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For everything not in the core rulebook, you need to consult Additional Resources.
Under the Advanced Race Guide entry, you will find:
In Chapter 3, nothing from the changelings, duergar, gillmen, gripplis, merfolk, samsarans, strix, sulis, svirfneblin, vanaras, and vishkanyas entries are currently legal for play.
The rogue talents on page 193 are legal for play for characters of all races.
So far, no special race boon has been released for this race to my knowledge. However, Tier 1 and Tier 2 only Gen Con GM volunteers this year are expected to receive a Vishkanya boon.
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I was reading up on the Uncommon Races and discovered the vishkanya, which seems like a cool race for a witch, but I can't seem to find if it's a playable race or requires a boon. I'm a total newbie, so this is my first encounter with the concept of racial boons. Are they availalbe, and if so, do I need a boon to play one?
Pretty sure you need a Boon unless there is a VERY RECENT change. Besides the classic races all that is playable is Teifling, Aasimar, and Tengu.
I have to admit, that page is almost painful to read; so dense with information! A very quick scan makes it looks like they are NOT a playable race.
They aren't for now. Its a safe bet that if you want to be a race other than the classic ones (dwarf, elf, blah) you need a boon. You could get a boon, but its a stretch for some races. If you want to play a Vishkanya your best bet is probably to do so in a homegame.
There isn't anything like a Vishkanya Jiggy, unless you know a race with a free create your own poison save or die I don't know about. You can get create poison, but this isn't the best environment for poisons.
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There isn't anything like a Vishkanya Jiggy, unless you know a race with a free create your own poison save or die I don't know about. You can get create poison, but this isn't the best environment for poisons.
But what if the appeal wasn't the poison?
If the appeal was +2 DEX/CHA, then there's halflings, dual-talented humans, or musetouched aasimar.
If the appeal was the reptilian flavor, then maybe they could find a benefactor willing to give them a nagaji boon. Or for an animalistic-but-not-really-reptilian flavor, certain aasimar or tiefling heritages could fit the bill. Or maybe a summoner with a reptilian eidolon.
It's not so much the poison thing, though that is cool; it's just the concept and some of the sneaky bonuses (Stealth, Escape Artist, etc). The original character I was basing to on was a tiefling in my home game, so maybe I'll just go back to that.
A +2 to a skill is probably not going to make or break the character. Vishkanya's unique gig is being snake like and getting poison use and a cool swift action poison. You'll probably do well with a Tiefling, even if its his 2nd gig.
But what if the appeal wasn't the poison?
And I think that's going out of the way to get a nagaji, be a specific class, or so on. I think it'd be easier to play what you want to be, but I'm probably just projecting some bias here and there in my post and taking a bit too much of an extreme.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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If the appeal was the reptilian flavor, then maybe they could find a benefactor willing to give them a nagaji boon. Or for an animalistic-but-not-really-reptilian flavor, certain aasimar or tiefling heritages could fit the bill. Or maybe a summoner with a reptilian eidolon.Actually the combo of +2 Dex, +2 Cha and -2 Wis originally attracted me to the Beastbrood (rakshasa spawn) heritage, which has the same adjustments, but for some reason I though vishkanya might be easier to get, though this now seems to be exactly the opposite.
Be aware that there are two different books with tiefling heritages, and only one of them (thankfully, the good one) is legal for PFS. Also read very carefully which features are legal.
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So when it says in the Guide you can play a race 'with access to
the proper Additional Resources book', does that mean you have to show up at the event with the book in your hand or what?
Since nobody else has mentioned it yet in this thread, I'll point you to the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, which is a free download.
Per the Guide, all players/GMs are assumed to have the Guide, the Core Rulebook, and the Pathfinder Society Field Guide. If you want to use anything else when making a character, you must own the book, either as a physical hard copy or pdf, and you must bring it with you when you play in Society games. And of course, whatever else you're trying to use must be legal for Society play, which is what the Additional Resources page is for. This is explained on page 5 of the current Guide.
As for races, you can usually only play one of the Core Rulebook races, tiefling, tengu, or aasimar. Again, if you want to have a tiefling, tengu, or aasimar, you must own the proper book that covers their details (probably the Advanced Race Guide, but they're also in other books).
