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Pathfinder Society: Year 5 Rule Updates

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Greetings, Pathfinders! With Gen Con just two short weeks away, we figured it was time to reveal the changes for Year 5 of Pathfinder Society Play. The good news is, there are very few, and they’re all exciting!

On a bright, sunny day a Polynesian-inspired dinghy pulls up to an island with a waterfall on the left and mountains in the distance. Behind the waterfall, there's a subtle sillhouette of a woman. The ocean surrounding the island is a comforting aqua blue. Taiwalei, a human Pathfinder, faces the viewer, excitedly beckoning toward the island, smiling and eager for the adventure ahead

Illustration by Justin Usher


Ancestry Availability

Thanks to the efforts of the Pathfinder Society, as well as the ongoing events in Golarion, the following updates will be made effective August 3, 2023.

  • The changeling versatile heritage is now freely available to all players, due to the Society’s adventures involving the night hag Aslynn.
  • More adventurers of uncommon ancestries have joined the Pathfinder Society in the past few years, so the tengu and ratfolk ancestries will also be made freely available!
  • Additionally, in preparation for their inclusion in the upcoming Pathfinder Player Core book, the tiefling and aasimar versatile heritages are freely available to all players.
  • Boons for all of the above freely available options will be removed from the Boon Store as of August 3. Players who previously purchased those boons will have them updated to grant a free use of the resurrection ritual to those characters, as we have done for past ancestries.
  • Finally, due to the influx of planar energy throughout Golarion, the geniekin versatile heritage will be reduced to 40 Achievement Points! This boon will also be updated to include the talos and ardande heritages from Pathfinder Rage of Elements upon its release.

Retail Incentive Program

Our Retail Incentive Program is designed to help players support those game stores and venues which host our games, often for free, while earning in-game benefits. Over the past year we’ve heard some recommendations to improve it, and I’m delighted to share the new version of the program now!

You can download PDFs of the rules for Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society now on the Retail Incentive Program page, which we’re also working on redesigning and making more prominent. The major changes are:

  • Adding a new “heroic” tier, unlocked with a table spend of $100 or more
  • Altering or replacing boons that reduced the gold cost of healing now that those benefits primarily use Achievement Points
  • Making the benefits more versatile and/or slightly more useful

Overall, the intention of programs like the RIP and the Accessory Perks is to provide incentives to players and GMs to support our products and venues. The goal is not for these to be hard rules, but to encourage GMs and organizers to adopt a “spirit of the law” reading of any of these programs to ensure all players are enjoying themselves. Thanks to all the volunteers who provided feedback on these revisions!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

Shay Snow
Pathfinder Society Developer

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Vigilant Seal **** Venture-Lieutenant, Georgia—Atlanta
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Alex, Thanks for all the hard work on the Retail Incentive Program! I’m excited to use it going forward and much appreciate this!
Dark Archive 4/5 *** Venture-Lieutenant, Finland—Turku
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Absolutely awesome!

Amazing work with the updated RIP!
5/5 **
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

Wow, wasn't expecting all that! You have made a lot of Tengu players happy.
4/5 5/55/5 ***** Venture-Captain, Tennessee—East Tennessee
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Are the new Retail Incentive Programs available to use now, or is that also Aug. 3rd?
Paizo Employee 5/55/5 * Organized Play Coordinator
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Phredd wrote:
Are the new Retail Incentive Programs available to use now, or is that also Aug. 3rd?

Good to go immediately, no sense in delaying!

4/5 Venture-Agent, Minnesota—Minneapolis

Just to be certain, for the Starfinder Bonus Wealth option, if you hit the heroic tier, you get a natural 20 on the day job roll, plus the +50% bonus?
Grand Lodge 4/5
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

HUZZAH!
Verdant Wheel 1/5 5/5

"May the Duke of Thunder inspire you to greatness! It will be awesome to see more of His people on missions for the Society!"
Liberty's Edge 1/5 **
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Always cool to see new ancestries become common and always cool to see RIC things :)
Vigilant Seal

Aasimar = 80
Resurrection = 40

I have 6 aasimars :(
The Exchange 2/5 **** Venture-Agent, New Hampshire—Nashua

Awesome stuff all around! Super jazzed I can now make a Tengu Geniekin Air Kineticist and finally go full Zapdos on the world.
4/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, Alaska

Just to be sure, does this in any way remove the status of Kobold, Leshy, or Orc's existing 0 cost?
Paizo Employee 5/55/5 * Organized Play Coordinator
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The Seldon Plan wrote:
Just to be sure, does this in any way remove the status of Kobold, Leshy, or Orc's existing 0 cost?

