How do we tell if a class is Pathfinder's Legal or 3rd party?

There are classes in Pathfinders Modules, various magazines, etc. For example, the Hellknight Commander prestige class appears in Council of Thieves: What lies in Dust module. Is there a list somewhere to separate the classes considered '3rd party' from the classes that are legal?

There are classes in Pathfinders Modules, various magazines, etc. For example, the Hellknight Commander prestige class appears in Council of Thieves: What lies in Dust module. Is there a list somewhere to separate the classes considered '3rd party' from the classes that are legal?

The Pathfinder SRD does a good job labeling 3rd party material where it is. The PRD only contains non-3rd party material.

If you're asking about Pathfinder Society (PFS), you're in luck!

Check out the Additional Resources document.

If it's from Paizo, then it's "legal". Legal simply meaning it was published by the same producer as the main game (the Pathfinder Core Rule Book) was.

Anything you find on Paizo.com/prd is "legal". If you use d20pfsrd.com then anything that says it was published by Paizo at the bottom of the page (you have to scroll to the very bottom) would meet the same legal definition.

However, things like PFS have their own specific set of restrictions. And as a GM, I personally set the restriction to Paizo hardback books (the core line up). They recieve the most attention to detail and are designed to be more balanced and are review more often than other books that have been produced. If a player is interested in something outside of the core books then they must ask me for permission and I will review the option and decide whether to allow it.

There are classes in Pathfinders Modules, various magazines, etc. For example, the Hellknight Commander prestige class appears in Council of Thieves: What lies in Dust module. Is there a list somewhere to separate the classes considered '3rd party' from the classes that are legal?

It's from a Paizo AP? It's not third party.

Is it legal? Ask your GM? Just because something is in a Paizo source, doesn't mean every GM will let it be legal at their table.

Is this a PFS question? Someone posted the Additional Resources link for you, and the Hellknight Commander does not appear to be legal for PFS.

This confused me in the past as well.

I believe Sarrah may be talking about the Hell Knight Commander from d20pfsrd.com. (Notice the space between "hell" and "knight".)

Pathfinder does not have Hell Knights, instead Pathifinder has Hellknights. I believe d20pfsrd.com calls them Hell Knight Commanders to avoid abusing paizo's copyright.

Anyway, the Hell Knight Commander from d20pfsrd.com is exactly the same as the Hellknight from Pathfinder, and Hellknights (from the Inner Sea World Guide) are legal for Pathfinder Society games but you will still need to have a copy or PDF of the book. Watchout, the Hellknight Prestige Class from the Council of Thieves is different from the legal one in the Inner Sea World Guide. It was made for Dungeons and Dragons and has 15 levels, whereas the legal one has only 10 levels.

Also, the Hell Knight Enforcer from d20pfsrd.com is the spell casting class of Hell Knights but in Pathfinder they are called Hellknight Signifiers. I don't believe they are legal for Pathfinder Society games.

There are classes in Pathfinders Modules, various magazines, etc. For example, the Hellknight Commander prestige class appears in Council of Thieves: What lies in Dust module. Is there a list somewhere to separate the classes considered '3rd party' from the classes that are legal?

To answer your question. I don't think there is a convenient list. You just have to do your homework. If you're using d20pfsrd.com be careful and be sure to check the copyright notices.

Uh... WTF?
Nefreet just linked the specific list for PFS. (Which is only Paizo 1st party, and not even all of that).
If you're talking about a home game, there is no list or 'homework': it's whatever the GM decides,
so ask the GM, don't appeal to some abstract authority over the internet.

Other than the personal fiat of the GM in a home game,
the concept of asking what is 'legal' only really applies to PFS in the first place, which is why this thread may belong in that sub-forum.
Outside of PFS, any Pathfinder-system, or indeed most 3.5, material is 'compatable' with the game.

Other than the personal fiat of the GM in a home game,

the concept of asking what is 'legal' only really applies to PFS in the first place, which is why this thread may belong in that sub-forum.
Outside of PFS, any Pathfinder-system, or indeed most 3.5, material is 'compatable' with the game.

Agreed.

I did not mean to imply that playing with sources not legal for Pathfinder Society games is wrong.

The point is d20pfsrd.com has the Hellknight Prestige Class posted on their site, they just call it the Hell Knight Commander. Also, the Hellknight Prestige Class in Counsel of Thieves is different from the one presented in the Inner Sea World Guide.

The big problem here is that it sounds like you're using d20pfsrd to build characters, which is kind of a no-no for PFS. It's a great site for finding out about material, but once you find that material you have to look at the bottom of the page you found it on and buy the book it comes from. If it's not a Paizo book, it's definitely not legal, but if it is a Paizo book you need to check for legality on the Additional Resources section of the PFS page here at paizo.com.

Karui Kage's Archive of Nethys is pretty handy for determining whether something is PFS legal or not. d20PFSRD should really add that function, IMHO.
Nethys also includes Golarion Campaign Specific stuff that is outside d20PFSRD's purvue.

As mentioned by Quandary.

www.archivesofnethys.com is very helpful for planning your PFS characters.
It uses a small Pathfinder Society symbol to help identify if a spell,class,race..etc is PFS legal.
You will still need to double check Additional Resources, as some class and race options require a boon to unlock.

Whether you are using PFSRD20, Archives of Nethys, Hero Lab, the official PRD, or whatever, ALWAYS check the Additional Resources list to doublecheck if you're good.

-j