Azara Emberkin's page

I know Leadership is generally averse to explaining why particular character options are Limited or Restricted, but I'm curious about the Gunner's Saddle. It's the only Stabilizer that's not of Standard Availability, and it doesn't appear (to me) that there's a Boon available for it.

When Guns & Gears first came out, it wasn't exactly clear how the Gunner's Saddle worked (see HERE for a prime example discussing it). So I thought maybe it was Limited to prevent table variation, which is often a common reason for Limiting something.

But while I was searching for items for an upcoming character, I found that the Gunner's Saddle has since received Errata. So I figured I'd check in and see if its Limited status might be revisited.

Or I could be missing something really obvious about its power level and that's why it's not available. But figured I'd ask nonetheless ^_^

Separate from the discussion about whether the Kineticist's damage output is on par with other damage dealers, I miss rolling a handful of dice, tossed just right to feel like you're actually blasting them at your opponent.

I always expected the 2E Kinetic Blast to function like a Cantrip, scaling as you levelled. In 1E, it made them feel distinct from martials and casters.

Now we have spells like Hurtling Stone, a Focus Spell with scaling d6s and +Strength to damage, that's only one action. And we have staple Cantrips like Telekinetic Projectile, that a Kineticist should be at least as capable of dishing out.

Making Kinetic Blasts the same in function as a mundane weapon kinda bums me out. Anyone else feel the same?

The link on the Pathfinder 2E Playtest Page is broken. I quote the rules below from the current Online Guide to Organized Play:

Playtest options can be accessed by creating a custom character using the rules presented in the playtest document. This character functions as a pregenerated character.

Creating a playtest character: Depending on the tier of the scenario, the player can use a 1st-, 3rd-, or 5th-level character created using the eligible playtest options and the following guidelines.

1st Level: The character can be made using the character creation rules presented in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook and the Character Creation Appendix of this guide.

3rd Level: This character follows the same rules as above, except that instead of 15 gp starting gold, they can select one 2nd-level and two 1st-level permanent items. In addition, the player can spend up to 25 gp on other available equipment.

5th Level: This character follows the same rules as above, except that instead of 15 gp starting gold, they can select one 4th-level, two 3rd-level, one 2nd-level, and two 1st-level permanent items. In addition, the player can spend up to 50 gp on other available equipment.

The Guidelines for Treasure for New Characters and Choosing Items on pages 510-511 of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook apply to these pre-gen equipment choices.

Credit: Choose which of your characters will receive the credit at the beginning of the adventure. The credit earned for playing a playtest character follows the same rules and guidelines as applying credit for a pregenerated character, presented in the Applying Credit section of the Player Basics page of the Guide to Organized Play: Pathfinder Society.

Boons and Other Character Options: In order for the playtest character to take a character option that would normally require a boon, that playtest character must have all of their credit assigned to a character number that has purchased that boon.

GM Opt In
Because playtest use additional rules elements that some GMs may not be comfortable with, each GM must opt-in for playtest characters to be used at their tables. Please make sure that you consult the GM prior to game!

I think the Digitization Update Blog of January 2021 was the last we've heard of this:

The liked boons were brought back first, as a way of testing the system, and to give time for the respected boons to get a thorough going over. (If you recall several of those had needed review as they interacted oddly with rules in ways they were not supposed to.)

As a result the new Respected boons are much more solid and consistent in their function.

The intent is to bring back Admired boons, but only after they too have had the same thorough level of review. Unfortunately I am not on the team involved in that process. So I can't tell you anything more than that.

My 11th-level PC has 130 Reputation (120 w/ Grand Archive), and I regularly see other 10th+ level PCs online. So I'm sure plenty of them are similarly Revered.

I appreciate the Master Hireling Boon, but I already downloaded that some time ago. Just wondering if/when we might see Faction-specific Capstone Boons again.

Also hoping they'll be different than the previous Boons. Starting a new PC at Level 2 isn't as enticing of a reward, with so much Repeatable content available.

<3

When you select this boon, it does not apply to your current character. Instead, select one of your Starfinder Society characters with 0 XP. The character can select one additional active boon during any session. A character cannot select multiples of the same boon in this way, and cannot select an ally boon that matches the prerequisite of an already slotted boon. For example, you cannot slot both an Elite Hireling and Professional Hireling with this ability, though you could slot a Digital Imp and a Professional Hireling.

Initially, when I applied this Boon to my newest character, I thought I wouldn't be able to use it to slot two different Hirelings. I still use my Season 3 PDF to reference older Boons, and "Basic Hireling Access" on page 29 is a singular Boon.

But now that Boons have transitioned online, I see there are 4 different Hirelings, as 4 different downloads, with 4 different names ("Diplomat", "Tech Support", "Medic" and "Academic").

So can I slot two different Hirelings using Mark of Leadership? I'm aware I couldn't then later have two Amateur/Professional/Elite/Master Hirelings slotted, since those Boons still have the same name.