Nope! Once free, always free.

2/5
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Korkael Koronna wrote:

Aasimar = 80

Resurrection = 40

I have 6 aasimars :(

But you still have 480 points' worth of bragging rights for having 6 aasimars before they were free.

4/5 ****
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Alex Speidel wrote:
The Seldon Plan wrote:
Just to be sure, does this in any way remove the status of Kobold, Leshy, or Orc's existing 0 cost?
Nope! Once free, always free.

In 17.5 years when a different coordinator for WesternFinder 2.5b changes an accidently free option to costing something, I'm going to have long forgotten this and won't hold it against them.

Wayfinders 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Contributor
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Tim Emrick wrote:
Korkael Koronna wrote:

Aasimar = 80

Resurrection = 40

I have 6 aasimars :(

But you still have 480 points' worth of bragging rights for having 6 aasimars before they were free.

Exactly! My two sylphs (one of which was purchased very recently) are just happy that more elemental friends can join them in Society with the lowered cost.

Thank you for free Tengus, Changelings, Aasimars, Tieflings, and Ysoki. This is so exciting, and I know these ancestries and heritages will be a draw for new players.

Hmm
Verdant Wheel 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****
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The aasimar gnome Clover opens the free resurrection insurance packet that just arrived from the society. "Ooh, I love getting new benefit packages!"
Dark Archive
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Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Very excited to see Tengus are freely available! Birds of a feather flock together, expect us...
4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****

Lots of Tengu fans here!
4/5 ****

I'm trying to understand the Improved Downtime PFS2 benefits.

Basic Version: When you roll a failure or a critical failure on a check to Earn Income, you may improve the result by one step. Alternatively, you may gain two additional days of Downtime to use for another task, such as crafting or retraining. This selection must be made prior to making a roll to Earn Income.

If I take 2 extra days of downtime for non earning income, do I have to spend my remaining days earning income?

What if I've started a retraining etc.

Also the Enchanced Version.

Enhanced Version: You may earn gold as if you had rolled a success on a check to Earn Income without rolling; this does not stack with any other boons or abilities which improve your Earn Income results. Alternatively, you may gain four additional days of Downtime to use for another task. This selection must be made prior to making a roll to Earn Income.

Does this mean that characters with feats/boons that alter the level they earn income at can't use this? (Same with Heroic Version)

I'm a little confused how exactly this works.
1/5 5/5
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Song-of-Air wrote:
Lots of Tengu fans here!

At least a few...

4/5 ****

With some help else where I think I now understand how its supposed to work. (It's just too bad the text doesn't actually say that, so I could be completely wrong)

I think...

"this does not stack with any other boons or abilities which improve your Earn Income results."

Should really be

"... which improve your Earn Income Degree of Success."

And

"This selection must be made prior to making a roll to Earn Income."

Should really be

"...prior to making any rolls to Earn Income"

This no longer implies that earning income must take place at all.
Wayfinders 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Contributor

Alex, will all quests be made repeatable for the coming season? That is still something I am hoping to see happen in Organized Play.
Verdant Wheel *** Venture-Agent, Maine–Midcoast

Ok what is the full list of free ancestries now?

Asking for some new players...
Wayfinders 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Contributor
3 people marked this as a favorite.

Ancestries: All Core (Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Human), Leshy, Orc, Tengu, Ysoki (aka Ratfolk)

Heritages: Aasimar, Changeling, Tiefling
Grand Lodge 3/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****
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Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

Ancestries: All Core (Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Human), Leshy, Orc, Tengu, Ysoki (aka Ratfolk)

Heritages: Aasimar, Changeling, Tiefling

And kobolds!

Grand Archive 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 ****
2 people marked this as a favorite.

"Mom, how did you miss Kobolds? And you call yourself a Librarian?! Sheesh."

An angry bronze kobold crosses her arms and goes off to sulk in the corner.
Wayfinders 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Contributor
5 people marked this as a favorite.

* Ahem! *

Ancestries: All Core (Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Goblin, Halfling, Human), Kobold, Leshy, Orc, Tengu, Ysoki (aka Ratfolk)

Heritages: Aasimar, Changeling, Tiefling
2/5 5/5 **
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber

After August 3rd. :)
Director of Marketing
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Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:
Alex, will all quests be made repeatable for the coming season? That is still something I am hoping to see happen in Organized Play.

