I've found my local lodge (http://warhorn.net/boston-pfs/) and I'm looking at signing up for the sessions on the 19th in NH (and I will likely bring a friend or two).
We're experienced gamers, we know pathfinder, but none of us have ever played society. How do we go about this?
1) Do you need physical printed materials for your characters? We will likely only be using core/APG/UC/UM but everything I own is on PDF. Do I really need to have physical print outs?
2) Does my character need to be on paper? I typically run my character on a spreadsheet and it updates my numbers as I go. I kind of assume using a laptop at the table is forbidden, but I have no idea.
3) I assume we should read the entire PF guide to organized play, but what other general advice do you have?
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I've found my local lodge (http://warhorn.net/boston-pfs/) and I'm looking at signing up for the sessions on the 19th in NH (and I will likely bring a friend or two).
1) Do you need physical printed materials for your characters? We will likely only be using core/APG/UC/UM but everything I own is on PDF. Do I really need to have physical print outs?
No, but you need to be able to show it to the dm if they don't know how it works. If that's on a tablet or something its golden.
2) Does my character need to be on paper? I typically run my character on a spreadsheet and it updates my numbers as I go. I kind of assume using a laptop at the table is forbidden, but I have no idea.
That will probably depend on the amount of space available at the table. Theres no PFS rule on this but be prepared for (literal)table variation. Make a print out in case there's no room. Make sure your laptop is charged: getting your own outlet can be a pain.
3) I assume we should read the entire PF guide to organized play, but what other general advice do you have?
You'll have to make a new level 1 character and work your way up, or else use a pre gen. I hate using pre gens.
Make a character with at least 1 in combat ability to kill things, and one "out of combat" schtick: like face, trap springer, knowledge monkey etc.
After your first adventure, if you have 2 prestige points, get a wand of clw whether you can cast it or not.
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Welcome to the Boston Lodge!
So, basic answers to your questions:
1) Watermarked PDFs of each sourcebook your PC uses (either on your device or a print out) are all you need to run your character at a Society event. I personally use a tablet as my 'game library'.
As for what is and is not PFS legal, there is the following repository:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/about/additionalResources
2) Depends on the GM. I really see no problem with having you run your character off a screen, but others may have a different opinion. Best practice would be to bring a paper copy just in case, and ask the GM who is running the game if they have a real preference.
3) Reading the guide is helpful, but provided your character is PFS legal, you'll learn the most from actually playing and asking questions. Super specific questions or advice are best vetted by the PFS forums, where you can find a lot of information and support. It may also be helpful to talk to the Boston Venture officers if you have more specific questions or need some help.
Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston
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You're in for quite the treat! Welcome to the Society!
A few recommendations:
1) As the others have said, table size is often a problem. In a particularly crowded game night, it's possible to have a table with 6-7 players and a GM. Laptops can be a bit clunky for that. I'd have a printout, just in case.
2) If you can, get your Pathfinder Society number before you go. There should be a link in the "My Pathfinder Society" section of the website for you to reserve one. (It's free.) This will save your GM a bit of time and confusion. This isn't absolutely necessary, though - the vast majority of experienced players don't read these forums or use the website, and it's certainly not *expected* that you will have your PFS number ahead of time.
3) It might be a good idea to bring a few dollars in cash. While not all lodges do this, many will have a tip jar for the GM to offset the cost of scenario purchases. Buying a scenario costs around $4 for a GM, and it's not uncommon for the table to pitch in $1 or less, each. This isn't required, and you won't raise any eyebrows if you don't have cash, but it can be a nice gesture. Also, some game stores don't take credit cards, and a caffeine fix during a game is always a nice thing.
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1) Watermarked PDFs of each sourcebook your PC uses (either on your device or a print out) are all you need to run your character at a Society event.
Just to clarify you only need the relevant pages you are using from the PDF, using the gun slinger but don't want to bring all of UC? just print out the pages describing the class, the pages showing the fire arm table and the firearm(s) you are using.
Personally I'd recommend bringing a physical copy of the Core at least, it's just so handy to have at the table. The APG is good too.
You'll be able to get away with using PDFs of UM and UC
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Lastoth, the impression I'm getting from your post is that it sounds like you're familiar with Pathfinder but not with Society play. The answer is basically that it's not as formal as you seem to think.
Having a laptop and a spreadsheet character sheet is fine as long as others at the table think it's fine, so just ask whoever you're playing with, and keep in mind this will change depending when you change tables (which many people do, especially at cons).
