Post/Author/DateTime	Post
awroe 07-24-07, 01:12 PM	The new rulebook says that non-Greyhawk PCs can join the affiliations, but get -10 to their score. I'm wondering if this applies to PCs that are already members (e.g. by way of certain ARs), and whether they can claim extra points for adventures played before the handbook came out.
JJeff 07-24-07, 09:21 PM	What I want to know is what constitutes "Adventures with a member of the faction?" Does this mean that walking aound with a fellow PC that is of the same affliation gains you Affliation points just like that? Do all players start at a 0 point affliation when we join? Cos some organisations kick you out if you are ever below 1 point.
vvincent 07-24-07, 09:34 PM	I can't answer specific to the Greyhawk Ruins affiliations, however Verbobonc has been using Affiliations since May 2006 - so we have some experience with the mechanics and the various issues that have arisen from Affiliations. On the first question - you would seem to earn the Affiliation bonus each time you played an adventure with a character that is a member of your faction. So, if you and another PC are both in the Cartographer's Guild (for example) - then you each would earn the benefit each time you played at a table with each other. On the second question - the rules for Affiliations are covered in Player's Handbook 2, but it seems reasonable that if you no longer qualify for membership (due to your actions or whatever) and, as a result - have an Affiliation score of 0 or lower, then you would be "kicked out". Of course, if you still meet the Affiliation Score Criteron, then you could conceivable earn enough Affiliation Points to be considered a member again. Per Player's Handbook 2, page 65 (Titles, Benefits, and Duties): "Characters with an affiliation score of 3 or lower are usually not considered members..." Affiliation points are a lot like XP. When you earn enough - you advance to the next tier. If you somehow lose them, you fall to the lower tier (or are effectively not a member anymore). Of course, Creighton and company can trump me if they have alternate viewpoints. Hope this helped. Vernon L. Vincent Verbobonc Triad What I want to know is what constitutes "Adventures with a member of the faction?" Does this mean that walking aound with a fellow PC that is of the same affliation gains you Affliation points just like that? Do all players start at a 0 point affliation when we join? Cos some organisations kick you out if you are ever below 1 point.
Samwise 07-25-07, 01:27 AM	What I want to know is what constitutes "Adventures with a member of the faction?" Does this mean that walking aound with a fellow PC that is of the same affliation gains you Affliation points just like that? Yes. Making connections is a big part of the Mercenaries' Guild. You need to exchange connections and recommendations, and the best way to do that is by hanging out with another member. Yes, that can get a bit peculiar with regular LG groups, but it fits the organization in general. For the Faithful affiliations, traveling with other members of the faith means you are, or at least should be, bettter equipped to spread the faith by supporting each other. Do all players start at a 0 point affliation when we join? Cos some organisations kick you out if you are ever below 1 point. Someone else has noted that in the Faithful affiliation. That would be an "oopsie" on my part. It should be booted at -1, so you can at least join the group. I have passed it on to Creighton with other comments. Sam Weiss Core Reviewer and Affiliation Author
JJeff 07-25-07, 02:04 AM	Thanks, Sam. was planning the typical St Cuthbert/Nightwatch character and those issues kinda bugged me...
Potato Weasel 07-25-07, 09:40 AM	So taking one of my characters is an official greyhawk mercenary, and another becomes a member of the wizardry guild if he takes a certain prestige class, can i actually use these affiliations for them? It seems odd that they mention the favor that gets you into the nightwatch but not its effect towards joining the organisation (if it is indeed possible)
Fakegoatee 07-25-07, 12:06 PM	So far as I can tell, only Greyhawk Ruins characters can have affiliation scores with these organizations. There are ways (through ARs) to be considered a member of the organization and gain certain benefits without having an affiliation score with them. Being a member of the organization is not the same as being a member of the affiliation. This is based on the discussion in the Rules forum thread about Nightwatchmen.
vvincent 07-25-07, 12:09 PM	Sam - are there any plans for an Affiliation logsheet, so people can record the earning or loss of Affiliation points? That's one of the things we've found very useful in Verbobonc - and it helps in auditing in case things need to be verified. We have one done already, and I can forward it on to you if you like. Vernon L. Vincent Verbobonc Triad Yes. Making connections is a big part of the Mercenaries' Guild. You need to exchange connections and recommendations, and the best way to do that is by hanging out with another member. Yes, that can get a bit peculiar with regular LG groups, but it fits the organization in general. For the Faithful affiliations, traveling with other members of the faith means you are, or at least should be, bettter equipped to spread the faith by supporting each other. Someone else has noted that in the Faithful affiliation. That would be an "oopsie" on my part. It should be booted at -1, so you can at least join the group. I have passed it on to Creighton with other comments. Sam Weiss Core Reviewer and Affiliation Author
Samwise 07-25-07, 12:37 PM	So taking one of my characters is an official greyhawk mercenary, and another becomes a member of the wizardry guild if he takes a certain prestige class, can i actually use these affiliations for them? I think the document makes this clear. The affiliations are only for your (single) Greyhawk Ruins PC. Other characters do not get to join the affiliations in any manner. Any decision to change this would come solely from the Circle. It seems odd that they mention the favor that gets you into the nightwatch but not its effect towards joining the organisation (if it is indeed possible) That is because the favor is mentioned in a separate section, that of the Greyhawk laws. It is possible, but I think it will be very rare. (As a personal opinion only. Again, any change is up to Creighton.)
