Reporting home game AP?

[mjmeans]

I have been playing PFS since about season 2. Recently I played a PFS scenario that I had already played. I didn't realize it at the time we were playing. I had completely forgot the 4th season scenario. It was only at the end, when the chronicle sheet was revealed, that I recognized it because of the very special boon on it (no spoilers). I mentioned to the GM that I can't get credit for this because my very first PFS character had already played the scenario. He told me that since I was running Curse of the Crimson Throne home game that I can register those and get GM replay credit so that I can apply it. I told him that the home game is using regular Pathfinder rules, not PFS rules. He said that didn't matter as long as the other players have PFS numbers. Only one does. He said get PFS numbers for the other players to register them to be able to register the home game.

So here's some much needed context:

I have never GMed a PFS session. Last year, about 18 months ago, I started a home game running the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP. One player had played PFS many times and has a few PFS characters, but this home game would not be using the PFS character, it would be using a brand new non -PFS character. The 4 players were completely new to Pathfinder, having only had played AD&D 2nd Edition or some other older RPG. And 1 player was completely new to RPG's!

So since most of them were new to Pathfinder, I limited most of them to the Core Rules, APG, Ultimate Equipment, ISWG, Animal Archive (for those who had familiars/companions). As time progressed I allowed a few other books as the need arose. I am using ONLY Pathfinder rules, no 3pp rules. I wanted to keep the rules set small enough so the new players would not be overwhelmed. Since 5 of the 6 players were completely new to Pathfinder, I also decided to use Hero Points so they could mulligan a bad situation and so we don't have needless death. We are also using the full crafting rules.

The first chapter was the old conversion AP of CotCT. In the middle of the second chapter I switched to the expanded and revised hardcover edition (as soon as I noticed it was available). I highly recommend the hardcover version (in PDF form) if you use a virtual game map using a -projector (like I do).

So, I went to the Organized Play event registration page and it specifically says "Organized Play" events, and it seems to me that because the game is not being run with PFS rules that it isn't Organized Play. I read somewhere else (I can't remember where) that playing a home game AP without PFS characters is like players playing pregens; as long as the players experience the entire AP, it can still apply. The implication is that players can't use THOSE characters in actual PFS games because they are not PFS characters; but the players and the GM can get credits that can be aplied to actual PFS characters. But I think this post was not on a Paizo forum and thus couldn't be official.

I couldn't find anything "official" on this topic and I want to make sure this is right. So I need some official clarification since the web site registration page seems to be very specific and is in contradiction to what I have been told/read elsewhere.

I want to make sure I'm doing this right. In this situation, is it legal to register the home game Adventure path using non-PFS characters to gain GM replay credit and to also grant chronicles to the players should they ever decide to start playing PFS? If so, where is the OFFICIAL rule that says it's legal? I'm not willing to simply take someone's word for it (unless that person is Michael Brock or someone actually in a position of authority).

[Kate Baker]

I haven't run Curse of the Crimson Throne, but if the sanctioning documents are like the ones I just downloaded for Ruins of Azlant, they explain the rules for campaign mode there. Go download the sanctioning documents for CoCT, and I imagine the rules will be there.

Note that you need one star (ten tables) to have a replay available, and one book of an AP is typically two tables, so you need to have run five books of the AP already to have one star.

[CsonTep]

Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Guide, Version 9.1 wrote:

Campaign Mode: For sanctioned modules and Adventure

Paths, GMs are allowed to use their own rules for
character creation and running the presented content (the
entire book or series). Credit is applied to an appropriate
Roleplaying Guild character as if the character created
were a pregenerated character.

[qoute=Curse of the Crimson Throne Rules a.k.a. Sanctioning Document]Alternatively, if you are participating in the Curse of the

Crimson Throne Adventure Path with an ongoing group
undertaking the entire, six-chapter campaign, you may
receive credit for playing the sanctioned portions of the
adventure as if you had played a pregenerated character. In
this case, GMs running the Adventure Path are not bound
to the rules of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild
campaign (such as 20-point buy, unavailability of hero
points, etc.) when running the campaign. Pathfinder Society
characters and characters from an ongoing Adventure Path
campaign may not play in the same adventure.

[mjmeans]

Thanks for the quotes.

My group has just started Chapter 5, Scarwall. It has taken 18 months to play 4 chapters. We usually play about 3 hours a week (starting at 6:30 and ending at whatever is conveinent between 9 and 10) for 3 or 4 weeks a month. At that rate they will possibly finish CH 6 around the end of the year.