Can Eidolons benefit from Elixirs?

I'm aware of the discrepancy between the Eidolon Trait telling us "an eidolon can't use items that don't have this trait" and the Eidolon Rules telling us "Your eidolon can't wear or use magic items". THIS thread and THIS thread showcase the potential for table variation there.

But, barring a conservative GM, if I want to give my Eidolon something like a Drakeheart Mutagen for a couple points of AC... That seems like it'll work?

Sweet.

Any update on when all of the Faction symbols will show up properly on the website?

For both Starfinder, and Pathfinder?

Novas, Glyphs and Stars would be nice, too...

With the 2021 Free RPG Day Adventure recently announced I wanted to circle back to a previous discussion that hadn't been finished, yet, but since it was buried in another Blog, I figured I'd create a separate thread just for it:

A note on Little Trouble in Big Absalom: This adventure, despite taking 3-4 hours to run, currently awards credit as though it were about half that length. This was an error on our part, and we apologize for it. We can’t retroactively fix the XP now, because that would have cascading effects upon your characters, but we want you to know that we regret the error and our failure to fix it quickly, and that it’s not our intent going forward. If an adventure takes 4 hours to play, it will award credit as if it were a scenario.

Prior to this Blog, PCs who completed Little Trouble in Big Absalom earned just 1xp. The intention of this quote certainly (to many people) seemed to be that, "going forward", PCs completing it will earn the regular 4xp. But later on in the comments below, Tonya complicated that understanding:

The increase in rewards granted 4 Fame, not 4 XP. It is still 1 XP (see the note about Free RPG day items going forward).

As pointed out in that thread, this comment didn't make a lot of sense, since Fame is no longer issued, and can no longer be spent. She then added:

Alex is out for a few days, so it will be the end of the week before he and I can circle the wagons and make sure we are both thinking the same thing. We'll get a clarification statement issued then. Thank you for your patience.

But she stepped down as Organized Play Coordinator shortly after that, and as far as I can tell, a clarification was never given.

So, just to set the record straight, do/will Free RPG Day Adventures run after the date of that Blog award 4xp? Or just 1xp?

My Wizard/Witch just downloaded the Magical Mentor Boon:

While working with less experienced Pathfinder allies, you provide key spellcasting insights that augment your colleagues’ magic. Any PCs benefiting from a Level Bump and whose levels are lower than yours can prepare one additional spell of their highest-level spell slot or cast one additional spell of their highest-level spell slot. When casting spells of a magical tradition that is the same as the tradition you use for spellcasting, the affected PC also increases the Level Bump’s modifier to spell DCs to 2.

As she has Arcane spellcasting from her Wizard levels and Occult spellcasting from her Witch archetype I assume both Arcane and Occult spellcasters benefitting from a Level Bump can increase their spell DCs by 2?

Prior to everything being tracked online, if I held a Chronicle from GMing, such as assigning a Tier 5-8 Chronicle to a Level 2 PC, I didn't receive either the Fame or Reputation until that Chronicle was applied.

But when I GM now, I have those AcP available immediately, regardless of whether the Chronicle I earned is being held until a higher level. I can even spend those AcP on Boons for that PC, even though previously, I couldn't do the same with Fame.

Are we to treat Reputation the same way?

I have a few lower level PCs who are now "Liked" by their Faction, and qualify for downloading Boons with that requirement, even though on paper their Reputation only adds up to being "Ignored".

I can't tell if this is intended, or if it's benefitting from a glitch. I would love for my Level 1 Grand Archive PC to download Off-Hours Study and start learning languages a level earlier than most PCs, but I don't want a math-savvy GM to raise their eyebrow and question how my 8 Reputation character qualified for a 20 Reputation Boon.

Commencing #1-01: The Absalom Initiation

As the “City at the Center of the World”, Absalom has always been a hotbed of political intrigue. Recent decades have seen Primarch Lord Gyr’s clashes for control of the city, as well as the scheming of the Pathfinder Society’s own masked Decemvirate, foster no end of inscrutable plots. And during the so-called “Shadow War”, national factions recruited Pathfinders to engage in espionage and sabotage. To restore its camaraderie, the Society has since moved on from advocating regional interests to ideological ones.

The Shadow War is now over, and Lord Gyr disappeared several years ago. The Decemvirate purged its most toxic leaders from their ranks, and while many of the Society's deadliest missions were launched with noble intentions, the tallying up of losses was heartbreaking. Venture Captains realized they could no longer afford to commit so many agents to external objectives, and so a new generation of factions has arisen. These new factions now exist within the Society and promote particular Pathfinder ideals.

You are all part of the 4721 AR class of initiates, and you've just passed your Confirmation! Congratulations! Tonight is cause for celebration—a rare moment of jubilation after several years of hardship for the Society. Over the past few years you have gotten to know your fellow initiates well, but tonight affords you the opportunity to meet the new leaders stepping up to head the four new main factions. A formal invitation to Skyreach Tower's Convocation Hall arrives for each of you, penned by none other than Head Initiate Janira Gavix!

