I volunteered to run a few quests and scenarios at my FLGS for PaizoCon. Just finished my first read-through of Lorespire's guide to org play, and apart from the chronicle-related paperwork I think I get it. I've also gotten my ID card and signed up for my first session as a player this weekend in order to build familiarity with the format.
I've been GMing various systems for about 5 years, PF2e specifically for 2 and a half, and have experience with both in-person and online games, for friends and strangers, using official modules and homebrew. However, I've never run a society game and have never had my own table at a convention. I'm deeply nervous and not sure what to expect.
Is there anything in the Lorespire guide I should pay special attention to? Any other resources or hurdles I should be aware of? What should I focus on or purchase as I prepare? I've got two months, so not the biggest rush, thankfully.
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Hey HolyFlamingo!
Nice to see you on the forums. I think that the biggest single piece of advice that I can give you is to get out to one of our many local games and just play so that you can get a feel for how Organized Play works. It will be the single fastest way to get up to speed!
(By the way, I'm the same Hmm you've been conversing with about PaizoCon @ Fox Den!)
Thankfully, a lot of the basics are the same between the two. You'll still have the same basic character creation, the same basic hero points, and combat will be the same too. So a lot of your GM experience will transfer over. If you have used official Paizo modules, the world's setting will be familiar too.
Most of the differences between Organized Play and Home Games is cultural.
1) The society's motto is "Explore, Cooperate, Report!" This generally means that Organized Play parties cooperate with one another. PCs get missions, and they are usually pretty focused on completing them and working together.
2) Players in general need to own the resources that their PCs draw options from. There is a core assumption that makes everything in the Core Rulebook and Player Core available to PCs, but beyond that, if a PC wants to use something outside that, they need to own the sources they are using and/or have boons for stuff of uncommon or limited availability.
3) Parties are much more random than in home games. Home game groups try to have some party balance, but in Organized Play you get who shows up. Although there may be some last minute shuffling as players with multiple characters try to get some variety in the party makeup, it is not unusual to have a party of all casters, or all martials, or where half your players are the same class, like kineticist.
An in-joke of the Society is "Why did the Venture Captains pick an all-barbarian group to attend the Duchess's Charity Brunch?"
4) The Society's treasure distribution is different than home games. PCs don't get to keep all the loot they find during an adventure, because that would be unbalancing and lead to arguments over who got what. They do get to use anything they find during an adventure, and then after the adventure, all loot is given back to the Society who sells it and gives you your adventure pay. But if there was something special in that loot (an uncommon item, perhaps?) you can gain access to it later if it appears on the chronicle sheets.
In general, Society characters have more cash wealth than their home game peers, which lets them purchase the equipment they want (provided they have access to it.)
5) Challenge Points. Society Games tailor the challenge rating to the party based on the combined levels of the various PCs. There is a calculation, but I generally allow the RPG Chronicles program to calculate the value for me. What this means as a GM is that there is an appendix of all the creatures that the PCs must fight in the back of a scenario, and each of those encounters has a sidebar that talks about adjusting the combat for stronger parties. Often this means adding a minion or increasing the Hit Points of the NPCs.
6) Run-as-written. In general, Society GMs run scenarios as they were written. They don't change the monsters, they don't change important plot points, because those can have story implications later for the Society's storylines.
7) Metaplot and Reporting Conditions. Society scenarios are generally stand-alone adventures in the shared world of the Pathfinder Society. But some adventures have choices that the party makes, and those choices and actions can affect future scenarios in the storyline. So when you report a scenario, there may be reporting conditions (A, B, C, D) that you will need to mark to reflect that.
I will let others talk about Chronicles and Reporting. We'll be using a program (RPG Chronicles) to make that easier at PaizoCon @ Fox Den. And all of this will make a lot more sense after you have played a couple games with us!
Hmm
I appreciate the breakdown, Hillary. I'm bouncing back over to the Lorespire doc to double-check a couple of the rules/structural differences you mentioned. I want to get familiar with the challenge adjustments, treasure rules, and reporting format so I don't stress myself out trying to learn it all while running sessions back-to-back. Nice to know there are some digital tools to help!
