“I can’t do it, Gorm,” Ambrus says, straddling his chair and leaning over his desk to get a better view of the myriad logistical reports scattered across it. “I can’t justify putting our most experienced agents out in the field without so much as a briefing. We train our people to have good judgement, but this… This is too much.”
Ambrus slumps into his chair scratching a muttonchop with calloused fingers while waiting for his comrade’s response.
“You won’t find me disagreeing with you,” Gorm replies. “It’s a hard thing, knowing where to send our best talent, and how to get them there prepared to face the kinds of things we Pathfinders are bound to face. Besides, if we tried something that reckless, Fola would drag us both outside by our ears and thrash us one by one while making the other watch so they know what’s coming for them! And she’d be right to do it.” Scratching his belly under his vest, Gorm’s hand suddenly comes away holding a frothing mug, which he quickly downs. “A scotch might be better right about now,” he mutters, before raising his head to look Ambrus directly in the eyes. “I suppose we need to let those three know they’re on their own, eh?”
Ambrus releases a breath he hadn’t meant to hold and reaches for the pen that will magically convey his message across the Inner Sea to the waiting party of Pathfinder agents whose request for backup had set the tone for this pensive afternoon.
“You want me to write ‘em?” Gorm asks, eyes brimming with sympathy for both Ambrus and the waiting agents whose request for aid the steward was about to deny.
“No, they deserve to hear it from me,” Ambrus says. “I put them there, I won’t let anyone else be the one to tell them that they need to find their own way to a safe evacuation point.” Ambrus pauses for a moment, and then glances at Gorm with a pleading and apologetic look in his eyes. “But maybe do me one favor? Go grab me one of Arvya’s muffins from the kitchen and bring back a carafe of coffee. It’s going to be a long afternoon.”
Hello everyone!
It’s been a long, hectic couple months, but I think overall, they’ve been good. We got the Achievement Point system up for Pathfinder Second Edition, loaded with boons and ready for use! Sanctioning for the Advanced Player’s Guide beat the book to your eyes by a couple weeks, and Lost Omens Legends followed quick behind, along with a wave of new iconic pregenerated characters! The last batch of level 5 pregens will be releasing very soon, with Seoni, Seelah, Harsk, Sajan, Lem, and Lini leveling up to join the ranks of their compatriots.
As we worked through the tasks of creating pregens, a couple years ago for Starfinder and over the last year for Pathfinder (second edition), the team made some fundamental decisions about the place of pregens at the table. We evaluated our own experiences and reviewed feedback from the Pathfinder (first) edition campaign, as well as solicited feedback from volunteer coordinators and GMs. After much consideration, the team decided that releasing level 7 or 9 pregens held more drawbacks than benefits and that we would not produce pregens at higher levels for either campaign. As a result of the decision not to include 7th level or higher pregens, we are making some program-wide changes regarding legal table limits and the use of pregenerated characters at tables. The following rules take effect immediately and will be included in future iterations of the Guide to Organized Play for each campaign.
For tables at levels that have pregens available. GMs can now run up to two pregenerated characters to fill a table up to the four-person minimum. The GM can control these pregens themselves or designate one or more players to control the additional character(s), so long as the player agrees to do so. This should help our smaller lodges and Society home groups participate in our program and continue firing and reporting games.
For higher level Pathfinder (second edition) play:
- In Level 7+ adventures, we are reducing the minimum number of players to three. This opens up a “hard mode” playthrough experience that should be satisfying, though we want to caution you that, as the adventures are designed for a minimum of four players, they will be more difficult than normal. To play with three players, add Challenge Points for a hypothetical fourth player as follows:
- Groups of three players whose total Challenge Points are less than 12 add 2 to their Challenge Point total to determine their final Challenge Point scaling and encounter adjustments, winding up in the adventure’s lower level range.
- Groups of three whose total Challenge Points are 12 or higher add 4 Challenge Points to their total value to determine their final Challenge Point scaling and encounter adjustments, winding up in the adventure’s higher-level range.
The first Level 7-10 scenario won’t release until June, so those of you getting ready to play at that level range can begin to plan accordingly, and those of you out there who only have two players can begin filling the remaining two seats with pregens and reporting your games.
For higher level Starfinder play:
- For levels that go above 8th (the current highest level of our pregenerated characters), we’ll be allowing groups to play with a 3-player minimum. Note, these smaller table sizes are strictly for players who willingly play expecting that the adventure will be harder. As with other instances of hard mode, all players at a table need to opt into the hard mode before starting the game.
- These 3-player adjustments offer no additional scaling (beyond the already existing 4-player adjustment) and do not grant extra rewards... well... except for the obvious bragging rights! I for one can’t wait to see how well a group of 3 PCs handles the higher-level range in Rise of the Vault Lord!
As with all program changes, we will evaluate them over the next few months to see if they are helping us achieve our aim, which is getting more games to successfully occur. We will keep an eye on this thread in upcoming months for feedback on these changes.
Have a good one everyone, and until next time- Explore! Report! Cooperate!
Michael Sayre
Pathfinder Society DeveloperThurston Hillman
Starfinder Society DeveloperTonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager
Organized Play Table Adjustments
Friday, August 21, 2020