As you head to Skyreach Tower’s Convocation Hall it seems as though the entire Grand Lodge has the air of celebration! The great gates are flung wide, and the phoenix trees lining the entryway are in full flame. The halls of the main tower of Skyreach, normally somber and reserved, echo with the sound of voices and music. The great ballroom is decked for a celebration, with colorful banners and bunting along the walls, tables replete with food and drink, and a jovial cacophony of conversation rising from Pathfinders of all ancestries, nations, and backgrounds.

Go ahead and introduce yourselves, including a description of your outfit for this jubilation ^_^

Greetings, everyone!

Whether you're a former bounty hunter looking for more stable employment, or the starry-eyed adventurer type seeking the thrills of exploration, the Pathfinder Society wants YOU!

We'll be starting off this shindig with #1-01: The Absalom Initiation, followed by Intro #1: The Second Confirmation, and then Intro #2: United in Purpose.

After that, I'm either amenable to GMing Repeatables to get you all to Level 4/5ish, or continuing on with the Season 3 Metaplot, depending on what everyone has played by then. Or some mix of those options.

I am obligated to share with you that I am on the cusp of new employment (a hiring process that has thus far taken 4 months...). I will hopefully be transitioning from an on-call, overnight job to a full-time, 9-5 career that I can eventually retire from.

I'll keep you all up-to-date as/if things transition. That's why I don't want to set too far of a schedule in advance. But otherwise I should be good to post at least 1-2 times per day, minus the occasional busy holiday or natural disaster.

Looking forward to GMing for you!

Posted this over in the Bestiary 2 product thread but figured I'd repost it here for discussion:

The Crawling Hand has an ability called Grip Throat:

"A Medium or smaller creature that is grabbed by the crawling hand has difficulty speaking and must spend an extra action to perform any action with the verbal trait."

However, there is no such thing as a "verbal" trait.

Do you think the author meant "any action with the auditory trait", or did they mean "any spell with the verbal component"?

Thank you for listening to our concerns. It's much appreciated ^_^

Let's face it, PFS2 scenarios are taking a lot of time to run well. As we go up in level, the standard scenario is going longer than 4 hours. I would like to see some quality 2-part scenarios that when combined take around 7 hours of play. That would be a lot better than trying to compress them into the standard 4 hour block. Having a mix of scenarios, bounties, and quests can help meet some odd time schedules as well. I know for my lodges it can really help.

I saw also that WotC is moving to shorter adventures. This might be a reflection of changes to attention spans over a long period of time, but also could be an effect of the pandemic. Time is something we do not have an abundance of. Maximizing the time is important and this change might help with that.

In short, I would rather have quality over quantity in 2e.

Over in the Rules Forum I recently asked about Retraining Weapon Familiarity (and similar feats that grant Access to items). I.E., what happens when, say, an Elf Fighter picks Elven Weapon Familiarity at Level 1, purchases an Elven Curve Blade, and then Retrains EWF at a later level.

TL;DR - It does not seem that you lose the items you obtained while you had Access.

But there are 3 Society-specific restrictions that make me think that wouldn't work here:

Cool.

If a PC takes one of the ancestral weapon feats (i.e. Elven Weapon Familiarity, Unconventional Weaponry, etc), purchases the weapons the feat grants them Access to, and then later spends Downtime to Retrain that feat, do they get to keep the weapons they already purchased?

The rules for Retraining are silent on the matter.

I'm aware the Proficiency aspect of the feat goes away.

I'm seeing reports and complaints about errors with the new system popping up across multiple Forums and multiple threads, and thought it might be best to consolidate them into one location so that Leadership and the Web Team can eventually get down to addressing them.

And, rather than risk them getting buried in a bloated thread, I will update them HERE as people post them. I can even link each bullet point to a particular thread if a discussion proves lengthy.

So, what errors have you observed?

A while back I purchased the Esoteric Spellcaster AcP Boon to give my Paladin/Cleric access to protection. The Boon states "You can assign multiple copies of this boon to a character, each time selecting a different spell."

He's now high enough level to cast circle of protection, so I went back to my Boons tab to purchase it again, but received the error message "You have purchased that boon for that character and may not purchase it again for the same character."

Lots of charming potential here. I appreciate that these Bounties are becoming less about "investigate and kill the thing" and more about NPC interaction and storytelling.

Unfortunately, my players failed to impress Demed at the beginning, which cuts out some important Tournament dialogue, and they didn't see the need to help Deka against Linesnapper. They started to realize the camaraderie aspect of the event by Round 2, but I have to admit that's easily overlooked when we're initially told the important aspects are "bravery, dedication, cunning, and solidarity" and "rewards based on the quantity and quality of catches as well as entertainment value and style". The word "collaboration" only comes up once, and that can easily be interpreted as team collaboration.

