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Every point you bring up is a valid point that has been raised several times before. Not to discredit your opinion or your thoughts but I am gonna try and explain some of the arguments that are for the Race boons.
When I found out today that Boons are keeping me from a Wayang, even though I own the Advanced Race Guide, I was pissed.
A big reason this is there is because the some 25 races in the ARG often present people with a more fictionalized fantasy image and quite frankly many of these playable races are more a kin to monsters especially in the Pathfinder setting of Golarion.
Allowing the ARG would yield tables for goblins, efreeti's, Duerger and Hobgoblins yet the Pathfinder Society is supposed to be a symbol of good and represents a just and fair company.
They are the "Heroes" and are often called to be just that. Yet if the Shop keep asks the Pathfinder to send heroes immediately to help stave off a troll or giant that has wandered in and 4 goblins, 2 orcs and a Dhampir roll up as the Pathfinder party, that shop keep is gonna wet his pants and close the door thinking the troll just got reinforcements.
The race boon makes playing one of these races an honor, as that character, you are a step above fellow members of your race as you have been accepted into the Society and are accorded all the rights and fame of that station.
Getting a race boon is no easy matter and playing at a con and going through that represents the toil and strife your "race boon" character went through to make a name for himself and prove himself as a beacon of good in the world and allow the Society to accept him as a brother.
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Note that, while the PFS staff has asked people to not sell boons, there's no reason why they cannot be traded (or even given away).
There is a (relatively) common race boon sheet which has been given away at many conventions and game days in the past few months, which opens up wayang (as well as nagaji and kitsune).
There's a thread here on this board for trading of boons:
I know that a fair number of "extra" race boons (particularly the wayang / kitsune / nagaji one) have been given away by experienced PFS players, to new players, or players who don't have the ability to attend conventions. Read through this thread, and see what can(and has) happened if you ask very nicely.
Also, to build on what Codanous has said: not everything in the Pathfinder rule books fits the Golarion game world well, or the Pathfinder Society campaign well. For example, the firearms rules in Ultimate Combat can allow for fairly advanced firearms; PFS has decided that they want firearms to still be fairly limited, so not all of the firearms options are available.
Similarly, some races from the APG are meant to be only rarely seen in the broader society in Golarion, and others may not ever been seen at all (at least, not among "heroic" characters). The use of race boons, and not allowing some races at all (see the discussions here on drow and half-drow) are the campaign's attempts to reflect what fits in the campaign.
In addition, boons, in general, are meant to be an incentive to encourage people to attend (and GM at) larger game days and conventions, since these are where new Pathfinder players are most typically recruited. You may not agree with those reasonings, you may feel that they're unfair, but at least know that there's a reason behind it.
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the Pathfinder Society is supposed to be a symbol of good and represents a just and fair company.
Ehhh, that's not really an accurate take on the PFS (as an in-game organization). The Pathfinder Society is neutrally-aligned; its goal, after all, is to accumulate treasures and artifacts for the Society's own study and use. While evil PCs aren't allowed in PFS play, and while the Society's rivals, the Aspis Consortium, are certainly evil, it's a stretch to call the Society a "symbol of good". Frankly, character concepts which strongly stress "good" (including many paladins) are often not a particularly-comfortable fit with some PFS missions.
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While I understand your disappointment, there are several threads that have already discussed this topic and, I feel, have the answers you are looking.
In regards to selling boons, you're right, there is nothing that prevents you from selling them, however, one would hope that you're own sense of decency would prevent you from selling or buying them. They are something that Paizo gives to us, essentially, free of charge and for us as a community to make a profit on that would be.. crude.
I've linked what I hope are some helpful threads for you.
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I think it is a bit ignorant to hate cons because of those reasons. I been to one con like that. Although another one run in my local area you have to bring your own food, it is a very clean and kept up hotel. If you agrophobic or have similar problems then I can understand you inhibition, but saying all cons are like that is insulting to the people that take the time to set up a nice environment.
Just because they put it in a book does not mean they need to allow it for every level of play. You can play any race in your own home game. To play in the more selective PFS environment you must follow the rules.
By making some items rarer and requiring special requirements for these races is a marketing ploy. The organizers are trying to create hype and push for their products. If they allowed you to use every carte blanche then the special quality of rare items would not be as valuable.
Keep in mind I do not have any racial boons and would give them away at my games to encourage local play. So I am not somone with the goods saying it is right that I have them and you do not. I am someone that understands why the thought process behind the organizers for the rarity of such races.
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Ehhh, that's not really an accurate take on the PFS (as an in-game organization). The Pathfinder Society is neutrally-aligned; its goal, after all, is to accumulate treasures and artifacts for the Society's own study and use. While evil PCs aren't allowed in PFS play, and while the Society's rivals, the Aspis Consortium, are certainly evil, it's a stretch to call the Society a "symbol of good". Frankly, character concepts which strongly stress "good" (including many paladins) are often not a particularly-comfortable fit with some PFS missions.the Pathfinder Society is supposed to be a symbol of good and represents a just and fair company.
