Behind the Emerald Spire, with Lisa Stevens and Wolfgang Baur

Friday, May 30, 2014

The Emerald Spire Superdungeon is the largest Pathfinder Modules product ever produced, a record that's unlikely to be taken from it anytime soon. With its release in just a few short weeks, we want to make sure it gets the attention and celebration it deserves. At 160 pages, with 16 levels (by 16 different authors), eight brand-new monsters, enough material to take players from 1st to 13th level and several major mysteries, there's a LOT of Emerald Spire features to highlight!

We won't be able to cover all the superdungeon's twists and turns (and wouldn't want to spoil the fun or players looking forward to discovering the superdungeon's mysteries for themselves), but over the next few weeks these blog posts will tease a few of the Emerald Spire's secrets, preview some of its amazing art, and giving a few of its authors a chance to talk about superdungeons, inspiration, and what they cooked up for the biggest Pathfinder Module ever.

This week we asked some leading questions of designers Lisa Stevens (who wrote the 1st level and just happens to be Paizo's CEO) and Wolfgang Baur (who wrote the 11th level and is CEO of Open Design and a legendary TSR designer).

How do you define a "Superdungeon"? What is your favorite dungeon or superdungeon experience in your personal gaming history?

Lisa
I define a Superdungeon as one whose exploration basically takes up an entire campaign. Or at least the vast majority of the campaign. I don't buy into all this parsing of superdungeon vs. megadungeon. They are all the same in my book.

My favorite superdungeon is Temple of Elemental Evil for 1st edition AD&D.

Wolfgang
I would say it is any dungeon big enough that you never really need anything else; that is, you can start at 1st level and run an entire campaign in it. I think that Undermountain is probably my favorite for the maps, but there's an argument to be made that the Underdark is a superdungeon. You can, after all, run a campaign entirely underground and never bother surface dwellers, and I have to say I've loved the Underdark since I first encountered it in Gygax's D series with Trampier art. And I haven't stopped loving superdungeons. I'm playing in one now, an old-school thing called the Barrowmaze. Good fun, fairly deadly, rules-light.

Illustration by Ben Wootten

What is your level of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon called? What theme, if any, does the level have?

Lisa
I nabbed the first level, which is called The Tower Ruins. I wanted to play around with goblins, so I used my super CEO powers to make sure I could. :)

The Tower Ruins are the part of the dungeon that rests above ground. When I was designing it, I wanted to make a level that would be fairly easy to be implemented in Pathfinder Online, which I have also been focusing a lot on lately. My hope is that we can at least have my tower ruins inserted into Pathfinder Online sooner rather than later because the various enemies are mostly already built for the online game. Then, as we have time, we can open up lower levels a level at a time.

My theme was basically, what would goblins do if they found this cool ruined tower level? What insanity would they cook up?

Wolfgang
My level is The Tomb of Yarrix, and it has a very clear theme: it is all about the entomb of some eldritch horrors from beyond space and time, and the non-standard geometry required to make sure that things *stay* entombed. That always seems to be the problem, frankly, and tomb-designers have a lot to answer for if adventurers ever want to call them out on it.

This level does warp space and warps time, at least a little, for some oddball encounter effects. The Tomb of Yarrix holds some bizarre new creatures and energies, one of which is revealed in a slightly roundabout way in the Deep Magic tome of spells. And the tomb's treasures are similarly antique and obscure. There's a mix of weird with strange, and this sort of theme made it easy to work with a few of the more out-there monsters from the Bestiaries.

All in all, it's sanity-blasting fun and a squishy change of pace from your average tomb.

What where the inspirations you drew on for your Emerald Spire level, and what are you hoping players get out of it?

Lisa
Believe it or not, my inspiration for my level came from the classic D&D module, Dragon Mountain. In that adventure, kobolds were put into an environment where they have the advantage against the bigger and better equipped PCs, allowing the little buggers to really strike fear into a party. I wanted to try to do that with goblins. My level has a little twist that gives the resident goblins a pretty decided advantage against most adventurers. I wanted players to have to really think a bit outside the box, and use brains rather than brawn to overcome those pesky goblins.

I also put little glimpses into goblin psychology into my level. Little bits of treasure to make you scratch your head because they're odd, but there's a story behind everything. I'm hoping that GMs are able to bring those little stories to light in order to flesh out these goblins as more than hp pincushions.

Illustration by Ben Wootten

Wolfgang
The Tomb of Yarrix borrows its tone from Clark Ashton Smith and his inevitably doomed evil high priests, and it's loaded with the ancient and the macabre. There are cultists, ancient evils from beyond the mortal realm, and a cult that has fallen out of history, but whose adherents still seek to bring just one more extradimensional monstrosity out of hiding. There's music that Must Not Be Sung.

