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hmm, ive read the "pathfinder guide to orginized play" but have a few questions I'd like to verify:
A) to run a game, someone at the table has to buy the module right?
(five bucks is pretty cheap, so no real complaints)
B) if you need to purchase the mods, do you need to purchase a new one (for reporting) each time you run the mod (like at different locations at different times)
C) does being a DM to a module prevent being a player when someone else runs the mod (like living greyhawk did)
D) can a DM alter the module for flavor / challenge purpose (like DM empowerment in wizards living forgotten realms)
E) can a caracter go through a module multiple times? can a player with a different caracter?
F) when you complete a mod, the items found can be purchased at full price (with your split and current savings) - can this go over the "gp limit?" your "faction support" allows? (guides not in front of me, so I dont remember the terms)
I just got the pathfinder book last night (spent the whole night reading it) so im pretty excited about participating in a "living" campaign under these rules (loved living grewhawk the 2 years i played it)
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hmm, ive read the "pathfinder guide to orginized play" but have a few questions I'd like to verify: <snip>
A) Yes.
B) No. Once you own a copy, it's yours and you can use it as often and wherever you would like.
C) Yes. Once you run it, you can't play it. The good news is that under the new rules, the GM gets XP and loots for one character of the appropriate level the first time he runs a scenario. Yay!
D) No, the GM should run the scenario as written, for the appropriate tier. The only exception, and it's not really an "exception" but something to keep in mind, is that a group of brand new 1st level PCs should be handled a bit gently (paraphrasing Josh Frost at PaizoCon).
E) No to both. Once you have played a module, you can't play it again.
F) I'm not sure about this one. I doubt it, but I haven't looked at that rule very closely.
I hope that helps! Welcome to Pathfinder, and good gaming! :)
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F) when you complete a mod, the items found can be purchased at full price (with your split and current savings) - can this go over the "gp limit?" your "faction support" allows? (guides not in front of me, so I dont remember the terms)
Items you are buying from your last 3 chronicles do no have to be under the GP limit granted by prestige.
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F) when you complete a mod, the items found can be purchased at full price (with your split and current savings) - can this go over the "gp limit?" your "faction support" allows? (guides not in front of me, so I dont remember the terms)
Correct. There are a few different ways to have access to an item:
1) If the item is listed as Always Available, you may purchase it if you can afford it. The GP cap from Prestige Award does not apply to Always Available items.
2) If the item is on your current Chronicle, or one of the previous 2 Chronicles, you may purchase it at the price stated on the Chronicle. The GP cap from Prestige Award does not apply to item access from Chronicles.
3) You may spend 1 PA to purchase an item worth 150gp or less, or 2 PA to purchase an item worth 750gp or less. The rules do not seem to indicate that the GP cap from PA applies. Please note that spending PA for this or any other purpose does not reduce your GP cap, which is based on your lifetime PA.
4) You may purchase ANY legal item which costs less than your GP Cap from Prestige Award. You do not have to have received access to the item from any source, it simply needs to be PFS legal. This is the only type of purchase for which the GP cap applies.
Director of Brand Strategy
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Correct. There are a few different ways to have access to an item:
1) If the item is listed as Always Available, you may purchase it if you can afford it. The GP cap from Prestige Award does not apply to Always Available items.
2) If the item is on your current Chronicle, or one of the previous 2 Chronicles, you may purchase it at the price stated on the Chronicle. The GP cap from Prestige Award does not apply to item access from Chronicles.
3) You may spend 1 PA to purchase an item worth 150gp or less, or 2 PA to purchase an item worth 750gp or less. The rules do not seem to indicate that the GP cap from PA applies. Please note that spending PA for this or any other purpose does not reduce your GP cap, which is based on your lifetime PA.
4) You may purchase ANY legal item which costs less than your GP Cap from Prestige Award. You do not have to have received access to the item from any source, it simply needs to be PFS legal. This is the only type of purchase for which the GP cap applies.
That's the most succinct and thorough explanation of a rule that has a ton of people confused. I think this should be quoted in the FAQ.
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Thank you everyone for the great answers!
finishing my second read through, then buy a mod to run sometime next week :)
one more question:
I know gencon will recieve mod support, but will other conventions?
