Looking for Group? PFS newbie but NOT a PF n00b

**ProphetPX** · July 2nd, 2015, 01:43

hi
i am new to Pathfinder Society games but NOT to Pathfinder games or PF itself.
I have a Steam demo version of Fantasy Grounds. I also have "all the books" and many kinds of voice chat software.
What else do i need besides dice and pencils / printed char sheet?

I will also consider any 3.5, 5e. and maybe 4e games -- if any are open / needing a player.

I am looking for a group but so far the way this site handles that need is NOT really working, or people are just lazy or never interact on here.
Game Calendar screens seem so old and outdated and nobody does anything with them?

is this just mostly a forum-driven thing or where should i be looking to get started?
I have tried applying to a few games and will take the best one that wants a player, but so far, nothing...

PLEASE inform me as to what a FG newbie needs to know. I am already an experienced and skilled PF player but need to know how "you guys" do things around here.

Thanks.

**Victor** · July 2nd, 2015, 02:19

First off, Welcome!
I foresee a boatload of helpful posts in your future. This may be the first, or someone may beat me to it by the time I hit "Post Quick Reply".

One of the first things you need to do to get started with PFS is register a character with Paizo and get a PFS Number.
Then get the PFS Guide to Organized Play https://paizo.com/products/btpy84k4?...Organized-Play
That will give you most of what you need to know about whats different in PFS from standard PF.

Just a fast synopsis, In PFS you usually play 4-6 hour games that are completed missions worth 1xp each. You usually play with a different group of people, who may bring any one of various PFS characters they have.
These forums are for the organizing of those games, and they do then get posted on the game calendar. People normally use Teamspeak and FG together.

Games are usually run most weekends, often multiple games are run by different GMs. I don't think there has been a weekend with no game in many months.

Subscribe to the "Game Announcement" thread at the top of this Forum and you will be notified anytime anyone gets a game together.
There is lots more to tell and for you to read. Someone will no doubt get you on TS and answer any other quesitons you have. It's a great crowd around here.

Oh yea, one of the games you signed up for has already been run, and it may take a day or more for people to get back to you at any rate, specially if the game is not until the weekend.

again, Welcome!

**damned** · July 2nd, 2015, 04:07

Hi ProphetPX far and away the most gaming using FG is done within existing groups and never appears here.
The Calendar doesnt get a lot of use either...
Victor has some good points and also use the New Posts link https://www.fantasygrounds.com/forum...e=vBForum_Post regularly and apply to games that get posted.
Lots of great PFS GMs here - although quite a few are playing 5e these days too...

**cmdisc** · July 2nd, 2015, 07:11

To build on what the others have said:

#1 With PFS you build a character per certain rules and play him/her through "one-shot" adventures. So when a GM pulls a game together and you join, it's for that session only. The next time you join a session will most likely be with a different GM and a different set of players (although some of us seem to hang around here a bit since we don't appear to have anything else to do with our time).

#2 The overarching premise is that you are part of the Pathfinder Society in Golarion and your character travels about running missions for them. You are assumed to have downtime between each adventure, so the changing up of your party members from mission to mission and the fact that you are traveling all over the place are accounted for by this premise.

#3 You can create as many characters as you want and have them all registered with your PFS account online, but you can only play one at a time for a given adventure. Which one you play may depend on the level of the group getting together. If a group pulls together with a bunch of 3rd, 4th, and 5th level characters you probably won't want to bring along a 1st as they'll get squashed pretty easily. The same is true in reverse since bringing a 5th level guy to a 2nd level party will make things a bit too easy and boring for everyone. Each adventure has a legal range of levels associated with it, so check with the GM about that if you're not sure.

#4 Each time you play a session, you get a Chronicle Sheet at the end. This lists your characters XP, Prestige, Gold, etc and is physical proof of your character's advancements that you need to show the next GM you play with (when signing up for a session, you'll hear most GMs calling for your XML character files and most recent Chronicle). You can only earn a Chronicle Sheet from an adventure once as a PLAYER. So you can't run your Rogue through "The Goblinblood Dead" and then put your Fighter through it sometime later and earn a Chronicle for each. Once the Rogue gets it for that adventure, your Fighter will have to play in something else. But there is a wealth of adventures to choose from and the GMs here are usually pretty good with not stepping on each others toes over who runs what.

#5 Scenarios run in about 4-5 hours (or longer if players are talking a lot or get lost in the plot). They are worth 1 XP, 2 Prestige Points, and a certain amount of gold. Every 3 XP you level up. Sanctioned Modules usually need 2-3 sessions but sometimes can be done in 1. They are generally worth 3XP, 4 Prestige, and about triple the gold.

#6 And a bit of advice; Knowledge Skills ARE used quite frequently. Parties have suffered for lack of. Also Craft, Perform, and Profession can be useful for "Day Job" rolls. See the PFS Guide for more details.

My intent over the next several months is to run some higher level things for folks, so I probably won't get a chance to GM for you any time soon. However, I look forward to seeing you at the virtual table as a fellow player sometime. So welcome!

**cmdisc** · July 2nd, 2015, 07:23

Oh and forgot to add...

Just because Paizo published it doesn't mean it's considered legal in PFS.

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/ and https://www.archivesofnethys.com/ are two good places to go for general Pathfinder reference. The latter has the Open Road glyph by anything that is PFS legal. You can also look here: https://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/...ionalResources , but I generally use the Archives if I need to look up something quick and then cross-check it with this.

**Trenloe** · July 2nd, 2015, 14:32