Samwise 07-25-07, 12:42 PM	Sam - are there any plans for an Affiliation logsheet, so people can record the earning or loss of Affiliation points? That's one of the things we've found very useful in Verbobonc - and it helps in auditing in case things need to be verified. We have one done already, and I can forward it on to you if you like. Vernon L. Vincent Verbobonc Triad Send it to Creighton, since that is something he makes the decisions about. (I'm just answering these questions because they are either directly stated in the text, or I have already talked about these things with Creighton.) Sam Weiss Core Reviewer and Affiliation Author
GreySector 07-25-07, 01:28 PM	Hey Sam, is there any way to add the Beggar's Union as an affiliation?
Samwise 07-25-07, 02:52 PM	Adding affiliations is something that Creighton would decide. However, I would not expect there is any reasonable way of PCs belonging to the Beggars' Union. They are beggars. What would you get affiliation points for, always living off the wild? Getting someone else to pay for your stuff? And would you lose points if you ever pay for a standard or better lifestyle? It has some reasonable ties to the Thieves' Guild, but in an LG campaign, the basic concept just wouldn't mesh properly. A home game would be different.
gomeztoo 07-25-07, 02:53 PM	The affiliations are only for your (single) Greyhawk Ruins PC. I didn't realize there was limit of only one PC?
Samwise 07-25-07, 03:02 PM	I didn't realize there was limit of only one PC? . . . Heh. I was combining the requirement that you include a dead 1st character's AR on the top of a new character's AR stack to continue playing. With the very next FAQ question included that should be: "The affiliations are for your (up to four) Greyhawk Ruins PC(s)." If you start a completely new and different PC for each of the four Greyhawk Ruins adventures, then you can have as many as four different Greyhawk PCs, joining as many disparate affiliations as you want. I'm not sure how much play you will get out of it, or what rank in the affiliations they could hope to ever attain (without missions and special AR notes giving affiliation points), but you could have four. (I think I'll mention that to Creighton. That seems too close to the "start to get access then quit" gimmick to be all that good.)
GreySector 07-25-07, 03:07 PM	Adding affiliations is something that Creighton would decide. However, I would not expect there is any reasonable way of PCs belonging to the Beggars' Union. They are beggars. What would you get affiliation points for, always living off the wild? Getting someone else to pay for your stuff? And would you lose points if you ever pay for a standard or better lifestyle? It has some reasonable ties to the Thieves' Guild, but in an LG campaign, the basic concept just wouldn't mesh properly. A home game would be different. I realize it's something Creighton would do, I just thought you could pass it up the chain. Not being familiar with where the affiliation rules come from, I'm affraid I can't address what might or might not be appropriate to earn affiliation points or rewards. I don't even necessarily care about affiliation points. Heck, it could just be a one or two tier thing with zero or no benefits. If I decide to make that character I'll just keep his membership in my head (though it would be neat if it was acknowledged by NPCs and such).
GreySector 07-25-07, 03:09 PM	. . . "The affiliations are for your (up to four) Greyhawk Ruins PC(s)." (imported from another thread) Is the new Core intro Ambition's Folly considered to be a part of the Greyhawk Ruins plot arc?
Samwise 07-25-07, 03:13 PM	The affiliation rules are in the Player's Handbook II. By design, they have more than two tiers, and must have definite benefits. Something like you described could be a meta-org by the current design rules, or perhaps an AR favor. It would not be an affiliation.
gomeztoo 07-25-07, 03:28 PM	"The affiliations are for your (up to four) Greyhawk Ruins PC(s)." Or sixteen, depending on how you read the adventure 'round' requirements. There are 4 adventures with each 4 rounds. Each round gives an AR, but you can choose which 'sections' to play in which order and what sessions, which seems to give the option to play different rounds with different PCs. Probably not the intention, but it seems possible.
Samwise 07-25-07, 03:56 PM	OK, that has been sent to Creighton for special attention.
Samwise 07-25-07, 04:08 PM	(imported from another thread) Is the new Core intro Ambition's Folly considered to be a part of the Greyhawk Ruins plot arc? According to page 12 of the sourcebook, only the special four part adventures labeled as "Greyhawk Ruins" are part of the story arc, and qualify for access to the material listed in the sourcebook. I'll mention it to Creighton for a FAQ entry, but it should be clear from that part of the sourcebooks.
Genghis Cohen 07-25-07, 05:54 PM	Or sixteen, depending on how you read the adventure 'round' requirements. There are 4 adventures with each 4 rounds. Each round gives an AR, but you can choose which 'sections' to play in which order and what sessions, which seems to give the option to play different rounds with different PCs. Probably not the intention, but it seems possible.I read the four adventures as having 12 rounds. CGR7-01 has two. If you play that, you can't play the first two of CGR7-02, but you can play the third and fourth rounds of that mod.
Suvarov454 07-26-07, 07:37 AM	According to page 12 of the sourcebook, only the special four part adventures labeled as "Greyhawk Ruins" are part of the story arc, and qualify for access to the material listed in the sourcebook. I'll mention it to Creighton for a FAQ entry, but it should be clear from that part of the sourcebooks. Please be sure to mention that the text in INT7-01 Ambition's Folly says that PCs can choose to have City of Greyhawk as their home region, and that they can select affiliations described in the Greyhawk Ruins Sourcebook. We'll need a FAQ entry for the INT7-01 as well.
Samwise 07-26-07, 12:17 PM	Ahhh. I don't have a copy of that. I'll pass it along.