Introduce Yourself!!!!

[LokiTheWanderer]

Hello, Philip, and welcome.  

The schools define a type of training your character went through.  At the beginning of each session, you get to select from a list of items to use within the adventure that are provided to you by the school where you trained.  As far as factions, when you go out on a mission for PFS/SFS in game, you represent a faction of your choosing (and are not tied to that faction permanently).  In doing so, on completion of the adventure, your character is awarded reputation with each faction.  There are boons on the Paizo website that are locked behind requirements for specific reputation levels in each faction that you are then able to unlock as you get to those thresholds.  

Hope that helps!

That does help. In particular, I was wondering where one would declare school training. Is that something I do in the website or is just something I track? If its something I do, where can I find the rules for it? Also, how can one change factions?

Thanks

That’s an option you track on your own as part of character creation.  This link has more information on schools.

As far as factions go, there used to be a cost a few years ago to slot a different faction than the one you initially declared at character creation during a specific session.  That cost was removed.  You can freely opt to go on missions in scenarios for any faction, unless the faction is locked behind a boon that you do not have (I am not aware of any that are currently locked).  For more on factions, check out this page in the PFS2 Guide to Organized Play.