Present level cap?

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

I heard a while back that the Pathfinder Society level cap had been raised to well beyond 12/13 at some point. Is that the case? Is there some idiosyncratic complication/obstacle to achieving higher levels? What's the story, exactly?

[Nefreet]

You can now reach exactly level 20 in PFS.

I don't think there's ever been a "level cap" per se, there just weren't any games that would give you enough XP to reach 20.

As it stands now, when you finish Eyes of the Ten, you'll be level 13.2

If you play modules from that point on, you'll finish The Witchwar Legacy at 19.2

Then just find a convention that still offers the special Race For the Runecarved Key and you'll hit 20.

There is currently no way to actually play at level 20, though.

[Matthew Pittard]

There are a fair few threads in this very forum showing how it is possible. PFS standard play is still for levels 1-11 though.

[Iammars]

Nefreet wrote:

I don't think there's ever been a "level cap" per se, there just weren't any games that would give you enough XP to reach 20.

There used to be a level cap in PFS under the Josh Frost era. It used to be that you stopped gaining experience when you hit level 12, you only gained prestige and gold. However, this was one of the first things removed with the arrival of Mike Brock (iirc) and brought to our present system.

[I'm Hiding In Your Closet]

I don't entirely understand - it's still 3 Pathfinder Society XP to a level, right? Are you just saying there are no adventures for characters past level 13?

[Leathert]

There are Society sanctioned modules and Adventure Path pieces you can play beyond level 12. No normal Society scenarios are made for those levels.

It still is the 3 xp -> level.

[Belafon]

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

I don't entirely understand - it's still 3 Pathfinder Society XP to a level, right? Are you just saying there are no adventures for characters past level 13?

There are no Pathfinder Society scenarios for characters past level 13 (and only the 4-part Eyes of the Ten is for characters above level 11).

There are free download chronicles available for playing various Modules (the Modules line of products, not PFS scenarios) and parts of Adventure Paths that will give experience to characters above that level.

[Stemboy]

Don't several of the Adventure Paths take you way past 12? Like Shattered Star etc?

[Yiroep]

Belafon wrote:

There are no Pathfinder Society scenarios for characters past level 13 (and only the 4-part Eyes of the Ten is for characters above level 11).

There are free download chronicles available for playing various Modules (the Modules line of products, not PFS scenarios) and parts of Adventure Paths that will give experience to characters above that level.

This is exactly correct. Higher level play doesn't change any of the paperwork, it's just there is far less available for those 12+ levels. As such, it's harder to form a party unless you have something consistent.

With the sanctioning of Adventure Paths, a lot more options than before have opened up for using your Pathfinder Society characters at the 12+ levels. That being said, the focus is still on the 1-11 range for Pathfinder Society scenarios, and the vast majority of PFS play happens in those levels ranges.

[Nefreet]

I'm Hiding In Your Closet wrote:

I don't entirely understand - it's still 3 Pathfinder Society XP to a level, right? Are you just saying there are no adventures for characters past level 13?

The regular line of scenarios, which give you 1 XP, range from levels 1-11.

Modules, which give you 3 XP, range from levels 1-18.

Convention specials, which give you 1 XP, range from levels 1-15, and one (Race For the Runecarved Key) that is technically from levels "1-15+".

The Eyes of the Ten retirement arc gives you 5 XP, and you can only begin it when you have exactly 33 XP under your belt (level 12). This means that all PCs that have finished EotT have 38 XP (level 13.2).

So, playing 6 modules after retirement, and finishing with RFtRK leaves you with a 20th level character.

I'm not sure if anyone's actually done it yet, though. But it's fun to talk about.

[LazarX]

Nefreet wrote:

You can now reach exactly level 20 in PFS.

I don't think there's ever been a "level cap" per se, there just weren't any games that would give you enough XP to reach 20.

