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You know, playtests are not a way to distribute boons to players, but a way to actually collect feedback to adjust the book, which is on a timeline for editing, printing, and release... I bet that date wasn't chosen based on player convenience, but on getting it done in time for printing. Maybe we could think about this from Paizo's perspective rather than only about "what I can get for me".
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By providing the boon as an incentive they should at least make it reasonable to acquire for someone playing the playtest character regularly. If the goal is to get a large number of people testing the classes at a wide range of levels, then they need to give enough time fore people to get the characters to those levels.
What this boon is doing instead is encouraging people to play a bunch of different classes once just to secure characters with those classes to play before the book is released. That gives plenty of play test data for level 1, but nothing for higher levels.
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Modules are not an option when your only play groups are public PFS events. Some Modules may be able to be done in 4h but most can't. Even the ones that can be done in 4h can go over especially in random groups.
So basically, the boon is only for those who can find the time to play 9 modules, 20 scenarios or some mix of the two in a Month.
Some people only get to play 1-2 times a week! (Full time jobs have a tendency to take your entire work week.) I can play 3 times a week, only because I worked out a deal with my boss for Thursdays, but can't do modules on Thursdays and the other PFS locations I go to only do Modules at best once a month. Don't forget, if you already played the module, you can't re-play it for credit.
9 Sessions is Reasonable, but only without the level requirements.
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9 Sessions is Reasonable, but only without the level requirements.Having the level requirements provides an incentive for people to break out their GM credit blobs, so they get playtesting higher than 3rd level.
That or modules, as TOZ suggests. I mean, a human commoner with a longspear and PFS point buy (used for 18+ Strength) can probably contribute as a fairly reasonable damage dealer for the lowest levels.
The playtests at level 7+? Those are rarer and more valuable. The final boon is only for people who truly go above and beyond and provide us with that rare and valuable commodity that we know is hard to reach. It should be hard to get. And I think it's pretty special, offering something very nice that some people have asked for that will nonetheless not put the new protege above other characters of her level with a permanent power boost.
As an example from my own experience, even my Saturday group that usually plays PFS when we can't muster quorum for an Adventure Path managed to get the 2nd boon. By starting with a replayable 1st-level module, if we pushed even just a little, we could probably get the 3rd boon (though many tried two characters, so only the ones who focused on one character and didn't miss sessions).
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9 Sessions is Reasonable, but only without the level requirements.Having the level requirements provides an incentive for people to break out their GM credit blobs, so they get playtesting higher than 3rd level.That or modules, as TOZ suggests. I mean, a human commoner with a longspear and PFS point buy (used for 18+ Strength) can probably contribute as a fairly reasonable damage dealer for the lowest levels.
The playtests at level 7+? Those are rarer and more valuable. The final boon is only for people who truly go above and beyond and provide us with that rare and valuable commodity that we know is hard to reach. It should be hard to get. And I think it's pretty special, offering something very nice that some people have asked for that will nonetheless not put the new protege above other characters of her level with a permanent power boost.
As an example from my own experience, even my Saturday group that usually plays PFS when we can't muster quorum for an Adventure Path managed to get the 2nd boon. By starting with a replayable 1st-level module, if we pushed even just a little, we could probably get the 3rd boon (though many tried two characters, so only the ones who focused on one character and didn't miss sessions).
For my local group that plays PFS less frequently (about once per month currently) this makes it very difficult and impossible to give feedback on anything more than 2nd level occult characters working within the PFS.
I'm almost always the one running games so I'm the only person with an experience blob large enough (or enough characters that I would happily throw a pile of prestige to rebuild a character) to spontaneously create a mid level character, but even then I would still be the one running games more likely than not.
I was able to push pretty hard and get a playtest event going with my local group, ran a module with 9th level occult characters and did that for the full game day, but since that wasn't Pathfinder Society, there isn't a Pathfinder Society boon attached to that (which is fair). But that was the very much the only way I was going to see a high level Occult Adventures character in any of my Pathfinder games this month. However one of the people in that game would like to make a low level occultist.
