Our DM is trying to get us into the swing of PFS (I don't actually play PFS yet), so he has introduced the Factions, Fame and Prestige. Now I was wondering how the above 3 skills effected your ability to do these Faction missions (or goals) that i hear about on the boards.
Can Bluff be used just as easily as Diplomacy? Wouldn't the use of Intimidate have long term ramifications? Due to the above 2, is Diplomacy the best skill for a PFS character? How important is it for me to have one of these skills?
I have read the Pathfinder Society Field Guide. But due to the fact that i have yet to really play a PFS character i'm not sure how important these skills are to your fame. I do understand that it limits the cost of items you have access to.
Any tips? Advice?
Diplomacy comes up all the freaking time.
Do you have to use Diplomacy? Could you just bluff your way through these "encounters"? Examples?
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Diplomacy comes up all the freaking time.Do you have to use Diplomacy? Could you just bluff your way through these "encounters"? Examples?
That will be up to the DM depending on the wording of the faction mission, the circumstances, and how exactly you are attempting to accomplish that goal. It will also depend on how strictly the DM interprets the requirements of the faction mission.
Most faction missions will say something like "the player can convince the merchant to do this by making a DC 20 Diplomacy check." This is a specific way listed in the mod that the player can accomplish his faction mission but it is not necessarily the only way to accomplish it.
I would say the two most key faction mission traits are
A) Diplomacy (by a substantial margin really)
B) Sleight of Hand (this one really does come up a disproportionate amount of time for a relatively rare skill).
I have come to a workaround however. If you make your character Grand Lodge, then the mission is simply to do something for the Society in general, and nobody at your table is likely to balk at helping you.
That will be up to the DM depending on the wording of the faction mission, the circumstances, and how exactly you are attempting to accomplish that goal. It will also depend on how strictly the DM interprets the requirements of the faction mission.
Most faction missions will say something like "the player can convince the merchant to do this by making a DC 20 Diplomacy check." This is a specific way listed in the mod that the player can accomplish his faction mission but it is not necessarily the only way to accomplish it.
So I could use Bluff as long as I was clever about it? What about Intimidate? I have never used it for anything other than combat purposes. The writing seems to imply that after you force someone to help you, they will cause you problems. Would this be an issue for those faction missions?
I have come to a workaround however. If you make your character Grand Lodge, then the mission is simply to do something for the Society in general, and nobody at your table is likely to balk at helping you.
If you are Cheliax, you just make a deal. The Chelish wouldn't break a deal, on their soul.
So I could use Bluff as long as I was clever about it? What about Intimidate? I have never used it for anything other than combat purposes. The writing seems to imply that after you force someone to help you, they will cause you problems. Would this be an issue for those faction missions?
From a fair amount of experience in judging and playing PFS, I know that faction missions usually specify a couple of skill options. I generally have not encountered intimidate as an option on a regular basis. Now your judge may be willing to be flexible, but as written the missions usually give options of "skill A or skill B with a DC of 20". When running, I encourage people to work together to get faction missions done, but I don't fudge which skills are needed. Given that it's a living type campaign I try to limit the extent of judge interpretation because that is not how such campaigns are meant to work. The experience should vary minimally rules wise from table to table.
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Intimidate tends to be less useful, just because some of the faction missions are to encourage NPCs to be friends with your faction in the long term. Diplomacy and bluff could be used there, but intimidation might backfire in the long run. But it could be used on shorter term things, like getting an NPC to do you a specific favor right now.
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So I could use Bluff as long as I was clever about it? What about Intimidate? I have never used it for anything other than combat purposes. The writing seems to imply that after you force someone to help you, they will cause you problems. Would this be an issue for those faction missions?
Again, that would depend on the wording of you faction mission, your DM and the circumstances. You seem to be looking for a definitive answer and there isn't one. The answer will change with each faction mission. Note that in PFS you are not expected to succeed at every faction mission. In fact, I believe they only expect around a 50% success rate which means they only expect you to get around 75% of your total possible Prestige Points.
Note that in PFS you are not expected to succeed at every faction mission. In fact, I believe they only expect around a 50% success rate which means they only expect you to get around 75% of your total possible Prestige Points.
Wouldnt that favor Social Characters more? Or characters that might not be as helpful in battle. You could make a character will all social skills to be the face of the party, complete your faction missions, and rely on the group to get you through all the combats.
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Not all faction missions are sociable. There are quite a few that rely on knowledge skills, perception, linguistics, heal, or a variety of other skills, or even combat. I've seen a few where the faction mission is to make sure the bad guy at the end dies, rather than being taken prisoner. I've had another that said not to kill everything in site, but show mercy where possible.
I will say that faction missions in general tend to favor bards, due to their good social and knowledge skills, but there are plenty that aren't tied to specific skills, or where you can recruit help from the other players.
Not all faction missions are sociable. There are quite a few that rely on knowledge skills, perception, linguistics, heal, or a variety of other skills, or even combat. I've seen a few where the faction mission is to make sure the bad guy at the end dies, rather than being taken prisoner. I've had another that said not to kill everything in site, but show mercy where possible.
I will say that faction missions in general tend to favor bards, due to their good social and knowledge skills, but there are plenty that aren't tied to specific skills, or where you can recruit help from the other players.
Thank you Thanks Fromper, Trollbill and drbuzzard. This thread was helpful. This last comment by Fromper especially so. Just trying to get a grasp on whats expected.
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Wouldnt that favor Social Characters more? Or characters that might not be as helpful in battle. You could make a character will all social skills to be the face of the party, complete your faction missions, and rely on the group to get you through all the combats.
Yes, you could make a socially-oriented character and focus on completing faction missions/social encounters. As long as you pulled some weight in combat situations (even if it's just a matter of using aid other to help the more combat-oriented characters) you'd still be a useful addition to the table since you could help the other players achieve faction missions they would otherwise be unable to complete.
The classes that benefit from social challenges, like the bard, are generally the more support-oriented characters anyway. You buff the party during fights, and between fights you smile and talk pretty.
Remember, as long as one person in the faction succeeds in the faction goal, all the faction members at the table reap the benefit.
Actually Paladins are pretty handy since they fight well (unless you get one of those scenarios with a neutral villain), and with pumped CHR and diplomacy as a class skill, you can do the face job.
Actually Paladins are pretty handy since they fight well (unless you get one of those scenarios with a neutral villain), and with pumped CHR and diplomacy as a class skill, you can do the face job.
I have always wanted to play a Paladin but there is so much controversy on the code I have never got around to playing one. If I found a DM that I could agree with on the code, it would be a great choice. Problem is that PFS you get different DM's and whatnot.
I have always wanted to play a Paladin but there is so much controversy on the code I have never got around to playing one. If I found a DM that I could agree with on the code, it would be a great choice. Problem is that PFS you get different DM's and whatnot.
I've never seen a Paladin have an issue in PFS. I play one and there has never been an issue with the code. Just don't do anything obviously evil and you'll be fine. Heck, PFS characters in general are supposed to avoid evil, so I wouldn't expect any issues.
Just don't join the Sczarni faction with your paladin, and you should be fine. Cheliax and Shadow Lodge might also require your paladin to voluntarily skip a faction mission here or there, but you should be good otherwise.
Yes, this is a point worth mentioning. Some of the faction missions can be very 'gray' at best. If you stick to Silver Crusade, you'll be peachy, but some of the other factions (Sczarni and Chelliax in particular) are very iffy with what they do.