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August 2021 Organized Play Update

Thursday, August 5, 2021

OPA Musings

The news last week about reduced scenario production is, of course, disappointing. We’re saddened that we won’t be bringing as much new Pathfinder and Starfinder Society content to your tables, but we hope you will take this opportunity to try out some of our other sanctioned content for both programs. I myself am starting to plan for a Strength of Thousands run with some of our local players, and I’m very excited for it!

I did want to address a couple of points that we heard from the community in response to the announcement, which was a request for additional replay options as well as an update to the rewards given out by some of our sanctioned Adventures. To the replays, I know this has been a widely-requested option, and we’re working with tech on how we can best make the system work with the desire to replay adventures for credit. This will be a longer-term project, but we will keep you posted as we have news, it’s definitely something I want to see happen as much as the community. For the sanctioned content rewards, we’re finishing up an audit to update some of the rewards for older adventures and make sure everything is working the same going forward. Stay tuned for news on that front very soon!

Finally, one thing that I don’t want to get lost: with the release of our newest Humble Bundle, featuring Starfinder Pact Worlds and the Starfinder Beginner Box at the physical tier, we’re excited to let you know that we’ve sanctioned the adventure in the Beginner Box, Steel Talon’s Lair! You can find the sanctioning on the product page; it awards one scenario’s worth of XP and credits, along with double the Achievement Points, to encourage you all to give the simplified rules of my favorite science-fantasy universe a shot. (OPM Note: The Pathfinder Beginner Box also awards double the Achievement Points).

Pathfinder illustration of a bear in the woods and Starfinder Illustration of a battle taking place on the top of a high speed train

Artists Sebastian Rodriguez and Mark Molnar


Digital Adventure Releases

Here are this month’s digital releases, available August 25, 2021./p>

Pathfinder:

Starfinder:

*part of a subscription

Starfinder Playtest

On Monday, the playtest for the new evolutionist class began. This playtest is legal for games that take place during the playtest period, using the rules in the Guide to Organized Play. Play-by-post games may use these rules as long as the game begins prior to the conclusion of the playtest, though keep in mind that the playtest survey will close on September 24th. After the playtest concludes, evolutionist characters may not be played until the final publication of the class. We look forward to seeing the new agents in the field!

Sanctioning

With a big month of releases comes an equally large month of sanctioning! This month, we sanctioned the options from Lost Omens: The Mwangi Expanse, as well as the Fists of the Ruby Phoenix AP and Malevolence. For Starfinder, we also got the rules options for the Galaxy Exploration Manual and the Fly Free or Die Adventure Path onto the Character Options page, as well as sanctioning the adventure included in the Starfinder Beginner Box.

Looking ahead, we’re starting work on Secrets of Magic, and working through the Devastation Ark Adventure Path’s options. On the horizon are Lost Omens: The Grand Bazaar and Junker’s Delight, as well as the Strength of Thousands and Horizons of the Vast Adventure Paths once more volumes of both are released.

GM Recognition

At PAX Online, we awarded a new Campaign Service Coin. These Coins are given to volunteers who go above and beyond the typical volunteer duties to support their communities and Organized Play. Nominations are always accepted; volunteers may be nominated by emailing organizedplay@paizo.com with their name, region and a description of their service. As we begin to return to physical events, we hope to resume awarding these in-person, so letting us know what upcoming events they’re attending is also useful.

Congratulations to Betsy Nold, who now holds a Campaign Coin and Organized Play ID# 846!

Whether stars, novas, or glyphs, achieving a 5 ranking in any program involves a substantial amount of time. To achieve the 5th milestone, a GM must run 150 games, of which at least 50 must be unique scenarios and 10 special scenarios, as well as run between one and three games for venture-captains (program dependant). A conservative estimate of the time needed to reach the 5th milestone is 650 hours!

This month, one GM earned their 5th Star for Pathfinder Society (first edition).

5th Star (PFS1): Tommi Ketonen

If you believe you have achieved your 5th rank but haven’t been announced, email us at organizedplay@paizo.com.

