running modules - how is gold calculated?

[hawkwind]

I am looking to run thornkeep soon so I am unsure how gold is allocated in modules and AP's. is it the lump sum on the chronicle sheet of is it what the party finds/looks?

[Trenloe]

It's the lump sum on the chronicle sheet that the players get for PFS play and playing the module from beginning to end. See page 30 of the PFS guide for more details on sanctioned modules and APs.

[Mgrancey]

Depends on scenario build, most ones provide access to some gold during play, but they generally don't get opportunities to spend it so GMs tend to just award it as a lump sum. If you are running, any found items and gold are yours to share so long as you don't exceed the module's max and keep track of purchases.

At least that would be my call, as I haven't seen any specific rules about it.

[Trenloe]

You essentially treat these similar to a PFS scenario - the max gold that a PC can take away is on the chronicle sheet and and items they find that they can purchase at the end of the scenario are also listed in the chronicle sheet.

The GM downloads a PFS chronicle sheet specific to the adventure you play - the download link is usually included in the product page on the paizo.com website or in the "Chronicle Sheets" section on the right hand side of the additional resources page: https://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/...ionalResources

Any specific rules on running sanctioned modules and adventure paths for Pathfinder society play are covered in Chapter 6 in the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized play covers it.

[hawkwind]

So would I be breaking society rules to just treat the value on the chronicle sheet as a maximum amount to be awarded and award players what they find up to that value.? To just award the value on the chronicle sheet just seems reward poor play for groups that don't find all the treasure and defeat most of the monster's

[Trenloe]

So would I be breaking society rules to just treat the value on the chronicle sheet as a maximum amount to be awarded and award players what they find up to that value.? To just award the value on the chronicle sheet just seems reward poor play for groups that don't find all the treasure and defeat most of the monster's

You should treat the chronicle sheet as the maximum the PCs can take away with them in terms of loot and GP value. For the usual 4-5 hour PFS scenarios GMs usually aren't too strict in reducing the gold value if the PCs don't spend much time looking for loot, in general for PFS scenarios it is rare for loot to be hidden and so it is usually quite easy for them to do a quick search of opponents defeated and end up with the full amount. It is also usually a given that if the group complete 3 encounters successfully that they should be given the full gold amount - I've tried to find a Paizo thread where the PFS developer Mark Moreland essentially says this, but I can't find it at the moment.

Sanctioned modules however are written differently, last longer than PFS scenarios and frequently the players have to work to find the nice loot. So, like you say, treat the chronicle sheet gold as the max they can take away with them but keep track of what they find. If they don't find things you are well within the guidelines to reduce the gold or even delete (cross out) special items on the chronicle sheet that the players didn't find.

To be fair to players who are used to normal PFS scenarios, just let them know at the beginning of the game that this is how you will be running the sanctioned module. It will also prevent arguments later if players are used to drifting through PFS scenarios and getting the full loot no matter what.

[Mgrancey]

Yeah, he's right about most GM's just giving out max loot at end. Its rare that I get told i find gold in a module unless its one where the scope is larger than a day. I admit I don't usually mention gold either, items sure but I don't usually bother with gold.

Part of reason is probably time for RW runnings as having to actually figure out what a party gets when running on schedule can already be an issue is rather ridiculous.