(living greyhawk did real life regions based on geography, so traveling to out of state cons gave great flavor, -inter-actives or "specials" were another reason to attend a con. - games that were either con-exclusive OR released early only at the con.)
(im really asking for my gaming group.. if LG was still around we would prob. attending more conventions as this was tons of fun)
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Thank you everyone for the great answers!
finishing my second read through, then buy a mod to run sometime next week :)
one more question:
I know gencon will recieve mod support, but will other conventions?
(living greyhawk did real life regions based on geography, so traveling to out of state cons gave great flavor, -inter-actives or "specials" were another reason to attend a con. - games that were either con-exclusive OR released early only at the con.)
(im really asking for my gaming group.. if LG was still around we would prob. attending more conventions as this was tons of fun)
I am not sure I understand the question?..
Are you asking if Paizo will give free Mods to COnvention Organizers? or If Paizo will release Mods just to support COnventions?
Scenerios are released every few months, there are about 28 made a year. There will and is plenty of scenerios out for support Conventions. If a Convention organzier wants free mods to give out to thier GMs they need to contact Josh Directly.
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I know gencon will recieve mod support, but will other conventions?
(living greyhawk did real life regions based on geography, so traveling to out of state cons gave great flavor, -inter-actives or "specials" were another reason to attend a con. - games that were either con-exclusive OR released early only at the con.)
(im really asking for my gaming group.. if LG was still around we would prob. attending more conventions as this was tons of fun)
The three interactives that have been run so far have been organized by Paizo (Gen Con 2008 and Paizocon) or by very dedicated GM's (Gen Con 2009). I assume that support for other conventions in the future will depend upon the amount of players that participate in Pathfinder Society (both regionally and overall), so it is very important that GM's report their events to Paizo.
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Thank you everyone for the great answers!
finishing my second read through, then buy a mod to run sometime next week :)
one more question:
I know gencon will recieve mod support, but will other conventions?
(living greyhawk did real life regions based on geography, so traveling to out of state cons gave great flavor, -inter-actives or "specials" were another reason to attend a con. - games that were either con-exclusive OR released early only at the con.)
(im really asking for my gaming group.. if LG was still around we would prob. attending more conventions as this was tons of fun)
I know that a lot of conventions here in the Midwest run Pathfinder Society adventures along with LFR and other campaigns. You should review convention offerings to see whether your local conventions also offer Pathfinder events. You might contact the event organizer, particuarly if you can get a couple of people to judge, and ask whether he or she would put Pathfinder Society events on their slate of offerings.
In short, the more you participate at conventions, the more likely they are to have Pathfinder Society support!
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That's the most succinct and thorough explanation of a rule that has a ton of people confused. I think this should be quoted in the FAQ.Correct. There are a few different ways to have access to an item:
1) If the item is listed as Always Available, you may purchase it if you can afford it. The GP cap from Prestige Award does not apply to Always Available items.
2) If the item is on your current Chronicle, or one of the previous 2 Chronicles, you may purchase it at the price stated on the Chronicle. The GP cap from Prestige Award does not apply to item access from Chronicles.
3) You may spend 1 PA to purchase an item worth 150gp or less, or 2 PA to purchase an item worth 750gp or less. The rules do not seem to indicate that the GP cap from PA applies. Please note that spending PA for this or any other purpose does not reduce your GP cap, which is based on your lifetime PA.
4) You may purchase ANY legal item which costs less than your GP Cap from Prestige Award. You do not have to have received access to the item from any source, it simply needs to be PFS legal. This is the only type of purchase for which the GP cap applies.
I agree this is succinct and useful. However, regarding #3, I thought that the PA expenditures let you "obtain" the item at no cost--the language above seems to indicate that you're paying PA in order to be able to pay gp to purchase the item, and I don't think that's correct (or very useful, actually).
I have and do provide scenarios to convention organizers. In fact, I love to do so. :-)
We release 2 scenarios every month and an additional 2 in June and August for a total of 28 scenarios annually.
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I agree this is succinct and useful. However, regarding #3, I thought that the PA expenditures let you "obtain" the item at no cost--the language above seems to indicate that you're paying PA in order to be able to pay gp to purchase the item, and I don't think that's correct (or very useful, actually).
