How do you handle this?


GM Discussion


I am running a home PFS campaign, many of the older scenario's missions are "Map *whatever* without anyone noticing" or "Pass this *whatever* to "whoever" without other factions noticing".
So how do other people handle this? I have my thoughts (combo of mini position/RP with a skill check, usually Stealth V Perception) amd just wondered if this is okay or others handle it differently.
Cheers.

5/5 5/55/55/5

The faction missions are done away with. You now judge the mission based on the secondary success conditions, found here.

Linky


BigNorseWolf wrote:

The faction missions are done away with. You now judge the mission based on the secondary success conditions, found here.

Linky

I realise that...I am running a PFS campaign for my own amusement.

Have you an answer to my question?

5/5 **** Venture-Captain, Massachusetts—Central & West

Roll opposed skill checks. If RP gives a person a lot of time alone (probably not, since people don't like to split the party), then just give it to them.


David Montgomery wrote:
Roll opposed skill checks. If RP gives a person a lot of time alone (probably not, since people don't like to split the party), then just give it to them.

Thanks, pretty much what I have been doing.

For my home games I gave my players the option of dropping the faction missions...They voted to keep them and were amazed that that idea had been dropped from official play. Apart from the occasional "Find the Mc Guffin which we know about despite the tomb being sealed for a million years..." we collectively thought they added to the game.

Sovereign Court 4/5

They did, but I can imagine individual faction missions on every single scenario became very difficult to keep interesting. I'd rather have one or two factions getting deeper investments from a scenario where it makes sense, than every faction having missions that don't always make sense (i.e. knowledge it's not reasonable for them to have.) Plus, I think the Secondary Missions encourage players to think through their actions incase they are risking losing PP.

5/5

I think the current system actually makes using those old faction missions a lot more interesting, even though there aren't any actual rewards for completing them (other than the story). When faction missions were still being used normally, I noticed that on a lot of those faction missions, once other players realized that a player was trying to complete a faction mission without being seen, they'd sort of start whistling and looking the other way, hoping for the same in return if it ever came up. At least this seemed to be the case with players who played together a lot. Without there being any rewards and no drawbacks to failing, I think that kind of mindset gets changed, and people are more free to try and interfere with other factions when they're given out in the older scenarios. I'm starting up a home PFS game of my own, with most of the scenarios centering around Absalom and the Isle of Kortos. I plan on giving out all of the faction missions that exist for any given player's faction (without using the season three/four faction equivalents, so some players may end up with many fewer faction missions than others). The players have mostly only played during Season Five, and they're pretty excited about getting missions from their faction heads.

While the individual missions were indeed fun, I think the current system is much more interesting, although (actually, imo, BECAUSE) you really have to be a lot more invested in your faction's ongoing storyline to know what to do and when.

5/5 5/55/55/5

Even at a con with brand new (to each other) players passing out pathfinder chronicles for "15 minute restroom break" was enough to get the other characters to leave you alone for a bit.

Grand Lodge 4/5

@Matthew: Maybe some faction missions were fun, but as a PFS GM during the time when they were required for that second PP, or even both PP, many of them just left a foul taste in my mouth, both as GM and player.

Either they were too spoilery, or too inconsequential, or too insignificant, to bother with.

I have, literally, gotten a faction mission which was to kill the BBEG of the scenario. And that is supposed to enhance my feel for my faction?

And, also, missions to, say, recover a tea set, or draw a star map? Meh.

And the chaos! In early season scenarios, with faction missions, all the "Are we there yet?" stuff? Sigh. Makes GMing more difficult, for most of it.

And, of course, those self-same spoilers. The omniscient faction heads, who tell you to look for X item, or Y creature. Where knowing such a creature is likely to appear means you go shopping for creature-appropriate weapons or bribes? Again, meh.

4/5

kinevon wrote:

@Matthew: Maybe some faction missions were fun, but as a PFS GM during the time when they were required for that second PP, or even both PP, many of them just left a foul taste in my mouth, both as GM and player.

Either they were too spoilery, or to inconsequential, or too insifgnificant, to bother with.

I have, literally, gotten a faction mission which was to kill the BBEG of the scenario. And that is supposed to enhance my feel for my faction?

And, also, missions to, say, recover a tea set, or draw a star map? Meh.

And the chaos! In early season scenarios, with faction missions, all the "Are we there yet?" stuff? Sigh. Makes GMing more difficult, for most of it.

And, of course, those self-same spoilers. The omniscient gfaction heads, who tell you to look for X item, or Y creature. Where knwoing such a creature is likely to appear means you go shopping for creature-appropriate weapons or bribes? Again, meh.

I always loved the ones where the faction leaders seemed to know that the investigation would eventually lead to the library, and oh, while you're there...

I've had players stop me halfway through a scenario and ask, "Wait, aren't we supposed to go to some Wizard's Academy or something?" or (less spoilerish) "Did you give me the right faction mission?"

I got to the point where I held back some faction missions because they were too spoilerish. At the beginning of the scenario. I just told the players they would be getting faction missions later on. Then, after the scenario naturally got to the point where the faction mission made sense, a messenger came up to the character and slipped them a note.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Dorothy Lindman wrote:
kinevon wrote:

@Matthew: Maybe some faction missions were fun, but as a PFS GM during the time when they were required for that second PP, or even both PP, many of them just left a foul taste in my mouth, both as GM and player.

Either they were too spoilery, or to inconsequential, or too insifgnificant, to bother with.

I have, literally, gotten a faction mission which was to kill the BBEG of the scenario. And that is supposed to enhance my feel for my faction?

And, also, missions to, say, recover a tea set, or draw a star map? Meh.

And the chaos! In early season scenarios, with faction missions, all the "Are we there yet?" stuff? Sigh. Makes GMing more difficult, for most of it.

And, of course, those self-same spoilers. The omniscient gfaction heads, who tell you to look for X item, or Y creature. Where knwoing such a creature is likely to appear means you go shopping for creature-appropriate weapons or bribes? Again, meh.

I always loved the ones where the faction leaders seemed to know that the investigation would eventually lead to the library, and oh, while you're there...

I've had players stop me halfway through a scenario and ask, "Wait, aren't we supposed to go to some Wizard's Academy or something?" or (less spoilerish) "Did you give me the right faction mission?"

I got to the point where I held back some faction missions because they were too spoilerish. At the beginning of the scenario. I just told the players they would be getting faction missions later on. Then, after the scenario naturally got to the point where the faction mission made sense, a messenger came up to the character and slipped them a note.

And there ar ejust some places where that won't work, or just breaks immersion. "If a messenger can get here, why do they need us?"

EotT:
I won't go into EotT, P4, where the delay in finding the faction missions, written into the scenario, cost my PC a PP. I dunno, secondary success conditions which are the old faction missions?

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