So, I've got a gaming group that's running through Season of the Shackles but using standard play/deck-construction, rather than class decks. Not Organized Play, obviously, but still a good way to get more play out of the box, especially if it's not currently being used for an active OP group, right?
That said, we're coming up on Scenario 0-1F, where we're going to hit the first Loot cards.
Now, in normal play, the Loot cards just go into someone's deck, and the group hangs onto them. In Organized Play, not so much; due to the nature of class decks and OP itself, the loot continues living in the core box and gets swapped in at the start of each scenario, and the scenario 'cards' have their rewards recorded to reflect this.
So, the question: If using OP scenarios for standard out-of-the-box play, is the intended ruling that we use the standard rules for handling Loot, or are we going to need to do an Organized Play-style loot pool that gets dipped into before each scenario?
There are no official rules for using OP scenarios for a home game, I'd just handle loot like you would if running through the home game AP (that is, give it out as actual cards). Also, replace the reward of scenario 0-4A ("Each character gains a skill feat during any 1 scenario in this Adventure Path. This feat may not be gained during an encounter.") with the loot card Vailea, as that is what the reward is meant to represent doing.
Chief Technical Officer
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There are no special rules for using them in a home game because no special rules are needed—they're designed to be used *exactly as written* for either home play or OP. Which is to say, you can go ahead and do exactly what it says: "For the rest of the Adventure Path, when setting up each scenario, 1 character may temporarily replace an item in her deck with the loot Besmara’s Tricorne and another character may temporarily replace a weapon in his deck with the loot Vindictive Harpoon. At the end of each scenario, return the loot to the game box."
If you prefer, you can go ahead and permanently reward the loot to a particular character, but playing it as written actually gives you more flexibility (though it does also prevent the same character from getting both cards at the same time).
And while you could replace the 0-4A reward by giving out the loot Vailea instead, loot only helps one person while the printed reward helps everyone. (On the other hand, Vailea *also* lets her owner discard her to examine the top card of his location deck, so maybe you might want to do that.)
"Each character gains a skill feat during any 1 scenario in this Adventure Path. This feat may not be gained during an encounter."
Maybe it's my unfamiliarity with OP, but is that meant to also give 'flexibility', in that you have a sort of 'floating' feat you may reassign each scenario?
I'm basically trying to understand how is this reward different than simply "Each character gains a skill feat."
Well. That certainly changes things a bit, but not in a bad way at all. :) Good to know that we don't have to do any kind of special ruling. Also that we don't have to potentially lose some good plunder to keep the loots.
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Honestly, I'd prefer the OP way of handling loot over the actual way of handling loot, since it gives that idea of "preparing" for a scenario by picking out the proper loot. But yeah, if you're looking for the closest to the actual rules, I'd go with what skizzerz posted.
Honestly, I'd prefer the OP way of handling loot over the actual way of handling loot, since it gives that idea of "preparing" for a scenario by picking out the proper loot.
Also, this would gives some design space to ensure that players always have access to cards necessary to defeat a scenario (example would be RotR's final fight, which can be practically unwinnable if you don't have enough 'examine and rearrange' and/or ungodly amounts of luck; players being able to just dip in the Loot pool for the Revelation Quill -which is awarded far sooner than you can know it will be indispensable- can be spared a frustrating defeat (and in that particular scenario - certain death))
And I have had more than one agonizing decision, when awarded with Loot that I know I 'll want further down the road, but I just can't fit in my current card slots. All in all, the whole idea of 'take it or lose it forever' seems really counter-intuitive, and on our table we home-ruled that such Loots go into the common pool for the appropriate card type, so we still have a chance to encounter them at a more appropriate moment.
MM's new Traders seem like a great step in the right direction (unless I'm misunderstanding how they work), but I'm really hoping the next PACG evolution brings us some kind of Party Stash.
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Chief Technical Officer
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"Each character gains a skill feat during any 1 scenario in this Adventure Path. This feat may not be gained during an encounter."Maybe it's my unfamiliarity with OP, but is that meant to also give 'flexibility', in that you have a sort of 'floating' feat you may reassign each scenario?
I'm basically trying to understand how is this reward different than simply "Each character gains a skill feat."
"Each character gains a skill feat" would happen immediately when rewarded. In this version, you actually get to choose which skill feat box you check during a scenario (but not during an encounter). As with the other wording, it's permanent, and only happens once.
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With the removal of most feat advancement from scenarios and adventures in the OP adventure path, if a group is playing them as a home game, do they follow the same rules of feat advancement as described in the Adventure Card Guild guide? First scenario of an adventure is a skill feat, second is a power feat and the fourth scenario is a card feat?
With the removal of most feat advancement from scenarios and adventures in the OP adventure path, if a group is playing them as a home game, do they follow the same rules of feat advancement as described in the Adventure Card Guild guide? First scenario of an adventure is a skill feat, second is a power feat and the fourth scenario is a card feat?
As Vic said, "they're designed to be used *exactly as written* for either home play or OP." That should include the feat advancement, or how would you handle it?
At least I handled it like that, as any other progression is not given anywhere and would thus be a house rule.
I follow the feat progression as it's set up for OP. I try to stick to the OP rules as much as possible when playing at home as the scenarios are all designed and balanced around players following those rules. That and I prefer most of the OP specific rules to those of the standard APs rules anyway.
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As Vic said, "they're designed to be used *exactly as written* for either home play or OP." That should include the feat advancement, or how would you handle it?
At least I handled it like that, as any other progression is not given anywhere and would thus be a house rule.
I've only played the OP scenarios using OP guidelines which includes feat advancement. The first season, Season of the Shackles, included feat advancement as rewards to the scenarios and adventures. Once the new guide came out with Season 1, most of the feat advancement follows the guide as stated in my previous post. Season of the Shackles was edited to reflect that change. (Some feats are still given out as rewards but those are treated as additional feats.)
So, no, I wouldn't simply assume that feat advancement only follows what's written in the season's scenarios. I'd use the ACG guide when it comes to feat advancement as well as the rewards given for completing scenarios and adventures. But I don't think there has been any "official" ruling that if one plays the OP season as a home game, does feat advancement follow OP guidelines. (Which makes the most sense overall.)
Seems like I was not able to describe what I meant correctly; I always used the feat advancement of the OP guidelines as well, since I consider them directly tied to the scenarios.
The way I understand the quote from vic about being exactly as written means that the basis for home games are all of the OP rules including the guidelines, and everything modified afterwards comes down to a houserule you choose yourself.
Playing the seasons without class decks and alternate deck building rules therefore is up to your own gusto, but doesn't change anything of the feat progression in OP.
I personally use the OP guidelines for feats and handle loot and deckbuilding like the base game most of the time.