Sorry Mike you are right, I confess the Silver Crusade really tints my glasses when it comes to the Society.
The Society's ultimate goal is just as you said, secure treasure and artifact for study.
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Campaign staff has the right, and uses it, to make things limited within society play. That is a fact that has been stated time and time again. There are some things that are rare in the world, such as some races. The racial boons are also used as a draw to conventions, another fact that has been stated time and time again. They are something that the company uses to gain new members to the society as well as sell product. I'm sorry if you feel you were suckered into buying a product that you couldn't use for society play.
If you read those threads, you'll see the responses from campaign staff, for now, this is the way it is.
Missed line of logic I think, you've paid for the wayang race information. You have not paid for the right to play that race in society play. Wayang as a race is something that is rare in the game world, it's not a common race and so therefore has not been opened up for general play at this time; that is not to say that it might not be opened in the future, but we have no guarantee of that.
Simply put the society is an extension of pathfinder as a whole. Campaign staff reserves the right to say that there are things not available from the greater campaign in society play. This can be races, feats, equipment etc., that while I've paid the money for the book published by Paizo, if I'm going to participate in society play I have to accept that there are some things that I'm not going to have access to.
You say that you don't like to go to conventions because they are smelly, while that can be true in a lot of instances, not all of them are like that. Perhaps try going again and seeing if you change your mind. Perhaps offer to GM and get your own wayang boon. I'm not trying to attack you, I'm just trying to show you alternatives to being upset that what you want to do you can't.
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If you have read the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play which is free and tells you what is legal or not for pathfinder society(or where to find additonal information). You jumped in assuming every book gives you everything without reading the basic rules of society. This is an assumption you made on your own.
If your friends want to play this subset of Pathfinder they are agreeing to the rules in the guide. You did not pay for the wayang. You paid for a pathfinder book.
If your friends are stuck on PFS them that is your problem with your relationship with your friends. To me this seems like you want to play handball while they want to play soccer, and you are going to the soccer organization and start saying hey why can't I hold the ball in the soccer. You do not have to be a "dick" to convince your friends to play something else than PFS.
I am sorry I find your logic flawed. If they decided that the wayang you built and was allowed to have was suddenly made illegal I could understand your reason to be upset. In this case. I am sorry I do not.
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Campaign staff reserves the right to say that there are things not available from the greater campaign in society play.
And, really, this is no different than a GM in a local "homebrew" campaign telling his players that there are certain races, sourcebooks, whatever, which he won't allow in his game. I'm currently playing in a campaign of the Kingmaker Adventure Path; the DM has limited us to the Core Rulebook only.
Frankly, PFS allows an awful lot of content in the campign, in part because the campaign certainly *does* exist to help sell Pathfinder game books. But, certainly, when the one race / class / feat that you really want to play isn't allowed, it's frustrating.
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Campaign staff reserves the right to say that there are things not available from the greater campaign in society play.And, really, this is no different than a GM in a local "homebrew" campaign telling his players that there are certain races, sourcebooks, whatever, which he won't allow in his game. I'm currently playing in a campaign of the Kingmaker Adventure Path; the DM has limited us to the Core Rulebook only.
Frankly, PFS allows an awful lot of content in the campign, in part because the campaign certainly *does* exist to help sell Pathfinder game books. But, certainly, when the one race / class / feat that you really want to play isn't allowed, it's frustrating.
exactly
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And, really, this is no different than a GM in a local "homebrew" campaign telling his players that there are certain races, sourcebooks, whatever, which he won't allow in his game.
Has anyone ever played a game where the GM said 'Alright, no elves in this game. Except Steve. He showed up at my party last week so he gets to play elves. If you want to play an elf, you should show up at my party this saturday(bring 50 dollars) and you can play an elf too, maybe. It's a raffle.'
There is a big difference between 'this is not allowed' and 'Some people can have this. You are not one of them.'
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First off, why does your group have to be playing PFS specifically? Just because the DM's GF says so? Even if you don't meet regularly enough for a real campaign to get off the ground, why don't you just run some scenarios as one shots without being bound by all the PFS rules since you have your own home group. That way everyone can play what they want.
The way I see it, PFS is great for people who are in situations where they don't have consistent enough groups to play real campaigns, and maybe is people want some gaming at a con. For the normal home game, however It is kind of a waste binding yourself with all those rules and restrictions intended for coordinating worldwide play.
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If you want to play a Wayang as badly as it's sounding, you will find a way to play it, regardless of obstacles. If you want to play with your friends as badly as it's sounding, you will find a way to play with them.
I do agree to the previous statement that PFS doesn't mesh well with home groups. The one-off adventures with a drop-in-drop-out type of play so you don't need to rely on anyone to show up except for whoever is going to be there anyway. While the home group wouldn't be able to meet often enough to play a campaign, why not just run one-offs without PFS accreditation? As stated, why limit yourselves? Is it just because they want to take their characters elsewhere? Seems more like taking advantage of your home group to boost their PFS character...
