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Perhaps I'm still suffering from the psychological scars caused by the destruction of LG but the new Starfinder button showing up filled me with dread.
Has there been official word from Paizo concerning whether or not the release of Starfinder will coincide with the death of Pathfinder (and more specifically PFS).
Has there been any announcement that PFS is intended to be "phased out" in the near future? Do they have at least a tentative commitment to continue PFS through Season 9 and into Season 10?
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Seems like a silly suggestion at first glance. However, the thought of a possible Starfinder organized play being set up and the additional work load finally pushing campaign management to the point where they can't keep up any more seems fairly plausible.
Sanctioning, VO appointments and event support PFS is already lagging on all fronts in my opinion and at least based on what I've seen on the forum I don't see signs of things getting any better.
Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (South Bay)
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I would hope that Paizo would hire additional people to run a Starfinder organized play. I already have a few people in my area grumbling about the lack of updates on additional resources, as well as some vague wording in the additional resources. I would be quite happy if Paizo hired a few more people to help PFS and to get a Starfinder organized play group up and running.
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break out the tin foil hats....
it would be idiotic to drop PFS ...
lets looks at what PFS does..
brings in new players
sells books
sells scenarios
sells minis
special events( Like COns) give tons of promotion !
its a win win scenario for Pathfinder....
Now will starfinder kill Pathfinder RPG.. Hell no..
It will more than likely make it even larger
wanna play a star wars campaign?
spelljammer ? stargate ?
there is a huge floodgate of new ideas that it will allow.
And some of those players have not ( or dont like) Fantasy RPG's
But thanks to a great ruleset they have a foot in the door to ( starfinder/Pathfinder)
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Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (South Bay)
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I actually hope that Starfinder allows a "Buck Rogers" option, where maybe with a boon, a character can emerge from the current era of PFS into their setting. Sometimes, a fish out of water character can be fun to play. ("Wait! What happened to Golarion!!! Well, I guess it's time for me to get to work for your Starfinder group. Do you at least still have ale or did Cayden Cailean become a teetotaler in the last thousand years or so?")
While I think PFS can and should be better, I don't see Paizo putting all its eggs in a Starfinder basket.
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I vaguely recall reading somewhere that, initially at least, the intention was only to have a hardback 'core' book, and an 'Adventure Path' line for Starfinder, so I don't think we will see a PFS-style 'Starfinder' campaign any time soon.
Leastways, it would would certainly make sense to only have a relatively limited line whilst they try to: A) set up a new product line, and B) test the waters to see what the market for it is like.
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They've talked about dialing back some of the hardbacks just because there's only so many wells to tap there: you can't keep releasing 5 new classes a year.
But adventures are a slow steady stream that doesn't run out. There's no reason you can't keep making new adventures every year pretty much till the sun burns out.
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Has there been any announcement that PFS is intended to be "phased out" in the near future? Do they have at least a tentative commitment to continue PFS through Season 9 and into Season 10?
There has not. Personally, I feel abandoning the near decade of content produced so far would be phenomenally stupid.
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Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (South Bay)
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Has there been any announcement that PFS is intended to be "phased out" in the near future? Do they have at least a tentative commitment to continue PFS through Season 9 and into Season 10?There has not. Personally, I feel abandoning the near decade of content produced so far would be phenomenally stupid.
PFS does a very good job for marketing of Pathfinder. Speaking of my situation locally in Chicago's front yard, we gain and lose players. Sometimes, we lose players to home campaigns or other systems. However, PFS has allowed players who do not have home campaigns to play Pathfinder - especially if they have busy schedules.
PFS can improve. However, I do not see Starfinder as a threat to either Pathfinder or PFS. Perhaps Starfinder might bring a few people into Pathfinder and the hobby.
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I actually hope that Starfinder allows a "Buck Rogers" option, where maybe with a boon, a character can emerge from the current era of PFS into their setting. Sometimes, a fish out of water character can be fun to play. ("Wait! What happened to Golarion!!! Well, I guess it's time for me to get to work for your Starfinder group. Do you at least still have ale or did Cayden Cailean become a teetotaler in the last thousand years or so?")
While I think PFS can and should be better, I don't see Paizo putting all its eggs in a Starfinder basket.
