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Some mechanic for social status needs to be introduced for PFS.
Social status gives the opertunity for role play and intergration into
the greater society. All Pathfinders should not be the same social status.
This could be done through traits and or feats. The diffrent factions could have diffrent precentages for being noble, common craftsman merchant etc.
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Some mechanic for social status needs to be introduced for PFS.
Social status gives the opertunity for role play and intergration into
the greater society. All Pathfinders should not be the same social status.This could be done through traits and or feats. The diffrent factions could have diffrent precentages for being noble, common craftsman merchant etc.
You are talking about quantifying something which should really only have role play benefit. And as such quantifying it makes it counter to role playing, in my opinion.
My cleric has the Kelishite Princess trait and she plays it up. She's bossy and spoiled and used to getting her way. I don't need some additional mechanic to quantify how far removed her bloodline is from the Pasha so that others will be forced to buy into her acting like a princess. We already have diplomacy, bluff, intimidate and sense motive when the players mouth gets them into trouble.
Weather your character believes she's an actual princess or just a spoiled twit is a decision your character is going to have to make. Some additional mechanic over top that to force you into believing a perception is not required.
Players are totally free to play their character how they want. My princess is also a Qadiran with ranks in Profession (Merchant) but if I can't role player her as such there shouldn't be a mechanic to force my assertion that I'm a merchant on someone.
I'm just on a different page I guess.
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I agree that this comes down to role play. Past attempts to put in mechanics for 'status' really aren't any different than the PA system we have now (access to gear being the central benefit). Knighthoods, land ownership, etc. were fluff at best. But they usually had little real benefit in game and probably shouldn't.
I have no desire to sit down with someone at a table holding a piece of paper that says my character should obey theirs, personally, and would prefer role play for things like that.
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A simple mechanic already exists and allows you to easily modify it. Traits exist to provide some social standing.
You could make a set of tiered traits where you can only take one if you have the previous ones. Each one increases your starting social status and starting gold.
Wealthy merchant's son: You start as the son of a prosperous and wealthy merchant. You start with 900 gp. You may forgo the starting gold to actually be the wealthy merchant. This provides you with 90 gp per game year after all expenses.
Lord of the Estate: You are a Knight of a small estate in the hinterlands of the realm. You must have wealthy merchant's son to take this trait.
And so on.
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I always enjoyed how Arcanis dealt with this issue. There were feats like Nobility that allowed for extra status and access to equipment and money. There were races, like the Val, which gave certain benifits and could be tracked trough blood ranks. And there were game rewards such as favors which could be turned in for in game benifits like spellcasting or money but also led to a lot of roleplaying.
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I always enjoyed how Arcanis dealt with this issue. There were feats like Nobility that allowed for extra status and access to equipment and money. There were races, like the Val, which gave certain benefits and could be tracked trough blood ranks. And there were game rewards such as favors which could be turned in for in game benefits like spellcasting or money but also led to a lot of roleplaying.
The problem with how that status worked in LA was that all Vals had the benefit of Gentry (or better) for social encounters in the human world. Human PCs with the Gentry feat were often not given any deference, and that came out of how the mods were written. Once you have a race that gets favored like that (or in the case of PFS, likely a region), it runs the risk of marginalizing certain character concepts.
Most of the favors went without any reward as well.
Not ragging on LA...I miss it desperately, but I don't think most of Arcanis translates well to PFS (except for the Emerald Society, of course). Given the extreme difference between direct roleplay interaction with NPCs in PFS and LA, I would think that leaving social position would have little effect.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
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Hi all -
All I have to say is: Gen. Goldfrapp the Naked Halfing Taldoran Trebuchet.
http://www.greyhawkonline.com/goldfrapp.jpg
With the picture as a pin, a picture on my GM Screen, a t-shirt, my Bag of Holding with him embroidered on the front and the same on my jacket, I clearly WIN.
Social Standing? I'm a frickin' naked halfling (and when not, I'm wearing bikini briefs with a smiling face on them). What feats or traits would make up for a naked halfing that comes into the lodge riding a lion with the Taldan colors? I went to the Oppara opera house - it was suggested that I wear something nice, so I wore my undies. I cannot think of any feats or traits that would help my social standing when in those situations (even from WotC/3PP for 3.5). Some might if I wasn't naked, but then I wouldn't win.
At some point this is still a role playing game - in which we should immerse ourselves into our roles. At NeonCon I saw this so many times - JP was awesome in his voice and overall declarations as a cockroach (I mean qadirian). Slavery is legal in PFS and certain regions - roleplaying and owning one are in the rules (armory guide) - you don't need a slave owner feat or skill. Some classes might give you that 'edge' however. I only call myself a General now that I'm a Battle Herald.
Save that feat or skill for some attack / damage dice.
Be Well. Be Well Naked.
Theocrat Issak
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Hi all -
All I have to say is: Gen. Goldfrapp the Naked Halfing Taldoran Trebuchet.
http://www.greyhawkonline.com/goldfrapp.jpg
With the picture as a pin, a picture on my GM Screen, a t-shirt, my Bag of Holding with him embroidered on the front and the same on my jacket, I clearly WIN.
Be Well. Be Well Naked.
Theocrat Issak
OMG that link needs a "not work appropriate" tag on it .. I'm not cleaning the coffee off my computer screen.
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My cleric has the Kelishite Princess trait and she plays it up. She's bossy and spoiled and used to getting her way. I don't need some additional mechanic to quantify how far removed her bloodline is from the Pasha so that others will be forced to buy into her acting like a princess. We already have diplomacy, bluff, intimidate and sense motive when the players mouth gets them into trouble.Weather your character believes she's an actual princess or just a spoiled twit is a decision your character is going to have to make. Some additional mechanic over top that to force you into believing a perception is not required.
Players are totally free to play their character how they want. My princess is also a Qadiran with ranks in Profession (Merchant) but if I can't role player her as such there shouldn't be a mechanic to force my assertion that I'm a merchant on someone.
I'm just on a different page I guess.
+1 that is all that needs to be said on the issue.
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My cleric has the Kelishite Princess trait and she plays it up. She's bossy and spoiled and used to getting her way. I don't need some additional mechanic to quantify how far removed her bloodline is from the Pasha so that others will be forced to buy into her acting like a princess. We already have diplomacy, bluff, intimidate and sense motive when the players mouth gets them into trouble.
You know the funny thing? I created 3 characters around that trait (all sister, all of whom want to kill the other two). One is a Fire Sorceress, the other is a Prophetess of Rovagug and the third is a Paladin the other two sold into slavery.
Only Katharan (the youngest) is given to pouting and tantrims. Naadhira (the eldest and the embalmer) merely ignores people in a snobby way. Sahba (the middle sister and paladin) keeps quiet to avoid drawing attention.
I'm having too much fun with it.
JP
