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I think the factions are awesome. I get a kick out of sitting at a table with my Silver Crusade guy and having another SC character across the table from me. I really consider each character I make to fit him into a faction.
It seems like the new system has eliminated the point of picking a faction. Whether I play Grand Lodge, Silver Crusade or Cheliax I am going to have the same experience at the table. Am I wrong? Are there missions where it matters? I haven’t played much in season 5 yet.
Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg
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In most season 0-4 scenarios, it really doesn't matter anymore, other than your influencing your roleplay (This is still a social experience. Numbers shouldn't be all that matters).
In season 5, characters of some factions get an opportunity to actively forward their faction's goals, which will grant them a special boon on the chronicle sheet. Some of the boons just set the stage for things that are planned for future scenarios, others grant really nice bonuses.
The advantage compared to the old faction missions is that if you get to do something for your faction, it really matters instead of just collecting random rings and tea sets just because everybody needs a faction mission.
Also, the outcome of such choices are reported in most cases (there are guidelines in the scenario pdf how the GM should do that) and will actually influence the main plot of PFS.
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In most season 0-4 scenarios, it really doesn't matter anymore, other than your influencing your roleplay (This is still a social experience. Numbers shouldn't be all that matters).
People forget that a faction's influence on roleplay IS a very big part of it. It's what I like about PFS more than anything I played in D&D because it gives you another facet to your characters. No longer is it simply "I'm a dwarf fighter" or "I'm an elf archer...". You have a personal cause. Whether it's anti-slavery and equality for Andoran, touting the glory of the Taldan Empire, or eliminating the chaos of the Abyss for your diabolic rulers of Cheliax. It gives depth. So what if there's no tactile reward for every scenario? Good roleplaying is its own reward.
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I agree that the feeling of importance tied to PC factions has greatly decreased since the Season 5 change, and I was skeptical of the change when it was announced. Seeing how robust the recent scenarios have been and can be because of the focus on a unified second goal and turning what was 100s of words that mostly went unused at any given table and lead to unnecessary GM prep into content for everyone at once, I take back any tears I shed for the loss of faction missions. I think there are a few growing pains to work out when it comes to the faction-specific scenarios, but I'm sure that will continue to improve with time and feedback.
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I have an issue with the way that some of the Season 5 faction missions are handled.
In world, it often makes no sense whatsoever that a particular action by a character only benefits characters of particular factions.
For example, in Wardstone Patrol my Taldor character did the Silver Crusade mission. But didn't get the reward even though the reward, in world, had NOTHING to do with the Silver Crusade.
I'm NOT whining because I didn't get the fairly inconsequential boon. It just made no sense and so made the world seem that little but less realistic.
Ironically, that particular mission would have been perfect as a season 1-4 mission. Makes perfect sense it would raise my prestige in the Silver Crusade but not in Taldor.
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I miss the good ole days with my beloved Baron Dalsine. Toss someone in a a lake - sure no problem. Burn some objects - sure why not. Make an example out of this or that miscreant - wow bonus! Then things changed and it was deliver this or that to someone. Or go pick up this package and bring it back. Yawn.
Now I don't hear from Taldor much, save for the smiling letters once or twice a year. Makes me think they're no longer around. I miss the Baron, but sorry I don't miss the Taldan Post office.
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I miss the good ole days with my beloved Baron Dalsine.Yeah, sorry about that.
Though the Baron may have passed, I highly insist that you use faction missions in Eyes of the Ten, as he makes a great return. Not only are the Taldor ones very funny and very Dalsine-appropriate, but having a Cheliax faction member in Requiem of the Red Raven is a necessity. They get the best faction mission ever.
As for the point of factions... it's my view that there were some good ideas at the genesis of Pathfinder Society, ideas which were not executed very well. That's what happens when the scenario authors write the faction material. Then, the shifts in leadership really distorted the goal; Season 3's choice of expanding to ten factions really killed whatever was left behind of the original goal.
After that, we had another change in leadership, and it appears that factions are now a hollow shell of the original plan. Current leadership seems to want us to be Pathfinders first, while those of us who started early may have been drawn in by the idea of being a faction member first.
Current leadership's mission is just something we'll have to live with, I guess. Personally, I never found the Pathfinder Society very interesting beyond a vehicle for faction-related activity, and its current incarnation just doesn't look very fun to me. I got drawn in by the prospect of playing an agent of Taldor, a draw which just isn't there anymore. Not much I can really do about it, and it's something I've accepted.
-Matt