Faction Journal Cards - Helping one another

[Nicolo Felix Morella]

Hi there,

I recently leveled up my fighter and came to the conclusion that he probably won't reach any of his faction goals without really good rolls. Sovereign Court might be an awesome opportunity to get contacts for when he rejoins the Taldan military, but most of this stuff just isn't the typical fighter way...

I'm aware that he could always spend a PP to bypass one of the skill checks. However!

What if I am on a mission with another member of the court?
Say my fighter Nicolo Felix Morella notices that the bard of the group, Bob, is also from the Sovereign Court (And why wouldn't he? Their dental plan is great!). They reach the end of the scenario and while Nicolo killed all those dastardly evildoers, Bob really proved himself to be quite the convincing talker.

In the end, they helped out that nobleman and Nicolo thinks he'd make a great addition to the Sovereign Court, but let's be honest here - he'll probably say something stupid along the way, confuse the princess with the duchess or just stutter around. Bob, however, also wants to use his silver tongue to convince the nobleman.

If Bob manages to convince the nobleman to join the Sovereign Court and Nicolo assists him, can they BOTH mark the goal as fulfilled on their faction journal cards?

And if that is a yes:

Can Bob recruit the NPC to grant Nicolo the mark even if he himself does not need it anymore?

Right now I'm sinking one of my precious 3 skill points per level into Knowledge (Nobility) and this might help a bit, but still...

[GM Lamplighter]

Faction cards are individual rewards, so I think you have to do it yourself.

Some character concepts fit some faction goals better than others, though. Skill points re always in short supply for some classes. Look and see if the rewards for doing the mission are worth it for your character, and invest them accordingly.

[DM Livgin]

A core value of the Society is cooperation.

I encourage this type of behavior and think it is entirely reasonable. Think of the party's actions as your actions and it makes complete sense; the same way that everyone gets the second prestige point for Bob sweet talking an NPC it makes sense for everyone to get the faction credit for Bob recruiting the nobleman.

[Ascalaphus]

There's a few tidbits in the "How to use" section of the season 8 cards worth looking at here:

Quote:

Your character can use the Faction Journal Card for her faction. Each card includes three important sections: a summary of the faction’s interests, three special boons on the front of the card, and multiple goals tied to earning the boons on the back of the card. Once per adventure that grants a Chronicle sheet and at least 1 XP—whether it is a Pathfinder Society scenario, a section of a Pathfinder Module, a Pathfinder Adventure Path volume, or other sanctioned content—you may earn credit toward one of the goals on the back of the card and check one of the boxes that precedes that goal; even if you fulfill multiple objectives, you can only check one box per adventure unless otherwise stated. If a goal requires you to fulfill a second goal in a particular way, you receive credit for doing so even if you have already checked all of the secondary goal’s boxes.

Once all of a goal’s boxes are checked, you have completed that goal. When you complete two, four, or seven goals, you also earn the corresponding boon on the front of the card. You can only fulfill goals and use the earned boons if you are a member of the faction; changing factions causes you to lose any benefits of your previous faction’s card. Most of the boons provide a constant bonus or a benefit usable once per adventure, though particularly powerful boons may have limited uses.

Some faction goals require a successful skill check commonly associated with that faction; however, every faction agent has a different skill set, and not all agents can accomplish those tasks unaided. In place of attempting a goal’s skill check, you can instead spend 1 Prestige Point to succeed through other channels (2 Prestige Points if the DC is 20 plus your character level or higher).

For GMs: By design, the Faction Journal Cards include a variety of goals, some which include very precise instructions and some that rely on interpretation. This is to allow PCs to have many opportunities to fulfill these goals, rather than forcing them to play a specific adventure to complete their cards. Err on the side of leniency when ruling whether or not a PC fulfilled a faction objective; for example, defeating an undead creature does not necessarily mean striking the killing blow, and someone who actively contributes to the combat almost certainly qualifies. Any skill check DCs associated with a goal are independent of and do not completely replace any other DCs that appear in a scenario. Several goals require a PC to recruit an NPC to join her faction. NPCs who already belong to another faction (including most venture-captains) and creatures especially hostile to the PCs or the Society (like most evil outsiders and Aspis Consortium agents) are not viable recruits. Each card also includes a special goal tied to being a GM for Pathfinder Society games.

As a GM I'd be fine with a bit of teamwork here, within limits:

- Only same faction members can aid
- The primary roller must be trying to fulfill the goal. If Bob and Nicolo both need more noblemen, they can work together. Gloriana is happy they worked together to expand the court. If Bob already has enough noblemen in his pocket, he can't make the primary roll but can still Aid. Gloriana is not going to give Nicolo credit if Bob was doing most of the work and already has credit for it.

And of course you can just throw prestige points at it instead (new rule in S8!).

[GM Lamplighter]

A core value of the Society may be cooperation, but that doesn't necessarily extend to the factions. I don't think the intention is to let people focus on combat only, and still get free faction boons just by rolling a 10 (or even a 12) to aid someone else. Pathfinders are supposed to be skilled and resourceful, after all.

However, you both makes some good points - I'll reconsider my stance on this (if it ever comes up). Lau's limits seem reasonable.