The Tomb happens to fit almost perfectly into the Wasted West of the Midgard Campaign Setting, which was one of its other inspirations, largely because that region is all about imprisoning ancient Walkers and dimensional tricks. It's where a lot of the clockwork and time magic of Deep Magic comes from.

One of the encounters in Tomb of Yarrix also goes back to C. A. Smith's ability to make things horrific without necessarily being deadly. There's a set of nests... well, I won't spoil that encounter, but let me just say that if this level of Emerald Spire doesn't get at least one "ewwwww" out of your players, I'll be very surprised.

Many thanks to Lisa Stevens and Wolfgang Baur for giving us a peak at goblins with a twist, and encounters that bend space and time! There's much more Emerald Spire to talk about, but the rest will have to wait until next week's post, when at the least we'll take a look at the superdungeon's "fire level," and maybe a few more snippets as well.

Owen K.C. Stephens
Developer, Pathfinder Modules

Meet the Iconics: Jirelle

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Introducing the first of the Advanced Class Guide's new iconic characters, Jirelle the swashbuckler. While the complete rules for making your own swashbuckler characters debut in the Advanced Class Guide this August, Jirelle herself features in the our upcoming Free RPG Day adventure, Pathfinder Module: Risen from the Sands, available at participating game stores Saturday June 21st. Jirelle is also a playable character in the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Skull & Shackles Base Set due in August.

Jirelle may have been born and raised on a ship, and she might call the Shackles her homeland, but she never considered herself a pirate, even if only to distance herself from the darkest part of her childhood: her mother.

Today, Jirelle is a friendly sort with a biting wit and a charming personality. She makes new friends as swiftly as she strikes with her rapier, and while she has a flair for the dramatic (why merely attack a foe when you can make a show of it with a twirl of the cape or a somersault or two?), she never favors ostentation or glory over the opportunity to help a friend in need. Jirelle understands that the strength of one's relationships with friends, allies, lovers, and family make one strong. It was her mother's failure to forge such bonds that allowed a young Jirelle to escape from a life that would have likely seen offered as sacrifice to the shark demon Ovonovo before the close of her thirteenth birthday.

On the subject of her mother or her ship, the Bloodcrow, the typically light-hearted half-elf grows serious. Jirelle does not share the secrets of her childhood with just anyone. As such, few know how she engineered the sinking of the Bloodcrow and the death of her wretched elven mother off the coast of Tempest Cay. Jirelle often jokes that she befriends for life, with the playful, only slightly malicious glint in her eyes implying what might happen to those who would betray such friendship.

After escaping the Bloodcrow, Jirelle spent some time surviving as a street rat in the alleys of Drenchport. Armed with a fine rapier and clad in her her mother's magical cloak (the only two things she managed to escape the Bloodcrow's wreckage with), Jirelle kept every coin and bauble she earned in a thrice-locked chest she keeps well hidden and protected. At first, she'd hoped to save enough money to afford a move from the Shackles to distant Taldor, drawn by tales of a land where duels and extravagance and civility promised a better life. But when rumors of a strange, ghostly ship plying the sea-ways of the Shackles reached her—fearful stories of a vessel commanded by an imperious banshee and bound by undeath—Jirelle realized that in sinking the Bloodcrow she'd done the exact opposite of what she'd intended. Rather than spare the Shackles of a brutal pirate queen, she'd unleashed an even deadlier scourge upon the Fever Sea.

Today, Jirelle seeks the funds to someday finance a ship and crew of her own. She plans not to become a pirate—for a life of plunder and cruelty holds no appeal for the daring swashbuckler—but to finish the job she started on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. Jirelle knows she can't do this on her own, though. So she seeks true and able allies, knowing that only with bravery and trust will the Bloodcrow's days be numbered.

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Harrow: Past, Present, and Future

Tuesday, May 27

Illustration by Cristian Chihaia

For years the Harrow has been the domain of home games, literature, and lore, but due to a combination of the soft time limits inherent in organized play, the range of ways in which someone might cheat with a deck-based mechanic, and a wealth of other considerations that predate my work at Paizo, most Harrow-based options were never allowed. When Mike and I heard that Pathfinder Player Companion: The Harrow Handbook was on the product schedule, we started pondering how we might share as much of this book as possible with the campaign. We bounced ideas off a lot of folks, and in the end we decided to make legal nearly everything in the book as well as several previously banned Harrow character options such as the harrower prestige class from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide and the oft-requested Deadly Dealer feat from Pathfinder Player Companion: Varisia, Birthplace of Legends. Expect an update to the Additional Resources page that includes these additions.

Excited? Me too!

