Considering a PFS game.

[Anonua]

I recently started running a weekly Pathfinder night for my friends and I. We did have a player state that she would be unavalible for awhile, and with her party member being a major part of the group, and not wanting her to just be 'lost', I've considered starting up a second campaign in her absence. This is also due half of my players expressing interest in trying other characters, and the others being open to the idea.

That being said, I'm currently debating if I want to start them in a Pathfinder Society, or if I want to pick up another Adventure Path to send them off on. (I haven't become comfortable enough as a new GM to start my own campaign.)

Things I'm running into are, I don't have a tablet or laptop to read PDFs from, so if I can purchase a hardcover of the scenario, it'd be easier then using up all my ink. I've also noticed a couple Adventure Paths that I'd like to use are no longer in print. (Carrion Crown and Council of Theieves)

Does anyone have advice for what I should or can do? I'm open to all suggestions on which directions to go, or other means of getting hard copies of the scenarios/campaigns I want, or would be advised to run.

Also as a note the party at current consists of the follow player types.
Magic User (Player prefers Story over Hack and Slash, but is tolerante of both)
The Rogue (Player takes the game light hardedly, maybe too much so.)
The Fighter (Player is mostly interested in combat, but also shares in the enjoyment of story and development)
The Protector (Player is new to the game, started as Paladin, though is not enjoying the character and looking to try an Oracle. Player is still trying to find his niche in the game.)

[Talgeron]

Pfs is handy for players that can't show up all the time. However, all scenarios are PDFs. The upside is PFS is often easier to run as the scenarios are a little more linear, as a general rule, than campaigns. However, there's a little less freedom than running a home campaign. As far as out of print stuff, personally, I avoid buying out of print adventure paths simply because you'll find the prices on places like amazon prohibitively expensive. I often recommend the Rise of the Runelords anniversary edition for new GMs, as there's a plethora of extra stuff on the forums here that you can use to flesh out the world, or make minor changes to the AP. Plus, it's conveniently in one book.

If you haven't played PFS before, I would recommend contacting your local Venture Officer to try it out, maybe play a few games publicly to get the feel for the campaign. Plus, VOs can be a great resource for questions.

[Anonua]

Thanks for the advice Nick. I think I'll look into the RotR AE. I've seen quite a few mentions of it and it sounds like at current it'd be the most economical choice for our group.

Unfortunately the usual sessions of my local PFS conflict with other schedules I have.

[EricMcG]

You might want to consider modules, there are a few 1st level ones that allow players to try out their character concepts. If they like them, then they can continue them in an AP (starting at 2nd level or as a 1st level clone). You can also string modules together for a mini- campaign. Generally each module is a level, although overall story line may not be coherent.

[Gwen Smith]

You can also insert one or more PFS scenarios into an adventure path. When our GM needed a break from Rise of the Runelords, my husband picked a PFS scenario of the right level that was also set in the city that we were currently in. He GM'd the scenario and let our Runlords GM play a character that worked for the Pathfinder Society and recruited our characters to help.

PFS scenarios are all episodic, so you finish a scenario in a single sitting, and there's no externally-enforced continuity. If your group is in flux, if someone else wants to try GMing, or you want to try out new players or new characters, PFS scenarios are a great tool for that. If it doesn't work out, there's no lasting impact on the group.

You are always free to run PFS scenarios however you want, as long as you're not concerned about whether you get credit in the organized play system. You can always just grab a scenario that looks interesting or appropriate, and go crazy.

However, if you want to let your players take their characters to a regular PFS game and play, then you'll have to make sure follow the PFS rules, start new characters at level 1, give your players chronicle sheets, and report the game as an event. You can do this all within your own group as a private event.