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(Third time trying to post this message. Please excuse me if I sound overly grumpy.)
So I volunteered to help organize Pathfinder Society play for my FLGS. Today I found out that "help organize" means "it's all up to me" and I'm running the first scenario September 26th. D'oh!
Frankly, I'm starting to feel like I've made a huge mistake. I don't know if I'm blind or stupid, but I've read the Guide and I've gone through the messageboards and I'm completely lost. I have a whole bunch of questions that I can't find answers for. (Questions which will also undoubtedly show that I wasn't involved in the RPGA.) Questions like:
How does the FLGS sign up to get the modules?
Is it possible to get a PFS Guide without my email address and Paizo customer # emblazoned across it, that I can show/give to people I'm trying to attract to the game?
Does everyone have to be signed up with a paizo.com account and have a character created before running the first module, or do we do that the first night?
What about people who want to "kick the tires," so to speak? I'm sure I read something somewhere about having PFS ID #'s and pre-gen characters available for DMs to give to walk-ups, but I haven't been able to find either the original info or any subsequent info about this, except for a discussion on the messageboards about whether or not this is a good idea.
Does a new player joining an existing group start a level one character and hope and pray it doesn't die while hanging out with the level tens, or do they make a level ten? What happens if somebody from another group shows up with a character that's of a significantly different level than the rest? For that matter, what if someone only shows up for every other scenario, and quickly ends up at half the level of the rest of the group?
When does a season start? What happens if we're starting after the season has started? Do we start at first level with the first batch of modules, or the most recent releases at a higher level? What happens if a group starts late in the season? Do they stop playing at the end of the season, or do they continue until they've played the whole season's scenarios? Are they now and forever months behind the release schedule?
In the months where there are four scenarios released instead of two, is the group expected to meet four times those months instead of two? Will they be behind the power curve for the subsequent scenarios if they only meet twice?
How do I report results? I fill out the chronicle at the back of the module once for each character and... then what? There's no "Report My Event" link that I can see. And who keeps the chronicle, the coordinator, DM, or player?
I have more questions but I'm afraid that I'll lose this message a fourth time if I don't post it soon.
I can't help but feel that I've somehow missed something glaringly obvious, judging by the number of "Pathfinder Society in X city" threads I've seen. And while I've noticed some "this will be answered in PFS Guide 1.2" messages, that won't help me any unless it comes out in the next week or so.
Can somebody, anybody, help me, or should I just give up now?
Director of Brand Strategy
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For some reason I don't seem to be able to edit my own post, so I'll just add to it here.
I missed the thread that said to email results to Josh for now. Cool, but what info do we send?
Send the players' names, PFS numbers, character names, and faction prestige earned. I believe that's all but I'm sure Josh will answer all your questions when he gets to the thread.
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Don't give up! You're doing people (particularly your FLGS) a great service by organising things. There is something of a learning curve, but it shouldn't take you that long to 'get' everything.
One starting point which might help - and might explain some of the answers - is this: Organised play (RPGA, Pathfinder Society, etc) is primarily designed to allow changing groups of people to play together with their own characters. It is a 'middle ground' between the home campaign where a set group of players play regularly in a single campaign, and the 'classic' convention arrangement where a group of people who don't know each other play a single scenario with pre-generated characters and (apart from series or sequels) never play that character again. OP allows you to build a character, and have that character play a role within a large campaign, while also allowing groups of people who don't know each other to play together. The primary role of OP is not to provide material for a fixed or reasonably fixed 'home-style' group, and while that kind of group can play in these kinds of campaigns, some of the issues you throw up are particularly relevant in that context, particularly where character death and new players are concerned. It can work - and it can work well - but it requires a certain level of flexibility from all involved.
Various specific answers, and I could be wrong on some/all of this!:
I believe that getting free copies of the modules to game stores is on the 'to do' list. For now, you (or the store) will probably have to buy the module.
I think your life would be a lot simpler if you have everyone come with a PFS number, or ensure that there's an internet connection at the store so players can create a Paizo profile and get a number before you finish.