Let's discuss some ground rules for Harrow use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. These are intended to keep Harrow use from bogging down gameplay while also providing GMs some assurance that everyone's playing fair and showing off the beautiful new version of the Deluxe Harrow Deck.

1. Using a Harrow-based character option that involves drawing one or more cards at random requires a physical Harrow deck. Substituting another deck of cards or using the dice-rolling option (such as the one presented in the harrower prestige class) is not an option. If you aren't using a character option that does not change based on which card you draw (such as just throwing cards with the Deadly Dealer feat), you do not need to have a physical copy of the Harrow deck.
2. When you are using a class ability that involves drawing one or more cards at random, the GM always has the option to cut the deck before you draw from the top. This is just a quick consideration to minimize cheating. The GM can also examine your deck at any time, particularly if she believes there's anything wrong with your deck.
3. Be considerate when performing a Harrowing. Many Pathfinder Society games are run in 4—5 hour time slots, so taking 10 minutes to perform an in-character harrowing might not be an option. Be prepared to flip cards, record results, and move on if the group is operating on a time limit. So long as you're exercising common sense and courtesy, there shouldn't be anything more to discuss here.

Lots of great options are about to be available. Go make something fun!

Happy gaming,

John Compton
Developer

Advanced Class Guide Previews

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

We are just about 10 weeks away from the release of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Class Guide. Coincidentally this mighty tome also features 10 new classes to add to your Pathfinder game. So, in anticipation of its release, we are going to be showcasing one class from the book each week until the book hits store shelves and the gamers line up at our Gen Con booth to snag a copy. Look for these previews every Tuesday.

But that is not all. As many of you are well aware, each one of our iconic characters has a "Meet the Iconics" story associated with them, giving you a sense of how they fit into our world. In keeping with that tradition, we'll also be posting the backgrounds for these new iconic characters. Look for these character stories every Thursday.

To give you a taste of what is to come, check out the cover for this amazing book, courtesy of Wayne Reynolds. I am sure you can work out which iconics are features on the cover.

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Pathfinder Battles Preview: Leapin' Lizards!

Friday, May 23, 2014

The next set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted plastic miniatures, The Lost Coast, revisits the land of Varisia, the setting of several Pathfinder Adventure Paths and other sourcebooks. As we've show in previous previews, this gives us the opportunity to fill in a few gaps from previous sets like Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star, but tidying up old set lists and satisfying my OCD and completionism is not the main goal of the set.

The main goal of The Lost Coast is to provide great monsters and adversaries for "traditional" Pathfinder campaigns. After a sojourn to other worlds in Reign of Winter and a jaunt up to the demon-lands of the Worldwound in Wrath of the Righteous, we were in the mood for something decidedly mainstream.

And it's difficult to get more mainstream than lizards!

Up first this week is the Giant Frilled Lizard, a terrible foe from the pages of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. With an unusual yellow/gold hide and an extremely dynamic pose, this Large lizard is enough to make your player characters drop their own tails in terror! The Giant Frilled Lizard is a Large, uncommon figure.

As a creature type, drakes have really come into their own in Pathfinder. They offer a great lower-level alternative for dragon encounters, and it doesn't hurt that almost all of them have received fantastic illustrations over the various Pathfinder Bestiaries. As far as "sets" go, drakes are one that I absolutely want to complete. We've already done the Frost Drake and Rift Drake, and more are on their way. This set presents the Forest Drake, from page 107 of Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2. I love the way the Forest Drake leans forward into a menacing pose. His tail and horns echo the forest motif of his artwork, resulting in a very dynamic little dragon! Actually, he's not very little at all, dominating his Large base. The Forest Drake is an uncommon figure.

Pathfinder Battles finally cracks into the goodly metallic dragons with this Medium Brass Dragon! Based directly off of artwork by Ben Wootten, this little guy would be right at home standing next to a player character paladin or a good NPC you don't want your players to tangle with. It has a very naturalistic pose and great sculpt detail. The Medium Brass Dragon is a Medium, rare figure.

And that's it for this week's previews! Join us next week as we reveal more figures from the Lost Coast set! Until then, please consider setting up an ongoing Pathfinder Battles Case Subscription to make sure you don't miss a single figure!

Erik Mona
Publisher

A Day in Bastardhall

Friday, May 23, 2014

Last year's Pathfinder Online Kickstarter included a whole spectrum of awesome rewards, with the higher tier incentives becoming increasingly unique. One of the top-level rewards included an advance look at Pathfinder Online, a tour of the Paizo and Goblinworks offices, a gourmet dinner, and a day of gaming with a Pathfinder GM of your choice.