I said you can "usually" only play those races, because there are exceptions, in the form of race boons. These are special prizes, usually given out as door prizes or volunteer thank you gifts at major conventions, which allow someone to play a race besides the normal ones. For instance, I GMed at a convention last summer and was given a boon that allowed me to play a nagaji character in Society. There are plenty of other races that have boons like this available, as well. But don't hold your breath waiting to win one - as a new PFS player, just stick to the "always available" races at first, and maybe you'll pick up a race boon later, if you're lucky, or if you happen to GM at a convention that gives them to all volunteers.
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No.
This piece of information, and many others like it, are available in the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play: http://paizo.com/products/btpy84k4
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Posting under that alias is a bit un-called for when addressing a newbie, don't you think?
I wouldn't use it on a newbie who is saying, "I am a newbie please tell me where to start." But I'm comfortable using it when someone is asking for specifics without having read the basics. (The first paragraph of "Step 2: Race and Class" in the "Character Creation" chapter qualifies as pretty basic reading IMO.)
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I'm not sure that's ever really an appropriate alias, unless it means something other than what I think it means. There's no reason to be snarky most of the time, but it is especially out of order when addressing someone that says, "I'm a complete newbie to this".
Basically, if you have a choice between being polite to someone or not, being polite is usually better, even if you think they won't realize that you weren't.
When I go to a convention next week and someone asks how they can get information, I want to be able to point to these boards, knowing that this community will treat them right while they settle in and learn things. Pointing them to the Guide is helpful. Doing it with some acronym or a rude comment isn't.
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I'm not sure that's ever really an appropriate alias, unless it means something other than what I think it means. There's no reason to be snarky most of the time, but it is especially out of order when addressing someone that says, "I'm a complete newbie to this".
Basically, if you have a choice between being polite to someone or not, being polite is usually better, even if you think they won't realize that you weren't.
As evidenced, I disagree with your assessment.
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First off, welcome to PFS Organized Play, Heritage 367!
As several posters here have already pointed out, your first stop when it comes to questions about the legality of material in Organized Play, should be the official Guide to Organized Play. Please note that this particular document will be updating in the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for when that happens as only the newest and most recent version of the guide is correct and legal.
If you don't find your answers after a careful read through of that product, then you can move to the Additional Resources page and look up the particular entry for the product that you're looking at the material from.
Posting under that alias is a bit un-called for when addressing a newbie, don't you think?I wouldn't use it on a newbie who is saying, "I am a newbie please tell me where to start." But I'm comfortable using it when someone is asking for specifics without having read the basics. (The first paragraph of "Step 2: Race and Class" in the "Character Creation" chapter qualifies as pretty basic reading IMO.)
I was reading up on the Uncommon Races and discovered the vishkanya, which seems like a cool race for a witch, but I can't seem to find if it's a playable race or requires a boon. I'm a total newbie, so this is my first encounter with the concept of racial boons. Are they available to play, and if so, do I need a boon to play one?
Emphasis mine.
Unfortunately, not everyone who is introduced to PFSOP is given all of the information they really should be when they first start. That being said, as a community, it's really our responsibility to kindly guide them in the proper direction when they pop up with questions rather than being rude or harsh with them.
It's one thing if you're dealing with someone who's been playing for several months to a year and they come here asking questions after they've likely been pointed at the guide and simply ignored it or failed to read through it.
It's a completely different scenario when someone is new, admits they're new, and is simply asking for clarification.
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I have read most of the character generation section, but wasn't sure how current it was, since it seems like all sorts of updates appear in this forum.
The Guide to Organized Play is only updated a couple of times a year. At least for the past few years, it's updated immediately before GenCon (as the new season of scenarios premieres at GenCon each year), and also seems to see a revision sometime in the winter (the most recent revision was in January).
What does get updated more often is the Additional Resources list, which tells you what is (and isn't) legal for PFS play out of the various Pathfinder sourcebooks. The list usually gets updated shortly after a new book comes out; it will also get updated if the campaign staff makes a change in their ruling on the legality of a particular rules item. You can find the Additional Resources list here:
http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/about/additionalResources