There seem to be some pre-gens floating around. It's important to note that once someone has played a PFS scenario with a pregen, they need to keep the pre-gen - they can't tweak it, once it's been played. Living Arcanis had a rule that (I think) allowed you to change your character however you wanted until you reached 2nd level, at which point it was 'locked in' - I've always thought this to be a good compromise for OP, but it's not the rule in PFS at the moment - create or find a character before you start, keep that character thereafter.
All characters start at level 1. If there are four people who play twice a week, someone who plays once a month will fall behind, unless they attend a convention or whatever and play the modules they missed. I haven't read the rules in enough detail to know whether there are eligibility to play restrictions. It's worth noting that while in Living Greyhawk no one character could play every module released in a year due to campaign limitations ("time units" which a character 'spent' playing a module, and were finite for each calendar year), PFS seems to be based on the idea that it's possible for one character to play all modules released each season. Common practice in LG was for players to have a range of characters, so if you had a new player you'd run your lower level characters through some modules when the new player was available, rather than choosing to play higher-level characters. This is where having a small player-base is a problem - I helped organise an LG group which had about 20 or 30 players who had a range of characters and who played in different player (and character) combinations each time. If you only have five players, it is far more problematic. Character death becomes a big problem here, too.
Seasons start at GenCon Indy, apparently. I don't think they're set in stone, though - and you can play any modules as far as I can tell. I think the point of a Season is simply to mark when the end of the overall Prestige Award tallies is, and determine which faction has the upper hand in the overall campaign. Incidentally, being months behind the release schedule isn't a terrible problem, I don't think.
I think the idea is that you play what you want to play, when you have a group which wants to play. If four modules are released, but you only meet once then you will be behind 'schedule', but I doubt that will cause you any problems. Play the other modules when you get round to them.
The player keeps the SC. The reporting system, as you've noted, isn't up yet, but is currently manual reporting to Josh.
I hope that helps. I think there might be some minor structural weaknesses in the campaign when applied to regular games played by small groups, but they shouldn't be insurmountable. If the worst happens, and a couple of characters die, have the whole group create new characters at level 1, and keep your higher level characters on the back burner for either when the new characters catch up, or for if you attend a convention or larger event where there are other higher-level characters.
However, if you are planning on having a fixed or almost entirely fixed group of players, I wouldn't advise the official Society - you'd be better off buying the modules and running them as non-Society events. While the players wouldn't then have official/legal PFS characters, so couldn't play their characters at conventions, etc, you might well have more fun not having to navigate these issues.
If 'who's going to be playing this week?' is an unknown variable until the day before, and you have a larger number of 'potential' players, PFS could work very well for you.
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How does the FLGS sign up to get the modules?
This is on the list of things Gary is working on I believe, right now they must be bought
Is it possible to get a PFS Guide without my email address and Paizo customer # emblazoned across it, that I can show/give to people I'm trying to attract to the game?
you can only get it with the email. I would suggest makinging another account with a gmail or hotmail account that you create for the purpose of PFS stuff, so if others have questions, you don't loose their email.
Does everyone have to be signed up with a paizo.com account and have a character created before running the first module, or do we do that the first night?
When you report the event each character must be connected to a PFS number I think.
What about people who want to "kick the tires," so to speak? I'm sure I read something somewhere about having PFS ID #'s and pre-gen characters available for DMs to give to walk-ups, but I haven't been able to find either the original info or any subsequent info about this, except for a discussion on the messageboards about whether or not this is a good idea.
There have been no official word for this yet.I had players show up 45 minutes early to make characters (and we still started late)
Does a new player joining an existing group start a level one character and hope and pray it doesn't die while hanging out with the level tens, or do they make a level ten? What happens if somebody from another group shows up with a character that's of a significantly different level than the rest? For that matter, what if someone only shows up for every other scenario, and quickly ends up at half the level of the rest of the group?
New players start at level 1. so the new person needs to get at least 3 more people of less than 4th level to play in a low level adventure.
