RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
|
Since the elimination of faction missions at the start of Season 5, I've noticed a significant drop-off in the level of interest players have in the ongoing faction storylines. Many newer players in my area don't even know what faction their characters represent!
I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that now that there are not faction missions in each scenario, it's not as important to know at character creation which faction a character represents. I've seen a couple times now new players who don't know about the faction system, and the GM/other players say, "Eh, it doesn't really matter that much. Just pick Grand Lodge unless you have a specific concept in mind."
I'd be curious to see if my anecdotal observations represent a larger trend in the Organized Play community. What are you seeing in your area? Does the campaign leadership have any sense of how many new characters are being registered in each faction? It seems like if Grand Lodge has seen a big spike at the expense of the other factions, this might be a contributing factor.
(I'm not making any value judgements here. Decreased importance placed on a character's faction might be a good or bad thing, depending on your perspective. I'm just curious if it *is* a thing, or if I'm just making all this up!)
Regional Venture-Coordinator, Southwest
|
I would agree that they have become very minor choices indeed. The "just pick Grand lodge unless you have a specific concept in mind" comment is something I hear quite often now days.
To be fair though, previously they were more of a nuisance and actively slowed down games for side quests that normally didn't move the main story along. So from a pure event coordinator standpoint, the loss of faction missions was a great boon because now there is more time for role-playing and we can actually get through scenarios in our 5 hour time slot.
But I do wonder why we have factions at all if they aren't going to be more than a minor plot line every 3-4 scenarios. I just don't know how you balance that against time constraints and the fact that there are a lot of them to try and tell their stories for.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
I've definitely noticed that I've been far less aware of what factions other people's PCs are; in the past, faction missions were the only clue I ever had as to what 85% of PCs' factions were. That is, there would be some players whose PCs were really roleplayed as members of a particular faction (interestingly, Cheliax wins that prize by a mile in my experience, followed by Andoran, Taldor and Qadira). But most were effectively factionless until they were making That One Skill Check (after which they were factionless again).
So on the surface it feels like a change because I'm less aware of people's factions, but really it's more like nothing's changed except that scenario authors are no longer pointing out which backstory detail each player is neglecting to roleplay.
And honestly, I'm pretty okay with it.
|
I think the minor plotlines as opposed to Faction Missions every scenario is very flavorful for this season...but I do not know how they will be able to be kept up with later on. I do hope for a return to more faction focused missions next season. A lot of the older scenarios lose a lot of their flavor and interest without the faction missions, and the plot lines for the current factions are difficult to comprehend unless you know of the factions and what their ideals are.
|
Do we seriously need to have this discussion again? There was way to much emphasis on being a member of a faction when there should be more emphasis on being a member of the Pathfinder Society in previous seasons.
|
|
Ive also been seeing a lot more people just put a character into GL as a default since the faction doesnt matter as much anymore.
To be fair though, previously they were more of a nuisance and actively slowed down games for side quests that normally didn't move the main story along. So from a pure event coordinator standpoint, the loss of faction missions was a great boon because now there is more time for role-playing and we can actually get through scenarios in our 5 hour time slot.
So what you are saying is that since we have cut the faction missions, which were a big source of roleplaying sometimes, then we now have more time for roleplaying?
Also, even with the missions, Ive never had a real issue getting a scenario completed in 5 hours.
|
|
Do we seriously need to have this discussion again? There was way to much emphasis on being a member of a faction when there should be more emphasis on being a member of the Pathfinder Society in previous seasons.
I completely disagree. There was enough stuff going on for those who wanted to be heavily involved in their faction to BE heavily involved in their faction. Now, youre hardly given the option at all. We may as well dump them altogether.
Edit: Dont get me wrong, I like the way we have the faction-sepcific scenarios this season, I think we just went too much the other way from the missions. :/
|
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
...the faction missions, which were a big source of roleplaying sometimes...
I would contest your assertion that the faction missions were (any significant portion of the time) a "big source of roleplaying". Maybe it was different in your area, but the vast majority of my experience with factions pre-Season 5 was simply completing the faction missions ("Is this the room?"/"Is this the guy?" + skill check). The few who really roleplayed anything related to their faction would have been doing that roleplaying even without the faction missions. The Qadiran trade prince I've adventured with, for example, did his most impressive/memorable roleplaying well outside the context of his faction missions. None of my memories of him are even remotely related to faction missions.
Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
We may as well dump them altogether.
Works for me. :) Either that, or start mandating that all PCs select their nation of birth, add a slot for recording said homeland on chronicle sheets, make it part of official reporting, and start having ongoing storylines for each county in the Inner Sea and start having "nation missions" written into scenarios.
|
|
Do we seriously need to have this discussion again? There was way to much emphasis on being a member of a faction when there should be more emphasis on being a member of the Pathfinder Society in previous seasons.I completely disagree. There was enough stuff going on for those who wanted to be heavily involved in their faction to BE heavily involved in their faction. Now, youre hardly given the option at all. We may as well dump them altogether.
Edit: Dont get me wrong, I like the way we have the faction-sepcific scenarios this season, I think we just went too much the other way from the missions. :/
There was enough stuff, but it was made into too much stuff. Players would derail the scenario just to find their faction mission. They didn't care about the roleplaying, they just wanted their prestige point, and then whined and complained when they missed the requisite roll by 1. Now I'm not saying all did, but I came across at least one, usually 3 or 4, at every table I came across.
I think there is a better way to handle faction missions, somewhere between everyone gets something unique to do and few people get a perk in certain scenarios. I'm not sure what it is right now, but I'm sure the leadership will find it, even with a little trial and error.
[EDIT] - Pretty much ninja'd by Jiggy.
Though I still enjoy the Taldan faction mission for City of Strangers Pt I...
|
Regional Venture-Coordinator, Southwest
|
To be fair though, previously they were more of a nuisance and actively slowed down games for side quests that normally didn't move the main story along. So from a pure event coordinator standpoint, the loss of faction missions was a great boon because now there is more time for role-playing and we can actually get through scenarios in our 5 hour time slot.So what you are saying is that since we have cut the faction missions, which were a big source of roleplaying sometimes, then we now have more time for roleplaying?
Also, even with the missions, Ive never had a real issue getting a scenario completed in 5 hours.
Faction missions mostly call for roll-play. Use a skill, you get it. Fail the roll, you don't. Sometimes there were some role-playing options, but in my experience they were the exceptions.
As for time, I'm glad you can get through scenarios within 5 hours. Prior to September 2013, that would be an exceptional case and our location closes promptly at 6pm, so we had at least 2-3 tables a month who either ran long or never got to complete scenarios. Since September, we haven't had that problem at all. We also have the added issue of regularly having 7 players per table since we are limited to 3 tables every week. So it takes a while to get through the games.
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
|
Do we seriously need to have this discussion again? There was way to much emphasis on being a member of a faction when there should be more emphasis on being a member of the Pathfinder Society in previous seasons.
I'm not intending to rehash that discussion. What I'm interested in is less whether the new faction mission format is a positive or negative impact of the game, but rather whether the change has affected the number of people playing the various factions, and the amount of investment those players have in their faction storylines.
I want to know if there is a change happening. If so, then we can start talking about whether that change is desirable or not.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
|
I would suggest that Cheliax-loyal PCs got opportunities to role-play in, say, "Fortress of the Nail", in ways quite independent of the faction mission. (Same with Shadow Lodge PCs in "Rivalry's End".)
Faction missions serve to keep a character connected to her faction, so that she's ready for the role-playing opportunities as they present themselves.
|
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
Faction missions serve to keep a character connected to her faction, so that she's ready for the role-playing opportunities as they present themselves.
Do they? Do faction missions do that? Or do factions do that?
After all, my characters' alignments keep them connected to their personalities, so that they're ready for the role-playing opportunities as they present themselves. I don't seem to require "alignment missions" for that.
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
|
The Qadiran trade prince I've adventured with, for example, did his most impressive/memorable roleplaying well outside the context of his faction missions. None of my memories of him are even remotely related to faction missions.
Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
This is what I'm really interested in: does the new faction mission format mean we are getting fewer Qadiran trade princes in our parties? And if so, are are people spending the effort they would have used to pick a faction on coming up with interesting and flavorful characters?
|
Having every character trying to achieve their own task in every scenario was too much, when you could have any 6 from 10 faction missions going on, and was a distraction for both the players and the GM.
Paring it down to 1-3 factions with a vested interest in the circumstances of the scenario means that the faction objectives can be a lot more relevant.
