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Hey All--
I'm somewhat new to PFS (only been playing 4 months), but a long time Living Greyhawk player. I suspect much of the current PFS core played a bit of LG. I'm currently still playing a bit of the old Geoff mods and I've played a lot of the Pale mods.
I also play a bit of the LFR. It's not my favorite, but it's important to note that I'm tapped into that game. Some of you probably play both as well.
One of the more recurring complaints that I'm hearing with LFR is the lack of the big picture story...the grand regional campaign (like Geoff vs the Giant Hordes) that was so compelling and enticing. We were part of the story and it was the best part of LG.
LFR is completely failing to build regions where players really care about the campaign and the story...there is none and the WOTC monolith is so tightfisted in what they will allow that we may not ever see that kind of story.
I still miss it. I want it.
I don't know enough about the planning and structure of the overarching themes and storyline for PFS. I've read most of the posts in this forum regarding scenario submission and didn't see a lot discussion about the BIG STORY.
I guess I have a lot of random questions.
1) Are their plans for an overarching, compelling BIG STORY? Who is in charge? How can we contribute?
2) If not, how can we get one started? Can one be worked into PFS?
3) If "no way in heck", why not? Can we set up a triad-like system and a few regions for a player controlled storyline with modules within PFS?
I'm quite sure these aren't the perfect questions to ask, but I am curious. I know many, many players (including more than a few of the Geoff and Pale LG writing crews) who would love to begin creating another big, player-run story. Can we find a way to make it work?
-Pain
I'm pretty sure Josh has said that an overarching story will be revealed at some point this year. I also seem to recall that it will involve some elements of scenarios which we have already seen.
The metaplot will be revealed with the first Tier 12 scenario in the next few weeks, expanded in June, and become most of the background or foreground of the scenarios from August 2010 through July 2011. We'll then do a "Year of the XX" type metaplot for every season thereafter.
Pathfinder Society follows the same publishing guidelines as the rest of the company. We have high standards for writing, development, art, maps, etc. I know that LG had plenty of good modules written independently by the triads, but I also know there were plenty of stinkers that reflected poorly on the organization. We'd prefer to keep control of the stories being released and the quality of those stories while continuing to take player and GM feedback to improve. I can't imagine a time where I will ever allow scenarios to be written/developed/mapped entirely out-of-house. That's just not the way we do things.
And while I've learned a number of good tips, tricks, and lessons from LG and while a number of the LG founders work for Paizo and have given me valuable feedback on their LG experiences, I have to point out that PFS isn't LG and we never set out for it to be LG. PFS is it's own system and while we will always take player and GM feedback into account and frequently apply it to our system to make it better, we're not trying to mimic or become past OP programs.
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Thanks for quick feedback, Josh.
You clearly stated your reasoning and aims and I appreciate that. I politely disagree as I think the potential benefits would outweigh the costs, but I understand your position. I think there is a golden opportunity to bring a lot of talent, players, and enthusiasm to PFS at the cost of 'letting go' a region for players.
I do look forward to the BIG STORY upcoming release and the related materials around that. I do appreciate PFS and plan on playing more of it.
-Pain
Director of Brand Strategy
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It's worth noting that the Open Call allows anyone who wants to to not only try their luck at publishing a scenario, but getting paid for it and even getting a nifty little "Published Author" sticker. Okay, maybe I made that last part up. What do you want from me, I've been up for a day?
And it's an excellent foot in the door! But I think the "Contributor" tag is a myth, as I've got two books released thus far with three more announced on the way and don't have one yet. [/whining]
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Chris--
I agree..."regions" may not be the best word. It's just some area of Golarion that players could use to promote a BIG STORY and craft and create mods for. It could be some part the has little or a lot of Paizo backstory already; I believe players could create or fill in content as needed.
And while the PFS is definitely designed for 'finding stuff'...it isn't out of the question to be interested in the BIGSTORY of NAMESPACE, where you are taking part in the epic battle against the BBEGS. You could keep faction quests or remove them entirely from the mods...I think players would still play them.
But, from Josh's response above, this isn't a consideration.
I still would like to hear from others if you all think this is a good idea, bad idea, or an idea of no interest. Share your thoughts...this is as good a place as any for it.
-Pain
To be perfectly honest, the very concept of "regions" doesn't make much sense for the Society to follow. They've got contacts that can get you just about anywhere detailed in the books so far in a few weeks at most, and Pathfinders shouldn't be tied down to one area of the world that they just happen to be in. The whole point is to get out exploring stuph.
It's worth noting that the Open Call allows anyone who wants to to not only try their luck at publishing a scenario, but getting paid for it and even getting a nifty little "Published Author" sticker. Okay, maybe I made that last part up. What do you want from me, I've been up for a day?
And while the PFS is definitely designed for 'finding stuff'...it isn't out of the question to be interested in the BIGSTORY of NAMESPACE, where you are taking part in the epic battle against the BBEGS. You could keep faction quests or remove them entirely from the mods...I think players would still play them.
But, from Josh's response above, this isn't a consideration.
Well, I believe he is pointing to big stories happening, and taking part in epic battles and world-altering events. He's just said there's a large-scale plot coming, and they're already doing multi-part PSS in a campaign structure. They're not fan-driven, but the authors do have some freedom in designing their own content.
On the other hand, nothing prevents you from submitting to Pathfinder Society and finding out if Josh likes your ideas. Personally, I don't think I'd have more say in a fan-driven system than an official Paizo PSS or module series, if that's the issue. They also wouldn't down the hall from the development team.
I'm not sure if a third-party can use Golarion or not (I suspect not?), but a 3rd party company could make their own adventures and publish them per OGL. If you seem to think there's an audience, I say go for it. (am I wrong? Is that not allowed? I've seen 3rd parties publish Pathfinder rules content, for sure)
3rd parties cannot write official content for Pathfinder Society nor can they write official content for Golarion, as we own Golarion.
Third parties can write generic adventures for PRPG or they can write adventure for PRPG set in their own campaign world. They would need to review our various use licenses.