't do receipts, they can work with their Venture-Agent to work out something.

Cool Idea!!!

Does this count at conventions held at hotels? If I purchase a $10 lunch at the Paizo Bed and Breakfast, which is hosting PFS-Con, could I use that receipt at the table? Or if I made purchases in the dealer hall?

Nope. This is not a convention initiative. They get other goodies. This is specifically targeted at retail locations.

What, exactly, does the retailer need to do to make the receipts valid? Do they have to endorse them? Post a policy? Sign up to anything? Because it seems to me that it's up to the GMs to police this - the player just waves a receipt from the venue dated that day - what does the GM need to know about which purchases the venue considers 'qualifying', and how is the GM meant to know this?

My lodge plays in a pub, that's part of a national chain. As long as we buy stuff and are not disruptive, then don't really care. There's no way I'm going to get them to endorse a program. But if as a GM, a player shows me a receipt that says "One all day breakfast, a pint of beer and some pork scratchings" can I just say "yeah, that's about right" and give them some free healing?

But if as a GM, a player shows me a receipt that says "One all day breakfast, a pint of beer and some pork scratchings" can I just say "yeah, that's about right" and give them some free healing?

a) Sounds like it....

b)... where are you people i need to visit... :)

What, exactly, does the retailer need to do to make the receipts valid? Do they have to endorse them? Post a policy? Sign up to anything? Because it seems to me that it's up to the GMs to police this - the player just waves a receipt from the venue dated that day - what does the GM need to know about which purchases the venue considers 'qualifying', and how is the GM meant to know this?

My lodge plays in a pub, that's part of a national chain. As long as we buy stuff and are not disruptive, then don't really care. There's no way I'm going to get them to endorse a program. But if as a GM, a player shows me a receipt that says "One all day breakfast, a pint of beer and some pork scratchings" can I just say "yeah, that's about right" and give them some free healing?

Pubs are retail venues that probably aren't going to care about the initiative one way or another. FLGS, on the other hand, are going to care and by advertising that they use the program, players may be more likely to buy product. So it comes down to a location wanting to use the incentive and then letting the *whole player base* know it is happening.

Alice runs a home game.
Bob turns up with shrinkwrapped PC Folio and announces himself as "Bob's Independent Traders". Charlie turns up likewise.

Bob sells Folio to Charlie for 10 dollars. Charlie sells it back to Bob for 10 dollars. They scribble each other receipts. Alice says "all purchases in this venue are valid"

Bob and Charlie now have one free healing on request.

Alice runs a home game.

Bob turns up with shrinkwrapped PC Folio and announces himself as "Bob's Independent Traders". Charlie turns up likewise.

Bob sells Folio to Charlie for 10 dollars. Charlie sells it back to Bob for 10 dollars. They scribble each other receipts. Alice says "all purchases in this venue are valid"

Bob and Charlie now have one free healing on request.

Not a retail venue. Please, we want nice things. This is a good benefit for the stores. This isn't a cheese whiz thing.

Let me point out any purchase, even those purchases of board games, books, sausages, Cheetos, and soda. The benefit is there no matter what you buy.

Alice runs a home game.

Bob turns up with shrinkwrapped PC Folio and announces himself as "Bob's Independent Traders". Charlie turns up likewise.

Bob sells Folio to Charlie for 10 dollars. Charlie sells it back to Bob for 10 dollars. They scribble each other receipts. Alice says "all purchases in this venue are valid"

Bob and Charlie now have one free healing on request.

And VL Denise says "Cut it out."

I'm not sure if you were aiming for funny or to point out how players could try to exploit the rules. If it was the latter, PFS runs on an honor system anyway. Blatantly misinterpreting rules is no different than ignoring them.

I'm not against this program. Helping game stores is not a bad thing. But what's been announced in the post is so vague, nebulous and arbitrary that it's fairly meaningless.

Alice could just throw out all the paperwork and give the players the benefits because she says so. She would still be in violation of the rules and the spirit of PFS. As mentioned above, we use the honor system. Those who cheat are cheating themselves.

