Pathfinder Bounties Offer Ease and Adaptability

Huzzah!

Sounds like a great choice for my Playtest run :)

So mini-"modules", I presume? Or more akin to a plugin sidequest, perhaps?

These super-short adventures are perfect for a side trek, or when you don't have a long time to play (demos, store events, etc.) And the one I wrote is almost here!!

They're like the Quests, except it's not assumed that you are a member of the Pathfinder Society, and so there's a whole lot of background that a new player doesn't need right off. Great for store demos and recruiting new players at cons.

I am loving the Bounties so far!

Oh! It knew I forgot to mention: NICE! Stone soup!

Still hoping these become a subscription of their own, either just these or as an upgrade to the PFS subscription. I’d somewhat prefer the former, as I get the PFS ones for free (and don’t expect more free stuff for nothing; I already get great value as things stand).

Still hoping these become a subscription of their own, either just these or as an upgrade to the PFS subscription. I’d somewhat prefer the former, as I get the PFS ones for free (and don’t expect more free stuff for nothing; I already get great value as things stand).

Gosh, they are so new as a line and we have no precedent for a PDF subscription. And we consider them more in the Pathfinder Adventure category than we so the Pathfinder Society category. But thanks for your input. Food for thought. Adventures Ahead!

Oh? I assumed they were a new iteration of quests, and mostly worked the same.

I was going to check out this seasons offerings next week, but you’ve piqued my interest.

Oh? I assumed they were a new iteration of quests, and mostly worked the same.

I was going to check out this seasons offerings next week, but you’ve piqued my interest.

They have zero society references in them, and don’t uses some of the extra PFS rules (as they are lvl 1 only, no challenge point system to balance encounters, no school items because they are not pathfinder society missions, no downtime for society players, etc. )

Since they are also used in PFS, it should be taken into account for the bounty's introduction and motivation that the PCs just might be Pathfinder agents.

BTW, loved the stone to soup thing. Reminds me of good old times :-)

But yeah, bounties are presented as “side jobs” pathfinders can take between missions, but that also mean anyone else can take them too.

But yeah, bounties are presented as “side jobs” pathfinders can take between missions, but that also mean anyone else can take them too.

Which is very good, except when a party of Pathfinder agents starts wondering why the hell they would do this, except for the big neon sign saying "tonight's adventure is this way."

What I am looking forward to are bounties for characters above 1st level. You are only a low level adventurer for so long.

Elfteiroh wrote:

But yeah, bounties are presented as “side jobs” pathfinders can take between missions, but that also mean anyone else can take them too.

Which is very good, except when a party of Pathfinder agents starts wondering why the hell they would do this, except for the big neon sign saying "tonight's adventure is this way."

For the same reasons any other group of adventurers would do it?

Elfteiroh wrote:

But yeah, bounties are presented as “side jobs” pathfinders can take between missions, but that also mean anyone else can take them too.

Which is very good, except when a party of Pathfinder agents starts wondering why the hell they would do this, except for the big neon sign saying "tonight's adventure is this way."

... money?

What I am looking forward to are bounties for characters above 1st level. You are only a low level adventurer for so long.

I'll second this.

You could even retain the "Welcome to PFS" concept by coordinating with the single levels that Prejens are available.

...

I'll add that one of the values of Level One bounties are that they can serve as a "soft run" for exploring new character concepts in terms of having your character's mechanics, theme, personality, etc gel together.

...

I'll also add that it seems like each Bounty offers an Encounter that sort of teaches a single different section of the Rules System. Example:

David knott 242 wrote:

What I am looking forward to are bounties for characters above 1st level. You are only a low level adventurer for so long.

I'll second this.

You could even retain the "Welcome to PFS" concept by coordinating with the single levels that Prejens are available.

...

I'll add that one of the values of Level One bounties are that they can serve as a "soft run" for exploring new character concepts in terms of having your character's mechanics, theme, personality, etc gel together.

...

I'll also add that it seems like each Bounty offers an Encounter that sort of teaches a single different section of the Rules System. Example:

** spoiler omitted **

To no one's surprise, our priority is to produce content that will welcome new players with ease, regardless of Society status, and give them a taste of what Society content looks like. (I've really be into transparent marketing lately, have you noticed?) Anyway, it would not surprise me of the Bounty idea expanded over time to include hight levels. We know we like to playtest at multiple levels and these are great for that. Bounties can appeal to Society players, homebrewers, AP players, Adventure players — to me, these are useful too everyone. But I do not think that higher-level Bounty decision has been made.

For those of you confusing these with Quests, well, that is understandable. In 2020 we all collectively decided to reallocate the Quest funds and process - they are PDF products made like Society Scenarios — to make the Bounties. We really need to move where they are located in the Webstore too. Time to move them out of Org Play and into Pathfinder Adventures.

I had not noticed the "each one teaches a new section of the rules" aspect. Our creative team probably planned that and I am just catching up. It is hard to have deep knowledge about every Paizo product. I swim in the shallows. :) ~AA!

We really need to move where they are located in the Webstore too. Time to move them out of Org Play and into Pathfinder Adventures.

This was certainly the root of my confusion.

In any case, thank you for chatting a bit about the intent and philosophy of these. I think I speak for everyone that we appreciate you taking time out of your holiday weekend to answer threads like this.