The rule to have books with you is that it's handy and eventually essential, but if you're brand new to the game, you'll be fine as long as you know how your class works. Printouts will do if need be. Buy the books when you're comfortable and support Paizo (this is the rule; every GM should support new players who are learning the game, but it's bad form to not have the book with you; whether it's hardcover or PDF).
You should read the PFS guide, but a few basics:
- You're responsible for your own healing, even if you're not a healer. After your first (or second) session, once you have 2 prestige, you can spend that 2 prestige on any 1st level wand to give to someone else in the party. Get a wand of Cure Light Wounds or Infernal Healing. Understand how both spells work completely before you decide which to get; both have their pros and cons. Infernal Healing's "evil" thing is pretty much never an issue.
- Be aware that 1 rank in craft, profession or perform lets you make a day job roll to give you a bit of extra gold. It's not much, but it adds up, and the earlier you take it the more you get out of it.
- 16 prestige lets you resurrect your own character, 8 prestige will remove the 2 negative levels that hits you when you raise dead, so save up and complete your faction missions to build up more prestige.
- You can rebuild your character anytime before you hit level 2, so don't worry about making bad build choices until then.
- There's no rolling on character creation. The character creation has a great step by step guide (but choose class first, not race & abilities - I don't know why they've said to do it that way).
- After you receive the mission briefing from a Venture Captain at the beginning of whatever scenario you play, take down notes and think of any questions you can ask them. They almost always have more they can tell you. A lot of GMs will tend to rush through this briefing, and it's easy to get confused. Make sure you're clear before you head out. You can buy last-minute equipment after the briefing ends but before the mission starts.
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As the others have said, table size is often a problem. In a particularly crowded game night, it's possible to have a table with 6-7 players and a GM. Laptops can be a bit clunky for that. I'd have a printout, just in case.
6-7 players and a GM and a very large map, for some scenarios. Often you'll be fine with a laptop, but you shouldn't depend on spreading out a lot of gear that's difficult to move if required.
I have another question. My friend and I are likely running a couple of dwarven brothers (Inquisitor and Monk) with Silver Crusade. Are we going to have a hard time with Silver Crusade due to lack of diplomacy/charisma? What skills are we missing that we absolutely need (Monk will have disable device). Is there a better faction for monks? Inquisitors?
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I have another question. My friend and I are likely running a couple of dwarven brothers (Inquisitor and Monk) with Silver Crusade. Are we going to have a hard time with Silver Crusade due to lack of diplomacy/charisma? What skills are we missing that we absolutely need (Monk will have disable device). Is there a better faction for monks? Inquisitors?
Silver crusade missions are usually not secret unless you get stuck doing an old Andoran missio: so you can ask your party for help even if you have the charisma score of an ugly rock. My silver crusade druid has a charisma of 7 and i think he's missing one point he could have gotten on his faction missions.
For the inquisitor, there is an option to take the conversion inquisition, which will replace your charisma mod with your wisdom mod for diplomacy, intimidate, and bluff: it turns a dour dwarf into a wise old grandpa that everyone listens to with respect.
Even if they have another inquisition in mind, putting one of the inquisitors skill ranks into diplomacy will negate the negative mod rather quickly as you level.
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I don't think any faction missions are mechanically much different from each other overall. Pick a faction that suits you themetically and go with that. If Silver Crusade sounds cool to you, use that one.
The exception to this rule is if you choose one of the 5 new factions (Grand Lodge, Silver Crusade, Shadow Lodge, Lantern Lodge or Sczarni) and absolutely hate the theme of its partner old faction that you may have to complete missions for if you play older scenarios (Osirion, Andoran, Cheliax, Qadira or Taldor respectively), then you'll need to accommodate both. I've never heard of this happening before, but it might be the case if you're extremely heavy into the roleplay.
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There are some mechanical differences in faction missions. Any faction will have some missions that require diplomacy. But sleight of hand will be more common for Shadow Lodge than Silver Crusade, as an example. And I'd say Osirion is the most likely to require Linguistics, though it could come up for others occasionally.
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There are some mechanical differences in faction missions. Any faction will have some missions that require diplomacy. But sleight of hand will be more common for Shadow Lodge than Silver Crusade, as an example. And I'd say Osirion is the most likely to require Linguistics, though it could come up for others occasionally.
Then again, I have seen at least one mission where the Silver Crusade members, a Paladin and an LG Cleric, had real difficulties, because the mission was a secret mission that required both Stealth and Sleight of Hand, or some way around needing them.