Assuming there is a Starfinder Society created (which I mostly expect) I hope that there is NOT such an option.
The main reason that I have any interest in Starfinder is the vague hope that it resets the power gallop button and fixes some of the more egregious problems in Pathfinder. If I find a [insert overpowered character] in my first SFS game I'll very likely just quit in disgust there and then
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That's why we'll have Core Starfinder Society! I don't want none of these overpowered occult or advanced class characters. Just give me some wizards with airships and fighters with plasma rifles. Just like in the good old days!
Funny, but does make one wonder about dividing volunteer resources.
We already have RPG Standard, RPG Core and the Adventure Card Game for PFS. Adding Starfinder may be as much if not more of a resource drain on the volunteers and scheduling time at the FLGS / Venues than it is on Paizo. I know if I were still a store coordinator I'd be reluctant to try to organize a 4th type of PFS at a smaller venue. Some venues / areas will obviously have an easier time than others, but I think many venues are going to be challenged to have the coordinator / GM support and time to manage another campaign under the current PFS models of how things are organized / managed / implemented. As mentioned upthread, its obvious that the PFS staff is already struggling under their current load. Adding another campaign can't make it any easier.
i hope to find out that the numerian spaceships are from from the future of starfinder.. and crashed after a failed time travel experiment.The answer to that question is revealed in the Iron Gods AP...
Even so, that would be an interesting twist.
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The second law of thermodynamics makes it clear that PFS will end one day.
I would be pretty shocked if it ended in less than 2 years. I would not be surprised if it were still going 5 or 6 years from now.
I also fully expect that Starfinder won't sell as much as Pathfinder does. One thing that three (four?) (wait, five?) decades of the RPG industry has taught is is that D&D-style fantasy is the biggest seller. (Indeed, the very top seller is usually the thing with D&D in the name... when it wasn't, it was something based off of D&D.) The audience for this kind of pulpy fanatsy-infused science fiction is almost certainly smaller than the audience for high-fantasy Pathfinder.
(I, for one, am looking forward to it. But I seriously doubt I'll give up on all Pathfinder.)
Perhaps I'm still suffering from the psychological scars caused by the destruction of LG but the new Starfinder button showing up filled me with dread.
What is LG?
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Have they even committed to any organized play for it?
No.
When this thread first popped up I did a pretty thorough search of the Paizo boards to make sure I hadn't missed anything. Basically all that has been announced in regards to Starfinder Organized Play is "It's certainly something we'll take a look at."
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I remember reading somewhere that Pathfinder characters could be adapted and updated into Starfinder characters.
If SFS were to ever become a thing, hopefully PFS characters would be given the same opportunity.
Although I didn't play during Season 0, I believe those characters were allowed to update from 3.5 to PF.
Chief Technical Officer
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The sky is not falling.
I'm not going to say that PFS won't be changing, as that would be inaccurate; I'll instead say that PFS will continue to evolve for the foreseeable future in much the same way that it has evolved since its inception.
We have made no formal announcements about OP for Starfinder (though many of us have said we like the idea).
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Venture-Lieutenant, California—Los Angeles (South Bay)
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I remember reading somewhere that Pathfinder characters could be adapted and updated into Starfinder characters.
If SFS were to ever become a thing, hopefully PFS characters would be given the same opportunity.
Although I didn't play during Season 0, I believe those characters were allowed to update from 3.5 to PF.
This indeed happened. I imagine that any future edition of Pathfinder would have similar rules for PFS. I don't see Starfinder replacing Pathfinder but I can see Starfinder influencing the future development of Pathfinder.
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Organized Play Coordinator
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Part of the current workload for the PFS team is formulating Season 9+. So no, the sky is not falling! As Vic posted, PFS is a fluid organization and we change things as needed to accomplish our goals. But we are still looking at a season full of scenarios, special events, quests, and all the other goodies you have come to expect from the team.
Now, you just have to wait for PaizoCon and the banquet announcements....
Living Greyhawk, I believe?Perhaps I'm still suffering from the psychological scars caused by the destruction of LG but the new Starfinder button showing up filled me with dread.What is LG?
