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So here are some of the ideas I'm coming away with:
The cost of this recovery should be somewhere between "insignificant" and "raise dead plus restoration.
...Sound reasonable so far? Anything to add?
So far it looks very reasonable to me, John. Would there be a cap to the cost? I am just asking, mostly in case it matters for very high level encounters.
Or, perhaps, there is a cap of CR that is recoverable?
"Sorry, but the Society does not have anyone of sufficient skill to recover your Axe of Demon Slaying from the Treekiller."
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I'm liking the direction so far.
I do think that "extorted" should be added to the conditions for which you can recover an item. When the GM gives you no choice but to die or give up your gear, count me into the dying camp.
I would agree that any situation in which the PCs must give up their gear or face what equates to hand-waved instant death would fall into that category, but I do not want to cheapen the encounter I provided in my earlier example of Rats of Round Mountain, Part 1. In that example, the players receive a choice, the scenario scripts it as a completely legitimate choice, and the item loss is limited and open to further player choice. This is the encounter that I use as my baseline when considering how an item recovery rule should read.
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are there a lot of circumstances in PFS scenarios where this happens?
I can think of one encounter-oriented moment that invites PCs to avoid an encounter by paying a considerable but non-crippling tribute; the typical PC might miss out on half of the Chronicle sheet's wealth. I know of several Season 0 scenarios that spell out easily avoided hand-wave-death situations that would also involve the PC's items being confiscated. Most of these are based on picking ill-advised fights with local law enforcement.
So in summary, scripted removal of a PC's gear is quite rare in PFS, and to my knowledge those situations are tied to character choices that are far more active than accidental.
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What if it was phrased universally, but with a caveat that some scenarios might contain exceptions? Then individual encounters/situations can say "gear given up in this manner is not recoverable via the Item Recovery prestige award", and anything that doesn't have such a clause is fair game for recovery.
Aside from needing to make a singular exception for the already-published RoRM1, would that take care of it?
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are there a lot of circumstances in PFS scenarios where this happens?I can think of one encounter-oriented moment that invites PCs to avoid an encounter by paying a considerable but non-crippling tribute; the typical PC might miss out on half of the Chronicle sheet's wealth. I know of several Season 0 scenarios that spell out easily avoided hand-wave-death situations that would also involve the PC's items being confiscated. Most of these are based on picking ill-advised fights with local law enforcement.
So in summary, scripted removal of a PC's gear is quite rare in PFS, and to my knowledge those situations are tied to character choices that are far more active than accidental.
Thanks for the answer, John!
I've been playing PFS for awhile, but am still fairly new when it comes to game content, scenarios/modules and character mechanics above the level 7ish/8ish range.
Definitely a relief to get some perspective on the frequency and cause(s) of these kind of gear-theft situations.
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So let's...just leave aside the item-recovery-suicide as a concept explored and that can be abandoned due to a better mechanicSecondary objective achieved!
Well hey, that's another Prestige Point for me. I didn't even know this was a goal, but I'm pleasantly surprised now that I accomplished it.
The secondary mission objective mechanic at work, ladies and gentlemen!
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Instead a DM could have telekentetd the weapons up, teleported to a volcano tossed them in, regenerated full if any damage taken, and teleported back to destroy more items. While flying avoiding the majority of us.
Now your weapon(s) are now all gone with no chance of item recovery.
This does not seem fun to me. But a very powerful tactic. Ofcourse the DM could just bounce the items away and return them after the fight, but a harsher DM could damage some characters.
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I think it would be best to have a recovery mission that did not resemble an actual scenario.
(1) It breaks simulation to first experience an adventure, and then rescue other people who were on the same adventure. If we got the MacGuffin, then what are the other Pathfinder agents doing there?
(2) By the nature of the endeavour, it reveals spoilers when the PCs recover the other team and then go on the mission itself.
Better to bring back other Pathfinder corpses. Lots of good possibilities.
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I think it would be best to have a recovery mission that did not resemble an actual scenario.
(1) It breaks simulation to first experience an adventure, and then rescue other people who were on the same adventure. If we got the MacGuffin, then what are the other Pathfinder agents doing there?
(2) By the nature of the endeavour, it reveals spoilers when the PCs recover the other team and then go on the mission itself.
Better to bring back other Pathfinder corpses. Lots of good possibilities.
I rather like this, especially if the recovery happens early on and then you're expected to finish what they started. While lugging around their corpses/statues/newly-raised-and-very-frightened-selves. For more of that Kalkamedic creative goodness!
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All the stuff
I pretty much agree completely with everything you've outlined. Give the players recourse, using PP, and make it affordable without being trivial.
I'd definitely add the limitation that should the player willingly give the item up (tribute, gift, etc) that it not be recoverable. Especially if such an action is used as a means of circumventing an encounter. The hardest part that you'll have is how to define this with out it being too complicated or easily abused.
As for the quest idea, as interesting as it would be to encounter an old foe in order to recover a stolen item, or to set right a previous failure, designing the scenario would be next to impossible to do correctly. Too many factors and possibilities to consider, it'd just very likely become a convoluted mess.
Better to bring back other Pathfinder corpses. Lots of good possibilities.
This is probably the best way to approach it. An agent recovery/cleanup mission could potentially be a lot of fun, and could be an opportunity to bring back an old foe (preferably one that has a flee mechanic, but I suppose even the bad guys can be resurrected!). You could also do a black market scenario, in which pathfinders seek to recover relics stolen from the Society, and maybe they have the opportunity to recover a long lost "friend" in the process. :)
I would have to alter body recovery to read something like, "5 PP to recover one's body and any items or equipment possessed by the character at the time of death," making item-recovery-suicide completely counterproductive.
I thought this was already how the rule worked? Are you saying the official rule is 5PP to get back everything your character had at the start of the scenario?
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I would have to alter body recovery to read something like, "5 PP to recover one's body and any items or equipment possessed by the character at the time of death," making item-recovery-suicide completely counterproductive.I thought this was already how the rule worked? Are you saying the official rule is 5PP to get back everything your character had at the start of the scenario?
My understanding based on a previous ruling by Mike (which admittedly I'm referencing from memory during this quick break from developing scenarios) is that paying the 5 PP for body recovery also recovers one's unexpended/unexpendable items. I don't believe there was any attempt to distinguish items that you had on your body vs. those you might have lost in a scuffle three rounds earlier, but that's probably because it was not an issue at the time.
A potion that you drank during the second encounter would not be recovered, though I now have amusing mental images of how your fellow Pathfinders might try to extract it from your character's corpse.
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A potion that you drank during the second encounter would not be recovered, though I now have amusing mental images of how your fellow Pathfinders might try to extract it from your character's corpse.
I'm suddenly reminded of a very recent Order of the Stick comic, where they're talking about a vampire cleric healing what he drained from a victim who is now his ally.
"Unless he can replace your drained blood."
"That's disgusting! Even if he vomits it back up, how would you get it back in my veins? Some kind of funnel?"
"I meant with a Restoration spell."
I love OotS. :)