RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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Hey gang, I wrote this up the other day and plan to hand it out at our game night tonight. Figured it might help ease people into the various changes if they had a list with some bullet points and more detailed explanations. It could be more detailed, sure, but the point is to keep it to one page in length so as not to overwhelm your players.
Also, I left off the retraining rules from Ultimate Campaign. It can be included if you find space or deem it worthy. But more importantly, it would make it "Six major changes in Season 5," and I like my alliteration a lot.
1. Lantern Lodge and Shadow Lodge have been removed
After their respective faction conclusion scenarios (4-21 and 4-23), both of these factions are no longer legal options for PFS characters. If you had an existing Lantern or Shadow Lodge character, that character gets to transfer to a new faction for free. Already acquired vanities, titles, and traits from that faction remain. New PFS characters cannot select Lantern or Shadow Lodge as their faction.
2. Faction Handouts have been removed
Faction handouts and the side quests that go along with them no longer exist. They have been replaced with “overarching seasonal goals.” So each faction has a goal they are trying to achieve in each season. The goals for season 5, Year of the Demon, are detailed below (and on page 18 of the Guide).
- Andoran: Root out corruption in Andoran and better understand others’ paths to liberty
- Cheliax: Secure important artifacts and sources of power to establish order in the Inner Sea region and strength the faction’s power base.
- Grand Lodge: Ensure the success of the Pathfinder Society’s expedition to the Sky Citadel of Jormundun.
- Osirion: Contact the Jeweled Sages, explore their history, and extend the faction’s protection of history beyond Osirion’s borders.
- Qadira: Establish a long-term trade deal with one of several possible trading partners.
- Sczarni: Extend the Sczarni faction’s reach into central Avistan, and neutralize the faction’s rivals.
- Silver Crusade: Aid the nation of Mendev in its crusade against the Worldwound.
- Taldor: Assist Lady Gloriana Morilla in gathering forces to march to Mendev.
By keeping these missions in mind, your characters will be able to make choices throughout Season 5 scenarios that will shape the course of your faction and future scenarios to come.
These overall goals apply only for Season 5 scenarios and future seasons going forward.
3. Changes to Awarding Prestige
With the removal of faction handouts, prestige will be awarded different in Season 5 onward. You will now get 1 prestige for completing a mission successfully. A secondary Prestige Point can be earned for completing a “secondary mission goal.” These goals will involve going above and beyond what was expected of you as Pathfinders during the scenario. Scenarios from Season 4 and earlier will now grant prestige depending on competition of the scenario. Half prestige will be awarded for completing half or more of the scenario (3 encounters), and full prestige will be awarded for completing the scenario. Secondary mission goals for older scenarios will be added later, but until then, prestige will be determined as described above.
4. Out of Tier Gold
Players will no longer get higher tier goal when playing up for a scenario. This change is retroactive to pre-Season 5 scenarios. Players will instead get “out of tier” gold, which is detailed on page 35 of the Guide. Out of tier gold is the average of high and low tier. Any character that doesn’t fall within the subtier being played gets out of tier gold. This also applies to GM credit characters that fall between tiers.
Example: A table plays up into the 4-5 subtier of a 1-5 game. The 1-2 tier wealth was 500 gp, the 4-5 tier was 1,500 gp, so the out of tier gold is 1,000 gp. Level 1, 2, and 3 characters that played up would get the out of tier wealth of 1,000 gp for completing the scenario. Any level 4 or 5 characters would receive 1,500 gp as normal for playing in tier.
5. The Inventory Tracking Sheet
As part of an effort to make auditing characters easier for GMs, all players are required to have some sort of Inventory Tracking Sheet (an example sheet is found in the back of the Guide). This is a separate piece of paper that will track all the purchases made for any given character. It should have a running tally of total wealth and fame, and the amount of gold or prestige spent on purchases throughout that character’s life. This sheet should be in addition to regular chronicle sheets.