Two groups of high-level backers got that red carpet treatment early in the year, with Erik running marathon sessions of his part of the Emerald Spire Superdungeon. Our third group just came through a few weeks ago and they were very clear about what they wanted to play. They'd been through Carrion Crown, so the natural next challenge for them was Bastardhall.

Cartography by Rob Lazzaretti

So, from 10 AM to 10 PM, I ran the highly coordinated team of Diana, Brandon, Jami, Heidi, Nicole, and Weston through part of my annually expanding terror-themed megadungeon, Bastardhall. This particular foray focused on the adventure I ran at Paizocon two years ago (adventure four in the ongoing series), The Black Gardens of Bastardhall.

Rather than recapping the entire session, here are a few highlights and pictures from the game.

• The greenhouse near the gardens' entrance looks vine-choked and sweaty. In this party's case, that meant it was nobody's business.
• Several shrines of the goddess Shelyn watch over the gardens, one still attended by a particularly nihilistic huecuva. The party tried to cheer up the depressed undead, but ultimately determined unlife was a worse punishment than destruction.
• Hedge mazes can be confusing. One way to get through them is to start a massive fire. Of course, it's probably best not to start that fire when you're already in the middle of the maze.
• Pathfinder Cards: Chase Cards 2 make a handy and pretty intense way to run a burning labyrinth. Give the party a set number of turns to escape, then start dealing escalating d6s of fire damage per round. Not all will necessarily survive.
• GM Tip: When someone has driven hundreds of miles to spend a day gaming with you, it's poor form to permanently kill them in hour three of the game. Instead, bring them back as a juju zombie and secretly tell them "When I give the word, attack the paladin."
• It's handy to have druids and nature sorts on hand. They can tell you that hangman trees don't think you're special just because you have fire.
• Somehow, hungry flesh is even worse when it's covered in hay.
• There are a lot of nasty things you can do with mosquitos. After numerous swarms and giant specimens, the group was definitely starting to dread every itch and buzz. Jamming a few mosquito swarms into a skinstitch scarecrow (Bestiary 4) doubles down on the trauma.
• If the runes on any one of a dozen Kellid totems (see Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Lost Kingdoms) roughly translates in "mosquito god," it might be best to leave it alone.
• Mosquito proboscises make fine rapiers, but even better flutes!
• Players love it when you turn to one of them during the climax and say "That thing we discussed. Now."

Overall, the game was an absolute blast. Huge thanks to Brandon, Diana, and the whole hit squad from Oregon for not just backing Pathfinder Online, but for a fantastic day of gaming! Who knows, if the stars align again, maybe I'll see you guys at Paizocon 2014's foray into terror: The Silent Servant of Bastardhall.

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

A Secret Commentary

Thursday, May 22, 2014

In case you missed yesterday's exciting announcement, the latest Pathfinder comic story arc, City of Secrets, launched yesterday to a comics shop invasion! We're still receiving isolated reports from far-flung Pathfidner agents that a few limited-edition Retailer Exclusive issues are still available among the brick and mortar retailers, but even if they aren't you can still secure your own copy of the Paizo.com exclusive cover variant and not miss a moment.

Author Jim Zub was kind enough to provide us with page-by-page story commentary, so you can follow along with the creative process!

Page 1: Starting up a new story arc and a new issue #1, it's nice to get a brief reintroduction to our adventuring heroes. Leandro does a wonderful job of illustrating the cast, following the detailed style of the Pathfinder game very closely.

Page 2-3: A tough shot but Leandro pulls it off beautifully. The city of Magnimar has really specific geography, a distinctive look and feel I wanted to make sure was well established as the characters arrived in their new home.

That huge ruined bridge in the background is the Irespan, a remnant of a much earlier time. The shadow beneath that impressive monument is called, appropriately enough, Underbridge and the Shadow District. That's where the poor and downtrodden find themselves, as well as some of the more unsavory characters of Magnimar.

Having a small excerpt from the Pathfinder Chronicles at the start of each issue is a useful way to fill in a bit of back story and give readers extra appreciation for the depth and care the Paizo crew have put into designing their fantasy world.

Page 4: The group left Sandpoint at sunset and, about 24 hours later, arrives in Magnimar at sunset as well.

Gauging each of their reactions to the city was fun to put together.

Page 5: In the second story arc we started a relationship between Kyra, the Cleric, and Merisiel, the Rogue. Readers have responded well to these two opposites coming together and this story arc carries on that relationship, giving them some new challenges to overcome.

Page 6: Speaking of Kyra and Merisiel, the two ladies got themselves into an overnight caper in our super-sized Pathfinder Special and we tie into that here. It's a fun done-in-one story that deepens the bond between the two of them.