We usually start our games as soon as the store opens on Sunday afternoons. If people want to shop, they do it when our games are over to be respectful of other people's time. I'm not keen on the idea of having to wait for everyone to go shopping before we can start, so I wish the receipts could be held for the next game day.

This is awesome! Thanks for thinking of the shops!

It doesn't seem all that vague, nebulous, or arbitrary to me. In fact, it seems very straight to the point.

Good for you Paizo, supporting the FLGS like this!

:)

We frequently have two PFS sessions back to back at some of our venues. So, if I spend $25 buying something and show the GM the receipt during the first session I have now earned the initial benefit for myself and our table is halfway to the extended benefit. But I have no benefit at the second session (unless I go spend another $10 bucks). Correct?

If this is correct, I wonder if it would be too cumbersome to allow players to "save" $10 from a single receipt towards a second table (held the same day, of course)?

We usually start our games as soon as the store opens on Sunday afternoons. If people want to shop, they do it when our games are over to be respectful of other people's time. I'm not keen on the idea of having to wait for everyone to go shopping before we can start, so I wish the receipts could be held for the next game day.

I have a similar problem. I would love more leeway on when the products were bought so it is not disruptive.

OK, then let me explain why I think this is too vague. The policy basically says

"If you are playing at a retail venue (term undefined) then someone at the venue (who?) may decide that certain purchases count towards this program."

So the vagueness comes down to 1) what is a retail venue and 2) who decides?

If you are playing in a games store, then this probably works very well. The store owner puts up a sign explaining that all Paizo products, their overpriced sodas and those Clans of Tarkir boosters that they're desperately trying to get rid off all count. No problem.

But what if you're playing in, for example, a mall food court? It's definitely a retail venue. But who would have to decide whether purchases from the KFC franchise and the noodle stand count? What about buying clothes from the shops in the mall. Who decides?

What if you're playing in a community hall, that has a small cafe. Is it a retail outlet? No, but Tanya's post explicitly says that they want to include these sorts of venues. So is it the community hall manager who decides? The lead volunteer who organizes the cafe, even though you're not playing in the cafe?

You play in a branch of Starbucks. It's a retail outlet. They give receipts. You say to the guy behind the counter "can we count our purchases here for the purpose of our game program?" He has no idea what you're talking about but says "OK". Is that good enough?

If this were explicitly limited to game stores, then it would be fine and I wouldn't have a problem with it.

I'd think that a good guideline would be "Does the location have an event calendar which shows that you're playing PFS there on Wednesdays?"

If it does, then purchases made there would probably count. If not, then they wouldn't. So playing at your local Starbucks or Pizza joint isn't likely to qualify, but playing at "Bob's Boardgame Cafe" would, as long as someone at the store says it's OK.

Who decides?

The event organizer or the store owner. Whoever is taking responsibility for the games being run, in conjunction with the owners of the location.

Now THIS... this is an incentive program!

Kudos, PFS team! Even in its infancy, this looks AMAZINGLY good.

OK, then let me explain why I think this is too vague. The policy basically says

"If you are playing at a retail venue (term undefined)

Original post-

then someone at the venue (who?) may decide that certain purchases count towards this program."

Original post-

But what if you're playing in, for example, a mall food court? It's definitely a retail venue. But who would have to decide whether purchases from the KFC franchise and the noodle stand count? What about buying clothes from the shops in the mall. Who decides?

Tonya-

so the location has to care. The mall is probably not going to care, so that location would not get the incentive. But then, you never know, you might ask the mall company.

What if you're playing in a community hall, that has a small cafe. Is it a retail outlet? No, but Tanya's post explicitly says that they want to include these sorts of venues. So is it the community hall manager who decides? The lead volunteer who organizes the cafe, even though you're not playing in the cafe?

The community hall manager decides, but the organizer would probably need to tell them about it, they probably don't read the boards.

