CigarPete |
My family and I played A at Gen Con last year and had a blast (partly due to our fantastic GM, who had traveled from Australia for the con). We’ve all missed B, but I just got us tickets for C at this year’s Gen Con. If we didn’t play the second part, is there enough new material to be worth it?
2 out of 3 sections should be new. If that's enough new material for you, then yes. I've played and run A, will likely be running B in July, and running C at GenCon, so guess I'll see them all once D comes out...
The Masked Ferret Venture-Agent, Georgia—Atlanta |
My family and I played A at Gen Con last year and had a blast (partly due to our fantastic GM, who had traveled from Australia for the con). We’ve all missed B, but I just got us tickets for C at this year’s Gen Con. If we didn’t play the second part, is there enough new material to be worth it?
If you want Part B, we will be running it at Momocon in Atlanta at the end of the month.
Gary Bush Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha |
Gary Bush Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha |
SashaK |
Playing Part B today, and having to negotiate with the Kellids, knowing exactly what their goals are, the correct answers and the impending combat puts a real damper on the opening of the scenario...
The beauty of replayables like 'Beyond the Halflight Path' is they always have new motivation and purpose. Given we just played version A 6 months ago, it's quite demoralizing to have to redo something exactly.
Please consider roleplayers in your Special design - to devote 8 hours to the flagship scenario and have this negative experience at the start is a real pain. Having said that, Version A was fantastic when played the first time!
The Masked Ferret Venture-Agent, Georgia—Atlanta |
Question, the above blog states:
After that, the new version's available to the public and playable for another 4–5 months.
This implies it will be available for purchase, but neither A, B, nor C are available for purchase. Am I misinterpreting?
Also, since the exclusivity window ended, should these parts be going to Venture Officers automatically?
Ferious Thune |
My understanding is that they are still locked behind the approval process. I’ve been unsure whether VOs have access to them, but since you’re asking, I’m guessing that’s a no. I know that’s been an issue with getting GMs online, since the pdf can’t be emailed. Locally if anyone had the scenario, you could hand out printouts for use at the event and collect them afterward. I, similarly, am not sure why something that can be run anywhere and anytime (with enough tables) needs to be stuck behind the approval bottleneck. It just seems like extra work for the RVCs/campaign staff, and it definitely creates uncertainty around scheduling the special.
Tonya Woldridge Organized Play Manager |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Part C is not locked behind an approval process, ie no RVC/OPM permission needed, so they can be scheduled anywhere.
They are not currently part of the VO download, given the availability/retirement method.
Part D is exclusive from release (mid-January) through Feb. From March onward, it is available with no RVC/OPM approval. Part C retires in March.
We've talked about packaging all parts in one scenario that would run over 1.5 hours. Good for conventions that want a full morning block, a lunch break, and then a 6-ish hour session. Still tbd on the final details.
TwilightKnight |
We've talked about packaging all parts in one scenario that would run over 1.5 hours. Good for conventions that want a full morning block, a lunch break, and then a 6-ish hour session.
Is that supposed to read “1.5 blocks?”
Did you mean four hours followed by another six (10 hours total) or four hours followed by another two (6 hours total)?Ferious Thune |
Part C is not locked behind an approval process, ie no RVC/OPM permission needed, so they can be scheduled anywhere.
They are not currently part of the VO download, given the availability/retirement method.
Part D is exclusive from release (mid-January) through Feb. From March onward, it is available with no RVC/OPM approval. Part C retires in March.
We've talked about packaging all parts in one scenario that would run over 1.5 hours. Good for conventions that want a full morning block, a lunch break, and then a 6-ish hour session. Still tbd on the final details.
Tonya,
Approval was the wrong choice of words. The scenarios have to be placed in the GMs downloads. The process to request that is very similar to the approval process (email your RVC). That has a turnaround time. If we were able to organize a local game for next weekend, our chances of getting the scenario in the next couple of days so GMs have time to prep it are virtually zero. That has actively caused issues with scheduling the special, particularly online where a paper copy can’t be shared. While it’s advertised as being able to be run anytime by anyone anywhere, provided there are enough tables, the process to actually get the scenario means that is not the reality of the situation. The reality is that you need “approval” in the form of having the scenario added to your downloads. Whether or not that approval is guaranteed doesn’t really matter. It’s the delay the process causes that’s the issue.