Personally I like the fact that players/characters often need their wits about them to be able to interpret how to fulfil their faction leader's wishes from the letter for that half-season, rather than just being told to simply 'talk to X, get Y' in the faction mission.
|
|
Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
I didn't have many/any problems with faction missions. Probably because I would say to the player "I will poke you when your faction mission is up" and "You are semi trained quasi professional treasure hunters. Unless combat starts, you need to run for something, or you tell me otherwise I assume you are searching the entire place as you go."
Some good memories from faction missions or faction related goodness.
translating a monument in tien that provided background info on the difference between western and eastern views of monsters.
Singing "Forward taldan soldiers" in a bar
Lots of evil chelaxian jokes
Laughing at the Qadirians luck of having a druid party member be the one to drop into the pit trap and identify the fungus.
Leaving a slaver at 0 hit points in the tender "Care" of his victims.
The shadow lodge member picking the scarzii's pocket to help the scarzini complete his faction mission because the scarzini rolled so badly on HIS pick pocket attempt. (and then the faction mission being eaten by a not quite drunk enough sewer monster pining over her lost love)
an andoran faction mission providing some interesting background into colson "jazz" maldis' background.
a druid being lowered into a privy, making friends with the snake and returning with the macguffin.
|
|
Taldor fielded Armies of Exploration in the past when they were less byzantine and lethargic than they are now. Lady Morilla and several other nobles (which include some highly placed nobles in the current Taldan hierarchy) seek to reignite that old Taldan spirit by using those society agents with Taldan connections.
This has a two-fold purpose - An Army of Exploration under Taldan leadership fighting the hordes of the Worldound is heroic and worthy of praise as it shows that the Seeping Lion can be roused from slumber and should not be dismissed so readily.
The second objective is that if she is successful, Lady Morilla's standing in Taldor will be greatly increased along with those she supported and those who supported her with this endeavor.
|
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
Some good memories from faction missions or faction related goodness.
translating a monument in tien that provided background info on the difference between western and eastern views of monsters.
Singing "Forward taldan soldiers" in a bar
Lots of evil chelaxian jokes
Laughing at the Qadirians luck of having a druid party member be the one to drop into the pit trap and identify the fungus.
Leaving a slaver at 0 hit points in the tender "Care" of his victims.
The shadow lodge member picking the scarzii's pocket to help the scarzini complete his faction mission because the scarzini rolled so badly on HIS pick pocket attempt. (and then the faction mission being eaten by a not quite drunk enough sewer monster pining over her lost love)
an andoran faction mission providing some interesting background into colson "jazz" maldis' background.
a druid being lowered into a privy, making friends with the snake and returning with the macguffin.
Glad you've had better success with faction-based roleplay than I have. :)
Even so, I'm inclined to point out how many of those could happen just by people roleplaying their nationalities in the settings they find themselves in, even if faction missions didn't exist.
|
|
This has a two-fold purpose - An Army of Exploration under Taldan leadership fighting the hordes of the Worldound is heroic and worthy of praise as it shows that the Seeping Lion can be roused from slumber and should not be dismissed so readily.
That's just the thing... neither the Army nor its leader is Taldan. She has yet to name a leader, and the Army itself is independent.
-Matt
|
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
"I DO THIS FOR TALDOR!!"Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
Looks like nation-based roleplaying to me; can't imagine how it'd be any different if "Taldor" only referred to the country and there had never been any such thing as faction missions.
|
|
I see the factions moving away from nation centered entities. I mean Zarta is still persona non gratis in Cheliax and Amenopheus can't be seen in Osirion. Glorianna seems to be trying to relive her nations past as her country wants to stay stagnant. And Maldriss is having a crisis of loyalty with the corruption in his so called democracy.
And Qadira always just felt like a loose association of merchant lords
|
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
This is what I'm really interested in: does the new faction mission format mean we are getting fewer Qadiran trade princes in our parties? And if so, are are people spending the effort they would have used to pick a faction on coming up with interesting and flavorful characters?The Qadiran trade prince I've adventured with, for example, did his most impressive/memorable roleplaying well outside the context of his faction missions. None of my memories of him are even remotely related to faction missions.
Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
To answer your actual topic, I've seen little to no difference. Most players (in my local experience) don't really roleplay their factions, and 95+% of those that did just happened to be playing factions that are also countries, leaving their roleplaying entirely unaffected by the de-emphasis of "factions".
That is, the relationship between factions and roleplay seems to break down like this:
• Those who didn't roleplay their factions are unaffected.
• Those who roleplayed nation-based factions are unaffected.
• Those who roleplayed Silver Crusade being good-aligned are unaffected.
• Those who roleplayed Shadow/Lantern Lodge aren't technically affected by the new model, since those factions don't even exist as choices anymore.
• Those who roleplayed Szcarni might have been affected, but I haven't seen it; the PCs I can think of are still acting like they always did.
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
|
Looks like nation-based roleplaying to me; can't imagine how it'd be any different if "Taldor" only referred to the country and there had never been any such thing as faction missions."I DO THIS FOR TALDOR!!"Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
That quote comes directly from a very memorable faction mission in the City of Strangers, so I don't really see how your comment counters my response to your claim "I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions."
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
This has a two-fold purpose - An Army of Exploration under Taldan leadership fighting the hordes of the Worldound is heroic and worthy of praise as it shows that the Seeping Lion can be roused from slumber and should not be dismissed so readily.That's just the thing... neither the Army nor its leader is Taldan. She has yet to name a leader, and the Army itself is independent.
-Matt
And what pray tell could be more Taldan than sending foreign peasants to die for our glory and our safety?
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
On a semi-related note, I'm curious how many PFS groups actually play the scenarios in the order they are released.
I play PFS at a number of different stores/locations/events with a large number of different people. One week I'm playing a season three, the next a season zero, the next maybe something new from Season 5. Sometimes multiple slots in one day, sometimes GMing, sometimes both GMing and playing in one day or at one con. I often play on different characters and most definitely with different people from session to session.
Are there a lot of folks out there playing the scenarios in a pretty consistent order with roughly the same group of players? Are they experiencing the narrative and the story of their factions, or even of the Season itself?
I don't feel my experience is too uncommon, especially in more urban or densely populated areas. Is it?
|
|
Even so, I'm inclined to point out how many of those could happen just by people roleplaying their nationalities in the settings they find themselves in, even if faction missions didn't exist.
Paraphrasing someone from another thread, but the basic response is that it encourages the role play through the roll play, which is what a good system does. A good faction mission gives an opportunity for a faction member character to resolve a character problem a certain way, rewards the player for doing so, and most importantly builds the opportunity into the adventure.
|
|
And what pray tell could be more Taldan than sending foreign peasants to die for our glory and our safety?Having accomplished Taldan officers leading them, of course, so that history (and Inner Sea politics) will remember the Empire's role.
-Matt
History is written by the person paying the historian.
|
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
|
That quote comes directly from a very memorable faction mission in the City of Strangers, so I don't really see how your comment counters my response to your claim "I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions."Looks like nation-based roleplaying to me; can't imagine how it'd be any different if "Taldor" only referred to the country and there had never been any such thing as faction missions."I DO THIS FOR TALDOR!!"Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
I guess when your faction mission tells you to do something that a character of that nationality/alignment/background would have done anyway, I don't really attribute any resultant roleplay as being truly connected to your faction mission.
For instance, an Andoren freedom-fighter's great roleplaying experience disrupting a slaver gang is a result of being an Andoren freedom-fighter; it doesn't become the result of the faction mission system just because the mission told him to do what he was already going to do.
Or to use a Season 5 example...
|
|
I like these new faction plotlines, but I wish there were more variety among the choices. Not "more options" necessarily but "options that aren't quite so closely related." Everything just feels so--I know I'm going to get crap for this but I'm going to say it anyway--white. Even Qadira and Osirion are pretty much the same old same old. I recognize that if they weren't, Paizo would be accused of exoticising the Other, but at least with Lantern Lodge we had something that said, "I'm not from around here."
Think about it: Five factions correspond to nations that are close to the center of the Society. Of the others, one is the default, one is for do-gooders who want to do even gooder than Andoran, and one is for ... what is the other one, "Being shady without being outright evil aka being Chelaxian?"