Page 7: When the group was in Sandpoint or on the road Seoni had a clear understanding of how to lead them, but now that they're in the city the group is pulled apart by their different goals and responsibilities. If you've ever played a tabletop RPG this is actually a pretty typical scenario. City encounters tend to involve lots of splitting up and prep before the next big adventure. I wanted to reflect a bit of that and show how varied everyone's approach is to their first day in Magnimar.

Page 8-11: Ezren's age leads everyone to assume he has a great deal of wisdom and experience, but the truth is that he's kind of a tragic figure. He didn't start training and adventuring until quite recently and that lost time weighs heavily on him. It's a feeling of inadequacy that he struggles with and something I want to explore with him in this story arc.

Sheila Heidmarch is a well known figure from the Pathfinder setting material. She's powerful, confident, and beautiful – an intimidating combination, especially to someone like Ezren. Her capabilities reflect exactly how much time he wasted in his youth.

Page 12-13: Unlike many dwarves, Harsk loathes the city. He hates the hustle and bustle of city living and finds the social etiquette required to coexist so close to so many other people frustrating and unnecessary. Writing Harsk in the city was a challenge, but I like putting him out of his element. Thankfully Alabastar Park is more his speed.

Page 14-15: Valeros was at the forefront of the action in our first story arc so it felt like a good idea to have him ease back a bit here and let others push the plot forward. Val's feeling a bit cocky after the group's previous successes and doesn't realize that in many ways the city is even more dangerous than the open wilderness and dungeons they've tackled before.

Page 16-17: Kasadei arrives and the plot thickens. Like our second story arc, this one uses material from a Pathfinder adventure as a base structure to build our story from. In this case it's a short adventure scenario called "Dawn of the Scarlet Sun" written by James Jacobs. James and I chatted at Gen Con last year and came up with some fun ways to incorporate material from that adventure in with my ongoing plans for the evolution of the Pathfinder storyline.

Page 18: Having an ensemble cast of six main characters means that when the group splits up I have to jump around quite a bit to make sure everyone gets enough "air time".

I like the contrast between Merisiel's "Devil may care" attitude and Kyra's pious confidence. The two of them are so very different, but I think that's why they make such a good couple. They teach each other about a life the other has never lived and they're both stronger for it.

Page 19: Background info as someone spies on them from the shadows. Events have taken place in Magnimar before our adventuring heroes arrived and other things will happen once they leave. Giving an environment a sense of history is important as it helps build that impression of a larger living fictional setting.

Page 20-21: Faith can be a touchy subject, but I really like writing Kyra because her faith in this fantasy world is so different than our own. In the world of Golarion people know the gods exist because they have immediate proof. Deities give their followers access to powerful magic and heed their prayers. In that world it's not a matter of belief, it's more about choice. Do you choose to follow a deity and look to them for guidance or do you strike out on your own? Kyra and Merisiel embody those two extremes.

Page 22: Merisiel let her guard down as she was emotionally overwhelmed by the power of Kyra's prayers and now they've got problems.

Even though there isn't any full blown action this issue, there's an atmosphere of tension that runs through this first chapter as we showcase each character and set pieces in motion, prepping everything for the dangers ahead.

Who are these well-armed bandits and what do they want with our adventuring pair? Read onto issue #2 and find out as Pathfinder: City of Secrets continues with action and intrigue aplenty!

And don't forget that our Heroes of Magnimar contest will be wrapping up soon! If you want your characters to be enshrine in Golarion canon forever, head on over to our contest page and learn how to submit!

The Secret is OUT!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Today is the official worldwide release date for Paizo's newest comics project, Pathfinder: City of Secrets #1! With a great story by rising comics phenom Jim Zub, amazing art from newcomer Leandro Olivera, and the triumphant return of removable poster maps with each issue's Pathfinder RPG appendix, the new series is truly a cause for celebration.

So we're doing just that! Starting today, Paizo has teamed up with expert Pathfinder Society GMs to host special in-store Pathfinder RPG sessions at comic and game stores throughout the next several weeks. This Pathfinder Comic Store Invasion features original encounters based on the poster maps in the first issue. Participants will receive fun rewards they can apply to new or existing Pathfinder Society characters. Check the events page for a list of participating stores in your area.

Pathfinder: City of Secrets #1 sees our familiar iconic heroes—Valeros, Seoni, Merisiel, Kyra, Ezren, and Harsk venture to the city of Magnimar. Ezren seeks counsel with the Pathfinder Society, hoping to bargain his research into the events of the comic's previous volume into a field commission. This brings him to the offices of Pathfinder Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch, a character familiar to players of both the Shattered Star Adventure Path and many a Pathfinder Society scenario.

Kyra and Merisiel, following the events of the recent Pathfinder Special One-Shot, seek out a famous abandoned shrine of Sarenrae in the shadow of the Irespan. There they run afoul of another group of familiar villains—but that's a spoiler for another day.

