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After reading the thread regarding paladins I had a thought I would put to the group to see if anyone else thinks as I do. While alot of classes have some moral/alignment/ etc. restrictions which might cause problems if they violate them. What occurred to me is that the same thing should apply to PFS factions, or at least some of them which could cause some sort of consequences if they're violated. Of course this would be dependent on the
faction and the seriousness of the "crime" but for example I don't think the Andorans would enjoy a rogue that just ignores innocent slaves nor would the Osirons much like a wizard that destroys an artifact. In essence it would make it so a faction affiliation is more than just fluff.
Of course, I do see a pitfall, and not just the usual "well, how would you interpret it". It could encourage table behavior from certain players that puts their faction above the good of the group. My counter to that is that I'm only suggesting applying something like this to the most blatant and serious violations.
*Prepares the firehose for the ensuing flame wars*
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I honestly do not like the idea of factions in PFS, I am glad to see the Society itself getting a faction. If there really was a society like this, you would think they would put like minded people on the same team.
I think you are right that there should be some guidelines in which a faction member would opperate, you can not even join a faction unless you are one step from thier alignement, so it would just make sense. I doubt that would ever get inforced in anything but a house game though.
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I don't there are or should be any codes for factions. At present there are some guidelines on how an operative of the faction would most likely act in given circumstances.
Andoren should attempt to free slaves if possible.
Qadiran should never disturb trade.
Osiriani should never damage potent magical artifacts or other relics.
I can't come up with any guidelines for Taldans or Chelish though.
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I think that's a cool idea, Michael.
Rather than consider them codes of conduct, though, I'd like to see "standing orders". As an example: for a Chelexian agent, delivering a new opportunity to blackmail a Taldan noble would always be worth a Faction Prestige Award.
Or if not a formal PA, at least on a list of "standing orders" that PCs in that faction should seek to do anyway. The PA available are already set in each adventure, but I see these "standing orders" as a supplement to aid roleplaying.
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While some sort of standing order thing might be interesting, what I was more getting at is some system that would penalize a faction operative (either through loss of PA or in some other way) for acting outside the interests of the faction. For example, my primary is Qadiran. A number of their faction missions involve things like approaching potential trade contacts and opening negoations and such. If Cal was to go off and acted with hostility towards those contacts (and I don't mean merely failing the social check, I mean things like stealing from them, attacking them, etc.) there should be some consequences of that action. Another example that's not tied with a faction mission might be turning in another Scarzini operative to hostile law enforcement should be penalized in some way.
Again these are all examples and ideas.
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Or if not a formal PA, at least on a list of "standing orders" that PCs in that faction should seek to do anyway. The PA available are already set in each adventure, but I see these "standing orders" as a supplement to aid roleplaying.I think that's a cool idea, Michael.
Rather than consider them codes of conduct, though, I'd like to see "standing orders". As an example: for a Chelexian agent, delivering a new opportunity to blackmail a Taldan noble would always be worth a Faction Prestige Award.
While I doubt that Mark/Hyrum would do something like this, it could be fun to have a thread on 'How to play X faction' with advice on how we players see the world through factioned eyes.
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While some sort of standing order thing might be interesting, what I was more getting at is some system that would penalize a faction operative (either through loss of PA or in some other way) for acting outside the interests of the faction. For example, my primary is Qadiran. A number of their faction missions involve things like approaching potential trade contacts and opening negoations and such. If Cal was to go off and acted with hostility towards those contacts (and I don't mean merely failing the social check, I mean things like stealing from them, attacking them, etc.) there should be some consequences of that action. Another example that's not tied with a faction mission might be turning in another Scarzini operative to hostile law enforcement should be penalized in some way.
Again these are all examples and ideas.
I don’t see this as a good idea really. I mean look at how many problems, fights, and conflicting interpretations we have on how a Paladin should act. This almost appears (and I am sure this is not your intent) to be a guide on how to roleplay your character correctly. I see lots of people not being ok with this.
While, this sort of thing (morality track or hero/villain tracking) works really well on video games like Dragon’s Age, Mass Effect, Fallout 3 & Fallout: New Vegas, in pen-and-paper face-to-face roleplaying, this sort of conduct code would probably just elicit resentment, as though the powers-that-be are just trying to dictate how to roleplay in PFS.
