Organized Play Potpourri

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

As January draws to a close, planning for our big conventions starts in earnest. Volunteer solicitations for PaizoCon and Gen Con went out, but that is the first step in a long list of tasks. Last week, the Organized Play team met and made decisions as to what scenarios/events to offer at each of the big conventions – PaizoCon, Origins, and Gen Con, as well as what special events would be on offer at UKGE and PaizoCon UK. Now we need to get granular and start looking at the daily schedules and numbers of tables.

Before we jump into convention chat, the org play team wanted to take a minute and revisit two other topics under discussion recently. The first is the Regional Support Program and the second is the retirement of the Scarab Sages Faction.

Regional Support Program

Last year, we indicated the Regional Support Program would run from 1 Feb 2017 to 31 Jan 2018, and that we would evaluate it for renewal heading into Feb 2018. The program last year met our goals of getting convention style benefits into GMs hands and promoting play in local stores and communities. Thus we will continue it for the 2018/19 cycle. At this point, John, Linda, and Thurston are putting the final touches on the new package and we hope to have it available for download to Venture-Officers by the end of the month. Qualifying events start 1 Feb. If you are unsure what is needed to run the program, visit our policy page for more information.

We received feedback from participating GMs who noted that not everyone completed their 2017/18 cards and that they would appreciate a chance to get their rewards for running games over the past year. The team discussed the issue and is extending the completion deadline for 2017/18 cards. During the 2018/19 RSP season, a GM may choose to check a box on their old card or their new card for every game run. Only one box may be checked per game. This change only applies to completing cards. No 2017/18 cards may be issued after 31 Jan 2018.

Scarab Sages

Thank you to all who posted feedback on the December 13 blog discussing mid-season faction changes. Taking this feedback into consideration, the team decided to not retire the Scarab Sages, but rather to make the faction inactive. All characters currently part of the Scarab Sages may retain their membership in the faction. Mechanically, this allows current faction members to accrue Prestige Points and Fame, buy vanities, and continue to complete faction journal card goals. However, there will be no new faction journal card produced for the faction in Season 10, and scenarios are unlikely to provide ongoing stories focused on the faction. This blends the requests of our player base with how the team sees the storylines progressing for the Society as a whole.

This change also means that with the publication of an updated Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide in the coming weeks, characters will no longer be able to join the Scarab Sages faction. If you would like to change your character's faction from the Scarab Sages to any other faction, you may do so at a cost of 0 Prestige Points. You should perform this change either by August 2nd, 2018 or at the beginning of the next adventure the character plays, whichever occurs last.

Convention Chat

With the other topics covered, I now return to convention information. Planning conventions the size of PaizoCon, Origins, and Gen Con, is nigh impossible without a team of leads and an army of volunteer GMs and HQ staff. First, a huge thanks to everyone who already volunteered for a 2018 event (or two or three). I’m starting to send out PaizoCon volunteer acceptance letters and look to have them done by the first of February. Gen Con letters are also in the pipeline and volunteers should see them soon. We are currently putting the Origins volunteer plans together and will publish that information asap.

Second, if you haven’t volunteered and would like to, there is still time. PaizoCon is mostly full, but we usually have a few cancellations before the event. Gen Con still has space, including for 8-block volunteers qualifying for hotel rooms. To volunteer for PaizoCon, complete this questionnaire For Gen Con, follow this link to the volunteer questionnaire.

One of the first tasks needing completion involves assembling a leadership team for each convention, without which the planning and running would be almost impossible. Below are the teams for each of the big three Paizo sponsored events. They assist with almost every aspect of the convention, from set up/tear down to schedule planning to on-site volunteer coordination. If you are interested in working as a lead/department head for one of the Paizo-sponsored conventions in 2019, speak to one of the people listed below and they can get you involved this year to see what goes into planning these conventions.

PaizoCon 2018
Leads—Louis Manko Levite & Walter Sheppard

Origins 2018
Lead—Michael McNerney
Assistants—Michael Costello, June Soler, Luke Woods

Gen Con 2018
Leads—Bob Jonquet, Todd Morgan, Lucas Servideo, Heather Vigil
Department Heads:

Demo—Kevin Baumann
ACG—Jen McTeague
PSA—Alexandra Melone
HQ—Joe Mathos
Assistant HQ—Michael VonHasseln

Administration Assistant—Alison Ooms

Next week we release the January scenarios for Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society, so we'll have two blogs. Tune in next Wednesday for a preview of what is in store!

Tonya Woldridge

Organized Play Manager

Until next time – Explore, Report, Cooperate!