I think pick-up play has a lot of charm to it, specifically for those "five barbarians go to brunch" moments. I look forward to that type of episodic silliness, which to me seems like the second-best thing after connecting with people in my local community.
Thankfully, I get to start playing on Friday, so the hands-on experience isn't far off.
Venture-Captain, Nebraska—Omaha
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The challenge point adjustments are in every adventure. Just need to remember how to calculate the challenge points. It is the same regardless of the level of the adventure. How to calculate may also be included in the adventure.
A big part of Society play is the reporting sheet. If not provided by the con, make sure to have one for players and You to complete your information. Some con will also provide chronicles. If you, you will need a minimum of 6 for the players. One for you but can always take care of your chronicle later.
Make sure the reporting sheet is complete and all the numbers are easily read. Not everyone's writing is good. If you need, you can write and numbers not clear so the person reporting can read them.
Always give your reporting sheet to the con lead and wait to see if they have questions. They should take a moment to check that it is complete.
Finally, you are not on an island. Sont hesitate to ask questions of other GMs.
Good luck and have fun!
Gary - I'll do my best to familiarize myself with the challenge adjustments and paperwork. I'm hoping to talk to a PFS GM in real life to get some hands-on guidance.
Squark - Yep! The event organizer assigned me two scenarios, and I am to pick out two quests. I'm planning on sitting down and reading those scenarios when I get the chance.
Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston
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As for conventions vs home settings:
* Expect lots of background noise, you may need to talk louder then usual. This can be tiring, so bring throat lozenges and water as permitted by the venue.
* If you're GMing low-level games, expect players who've never played before. You may wish to bring dice and minis to loan them. Establish who is responsible for providing pregenerated characters and new society member cards. This will often be the event organizer.
* Be sure to print off plenty of chronicle sheets from the final page of the adventure. You may need up to 7 per table you run. I like to print 8 in case of major mistakes.
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Holy Flamingo -
Some things that you should know about the specific convention that you will be GMing at, since I can answer those!
1) It will have Scenario Support. This means that once you send us your acceptance of the schedule that you received, we can put you on the scenario support list, and Paizo will drop you the scenarios that you need so that you don't need to buy them. However, if you want to buy them anyway so you have more time to prep, you can.
2) Noise. Yep, there will be some noise since two of the adventures that you will be running will be in the main room of Fox Den. The other adventure will be in a private gaming room, which will have better sound quality.
3) Dice and / or Minis. HQ will have some loaner dice, but we're also encouraging players to purchase dice at Fox Den since we're being hosted in a gaming store! As for minis, yes, Fox Den does not have much in the way of Minis, but Bret and I will be providing some cardboard minis available at HQ, along with laminated copies of pregenerated characters. But, if you have some minis you like to loan / show off, feel free to bring them!
4) Chronicles. This Convention will be using the RPG Chronicles program, so you will not need to print paper chronicles. Once you report the game to HQ, we will email PDFs of the chronicles to players and report the results to Paizo.
Hmm
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Gary - I'll do my best to familiarize myself with the challenge adjustments and paperwork. I'm hoping to talk to a PFS GM in real life to get some hands-on guidance.
I see that you are signed up for Kyle's game on March 15th. There will be two PFS GMs there, since the other Fox Den host, Matt S, will be playing as well that night. They're looking forward to meeting you!
Hmm
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One piece of advice I'll offer, which seems very obvious, but...
Prep your adventure. Read it thoroughly beforehand, preferably a few times. Don't 'skim' it; read it. There's nothing that brings a player out of a game is pausing everything so the GM can read the adventure.
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One other piece of information that occured to me- If you're in a situation in which one or more players recieve a level bump, encourage the higher level PCs to take a minute to look up what mentor boons they're eligible for. Mentor Boons are free to anyone with at least 20 reputation with the appropriate faction, and unless a player was unlucky, they probably qualify by level 3 and almost certainly by level 4. Those extra buffs to players recieving a level bump make the experience a lot better.
Also, if in-game light is an issue, remind players that any character who has played two adventures recieves a free wayfinder, which provides a hands free light source equivalent to a torch.
Having the list of Pathfinder Provisions handy is also handy. Those healing potions and scrolls of heal save lives!