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So, I had this idea yesterday as I was flipping through the Field Guide. Wouldn't it be awesome if there was a parallel to PFS focused on the other side of the story, the Aspis Consortium? The rules concerning chronicle sheets, fame/prestige, always-available items, etc, would all be the same except that instead of outlawing evil characters, good characters are outlawed and evil characters are encouraged (opening up relevant prestige classes such as Assassin and some archetypes such as vivisectionist alchemist).
I think there is a lot of potential to make it really fun and even if there is only one scenario/month released, people would still eat it up. What does everyone think?
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The nature of evil is to betray each other - so there goes the cooperation aspect that would make it functional.
But you're on to something - it would be neat to see the inner-workings of Aspis. Get to know their people the way we've gotten to know the VC's of PFS.
Maybe an "infiltrate aspis" story arc - a trilogy, perhaps - that lets us see how they work, their mindset, etc.
You're right about keeping it limited to once/month.
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Well if all of the characters are evil and working towards the same goal (or against a common enemy) and if PvP were still outlawed, there could still be some cooperative aspects to it.
And I wouldn't want it to take anything away from PFS, but as an occasional "special" it would be a lot of fun. And now that many of the kinks of PFS have been worked out it wouldn't be too hard to just tweak the current guide into a "Guide to Organized Consortium Play".
Venture-Captain, Michigan—Mt. Pleasant
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There's been talk about it in the past. Search for it. Mike I know posted about it.
And the Aspis aren't necessarily "Evil" just like Pathfinders aren't necessarily "Good". There are evil (non PC OP characters) pathfinders, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn of good Aspis agents somewhere in Golarion. Where pathfinders search for artifacts for the knowledge of them, aspis agents search for artifacts so they can profit monetarily off of them.
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IMO, the biggest issue with having an alternate campaign is that it would divide our community making it more challenging to seat tables of players, find GM's, schedule events, etc. Also, assuming that the parallel campaign would follow all the same rules to prevent having to maintain two separate sets, would the Aspis also have ten factions?
If so, that adds a tremendous amount of additional work for authors to come up with more missions, especially since they would likely have an even more "evil" taint to them.
And if not, then we would need to have alternate rules for how to handle spending/item access without the Fame system, or at least some other method for players to acquire Fame. Or would there just be a single secondary mission that all the players would attempt together?
While on the surface this idea seems rather simple, in reality it really isn't. Anytime you want to change a fundamental/core rule, it will have a very far-reaching impact on the rest of the game. I just don't think this would result a dramatic improvement in the community and its membership, or at least enough impact to be worth the investment.
Like many good ideas that do not come to fruition within the official PFS campaign, you are encouraged to offer it within your home games. I would guess you would have just as much fun, if not more (since you're in charge or the content/rules) than if it was an option in OP.
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Well, I didn't think it was realistic to expect it from Paizo anytime soon, but it would make a great third-party system if someone were willing to put some time coming up with a Consortium Guide and finding a way to organize a logging system similar to that used by Paizo for PFS now. If some amateur writers stepped up and wrote a few scenarios (and someone or a few people served as the editors who decided which scenarios were legal for Consortium play), it just might be doable. It would take a lot of time and dedicated effort, but people in the community have been known to do these sorts of things.
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Well, I didn't think it was realistic to expect it from Paizo anytime soon, but it would make a great third-party system if someone were willing to put some time coming up with a Consortium Guide and finding a way to organize a logging system similar to that used by Paizo for PFS now. If some amateur writers stepped up and wrote a few scenarios (and someone or a few people served as the editors who decided which scenarios were legal for Consortium play), it just might be doable. It would take a lot of time and dedicated effort, but people in the community have been known to do these sorts of things.
Unfortunately, while the PFRPG system is usable by 3rd party companies, the world of Golarion is not. That is something only Paizo can write about. If an Aspis sort of campaign were to happen, it would have to be either a home game or something Paizo decides to publish.
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Personally, I’m not interested in playing a member of the incompetent Aspis Consortium. Actually, I’d like to see less of them in season 4; we’re overdosing on them a bit and I don’t find it credible that there would be this much conflict between the two organizations.
Having (carefully planned) Aspis Consortium scenarios would be possible if the following hold true:
1) They don’t replace regular PFS scenarios, because there are already complaints that we don’t produce enough.
