Preparing an Adventure

Because adventures are written for a variable number of characters across a range of levels, GMs need to adjust the adventure to their table as below. In addition, when preparing an adventure, remember that the Organized Play adventures errata forum houses the official errata and clarifications to Pathfinder Society adventures.

Table Size Scaling

Pathfinder Society adventures are written for four to six PCs. However, a GM can run a table with two or three players in some situations. In those cases, all four-player adjustments written into the adventure still apply. Make the following adjustments:

• Adventures with a minimum level of 5 or lower: can be run for a table of two or three players by adding Iconic Pregens at the appropriate level to meet the minimum table size of four PCs. The GM can either play these characters themselves or have one or more players play them, provided the player or players agree. Iconic Pregens are available for 1st, 3rd, and 5th level. See Calculate Challenge Points below for details on adding Iconic Pregens.
• Adventures with a minimum level of 6 or higher: can be run for a table of 3 players, but only if all players at the table agree. A "hard mode" playthrough like this is expected to be satisfying, but remember that adventures are designed for a minimum of four PCs. Players and GMs are cautioned that playthroughs on "hard mode" will be more difficult than normal.
• All levels: If there are still not enough players even with these adjustments and there is a player available who has already played the adventure, they can join the table, playing for no credit.

Challenge Points

The GM adjusts each adventure before play begins, following the steps below:

Calculate Challenge Points

To calculate the number of Challenge Points the party represents, take the following steps:

1. Record the lowest allowed level for a PC to play at this table of the adventure. For example, in an adventure written for PC levels 3-6, the lowest allowed level is 3.

2. Record each PC's level.

3. Convert each PC's level to Challenge Points. The number of Challenge Points that each PC contributes is based only on their character level. Use the following table:

Table: Challenge Points

For example, level 1 is the lowest level PC allowed at an adventure for levels 1-4. In that case, a 2nd-level PC is at the lowest allowed level + 1 and therefore contributes 3 Challenge Points. A party of five PCs levels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 4 would contribute 2, 3, 4, 6, and 6 Challenge Points, respectively.

4. Add up the party's Challenge Points.

5. Add pregens (if needed). If your table has fewer than 4 PCs, use the following chart to determine what level of pregens to add, and how many additional Challenge Points.

Table: Adding Pregens

* This table is only legal if all players at the table agree. While we expect this "hard mode" playthrough experience to be satisfying, we want to caution you that, as the adventures are designed for a minimum of four players, they will be more difficult than normal.

Determine the Level Range

Parties with up to 15 challenge points always play in the lower level range. Parties with 19 or more always play in the higher level range.

Parties with 16-18 play in the higher level range only if they have 4 or fewer PCs. If they have 5 or more PCs, they play in the lower level range. This allows small parties of high level adventurers to play in the higher level range, while large parties of low level adventurers play in the lower level range.

Mentorship and PC Level Bumps

To provide low level players a more fun and fair experience, PCs at the lowest allowed to play the adventure (such as a 3rd-level PC playing in a Level 3–6 Scenario) gain a temporary boost when playing in the higher level range called a "Level Bump," to represent the higher-level PCs’ mentorship and support. Apply the following adjustments:

• Increase every DC the PC has by 1.
• Increase the attack modifiers, attack damage, spell damage, saving throw modifiers, skill modifiers, Perception modifiers, and AC of the PC by 1.
• Increase the total hit points of the PC by 10 or by 10%, whichever is higher.

Apply the relevant adjustments to the PC's animal companions, eidolons, and familiars as well. If a value is already increased by applying the adjustment to a PC (such as a familiar's save modifiers and AC), do not increase the value a second time. Remind higher-level PCs to apply any Mentor Boons they might have purchased as well.

These adjustments are less beneficial than gaining a level, yet they provide the PC more survivability and more opportunity to contribute to the adventure experience, reducing the degree to which higher-level PCs might overshadow these less experienced Pathfinders.

Adjust the Adventure

Once you’ve determined the level range and Challenge Point total, apply the proper modifications to the adventure to provide a fair challenge.

Level Range: Nearly all encounters list two different sets of creature statistics, one for each of the two level ranges the adventure is designed for. The adventure often also refers to important skill checks and saving throws in room descriptions or during events, listing one DC for the lower level range and one for the higher level range. In each of these cases, use the numbers, creatures, and other information listed for the selected level range.

Scaling: Within a level range, the scenario will also contain instructions for adjusting the difficulty of the scenario based on the total Challenge Points. These scaling instructions are generally found in "scaling sidebars" but might also be in the text of the room description or encounter.

Early Scenarios: Some early scenarios were written before the Challenge Point system was fully developed. If you are GMing Scenario 1-00 through 1-11 or Quests 1, 2, or 5, consult "Converting Early Scenarios" in the Supplemental Materials.