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I can't begin to tell you how many games I've run where the players, caught doing something semi-suspicious, instantly identify themselves as Pathfinders as though this will suddenly clear them of suspicion, like Pathfinders are universally good guys and are loved by everyone.
Where does this misguided notion come from? The vast majority of NPCs in scenarios who have heard of the society actively detest Pathfinders. I don't get why people have come to the conclusion that "We're Pathfinders!" is going to help get them out of trouble.
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There are quite a few scenarios where identifying yourself as a Pathfinder makes things worse. I've had tables where "IN THE VC BRIEFING" they specifically say to hide your affiliation with the Pathfinder Society, that immediately start using their Society resources at the first sign of trouble. It makes for some interesting scenarios.
That does seem kinda strange. Like Noswald said, a lot of the games I've been in identifying yourself as a Pathfinder really isn't that good of an idea.
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Many people see their characters as heros, or at least anti-heros, and thus the organization they belong to as heroic. And so, since they see the Pathfinders as heroic, they expect the NPCs to see the Pathfinders as heroic. It's a problem people have trying to understand motivations outside of their own. They never stop to think that people will have opposite viewpoints of them and what they do, or that their understanding of a situation could be wrong.
Even if they're really not much better than grave robbers most of the time.
For further examples of their phenomonon, enter any "Is ____ Evil?" thread.
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"Should you or any of your team be caught or killed, the Society will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This Venture-Captain will self-destruct in five seconds."
There are quite a few scenarios where identifying yourself as a Pathfinder makes things worse. I've had tables where "IN THE VC BRIEFING" they specifically say to hide your affiliation with the Pathfinder Society, that immediately start using their Society resources at the first sign of trouble. It makes for some interesting scenarios.I did that once, but that character takes his paladinhood fairly seriously.
Just because paladins can't lie, it doesn't mean they have to volunteer information.
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Idea for a Scenario: A mad alchemist implants bombs in all the VCs."Should you or any of your team be caught or killed, the Society will disavow any knowledge of your actions. This Venture-Captain will self-destruct in five seconds."
Every time I GM The Disappeared, I want to play the Mission Impossible theme song and use this line.
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I feel like for every scenario where you get bad reactions from identifying yourselves as pathfinders, there's an equal number where you get good reactions from identifying yourselves as pathfinders. So depending on what scenarios one has played, they may get the impression that everyone likes the pathfinders.
It's also a way to pass on blame. A fairly common knee jerk reaction. It's not my fault, I'm just following orders, blame the institution that told me to do it not me.
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My drug addeled pesh addict spent his first few missions in areas where the group pretended to not be pathfinders. So I had him play the confirmation to have him learn he was actually a pathfinder. Now he is just confused and thinks he betrayed the aspis consortium.
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My halfling gunslinger/bard has Aspis badges she... appropriated from folks that don't need them anymore. She's been known to "accidentally" leave them behind when her murderhobo party has caused somewhat more of an international incident than normal.
-j
Developer
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I'm amused by the premise of a scenario that sends the PCs to rescue a bunch of fellow Pathfinders who attempted the "Don't worry; we're Pathfinders!" defense in very inopportune circumstances.
Like Molthune, Cheliax, Bloodcove, select parts of Ustalav, or the like.
Venture-Lieutenant, Washington—Pullman
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I'm amused by the premise of a scenario that sends the PCs to rescue a bunch of fellow Pathfinders who attempted the "Don't worry; we're Pathfinders!" defense in very inopportune circumstances.
Like Molthune, Cheliax, Bloodcove, select parts of Ustalav, or the like.
Absolom... If i was in charge of the city I'd be tired of their antics.
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I'm amused by the premise of a scenario that sends the PCs to rescue a bunch of fellow Pathfinders who attempted the "Don't worry; we're Pathfinders!" defense in very inopportune circumstances.
Like Molthune, Cheliax, Bloodcove, select parts of Ustalav, or the like.
And then every PFS group that plays that scenario tries the same defense.
A year later, a new scenario is released in which you must rescue an army of fellow Pathfinders...
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I'm amused by the premise of a scenario that sends the PCs to rescue a bunch of fellow Pathfinders who attempted the "Don't worry; we're Pathfinders!" defense in very inopportune circumstances.
Like Molthune, Cheliax, Bloodcove, select parts of Ustalav, or the like.
As long as we get another "If they actually ARE guilty, let 'em hang."
It'd be interesting to see something like this with a LE cleric NPC who ends up being innocent of the charges as a red herring. Overzealous paladin trap!
Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (South Bay)
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On a few occasions, I have seen parties in trouble claim that they are the Aspis Consortium.
In general, identifying themselves as Pathfinders in places known for tyrannical governments or superstitious societies seldom does any good. Mind you, I would expect the Pathfinder Society to get some good PR out of season five.
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Most of the time, what the players are actually saying is, "But we're the PCs!"
A bit before my time, a player in our area would knock on doors and announce "Pathfinder Society!" This has become somewhat of a running gag. It's always amusing when they are sent to help someone who is expecting them, and this actually works.