You're right, that's poor phrasing on my part. There is no GP cost associated with PA expenditure. I'm having trouble phrasing it accurately without being unwieldy. How about:
3) You may purchase any legal item worth no more than 150gp by spending 1 PA instead of gold, and an item worth no more than 750gp by spending 2 PA. Please note that spending PA for this or any other purpose does not reduce your GP cap, which is based on your lifetime PA.
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"E) can a caracter go through a module multiple times? can a player with a different caracter?"
E) No to both. Once you have played a module, you can't play it again.
This answer is not supported by my reading of the Guide to PFSOP. I find page 27 says, "Once a GM has run a scenario, she cannot ever play in that scenario as an officla character." and "A GM can never play in a scenario as an official character once she has run it, so the GM will need to find someone else to run the scenario for her. The GM who runs the slot 0 can also never play through the scenario as an official character, unless she’s had someone else run it for her."
I didn't find any references forbidding different characters of the same person playing through a scenario. Technically, I didn't find anything forbidding the same character playing through the same scenario a hundred times. However, I don't think whatever alternate reality/time warp/acid trip that would require was intended as part of PFS.
I could understand an argument that a player should not be able to play through a scenario with multiple characters for the same reason that GMs aren't allowed to play through a scenario after they run it. I assume that is because they know where to find all the secret doors, etc. I don't agree with that argument, but I understand it.
Consider that anyone can buy the scenario. Hypothetically, let's say John runs #46 Bringing Home the Bacon for a group. He later plays through #46 with his own character. He knows where the secret door is to find the dragons hidden cache of delicious bacon, but he's a good enough player to separate player knowledge and character knowledge, and he's scrupulous enough to not cheat. Let's also say that Bill goes to Paizo.com and spend less than $4 to buy #46 Bringing Home the Bacon for his own reading enjoyment. He later plays through #46 with his own character. He knows where the secret door is to find the dragons hidden cache of delicious bacon, but he's a good enough player to separate player knowledge and character knowledge, and he's scrupulous enough to not cheat. Why would we trust Bill if we cannot trust John???
Bob
EDIT: In this thread, Josh says you can only play each scenario once. I still disagree, but it seems Elora is correct.
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sorry about being confusing, I was really asking about interactives at cons.
I assisted organizing and running mountaincon's LFR offering (it was really our old LG gaming group supporting the local con)
while we were able to offer the special 1-2? mo. before general release we didnt have anything to pull players there (although mountaincon itself gave out some prizes for attendance) - interactives (a big reason to vist a con) will not be supported for some time, if ever....
playing with new people at a convention setting is great!
Playing at a table where people can move onto other tables to help (or evade something nasty at thier table) is increadible!
being able to work with other tables for a common objective and make lasting choices for yourself and the region.... master card comercial :)
(I got the killing blow on the troll general "brushnack?" gaining the "trollslayer" title.. worth traveling out of state twice.)
im ok if some of this is not supported, (im already sold on playing) I just want more ammo to get my group onboard :)
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Sorry about the double post,
Im trying to orginize a gmae but cant find the minnimum amount of players needed (the reporting part seems to say i can have more the 6? thats kewl)
can a game be run with 2 players and a gm?
A great place to solicit players is to advertise here on the boards and on the EN World boards as well. If you get the word out you may find other people in your area who just don't know where to look.
MountainCon that's the one in Salt Lake City correct. I had a chance to go two years ago and play some LG. I live in NY but have family out there.
If Don Brown still around or is he playing LFR?
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A great place to solicit players is to advertise here on the boards and on the EN World boards as well. If you get the word out you may find other people in your area who just don't know where to look.
MountainCon that's the one in Salt Lake City correct. I had a chance to go two years ago and play some LG. I live in NY but have family out there.
If Don Brown still around or is he playing LFR?
noted, ill prob be doing that (right now Im getting the old group to test this out)
mountaincon is in SLC, not shure if its running this year though..
and from what I know, don is still playing LFR - dont know him personally though..