Upcoming Conventions

Our remaining major conventions are PaizoCon Online Europe, August 19-22, and Gen Con Online, September 16-19. PaizoCon Online Europe’s player signups are open now, and Gen Con Online registration will open August 15.

Remember that you can always check out the list of upcoming events at the new Conventions calendar!

Gen Con Online

The Gen Con Online catalog opens tomorrow for viewing and player registration begins at noon Eastern time on August 15. Paizo has over 450 events listed for Pathfinder Society (both first and second edition), Starfinder Society and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Society.

The Gen Con Online badge is free; session prices this year are as follows:

  • Two-hour Bounties and PACS sessions: $2
  • Five-hour Scenarios: $4
  • PACS Interactive Special: $6
  • PFS2 and SFS Interactive Specials: $8

Gen Con Online has a minimum price of $2 per event, regardless of length. We added a bit more to the longer/premium sessions. While online events do not have the same infrastructure costs as physical shows, there are still associated expenses we need to cover. Monies received from ticket sales at Gen Con help offset volunteer rewards, such as GM vouchers and book rewards, and pay for Discord boosts to ensure server stability during the event. We expect that when we return to Gen Con Indy, prices will be set similarly based on their pricing structure.

We look forward to player signups; if you have questions about our events, please email genconleads@gmail.com. If you are interested in volunteering, visit the Organized Play Foundation volunteer opportunities page for more information.

Until next time, Explore! Report! Cooperate! And get ready for the Year of Shattered Sanctuaries!

Tonya Woldridge
Organized Play Manager

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Associate

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Conventions Organized Play Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Pathfinder Second Edition Pathfinder Society Starfinder Roleplaying Game Starfinder Society
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Dark Archive 4/5 *** Venture-Lieutenant, Finland—Turku
6 people marked this as a favorite.

Yay! ^_^
I was trying to get the 5th star for quite a while, the pandemic caused some problems with that... But now it's done. Whew.

Really excited to see the Starfinder Beginner Box offer double AcP as well, I should probably try running it!
Silver Crusade 5/5 5/55/5 **** Venture-Captain, Germany—Bavaria

Congratulations to Tommi, reaching your 5th star requires a lot of dedication and he deserves the public praise here ^^
Dark Archive 4/5 5/55/5 **** Venture-Lieutenant, Ohio—Columbus

Congratulations Tommi!
Liberty's Edge 5/5 5/5 *** Venture-Lieutenant, Indiana—Martinsville

The most disappointing thing about the santioned content in PF2 is the inability to use the actual character in playing it. Even as a facsimile, the overall disparity in exp rewards (actual vs pfs single level) and having to likely play a higher level version (of the character played for the content) later in the adventure, it is disconnected to the PFS character that is rewarded the chronicle.

The advantage of faster santioning is appreciated, of course, but largely, with online play being prominent and not having a group meet for the four or five sessions needed to play through a module or part x of an adventure path, I have not been able to participate in any of the scant offerings we have had here locally, nor can I offer it at my store I schedule for currently (Ye Gamer's Guild in Greenwood).

I hope that the new one shots can have characters be played rather than using the pregens at some point, using the tier level range that the old Modules did in PF1. (lower level, stated mod level, higher level) I was hoping that higher level content for PF2 (and beyond, really) would use the three level tier paradim rather than the two tiered ranged (xx/xx) scenario, with the advantage of only having one set of monsters to set for the adventure.

My two cents.
Dark Archive **
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Hillis Mallory III wrote:

The most disappointing thing about the santioned content in PF2 is the inability to use the actual character in playing it. Even as a facsimile, the overall disparity in exp rewards (actual vs pfs single level) and having to likely play a higher level version (of the character played for the content) later in the adventure, it is disconnected to the PFS character that is rewarded the chronicle.