The Masked Ferret Venture-Agent, Georgia—Atlanta |
Part C is not locked behind an approval process, ie no RVC/OPM permission needed, so they can be scheduled anywhere.
They are not currently part of the VO download, given the availability/retirement method.
Part D is exclusive from release (mid-January) through Feb. From March onward, it is available with no RVC/OPM approval. Part C retires in March.
We've talked about packaging all parts in one scenario that would run over 1.5 hours. Good for conventions that want a full morning block, a lunch break, and then a 6-ish hour session. Still tbd on the final details.
Excited about the possibility of a complete run.
I just wish we could purchase it or otherwise obtain it somehow, without requiring your intervention.
TwilightKnight |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
email your RVC
Why email the RVC? It doesn’t require our approval to run and we don’t have access to drop scenarios. It would seem to me it would be more direct to just complete the GM request form for all the GMs and send it to Tonya.
I think the reason it is not auto-dropped or simply made available for purchase is because it is a special even when it’s past the restricted window and therefore treated the same as other specials. The only difference is that it doesn’t require approval per say, just a manual request for it to be dropped into accounts.
It is interesting to note something that most have not thought about in that the entirety of 8-99 is free. The only way to get it is by request for an event and AFAIK, that only occurs with a free add to your account. That means the author/s were paid as well as countless developer, editing, art, layout, etc. hours were spent to produce s product that will, in its current format, never generate any income whatsoever. That may not be germaine to the access issue, but it is something to consider when dealing with specials, particularly 8-99.
TwilightKnight |
For the two restricted specials (1-99, 10-00) you have to obtain permission from the RVC to offer them so we can make sure the organizers in the area are talking to each other and not trying to poach players/GMs from other events. However, at the end of the day, the request still has to be submitted following the event support process because only Paizo staff have access to drop scenarios into download accounts.
My advice would be to contact your RVC and see how they want to handle this situation. Technically speaking, 8-99C does not require approval to run, but your RVC may want to know whenever it is being offered to avoid any conflicts as described above.
Ferious Thune |
There should be no concern about poaching players anymore than any other scenario, because it’s not supposed to.be restricted. VOs having access to the unrestricted versions of the scenario so that they can distribute printouts like they often do for any other scenario should not be an issue.
We managed to run part B organizing it fairly last minute, only because someone had access to the scenario already from traveling to a con outside the area. We’ve requested part C for our con next month. Hopefully support will arrive in time for GMs to prep it.
An example of where this became an issue online was when the event was scheduled, players all signed up and ready to go, GMs who already had the scenario ready to go, and on the morning of the event one of the GMs had internet issues. A backup GM had to be found last minute, and the pool of possible GMs was much smaller, because online can’t email the pdf out. So it had to be a GM who already had the scenario and was available at the time it was scheduled on short notice. Thankfully someone was found, but for a couple of hours it looked like the entire event was going to be canceled on what was basically the last day that it could be practically run before it was retired. That’s not a good situation.
Tonya’s not always going to be able to accommodate short notice requests, nor should she have to. That is the point. Locking the scenario behind manual intervention from Paizo is counter to the spirit of making it available to run anywhere. I’m not saying it should be made a free download. But at least allowing VOs access to the older parts (edit: the current unrestricted part) would greatly improve the flexibility in scheduling it. As is, i don’t see how anyone can commit to a date to run it not knowing if they’ll have the scenario in time for GMs to prep it, unless they’re scheduling it months out. Which is harder to get players to confirm for.
TwilightKnight |
I can only guess you had a bad experience with this in the past. There are always challenges to overcome, some routine, some unexpected, but generally speaking 8-99 has not been anymore or less challenging to schedule for us than any other material. I understand the desire for 8-99 to be open and available, but Paizo has taken a position against that. My best advice is to discuss it with your RVC to determine the best course of action for your needs. It should be as simple as submitting a GM support request form in advance of your event. Whether you send it to the RVC (who will forward it to Tonya) or directly to her is matter of regional preference, but either way, you should get access to the material for everyone who needs it with time to prepare.