Re: Quests.

Not sure if implementing Bounties vs Quests is an "either/or" thing but...

I am finding that Quests are a great PbP experience that offer a somewhat "Full Society" experience with a third of the actual time commitment.

Outside of that experience, I realize that many time they don't fit into the "1 hour" timeslot, but maybe a solution might be that they offer double the Rewards (XP, gold) to compensate for the often 90+ minute run times.

Just a thought.

Re: Quests.

Not sure if implementing Bounties vs Quests is an "either/or" thing but...

I am finding that Quests are a great PbP experience that offer a somewhat "Full Society" experience with a third of the actual time commitment.

Outside of that experience, I realize that many time they don't fit into the "1 hour" timeslot, but maybe a solution might be that they offer double the Rewards (XP, gold) to compensate for the often 90+ minute run times.

Just a thought.

Same here. In fact, with the time we spent playing Quests / Bounties on VTT, I would have preferred playing a full scenario. The rewards / time spent ratio is not good :-(

The Raven Black wrote:

Elfteiroh wrote:

But yeah, bounties are presented as “side jobs” pathfinders can take between missions, but that also mean anyone else can take them too.

Which is very good, except when a party of Pathfinder agents starts wondering why the hell they would do this, except for the big neon sign saying "tonight's adventure is this way."

... money?

As a pathfinder agent, I wish to adventure for bigger reasons / causes than money. Helping, discovering, setting things right, becoming famous are all valid reasons for my PCs. Money, not so much. After all, any Society mission will bring me money too, in addition to advancing the causes of factions within the Society, as well as the Society itself, in accordance to my character's motivations.

As an example, the introduction above would likely have my PC eager to help. In Whitefang Wyrm, I thought at first that the helping people would be a good motivator but it was quickly shadowed by the appeal to greed of the bounty.

Ascalaphus wrote:

The Raven Black wrote:

Elfteiroh wrote:

But yeah, bounties are presented as “side jobs” pathfinders can take between missions, but that also mean anyone else can take them too.

Which is very good, except when a party of Pathfinder agents starts wondering why the hell they would do this, except for the big neon sign saying "tonight's adventure is this way."

... money?

As a pathfinder agent, I wish to adventure for bigger reasons / causes than money. Helping, discovering, setting things right, becoming famous are all valid reasons for my PCs. Money, not so much. After all, any Society mission will bring me money too, in addition to advancing the causes of factions within the Society, as well as the Society itself, in accordance to my character's motivations.

As an example, the introduction above would likely have my PC eager to help. In Whitefang Wyrm, I thought at first that the helping people would be a good motivator but it was quickly shadowed by the appeal to greed of the bounty.

This is a problem with motivation for any published adventure. Especially small ones, where you need new motivation for every scenario.

Hiring the PCs is a traditional default. It's simple, pretty universal and doesn't rely on characters designed for the specific adventure (like APs do). It also makes it easy to set up the adventure, since there's someone to give you the mission. Important in something intended to be a quick one session game.
I don't really like playing mercenary characters either, but I'm not sure what the better option is.

How would you want to take into account the PCs might be Pathfinder agents, without making that the default and making even more awkward to use without being Pathfinders?

What I am looking forward to are bounties for characters above 1st level. You are only a low level adventurer for so long.

Yes, please. I was a little surprised to see that, for the time being at least, they're 1st level only. I really hope that changes.

And we consider them more in the Pathfinder Adventure category than we so the Pathfinder Society category.

Interesting, especially given that they're found under "Organized play scenarios" rather than "Stand-alone adventures" in the Menu. Perhaps an adjustment is in order (or at least an addition so they appear in both categories?).

The Raven Black wrote:

Ascalaphus wrote:

The Raven Black wrote:

Elfteiroh wrote:

But yeah, bounties are presented as “side jobs” pathfinders can take between missions, but that also mean anyone else can take them too.

Which is very good, except when a party of Pathfinder agents starts wondering why the hell they would do this, except for the big neon sign saying "tonight's adventure is this way."

... money?

As a pathfinder agent, I wish to adventure for bigger reasons / causes than money. Helping, discovering, setting things right, becoming famous are all valid reasons for my PCs. Money, not so much. After all, any Society mission will bring me money too, in addition to advancing the causes of factions within the Society, as well as the Society itself, in accordance to my character's motivations.

As an example, the introduction above would likely have my PC eager to help. In Whitefang Wyrm, I thought at first that the helping people would be a good motivator but it was quickly shadowed by the appeal to greed of the bounty.

This is a problem with motivation for any published adventure. Especially small ones, where you need new motivation for every scenario.

The Pathfinder Society works for that, but it's nice to have some available for people who aren't interested in using the Society.

Hiring the PCs is a traditional default. It's simple, pretty universal and doesn't rely on characters designed for the specific adventure (like APs do). It also makes it easy to set up the adventure, since there's someone to give you the mission. Important in something intended to be a quick one session game.
I don't really like playing mercenary characters either, but I'm not sure what the better option is.

How would you want to take into account the PCs might be Pathfinder agents, without making that the default and making even more awkward to use without being Pathfinders?

For example : if you do this, it will really help us very much. And we have put together our savings so that we can offer you xx gp if you succeed.

Rather than : do this and you will get xx gp.