...So, I've been GMing for many years, and recently decided to get into Pathfinder Society. I'm running a home game for friends to get my feet wet, but there's some information that's escaping me. And I'm wondering if I'm missing something obvious, or if it's not just me. So, without further adieu, the questions I have.
1:Faction goals, especially with the recent change in factions. Do they default to whichever is closest? (Such as the Scarabs being Osirian, Liberty's Edge being Andoran, etc.) Is there some file I've missed somewhere that details this?
2:Aside from have a Pathfinder ID and ensure you report everything, is there anything else I need to do as a GM?
3:Is there a list of modules by level? That would help significantly in deciding what to throw my money at next.
4:One can use items freely during scenarios, I get that. Does this also include a Wizard making use of a scroll and scribing it into his spellbook if he does not purchase it afterwards?
5:Is there a file besides GM101/201 and the Pathfinder Society Guide that I've missed? It does feel like I've missed some kind of secret indoctrination book.
I fully accept mockery of my inability to find the answers to these questions. You will find throwing tomatoes and wedgie gloves by the door.
Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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3:Is there a list of modules by level? That would help significantly in deciding what to throw my money at next.
I use this. Also, it's worth it to read the reviews of the scenarios here on the Paizo website, to see which ones seem to fit your preferred GMing style (combat heavy, diplomacy, puzzling etc.)
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Venture-Captain, Massachusetts—Central & West
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1) Contained in the free Guide to Organized Play, on page 18.
Liberty’s Edge faction PCs qualify for Andoran faction
vanities and mission boons available in past seasons.
Likewise, Dark Archive faction PCs qualify for Cheliax
rewards, Scarab Sages as Osirion, The Exchange as
Qadira, and Sovereign Court as Taldor. Without a boon
that states otherwise, a PC cannot earn Sczarni vanities
or boons.
And for REALLY early seasons:
Seasons 0–2: For the first three seasons of the campaign,
only five factions were available for characters to ally
with. As such, members of the newer factions introduced
in Season 3 playing older scenarios may utilize faction
missions from another faction, as follows.
• Grand Lodge faction PCs should treat Osirion faction
missions as their own for all Season 0, 1, and 2 scenarios.
• Sczarni faction PCs should treat Taldor faction missions
as their own for all Season 0, 1, and 2 scenarios.
• Silver Crusade faction PCs should treat Andoran faction
missions as their own for all Season 0, 1, and 2 scenarios.
Seasons 3–4: Two factions that are now retired—the Lantern
Lodge and Shadow Lodge—were available for characters to
ally with during Seasons 3–4; ignore these factions’ missions.
2) While not required, perhaps have the Guide to Organized Play available to help answer any questions! Questions from new players about how buying things or how loot works comes up a lot! There's a nice list of what things may be nice to do. Since it's a home game, it's much more relaxed than this, but I'll just list them here in full without paring down the in-store items.
• Introduce yourself.
• Encourage your players to introduce themselves (and
their characters).
• It is recommended that you look over each player’s
character sheet and previous Chronicle sheets, quickly
checking wealth, equipment, calculations, and so on if
time permits.
• Start playing the session.
• Play for no more than 5 hours. (Note: home games and
online games do not necessarily have to follow this
restriction, and some conventions may run longer slots.)
• Give each player an accurate Chronicle sheet for that
scenario (see Filling Out a Chronicle Sheet, later in
this chapter).
• At conventions, you may also be expected to quickly fill
out scenario or module reporting sheets with additional
tracking information—these sheets need to be turned
in to your coordinator so she can report the results.
• When acting as both the Game Master and coordinator
for an event, you are expected to report the results
of your sessions on paizo.com/pathfindersociety
in a timely fashion. Failing to do so has negative
consequences for Pathfinder Society as a whole (see the
sidebar on page 37).
3) While not necessarily by level, Paizo has a new Adventure Finder that helps find things of a specific level. This list is not only PFS-sanctioned stuff, but it's fairly easy to tell PFS scenarios by their cover art. There is a Wiki article with PFS Scenarios by tier, that you can use as well.
4) In the case of scrolls found going into spellbooks, yes, you can do that. Check out this FAQ.
5) Nope. *hides the sacrificial dagger behind the hutch with his foot, giving a nervous smile* I hope you all enjoy your gaming!
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A few answers:
1. This information is on page 18 of the Guide to Organized play.
2. Make sure everyone's having a good time, which is definitely more important than the reporting part.
3. http://paizo.com/pathfinder/adventureFinder is probably what you need. The vast majority of this stuff (well the stuff made by Paizo) is sanctioned for PFS (if it isn't a PFS scenario, there's probably rules and chronicles downloadable on the product's page). There are also player-made resources (mainly scenario trackers), that might be useful. It is a little weird in deciding which scenarios count as which levels, but still not a bad place to start.
4. I've always seen it treated that way, but remember there is still a (relatively minor) cost they need to pay.
5. Not really, but do read the Guide a few times, as there's a lot of information in there, and it can be easy to miss something important.
Edit: Attack of the Ninjas