Also, had to edit this bit of dialogue out:

“I think you forget that my crew is the only one that managed two victories in a row, sis,” the man boasts.

The first year that the Silverscales Tournament could have taken place was 4717 AR, and we're told the twins are tied at 2-2. The current year is 4721, making this the 5th year of the Tournament, so both siblings had to have "managed two victories in a row".

(waits to run this again in 2022)

I didn't recognize the name Karisa Starsight. I guess she was in PFS1 #10-21: Slaver's End. For anyone else who isn't familiar with her, I figured I'd share my findings in case you'd like to add some background information at the end of your game:

Paizo Blog
Character Art
Wiki Page

As a Pathfinder, you periodically come across esoteric magic that is unfamiliar to most other spellcasters. Select one of the uncommon spells from the Pathfinder Core Rulebook listed below. You have access to this spell, allowing you to learn it, prepare it, or add it to your spellbook (as appropriate).

Does this Boon also grant access to scrolls or wands of the chosen spell? Or are those separate, uncommon items that need their own access?

A scroll contains a single spell you can cast without a spell slot.

A scroll always has the consumable, magical, and scroll traits, plus the traits of the spell stored on it.

The scroll’s rarity matches the spell’s rarity.

The wand's rarity matches the spell's rarity

Alternatively, can you craft scrolls or wands of this spell? Or is the required formula a separate, uncommon item that needs its own access?

The process to Craft a scroll is much like that to Craft any other magic item. When you begin the crafting process, choose a spell to put into the scroll. You have to either Cast that Spell during the crafting process, or someone else must do so in your presence.

For the most part, the process to Craft a wand is like that to Craft any other magic item. When you begin the crafting process, choose a spell to put into the wand. You have to either cast that spell during the process, or someone else must do so in your presence.

Formulas for uncommon items and rare items are usually significantly more valuable—if you can find them at all!

One of the stated goals of transitioning to AcP was to incentivize GMs to report their sessions. OP Leadership can't petition Paizo for greater resources if they can't show that people are consuming their product. And, to that end, I think the rollout of AcP is working:

You recently received an automated comm alert from Guidance to meet at the Lorespire Complex for details regarding your next assignment.

As you enter the main briefing room you see a familiar cluster of sleek black computers emblazoned with the Starfinder Society emblem, hardware that has digitally stored the collective personalities of prominent current and previous Starfinders for centuries. A particle beam emanating from the center of the logo begins to project a stream of holographic light towards a round table that quickly takes the shape of a humanoid figure, albeit one bereft of any definition.

"Greetings, Starfinders. I am Guidance. I have a new assignment for you. Please observe."

The humanoid projection gestures towards a datascreen and a stream of pictures and data detailing an outpost made of interconnected circular chambers begins to scroll slowly in front of you.

“The Xenowardens, one of the Pact Worlds’ most prestigious organizations, recently discovered a dataset detailing the location of an outpost abandoned over two hundred years ago on a jungle planet in Near Space.” The datastream shifts to reveal a vibrantly green and blue planet orbiting a yellow star. “The Xenowardens have requested a team of agents to be dispatched to secure the site for eventual reoccupation. Please also recover any remaining data or serviceable equipment, which the Society will take as part of our payment. If you have any questions, now is the time to present them.”

Greetings, everyone!!

This is the OOC Discussion Thread for the repeatable Starfinder Society scenario, Ashes of Discovery. What makes this adventure really fun is its random and customizable elements. Ideally, every time you sit down to play you should encounter different challenges and NPCs. I look forward to GMing it for you!

Go ahead and copy/paste the following details for reporting, upload your art to Slide #1, and then feel free to head on over to Gameplay to get started!

PC Name:
SFS ID#:
Preferred starship role:
Preferred starship: Drake, Pegasus or Other
Boons Slotted:
(faction) =>
(personal) =>
(promotional) =>
(starship) =>
(social) =>
(ally) =>
(slotless) => as many as you wish

[DICE=Day Job]1d20+

The Guide doesn't give any restrictions for what adventures can be Slow Tracked, but I tried reporting ".5" for GM Prestige recently and it was changed to "1", so figured I'd create a thread in case anyone else had the same question.

From the Starfinder Society Guide Update Feedback thread:

Nefreet wrote:

As I finally level my Xenodruid to 10th, what Connection spell do I replace Reincarnate with?

This has been submitted for the guide, and as soon as someone tells me, I will post here.

In the mean time if someone wants to start a thread with suggestions for what that replacement spell will be, I will see what I can do to convey those.

I imagine we probably want the replacement spell to be from the Core Rulebook. If not, my suggestion would be Polymorph IV, since Xenodruids and worshippers of Oras are specifically mentioned as being the primary users of Polymorph spells.

