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I was a little disappointed at the steep nosedive on the importance of the factions. Unless you had the right character for the right scenario your faction your faction was pretty much irrelevant. Yes, it was annoying trying to cram a mission for EVERY faction into a scenario and they ate a lot of time but I think this season went a little far. Some of the newer players have said "faction? What? " when asked about it.
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I think the quality of the scenario content has been super high. There are interesting NPCs and cool things to do. I've been really enjoying season 5.
Sanctioning of things like modules has been super slow and there's a worryingly high frequency of editorial errors: At least 2 puzzles with vital errors (one in the solution and one in a clue), and what feels quite frequent: mislabeling of subtiers on chronicle sheets.
So I guess I really like the content but am disappointed by editorial stuff.
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Markedly enjoying it.
I think the biggest thing I have noticed for me is that: An onus of knowledge has shifted to the player (Probably the bad word there, Ill think of a different version).
What I mean is that in earlier seasons (and Im talking purely from a faction point here), the faction missions were pretty much spelled out in that the character got a letter/missive of sorts with what needed to be done. That could either be pretty direct or somewhat vague.THe player wouldnt need to do any information gathering on their faction outside of the game.
Now in Season 5, the player needs to find out what their faction wants. This isnt spelled out within each scenario (or rather it is .. but only in a way a gm would know). There is a seasonal faction letter from the faction masters. That means a player now needs while they are registering characters et el and look this stuff up. Hell they might even spend related time looking into the background they gave their character.
Now what this means for the more casual player is that they are going to be caught out. Im referring here to the player who perhaps plays when he is in town (lives remotely), who attends a con once a year, or games when his friends convince him to. He isnt going to know too much about registering characters or finding the faction letters (which to be be honest should be under the faction groupings in the website not hidden on the forums). Thats who season 5 has been impacting. Im not one of these people, but there are many of them out there.
Going to favorites. My personal one is Port Godless (basically because I love Rahadoum.. its concept and execution. Way of the Demon because it suckered me in.
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I pretty much agree with some of the sentiments here, especially concerning editing. Factions are something I'm not sure how I really feel about. I see BNW's and Matthew's point about the bonus faction missions being aggravating if you don't keep up with the faction letters, and how at times the factions seem less important. On the other hand I really like how each of the factions seem to be getting scenaio(s) devoted to them. I just played The Stranger Withn last night with my Sczarni character and had a pretty good time, that last fight can be pretty brutal! As far as other scenarios go, I really enjoyed GM'ing Port Godless, and the entire Destiny series was pretty solid. On thing that was a really sour point with me was secondary success conditions, but I have since undergone a complete 180 with them having finally gotten to get some experience with them in season five, and I've got to say, I'm feeling much better about them than I initially was. They have for the vast majority felt like things Pathfinders should be doing in the first place.
Overall, I'm really enjoying season five.
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Content is better than ever, and the challenge level is just about right.
Role-playing encounters are a lot more frequent, rather than all being crammed into a few scenarios, which is great.
Players are being forced to chose between black and slightly darker black moral decisions.
Factions are being downplayed, which I'm completely fine with, I never really liked them to begin with. I also felt that the old system had some logical errors (how does Torch know what's inside a Temple that no one has entered in hundreds of years?), and ultimately detracted from play by either requiring obscure skill checks (DC 20 knowledge(geography), really?), or going on a scavenger hunt, in order to get prestige.
My only problem is with the editorial quality. Sub-tiers are mislabeled, there are numerous spell and grammatical errors, and in some cases, important information has been omitted (coughWhereMammoth'sTreadcough).
However, I'm incredibly happy with the direction Society is taking, and I'm excited to see what the future holds.
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One thing that hasnt been mentioned yet is how long the scenario runs.
Ive noticed that even low tier season 5 scenarios can run quite long. Which is fine for a game day setup, but Id like to know how it effects convention play which is for the most part (and please correct me if Im wrong) on the basis of 4 hour sessions. How are these scenarios being wrapped up so quickly? Are things being left out? Are many games having to be 'called' and left unfinished and unsatisfied?
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Just on factions: I liked that the old faction missions are gone, but still miss them. Having said that, I think what they were replaced with does make me feel more like my characters are a part of that faction when I'm doing their faction missions, but it's so rare that I'm actually doing them.
I have to be lucky enough to have chosen an in-subtier character for that faction, for that scenario.
Was the aim to have everyone at the table playing the same couple of factions available for that scenario? Or for some people to miss out on doing anything for their faction unless it's voluntary? I'm sure all of that was an accident since we're in experimental territory.
