Regarding adventure-included char-gen material

[PoohPuss]

Regarding adventure-paths and bought PF2 scenarios. Do PFS-players have general access to included backgrounds, or do we need to purchase the actual adventure-product to be able to make use of such a background?

Thinking about it, the same question for Ancestries, Classes and Archetypes?
Edit: In fact, char-gen material in general?


Reason I ask, is that it seems unreasonable that players have to purchase GM-material we will never get to use just to gain access to the one or two of the above that is normally included is such products.

[Talyn]

You can enter the data yourself or get the Core Rulebook DLC. There will eventually be SRD modules that will ship free with the ruleset (like they do with 3.5E/PFRPG and 5E) but it's estimated early next year before those arrive.

If the GM owns the Core Rulebook, that is considered a Player Module and is therefore shared by default to all players who connect. Having said that, a lot of players to end up getting DLC such as Core Books for Pathfinder/Starfinder, Players Handbooks for D&D and other games so they can work on their characters offline rather than having to be connected to do it. Just like IRL players often buy core books and/or player option splatbooks.

[Malkavian_Andi]

Also in cases where backgrounds, ancestries, etc. are included in any product other than the Core Rulebook, Paizo will release information on what players may use for their PFS characters and what is not allowed. (Here's what that looks like for 1st edition PFS (https://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/additional))

In general, additional ancestries will most likely not be allowed, because they are saving those as special rewards for GMs who run games at big conventions. Backgrounds and Feats become available some time after the new product's release in most cases, unless either they are seen as too powerful or are reserved as a reward or unlockable feature. Equipment will be restricted for purchase more often than other options, mostly because those are often special items that make good rewards on chronicle sheets.

And yes, according to campaign rules, if you want to make use of a legal character option that is included only in an adventure path, you have to own that product. While it is technically possible to just use something without owning the product, be aware that each GM has the right to either perform character audits, checking all aspects of the character as well as all chronicles (which, to be fair, most GMs don't do because it's very time-consuming), or ask to look at the book to look up the character option you used (mostly because they don't know how that ability works or because it's powerful enough that they want to enforce having to own the product, which I also haven't seen that often, though).

[Talyn]

Past practice (and Paizo recently repeated this for PF2) that anything out of the core book, using the PFSRD (now AoN) was perfectly fine, but if you used character options from other sources, you were required to own (and be able to prove if the GM asks) that product.