Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Newcomer, maybe I missed something...
I run a weekly game at my FLGS. Should I
A) create a single event (e.g. "Weekly PFS at the Drunken Dragon") and one session per table per week, or
B) one Event per week (e.g. "August 12 PFS at the Drunken Dragon") with one session per table?
I asked this some time ago and the answer was "Yes". Do whatever you feel most comfortable with. I have an 'event' I've been running for close to 2 years.
Also, what happens with modules?
C) One session for the whole module (in which case what date??)
D) One session per module (but see caveat below)
Just once for the entire module unless you issue partial chronicles in case a player doesn't return. I don't recommend this since it can lead to confusion. The location for the event isn't super important, just pick one of the locations for reporting purposes.
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Actually, unless the event is private - and always will be, it is much better to create seperate entries for each gameday, weekend, or convention. You should create the event at least a week or two beforehand. Be sure to enter the date(s), location, and contact information. The event will show up under the Events link on Paizo.com where people in your area will see it.
An event entry that you use to report sessions over and over from different actual events does not get this exposure. And unless you are looking at the actual sessions, the date of the event will be wrong unless you keep changing it.
For a module that you run on different dates and locations ... that's tricky. You can't report it as several events on Paizo.com unless you only enter the table on one of the event entries. If you use one event you should put all the information in the text box. You will only be able to list one location in the location field, but it should allow you to add multiple dates.
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Actually, Don, as long as the event dates listed are in the near future you can keep a gameday event ongoing for a few years and have it keep coming up on the event schedule. In Fact, I just noticed that one of our gamedays isn't listed right now and it's meeting this Saturday. Guess I'm off to correct that.
Anyway, check out the Texas events, specifically Grapevine and Richardson (and I'll be updating Arlington soon).
Venture-Captain, California—San Francisco Bay Area South & West
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Things like modules seem to over-stress the reporting system.
I'd never really thought about modules much - I mostly run scenarios for PFS. But my wife just ran "We Be Goblins!" as a sanctioned module at a F(not-so)LGS, and was somewhat surprised to find out that she got credit for two tables towards her star rating, 'just like any other module'.
That's broken in two ways, if you ask me. Most of the modules at cons seem to be run over a three-slot period. But if what she has been told is correct, the GMs running that three-slot module only get credit for two tables, despite having to do a lot more preparation to adapt the module to incorporate any PFS-required changes than I'd have to do running a three-part scenario (First Steps, Quest for Perfection, Shades of Ice, ...). I'd just assumed a GM would get credit for three tables.
Of course that would just make giving the same credit for a Free RPG Day module even more ridiculous. It's strange enough being able to get two tables worth of credit for a single session - getting three would not be an improvement! The short modules need to be handled gracefully by the credit reporting system.
Just to add icing to the cake - the second GM never showed at the event where my wife was judging, so she actually ran the module for two groups back-to-back (in something like five hours). So as things stand she got four tables of credit, while somebody running a high-tier scenario (which can easily stretch to five hours, if not more!) would only get one.
Venture-Captain, Alabama—Birmingham
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I'm just lost and I don't see how we can make it work. Am I really the only one to face this issue that modules cannot be reported properly?
1) I have to report each session of the module as a separate session, because, well, I ran three sessions, not one. Some people are there at all sessions, some not.
2) But it doesn't work properly that way. I have to report the prestige for the whole scenario on the *first* session, because further sessions' PP are ignored as if the player "already played the scenario". So players just appear like they're cheating or something.
3) GM's PP doesn't work either. I get automatically 2PPs for the first session and nothing for the next two.
4) Even if I used a single session the GM would style get only 2PP, and not get proper table credit.
1) You only report modules once regardless of who showed up to each session. The only difference is what reward is on each attendee's sheet. At the end you will remove 1/3 gold 1 xp and 1pp per session missed to a minimum of O gold 1pp and 1xp.
2-3) GM prestige for Modules is a known bug. Remember that your chronicle sheets are the master record keepers, not online recording. As long as your numbers on paper are correct, that is what counts. Online recording is mainly there to track attendance and demographics, not actual bookkeeping.
4) The GM does get the bonus table credit (+1) for running a module, but that is all. If your module takes one or 100 separate game sessions, the GM only gets 2 table credits period.
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So if I sum up..
* Only report one session regardless of the number of actual sessions.
* Put everybody who played in the module at any point in this session, with the correct amount of PP
Correct.
ISSUES:
* People who play e.g. session #1 only will be shown as having played at the date to which you post the final session, meaning they might appear as playing twice in the same day
That's no problem; people can play two or three scenarios in a single day at a convention without issues.
* You might end up with an apparent table of more than 7
I've not had this situation, so I don't know how the system handles it.
* I don't understand why the table credit is 2 and not 3, but hey, I don't understand why the PP is 4 and no more, or not subject to faction mission (esp. now that we have broader faction goals)
The table credit used to be 1 and was bumped up to 2 at some point in the past (at least partly due to community demand). I've run a few modules; I find it easier to prep one module than three scenarios, simply because the module only has one storyline, even if it's longer.
Regarding the 4 PP, it's because there are no explicit faction missions. On 3 scenarios you could get anything between 3 and 6 PP (assuming you don't fail missions entirely). Modules give a flat 4 - you're slightly penalised, compared to the average you'd expect from scenarios, as this amount is guaranteed (assuming you play all sessions).
BUGS:
* The GM will not get proper PP credit, because it's locked at 2 and does not switch to 4 for a module.
Known, and low priority. The Guide to PFS Org. Play explains what numbers should go on the chronicle sheet, and that sheet remains the primary record. The online reporting is for backup purposes, and to feed info back to Paizo.
The big thing to bear in mind is that sanctioning of modules was a step taken to provide an additional avenue of PFS play at a time when scenarios were much thinner on the ground; it was always known that they were a slightly imperfect fit (excluding special cases like the Ruby Phoenix Tournament). If the constraints of playing modules in PFS are a problem for your group, then either play them outside of PFS (as originally intended) or play PFS scenarios.