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The goal of the handbook. Give new players a better idea (mechanically) what they will be called on to do for the various factions.
My home group is getting into PFS, a lot of them like some of the ideas of the factions, but aren't really sure what they'll be called on to do, and they want to pick that faction that will ask them to do things that are in line with their actions.
I get that it's not supposed to be mechanically pointed so you can just max a few specific skills a "roll play" your way through faction missions.
So help me out community, what faction are you and what have you had to do for faction missions? Skills, clever ideas, just stories of fun times. It's all for research :D
Andoran:
Cheliax:
Grand Lodge:
Lantern Lodge:
Osirion: Tomes of knowledge about various things, knowledge checks (all kinds)
Qadira: Take a look at some inventory, transcribe a ritual, find businesses that would be interested in contracts
Sczarni:
Shadow Lodge:
Silver Crusade:
Taldor:
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I have been slowly compiling a spreadsheet about this very topic.
In general, Season 3 Taldor requires a large variety of skills. Bards are ideal, as are Rogues who multiclass into a way of picking up all the Knowledges. Low-to-medium-skill PCs will have a hard time being Taldan.
-Matt
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I went ahead and compiled some data on the Silver Crusade:
In general, Season 3 Silver Crusade requires very few skills, skills that are the domain of Clerics and Paladins. Even low-skill PCs will have little trouble with completing their faction missions.
-Matt
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While Baron Jacquo Dalsine was still head of the Taldor faction, most of his missions seem to involve finding him fashionable hats. The remainder involved either inducing or preventing embarrassment.
Osirion is (mechanically) mostly Knowledge, Linguistics and Perception.
Andorans free slaves and kill slavers, the last is occasionally a problem for goody-two-shoes Silver Crusade PCs playing Season 0-2 missions.
Cheliax missions are awesome, and involve pretty much exactly what you'd expect your devil-worshiping dominatrix to assign. Poison, blackmail, assassination etc.
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I would say that if you have a lot of Silver Crusade PCs to pick older scenarios you want to play carefully, as has been mentioned. To a lesser extent, this is also true for Grand Lodge and Lantern Lodge, and Shadow Lodge. Some of the missions just don't seem to make as much sense when ported over to those new factions.
Sczarni characters, however, should feel right at home fetching trinkets for Dalsine.
Andoran missions also have a smattering of Bluff and Diplomacy and NPC protection, to help balance out the usual "Killing in the name of Freedom" feel.
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The PFS Field Guide has this spelled* out, though much of the season 3 & 4 scenerios may have a different skill set than what seasons 1 & 2 required. For Taldor it says (paraphrased) bluff, diplomacy, stealth and Kn (nobility). Cheliax says intimidation, Kn (planes), KN (arcane). Since the Field guide is core assumption, I recommend your players grab one & save you some trouble. :)
*some are easier to interpret than others.
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The PFS Field Guide has this spelled* out, though much of the season 3 & 4 scenerios may have a different skill set than what seasons 1 & 2 required. For Taldor it says (paraphrased) bluff, diplomacy, stealth and Kn (nobility). Cheliax says intimidation, Kn (planes), KN (arcane). Since the Field guide is core assumption, I recommend your players grab one & save you some trouble. :)
*some are easier to interpret than others.
there are certainly hints in the field guide, and some in seekers of secrets, but peoples experiences are still a better source of information then the hints given in a couple paragraphs.
Honestly I would love to see this done.
it would help for breaking into a new faction I have never played before.
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I can confirm that Silver Crusade is mostly Diplomacy(this is the biggest one), Heal and Know:Religion. There is also a decent amount of missions that require no skill check at all, but different actions on the part of the players(such as finding a peaceful solution to a conflict, or extending mercy to enemies).
The one Slight of Hand required is just silly, though. I was only able to complete it because I was playing an Archer Inquisitor, and had a very high Dexterity.
The Cheliax ones I've done have been widespread and varied: Everything from a DC 15 Know: Planes to convincing the party why it's worthwhile to spend 3 hours in a snowstorm suffering from extreme cold while I plant a couple markers in the snow.
Haven't played as any other factions, though I echo Thefurmonger in that a guide like this would help me branch out.
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What's up Sean, As a Venture Captain, he just saw a whole table of Chelish faction Hell Knight Gods!(I'm sorry I missed it, becuase I'm the best of them all.)I always thought that being Lawful Great was awesome.
I think that the Paracountess is on her way out, but I will always call her resentful names openly, but secretly I love her all the same.
Now I am as Chelaxian as you can get, so the Blood Drinker trait is just the best ever. I'm also a Sin Eater/Cleric/Oracle and soon to be GraveWalker Witch so I'm basically able to use Hold Person or Craft Macaroni and Cheese becuase I have Charisma, Wisdom, and Dexterity. Most min-maxers dump stats like (Int 7) so if they could have spoken the bandits' language the game would have changed.
I honestly DM and see Knowledge Engineering come up too much.
Disable Device comes up with the trapmaking and all that Tombraider stuff. Linguistics is rare, but Intimidate "should" be used if you get that gutt feeling that that's what the mission is calling for.
But I say these pleading for you not to make this book, spy versus spy,is what it is. Half the fun "is" asking another faction member for help through cool roleplay. One game I had to get a pen and the other person needed the writ that authenticated the pen- we agreed to disagree about Halflings and we both won.
At a dinner party, in Sean's first game ever playing as a player, I turned Sean's character invisible, while I was trying to impress the rich noble ladies for my faction mission.(Mission Accomplished)
You can't put that in a manual and mark it "Andoran". As soon as you do, the writers will make you do a swim check, or a bounce-d check.
The First Steps helps new players pick a faction, I'd root for Double Agents in the future, but you can not bottle creativity and versitility, honestly why would you want to? I want diversity, so what General Ghost aka the DeathMaster choses not to do DoomDigger might.
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I don't intend to tell people what they should or shouldn't do. I will give some ideas of creative solutions (hopefully from cool stories of mine and other people that contribute!)
Some scenario's just kind of railroad you on a skill check though, and being prepared for that will help people, well hopefully :D