Paizo Allows Playtest Classes in Pathfinder Society with Level and Archetype Limits

Paizo’s February 17, 2026 playtest announcement confirmed Pathfinder Society will permit characters built from the Risks and Rewards playtest - which runs 17 February 2026 to 10 April 2026 and includes the Daredevil and Slayer classes - provided the table’s GM opts in. Paizo’s Creating a Playtest Character guidance spells out the immediate limits: “If the GM allows playtest characters, a player can determine if they want to playtest the new class,” and “Depending on the character levels appropriate for the scenario, the player can then use a 1st-, 3rd-, or 5th-level character using a class presented in the playtest.” The same page is explicit that “Playtest characters in Pathfinder Society cannot take archetypes.”

Playtest participation is explicitly opt-in for GMs. Lorespire’s Playtest Rules page states, “Playtest Tables: Pathfinder Society playtests are considered to be opt-in for GMs. Tables aren’t automatically assumed to permit playtest characters. GMs accepting playtest characters should advertise as such; players should ask GMs prior to bringing playtest characters to the table and have a backup ready if the GM doesn’t feel comfortable running for a playtest character.” Event recordkeeping remains a hard requirement: if you do not bring Chronicle sheets for a character, “you will be unable to play that character, though you can play another character or a pregenerated character of an appropriate level instead.”

Credit and bookkeeping follow existing Organized Play mechanics. Paizo’s playtest guidance instructs: “Credit: Choose which of your characters will receive the credit at the beginning of the adventure. The credit earned for playing a playtest character follows the same rules and guidelines as applying credit for a pregenerated character, presented in the Applying Credit section of the Player Basics page of the Guide to Organized Play: Pathfinder Society.” That means players and GMs should confirm which character receives Chronicle credit before play begins.

Paizo-affiliated pages currently contain conflicting language about post-playtest use of playtest classes. The Creating a Playtest Character page includes a strict cutoff: “Playtest Period: You can build and use playtest characters in Pathfinder Society games for the duration of the playtest window. Once Paizo’s playtest officially closes, you can no longer use the playtest class to build characters.” By contrast, Lorespire’s Playtest Rules page says, “Characters can continue using playtest rules even after the conclusion of the playtest period. Once the final version of a previously-playtested class is published, any characters using the playtest version must rebuild to use the published version of the class before their next game.” The Guide to Organized Play itself carries a Remaster notice: “The Guide to Organized Play will continue to be revised as we work to bring campaign rules in line with the Remaster,” which helps explain why wording differs across pages.

Past playtests show how Organized Play has handled variants and rewards. Historical playtests named on Lorespire include the Kineticist Class Playtest (8 August to 5 September 2022), War of Immortals (1 September to 2 October 2023), Battlecry! (29 April to 21 June 2024), and the Impossible Playtest (9 December 2024 to 31 January 2025). During earlier playtests, participants earned Playtest Points rather than Chronicle sheets: “During the playtest period for Pathfinder Second Edition, players and GMs did not earn Chronicle sheets when playing the 11 playtest adventures. Instead, each participant earned a number of Playtest Points, which can now be redeemed on your Organized Play account at Paizo.” Those points provided rewards including “Limited-Use boons, the ability to start a character at 2nd or 3rd level to reflect the time spent playing the game, and other minor benefits,” and Pathfindersocietyulm notes, “Because the playtest period has since closed, it is not currently possible to earn additional Playtest Points.”

Risks and Rewards runs through 10 April 2026; players planning to use Daredevil or Slayer options should confirm a table’s GM will accept playtest characters, follow the 1st-, 3rd-, or 5th-level limits, apply credit per the Player Basics rules, and note that Organized Play language is being revised as part of the Remaster. Paizo’s site also carries the company’s recent housekeeping text: “We have updated our Privacy Policy. Paizo.com uses cookies. You can block paizo.com from using cookies within your browser settings, but doing so will hinder site functionality. More information can be found in our Privacy Policy.”