(although I admit it's a complex spell to force upon an entire playerbase)

My backup vote for a non-Core spell would be Reanimate Construct, since it's almost like "reincarnating" a Construct. Artificial to Natural.

For a Core suggestion I'd recommend Resistant Armor, because it fits with the theme of evolution and adaptation, although that is already the Connection Spell for both the Crusader and Warmonger Connections.

When you Command your Minion, must you issue both commands at the same time (such as "Strike that creature twice"), or can you issue the commands one at a time (such as "Strike that creature", wait to see the result, and then "Strike that other creature")?

To set the scene, an Animal Companion is adjacent to two enemies, and kills one on its first Strike. Could it then Strike the remaining creature, or does it lose its second action?

Relevant rules for Activities, Minions and Command.

Really cute and fun Bounty. I especially enjoyed when one of my players tried to cheer up the farmer by opening with multiple electric arcs and going with a Queen-style "We Will Rock You".

Question for the author, if they happen to see this. The cobbleswarm stats are identical to the cobbleswarm from Pathfinder #157, except the Bounty's version is medium. I ran it as medium, but am curious whether it is actually supposed to be large.

Two questions about the Sense Motive check when the PCs initially meet Teflar:

1) I am applying the 5-player adjustment to her stats, which increases her DCs by 2. Should this also increase the Sense Motive DC here? I chose not to, just because everyone rolled terribly and nobody would have made DC 20, but am curious how others have run it.

2) There is no Critical Failure effect listed, but with Sense Motive you normally "get a false sense of the creature’s intentions". One of my PCs rolled a Natural 1, so I made up something about Teflar being fearful that the scarecrow is real. How did you run it?

Trying to get a consensus for how I should handle Recall Knowledge when the PCs are presented with the poster at the beginning of each Bounty.

I am inclined to allow such a check for an Investigator, because Pursue a Lead specifically mentions "seeing a hasty sketch", but perhaps not otherwise?

In at least one of the Bounties published so far, for example, the thing on the poster isn't an actual creature, but a costume.

How have you been running this?

Gameplay open. Feel free to dot/delete ^_^

My 5th level PC was recently afflicted with 2 permanent negative levels that I was unable to remove on my last Chronicle, and I'm beginning to question what that means in Society.

Unless noted otherwise, all conditions gained during an adventure, including death, must be resolved before the end of the session... However, a few conditions need not be resolved by the end of play, including permanent negative levels

For each negative level you have, you take a cumulative –1 penalty to your ability checks, your AC, attack rolls (including combat maneuvers), saving throws, and skill checks. In addition, you reduce your current and total Hit Points and Stamina Points by 5 for each negative level you have. You are also treated as 1 level lower for the purpose of level-dependent variables (such as spellcasting) for each negative level you have.

The Guide doesn't specify any exceptions to this. Neither does the FAQ. Do my negative levels:

You're a team of professional bounty hunters!

Feel free to discuss character creation below (and post the Character # you'll be assigning credit to). New PCs only, so everyone can play through all 12 together. You earn 4gp for each Bounty, and there is no Downtime.

Will run this "Campaign" from January to August as new Bounties get released.

(posting this in General Discussion because it concerns both Starfinder Society and Pathfinder Society)

Ten years ago the original "Guidelines for Rules Changes" thread was Stickied in the PFS Forum to answer the frequently asked question of what happens when Errata, FAQs and/or Society restrictions impact existing characters. Its solution was generous for its time, but in the years since a patchwork of answers from different members of Leadership has evolved, and the side effect has been a noticeable increase in player anxiety everytime a change occurs. In addition, we are often left in a frustrating limbo until an answer surfaces. The August Errata for the Starfinder Core Rulebook, for example, still hasn't been addressed, leaving individual GMs to handle character Rebuilds on their own.

Change is inherent to this hobby. Ambiguous text needs clarification. Unforeseen interactions may need to be limited. Or the Campaign itself might change. I've seen everything from Equipment, Feats, Spells, Companions, Familiars, Boons, Classes, Prestige Classes, Archetypes and Races/Ancestries changed to varying degrees. Even rules elements such as spell-like abilities, combat maneuvers and ability scores have been overhauled in one way or another.

But while change is unavoidable, we should acknowledge that change affects both characters and players differently. What may be an insubstantial change to one person may be a major upset to another. It could be mechanical, utilizing Paizo's intricate rules interactions to create a finely tuned specialist, or emotional, such as emulating a hero or favored trope. And we should be mindful that different people handle the stress of change differently.

Plus, a change today has a bigger material impact than a change did ten years ago. With the advent of Achievement Points, literally hundreds of hours may be invested in a character's creation. Money, too, in order to acquire the books, art, miniatures or even dice to represent your character perfectly. I've even encountered players who cosplay their characters.

For all of these reasons, I believe it would be helpful to establish a universal rule for both Campaigns to handle rules changes. Such an overarching policy could benefit players and Leadership alike, because players would know what to expect when their characters are impacted, and Leadership would no longer need to spend time and resources issuing statements everytime the rules changed. Rules changes are stressful enough, we shouldn't compound the issue by dismissing the impact those changes may have.