Example: I finish playing a game and decide to purchase a +1 short sword. I fill out my chronicle sheet as normal. I then grab my Inventory Tracking Sheet and write down the purchase, making sure to note what chronicle sheet it was from and the date I played the game on. I update my current wealth total and I’m done.
Venture-Lieutenant, Indiana—Martinsville
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I know that there was (or still is?) some trepidation on the inventory sheet because of having to have the GM sign off (on the chronicle, I believe) on the gold spent at the table before one left the session.
My understanding is now the player can choose and think about the items he wants to buy between sessions and denote the purchases on the next chronicle when he goes to the next game. The boxes are not check boxes, but a place to put the chronicle number of when that item was purchased. That may need to be explained to the players and/or in the handout.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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I know that there was (or still is?) some trepidation on the inventory sheet because of having to have the GM sign off (on the chronicle, I believe) on the gold spent at the table before one left the session.My understanding is now the player can choose and think about the items he wants to buy between sessions and denote the purchases on the next chronicle when he goes to the next game. The boxes are not check boxes, but a place to put the chronicle number of when that item was purchased. That may need to be explained to the players and/or in the handout.
True, but I'd rather leave such detailed discussion out of the sheet. Both to save space and to avoid more confusion.
Also, regarding the ITS, there's a post from Brock where he clarifies that what is in the back of the Guide isn't mandatory format, and other ones are acceptable. So checkboxes or lines is rather irrelevant.
Updated sections spoilered below, lines are italicized for reference.
4. Out of Tier Gold
Players will no longer get higher tier goal when playing up for a scenario. This change is retroactive to pre-Season 5 scenarios. Players will instead get “out of tier” gold, which is detailed on page 35 of the Guide. Out of tier gold is the average of high and low tier. Any character that doesn’t fall within the subtier being played gets out of tier gold. Rules for determining subtiers have changed slightly, and can be found on page 31 of the guide. This also applies to GM credit characters that fall between tiers.
Example: A table plays up into the 4-5 subtier of a 1-5 game. The 1-2 tier wealth was 500 gp, the 4-5 tier was 1,500 gp, so the out of tier gold is 1,000 gp. Level 1, 2, and 3 characters that played up would get the out of tier wealth of 1,000 gp for completing the scenario. Any level 4 or 5 characters would receive 1,500 gp as normal for playing in tier.
5. The Inventory Tracking Sheet
As part of an effort to make auditing characters easier for GMs, all players are required to have some sort of Inventory Tracking Sheet (an example sheet is found in the back of the Guide). This is a separate piece of paper that will track all the purchases made for any given character. It should have a running tally of total wealth, and the amount of gold or prestige spent on purchases throughout that character’s life. This sheet should be in addition to regular chronicle sheets and does not need to be initialed by a GM.
Example: I finish playing a game and decide to purchase a +1 short sword. I fill out my chronicle sheet as normal. I then grab my Inventory Tracking Sheet and write down the purchase, making sure to note what chronicle sheet it was from and the date I played the game on. I update my current wealth total and I’m done.
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Venture-Captain, Texas—Waco
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Another major change for all GMs to note is that the play up/play down choice has been removed when a party's APL falls between the sub-tiers of the scenario. There is now a hard rule which is dependent on the party's size. Just to further confuse the issue for many GMs, the rule is different for Seasons 0-3 and Seasons 4-5.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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Another major change for all GMs to note is that the play up/play down choice has been removed when a party's APL falls between the sub-tiers of the scenario. There is now a hard rule which is dependent on the party's size. Just to further confuse the issue for many GMs, the rule is different for Seasons 0-3 and Seasons 4-5.
Quite right! I added that line at #4 because of this, but I guess the language could be stronger.
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As far as I know, 0.5 always rounds up. That is the rule in general math, and I have seen nothing stating otherwise in any PFS guides. So a party of APL 5.5 in a 3-7 rounds to 6; in Seasons 4-5 they play high tier (with 4-person adjustment) if a party of 5+, in Seasons 0-3 they play high tier if a party of 6.
Mike has clarified that an APL of .5 between tiers allows the table to choose which sub-tier to play.
