by Andrew Roberts, VL
Last update: December 4, 2018
What is PFS?
Pathfinder Society (PFS) is an organized play campaign, where a bunch of people that don't know each other play together with their characters. All characters start at level 1 and advance based on how many scenarios and modules they have played (a scenario is a half day affair, granting 1 xp, and a module is a full day affair, granting 3 xp. It always takes 3 xp to gain each level). At the end of each adventure you will get a chronicle sheet that details what your character earned during that adventure. You do not keep any items gained through the adventure, although the gold earned at the end of the scenario reflects the amount of treasure you accumulated during that scenario as if you had sold everything off. You can take your characters to any venue, state, or convention in the world where Pathfinder Society is being played.
The organized play follows completely strict rules of Pathfinder, and only allows Pathfinder rules (No 3rd party publisher content allowed). They do this because when you have multiple GMs, one GM may allow something while another may not. Having it completely strict as to what you can do makes it uniform and doesn't screw people over with their characters when playing with different GMs. Having said that, I was rather surprised by the amount of rules we got wrong or we missed in our home games, so be warned about that.
I'm interested! How to sign up for a game?
The best way to search for games is to look at our calendar. There, you can see all of our upcoming scheduled games. To sign up, click on the gameday you want to go to and reply to the thread telling them what scenario you want to play and your name, as well as character level and class if you know what you are going to play. That will reserve you a spot for that gameday. If there aren't empty slots on the game, then you will be put on a wait list. We strongly prefer you sign up ahead of time so that we can know who is coming. This helps us set up GMs and games so that everyone has the best experience. You can sign up friends too, but after the first couple times we prefer that they sign up individually (families and couples are an exception to this).
Our calendar for gamedays is located at the top of any forum page, or you can click the calendar link below:
http://gapfs.org/forum/calendar.php
Now I know how to sign up! Do I need to make a character?
For your first couple of games, it's up to you. You can either make your own character or play a pregenerated character. If you are playing at a higher level game, you will need to play a pregenerated character as all PFS character start at level 1. If you want to make your own, the links and tips below will help you out! There is also almost certainly someone at the gameday who can help you out as well if you are having trouble.
Useful Links:
If you would like to join, they have a guide to making your character here (Or you can look at the quick guide below):
http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/v5748btpy84k4
If you have a question about what's allowed from outside the core rulebook, consult this page:
http://paizo.com/pathfindersociety/about...lResources
This website is great because it tells you what is allowed or not allowed specifically in Pathfinder Society by putting a little symbol beside the feat/class/skill/archetype/whatever to show you it's allowed (technically if it's not the core rulebook you have to own the book for it to be allowed). I highly recommend it as the go-to site for rules:
http://www.archivesofnethys.com/
And most of the stuff here is allowed, but you will have to double check some of it (especially since some campaign setting-specific names have been altered):
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/
Quick guide to making a level 1 character in PFS:
- Concordance of Elements: An ancient and diverse organization whose membership spans multiple planes, with a particular focus on the elemental planes. Its members take great interest in the interplay among the primal forces of air, earth, fire, and water. They believe that the stability of the multiverse ultimately depends upon these forces—and many others—remaining in balance. Synopsis: Care about the balance of the planes and elements.
- Dark Archives: Maintain order in the Vaults beneath the Grand Lodge of Absalom. Seek out other dangerous relics, and retrieve them for proper storage and research in the Dark Archive. Study and understand hazardous phenomena, and harness these occurrences’ power for the faction’s benefit. Build alliances with like-minded organizations. Synopsis: Collect any dangerous artifacts and store them, even if it means risking your life at times.
- The Exchange: Although it is small compared to many other trade outfits in the Inner Sea region, the faction aims to build an extensive trade network that allow it to deliver nearly any good to any location—for a price. Undermine or acquire rival monopolies while allying with powerful producers, merchants, and contacts to further grow the business. Synopsis: Do anything you can to increase trade and make profit.
- Grand Lodge: Members of this faction are the most dedicated members of the Pathfinder Society, embodying the key tenets of the organization above all else. Focused on exploring ruins as well as securing artifacts from those who don’t appreciate them, these Pathfinders have an insatiable sense of curiosity. Grand Lodge Pathfinders make excellent teammates for larger expeditions, and have filled the tomes of the Pathfinder Chronicles since the earliest volumes. They often take inspiration from the exploits of the early Pathfinder Durvin Gest, aspiring to become as famous as that legendary adventurer. Synopsis: Being a Pathfinder member is all you need. You don't need other allegiances to get the job done.
