GMs and additional resources

[dragonhunterq]

Seeking a deeper understanding:
I have just read in another thread that GMs are not bound by the additional resources. I was under the impression that GMs were bound by the AR except where the scenario breaks that rule for us.
Am I wrong?
In what way can we go beyond the AR?
Where does it state we are not bound by the AR?

Is this a situation where we can go beyond the AR to adjudicate unusual situations, but not to alter (as in the linked thread) the monster summoning list?

[andreww]

dragonhunterq wrote:

Seeking a deeper understanding:

I have just read in another thread that GMs are not bound by the additional resources. I was under the impression that GMs were bound by the AR except where the scenario breaks that rule for us.
Am I wrong?
In what way can we go beyond the AR?
Where does it state we are not bound by the AR?

Is this a situation where we can go beyond the AR to adjudicate unusual situations, but not to alter (as in the linked thread) the monster summoning list?

From the Season 7 Guide to Organised Play:

Quote:

Additional Resources

Paizo Publishing produces a wide range of sourcebooks that further explore the game rules and world of Pathfinder. These volumes contain a huge variety of options to help you customize your character. You can view a frequently updated list of all campaign-legal Additional Resources online at paizo.com/pathfindersociety/resources. In order to utilize content from an Additional Resource, a player must have a physical copy of the Additional Resource in question, a name-watermarked Paizo PDF of it, or a printout of the relevant pages from it, as well as a copy of the current version of the Additional Resources
list. You must inform the Game Master that you plan to use Additional Resource material before play begins, so he has a chance to familiarize himself with the new material.

[Andrew Christian]

In another thread, Mike made it clear that GM's could take stat blocks out of the GMG or NPC Codex specifically to represent town guards that aren't in the scenario, should the players do something that would normally get a response from town guards. Like killing a bunch of civilians in a marketplace.

While I am sure that the intent was not to allow carte blanche, it does allow for GM adjudication under specific circumstances that make sense.

In this case, the summon monster spells do not disallow the use of elementals from other Bestiaries. So I would think it reasonable that a GM could do so if he wished.

But there is precedent that GM's don't have to strictly follow the AR, even if the difference is not written into the scenario.

[Belafon]

dragonhunterq wrote:

Seeking a deeper understanding:

I have just read in another thread that GMs are not bound by the additional resources. I was under the impression that GMs were bound by the AR except where the scenario breaks that rule for us.
Am I wrong?
In what way can we go beyond the AR?
Where does it state we are not bound by the AR?

Is this a situation where we can go beyond the AR to adjudicate unusual situations, but not to alter (as in the linked thread) the monster summoning list?

The last question/statement is correct. Going beyond the Additional Resources is pretty much mandatory to adjudicate unusual situations. If it's not in the scenario you have to go beyond the text or you have a terrible railroad situation. This can mean completely making something (reasonable) up or using published material that isn't allowed as a player option.

For example the GameMastery Guide has no usable player character options but has reference for what to do when encountering a haunt, rules for character drunkenness, what happens if a player somehow plane shifts to the positive energy plane, and much more.

However a PFS GM shouldn't be "breaking" a rule like summoning a non-standard monster unless there is an actual reason for it. I can't think of a situation where a GM would use a monster not on the standard list that isn't specifically called out by the scenario except "I wanted to make it harder for them" (which isn't a good PFS GM mindset).