If we're going to do regions, do regions, but make them bigger or more plentiful. If we're going to do causes, do causes, but make it more than just the three incredibly broad catch-alls. This 5/3 thing is just weird. If I play someone from the Mwangi Expanse or Goka or Iobarria or the River Kingdoms or Numeria or whatever, it doesn't make a lot of sense to join a nation-based faction unless their goals really align with said faction--see above regarding "specific concept"--and the other three options are basically "good, neutral, evil-except-not-evil-because-we-can't-be-evil."
If factions have to be compulsory, I wish there was more variety.
|
|
Players would derail the scenario just to find their faction mission. They didn't care about the roleplaying, they just wanted their prestige point, and then whined and complained when they missed the requisite roll by 1.
Im not saying this about you specifically, but that sounds like a combination of:
1. Selfish, immature players
2. Sloppy GMing
Yes, the players should have a bit of room to do their own thing for their mission if need be, but anything taking more than a couple (meaning 'about two', here) then the GM is likely letting them go on too long or the player is just trying to hog the spotlight.
Again, not you specifically, Sior, but the situation in general.
|
|
That quote comes directly from a very memorable faction mission in the City of Strangers, so I don't really see how your comment counters my response to your claim "I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions."Looks like nation-based roleplaying to me; can't imagine how it'd be any different if "Taldor" only referred to the country and there had never been any such thing as faction missions."I DO THIS FOR TALDOR!!"Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
I guess when your faction mission tells you to do something that a character of that nationality/alignment/background would have done anyway, I don't really attribute any resultant roleplay as being truly connected to your faction mission.
For instance, an Andoren freedom-fighter's great roleplaying experience disrupting a slaver gang is a result of being an Andoren freedom-fighter; it doesn't become the result of the faction mission system just because the mission told him to do what he was already going to do.
Or to use a Season 5 example...
** spoiler omitted **
Or Jiggy, its a function of you making a character that actually fits the faction you've chosen, and the faction mission fits your idea of rp for that character.
It doesn't mean there is no roleplay associated with faction missions.
It just means that you've created an appropriate vehicle for that roleplay.
EDIT: Think of it as an official moment when the roleplay you've chosen for your character gets to stand front and center and shine. Its time for the Taldor faction mission, you now get to have the spotlight for a moment. I don't think that faction missions should otherwise be dictating roleplay, because then its forcing roleplay upon you.
|
|
This has a two-fold purpose - An Army of Exploration under Taldan leadership fighting the hordes of the Worldound is heroic and worthy of praise as it shows that the Seeping Lion can be roused from slumber and should not be dismissed so readily.That's just the thing... neither the Army nor its leader is Taldan. She has yet to name a leader, and the Army itself is independent.
-Matt
Before Even-tongue's treachery we ruled most of Avistan so everyone in Avistan is or was Taldan to some extent, even if you were a subject people, vassals, or unwilling servitor.
Lady Morilla may very well put some of the most capable pathfinders field agents to lead such an army even if only in the capacity of commanding units of the overall force. You never know the person at the head of the Army of Exploration could be of royal or even Imperial blood!
So rally your forces, call the restless young Taldan knights, as we move forward to the very reaches of the Worldwound and reclaim the glory of Taldor, the once and future empire!
LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!
|
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
|
That quote comes directly from a very memorable faction mission in the City of Strangers, so I don't really see how your comment counters my response to your claim "I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions."Looks like nation-based roleplaying to me; can't imagine how it'd be any different if "Taldor" only referred to the country and there had never been any such thing as faction missions."I DO THIS FOR TALDOR!!"Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
I guess when your faction mission tells you to do something that a character of that nationality/alignment/background would have done anyway, I don't really attribute any resultant roleplay as being truly connected to your faction mission.
For instance, an Andoren freedom-fighter's great roleplaying experience disrupting a slaver gang is a result of being an Andoren freedom-fighter; it doesn't become the result of the faction mission system just because the mission told him to do what he was already going to do.
Or to use a Season 5 example...
** spoiler omitted **
That's fine. I misunderstood your claim then. My mistake.
|
|
Lets put it another way.
The factions and characters are not separable in this campaign. Just like being a pathfinder or not is not an option for this campaign.
The campaign assumes you are a pathfinder, and that you belong to a faction.
So if you created a devil worshiping slaver and chose to be of the Andoran Faction mission, that would create some very paradoxical roleplay options.