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Sorry about the double post,
Im trying to orginize a gmae but cant find the minnimum amount of players needed (the reporting part seems to say i can have more the 6? thats kewl)
can a game be run with 2 players and a gm?
Quoting Josh in the FAQ thread:
4 is the hard floor.6 is the soft ceiling.
7 is the (rare please) hard ceiling
8 is two tables of 4
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As far as group size for PFS play:
The "hard floor" as primarily their so you don't have to do funky stuff with single characters.
However, as long as you have four or five registered characters present, the scenario can be run as written.
Groups of 6 or more are pretty simple - although it clearly not desired that groups of more than 6 or 7 are not there - as you simply increase the APL (average party level) by 1 per 2 characters over 4 at the table.
What you will find is that if you have a group of 6 2nd level characters, they have to go into a scenario with Tier 3 factored in (falling under the second tier of scenarios as I recall). However, if you have a group of 8 2nd level characters, they can tangle with a "Tier 1-5" scenario due to qualifying as an APL of 4.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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However, if you have a group of 8 2nd level characters, they can tangle with a "Tier 1-5" scenario due to qualifying as an APL of 4.
If you have a group of 8 characters, that's two tables of four, Turin. 7 characters is the hard cap.
I would shudder at the idea of a group of eight 2nd-Level PCs trying to (a) play a coherent table in 4 hours, and (b) facing off against Tier 4-5 opponents.
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However, if you have a group of 8 2nd level characters, they can tangle with a "Tier 1-5" scenario due to qualifying as an APL of 4.If you have a group of 8 characters, that's two tables of four, Turin. 7 characters is the hard cap.
I would shudder at the idea of a group of eight 2nd-Level PCs trying to (a) play a coherent table in 4 hours, and (b) facing off against Tier 4-5 opponents.
Yeah, but that hard cap has to have some realistic acknowledgment - some times things do not go as planned and one GM has 8 players to deal with for four hours. One would have to excise the "optional" encounter for sure, and perhaps even a second act (rolling the society quest into another act). Granted, I would generally strive to ensure that the hard caps can be met before hand. If multiple tables of the same tier are available, than the "extras" can be sprinkled to one or more of the 'spare' tables to bring things down to at least the hard cap if not to the soft cap.
Most of the tier 4-5 opponents I have seen so far are merely more of the same ones faced in tier 1-2. The players will simply have to be a bit more creative in dealing with the "big bad" (if any) without getting dismembered.
Ironically, when I started GMing for the Society play at Paizocon, I thought that a table of six was the expectation / requirement. ^_^
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Yeah, but that hard cap has to have some realistic acknowledgment - some times things do not go as planned and one GM has 8 players to deal with for four hours.
I guess we have a different understanding of the term "hard cap". (For what it's worth, I asked Josh just this question: what to do with n assembly of nine people. A table of eight players wasn't one of the options he wanted to accept. Two that were: "a table of four and a table of three-plus-a-GM-run-NPC", and "sending someone home".)
Most of the tier 4-5 opponents I have seen so far are merely more of the same ones faced in tier 1-2. The players will simply have to be a bit more creative in dealing with the "big bad" (if any) without getting dismembered.
Ah. I have seen generally higher-level opponents. Or "Change the small [things] to medium [things] and add a [big monster]."
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some stuff about buying and reading a scenario before playing it in PFS.
Okay, don't -ever- do this. It sucks. A week ago I played #6 Black Waters via TTopRPG. A week or two prior to that, I decided to buy the scenario to look it over to make sure I would like it. I skimmed through it a bit and it looked all right, so I went ahead with spending a significant portion of my Tuesday to play my first PFS scenario.
It was awful. It was hard to pay attention to the boxed text because I had read it already. I knew when the GM was giving us a break. I knew when he messed up. I knew when we were missing something important. I knew when the GM was introducing material from the scenario and when he was improvising. It sucked all the enjoyment out of the experience.
Don't get me wrong, I think our GM did an excellent job, especially since it was his first time and this scenario is tough on a group of four 1st level PCs. Unfortunately, reading the scenario beforehand ruined what would have otherwise been a fun time.
So, I just wanted to send this warning out to PFSland: play the scenario first, then read it later if you are going to GM it.