In case you're wondering what sort of universal policy could handle different Campaigns and different rules systems, I simply propose allowing players a full character Rebuild whenever they feel their character has been negatively impacted by a rules change. It's a decision that can only be made by the player affected. Some people have personalities or characters who are more adaptable than others. Banning an obscure Animal Companion may have no impact on 99% of players, or even 99% of characters using that Animal Companion, but for the one player who's invested equipment, feats, boons, time, art and money into that story, the change can be devastating.

I created this post to discuss the possibility of allowing full character rebuilds, and would appreciate constructive dialogue about any true concerns, and/or what language would be required to implement such a change. What I respectfully request while engaging in this discussion is mindfulness and empathy. This is a stressful time for everyone, and it's a stressful topic for many. My aim is to improve the gaming experience for everyone equally, and this is an issue very dear to me personally. Please be kind ^_^

I couldn't find this covered in the recent Blog, so figured I would make a new thread.

Prior to Season 2, we had five Tiers for Reputation:

0+ Tier 0
10+ Tier 1
30+ Tier 2
50+ Tier 3
90+ Tier 4

Now, we have four:

0-19 Ignored
20-59 Liked
60-119 Admired
120+ Revered

My 8th Level PC was just shy of unlocking Tier 4 with his primary faction, and had already unlocked Tier 4 with All Factions. I was then planning on working on a secondary faction, much like you can do in Starfinder Society.

Now, you'll have to be around 11th Level to unlock "Revered", and it'll be virtually impossible to get above "Ignored" with a secondary faction.

Was there something overly unbalancing about the previous rewards system that this change was meant to correct? I realize this aligns with the GMG, and lessens the amount of "Society houserules", but with the previous setup you could diversify your characters and champion multiple factions. It was a selling point when Starfinder Society first introduced the concept, and I figured PFS2 was keeping the trend going.

Now, if you ever want those Revered rewards, you'll pretty much always have to champion just the one faction, and ignore the rest. Also trivializes the +2 Rep you get from faction-specific scenarios.

Since we can keep the Boons we've already earned, I guess those with Tier 4 Boons are just grandfathered in?

slotless

Prerequisites Verdant Wheel Tier 1

Cost 0 Fame

Serve as the event organizer or headquarters volunteer for an event that includes Pathfinder Society adventures or assist these volunteers in setting up or cleaning up after such an event. When you do so, you earn 2 additional Fame and Reputation with the Verdant Wheel faction on the next scenario you play.

Special You can benefit from this boon only a number of times equal to your current Reputation Tier with the Verdant Wheel faction. Each time you fulfill the requirements of this boon, mark it on your next Chronicle sheet along with the associated Reputation Tier. Have the GM sign beside this notation. You can only earn additional Fame and Reputation with this boon for one character per adventure you run, even if you have multiple characters who could benefit from this boon.

I recently got around to setting up my own personal Warhorn, complete with its own Event Code, and my first GM session begins tomorrow.

Does that satisfy the requirements of this Boon?

I know that "If your class would make you trained in a skill you’re already trained in (typically due to your background), you can select another skill to become trained in."

But I can't find anything similar for Feats.

A Cliffscale Lizardfolk with the Ruby Phoenix Enthusiast Background gains the Combat Climber Feat twice.

Are they just stuck with a dead Feat?

If they are, can they Retrain one of them? I don't see a restriction on Retraining your Background or Ancestry Feat...

(didn't see that this specific question had been asked, and I'm leaning towards "no", but wanted to check before my Society character selected his next feat)

Double Tap tells us that using the feat "expends ammunition equal to two attack rolls, and if you cannot expend that ammunition, you cannot use this ability". The Solarion's Solar Flare just "functions as a one-handed uncategorized small arm".

I realize that the damage bonus from the feat is irrelevant, because Solarions already apply their full Specialization bonus with Solar Flare; it's the +1 on attack rolls I'm interested in (for when I have nothing better to do than a single attack).

So can I expend double of zero for the attack bonus? Or since I don't use ammunition, I can't use the feat at all?

Welcome aboard!

Gameplay and Slides link are active. Go ahead and reply to this post with the following information:

PLAYER:
CHARACTER:
SFS ID#:
DAY JOB:
BOONS:
• Faction -
• Etc.

Also, this scenario has the "vehicle" tag, indicating that it involves you driving one or more vehicles. If you have any boons interacting with vehicle use, I encourage you to slot them ^_^

Commencing #1-28: It Rests Beneath

With just enough rest and relaxation after your last mission Fitch, the de facto leader of the Wayfinders Faction, summons you aboard the nearly repaired Master of Stars, the largest starship in the Starfinder Society’s fleet. A shuttle ferries you all from Absalom Station to the vessel through the Armada (the ever-moving queue of starships docking and exiting Absalom Station). The repairs to the Master of Stars are almost complete, and although a few rings of scaffolding remain visible around sections of the ship, its armor-plated hull, powerful engines, and sleek lines are almost complete. Your shuttle lands in a spacious hangar bay, and a drone leads you to a briefing room on an upper deck of the ship.

