Getting the most out of Society play.

[August Selby]

What are your suggestions for getting the most out of Pathfinder Society?

What books (Player Companions, Campaign Setting, or books that fall under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game tab)are generally considered useful?

I'm playing my third game Friday, so, unless I bite it this week, I'll be leveling up. I'm really enjoying it and I want to make sure I'm sucking up as much as I can from the products that are out there.

Thanks, in advance, for the help!

[Sabre]

Core rule book. After that, the class you're playing begins to matter a lot. (Melee? Caster? DPS? Support?)

[Lamontius]

Ultimate Equipment is incredibly useful.
The Advanced Players Guide opens up new classes and materials.
The Advanced Class Guide opens up new classes and materials.
Ultimate Magic is great for casters.
Ultimate Combat is great for martial characters.
The Adventurer's Armory gets you spring-loaded wrist sheaths.
Serpent's Skull AP Part Three, City of Spears gets you the Elixir of Spirit Sight.
The Campaign Setting Seeker of Secrets gets you a ton of good stuff and ioun stone resonance.

[Fromper]

I'd say Core Rulebook and Advanced Players Guide are the core books that define the game, and everyone should have them.

Beyond that, it greatly depends on what type of PC you're playing. Ultimate Equipment, Advanced Race Guide, Inner Sea Magic, and Seeker of Secrets would probably be the next on my list.

[SCPRedMage]

After the Core Rulebook, I'd say Advanced Player's Guide, Advanced Class Guide, Ultimate Equipment, Inner Sea World Guide, Ultimate Combat, and Ultimate Magic, in that order.

[Ken 418]

I've just started playing PFS in the last few months myself. Along with the Core Rulebook and Advanced Players Guide I like to bring a few characters and even be ready to play a pre-gen if needed. I play with several different groups around town and one never knows how many tables will be running.

Having said that and looking back on it, I wish I had started with a Rogue. It was suggested to me the other day that the Rogue class may be a good way to learn the Pathfinder system. I'm new to the Pathfinder incarnation of the d20 rules and will be taking that advice.

[Zach Klopfleisch]

Core Rulebook and Advanced Players Guide will give you the vast majority of the rules you'll ever really need. Other books will allow you to tweak characters here and there, but those two will give you enough to do just about any concept. The other hardbacks (Ultimate Equipment, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, Advanced Class Guide, Advanced Race Guide) are all great books, but are more niche. Every character you make will have the majority of his features in the CRB, a significant plurality of your characters will have stuff from the APG. The rest aren't nearly as universally useful.

Inner Sea World Guide will give you all you need to really understand and get the most out of the setting. What's the deal with the Andorans and Chelaxians? Who are these "Varisians" in Magnimar? You get so much more out of the scenarios, and things are much more easy to understand, when you know what's going on in the world, and the ISWG gives you that. Inner Sea Gods is great for understanding religions and divine casters, with plenty of great rules, but it's not nearly as universally useful as the ISWG.

[Shooting Star]

Inner Sea World Guide is pretty rad.

[Ken 418]

Agreed, Inner Sea World Guide is a gem for Society play.

[Talgeron]

I agree. After the CRB and the APG, the Inner Sea World a Guide is my favorite, followed by Ultimate Equipment.

[Jelloarm]

Inner Sea Gods has made top of my list for fluff - the crunch ranges from dangerously situational to wildly overpowered.

I made a point to run or play nearly every Season 5 scenario as they came out - currently 3 away from having a chronicle from every regular scenario. It really helped me understand the meta-story and appreciate the level of attention the current administration has been applying to Society play.

[René P]

Ultimate Campaign for access to retraining.

[pH unbalanced]

After the CRB, I would say get anything with "Advanced," "Ultimate," or "Inner Sea" in the title -- pretty much in that order.

[Finlanderboy]

Well the core is first obviously. Then the Advanced players guide. Next I would say ultimate combat, as it has options for casters as well. Fourth is ultimate magic. fifth advaced race guide.