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I just gave away a Wayang/Kitsune/Nagaji boon yesterday because a guy at the table really wanted to roll a Kitsune, and he seemed like a really nice guy. I had won it earlier, and after looking at it a while decided I was never going to roll one so why keep the boon? Just help make someone elses day and keep the love flowing and all.
All I can say is 'put the feelers out' because this isn't a unique thing, people give them away like this from time to time. When I was angling for an Aasimar there were a few people who offered their boon up if they got one on these boards, and indeed have given them away previously.
Its not common, it's not frequent, but it is possible.
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First off, why does your group have to be playing PFS specifically? Just because the DM's GF says so?
Do not taunt the power of the DM's girlfriend
Do not question the power of the DM's girlfriendDo not stare directly into the power of the DM's girlfriend.
Do not kick the power of the dm's girlfriend.
Just smile and nod, and go home with all your characters still alive.
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My friends and I finally switched our DM position to another one of us and he said he would start doing a lot of one-off campaigns (Since we can't meet every week). He later told us that he and his GF wanted to start running some PFS games and were looking into how to run something like that. I personally don't like going to Cons (Smell, unhealthy food, smell), but since my friends were interested in starting a PFS campaign, I went along.
My friends knew that when we started the campaign, I wanted to be a Wayang Cavalier for the longest time (talking about it for weeks), since I had never played Cavalier and didn't want to be a halfling or human. I had told my friend I had never done PFS before. When I found out today that Boons are keeping me from a Wayang, even though I own the Advanced Race Guide, I was pissed.
I feel it's pretty hypocritical that there are PFS staff who are against selling boons on Ebay, yet I am pay walled from using content I already paid for in a game. What moral dilemma would I have if I owned a boon that I won selling it? The boon is my product. If races are allowed in a type of game, they should be open to everyone. I don't mind that people aren't allowed equality in skill boost boons, but if they already own the Paizo products, keeping them from their paid product is double pay to win and have fun.
Sure, I could play a non-legal character and not get any credit from Paizo, but that would just hurt my rule-loving friend. Now, either I'm the jerk that leaves the group because he won't play within the rules or my friend is a jerk for pushing PFS rules that don't work for us. That's not ok. It's ruining Pathfinder for me. I've never been so disappointed since trying 4E DnD.
I understand your frustration and your points. There are many things in the campagin that I do not agree with as well (not claming race access is or is not one of them). I just want to have fun with friends in an organized setting while being as inclusive as possible. In that spirit PM me and I will send you one of my Wayang boons somone mentioned upthread.
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Paizo does not put on, or collect money from any conventions besides their own. So, your usage of "paywall" is incorrect.
The boons are reserved for conventions that have a minimum number of tables. Most conventions charge admission fees because they couldn't function without them. It's incredibly expensive to put on a convention.
If a convention/game day were big enough and was actually free for all players, there's nothing preventing them from having racial boons if Paizo sends some.
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I think the problem is how you consider PFS versus how it actually is. Consider PFS to be its own campaign (because, well, it is). Have you ever been in a campaign where the GM doesn't allow stuff (cough Leadership). PFS works the same way. There are only certain races allowed because the campaign setting says the other races don't normally serve the Pathfinders. In rare cases, there right be one or two, sometimes a GM rewarding a player for a good backstory to go with it.
If you don't like not being able to pay your character concept, I suggest you go talk to all of the sythesist summoners.
If they allowed free access to the rarer races in question, you very well may have more PCs of that race running around Absalom than are supposed to exist on the continent.
A certain other campaign went from "you can only play this if you have the certificate" to "anyone can play it" and now you can't swing a dead cat without hitting one of the buggers. And by that setting's lore, you could fit the entire population of non-evil members of that race in a 10'x10' room, most of those being named NPCs.
-j
Venture-Lieutenant, Indiana—Martinsville
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There are three races that had been Boon races before that is now legal for PFS play. The Assimar, Tiefling, and Tengu.
This is in addition to the Human (well, duh), Half - Orc, Half - Elf, Elf, Halfling, Gnome and Dwarf.
There are also the Racial Traits swap outs you can do from the APG and the ARG.
A lot of variety already and then you can get other race boons when you go to conventions.
I see a win, win.
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It's most likely because they're the only small race without a strength penalty.
I like racial boons being not available without some hunting or some convention attendance. I'm also amused at the melodrama that they provoke:
It's ruining Pathfinder for me. I've never been so disappointed since trying 4E DnD.
Not everyone can play a non-core race. How could that possibly ruin the game?
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It's most likely because they're the only small race without a strength penalty.
I like racial boons being not available without some hunting or some convention attendance. I'm also amused at the melodrama that they provoke:
It's ruining Pathfinder for me. I've never been so disappointed since trying 4E DnD.Not everyone can play a non-core race. How could that possibly ruin the game?
Well, I mean, if I can't have exactly what I want all the time ...