The familiarity Magnimar offers gives us plenty of opportunities to tie the comic more closely to the Pathfinder world, and it's been a thrill to read Jim's excellent scripts and see Leandro's spectacular art. I'm glad that the gap between today's release and the final issue of the previous volume gave us a chance to "bank" several issues of finished art, as I'm terrified Leandro will be poached for a major title once more editors get to see his phenomenal work. Best of all, he brings an eye for detail that makes him particularly suited for the adventures of Wayne Reynolds's iconic Pathfinder heroes.

Amid all of the call-backs to existing lore, Jim Zub's script portrays the iconic characters with real emotion. We learn more about their characters, motivations, and personalities in this series than in previous arcs. We see Seoni wrestling with the responsibilities of leading the group, Harsk's uneasiness amid the bluster and bustle of the big city, and the development of Kyra and Merisiel's still-fresh romance. City of Secrets offers lots of inventive battles against hideous foes, of course, but it's also packed with genuine emotion and character moments for the whole cast.

And the pull-out maps are back, thanks to your requests. The maps have been among the most popular features of the line, and I'm thrilled to see their return. The first issue features a map of Magnimar's Old Fang Tavern, a handy little spot perfect for staging a bar room brawl.

I did just that when I wrote the Tavern Brawl encounter for the City of Secrets Comic Store Invasion event. Stop by participating stores to see how you and your friends can help save the day when the bottles start flying and people start swinging chairs.

The Comic Store Invasion event packet also includes another encounter—also by yours truly—featuring a pack of Pathfinder goblins attacking a modern comic store. Only the iconic heroes stand to defend the sanctity of new comic book Wednesday! That encounter—and the modern comic store map that goes with it—is available exclusively in the Retailer Exclusive edition of the debut issue. This extremely rare issue was limited to stores that ordered 500 copies or more of the first issue. In the likely event that your store placed a more modest order, you can always get the Paizo.com edition of the Retailer Exclusive cover right here on our webstore.

And did I mention the Heroes of Magnimar contest? Hop over to the contest page to submit a 300-word description of YOUR hero of Magnimar. A team of Paizo judges will select one character each month to be illustrated by Dynamite's comic artists, and a chosen character's stats will appear in the RPG appendix of each issue starting with #2 next month.

So! Your mission today is to head over to your favorite local comic store (or game store that sells comics, of course) and pick up a copy of Pathfinder: City of Secrets #1! The better the comic does in this crucial first week of sales, the more retailers will order of the follow-up issues, ensuring a long future for Pathfinder comics.

The best way to ensure that future, of course, is to set up an ongoing Pathfinder Comics subscription right here at Paizo.com. Subscribers receive substantial discounts on comic purchases, and can elect to have their comics bundled with other Paizo subscriptions to save money on shipping. If you love the comics and want to do whatever you can to help them succeed, subscribing is absolutely the best thing you can do.

All of us here at Paizo put a lot of work into the Pathfinder comics we produce. Your support means the world to us.

To the comic store!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Victory For Paizo! Victory For The Kids!

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Gauntlet was awarded on Sunday, and with your help, Paizo brought home this mighty trophy! Sponsored by Card Kingdom, the Gauntlet tournament featured competitors from a wide array of local game companies and groups. Funds raised by all of the teams went to support Child's Play, a charity that donates games and toys to sick kids in hospitals around the world. On top of furthering such a great cause, donations also earned each team a number of "Power Ups" to use during the event, granting an edge against the opposition.

And let me tell you: the competition was fierce! Before the tournament even started, the team from the Removed From Play podcast surged into the lead, raffling off an amazing Warmachine army. We fought back, but in the end, neither of our teams were prepared for Bungie's fundraising juggernaut. Raising over $6,000 in just the last few days before the competition, they earned the top spot, which came with 5 bonus points and a mountain of power ups to use during the event.

Fundraising alone, however, would not win you The Gauntlet.

As the clock struck 3pm, the battle was joined. I sat down to play Magic against one member of each other team, while Stephen played Ticket to Ride and Erik and Jessica proved their superiority in geek trivia. Both Stephen and I did well, earning a total of 13 points for our team, but Erik and Jessica dominated at trivia, earning 20 points! Stephen then joined Erik and Jessica to play Ugg-tect, a game in which the players take on the role of caveman architects trying to construct monuments using only grunts and body language. They built well, but in the end, we earned only 8 points from the game.

