Campaign Character Rules

The rules listed here apply to game play within Cormyr, and are designed to ensure a sustainable environment for the campaign. Some of these rules are derived from the Pathfinder Society Guide to Organized Play, while others are derived from past experience within the community.

Player Character Limit
Each player in Cormyr may have up to two characters at any time. A player is only permitted to create their second character after reaching fourth level with their first character. This is to reduce burden on character approvals for the GMs.

If a player has reached the charcter limit but would like to create a new character, they must delete or retire one of the existing characters. Please see the page on Death and Retirement for more information:

https://cormyr.fandom.com/wiki/Death_and_Retirement

As mentioned in the above page, it is not the GMs' responsibilities to continually store or archive old characters to facilitate players that wish to play "character roulette" If a player chooses to continually create new characters, they must resign themselves to the fact that the low-level characters they are replacing will be deleted. If they are placing undue burden on GMs with too many superfluous character approvals, they may be asked to stop.

Feat Substitutions
Certain Core Rulebook feats are not available to Pathfinder Society characters, and therefore characters within Cormyr. These include Brew Potion, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Rod, Craft Staff, Craft Wand, Craft Wondrous Item, Forge Ring, Leadership, and Scribe Scroll. Neither the craft feats nor the item creation section of the magic items chapter in the Core Rulebook are legal for play.

In compensation, characters which receive item creation feats as part of their class features receive a substituted feat.

Feat substitutions, including the crafting feats mentioned above, are listed below:

Alchemist: Alchemists receive the Extra Bombs feat at 1st level instead of Brew Potion.

Antipaladin: This alternate class is not available to Pathfinder Society characters.

Arcanist: The Item Crafting bonus feat is not legal for play

Cavalier: Instead of the Expert Trainer class feature, cavaliers receive Skill Focus (Handle Animal) as a bonus feat.

Cleric: Clerics with the Nobility domain get the Persuasive feat at 8th level instead of the Leadership feat. Clerics with the Rune domain receive Spell Focus at 1st level instead of Scribe Scroll.

Druid: Druids with the Nobility domain get the Persuasive feat at 8th level instead of the Leadership feat.

Oracle: Oracles with the Nature spirit receive animal growth as a bonus spell at 10th level instead of awaken.

Shaman: Shamans with the Nature mystery receive animal growth as a bonus spell at 10th level instead of awaken. Fetish hex replaces Craft Wondrous Item with Spell Focus.

Skald: Skalds receive Extra Performance at 1st level instead of Scribe Scroll.

Summoner: Summoners from the Advanced Players Guide are not used. Summoners from the Pathfinder RPG Unchained are the version of the Summoner that is utilized.

Witch: Witches may not select the cauldron hex.

Wizard: Wizards receive Spell Focus at 1st level instead of Scribe Scroll. Only items listed as Always Available may be selected as the free bonded object granted to a wizard at 1st level.

Applying Archetypes
If you wish to apply a legal archetype to your character, you may do so at 1st level as normal. Additionally, you may apply an archetype to an existing class any time you level up as long as the first alternate ability does not replace an ability granted at a previous level.

Changing a Character Before Level 2
Before you level up a character for the first time, you may change any aspect of it. Changes may only be made between adventures and before playing as a character above 1st level. You are only able to retrain into a legal race.

If a character dies on an encounter prior to reaching level two, that character may be assumed to be brought back to life by local helpful clergy with no negative repercussions after the encounter concludes. The character receives no points or rewards from the encounter during which they were killed, but otherwise may continue to be played as normal. This type of no-cost character revival only applies to first-level characters, and may only be taken advantage of one time.

Retraining
Cormyr does not operate our games on a set schedule, and thus it is impossible to have a concept of downtime for players and maintain standardization amongst the community. However, we recognize that characters evolve over time and can change conceptually and also that players can make mistakes. With this in mind, the Retraining mechanic is provided within Cormyr, with different requirements for usage.

As mentioned above, any aspect of a character may be changed prior to leveling up a character the first time. After this, the following retraining mechanics are used:

Upon reaching levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20, a character may retrain one item per the Retraining guidelines presented in Ultimate Campaign:

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/basics-ability-scores/more-character-options/retraining/

The gold cost described in this entry does not apply to retraining, nor does the downtime duration -- as Cormyr does not have the concept of downtime -- but all other restrictions described in this entry apply to retraining.

Retraining must be audited and approved by a GM.

Everything Else From the PFS Restrictions
In Cormyr, you may never buy items from, sell items to, or trade items with another player. You may, however, allow another player to borrow an item for the duration of a scenario. You are also permitted to spend your character’s gold to help a party member purchase spellcasting services such as raise dead or remove disease.

Spells that are 7th level or higher are not available from spellcasting services.

The following spells found in the Core Rulebook are not legal for play and may never be used, found, purchased, or learned in any form by PCs: awaken, permanency, and reincarnate.

 Errata-Related Changes: These Changes must be approved by a GM if you do them 

If a feat or trait changes or is removed: You have two options. First, you may either switch the old feat for an updated feat of the same name in another legal source (if available), ignoring any prerequisites of the new feat you do not meet. Alternatively, you may replace the feat (and any of the old feat’s prerequisite feats) entirely with another feat for which you meet all the prerequisites. If any of the feat’s changed directly reference one or more pieces of equipment you own (such as the weapon selected with the Weapon Focus feat), you may sell back that equipment at full market value.

If an ability-score-dependent feature of a class, prestige class, or archetype is altered: You may rebuild your character to its current XP. Keep the same equipment, but you can resell any equipment that augments the changed ability score at its full market price.

If a class, prestige class, or archetype changes in such a way that you no longer have proficiency with a given weapon or armor type: You may sell back the affected equipment and only the affected equipment at full market value. You may also retrain any feats directly associated with the affected equipment.

If the price of an item changes to become more expensive: Sell back the affected equipment at its original full market value based on its remaining number of charges (if any). So long as you have enough gp, you can purchase the same item at its updated cost.

If the level of a spell changes: You retrain the changed spell, replacing it with another spell of its original spell level. You may also retrain one spell of the changed spell’s new level, but only in order to learn the new spell. Sell back any potions, scrolls, or wands that use that spell at their current full market value based on the spell’s old level and the remaining number of charges.

If a favored class bonus changes: You may reassign all of your favored class bonus at each level to any of the now legal options.