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When it comes to comparing PFS play to home play it's been hard for me to think of how to bring the best elements of both under one roof. There are obvious challenges to this. Pathfinder is amazing because you get to play professionally written and crafted modules. Additionally pathfinder does an incredible job of creating a level and fair field for organized play (which is sometimes lost in home games). Unfortunately in the process I think you sacrifice a few things that make RPGs so fun in the first place. In conversation with my fellow players at PFS events I have found they believe the same things are missing.
A small issue is ownership and more specifically property ownership. In a home game you can often attempt to buy a land holding or climb the ladder of nobility and even build a settlement or keep. Now for obvious reasons being a noble, owning a castle or making giant waves in the world doesn't make too much sense when playing in the PFS. However why couldn't someone own a bar, ship or be a weapons merchant? Why couldn't they be a smith? Don't these types adventure too? The main problem is managing character wealth right? What if the place you owned (after spending the appropriate PP and GP) merely gave you a circumstantial bonus when dealing with others of the same merchant type or a discount on similar good?
Another issue in PFS is influence. In a home game you make choices that change the world. In PFS your character has little to no influence over the course of a season. Essentially my PFS character goes through module after module walking a predetermined path. What if there were options within the modules that influenced an overlying mutli-season plot.
FOR EXAMPLE: Say PCs tracked down a thief brought him to trial and at the end of trial got to choose his fate. Incarceration or forgiveness. After each group played this module or scenario the GM reported with choice the PCs made. At the end of a season it turns out the PCs overwhelmingly chose his incarceration. In the next season he's back and out for revenge at a surprise point during another module.
(this could also go to a larger scale) Say two venture captains of opposing factions wanted the same information reported. Both offer separate rewards and have different intentions of dealing with the information.
The final issue that I end up with is PVP. It's something that would be incredibly fun to participate in and I fully understand the reasons why it doesn't work during module play. What if there were tournaments once in a while? What if they worked by level tier. Also you couldn't gain xp from these but you can get some treasure and a bit of fame (for winning). The same characters couldn't compete in more than 1 a season....
At the end of the day I enjoy PFS. These are just some ideas I have and an attempt to get a conversation started. Thanks for reading.