[The Fourth Horseman]

My advice? CRB, Advanced Player's Guide, Advanced Class Guide, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Combat, Ultimate Equipment Guide, Advanced Race Guide ... in that order.

[Fromper]

I'm surprised to see so many people putting Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat so high on their lists. Yes, there's some good stuff in there for specific builds, but other than the classes introduced in those books, you can do most builds without any of the stuff in those books. When I'm making a new PC, I'll sometimes check them for stuff that might work with the build as an afterthought, but that's about it.

On the other hand, I always look through the alternate racial traits in Advanced Race Guide for every PC I make, and I usually end up finding at least one thing I want to use on almost any character.

I definitely should have included Inner Sea World Guide in my earlier post in this thread, though. I don't know how I forgot that one.

So my list:

Essential: Core Rulebook
Useful for almost every PC: Advanced Players Guide, Advanced Race Guide, Ultimate Equipment
Useful for setting background, and for lots of character types: Inner Sea World Guide, Pathfinder Society Field Guide, Seeker of Secrets, Inner Sea Magic

[nosig]

The Adventurer's Armory...
great for the price...

[Finlanderboy]

Fromper wrote:

I'm surprised to see so many people putting Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat so high on their lists. Yes, there's some good stuff in there for specific builds, but other than the classes introduced in those books, you can do most builds without any of the stuff in those books. When I'm making a new PC, I'll sometimes check them for stuff that might work with the build as an afterthought, but that's about it.

On the other hand, I always look through the alternate racial traits in Advanced Race Guide for every PC I make, and I usually end up finding at least one thing I want to use on almost any character.

I definitely should have included Inner Sea World Guide in my earlier post in this thread, though. I don't know how I forgot that one.

So my list:

Essential: Core Rulebook
Useful for almost every PC: Advanced Players Guide, Advanced Race Guide, Ultimate Equipment
Useful for setting background, and for lots of character types: Inner Sea World Guide, Pathfinder Society Field Guide, Seeker of Secrets, Inner Sea Magic

I think the ulitmate combat makes monks much more equal. Plus UC offers features that almost anyone can use. It also has extra classes. I feel the advanced race is less important because it also repeats pieces from the APG so I find it less valuable.

I did not put ultimate equipement because it has a lot of repeated stuff from the core and APG I put before it.

[August Selby]

What about the Pathfinder Society Primer?

[BigNorseWolf]

August Selby wrote:

What about the Pathfinder Society Primer?

Not a whole lot of bang for the buck

[gnoams]

BigNorseWolf wrote:

August Selby wrote:

What about the Pathfinder Society Primer?

Not a whole lot of bang for the buck

Also yet again outdated due to the new change in factions this season. I wouldn't recommend purchasing it now as it seems likely they'll be making yet another new version sometime soon.

[RAdeMorris]

August Selby wrote:

What are your suggestions for getting the most out of Pathfinder Society?

Hmmm. Looks like books are covered, so I'll go recommend a stolen bit from Fish! Philosophy: Make sure you're ready and have what sources you need, engage with other players, have fun, play to the hilt (having fun is contagious at times).

[Finlanderboy]

gnoams wrote:

BigNorseWolf wrote:

August Selby wrote:

What about the Pathfinder Society Primer?

Not a whole lot of bang for the buck

Also yet again outdated due to the new change in factions this season. I wouldn't recommend purchasing it now as it seems likely they'll be making yet another new version sometime soon.

I got mine at half priced books for half price!

Yay

I alos got people of the north, dungeoneer handbook, and the rise of the runelords hardcover

[Deighton Thrane]

I wish someone had told me about the Faction Guide when I was starting. It's not nearly as useful as most of the hard covers, but it does have some of the best character traits for society members. Like +1 AC for fighters, or half of extra rage/performance/etc..

[August Selby]

Will the traits from books not be grandfathered into the new season?

[Finlanderboy]

i just got the advance class option(adventure path?).

There are a ton of new options in there. I would place it above the ulitmate combat