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paizo.com, JJ Lanza <[email protected]>, Aug 3, 2011

Pathfinder Society organized Play

Quick Start guide

Version 1.0 (August 4, 2011)

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he Pathfinder Society Organized Play system is a worldwide fantasy roleplaying campaign that puts you in the role of an agent of the Pathfinder Society, a legendary league of explorers, archeologists, and adventurers dedicated to discovering and chronicling the greatest mysteries and wonders of an ancient world beset by magic and monsters. The campaigns home base is sprawling Absalom, the so-called City at the Center of the World. A Pathfinder explores the dark alleys and political intrigues of Absalom between far-flung travels to the most interesting and exotic locales in the world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. This guide presents everything you need to know to get involved in this exciting, dynamic campaign as quickly as possible. In just a few simple steps, you too can join the thousands of other gamers who gather in their homes, in game stores, and at conventions to experience high adventure, weave exciting tales, and influence the fate of the Pathfinder world.

Pathfinder Society Basics

Pathfinder Society Organized Play is powered by the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, an evolution of the 3.5 edition of the worlds oldest roleplaying game. While similar in many respects to 3.5, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a new system with enhanced base classes, new feats, redesigned spells, clarified and expanded combat rules, and many other improvements. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is available at game stores, bookstores, and online at paizo. com. In addition to the traditional hardcover format, the Core Rulebook is also available as an affordable fully searchable bookmarked PDF ($9.99) and as a free online reference document at paizo.com/prd.

change every time you play, your character advances as normal. Over time, campaigning in an organized play environment offers a uniquely immersive experience, as your diverse companions add depth and character to the campaign world. Its also a great way to get in touch with other local gamers, meet new people, and play regularly without all the prep work and scheduling of a traditional campaign. Alternatively, some players prefer to keep their Pathfinder Society experience to a familiar group of friends, using the Pathfinder Society character creation rules, adventure scenarios, and reward structure as the framework for a private campaign. Either approach is an entirely valid way to experience the campaign, and many players enjoy some combination of both public and private adventuring. Because an organized play campaign takes place in a shared-world environment, a few additional rules are required to ensure a similarity of experience by all players at all tables, no matter who is running the game. This guidebook outlines these special rules, ensuring a level playing field for all. Please read over the contents of this quick start guide carefully.

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The Core Assumption

Pathfinder Society Organized Play assumes that every player has the following: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook Pathfinder Society Field Guide Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play If this is your first game, you can share these resources with one of your fellow gamers and pick up your own copies when you have the chance.

Organized Play
In an organized play campaign, your character exists in a common setting shared by thousands of other gamers from around the world. Each Pathfinder Society game, your character experiences a short, one-sitting adventure (or scenario) that is a single episode in a continuing story. You can take your character to any public Pathfinder Society event anywhere in the world, and while the Game Master and your companions might

Additional Resources
Paizo Publishing produces a wide range of sourcebooks that further explore the game rules and world of Pathfinder, presenting a huge variety of options to help you customize your character. You dont need any of this extra material to get started playing today, but if you want to expand upon the Core Assumption there are literally thousands of legal options to choose from. For more information about using Additional Resources in the campaign, see the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

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paizo.com, JJ Lanza <[email protected]>, Aug 3, 2011

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Getting Started
All Pathfinder Society players must register themselves and their character online at paizo.com/pathfindersociety. When you register, youll receive an official Pathfinder Society Number. Keep your Pathfinder Society Number handy and bring it with you to every Pathfinder Society event you attend. If youre beginning your Pathfinder Society experience at a public convention or game store event, your event coordinator will provide a temporary card with a Pathfinder Society Number and confirmation code on it. You can use this card until you get a chance to register your character. When you register your character at paizo.com/pathfindersociety, enter this number and confirmation code to include your early adventures in your new official record. If you dont have time to create a new character or simply wish to try out a new character class, you may choose to use one of several level-appropriate pregenerated characters available at paizo.com/pathfindersociety or from your local event coordinator. If you play a 1st-level pregenerated character, you can even apply the credit for its first adventure to a newly created character of your very own.

Have a question about the rules in this guide? Need to find or set up a Pathfinder Society event in your area? Join the vibrant Pathfinder Society community online by participating in the official Pathfinder Society messageboards at paizo.com/pathfindersociety. Your feedback helps us improve Pathfinder Society Organized Play, so drop by and tell us what we can do to enhance your Pathfinder Society Organized Play experience!

The PaThfinder CommuniTy

Creating a Character
If you have the time to create your own character before your first Pathfinder Society Orgnanized Play game session, consult the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. Chapter 2 of that book contains step-by-step instructions to help you create your official Pathfinder Society character. Unless you plan to select an official pregenerated character, read these rules carefully, as they contain a few adaptations to ensure that characters are suitable for the organized play environment. All Pathfinder Society characters begin play at 1st level, and use the High Fantasy 20-point purchase method of generating Ability scores, as outlined in the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play or the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. You can select your characters class and race from the choices offered in the Core Rulebook. Additional class options from resources like the Advanced Players Guide, Ultimate Magic, and Ultimate Combat are generally available with few or no alterations, as well. In some cases, such as magic item creation, the special nature of a worldwide organized play campaign requires minor changes to standard class features, which are outlined in detail in Chapter 2 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. In addition to the feats and skills every player of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game chooses to customize their characters abilities and background, characters in the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign choose to belong to one of ten factions within the Pathfinder Society

for whom they perform extra missions while exploring the world. As you gain prestige within your faction, youll be rewarded with special boons and abilities available only to those who share your allegiances! Detailed descriptions of all 10 factions can be found in Chapter 4 of the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. Both the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play and the Pathfinder Society Field Guide provide information on the Pathfinder Society organization, the city of Absalom, and the factions that seek to control it. Knowing this material and incorporating it into the way you play your character helps to increase the immersive nature of the campaign, and should inform the mechanical choices you make when creating your character. After you have created your character, register it with your Pathfinder Society Number online at paizo.com/ pathfindersociety to track the characters successes.

Finding a Game
Once youve got a Pathfinder Society Number and have created your character, youre ready to play your first Pathfinder Society scenario! The easiest way to find a local game is to visit paizo.com/pathfindersociety and click on Find Events in Your Area. From there, you can search by zip code and radius of travel to find events that have been registered in your area. You can also visit local game stores to see if they have an active Pathfinder Society group associated with their store. Gaming, comic book, and science fiction conventions often attract gamers, and are good places to get a game going. Many conventions have specific gaming programming that might include Pathfinder Society. You can also find local gamers on the paizo.com Pathfinder Society Grand Lodge and Gamer Connection messageboards. No matter where you play Pathfinder Society Organized Play, a campaign of thousands of participants awaits you and the entire world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game lies at your feet. By the will of the gods and your own wit, skill, and luck, you may soon find your characters name scribed for posterity on the illustrious pages of the Pathfinder Chronicles!