Running a sanctioned adventure path with the Pathfinder Society?

[nameless1987]

I've read the initial guide to the Pathfinder Society and am trying to come to terms with how experience and loot are compatible with the Adventure Paths. My campaign starts tomorrow and I'm still on the fence with these guys as to whether or not to run with the society in our game. On one hand I would love for this campaign to be linked to a larger overarching story with a dynamic world. On the other hand, this being my first attempt at Pathfinder Society Play. I don't understand how I could possibly balance my particular play style as a GM in conjunction with the limits on player experience, loot and economics. Also...there's no damn chronicler sheets with these adventure paths to make things easy for me :/

[Preston Hudson]

nameless1987 wrote:

I've read the initial guide to the Pathfinder Society and am trying to come to terms with how experience and loot are compatible with the Adventure Paths. My campaign starts tomorrow and I'm still on the fence with these guys as to whether or not to run with the society in our game. On one hand I would love for this campaign to be linked to a larger overarching story with a dynamic world. On the other hand, this being my first attempt at Pathfinder Society Play. I don't understand how I could possibly balance my particular play style as a GM in conjunction with the limits on player experience, loot and economics. Also...there's no damn chronicler sheets with these adventure paths to make things easy for me :/

Welcome to Pathfinder Society Play!!!

I hope I can clear up some of the confusion with running the sanctioned Adventure Path as your first attempt at Society play. Adventure Paths can be run in two ways. The first being the run of just the sanctioned content as a module. Based on the information you provided, the other option might be more suited to your play style. This option is Campaign Mode.
Campaign mode allows for the running of an Adventure Path with characters made with homebrew rules but, once the sanctioned portion is completed, chronicles can be issued for society characters. Speaking of chronicles. Those would be available in the Additional Resources are of the Pathfinder Society section of this page (here).
I hope this helps and wish you the best on your first Pathfinder Society event.

[Shifty]

OK I have a related question that is confusing me.

If you are playing the AP as a 'home game' and giving credit for the sanctioned content do you still have to ensure you abide by the minimum table size rule etc? I was considering three+pregen as a homegame, but note that rule is normally for PFS play not 'home game'.

Ugh.

Hope that's all clear?

[ubiquitous]

Guide to Organised Play, page 29 wrote:

Alternatively, if you are participating in a Pathfinder Adventure Path with an ongoing group undertaking the entire, six-book campaign, you may receive credit for playing the sanctioned portions of the adventure as if you had played a pregenerated character. In this case, GMs running the Adventure Path are not bound to the rules of the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign (such as 20 point buy, unavailability of hero points, etc...) when running the campaign or the sanctioned portion of the adventure. Pathfinder Society characters and characters from an ongoing Adventure Path campaign may not play in the same adventure.

In the home game, you do whatever you want, it's just that you get chronicle sheets and GM credit for it, but you apply those chronicle sheets to separate PFS characters.

[Shifty]

Thanks for that, I felt that was the intent, but didn't want to go off and get it wrong :)

[nameless1987]

Ok, this sounds exciting! So at the end of say, The Brinewall Legacy, all I need to do is write up a Chronicle Sheet for the end of the campaign for each of my players? I can easily convert their experience gain and such into a pathfinder society format and prestige and such is calculatable based off of character levels (for instance, 6 points maximum for level 1). This would allow these characters a smooth transition into whatever campaigns they may choose to follow afterwards. Or do I make a chronicle sheet after each session and just fill out all of the relevant fields?

[nameless1987]

Ah, I'm reading the Jade Adventure path rules for society play. So once they've completed these relevant locations, I give them these chronicles sheets and these accomplishments are applied to other characters? Or are these boons and such applied to the characters we play with in-house?

[ubiquitous]

nameless1987 wrote:

Ah, I'm reading the Jade Adventure path rules for society play. So once they've completed these relevant locations, I give them these chronicles sheets and these accomplishments are applied to other characters? Or are these boons and such applied to the characters we play with in-house?

You give them chronicle sheets (and you yourself receive one for GM credit) to your players after they complete a sanctioned section of the AP. For example, in book 1, after completing the areas of sanctioned content listed, you get a chronicle sheet that you can apply to any 2nd, 3rd, or 4th level PFS character.

If you're only planning to play APs in an home game, this isn't incredibly useful, but if you or any of your players are looking at running PFS scenarios either at home or playing in a public game, this can be a cool way to level up your characters/give them some unique boons and items.

[nameless1987]

Yes, that's what I thought. Cool, I'll be doing that as sort of a (you never know) bonus.

[nameless1987]

Thank you very much everyone for your fast responses. No more confusion, Prep-time ho!!!

[terry_t_uk]

Note that the chronciles for the AP provide a fixed 3XP and 4 prestige per chronicle and may be assigned to a PFS character in the level band. (if you read the Pathfinder Society guide, it will explain more about this and slow progression and all other fun stuff ;-))