You play in a branch of Starbucks. It's a retail outlet. They give receipts. You say to the guy behind the counter "can we count our purchases here for the purpose of our game program?" He has no idea what you're talking about but says "OK". Is that good enough?

If the guy behind the counter is the owner / manager, yes. Otherwise, no. The person organizing public games should probably be keeping the onwer / manager in the loop anyway.

Awesome! But, any way we can get the associated pdfs for our game store purchases as well?

I think the question was "Is there a way I can buy a physical product from my store and gain this benefit, but also get the associated pdf?" ^_^

This. This needs to be a thing. A while ago, I ordered the newest book for the Dresden Files RPG from my game store. Evil Hat (the publisher) had the option if the retailer signed up as a retail location, where they could download a PDF copy of the book, and hand it out however they wanted to anyone who purchased a hardcopy of it (CD, USB key, email, etc). They also had an option for a code to use on their store site which allowed me to download it (which is what we used). Currently, the only way to get a free PDF with the purchase of a physical book is to be a subscriber. I love the idea of this, as I am a fan of physical gaming books, particularly when reading new material for the first time, its SUPER handy to have PDF copies to fulfill the PFS requirement you have a copy of all materials used in your characters. Considering how many books a typical (non-core) character uses material in, thats more than I want to carry around, particularly to a convention where I have multiple characters for the weekend.

Unfortunately, we have the problem at our location where folks either subscribe because free PDF and dropping on their door the day its out, or if they want to pick and choose, instead of getting everything, Amazon because its cheaper. This has lead to a circular logic issue, at least at our store. We are buying less Pathfinder materials from the store, as we could get a free PDF, or its cheaper elsewhere. Which in turn means they are stocking less and less Pathfinder books, which means there is less chance the actual book we want is instock, requiring we get it elsewhere.

So huzah! This is a definite step in the right direction, but its not a full solution.

BUY OR DIE!

:)

Frankly, I think this is a good move by Paizo. I will deliberately buy product to help my PFS group win in a scenario... especially if the scenario is notoriously difficult. I would instantly buy $50 of product at the start of every Bonekeep game, on purpose, just to shore up our chances of survival.

Some problems to fix:

• The text makes it seem like you need to purchase a single item valued at $10 or more for the first benefit. However, based upon the text about the $50 option, it seems more likely that combined receipts will qualify at both levels. That's an important difference. Lots of game stores make their money from food & drinks that gamers buy during play. These individual purchases may be small, but add up by the end of the night. They should qualify, and I suspect they do. It's just the wording is a little fuzzy.
  
• The listed benefits are organized poorly so that the enhanced benefit is mixed in with the initial benefit. I'd simply reformat the text to make it more obvious what your options are at level 1 & 2.
  

Nonetheless, thanks tons for this. Those who have money to spend now have a new reason to spend it!

If I have a receipt can I make the monsters harder to kill when I GM

If I have a receipt can I make the monsters harder to kill when I GM

In most circumstances when it comes to GMing, the question is less often whether one can do something and more whether it's a good idea—for you, your table, and your community—to actually do it.

But in all seriousness, no, this program is not intended to empower the PCs' foes.

What if they really have it coming, though?

They know what they did.

I like the idea a lot. Bravo Tonya and John !

Good idea. Investing in the Flgs really help our PFS groups maintain a place to play.

Like someone said above, selling vouchers and/or gift cards by flgs would go a lot further. I would rather pay my shop money for a pdf book voucher or gift card to paizo.com to keep them in business, than order it online directly.

As a Paizo registered retailer I got an email about this initiative that directed me to this forum post. So I suspect all the LGS's that are Paizo registered should be aware of this initiative shortly. I will be making an announcement at the next game day I attend for sure.

For other venues that don't carry Paizo stuff and therefore can't become registered as such, just inform your event organizer about this initiative to help get the word out.

I'm 110% in favor of supporting local game stores but I hate owning physical product. I think own 3 actual Pathfinder books (and they never leave the closet). The rest of my Paizo goods were all purchased as PDFs.