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On a few occasions, I have seen parties in trouble claim that they are the Aspis Consortium.
In general, identifying themselves as Pathfinders in places known for tyrannical governments or superstitious societies seldom does any good. Mind you, I would expect the Pathfinder Society to get some good PR out of season five.
My TN Cleric has done this several times to counter lower ranked Aspsis agents.
Roasa (Flashes Siver Badge) "You fools are messing up my mission, when I get done fixing your mess, I'll have you skinned!"
Party Paladin: "what did you tell those thuggish men?"
Roasa: "Nothing of importance, let us be on our way." (Tucks away badge as she walks away from potential encounter)
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When I'm a player, most of my characters think of the Society as an international journalism organization/detective agency (especially the Detective Bard). Most of them offer to write specific NPCs into their Chronicles, so that people in Absalom will get to read about them, or mention that you can head to a Pathfinder lodge and look up just about anything about anywhere.
When I'm the GM, most of the NPCs think of Pathfinders as a bunch of nosey vagrants, armed to the teeth and expecting to be able to walk charge into one's home, rifle through one's dainties, list everything they find and complain that they didn't find anything magical. On a good day, wherein violence doesn't seem to follow them wherever they go.
Fortunately, that LG Bard guy I mentioned is also good at Bluffing, so if anyone asks him suspiciously if he's a Pathfinder, he can just dodge the question by complaining about how nosey and violent Pathfinders are, and if he ever sees one it'll be too soon.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8
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Doesn't a character in Dave Gross's "Prince of Wolves" mention the Varisian word for "Pathfinder" is "outlaw"?
IIRC Radovan learns that in Ustalov the Varisian word for "Pathfinder" is the same word for "grave robber". Or it could have been commentary from Varian Jaggare. I can't remember which.
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The system is, after all, called Pathfinder, so we're obviously the good guys. It's not our fault that most people have genre blindness.
In other systems, would they go around saying, "I'm a Dungeon" "I'm a Dragon" "I'm a Cthulhu"?
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The system is, after all, called Pathfinder, so we're obviously the good guys. It's not our fault that most people have genre blindness.In other systems, would they go around saying, "I'm a Dungeon" "I'm a Dragon" "I'm a Cthulhu"?
My area has a lot of murder hobos, so those of us who do not "slay first, cast speak with dead later" know that most people view the Society as murderers.
GM: the BBEG says "Hey that's our loot"
Player 1 (me): I say "No we were here first"
Player 2 (my brother): I say "Perhaps we can talk about it."
Player 3 - I shoot him
Players 1 and 2 - WTF?!?
GM: Make your attack everyone else roll initiative.
There is an argument that they would attack but they did not. The Pathfinders attacked and killed someone because they said "Hey that's mine."
Typically, we lie and tell people we are not pathfinders, or in the case of the confirmation we can honestly say that.
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Ive had to explain on numerous occasions to one of my younger players that Pathfinder Society =/= police and that he cannot lawfully arrest anyone in any town just cause he is a Pathfinder.
This...
I have to remind my players that they have no powers of arrest and not part of any militia. And they aren't playing CSI:Absalom
Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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Absolom... If i was in charge of the city I'd be tired of their antics.I'm amused by the premise of a scenario that sends the PCs to rescue a bunch of fellow Pathfinders who attempted the "Don't worry; we're Pathfinders!" defense in very inopportune circumstances.
Like Molthune, Cheliax, Bloodcove, select parts of Ustalav, or the like.
Yeah, but Absalom city government knows that if it weren't for the pathfinders, the Blakros museum would blow up on a weekly basis.
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We almost lost our second Prestige point yesterday in Scars of the Third Crusade because of this.
I really hate gaming with chaotic players.
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The system is, after all, called Pathfinder, so we're obviously the good guys. It's not our fault that most people have genre blindness.In other systems, would they go around saying, "I'm a Dungeon" "I'm a Dragon" "I'm a Cthulhu"?
Well, Cthulhu doesn't exactly have to say that he is Cthulhu. That Three-hundred ft Save-or-Die aura is kinda distinctive IMO. Also, its relatively easy to say no to a Pathfinder[you just have to have 5 levels of reincarnated druid, or similar contingencies]. But how can one say no to this little guy?
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We almost lost our second Prestige point yesterday in Scars of the Third Crusade because of this.
** spoiler omitted **
I really hate gaming with chaotic players.
Well, in their defense, (and I can totally feel for you), a great deal of Season 5 and that scenario is a prime example, leave a lot of players/play styles/character types out in the cold. I've had two groups in face-to-face games ask me and the other DM to avoid running these as most players find them unfulfilling and boring, and it encourages them to do stupid things (half way through the dialogue "Ok, I don't care, I attack him just for something fun to happen", followed by over half the party, "I move here, me too."). A lot of the issue is, (from what I've seen) is the lack of fulfilling and well rounded scenarios lately and the abundance of ones that require players to be highly invested in a particular story and love RPing, not so much other aspects of gaming.
They tend to do a bit better in PbP games, maybe because it's harder for some players to steal the spotlight as much in dialogue, I don't know.