My thoughts on the Pathfinder Society Game so far.
I played the first 4 Pathfinder Society Games at Gen Con this year. Now, while I had tons of fun, overall, the mods themselves were very simple and the faction missions downright lame. Now, being the start of a campaign, I can understand having simple modules to get people into/used to a new world. However, to keep people's interest it can't be the norm for long. This concerns me because of the way their module submission process works. My understanding is that the mods are named with the premises in tact and you have to send them your outline for their bullet points for approval to write it. While this will give them tight control on the plots, it will also limit creativity and complexity. My opinion is to meet somewhere in the middle. Allow people to put forth module ideas that are not already pretty much spelled out but also have the bulleted modules if you'd like.
As to the factions, I do understand that to most people party conflict is a no-no. But as things stand now, what is the point of the missions if they aren't difficult, more then one person isn't looking for the same thing, or you don't have to really convince your party members to go along with you or...SOMETHING. Honestly, I think a little party conflict is good and I LOVE what Arcanis does with their secret missions. Pathfinder should take a page from them, in my opinion. Of course, so far, Arcanis is quite a bit more grittier then Pathfinder Society is and it could just be a flavor issue.
I'm going to be playing the next 2 pathfinder society modules this weekend at DCV (#5 & 6) so we'll have to see how they end up. Joe C. has already played them and he has told me that so far he has been unimpressed. This makes me sad. :(
I have some high hopes for this campaign and great trust in the people that run it, so I'm hoping that some of this is just growing pains. :)
On a side note, we just started up a campaign using the rise of the runelords and so far it is GREAT. Nothing like the pathfinder society modules other then the world. I'm very excited to continue to play these!
As to the factions, I do understand that to most people party conflict is a no-no. But as things stand now, what is the point of the missions if they aren't difficult, more then one person isn't looking for the same thing, or you don't have to really convince your party members to go along with you or...SOMETHING. Honestly, I think a little party conflict is good and I LOVE what Arcanis does with their secret missions. Pathfinder should take a page from them, in my opinion. Of course, so far, Arcanis is quite a bit more grittier then Pathfinder Society is and it could just be a flavor issue.
I'm going to be playing the next 2 pathfinder society modules this weekend at DCV (#5 & 6) so we'll have to see how they end up. Joe C. has already played them and he has told me that so far he has been unimpressed. This makes me sad. :(
I have some high hopes for this campaign and great trust in the people that run it, so I'm hoping that some of this is just growing pains. :)
On a side note, we just started up a campaign using the rise of the runelords and so far it is GREAT. Nothing like the pathfinder society modules other then the world. I'm very excited to continue to play these!