Fitch is waiting with a plate of bread, jams, and sweet pastries. As you arrive, she’s trying to chase off three of her grandchildren while scolding them with restrained aggravation that those snacks aren't for them. The three youngsters flee past you as Fitch hurls a doughnut to chase them off, with one of them nimbly snatching it mid-air and stuffing it into a cheek pouch. She performs an exaggerated scowl, though once the door closes, her face exudes smug pride in her cunning descendants.

Once you all sit down, she begins with the formalities.

“Vabaimus, here, is a planet in Near Space,” Fitch says while gesturing towards a holoscreen showing a very vibrant planet with a large, grey scar on one of the continents. “Green, lots of water, bright sunlight, beautiful, if you're into that sort of thing. Plenty of animal and plant life. Simple stuff. The most intelligent species is a marsupial no bigger than my kids! Look kind of like sloths. I like them, but we’re leaving them alone till they advance enough to at least get a language. Could take a while.

“But there is a research station on the southern continent. The scientist in charge is Dr. Mora Motressi, a xenobiologist. She and her people have been checking out the local flora and fauna, and they’re just starting a geological survey. Vabaimus is a resource-rich planet; we could do a lot with that, but we need to be careful to do it right. We don’t want to make decisions we later regret, disrupt the ecosystem, and create problems for ourselves and the locals.”

Fitch pulls a datachip from her cheek pouch and waves it around. “I was reading the first report from their geological survey, and apparently they’ve got a weird landmass down there. A plateau hundreds of miles across covered in a slick grey shell, like a giant lobster or something! No water or plant life at all— maybe it got blasted by some kind of curse, I don’t know. Mora and her people, they don’t have the equipment to do a proper survey, so I figured we could give her a hand. I’d like you to take some vehicles and survey equipment to Dr. Motressi and her people on Vabaimus, and help them get to the bottom of this mystery.”

Raising her hands and shaking her head as though you were about to protest, she continues, “I know, I know. This doesn’t sound like the sort of thing a bunch of super-stars like you usually go in for. There’s no first contact to figure out, no Swarm army to blast into smithereens. But this is how the hard work of research and science gets done, and besides, if this lifeless plateau is the result of a curse or a magical accident or something, Mora and those scientists will need help, maybe even an evacuation.

“So, what do you say? I trust your expertise. Have any questions?”

I looked to see if this had been discussed before, and couldn't find anything, so figured I'd try to start a conversation.

Recently played a scenario over Roll20/Discord where we had Iseph as the 4th character (who I ran so the GM didn't have to).

Despite myself and the GM explaining that Iseph is non-binary, and requesting that everyone use gender neutral pronouns, one player went out of his way to refer to them as "him", and was unapologetic about it as we both continued to remind him. I'm unsure how the GM personally felt, but for me the awkwardness only progressed to helpless frustration as the scenario continued.

Slip-ups happen, especially in this alien setting, but intentional misgendering is a form of sexism. The fact that this happened to be an NPC doesn't matter; the same would be true of an all-male table making sexist comments about a female NPC. You don't have to be a member of the targeted group to feel uncomfortable at the behavior.

At an actual table you can emphasize the seriousness of the matter via body language, eye contact, using the midpoint break to have a conversation, or taking them aside after the game and explaining how their behavior made you feel. None of that is really available over Discord. I'm not sure if I'll ever game with this person again given the vastness of remote play.

In preparing for this post, I found that the word "gender" only comes up twice in the Version 2 Guide, and they're both in the same sentence:

"Inappropriate conduct includes, but is not limited to, the excessive use of foul language, physical or verbal aggression or intimidation, lewd conduct, inappropriate physical contact, unwelcome sexual attention, slander, stalking, and harassment or discrimination based on gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, or religion."

In a setting where there's a race with 7 genders, as well as Shirren, Androids, Astrazoans and others, I think it would be important to add a statement to the Guide addressing misgendering specifically, since someone who is unaware of the matter may read the above disclaimer and not realize it's an issue.

Anybody have any thoughts on how to better address misgendering in Society? This company and this setting are ahead of the curve when it comes to addressing social issues and embracing diversity, so I have no qualms there. And I do have to say that the majority of tables I've been at were generally understanding, but perhaps that's what made this recent encounter so much more jarring.

Signups are in the link above ^_^

I want to maintain a brisk pace with this scenario. Please do not sign up if you are unable to commit to 1-2 posts a day (including weekends).

The main theme is investigation, so there can be quite a bit of dialogue. I will be moving the story along once at least half the party has voiced a decision.