For thew rest of us, it was a very amusing time watching the two of them try and figure out some way to do that faction mission.
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Sczarni, by the nature of who they are, quite often have missions you cannot let other pathfinders know about, because the faction is using the pathfinders for its own ends. it happens more often than not.
for instance
seeing how important prestige is at higher levels i recommend people not play that faction.
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
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...seeing how important prestige is at higher levels i recommend people not play that faction.
I don't recall where this statistic originated from, but it seems accurate enough -- campaign design assumes players get 4 prestige a level. If you do a module, you get 4 prestige instead of the possible 6.
So missing out on faction mission prestige, even every other time (although I've yet to see it that bad), isn't any reason to not play one of the best factions in the game ;)
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You're responsible for your own healing, even if you're not a healer. After your first (or second) session, once you have 2 prestige, you can spend that 2 prestige on any 1st level wand to give to someone else in the party. Get a wand of Cure Light Wounds or Infernal Healing. Understand how both spells work completely before you decide which to get; both have their pros and cons. Infernal Healing's "evil" thing is pretty much never an issue.
Infernal Healing's evil thing can be an issue, particularly when you are relying on someone with UMD. I have several oracles with maxed UMD who won't activate those wands. My rage prophet really doesn't care. Unless you are an arcane caster, I would recommend CLW while you assess the mores of your local group.
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Infernal Healing's evil thing can be an issue, particularly when you are relying on someone with UMD. I have several oracles with maxed UMD who won't activate those wands. My rage prophet really doesn't care. Unless you are an arcane caster, I would recommend CLW while you assess the mores of your local group.You're responsible for your own healing, even if you're not a healer. After your first (or second) session, once you have 2 prestige, you can spend that 2 prestige on any 1st level wand to give to someone else in the party. Get a wand of Cure Light Wounds or Infernal Healing. Understand how both spells work completely before you decide which to get; both have their pros and cons. Infernal Healing's "evil" thing is pretty much never an issue.
as a side note, just wanted to point out UMD isn't needed for oracles to cast it, it's on your list
the only classes that get spells at 1st level who do NOT get infernal healing are bard, druid, and inquisitor.
also note paladins are notoriously easy to fool. my rogue uses an infernal healing wand on people all the time, and uses his massive bluff skill to convince them the icky feeling they get is just them getting better, the bad wounds being washed out of their system. usually works for awhile until they figure it out (usually after a game session, then they don't trust me anymore :)
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Bringing an outlet strip and extension cord is not only useful, it can also make you friends.
Relying on this can cause problems though, as some venues (e.g. the pub I game in every week) aren't happy with people plugging their own equipment in as it hasn't been safety tested. I imagine other places might have the same issues, e.g. conference centres.
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Bringing an outlet strip and extension cord is not only useful, it can also make you friends.Relying on this can cause problems though, as some venues (e.g. the pub I game in every week) aren't happy with people plugging their own equipment in as it hasn't been safety tested. I imagine other places might have the same issues, e.g. conference centres.
Also, you don't know what else might be on the same circuit. I can see someone firing up the microwave in the employee break room that happens to be behind the wall you've plugged a couple of laptops into, and knocking out the breaker.
I called ahead to the venue and they didn't seem to mind and they said they had the space for such laptop shenanigans. Advice well taken, thank you.
On another point, how rare/needed is disable device. I am considering picking it up on my monk just to make him a little more table friendly.
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Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston
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It's handy to have, and often times tables are lacking in it. One of the beauties AND pitfalls, though, of PFS is that your group will almost always be lacking in some important skill - Diplomacy, Disable Device, Linguistics, Sense Motive...It's good to have those things.
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It's handy to have, and often times tables are lacking in it. One of the beauties AND pitfalls, though, of PFS is that your group will almost always be lacking in some important skill - Diplomacy, Disable Device, Linguistics, Sense Motive...It's good to have those things.
Add Sleight of Hand to that list. It comes up a lot for faction missions. For that matter, various knowledges are handy, and you may not always have someone trained in them at the table.
I was also wondering if disable device could be used as his day job (locksmith). Is that possible? Who rules on that?
Venture-Captain, Washington—Spokane
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According to the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play on Day Jobs, Slight of Hand is not a valid skill for a day job check and I was not able to locate anything in the Pathfinder Society Field Guide under vanities that would assist with this. If you had profession (locksmith) with 1 rank in the skill you could use that as your day job check but I am not sure if Locksmith is a authorized profession. Hopefully someone will correct me on this one but I know for sure that Disable Device is not a skill that can be used for day jobs.