When does a season start? What happens if we're starting after the season has started? Do we start at first level with the first batch of modules, or the most recent releases at a higher level? What happens if a group starts late in the season? Do they stop playing at the end of the season, or do they continue until they've played the whole season's scenarios? Are they now and forever months behind the release schedule?
The Season starts at GenCon Indy and Ends at Origins (beginning of Aug and end of June respectively) you can start at any time, and you are not forced to retire characters until they reach 12th level. Every character must start at level 1 with a lvl 1-2 adventure. you can play adventures in any order as long as one of the tiers fit the levels of the group. You do not have to play every adventure (as some may not fit your group, or people who only play at conventions may not be able to find a spot at a certain adventure)
In the months where there are four scenarios released instead of two, is the group expected to meet four times those months instead of two? Will they be behind the power curve for the subsequent scenarios if they only meet twice?
Power curve is relative. They will be the same as other characters who have completed the same number of scenarios (give or take). They will be higher than those who have played more, and weaker than those that have played less...
How do I report results? I fill out the chronicle at the back of the module once for each character and... then what? There's no "Report My Event" link that I can see. And who keeps the chronicle, the coordinator, DM, or player?
Personally, I copied the chronicles on site and scanned them when i got home. this allowed me to send the scanned version to Josh. I would think you would need to send the player name, pathfinder number, adventure number, amount of gold / items found, and amount of gold spent.
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Thanks for the responses so far! Panic... subsiding. Breathing... returning to normal.
So it seems like the thing to do is tell everyone to register with paizo.com and get their Pathfinder Society number, then they can make their character on the spot. Fortunately, the FLGS has a public terminal where they can register right away.
It also sounds like the ideal thing is for everyone to have a few characters at different levels, and if a new player shows up we play a low-tier scenario, because the new player will be at level one.
Am I understanding this correctly?
The big weakness I can see in this idea is that if regular players show up, they're not going to want to constantly be making up new low-level characters every time a new person shows up, they're going to want to play their higher-level characters. That, and we'd eventually run out of low-level scenarios.
Also, is there a limit to how many times a player can go through a scenario? I assume a character can only do it once, regardless of the tier they're at.
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Director of Brand Strategy
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It also sounds like the ideal thing is for everyone to have a few characters at different levels, and if a new player shows up we play a low-tier scenario, because the new player will be at level one.
Am I understanding this correctly?
The big weakness I can see in this idea is that if regular players show up, they're not going to want to constantly be making up new low-level characters every time a new person shows up, they're going to want to play their higher-level characters. That, and we'd eventually run out of low-level scenarios.
Players can have as many characters as they want, but they all have to start at level 1. In general, a player will reach higher level if they play the same character all the time. Your best bet, I think, is to muster players & GMs ahead of time, so that you can assess need for certain level adventures each week.
Create a google or yahoo group and direct people who are interested in the campaign there. Then you can answer their questions and start a community of players. Announce ahead of time what date you'll be running games and the proposed scenarios/tiers. Then get volunteers for GMs of those adventures. Once you have a table or two and alternates, put out a call for players. Have each player simply say what scenario they want to play, and their PC race/class/faction/level. Then arrange interested PCs together into parties of 4-6 to get the best party balance and a mixture of factions. Be sure to let people know what table they're at and whether they have a seat held or if they're an alternate. Then give everyone a deadline to be there.
You should not run out of low level adventures, as each one has a range of 5 levels. Nick said that they would continue to release lvl 1-5 scenarios throughout the year, so there will always be new ones to play if people have already run through the existing ones.
Also, is there a limit to how many times a player can go through a scenario? I assume a character can only do it once, regardless of the tier they're at.
Each player can only play a scenario one time. Even with a different PC, once a scenario has been played, it is off limits for that player. He or she can, however, still run that scenario for other players. If a player has previously run a scenario, they are not permitted to play the same scenario as a player, so those interested in both playing and GMing should attempt to play first then GM those scenarios for others, or else eat some of the scenarios and be unable to play them with their PC.