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Hello Everyone!
I've recently started back up with PFS, and I decided to make an Unchained Monk, Human. From what I see it's Legal, which is great and I really do look forward to the new Monk.
Character design aside, I'd like to rake in extra GP when I can... so how do I go about that with Pathfinder Society; and is it worth it?
If I had any kind of off-time activity to pull in extra spending money, It'd probably be blacksmithing, toymaking, or historical(artifacts(not the wonderous or magical kind), maps, statues, jewelry, etc - related trade/sales.
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You can make profession, craft, or perform checks for a dayjob. I highly recommend reading the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized.
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There are a couple tricks you can take advantage of to maximize your Day Job results as well, such as using the Crafter's Fortune spell (if you're of a class that can cast it), or building a Street Performer Bard (which doubles your Day Job check result).
If you pick up a copy of the Pathfinder Society Field Guide there is a list of vanities in the back that you can purchase with Prestige to add other skills to the list, such as acquiring a "Caravan" to use Diplomacy, Bluff, or Intimidate as your Day Job check.
There is the "Prosperity" Convention Boon that increases the max cap of your Day Job, to I believe 300gp (which could be doubled to 600gp if you were the aforementioned Bard).
Other methods are to reduce the cost you pay for items, thus freeing up other coin. There is another Convention Boon called "Expedition Manager", which allows you to spend up to 6 Prestige to acquire a more expensive item for free. Getting an Adamantine weapon for free is essentially the same as earning 3000gp.
There's also the "Custom Order" Convention Boon that allows you to purchase magical ammunition in lots of 10, rather than 50. Grabbing 10 +1 Holy Arrows won't set you as far back as buying the whole lot at once.
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Perhaps you would also be interested in joining the Exchange?
ENTREPRENEUR (2+ goals): Once per game session, you may either purchase an item found on one of your Chronicle sheets at a 5% discount, or gain a +5 circumstance bonus on your Day Job check. This discount stacks with similar abilities for a maximum discount of 15%.
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Venture-Captain, California—Sacramento
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So one important aspect of making extra money in PFS that no one has talked about is to make sure you are not *losing* money during the scenario.
The three goals of the society are * explore * report * cooperate *
Several times I have been in parties where people got to an abandoned temple, and without even a quick look around were like "this level seems empty, lets go on down/up." This is a good way to miss out on treasure. Always check all the rooms, at least give them a once over. You may not have time to do it on the way out. And sometimes you can find stuff that will help you later on. And besides that, it's your job. That is the * explore * part up above.
There are a couple tricks you can take advantage of to maximize your Day Job results as well, such as using the Crafter's Fortune spell (if you're of a class that can cast it), or building a Street Performer Bard (which doubles your Day Job check result).
Wow, too bad that type of bonus is only accessible by being a Bard.
There is the "Prosperity" Convention Boon that increases the max cap of your Day Job, to I believe 300gp (which could be doubled to 600gp if you were the aforementioned Bard).
I have this boon and it is very nice.
But from my understanding, you don’t have the choice to play up anymore, it is whatever the average comes out to be at the table.
But from my understanding, you don’t have the choice to play up anymore, it is whatever the average comes out to be at the table.Its pretty common to get an average in between levels and then get a choice, particularly with experienced character with binders full of characters swinging the vote.
Ok, I guess I will need to reread the PFSORGP rules, but I had thought the change was made within the last year or two that you don’t have the option to choose up or down, even if you fall in the middle with the average. There are specific prerequisites that decide whether you play up or down.
Like if you go with a 7 person table (which is still legal), it is automatically playing up.
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Ok, I guess I will need to reread the PFSORGP rules, but I had thought the change was made within the last year or two that you don’t have the option to choose up or down, even if you fall in the middle with the average. There are specific prerequisites that decide whether you play up or down.
Like if you go with a 7 person table (which is still legal), it is automatically playing up.
7 is auto up, i think 5 6 can pick.
You can also move your average around a little: if you're on the border in a 3-7 someone can swap a 6 for a 7 or a 3 for a 4.
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But from my understanding, you don’t have the choice to play up anymore, it is whatever the average comes out to be at the table.Its pretty common to get an average in between levels and then get a choice, particularly with experienced character with binders full of characters swinging the vote.Ok, I guess I will need to reread the PFSORGP rules, but I had thought the change was made within the last year or two that you don’t have the option to choose up or down, even if you fall in the middle with the average. There are specific prerequisites that decide whether you play up or down.
Like if you go with a 7 person table (which is still legal), it is automatically playing up.
If the APL is exactly X.5 the players can choose to round to X or X+1, also some people have many character options and can adjust the APL by picking a different character. So it is possible to influence which tier one plays at.
I highly suggest that people try to play in tier as much as possible for the best play experience.
