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  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. It’s 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.
  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.
  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 don’t 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.
  T
  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 
  campaign’s 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 world’s 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.  
  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 
  Pathfinder Society organized Play 
  Quick Start guide
  Version 1.0 (August 4, 2011)
  
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  The PaThfinder CommuniTy
  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!
  Getting Started
  All Pathfinder Society players must register themselves 
  and their character online at paizo.com/pathfindersociety. 
  When you register, you’ll 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 you’re 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 don’t 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.
  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 
  character’s class and race from the choices offered in the 
  Core Rulebook. Additional class options from resources 
  like the Advanced Player’s 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 
  character’s 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, you’ll 
  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 character’s successes.
  Finding a Game
  Once you’ve got a Pathfinder Society Number and have 
  created your character, you’re 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 character’s 
  name scribed for posterity on the illustrious pages of the 
  Pathfinder Chronicles!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/Society/Pathfinder Society Organized Play - Quick Start Guide.pdf