- Liberty's Edge: Liberty’s Edge faction members seek to spark revolution in decadent old empires and to civilize and educate the ignorant peoples of lost and unknown lands. They press for the abolition of slavery and the punishment of those who perpetrate it. They bring the torch of freedom to the world’s darkest places and banish mysticism, diabolism, and fear. A member of this faction often performs acts of sabotage and diplomacy while carrying out her duties and should be willing to bend the rules of tyrannical law in order to plant the seed of liberty, even when doing so requires employing questionable techniques. Synopsis: Slavery is extremely wrong and democracy is the future.
- Silver Crusade: Led by the retired Pathfinder Ollysta Zadrian, paladin of Sarenrae, this faction seeks to be more than just adventurers doing the bidding of the Decemvirate and the venture-captains. While other factions, such as The Exchange, may use the Society for personal gain, the Silver Crusade attempts to transform the Society into an organization that aids the weak, destroys evil, and makes the world a better place. Synopsis: The goody-two-shoes faction. Tries to make the Pathfinder Society the best it can be and try to make the world a better place.
- Sovereign Court: Unite the nobility of the Inner Sea to serve as the powers behind their respective thrones and direct the nations toward prosperity, peace, and perhaps the creation of a new empire spanning Avistan and beyond. Avoid advertising the existence of the faction except to likely recruits, for many nations would see this organization as a threat. Synopsis: Pull together political power and convince leaders and nobility to band together to create a new empire.
Stickied.
Last update: December 4, 2018
What is PFS?
Pathfinder Society (PFS) is an organized play campaign, where a bunch of people that don't know each other play together with their characters. All characters start at level 1 and advance based on how many scenarios and modules they have played (a scenario is a half day affair, granting 1 xp, and a module is a full day affair, granting 3 xp. It always takes 3 xp to gain each level). At the end of each adventure you will get a chronicle sheet that details what your character earned during that adventure. You do not keep any items gained through the adventure, although the gold earned at the end of the scenario reflects the amount of treasure you accumulated during that scenario as if you had sold everything off. You can take your characters to any venue, state, or convention in the world where Pathfinder Society is being played.
The organized play follows completely strict rules of Pathfinder, and only allows Pathfinder rules (No 3rd party publisher content allowed). They do this because when you have multiple GMs, one GM may allow something while another may not. Having it completely strict as to what you can do makes it uniform and doesn't screw people over with their characters when playing with different GMs. Having said that, I was rather surprised by the amount of rules we got wrong or we missed in our home games, so be warned about that.
I'm interested! How to sign up for a game?
The best way to search for games is to look at our calendar. There, you can see all of our upcoming scheduled games. To sign up, click on the gameday you want to go to and reply to the thread telling them what scenario you want to play and your name, as well as character level and class if you know what you are going to play. That will reserve you a spot for that gameday. If there aren't empty slots on the game, then you will be put on a wait list. We strongly prefer you sign up ahead of time so that we can know who is coming. This helps us set up GMs and games so that everyone has the best experience. You can sign up friends too, but after the first couple times we prefer that they sign up individually (families and couples are an exception to this).
Our calendar for gamedays is located at the top of any forum page, or you can click the calendar link below:
http://gapfs.org/forum/calendar.php
Now I know how to sign up! Do I need to make a character?
For your first couple of games, it's up to you. You can either make your own character or play a pregenerated character. If you are playing at a higher level game, you will need to play a pregenerated character as all PFS character start at level 1. If you want to make your own, the links and tips below will help you out! There is also almost certainly someone at the gameday who can help you out as well if you are having trouble.
Useful Links:
If you would like to join, they have a guide to making your character here (Or you can look at the quick guide below):
http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/v5748btpy84k4
If you have a question about what's allowed from outside the core rulebook, consult this page:
http://paizo.com/pathfindersociety/about...lResources
This website is great because it tells you what is allowed or not allowed specifically in Pathfinder Society by putting a little symbol beside the feat/class/skill/archetype/whatever to show you it's allowed (technically if it's not the core rulebook you have to own the book for it to be allowed). I highly recommend it as the go-to site for rules:
http://www.archivesofnethys.com/
And most of the stuff here is allowed, but you will have to double check some of it (especially since some campaign setting-specific names have been altered):
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/
Quick guide to making a level 1 character in PFS:
- All characters start at level 1 with 0 XP. If there's a higher level adventure you wish to play, pregenerated characters of higher levels are available. Here is some more information of how pregen credit works.
- 20 point buy (calculator here: http://tools.digitalightbulb.com/pbcalc.html)
- 150 starting gold, and you start with basic clothes as well (your basic clothes and gold do not contribute to your encumbrance, but everything else does). Certain classes also start with other free items (like Spellbook for Wizards).