Lastly, if your character possesses the "AbadarCorp Respect" Boon from #1-02: Fugitive on the Red Planet, I recommend slotting it.

Looking forward to GMing for you!

Commencing #1-10: The Half-Alive Streets

Your day begins with a rather ordinary request from Venture Captain Arvin to meet him in his reception room within the Lorespire Complex on Absalom Station. When you arrive at the scheduled time, you find a large vesk in a muscle shirt sitting at the table and messily consuming the various laid-out refreshments. Venture Captain Arvin stands on the opposite side of the table, visibly annoyed at the vesk, and turns toward you with a look of relief.

“Thank you for your timely response. Please, have a seat and some...” he goes to gesture at the serving tray, but recoils his hand reflexively as the vesk grabs another bite, “...refreshments.” As you sit, he continues, “Some new technology has come to the Society’s attention”—to which the vesk interrupts by clearing his throat loudly—“from our contact, here, Julzakama. If you would?”

The vesk stands, pops his neck, and pulls a battered and stained gym bag out from under the table. “Feast your eyes on this little gemling.” He reaches into the bag and removes what appears to be a severed human forearm, complete with hand. Julzakama waves the limb as though it were a toy and chuckles before offering it to Arvin to shake.

Arvin declines the handshake, rubs his temples, and explains. “As you might have guessed, this is a prosthetic limb. It’s a standard cybernetic augmentation, but this one was made with a new type of biotech, so well grafted that it’s almost undetectable without magic. Its special features are just as well hidden.” Arvin takes the hand from Julzakama to demonstrate a nearly invisible compartment large enough to conceal a knife, several data drives, or a small toolkit. “Such technology would be invaluable for covert and diplomatic operations, and the Society would like to find the specialist who crafted and installed it. But therein lies the difficulty. Julzakama, if you could explain the... circumstances, of this discovery?”

Julzakama holds up his hands, feigning innocence. “Hey, now, lashling, I wasn’t personally involved. Some vesk customers of mine got inna territorial dispute with some manlings. Stuff happened, one of these guys turned his winnings over to my customer to settle a bet, and here we are.” Julzakama gestures at the hand, smiling ingratiatingly, and continues, “I thought you Starfinders might be interested. You've always been such good... clients, after all.”

“Indeed,” Arvin folds his hands behind his back. “Julzakama tells me that his acquaintances’ rivals had been known to acquire their gear from gray-market operations in the Freemarkets. As that is our only lead so far, I’d like you to investigate the area; even if none of the listed clinics are the source, they may have more information on who is.”

“Do you have any questions?”

An emanation issues forth from each side of your space, extending out to a specified number of feet in all directions. Because the sides of a target’s space are used as the starting point for the emanation, an emanation from a Large or larger creature affects a greater overall area than that of a Medium or smaller creature. An emanation effect includes the target of the emanation, but the creature creating the effect can exclude the target if desired.

You occupy every square of your mount’s space for the purpose of making your attacks...Anything that affects multiple creatures (such as an area) affects both of you as long as you’re both in the area...Because your mount is larger than you and you share its space, you have lesser cover against attacks targeting you

(quotes edited for brevity but linked for entirety)

So if I'm medium, mounted on a large creature, and I cast an emanation spell, such as Acidic Burst, will it emanate from the borders of my mount's space, and thus not only have a larger area of effect, but also keep my mount safe?

I saw that this question was asked last year, but nobody chimed in to discuss it.

How are GMs ruling the feat Bonded Animal?

The Rules Forum is a bit of a mixed bag with this one. Most posters say it falls in the hands of the GM to determine what's allowed in their Campaign, but even then, when you get into the mechanics of the feat it's extremely ambiguous.

1) are GMs allowing only the Animals from the CRB? Or any source? What CR are you allowing?
2) the animal doesn't gain the Minion Trait. Are GMs ruling that it's always Frightened at the start of combat?
3) it's a Downtime activity to use the feat. Should GMs sign off on what animal was acquired?
4) the animal is helpful to the one who bonded with it. What attitude are GMs giving it towards the rest of the party?

For context, our 6th Level Druid succeeded at his Nature check for last game's Downtime and wants a CR 9 Roc for the game we're about to start.

The GM hasn't posted yet but I'm curious whether this has come up at other tables. I'm personally worried the thing's going to get targeted by confusion or something and TPK the party, but beyond our game, I also want to see how I should rule it for my tables.

Theoretically a 2nd Level Rogue could even succeed at bringing a Roc to their next game, and that's something I'm sure wouldn't fly at most tables.

I want to preface this thread with a request to NOT tangentially discuss the value or metagame aspects of Recall Knowledge. If you feel the need to, please click on one of these two links instead. Thank you ^_^

I have a group of 1st-2nd level PCs who are about to encounter a Rare, 3rd Level Construct from Oenopion and I want to make sure I have the DC for Recall Knowledge correct:

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