That's not the full issue. The main problem is that there are no PFS scenarios published for tiers above 11. The only way you can play a PFS PC of 12th or higher is in special scenarios, like Battle Interactives which will have a 12th or higher level table, or sanctioned content such as modules or AP's like Shattered Star and Reign of Winter, that have a tier that includes your character level. AS far as I know, the highest sanctioned tier is 17-18. (For obvious reasons, it is highly unlikely that Wrath of the Righteous will be sanctioned for PFS play)

[Nefreet]

The Witchwar Legacy is Tier 16-18. You can play it at level 18.2, which gets you to level 19.2, as I outlined above.

[MillerHero]

Characters above 11th level can play (acceptable character levels in parenthesis):

Scenarios:
Eyes of the Ten Parts 1-4 (12)
Race for the Runecarved Key (12+)
Siege of the Diamond City (12-15)

Modules:
Academy of Secrets (12-14)
Tomb of the Iron Medusa (13-15)
The Ruby Phoenix Tournament (12) {10 and 11 too, but I'm just listing greater than 11}
The Moonscar (15-17)
Witchwar Legacy (16-18)

Adventure Path portions:
Rise of the Runelords - Fortress of the Stone Giants (12-14)
Rise of the Runelords - Sins of the Saviors (14-16)
Rise of the Runelords - Spires of Xin-Shalast (16-18)
Shattered Star - Beyond the Doomsday Door (12-13) {11 too}
Shattered Star - Into the Nightmare Rift (13-15)
Shattered Star - The Dead Heart of Xin (16-18)
Reign of Winter - The Frozen Stars (12-13) {11 too}
Reign of Winter - Rasputin Must Die (13-15)
Reign of Winter - The Witch Queen's Revenge (15-17)
Skull and Shackles - The Price of Infamy (12-13) {11 too}
Skull and Shackles - From Hell's Heart (13-15)
Jade Regent - Forest of Spirits (12){10 and 11 too}
Jade Regent - Tide of Honor (11-13)
Jade Regent - The Empty Throne (14-16)
Carrion Crown - Ashes at Dawn (12-13) {11 too}
Carrion Crown - Shadows of Gallowspire (13-15)

[Matthew Pittard]

ooh thats reminds me... Ill need to assign my Fortress of the Stone Giants chronicle sheet soon.

[The Masked Ferret]

Actually, there is another path. It involves playing Rise of the Runelords, Carrion Crown, and Reign of winter to completion. If you just played those modules, you could get to level 19. You then play any 2 scenarios (you need 2xp) at any point in your career, and then top the result off with Race to the Runecarved Key.

20th level

I am running a group through this path right now.

[Nefreet]

It's the same path.

Step 1) Play Eyes of the Ten at level 12

Step 2) Play modules/APs until 19.2

Step 3) Finish with Race for the Runecarved Key

There are lots of options to completing step 2, but the beginning and the end of the path are the same.

[Pirate Rob]

You can also replace Step 1 with get to 11.2 and then play 2 modules to get to 13.2

[Nefreet]

Pirates always have an alternative to Step 1, huh?

[The Masked Ferret]

No, not exactly the same path.

1) Play the Reign of Winter, Carrion Crown, and Rise of the Runelord APs to completetion.
2) Play 2xp worth of modules sometime during that playthrough
3) Finish with Race for the Runecarved Key

[kinevon]

The Masked Ferret wrote:

No, not exactly the same path.

1) Play the Reign of Winter, Carrion Crown, and Rise of the Runelord APs to completetion.
2) Play 2xp worth of modules sometime during that playthrough
3) Finish with Race for the Runecarved Key

1) Play AP segments and/or modules for the first 11 levels.

2) During that time, play 2 PFS scenarios to gain 2 XP, sometime before reaching 12th level
3) Continue playing AP segments and modules to reach 19th level.
4) Play PFS Special Race for the Runecarved Key when your PC is at level 19.2, which I think is 56 XP.

The sad part is that that PC won't really have much to do with the Pathfinder Society.