So in keeping with the new, I have to wonder that if we only saw more opportunities per scenario - more faction missions per scenario - we'd still keep the quality of the season 5 faction missions while bringing back the spirit of the factions from pre-season 5 so players aren't left wondering what's happened to their faction.
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Having only come in at the tail end of season 4 and so playing most of my games without the old faction mission style, I felt that the new faction mission style is a bit hit or miss. With the old style you knew what you had to do, but required esoteric rolls to succeed even though technically you should of been able to do it another way. However there was always something for you to do.
The new style feels better and less random, however having a suitable character to make use of the missions can be tough (not sure I have had a suitable character for any of the season 5 scenarios). Either reducing the number of factions or increasing the number of missions would be good.
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I've been involved with the campaign for just over a year, so I wasn't heavily invested in faction missions as originally presented at the start. I didn't like the mass amounts of faction scrawls that didn't add to the main thrust of the scenario. They seemed too tacked for the scenarios that we had run.
Season 5 doesn't have the overt, omniscient faction letters, which to me, means earning the rewards...
I really like The Stolen Heir scenario, ran it twice, using my Star replay for it as well.
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I should add that having boons as faction mission rewards is a huge step up. Saving prestige for Society "above and beyond" recognition is definitely the way to go.
I'm not so sure about not really knowing what to do for that second prestige point though. It'd be good if scenarios included specific ways to allow players to get clues as to what to do instead of relying on gut feeling, which feels too random.
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I, like other, have loved the quality of scenarios this past year. However, many things seemed rushed in editorial. More than once has the author been on the GM board saying what their intent was and all of a sudden it got changed in post. This ranges from small things like the running header has the name for the wrong scenario (Traitor's Lodge) to the sudden need for an item that was never before mentioned (Destiny in the Sands Part II. Multiple times).
So far as faction missions go, I like the premise of what they are, but I do miss getting the faction mission at the start of the scenario. For season 6, I really hope they include faction missions for the involved party members. They don't even have to be from omniscient VC's! Have a Chelaxian spy whisper the PC over and say "I overheard your briefing. This would be a great opportunity to study the strengths and weaknesses of the Mendevian Crusaders, no? Tell ya what, when you get to the place, try to--- oh, crap, the guard is here. I have to go. Good luck!". Or something like that.
As it stands, they went from one extreme to another, and this sudden change brought on some growing pains. I think it has recovered to a great start, however, and I hope it finds the good middle ground.
Looking forward to Season 6.
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Thank you for this thread. I just played my first society game (rise of the goblin guild?) and the faction mission was presented in a letter at the start of the game so it might have been an earlier season scenario.
I would not have otherwise not have known about the significance of the faction letters and would have missed out. I probably still will, but at least I now know to go read the faction letter thread.
(FYI, I play a paladin and just switched from Andoran to Silver Crusade.)
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Rise of the Goblin Guild is 4-01 from memory.
Silver Crusades first 'letter' was like so:
Arodus, 4713
Warrior of Light,
The Runelord of Sloth is no more, and in time all of Varisia shall know that it was a force of justice and light that vanquished the slumbering evil. The Pathfinder Society must certainly appreciate the prestige, and in time they will no doubt learn to embrace the cause of Good.
However, while one part of the world can sleep easy, another is under assault. For nearly a century and over four crusades, the crusaders of Mendev have held the Worldwound’s demons at bay at great cost. Every day for the past week I have felt a terrible throbbing to the north as if some sinister malignance were preparing to burst from the Worldwound, and I have done what I can to hasten the Pathfinder Society’s preparations for its expedition into that abyssal landscape. Having hundreds of agents in Nerosyan will bolster the crusaders’ numbers in case trouble should befall the Diamond of the North, and we shall be ready to lead our comrades against what may be the greatest evil ever to blight Avistan.
More than just the Sky Citadel is at stake, however. Should Mendev fall, all that we hold dear would die with it. Strike down the demons that threaten our future, and be the shining paragon that motivates others to stand strong and hold the line. They shall look to you and follow your example, so remember that your actions shall influence how others view the Silver Crusade; should you find yourself presented with a difficult choice, always choose that which will create a shining legacy to inspire others.
We march north with the first light,
Ollysta Zadrian
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I have only GM'ed or played a few Season 5 scenarios so far, but I've enjoyed them. There have been interesting combats and RP challenges. I was not fan of the faction missions, so I feel the new format is a good thing.
I'll be playing a boatload of Season 5 at Origins, so I'll know more in a couple of weeks!