He would have been able to if I ran the playtest game as a 1st level PFS game. He could also play his occultist in the monthly game tomorrow, but we are currently between one and two tables of people and he is the best candidate for GMing the second table. He just doesn't get the boon for doing that and if he GMs he will miss the playtest window altogether. So he is understandably not enamored by the playtest boon.
Although higher level playtest data is more valuable, with the way that it is set up is to reward low level PFS play and ignores any type of other playtesting.
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I was asked on question by one of my players one the topic of adventure treasure and material component costs.
In a normal scenario, I believe that if you happen to find a spellcaster with expensive spell components, that you could use those during the adventure without it depleting the treasure reward for either yourself or the party just like if you drank a healing potion during the adventure.
For material components for psychic spells one could "use any item with significant meaning and a value greater than or equal to the spell’s component cost." The exact question my player asked was if he could use potion of cure light wounds that he obtained from treasure in during the scenario in place of the 25 gold piece component cost of augury.
While I don't think this potion would qualify has having a significant meaning to me, I could see an argument being made for it as well as random bits of jewelry and art found on enemies and in loot stashes.
So I have a few questions on this:
1. Should items found and used during adventures as psychic spell components be removed in some fashion from loot received?
2. For the situation of items found during scenarios, is it left up to complete GM discretion on what qualifies as "significant meaning" for any given item?
3. Presuming anything is fair game for spell components including weapons and armor, what value is used for the item. Can a +2 longsword be used as a 8315 gp component in raise dead or do I value it as the spell price of 4157 gp?
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Designer
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I was asked on question by one of my players one the topic of adventure treasure and material component costs.
In a normal scenario, I believe that if you happen to find a spellcaster with expensive spell components, that you could use those during the adventure without it depleting the treasure reward for either yourself or the party just like if you drank a healing potion during the adventure.
For material components for psychic spells one could "use any item with significant meaning and a value greater than or equal to the spell’s component cost." The exact question my player asked was if he could use potion of cure light wounds that he obtained from treasure in during the scenario in place of the 25 gold piece component cost of augury.
While I don't think this potion would qualify has having a significant meaning to me, I could see an argument being made for it as well as random bits of jewelry and art found on enemies and in loot stashes.
So I have a few questions on this:
1. Should items found and used during adventures as psychic spell components be removed in some fashion from loot received?
2. For the situation of items found during scenarios, is it left up to complete GM discretion on what qualifies as "significant meaning" for any given item?
3. Presuming anything is fair game for spell components including weapons and armor, what value is used for the item. Can a +2 longsword be used as a 8315 gp component in raise dead or do I value it as the spell price of 4157 gp?
While it's subject to GM discretion in a home campaign, I think it's fair to say in PFS that the jewelry your 11th level PC found off Mookington III does not have significant meaning to raising your dead 11th level friend in the same way as a wedding ring to raise a spiritualist's dead husband. If you used the McGuffin you were supposed to return to the society, that might be a different story. I anticipate there might become a PFS ruling on what constitutes significant if table variation becomes too much of a problem, but of course I can't be sure.
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Not looking likely for me, I should have 6 tonight (unless I am needed to GM *shakes fist* Gorram cold and flu season!), so it would depend on if I can get in the last Thornkeep Level (which would be number 7 on the boon as well as push me to level 7) and then I would probably have to chase 2 online scenarios.
I have taken the character from level 1 on up so far, with 2 GM credits to push myself to level 3 before doing the Forgotten Laboratory:
*Confirmation
*Thornkeep: Accursed Halls
GM Credit for Veteran's Vault
GM Credit for Murder on the Throaty Mermaid
*Thornkeep: Forgotten Laboratory
*Thornkeep: Enigma Vaults
*Thornkeep: Dark Menagerie
I am trying to get a good idea of how the character class will work at the levels most players will see while still seeing progression to test the abilities. In the case of the Kineticist, I think the class really needs some fleshing out, because I could not imagine playing it through 3 Scenarios a level as it currently stands.
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well, our emerald spire characters are locked in by our gm (we all agreed to that beforehand). so i have been running an medium, and even with a bunch of games this week i will barely have 4 before the end. only one guy i know in my area will get the full boon. i understand that they want onfo on the playtest, but some way to get the extra boons afterwards would be nice