Selecting Options: Rarity, Access, and Availability

Be sure to check limitations when selecting character options.Some items, such as ancestry rewards, must be the first chronicle applied to a character or applied during rebuilding a character of less than 12 XP. 

Rarity

Pathfinder Society uses the Rarity system (Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique) as described in the Pathfinder Core Rulebook page 13.

Access

Characters can gain access in a variety of ways. They can gain access by virtue of their origin, religion, or their membership in certain organizations. Selecting certain common character options can give you access to other, rarer ones; for instance, a gnome who takes the Gnome Weapon Familiarity ancestry feat gains access to uncommon gnome weapons. Specific boons—such as from the Achievement Points system or Chronicle Sheets—can also grant access to these options. For more information, consult the Character Creation Appendix in the Guide to Organized Play: Pathfinder Society.

Availability

Character options for Pathfinder Society play have one of three levels of availability: standard, limited, or restricted.

Standard: These options follow the standard rules as printed in their respective sourcebooks. If a character wants to take this option, they must meet all its prerequisites as usual. If the option is uncommon or rarer, they must also have access to the option. 

Limited: A limited option is rarer in Society play, but not unheard of. A limited option can be selected only if specifically allowed by a boon—whether from the Achievement Points system, a Chronicle Sheet, or another other option from a Pathfinder Society source—even if the option is common or if the character meets the normal prerequisites or access requirements printed in the option’s source.

Restricted: A restricted option is one that is not generally appropriate for all tables or conducive to the Pathfinder Society's shared campaign setting, such as a one-of-a-kind weapon, a horrific spell used by only the most evil magic-users, or player options that require high degrees of GM adjudication. Such options will generally be made available for Society Play in only a very few special cases, such as via boons given out as part of charity events, if at all.

Using Options: Resource Ownership

Ownership of the Core Sources is not required for Character Option use in the Pathfinder Society campaign, as long as rules are referenced from the official Pathfinder Resource Document (prd).

The Core Sources currently are: the Pathfinder Player Core, Pathfinder GM Core, Pathfinder Monster Core, Pathfinder Player Core 2, Pathfinder Core Rulebook, Pathfinder Bestiary, and Lost Omens World Guide

Typically, characters cannot select options from a Pathfinder Adventure. However, Chronicle Sheets from sanctioned Adventures or boons from the Achievement Points store often grant characters access to options from these Adventures.

Ownership of Adventures or Adventure Path volumes is not required to use Character Options printed on Chronicle Sheets in the Pathfinder Society campaign, as long as option rules are referenced from the official Pathfinder Resource Document (prd).Typically, characters cannot select options from a Pathfinder Adventure. However, Chronicle Sheets from sanctioned Adventures or boons from the Achievement Points store often grant characters access to options from these Adventures.  Ownership of Adventures or Adventure Path volumes is not required to use Character Options printed on Chronicle Sheets in the Pathfinder Society campaign, as long as option rules are referenced from the official Pathfinder Resource Document (prd).

To use an option from any source other than those discussed above in Pathfinder Society play, you must bring any one of the following to your game table:

  • A physical copy of the book you wish to use
  • A name-watermarked PDF copy of the book
  • Name-watermarked printouts of all relevant pages you wish to use from the PDF
  • Access to the rules you wish to use in the form of either electronic access to the Pathfinder Reference Document (paizo.com/prd), another official rules source such as Pathfinder Nexus,  or a photocopy of the relevant pages, along with proof of purchase, such as a receipt from a game store or a screenshot of your My Downloads page on paizo.com.

The following do not satisfy this requirement:

  • A photocopy of a physical book with no proof of purchase
  • Printouts from electronic character builders such as Hero Lab
  • Content reproduced in other sources under the Open Gaming License (OGL) or Open RPG Creative License (ORC License), such as an online reference document or a homemade omnibus

In addition to the copy of the rules themselves, you must be able to provide a digital or physical copy of the below Character Options page for that source to show that the options you have selected for your character are legal for play.

Family members, significant others, or other members of the same household (such as roommates) can share resources if they are playing at the same table, rather than requiring a separate copy of the same book for each person. A group of friends that always plays together at the same table fulfills this requirement, as long as all the necessary materials for each character's options are present. Members playing at separate tables must each supply their own materials as normal.

Last Update: August 26, 2024 (Tian Xia Character Guide)

  • August 28, 2024
    • Added Tian Xia Character Guide
    • Updated Using Options from Other Sources to permit other official rules sources in place of the SRD, such as Pathfinder Nexus
  • August 1, 2024
    • Added Player Core 2
    • Updated Core Sources to include Player Core 2
  • July 11, 2024
    • Removed clarifications from Rage of Elements, Guns & Gears and Lost Omens: Firebrands that are now included in official errata
    • Allowed new options from Guns & Gears and Lost Omens: Firebrands due to errata
  • May 24, 2024
    • Added Howl of the Wild
  • April 24, 2024
    • Added Lost Omens: Tian Xia World Guide
  • March 27, 2024
    • Core Rulebook: deities who granted dreaming potential now grant illusory scene
    • Monster Core published and added to Core Assumption
  • February 1, 2024
    • Player Core: adjusted bard feats to work with both inspire courage and courageous anthem
    • Dark Archive: clarified DC of Curse Maelstrom's Expel Maelstrom
  • December 19, 2023
    • Core Rulebook: removed the Experienced Smuggler feat's ability to increase the level of Earn Income tasks, to align with the Remaster update
    • Advanced Player's Guide: removed Defy the Darkness from the Limited list
    • Secrets of Magic: added clarification to grim sandglass and removed it from Limited list
    • Treasure Vault: added clarification to five spellhearts and removed them from Limited list
  • November 28, 2023
    • Player Core: adjusted Martial Performance feat to keep warrior bards working as intended; updated sanctioning to allow all Pathfinders access to scholarly journals and survey maps; added some clarity on Recall Knowledge.
    • GM Core: gave all Pathfinders access to the staff of the unblinking eye
    • Bestiary: made explicit that Treerazer is not a permitted deity, for (hopefully) obvious reasons
  • November 15, 2023
    • Added Player Core & GM Core to sanctioned options
    • Removed Arcane Shroud from the list of Restricted options (Secrets of Magic)
    • Added new deities to the Restricted or Limited lists for the Core Rulebook, Lost Omens: Gods & Magic, Rage of Elements and Bestiary 2
    • Clarified or removed a number of items intrinsically tied to spell schools in the Core Rulebook, Secrets of Magic, Treasure Vault, Lost Omens: Pathfinder Society Guide, Lost Omens: Grand Bazaar and Lost Omens: Impossible Lands. See the Remaster Guidelines page for more information.
    • Added clarification to metal spells in Rage of Elements
  • August 3, 2023
    • Rage of Elements; new ancestry availability for PFS Year 5
  • June 28, 2023 
    • Lost Omens: Highhelm
Options Listing By Book

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