Ferious Thune |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
It is what it is at this point. There's limited time remaining where it will even matter. I do hope that Paizo take this aspect into account in the future, as I firmly believe that the special would have been run many, many more times had the unnecessary bottleneck of manual intervention not been there. Every attempt that I have seen online and in person to run this outside of a convention has been a scramble to find people who already have the scenarios. It's not a big enough thing that a small area can plan for far enough in advance to get the special in time to run it. If it's available to run outside of conventions, it should not be locked behind a single person's availability to distribute the scenario. That is impractical and counter to making the scenario accessible, and I can't imagine why Tonya would even want to have to deal with it directly.
I've said it elsewhere, and I know others have, too. Outside of a convention, where you have a good idea how many people might attend and can isolate a special in a particular slot, it is extremely difficult for a local lodge to schedule anything more that a few weeks in advance with any certainty of how many people will show up. I would not even attempt to schedule something that requires 3 tables in my area without having the scenario in hand first. Once we did have part B, when it was open, we were able to schedule it two weeks later (just in time before it retired). A random three table game day is never going to be a priority for people with as busy of schedules as the PFS Campaign staff have.
Can we request it without a date attached? Can I submit something that says "these are our tentative GMs. We'll schedule the date once the scenario shows up?" The current process doesn't appear to allow for that, but if there's going to be a manual step involved, that's really the only way that it's going to ever work in a broad way.
Your region may be running efficiently and not seeing delays in things like scenario support. My experience online and across my region for the last year has been that scenario support can't be counted on to arrive in time to be useful, even for conventions. We've rarely had things arrive more than a week before the convention, usually they are around 2 days before the con, and there have been instances where boons and gift certificates arrived, but scenarios never did. I'm aware of at least one convention that didn't even bother to request scenario support, because it had not been there in a useful manner at other recent cons. I have not volunteered for the last two online cons, because of this and the "complete chronicle" issue, so I don't know if there was a better experience for TPKon and the upcoming Aethercon. I'm hopeful that Tonya's reevaluation of her travel schedule and commitments that was mentioned in relation to a different issue will improve things overall. I don't think I will ever understand introducing more unnecessary tasks such as this. This and other issues are absolutely affecting the player base and resulting in less activity overall, not just in relation to this special. The focus appears to be on correcting everything for Pathfinder 2, which is great. I'm doubtful we'll have any significant number of players left in our area by then. Our core is down to a point where one or two players missing a week means we may have to cancel. The ones who do show are longtime players who are somewhat disenfranchised by the move to PF2. The next closest city is doing better, but we still only pulled off part B by combining the player bases and asking people to travel an hour+ for the game.
I apologize if this email comes across as overly frustrated. There have just been a lot of frustrating issues. I'm not even a VO, and I feel like keeping PFS going has become a job. If I don't show up for a game, the whole group might have to cancel. I still have fun, and I think the scenarios have been excellent. I play more online than in person, though, because of the slowdown locally. And I honestly don't know what's going to happen in the area when we get closer to 2.0's release. I'm not even sure we're going to be able to maintain what we've got until then. Added headaches in the form of unnecessary processes don't help.
Zachary Sanders 113 |
I love Solstice Scar and am very interested in what will happen when you have all 4 done on the same character. It pushed me to build a character JUST for it.
That being said, I would love to see a similar story in Tien Xia or going through the Elemental Planes (maybe in a few years after we get removed from season 8 a bit more).
Lol same here
GM PDK |
GM PDK wrote:** spoiler omitted **John Compton wrote:In regards to this boon: any chance that version B, C or D could add extra options such as making the enchantment applicable to a different type of item? I mean, my cavalier or fighter could use this if it wasn't so.... short....Heofthehills wrote:Mimo, they way I understood it, there will be a boon at the end of all 4 for characters who completed all four. I assume it has to do with the special item on A.** spoiler omitted **
As soon as the updated Kingmaker AP is released I plan to run it for a local gang of scoundrels here. I noticed one of the boons allows for:
Any chance we could see an option like this via Paizo blog or Additional Resources update for a PC who played through all four parts of Solstice Scar?
sanwah68 Venture-Captain, Australia—NSW—Greater West |