At a regular Pathfinder 2e table the whole party levels up together, and the GM builds every fight for that one level. A West Marches doesn't have a party. It has whoever signed up this week, and they might be level 2, 3 and 4.
So what level is the party? In Pathfinder you need an answer every session, because encounter budgets, XP and treasure all count from it. That, and getting the XP and treasure onto the site, is most of this page. For prep, scheduling and the rest of the campaign, see Running West Marches.
Pick Pathfinder 2e as the game system when you create the community, and three things are set up for you.
In the rulebook, a character who reaches 1,000 XP levels up and takes 1,000 off. The site never resets the count, so its ladder is the running total. The treasure column is the book's budget for one level with a group of four.
| Level | Total XP | Treasure for the level |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | 0 | 175 gp |
| Level 2 | 1,000 | 300 gp |
| Level 3 | 2,000 | 500 gp |
| Level 4 | 3,000 | 850 gp |
| Level 5 | 4,000 | 1,350 gp |
| Level 6 | 5,000 | 2,000 gp |
| Level 7 | 6,000 | 2,900 gp |
| Level 8 | 7,000 | 4,000 gp |
| Level 9 | 8,000 | 5,700 gp |
| Level 10 | 9,000 | 8,000 gp |
| Level 11 | 10,000 | 11,500 gp |
| Level 12 | 11,000 | 16,500 gp |
| Level 13 | 12,000 | 25,000 gp |
| Level 14 | 13,000 | 36,500 gp |
| Level 15 | 14,000 | 54,500 gp |
| Level 16 | 15,000 | 82,500 gp |
| Level 17 | 16,000 | 128,000 gp |
| Level 18 | 17,000 | 208,000 gp |
| Level 19 | 18,000 | 355,000 gp |
| Level 20 | 19,000 | 490,000 gp |
Want it faster or slower? The Core Rulebook calls 800 XP a level fast and 1,200 slow, so enter the ladder in steps of one of those instead.
The same book has story-based leveling too, with no XP at all. Don't use it here. A different group every session has no shared story to level on, and the site adds up the XP for you anyway.
To start new characters above level 1, set Starting Experience on the Experience Ladder page (1,000 for level 2).
Fights, hazards and accomplishments, all counted from the party level. A creature of the party's level is worth 40 XP, whether the party is level 2 or 12, and a moderate fight pays 80. Accomplishments are 10 XP for a minor one, 30 for moderate and 80 for major, and the book wants a few every session.
Everyone who was there gets the full amount. Six players get what four would. So the GM adds up the session once, and Distribute Rewards on the adventure pays it to everyone who played.
Every adventure has a Minimum Level and a Maximum Level, and a character outside that range can't sign up. Keep it to three levels, like 2-4 or 4-6. A level 6 creature is a moderate or severe boss for level 4 characters. For the level 2 character standing next to them, it's an extreme solo boss. Near the top of the ladder there are fewer characters to fill a table, so the range has to get wider.
When signups close, pick the party level with GM Core's rule for mixed groups.
The book also gives characters below the party level double XP until they catch up. Leave that out. It's meant for a party that stays together, and in a West Marches there's nobody to catch up with. It would also make a high-level trip the fastest way for a new character to level.
Pathfinder's math expects characters to carry items of their own level, runes included. One GM can keep an eye on that. Five GMs, each with their own idea of generous, can't, and the characters drift ahead of the monsters or behind them.
So give every GM the same budget. Over a level, it's the treasure column above. For one session, use GM Core's Treasure by Encounter table, which the book suggests for sandbox games.
The coins go out as Gold in Distribute Rewards, and items go in the reward's Notes and on the character sheet. Players spend the gold in the marketplace, so stock it with the common items characters need to keep up, like fundamental runes. Then a character who had a run of stingy GMs can buy their way back.
Pathfinder items have a level. Put it in the market editor's Level Req column, and a character below that level can't buy the item. There's no Pathfinder 2e marketplace template, so you'll be typing the items in yourself.
Runes across five GMs still too much bookkeeping? GM Core's Automatic Bonus Progression variant drops the fundamental runes and gives their bonuses by level, and the treasure budget matters much less after that.
The rules and numbers on this page come from Paizo's GM Core (Rewards, Treasure by Encounter and the variant rules) and the Core Rulebook's advancement speeds, as published on Archives of Nethys.