We had a total of 41 points, but that was only enough for 2nd place. The Removed From Play team was hot on our heels with 40, while Bungie held the lead with 42. Before the final game, the winners of the best costume were announced and Bungie pulled even further ahead (to 47) with their excellent Doctor Horrible ensemble. The final game was Suspend, a game in which you must balance wire playing-pieces on a precarious pole. The first team to hang all of their pieces would earn 20 points, but the other teams would earn points too, depending on how fast they could finish their game. We were in trouble. We not only needed to win the final game, but we needed to win by a wide margin to overcome the 6-point lead Bungie had built.

As the countdown reached zero, each team went into a flurry of building. If a piece fell, you lost a team member, meaning that you had to be fast, but steady. As Erik, Jessica, Stephen, and I began to rapidly put together our sculpture, we could not help but keep an eye on Bungie, who were just next to us on the same table. Our practice paid off. We had played Suspend for a few hours earlier that week, becoming skilled at building rapidly, but also figuring out the best way to make the structure stable. As a team, we shouted "JUDGE" as our last piece came to rest. We were first, but it was not over yet. If Bungie came in second, they would earn enough points to claim The Gauntlet. We waited, watching the other teams intently. Then Removed From Play finished their game.

We had done it. The Gauntlet was ours!

We had a great time participating in The Gauntlet. It was a hard-fought battle, but everyone was very friendly and good-natured. After all, the real winner this day was the children. The Paizo team would like to thank all of the other teams for a truly awesome time and a great competition: Bungie, Café Mox Regulars, Card Kingdom, GeekGirlCon, Lady Planeswalkers, Penny Arcade, Removed From Play, Sucker Punch, and Wizards of the Coast. Special thanks go out to everyone at Card Kingdom who spent countless hours setting up this fantastic event. We look forward to defending our title (and The Gauntlet itself) next year!

You can watch a video of the entire event at this link over on The Gauntlet page. The final event starts at around 3:17:30 and you can hear the Paizo team call for a judge at around 3:20:00. You can also catch The Gauntlet being presented at around 3:40:00.

Of course, now that we have The Gauntlet, we thought it only appropriate to show you how it has made life better for us around the Paizo offices (and beyond!).

Our winning Suspend sculpture	Celebrating the victory!	I find this ominous...	Winding down after the tournament
Driving to work	Typing is hard	Planning my home game	Scheduling with an iron fist!
Erik Mona shows off our business plan	Our fearless leader, Lisa Stevens	Accounting just got serious	Don't mess with the webstore!
Erik Keith will not be wearing The Gauntlet again	Your shipment, packed with care... with The Gauntlet	I'm not sure which is more dangerous...	That is a tasty beverage
Owen gears up for trouble	Gauntlet + Dog Slicer = Angry James Jacobs	Wesley's last words: "Groovy"	The Gauntlet is kitty approved!

Finally, we had a wide variety of awards to give you, the fans, for helping us reach certain funding goals during the event. On Friday, we posted a Primitive Human Race for use in your Pathfinder games. We also promised a number of spoilers from the upcoming Advanced Class Guide. You can find some of the spoilers in this thread, but the rest are posted below.

• In the playtest for the Advanced Class Guide, the new classes were called hybrid classes, since each is a mix of two parent classes. In the playtest, you could not take levels in either of the parent classes if you had levels in the hybrid class. In the final version, we removed this restriction.
• The Shaman's spell list changed several times during the playtest. In the final version, we gave the class its own unique spell list to better suit its theme. This includes a number of spells drawn from the cleric list, the druid list, and the witch list, but it also includes a number of brand new spells found in the book.
• The Skald got access to a few more powers from its parent classes, including versatile performance and uncanny dodge. It also got a few new songs that it can use in place of its raging song, such as the song of the fallen. Check it out!
  

  Song of the Fallen (Su): At 14th level, a skald can temporarily revive dead allies to continue fighting, with the same limitations as raise dead. The skald selects a dead ally within 60 feet and expends 1 round of raging song to bring that ally back to life. The revived ally is alive but staggered. Each round, the skald may expend another 1 round of raging song to keep that ally alive for another round. The ally automatically dies if the skald ends this performance or is interrupted. The skald may revive multiple allies with this ability (either at the same time or over successive rounds) but must expend 1 round of raging song per revived ally per round to maintain the effect.

• There are a wide variety of great options for every character in this book, from archetypes to feats, spells, and magic items. Just to give you a taste, here is one of the more interesting spells in the book.

  Path of Glory

  School conjuration (healing); Level bard 2, cleric 2
  Casting Time 1 standard action
  Components V, S
  Range touch (see text)
  Area four 5-ft. squares/level (see text)
  Duration 1 round/level
  Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

  You cause four 5-foot squares (one of which must be your space) to glow with dim illumination. Starting on your next turn, as a swift action you can extend the glowing area by an additional four 5-foot squares; each new square must be adjacent to a square that was previously glowing. Allies that end their turns on a glowing square (including one who falls unconscious in the square) are healed of 1 point of damage.

