PFS Legal Table question


Pathfinder Society

Grand Lodge 1/5 **

2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

So i know 4 players are needed to make a minimum table.

If i have 3 players, i can run a pregen to make it a legal table.

I can also have a player who ran the scenario previously play at the table (for no credit).

Can i combine these? Run with 2 new players, one player who ran the scenario previously, and an additional pregen? I don't see anything prohibiting these two actions to be allowed together. It also seems to run along the philosophy of "the game should go on".

5/5

Yes. The person would be replaying to make the table legal still.

Shadow Lodge 3/5

I don't think that's right?

Isn't the criteria that you need 3 characters playing for credit, plus 1 character with or without credit?

Grand Lodge 1/5 **

Relevant bits from the PFS Guide as far as i can tell

One Character at a time, page 20:

You may only play one character during a specific scenario session. You may have more than one active character in Pathfinder Society Organized Play, but playing more than one during a specific session is considered cheating. GMs are allowed to play one pregenerated character during a session, but only to make a legal table.

Replaying Scenarios, page 20:

You are free to replay a scenario in order to meet the minimum legal table size (see Chapter 7), but once you have reached that limit, you do not earn any additional rewards beyond having a good time.

Legal Table Size, page 32:

The minimum table size for a Pathfinder Society Organized Play session to be considered legal is four PCs. Table size is capped at six PCs. In cases in which you simply cannot seat four players, you may run a table of three players, and play an official level-appropriate pregenerated character in order to meet the minimum table size of four PCs.

Shadow Lodge 3/5

Fair enough - I guess the Legal Table Size rule doesn't really care whether PCs are playing for credit or not.

Even considering the spirit of the rules (rather than RAW), it doesn't read to me like it matters, so long as there's 3-4 players. The wording could be cleaned up - it interchangably says "PCs" and "players" like they're the same thing.

The Exchange 5/5 RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

1 person marked this as a favorite.

I've run a scenario with three experienced people playing pre-gens (for no credit) and one guy playing for reals. It was at a lightly-attended convention, and we wanted to make sure that player got to experience the adventure.

Silver Crusade 5/5

Sometimes you have to find a way to make it work.

This afternoon I just GMed the 1st half of Academy of Secrets. We made it work with one player re playing, and 3 players playing for credit.

1/5

"The minimum table size for a Pathfinder Society Organized Play session to be considered legal is four PCs"

"You are free to replay a scenario in order to meet the minimum legal table size (see Chapter 7), but once you have reached that limit, you do not earn any additional rewards beyond having a good time. "

Reading this seems that conditions for the replay need to be that the player be the 4th Player Character at the table. Having a table of 2 players and one person to replay doesn't seem to be a game that can take off due to this.

"In cases in which you simply cannot seat four players, you may run a table of three players, and play an official level-appropriate pregenerated character in order to meet the minimum table size of four PCs."

This seems to only apply when you can't meet the minimum players of 4. Either a replay could work to reach 4, or you can run the pregen to make the table go off.


Human Fighter wrote:

"The minimum table size for a Pathfinder Society Organized Play session to be considered legal is four PCs"

"You are free to replay a scenario in order to meet the minimum legal table size (see Chapter 7), but once you have reached that limit, you do not earn any additional rewards beyond having a good time. "

Reading this seems that conditions for the replay need to be that the player be the 4th Player Character at the table. Having a table of 2 players and one person to replay doesn't seem to be a game that can take off due to this.

"In cases in which you simply cannot seat four players, you may run a table of three players, and play an official level-appropriate pregenerated character in order to meet the minimum table size of four PCs."

Reading that it says that you can have players replay to meet the legal size, and that you can run with three players and a pre-gen legally, so the 3 player table would be legal with up to two players replaying.

1/5

The wording of "meet" is probably the most important, and it isn't critical that they have to be it. I didn't consider that before.

1/5

At the same time, it's not reach, but rather meet. Seems like you gotta be the fourth, but it's worded so weird.

To me it's that you find anyone to make the fourth, or you run a pregen. Interpretation though.

I take back what I wrote before on the "isn't critical" stuff.

Grand Lodge 4/5

Human Fighter wrote:

At the same time, it's not reach, but rather meet. Seems like you gotta be the fourth, but it's worded so weird.

