Welcome to Starfinder Organized Play! Starfinder Society (SFS) games make it easy to fit Starfinder into your schedule. Players can bring their characters to SFS games hosted at any in-person or online location and earn treasure and XP to advance.
If you'd like to play, create an account with Paizo and register for an Organized Play number by selecting Organized Play > My Organized Play. Keep track of your organized play number; you'll need to share it with the GM of each SFS game you attend. You'll also need to register each Starfinder Society character you create using the buttons at the bottom of the My Organized Play page. Make sure you select the correct edition (first or second edition) when registering your character.
Character registration tip: You don't have to fill out a character's entire profile, but it's helpful for GMs if you add the character's name.
Once you've completed your registration, you're ready to sign up for games! Visit Paizo's Organized Play Events page, join the online Organized Play community on Discord, or ask your local game store if they host Starfinder Society events.
Starfinder is a game full of options, and most (but not all) are eligible for SFS use. When building a character, there are two main limitations you need to be aware of:
Rarity: Every option in Starfinder is labeled Common, Uncommon, Rare, or Unique. Common options are available to all players; Uncommon options are available if they're granted to you by a Common option (for example, focus spells granted by feats). Other Uncommon options, plus Rare or Unique options, are typically only available through boons.
Player Access: All players are allowed to use options from the Starfinder Player Core. Options from other sources are valid if you have access to a copy of the book (print or PDF).
You can read more about access to character options for Starfinder Society players on Paizo's website. See Boons and Achievement Points (below) to learn more about how you can earn access to Uncommon, Rare, or Unique options.
Some of the access rules for character creation are relaxed for Starfinder Society.
Attribute Modifiers
You have the option to take two additional attribute flaws to gain one additional attribute boost, as described on Player Core page 25.
Languages
All Starfinder Society characters speak common. Additionally, they have access to all common and uncommon languages.
Starting Level
Starfinder Society characters can begin at 1st, 3rd, or 5th level. It's recommended new players start at level 1. For characters that start above 1st level, you may either begin with a lump sum of credits or permanent options as laid out below. No matter what level a character Is built at, they start with 0 XP.
3rd Level
one 2nd-level permanent item
two 1st-level permanent items
250 credits
OR 750 credits lump sum
5th Level
one 4th-level permanent item
two 3rd-level permanent items
one 2nd-level permanent item
two 1st-level permanent items
500 credits
OR 2,700 credits lump sum
Starfinder Society Play uses the core Starfinder rule system. You'll also need to know a few rules specific to Organized Play.
Starfinder Society games strive to be open and welcoming to players from all backgrounds. Please be kind to others and read the Community Standards and Expectations. You will be expected to follow them, and repeatedly refusing to do so could lead to you being barred from Society play.
You're in charge of keeping track of your XP, reputation, purchases, and boons. After each game, you'll get a chronicle sheet that lists your earnings, XP, and reputation from that session.
Society GMs who haven't played with you before may ask to audit your character. It's advised that you bring records of your progression and access to any uncommon, rare, or unique options to each game. You may bring a folder with your chronicle sheets or a mobile device with digitized versions of them.
After each session, the GM will submit the scenario to Paizo Organized play to officially give all players credit for the game. You should be able to see all of your characters' recorded sessions on your My Organized Play page. Click the Show Sessions link underneath a character's name to see a list of the scenarios they've completed plus the AcP earned from each. If you don't see a session that you played more than 2 weeks ago on your page, please reach out to us so we can Investigate.
All first-year SFS scnearios are repeatable, which means you can earn rewards (treasure, XP, AcP, etc.) once per Starfinder character.
You may find items throughout Starfinder Society scenarios. These items are available for use during the adventure.
At the end of the adventure, you'll get paid a set rate in credits by the Starfinder society. You also have 8 days of downtime to use as you wish. Most players choose to Earn Income by rolling a Crafting, Performance, or Lore check.
You can also use Downtime for crafting items for your own personal use. You can only start one crafting project during a downtime, but you're able to use as many downtime days as needed to finish the item.
SFS games grant 4 XP each, and characters level up every 12 XP. XP Is cumulative In Starfinder Society—it doesn't reset at 0 each time you level.
If you'd like to spend longer at each level, you can elect to play "slow track" and receive half the XP instead.
You'll acquire Achievement Points (AcP) with each SFS game you play or GM. These points can be spent on Boons, which give you extra character options (like Pathfinder ancestries) or can be used to counteract negative outcomes like permanent afflictions or death.
Sometimes your initial character build doesn't pan out the way you thought it would. SFS play has two options for players who wish to change character options:
Rebuilding: You may rebuild you character completely, for free, until the first game you play after you reach 12 XP on a character. If you wish to rebuild after that point, you'll need to purchase the Mnemonic Editor boon to do a character rebuild.
Retraining: If you simply want to change an option (including a feat, a skill increase, or a class feature), you can use your downtime for retraining rather than earning income. Please note that name, appearance, and other choices that do not affect the way you play your character can be changed without retraining.
All permanent afflictions except permanent negative effects (like polymorph or petrification) or permanent curses are cleared at the end of the adventure. Characters can purchase Spellcasting Services to remove afflictions using their own resources, or players may purchase the Starfinder Condition Removal boon for 20 AcP.
If a mission goes poorly and your character dies, their contacts within the Starfinder Society may be able to revive them. The Second Chance boon allows you to resurrect a character for 40 AcP.
All this information and more is available in the full Starfinder Society (Second Edition) Guide to Organized Play, hosted online by the Organized Play Foundation.