Living Greyhawk, the 3.5 organized play.
Thanks for the explanation. :)
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Part of the current workload for the PFS team is formulating Season 9+. So no, the sky is not falling! As Vic posted, PFS is a fluid organization and we change things as needed to accomplish our goals. But we are still looking at a season full of scenarios, special events, quests, and all the other goodies you have come to expect from the team.
Now, you just have to wait for PaizoCon and the banquet announcements....
and those that didn't/aren't going to the banquet- we'll be camped around the doors with our ears to the doors. :p
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Enough with "the sky is falling" nonsense. Come on. Just play the game and have fun.
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Starfinder isn't intended as a replacement for PF, but a different game in a different genre.
But that does give Paizo a fairly major problem.
On the one hand, PFS is their primary marketing tool for Pathfinder. Stretching it to include Starfinder is very, very useful in order to increase Starfinder sales.
On the other hand, they obviously have their hands full just keeping PFS going.
From my point of view, if SFS exists I'd definitely both buy Starfinder and schedule some local games to see what the demand for it is. But those games would definitely conflict with the PFS games I'm currently offering, at least at first.
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From what I have seen working within the Society as a DM and Venture Agent, the PFS is a well rounded and streamlined program which uses a smaller number of people at the top level and delegating the work across the entire Society. This is why it is the most successful RPG OP program I have ever dealt with. (the RPGA could have learned volumes from the design of the PFS).
I believe the Starfinder Society will arise and work like the PFS and the PFACG setups. This means that if it successful, more slots will open up at the bottom as needed, which the few at the top keep the gears greased and the program going in the best direction. If it turns out to be unsuccessful. the Bottom will shrink and eventually evaporate if failure seems imminent. those few at the top will move on to other projects and little will truly change at Paizo.
I look forward to Starfinder and the Society tied to it and will likely either begin to alternate my games, or create an entirely separate night, just as I have tried to do with the ACG. I also look forward to the book to see if I truly can use it to add Spelljammer to my home game.
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Thanks for the answers and everyone's comments, especially Vic Wertz for treating my questions with respect.
Even the posts that chastised me for what they perceived as baseless fears were useful reminders that the PFS community has numerous people that, apparently, know nothing of Living Greyhawk.
Lord John Greyhawk... Spelljammer holds a special place in my heart and I periodically wish Paizo would quit teasing me with what I consider some direct tie-ins!
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As a fan of the RIFTS rpg setting, the idea of adding more sci-fi content to the pathfinder ruleset is a great idea.
That said, I would hope they ensure compatibility, rather than making two completely independent RPGs. Pathfinder and Starfinder should not compete for the limelight, that would be a mistake.
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Even the posts that chastised me for what they perceived as baseless fears were useful reminders that the PFS community has numerous people that, apparently, know nothing of Living Greyhawk.
While some of the player base may not have participated in the Living Greyhawk campaign, a lot of folks at Paizo are intimately familiar with it. Erik Mona was the instigator and original coordinator. Stephen Radney-Macfarland took over for him in that role. Jason Buhlman was a Triad member for Wisconsin (similar to a PFS Venture Captain).
Like you, I was disappointed when LG was discontinued with the release of D&D 4.0, but I was not surprised because the same thing happened with Living City (the AD&D 2.0 organized play campaign) when D&D 3.0 came out. That said, I don't see Starfinder as a competitor for Pathfinder in the same way. It is more of an off-shoot than a new edition of the game. In old RPGA terms, I think of it more like the Masque of the Red Death rules spawning the Living Death campaign. If Pathfinder were to go to a 2nd Edition with a significant change to the rules system, I think your concerns would be justified because it wouldn't make sense for Paizo to devote limited resources to maintain support for an out-dated system. However, given that Pathfinder is founded on the Open Gaming License for D&D 3.0, I don't think that there would ever be a way to change the rules in such a significant fashion as to require a whole new edition unless an entirely non-d20 rules system was developed. Paizo's model for generating profit appears to be more based on releasing new supplementary material and less on making everyone buy a whole new set of basic rule books every 5 years and I applaud that. New printings of the rules with minor changes incorporated, yes, but a whole new and totally different version is unlikely, in my opinion.