I *think* this is true, but Alex is off today so we will reply next week. I know repeatable is popular, but "all" is a strong word. :)

Wayfinders 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Contributor
3 people marked this as a favorite.

Thanks, Aaron. Alex certainly deserves time off, and should take it when he gets it! We'll wait for his answer!
*

Nice, free tieflings and aasimar! And cheaper geniekin. Im in heaven.

...concerning heaven, im still waiting for a boon for the heavenseeker archetype from Lost omens: impossible lands (since half a year now or sth? FAQ says specifically it is legal but there is no way of accessing it since its uncommon)

While it's nice to see these ancestries and heritages made available freely, none of them are the one I want to be made available. When do the BEASTKIN get to be used freely in Society play?
Grand Lodge 4/5 5/5 *

Just curious for those of us that had already purchased a geniekin ancestry boon, would we get a slight refund on the AcP spent originally?
Paizo Employee 5/55/5 * Organized Play Coordinator
Dragon Prime wrote:
Just curious for those of us that had already purchased a geniekin ancestry boon, would we get a slight refund on the AcP spent originally?

No, we don't provide refunds in the event of AcP reduction.

Scarab Sages 3/5 *** Venture-Captain, Wisconsin—Franklin
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Warwolf Esheraso wrote:
While it's nice to see these ancestries and heritages made available freely, none of them are the one I want to be made available. When do the BEASTKIN get to be used freely in Society play?

The Bad News: It's a Rare Heritage, so the odds of it just become free are low. Simply put, there's just not a lot of Beastkin on Golarion.

The Good News: Tieflings sure get a lot of options like Form of the Fiend, the Beastbrood lineage, and Towering Presence that can give that same flavor with a hint of post-Worldwound flair.
Wayfinders 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Contributor
2 people marked this as a favorite.
zeonsghost wrote:
Warwolf Esheraso wrote:
While it's nice to see these ancestries and heritages made available freely, none of them are the one I want to be made available. When do the BEASTKIN get to be used freely in Society play?

The Bad News: It's a Rare Heritage, so the odds of it just become free are low. Simply put, there's just not a lot of Beastkin on Golarion.

The Good News: Tieflings sure get a lot of options like Form of the Fiend, the Beastbrood lineage, and Towering Presence that can give that same flavor with a hint of post-Worldwound flair.

Even Better News: The combined Nephilem heritage for Aasimars and Tieflings will continue to have furry options, along with bites, claws and tails in the coming remaster. So get your furry on!

The only way that I could foresee us having cheaper beastkin options is if we get more Bhopan storylines -- which I really hope that we do, since the Bhopan storylines that we've gotten so far have ROCKED. (Bhopan was the crazy fey / mwangi / impossible lands island that is home to an entire population of Beastkin.)
Horizon Hunters 4/5 5/5 *
4 people marked this as a favorite.

Finally, my Pizza Rat character can become a reality without breaking the ACP bank.
Wayfinders 4/5 5/55/55/55/5 **** Contributor
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Everybody needs a Pizza Rat!
4/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, California—Sacramento

Just to double-check, the System Traveler: Ratfolk boon will be getting the conversion to the Raise Dead ritual as well, yes?
Envoy's Alliance

When will the Kineticist class be available for use in organized play in 2e? Will it require a boon?
2/5 *** Venture-Agent, Texas—Austin
Brabot Underbreaker wrote:

When will the Kineticist class be available for use in organized play in 2e? Will it require a boon?

Content from a book is never sanctioned before street date (August 3rd, in the case of Rage of the Elements). Organized Play has generally tried to make sanctioning happen as close as possible to street date as possible, and I imagine they are keenly aware that people will want to use this class at GenCon and, more generally, ASAP.

While I can't say with 100% certainty, I do not think we have any reason to believe it would.
* Venture-Agent, Tennessee—Hermitage

Huzzah! Awesome new options ahead for my players.
Paizo Employee 5/55/5 * Organized Play Coordinator
1 person marked this as a favorite.
cavernshark wrote:
Brabot Underbreaker wrote:

When will the Kineticist class be available for use in organized play in 2e? Will it require a boon?

Content from a book is never sanctioned before street date (August 3rd, in the case of Rage of the Elements). Organized Play has generally tried to make sanctioning happen as close as possible to street date as possible, and I imagine they are keenly aware that people will want to use this class at GenCon and, more generally, ASAP.

While I can't say with 100% certainty, I do not think we have any reason to believe it would.

cavernshark is correct with the added note that no, the kineticist class will not require a boon.

3/5 **

I await the influx of these new ancestries in PFS play.
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