Just because you chose an Andoran slave-freer does not mean that Andoran faction missions that have to do with freeing slaves is not a roleplay option for you.
It just means that you have taken the roleplay of that faction to heart, created an appropriate character for such, and doing faction missions that follow your character's established roleplay just means you are fully immersed in the roleplay of your character and faction.
It would seem really, really odd to me, that a faction mission would particularly require you to roleplay your character differently than you already do*, assuming of course you created a character that actually fit that faction.
* The Andoran faction mission to assassinate a dalliance trying to blackmail Maldriss not withstanding.
|
|
So if you created a devil worshiping slaver and chose to be of the Andoran Faction mission, that would create some very paradoxical roleplay options.
it would but you could play an devil worshipping slaver who frees slaves from their current shackles only to place them into shackles of a more nefarious nature! muahahah
|
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
|
Come to think of it, I can't think of any Great Memories of Roleplaying that have anything to do with faction missions.
Almost every Sczarni mission had a fun aspect to it that my oversharing Tengu was happy to let everyone at the table know about. I know not everyone enjoyed their faction missions, but I was always good with mine. That being said, they weren't always Great Memories in GROUP Roleplaying, which is a little different.
Either that, or start mandating that all PCs select their nation of birth, add a slot for recording said homeland on chronicle sheets, make it part of official reporting, and start having ongoing storylines for each county in the Inner Sea and start having "nation missions" written into scenarios.
As someone who came on during the Time of Ten Factions and has mainly avoided the nationalistic ones, I would definitely not like this option. As far as I'm aware, Golarion doesn't have a citizenship requirement and I prefer it that way!
|
|
Faction missions serve to keep a character connected to her faction, so that she's ready for the role-playing opportunities as they present themselves.Do they? Do faction missions do that? Or do factions do that?
After all, my characters' alignments keep them connected to their personalities, so that they're ready for the role-playing opportunities as they present themselves. I don't seem to require "alignment missions" for that.
Everyone should know alignment. It is a long basis of D&D and it's spawns.
The factions are very specific to PFS. The faction missions are how I learned about the factions. Doing the factions missions are how I associated my character with my faction. When I used to tell player about the factions I would describe what each faction is about and the types of missions they usually assign.
I am finding player that just started not having any idea about what factions are. The somewhat random faction missions hidden in a scenario and poorly dmed(I haved had 4 DMs accidently skip someones faction mission in a scenario and then just give it to the player because they messed up). Leave the factions a mystery to most new players.
I had some of my best roleplaying doing faction missions and sorely miss them. Also since they are not required few dms even bring them to the game days.
|
|
"I DO THIS FOR TALDOR!!"
Looking back I think removing factions kinda hurt the our local role playing.
To sum it up, I think before the switch there were two types of players, ones that actively wanted to accomplish the mission with role playing and players who just wanted to roll a skill check to get a result.
For one of my players to end up getting a point of prestige after he failed his initial attempt. His character actually spent a skill point to learn Shoanti. We recently laughed about it since his character has yet to use it and now is in post 12 play.
I think that all new faction boons should be more inclusive. Removing the restrictive result of having to be in a particular faction to earn them.
|
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
|
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
My concern right now is with the new faction letters. Up until now, I've had copies of all 8 faction letters from Season 5, that I can hand to players at my table.
"You're an Andoran, and your friend's an agent of Qadira? Here are you overall faction missions for this season. Does this particular scenario advance either of your factions? Just keep your eye out. Something might come up, or maybe not." (The player might know; these things are public knowledge, or might not. It's not my business to tell them, and it's a better atmosphere for role-playing if the character doesn't know that, woot, we're in Mendev, goin' on demon-huntin' patrol; it's a perfect opportunity to dig up dirt on organized crime figures. Keep your eye out. Advance the cause; sometimes opportunities come when you wouldn't expect them.)
Now, I need two sets of faction letters, depending on whether the scenario is from the first half or the second half of the season. Starting in August, I suspect I'll need a third set, and so on. And at this point, it's no longer incumbent on the player to keep track of faction letters; that's my job, because the player shouldn't have to keep track of which half of which season a scenario falls.
So, instead of three pages in the back of a scenario, giving particular faction missions, I now have 16 letters to keep track of and hand out. In August, that'll be 24 pages.
Tell me again how this is simpler.