To me it's that you find anyone to make the fourth, or you run a pregen. Interpretation though.

I take back what I wrote before on the "isn't critical" stuff.

The intention, from various posts from the PTB, and the way it is currently run, is that, in order to replay, barring GM Stars and evergreens, is to be the 4th player, or less, at a table, in order to help get the table up to the minimum needed to play.

In order to replay, outside of GM Stars and evergreens, there cannot be more than 4 players, including yourself, at the table.

5/5 5/55/5 ** Venture-Captain, Germany—Hamburg

An important part is to not forget why players might do this: To give the 2 players who showed up an opportunity to play instead of having to send them home.

I'm sure players wouldn't be happy if I told them "using a pregen, we could get a legal table, but since one of you has to replay without credit, the rules say I have to send you home." And making players unhappy is not the point of organized play.

Quote:
it interchangably says "PCs" and "players" like they're the same thing.

yes, it's important to make that difference. Killing PCs can happen sometimes, but it's definitely not ok to kill a player. *lol*

Silver Crusade 2/5

How do you report a pregen played by a GM to get the legal table size? Pregens don't have player/character numbers. Even if the GM is using the session for GM credit, do you just use the GM number and allow the system to catch the mismatch and not give you the credit twice? Leaving the pregen off entirely would make it seem that you ran the session with 3 players which doesn't seem right and may not even work.

The Exchange 5/5 RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

Nonetheless, that's what you do. As I mentioned upthread, I've reported a table with one PC -- everybody else was replaying with a pre-gen.

Silver Crusade 2/5

One other item, since my players were level 3 and they played up (4-5) they got the out of tier gold (average between tiers). As a GM playing for character credit, do also get out of tier gold for my own character? Don't want to appear greedy on this or mean to nitpick but should that gold and experience have to be applied to a 3rd level character or can I use it for my 4th or 5th level character for the appropriate 4th/5th level gold?

The Exchange 5/5 RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

No, you get the in-tier gold for your character. Basically, the campaign doesn't want your rewards impacted by anything that happens at the table. So you receive full rewards, an nothing more, no matter what tier the game plays at, or whether the characters succeed, or anything like that.

Silver Crusade 2/5

Thanks for the feedback Chris!

***noobie GM alert***

And I got my first "star!!"

***noobie GM alert***

pax...

4/5 ****

Zi'on Darkbane wrote:


And I got my first "star!!"

Congratulations!

In the spirit of Chris Mortika...

What's your favorite way to help bring the flavor in scenarios to light?

Silver Crusade 2/5

Thanks PR!

I enjoy handing tangibles out at the table. I almost always play with minis. I usually have lots of full color pictures and to-scale maps printed out (seriously thinking about a small projector for the maps). If I have a letter, I like to print it in full color on heavy card stock or even on vellum. I might even burn the edges a bit (maybe even a little red ink/blood splatter). Amulets, tokens etc... that can be held in the hand and traded around give the players focus (and then you know who actually has the item in their backpack when the need arises!).

Just a few ways that I try to make the scenarios more real outside the minds of the players.

pax...

Silver Crusade 2/5

Another question on the chronicle sheet - I assume if you play tier 4-5 that the tier 1-2 "items found" are also available, right? If so, this isn't affected by out of tier play, other than the amount of gold awarded, correct?

pax..

Scarab Sages 5/5 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Washington—Spokane

Zi'on Darkbane wrote:

Another question on the chronicle sheet - I assume if you play tier 4-5 that the tier 1-2 "items found" are also available, right? If so, this isn't affected by out of tier play, other than the amount of gold awarded, correct?

pax..

Your assumption is correct on both questions.

Silver Crusade 2/5

Thanks Preston...

pax...

Silver Crusade 2/5

Trying to report the scenario but getting the following error:

"One or more characters cannot play this scenario due to being the wrong character/scenario type."

What gives???

The Exchange 5/5 RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

Core versus Normal mode. If someone's already played in a scenario, and did so without being in Core Mode, they can't play that same character in Core.

Silver Crusade 2/5

Core vs. Normal... got it.

Did I mention only 1 star...? Doh!

OK, I tried to cancel the previous session since I inadvertently selected PFC instead of RPG when I created the event. It shows as "cancelled" on my list of sessions, but is still listed. How do I just make it go away?

pax...

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