- All mundane items always available for purchase except poisons, although characters with the "poison use" ability can purchase certain poisons (which are rare and illegal in the campaign world's major cities)
- All level 1 potions and scrolls are available for purchase from the start.
- All +1 weapons and armor are always available for purchase (not that you can yet anyway)
- You get two traits (found on the Archive of Nethys or PFSRD site). You cannot have two traits of the "same type," as in you can't have 2 religion traits or 2 combat traits (see here for most common traits: http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advan...tml#Traits )
- You can only be the core races (Human, Dwarf, Elf, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Halfling, Gnome) and Tengu, Wayang, Nagaji, Kitsune, Ifrit, Oread, Sylph, and Undine.
- Almost all base classes and archetypes are allowed. The summoner from the Advanced Player's Guide is no longer legal. If you make a summoner, it must be the version from Pathfinder Unchained.
- Evil characters are not allowed.
- There are definitely situations where role-playing is encouraged in the scenarios, but keep in a mind a lot of them are combat-focused, and ALL will have some sort of combat.
- Crafting of items is generally not allowed. Magic item crafting is never allowed. You can still have ranks in the Craft skill, however.
- Some classes have specific changes: Wizards get Spell Focus instead of Scribe Scroll at first level, Alchemists get Extra Bombs instead of Brew Potion at first level, and Skalds get Extra Performance instead of Scribe Scroll at first level.
- If you end up not liking your character, you can always change anything about him/her until you play your character in a game at level 2.
- You can have as many PFS characters as you want! Each will have a different character number.
- You must choose a PFS faction for every character.
- Concordance of Elements: An ancient and diverse organization whose membership spans multiple planes, with a particular focus on the elemental planes. Its members take great interest in the interplay among the primal forces of air, earth, fire, and water. They believe that the stability of the multiverse ultimately depends upon these forces—and many others—remaining in balance. Synopsis: Care about the balance of the planes and elements.
- Dark Archives: Maintain order in the Vaults beneath the Grand Lodge of Absalom. Seek out other dangerous relics, and retrieve them for proper storage and research in the Dark Archive. Study and understand hazardous phenomena, and harness these occurrences’ power for the faction’s benefit. Build alliances with like-minded organizations. Synopsis: Collect any dangerous artifacts and store them, even if it means risking your life at times.
- The Exchange: Although it is small compared to many other trade outfits in the Inner Sea region, the faction aims to build an extensive trade network that allow it to deliver nearly any good to any location—for a price. Undermine or acquire rival monopolies while allying with powerful producers, merchants, and contacts to further grow the business. Synopsis: Do anything you can to increase trade and make profit.
- Grand Lodge: Members of this faction are the most dedicated members of the Pathfinder Society, embodying the key tenets of the organization above all else. Focused on exploring ruins as well as securing artifacts from those who don’t appreciate them, these Pathfinders have an insatiable sense of curiosity. Grand Lodge Pathfinders make excellent teammates for larger expeditions, and have filled the tomes of the Pathfinder Chronicles since the earliest volumes. They often take inspiration from the exploits of the early Pathfinder Durvin Gest, aspiring to become as famous as that legendary adventurer. Synopsis: Being a Pathfinder member is all you need. You don't need other allegiances to get the job done.
- Liberty's Edge: Liberty’s Edge faction members seek to spark revolution in decadent old empires and to civilize and educate the ignorant peoples of lost and unknown lands. They press for the abolition of slavery and the punishment of those who perpetrate it. They bring the torch of freedom to the world’s darkest places and banish mysticism, diabolism, and fear. A member of this faction often performs acts of sabotage and diplomacy while carrying out her duties and should be willing to bend the rules of tyrannical law in order to plant the seed of liberty, even when doing so requires employing questionable techniques. Synopsis: Slavery is extremely wrong and democracy is the future.
- Silver Crusade: Led by the retired Pathfinder Ollysta Zadrian, paladin of Sarenrae, this faction seeks to be more than just adventurers doing the bidding of the Decemvirate and the venture-captains. While other factions, such as The Exchange, may use the Society for personal gain, the Silver Crusade attempts to transform the Society into an organization that aids the weak, destroys evil, and makes the world a better place. Synopsis: The goody-two-shoes faction. Tries to make the Pathfinder Society the best it can be and try to make the world a better place.
- Sovereign Court: Unite the nobility of the Inner Sea to serve as the powers behind their respective thrones and direct the nations toward prosperity, peace, and perhaps the creation of a new empire spanning Avistan and beyond. Avoid advertising the existence of the faction except to likely recruits, for many nations would see this organization as a threat. Synopsis: Pull together political power and convince leaders and nobility to band together to create a new empire.
Stickied.