Beginner Box Characters in PFS Play


Pathfinder Society

Grand Lodge 5/5

Now that you can use a Beginner Box character in Pathfinder Society Organized Play see this thread. I'm curious to see who has tried this or been at a table with a BB character.

Personally, I haven't had the opportunity to play a BB character in PFS yet, but I have created two so far. An Elven Wizard (universalist) and a Dwarven Cleric (of Sarenrae). I've used GM credit to advance them to 2nd level. The free Hero Labs BB program has been useful, but it doesn't handle PFS additions to the standard BB character.

For those of you trying this, how long before you dip into CORE rules? I wanted to purchase some masterwork armor to enchant later, but it is not a part of BB rules so I'll probably go with a masterwork weapon instead.

Has anyone found any issues using BB characters at a PFS table?

Liberty's Edge 5/5 *** Venture-Captain, Missouri—Cape Girardeau

I have offered Beginner's Box Delves as an intro for new players, carrying the Conversion Guide to PFS along with me. So far, it has attracted a few new players, mostly younger ones. I plan to have this handy for any/all conventions I coordinate with for the year of 2012 as well.

In all, I keep the PFS version of the B Box pre-gens ready, able to switch them out with a player once they are ready to "graduate" to full Core rules. I high-lighted the additional mechanics (CMB, CMD, traits, etc.) so they can ask questions early on how that works. Additionally, I have "spell cards" for the PFS Core pre-gens ready as well.

Grand Lodge 5/5 ****

I've just GMed through the Crypt of the Everflame with two characters done using the BB box. Both have been done by 11 year olds. Both were the first characters designed on their own.

Character 1 was a wizard - done by my son. This is his fourth character but the first one i let him design. I have to say I'm impressed with the character he managed to build. He selected the evocation line which gives him a lot to blast and with the limited spell selection it was a lot easier to start.

I tried not to help much. Not sure I completely succeeded. I helped with the point buy and to get reasonable stats. Having the normal HeroLab I had to do minor changes. And I let him add on 2 traits and told him to get a healer kit as I expected him to be the backup healer.

Character 2 was done by a friend completely on his own. A rogue. I should have checked the character better ahead of the game - but it's difficult if you have a group waiting to play. So I only realised later that he forgot to buy armour when I hit him with a score that should have been a miss.

I probably need to have him invited to play without the whole group and then will spend half an hour to give some advice.

My verdict:
you can easily build decent characters. It helps to learn the ropes. But if you have the Core Rulebook then it is tempting to sprinkle in bits at a very early stage. I see the Beginner Box as a learning tool. It also provided the first own set of dice for the rogue player.
If you play PFS you will likely sprinkle in bits from the Core book very early. But I see it like having the Beginner Box as a basis and you can borrow the CRB at the table. That should work for several levels.


I believe Hero Labs is working on a bridge between the BB and PFS given the new conversion guide. Don't quote me on that, but I vaguely remember a post by the creator in the blog for the conversion pdf.

Grand Lodge 5/5

I figured they'd want to keep the PFS stuff in the licensed program. It is a huge incentive to move to the full version. It would be nice to see a BB styled option in the licensed program though - to help with the transition.

Grand Lodge 5/5

I've got a question about using a BB character in PFS ... What about Armor Check Penalties, Gear Encumbrance, and DEX caps from armor?

These things aren't a part of the BB rules, but are used in PFS. I would guess these rules should be ignored for BB characters since they don't affect other players or opponents for the most part and they are complexities that can wait until level 6.

The Exchange 5/5 RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

I disagree, Don. If I were running a scenario where everyone at the table had a Beginner's Box PC, then I'd be willing to run in that environment.

However, as a DM, I don't want to try to juggle why two identical characters in identical armor are treated differently, because they're using two different rulesets. Someone who has enjoyed the Beginner's Box and has transitioned over to organized play should expect that there are several little rules changes to the character. If they're not able to handle encumbrance, Dexterity caps and armor check penalties, then they're probably not ready for the full Pathfinder ruleset, or for the PFS OP environment.

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