2) Paizo profits. So far PFS scenarios have lost money for Paizo, and were seen more as a marketing tool for their other products
3) Paizo has the authors, editors, and layout staff to produce another scenario each month.
I think it’s more likely that a special (1 session) module would be available (like We Be Goblins) and you could give that credit to your new PFS PC.
Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds
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Well, I didn't think it was realistic to expect it from Paizo anytime soon, but it would make a great third-party system if someone were willing to put some time coming up with a Consortium Guide and finding a way to organize a logging system similar to that used by Paizo for PFS now. If some amateur writers stepped up and wrote a few scenarios (and someone or a few people served as the editors who decided which scenarios were legal for Consortium play), it just might be doable. It would take a lot of time and dedicated effort, but people in the community have been known to do these sorts of things.Unfortunately, while the PFRPG system is usable by 3rd party companies, the world of Golarion is not. That is something only Paizo can write about. If an Aspis sort of campaign were to happen, it would have to be either a home game or something Paizo decides to publish.
Or something Paizo licenses. That is not outside the realm of possibility. I think if you were to put together a good business plan, management staff, and stable of writers/developers, I can see the RPG industry leader potentially granting a license that would grow their presence in the market place. It's not like that hasn't been done, before. And with funding vehicles like Kickstarter out there, getting hold of the cash to purchase the license and set up operation is even feasible.
In essence, if someone wants to do it, approach it with the business acumen it deserves and see what happens. No one ever got anywhere by assuming their idea wouldn't work and then not bothering to try.
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Well, I didn't think it was realistic to expect it from Paizo anytime soon, but it would make a great third-party system if someone were willing to put some time coming up with a Consortium Guide and finding a way to organize a logging system similar to that used by Paizo for PFS now. If some amateur writers stepped up and wrote a few scenarios (and someone or a few people served as the editors who decided which scenarios were legal for Consortium play), it just might be doable. It would take a lot of time and dedicated effort, but people in the community have been known to do these sorts of things.Unfortunately, while the PFRPG system is usable by 3rd party companies, the world of Golarion is not. That is something only Paizo can write about. If an Aspis sort of campaign were to happen, it would have to be either a home game or something Paizo decides to publish.Or something Paizo licenses. That is not outside the realm of possibility. I think if you were to put together a good business plan, management staff, and stable of writers/developers, I can see the RPG industry leader potentially granting a license that would grow their presence in the market place. It's not like that hasn't been done, before. And with funding vehicles like Kickstarter out there, getting hold of the cash to purchase the license and set up operation is even feasible.
In essence, if someone wants to do it, approach it with the business acumen it deserves and see what happens. No one ever got anywhere by assuming their idea wouldn't work and then not bothering to try.
That is a possibility, true. I just can't see Paizo licensing a whole new campaign. It would have to be someone they *really* trust, what with their standards.
"Paizo creates our Pathfinder products for ages 13 and up, and our licensees, including Goblinworks, are expected to do the same. (Licensees can adjust that slightly as appropriate for their industry where needed—for example, WizKids has requirements that cause Pathfinder Battles minis to be labeled "Ages 14+", while Dynamite's Pathfinder comics are labeled "T+"). Even our open Pathfinder Compatibility License carries an adult-content clause: "You may not use this License for products that the general public would classify as 'adult content,' offensive, or inappropriate for minors." "
Creating a campaign centered on an evil, whatever it takes mercenary group without crossing that line seems inordinately challenging.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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A couple ideas along this line:
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1) it might be fun to see a Mod like We Be Goblins. A one shot... with Iconic characters, etc.2) an scenario (or three) where the PCs go "under cover" as Aspis agents. They do the entire adventure building up thier "cover" and learn a lot about the inner workings of the Consortium. Heck, we could invade THIER tapestry!
Both of these sound like a lot of fun :-)
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2) an scenario (or three) where the PCs go "under cover" as Aspis agents. They do the entire adventure building up thier "cover" and learn a lot about the inner workings of the Consortium. Heck, we could invade THIER tapestry!
look to the future and rejoice!
Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (South Bay)
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IMO, the biggest issue with having an alternate campaign is that it would divide our community making it more challenging to seat tables of players, find GM's, schedule events, etc. Also, assuming that the parallel campaign would follow all the same rules to prevent having to maintain two separate sets, would the Aspis also have ten factions?
If so, that adds a tremendous amount of additional work for authors to come up with more missions, especially since they would likely have an even more "evil" taint to them.
And if not, then we would need to have alternate rules for how to handle spending/item access without the Fame system, or at least some other method for players to acquire Fame. Or would there just be a single secondary mission that all the players would attempt together?
While on the surface this idea seems rather simple, in reality it really isn't. Anytime you want to change a fundamental/core rule, it will have a very far-reaching impact on the rest of the game. I just don't think this would result a dramatic improvement in the community and its membership, or at least enough impact to be worth the investment.
Like many good ideas that do not come to fruition within the official PFS campaign, you are encouraged to offer it within your home games. I would guess you would have just as much fun, if not more (since you're in charge or the content/rules) than if it was an option in OP.
I don't think that we have enough of a base of players to justify this move.
There also could be a lot of problems. Should a campaign with evil characters allow player characters to act in cruel and abusive ways to NPCs. I do not want to have a Dad bringing pre-teens to an event where one player has decided to base a character on Vlad Tepes the Impaler and commit every atrocity attributed to the historic figure. (Let's say that human history and the news has no lack of figures to provide inspiration for evil characters.) Add to the fact that we do not know how some people will react to certain events, particularly if a player has had some traumatic life experiences, and we may end up creating a very ugly situation.
Also, another concern is that it is hard enough at some tables to get some players to focus on the primary missions. I can imagine it would be even harder with an Aspis Consortium game where we have a Cheliaxian, a World Wound follower, and a follower of the Whispering Way worrying about each other. (Heck, for some of these factions, why would they not want something truly awful to happen? )
I can see a one shot scenario or a scenario where Pathfinder Society agents infiltrate the Aspis consortium (and I am looking forward to running such a scenario soon) as fun. However, I have to think that there is perhaps not all that much demand for an international campaign where people are encouraged to play evil characters.
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RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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wow... I just got a Character Idea.
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run a Aspis agent posing as a PFS agent. So... you would need to be Grand Lodge, keep notes about what everyone does, be the best "Pathfinder", the one no one would suspect was an Aspis agent. You're "going deep cover" - so there will be no contact for years.It would be all RP of corse... And you'd have to do odd tasks ever now and again.
"What's with gathering up all the door knobs dude?"
"Faction mission"
"oh.... wait, aren't you Grand Lodge? what the heck do they want..."
"can't talk about it"
"oh, yeah, sorry dude. But I understand, the Para-Countess has me collecting the wierdest things..."
I actually have this character, and it's a ton of fun :-) I don't play him if I know that there will be other Grand Lodge PCs, though, because I don't suspect that they would get along well, and I want to avoid anything that could lead to PvP.
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Contributor
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wow... I just got a Character Idea.
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run a Aspis agent posing as a PFS agent. So... you would need to be Grand Lodge, keep notes about what everyone does, be the best "Pathfinder", the one no one would suspect was an Aspis agent. You're "going deep cover" - so there will be no contact for years.It would be all RP of corse... And you'd have to do odd tasks ever now and again.
"What's with gathering up all the door knobs dude?"
"Faction mission"
"oh.... wait, aren't you Grand Lodge? what the heck do they want..."
"can't talk about it"
"oh, yeah, sorry dude. But I understand, the Para-Countess has me collecting the wierdest things..."
Imagine the roleplay possibilities if there are other PCs who are also doing this sort of thing and operate like a "cell". It would, of course, be purely RP like nosig said, but could be interesting...
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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The Consortium isn't evil-aligned It's just out for profit. (cf. Sczarni.)
I think it would be fun for someone unaffiliated with Paizo to write a few Consortium missions and bring them to conventions. It wouldn't be "organized play" in a "living Greyhawk" kind of way, but there might be some way to continue playing the same agent from one assignment to the next.
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I think an Adventure Path would be perfect to fully explore the world of, and play as, the Aspis Consortium. I've got quite a lot of ideas about them, and I'd be really excited to GM or play in an Aspis based game.
I'm really looking forward to that new scenario! I'll have to play it (and GM it!) ASAP.