The advantage of faster santioning is appreciated, of course, but largely, with online play being prominent and not having a group meet for the four or five sessions needed to play through a module or part x of an adventure path, I have not been able to participate in any of the scant offerings we have had here locally, nor can I offer it at my store I schedule for currently (Ye Gamer's Guild in Greenwood).

I hope that the new one shots can have characters be played rather than using the pregens at some point, using the tier level range that the old Modules did in PF1. (lower level, stated mod level, higher level) I was hoping that higher level content for PF2 (and beyond, really) would use the three level tier paradim rather than the two tiered ranged (xx/xx) scenario, with the advantage of only having one set of monsters to set for the adventure.

My two cents.

I'd echo this as well. I also want to say that I love and would really like to play things like Strength of Thousands, unfortunately it is hard to join those games online when you don't have a home group. PFS scenarios really help keep the game alive for me as I can typically play weekly or every other week in a pick-up-game.

The one shots seem good (I've played the first), however I really want to A) play my PFS character and B) receive reputation for playing.

That said, I'll remain cautiously optimistic as I love what you've done so far and thus you've earned credit in my book.
Dark Archive 4/5 *** Venture-Agent, Finland—Tampere
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Still looking forward for agents of edgewatch player content being sanctioned :O
Grand Lodge 4/5 5/55/5 ***
Hillis Mallory III wrote:
I hope that the new one shots can have characters be played rather than using the pregens

The One-Shots do not require you to use the pregens. They are only strongly recommended due to their backstory and constructions being specifically appropriate for the adventure. However, there is no rule (other than the GM's limitations, if any) preventing you from playing any character you want.

Paizo Employee 4/5 **
Tommi Ketonen wrote:

Yay! ^_^

I was trying to get the 5th star for quite a while, the pandemic caused some problems with that... But now it's done. Whew.

Really excited to see the Starfinder Beginner Box offer double AcP as well, I should probably try running it!

Congrats! You deserve it!

Sovereign Court 5/5 5/5 **** Venture-Captain, Finland—Oulu

Congrats Tomppa!
2/5 5/5 *****
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Congrats Tommi! I hope someday to go back and try to get to my third PFS1 star, but even that feels like a giant mountain now. I can only imagine how how pushing for that final step in the combination of on-line and no-new-content aspects would have made finishing it up now.

And congrats Betsy! I know I caught you at the con where it was announced as well, but always happy to congratulate again! :)
Grand Lodge 4/5 ***** Venture-Captain, Missouri—Columbia

Grats Tommi! Welcome to the Club!
4/5 5/5 ****
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Jesse Lehto wrote:
Still looking forward for agents of edgewatch player content being sanctioned :O

Hmm, sorry to disappoint but you’re not going to see the whole AP sanctioned. Paizo already said they are not going to sanction that AP at all back in October 2020 (now I haven’t checked in on just the boons thing since it’s tough to parse that page — wish they had more headers to break up the sections):

*After careful consideration, we’ve decided against sanctioning the Agents of Edgewatch Adventure Path for Pathfinder Society play. Agents of Edgewatch contains themes and content that are best explored in a home group setting, among players who are comfortable engaging with them together. We will, however, be adding a curated selection of player-facing rules from the adventure path to the list of rewards you can purchase with Achievement Points.*

Link: https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo6shft&page=5?Sanctioning-Updat e-Adventure-Paths
4/5 ****
Jesse Lehto wrote:
Still looking forward for agents of edgewatch player content being sanctioned :O
Ryan Bolstad wrote:
We will, however, be adding a curated selection of player-facing rules from the adventure path to the list of rewards you can purchase with Achievement Points.*

...

Dark Archive 4/5 *** Venture-Agent, Finland—Tampere
Robert Hetherington wrote:
Jesse Lehto wrote:
Still looking forward for agents of edgewatch player content being sanctioned :O
Ryan Bolstad wrote:
We will, however, be adding a curated selection of player-facing rules from the adventure path to the list of rewards you can purchase with Achievement Points.*
...

Exactly, I'm not talking about the adventure, I'm talking about player content in the articles of the adventure

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