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Getting lucky and playing up at a table is your biggest income booster.
PFS is well aware that cash equals power, and is more than a little paranoid about ways to increase it.
So if I'm level 3 and play up in a 4-5 tier, I get 4-5 tier gold? And if I play down in a 1-2, I get 1-2 gold?
So the out-of-subtier gold is only for GM credits?
no, 5 or 6 cannot pick.
But often players can swap a character to get into the tier desired. Very rarely you can wind up with a X.5 APL, which is the only time you can freely decide if you want to be X or X+1.
Ok, this is what I was thinking in you didn’t really have a choice anymore (although didn’t know about the being able to choose with X.5).
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The Exchange faction card will also let you raise the day job limit if you can check enough boxes to get the Chairperson boon.
The exchange also has the Master of Trade vanity that lets you buy things at a discount.
In general though there isn't all that much you can do to avoid having roughly the same wealth at the same level as everyone else other than not die (an obvious goal that you are trying for anyway.)
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Character design aside, I'd like to rake in extra GP when I can... so how do I go about that with Pathfinder Society; and is it worth it?
Welcome back Kazumetsa Raijin.
Why do you want more money? If it is for power, then the short answer is no. The long answer has been given above (day job, Exchange bonuses/discounts, playing a higher tier.) If it is for RP (not gp) please share! :)
I wonder if there is a way to 'make more money' without increasing gp. I guess the vanity's kind of do this (I own an estate!, I own an island!).
My master jeweler should be able to make a masterwork ring with anything but a 1 or 2 on the dice. A masterwork ring doesn't mean much, it doesn't even translate into character wealth, but I have the highest quality jewelry available.
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Venture-Lieutenant, Netherlands—Leiden
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I think the "playing WAY up" method is the most lucrative, but also risky. It works like this:
You play a character that falls into the low tier for the scenario, but due to the math involved, the party ends up playing high tier. So now you earn out of tier gold, which is higher than what you'd normally get.
For example, suppose you're level 4 and you're playing a 3-7 adventure which ends up being played at high tier (6-7). Now you earn out of subtier gold (say, 2,248 gp), which is meant for level 5 characters. That's significantly more than your in-tier reward, which is the average between a L3 and L4 award (1,280gp).
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Another method is using modules. Modules have only one tier, and three allowed levels. For example, Masks of the Living God is a level 2-4 module. It's gold reward is typical for three L3 adventures (because modules count as three adventures). If you played it at L2, you'd be earning more than you'd be earning in a 1-3 module.
A variant of this is credit for APs. If the chronicle sheet for an AP has a level range of X-1 to X+1, it's got a gold reward normal for level X. So if you attach it to a level X-1 character, you're getting ahead. Without the risk!
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The flip side is danger. Playing up so far is a lot more dangerous than playing in-tier. You may be relying on other people to basically do the heavy lifting, or you might be using some OP build. Or, perhaps you're contributing decently, but from the rear. It's a lot easier to play up as a caster or archer, than as a frontline warrior.
I encourage you not to make a character that is "carried". It's not a lot of fun to play, and it's not fair towards the other players. If you can come up with a character that makes a significant contribution from the back row though, that's much more acceptable.
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A final option is to be super picky in what you play. The way gold rewards are treated, at any level, there is an optimal set of scenarios to play (money-wise).
The gold reward for a two-level tier is the average between the gold rewards of those levels. So if you're currently the low level of those two, it's above-normal. If you're on the high level of the tier, it's below-normal.
So in an X/X+4 adventure, try to avoid bringing an X+1 or X+4 character. Try to bring an X+2 character (normal) or preferably X or X+3 (above-normal).
The problem with this strategy is that some scenarios actually have abnormal gold awards. This is more common in seasons 0-3; after that more controls were put in place to prevent this. I know of at least one scenario that at lowest tier is at 150% normal treasure, and there's another 1-5 scenario for which the high tier receives 3-4th level gold instead of 4-5th.
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In the end, you may find that the practical issues of scheduling exactly the optimal adventure at the optimal moment, are far too much hassle. At some point you're no longer playing the game, but only playing towards the game.
Choose wisely.
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The Exchange faction card will also let you raise the day job limit if you can check enough boxes to get the Chairperson boon.
The exchange also has the Master of Trade vanity that lets you buy things at a discount.
In general though there isn't all that much you can do to avoid having roughly the same wealth at the same level as everyone else other than not die (an obvious goal that you are trying for anyway.)
What book has the master of trade vanity in it?
Venture-Agent, Florida—Longwood
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One thing that hasn't really been covered is going slow track to maximize day jobs. My street performing bard has a +20 comedy so he got 150gp on the one and only adventure I ran him through but he has 5 more 150gp day jobs before level 2.