Well, that about wraps up our coverage of The Gauntlet.

Wait... what's that?

Stephen wants to say something about me needing to get punched with the Gauntlet. That sounds like a nasty rumor. I am sure nothing like that would happen within the next few weeks for all of you to watch. I am sure of it. Anyway, I want to thank all of you who helped make this victory possible. Look for The Gauntlet to make a number of appearances in this blog over the coming year. We are looking forward to defending our title next year, hopefully allowing us to keep this mighty trophy. We know that you will be here to support us!

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Boar and Rabbit

by James L. Sutter

Chapter Four: The Succession Sword

Roshad stood speechless, unable to parse the words, and even less able to handle the melancholy smile.

"You're not wearing your veil," Bors noted.

The wound Roshad had been salving with action tore open anew. He wanted to slap Bors, to scream at him, to fall into the big man's arms and be comforted.

Stick to the plan. Roshad reached back into the satchel on his back and pulled out the chain.

"Remember this?" He held it out, letting its links hang down. "This is the promise we made, Bors. Shared mind, shared heart. Always." He dropped the chain between them, letting it clatter to the floor. "Have you forgotten that?"

Bors was no longer smiling. "They were going to kill you, Roshad."

"So you did it for them?" Roshad felt the heat building in his face, the tears starting their slow treks down his cheeks. "Because that's what this is, Bors. If you cut a man in half, both halves die. Together, we're szerik. Apart, we're nothing. Did you think I would let you kill us both?"

"No."

"Well, too bad, you bastard, because I'm not—" Roshad paused. "What did you say?"

"No, I never thought you would stay away. That was the point."

Roshad grimaced. "But when you said it was over—I saw it in your eyes. You meant it."

"Of course I meant it! Anything less would have gotten you killed. If I wanted my father to believe it, I needed you to believe it, too. I had to believe it."

"Then how did you know I'd come back?"

Bors smiled, and now there was nothing sad in it. "Because I know you, Roshad. You're as stubborn as a half-trained camel. You'd never be able to let me go—not without at least getting the last word."

Then he opened his arms, and Roshad was in them, face pressed against the warm lacquered scales guarding the big man's chest. "I thought..." he whispered, and then his voice caught. "So why did you look so gods-damned sad when you saw me at the window?"

Bors's stubbled cheek pressed down against the top of Roshad's head. "Because I had to hurt you, Rabbit. That should never be easy."

"Damn straight."

They stood together then for a long moment, neither saying anything. At last Bors unwrapped his arms and pushed Roshad away. He reached for his true sword. "Come on. It'll be dawn soon."

Roshad felt hope bloom inside his chest. "We're leaving?"

"Of course we're leaving. Isn't that what I said? Now that my father's convinced I've given up, we can make our escape. You have your climbing spell?"

"Already cast."

Bors grinned. "That'll make it easier."

"But not easy enough."

Both men spun at the voice. Ulzhan stood in the room's doorway, bow drawn and arrow nocked. She wore her armor as well, along with a blue sash to complement Bors's red. With her heel, she kicked the door closed. "I thought this might happen, so I had a servant listen at your door."

Ulzhan does what's best for the tribe. Always.

Roshad started to raise his hands, ready to burn the woman to cinders, but Bors slapped them down. "No!"

"He's right," Ulzhan said. "We have many things to discuss, but if you try to cast a spell, I'll shut your mouth with an arrow and render this conversation moot."

Roshad let his hands drop. "What conversation?"

Seemingly satisfied that Roshad was pacified, Ulzhan dismissed him, turning her attention to Bors. "My prince, I'm going to go ahead and assume you're less than thrilled about our marriage."

Bors's face was back to its normal, stone-hewn blankness. "It's nothing personal."

"I believe you. Maybe if you were differently inclined, I'd be offended, but no matter. The point is, I'm not your father. I can see your love and respect it. But this marriage has to happen, for the good of the tribe. So I'll make you this offer: marry me, and I'll turn a blind eye to your man." Her head tilted to indicate Roshad. "The tribe can never know—I won't let you undermine our authority or give other tribes a lever to use against us—but you can arrange whatever rendezvous you desire. You don't need to take my bed except to give us an heir."

"How generous," Roshad spat, but Bors touched his arm. The prince nodded his head to Ulzhan, almost a bow.

"You honor me, Ulzhan. Under other circumstances, I would have been honored to stand at your side. But I can't lead the tribe."

Ulzhan's gaze hardened. "I thought better of you, Bors. You're the heir. There's no alternative."

"Actually, I think there is." Bors gestured to the dagger in Roshad's belt. "May I?"

Ulzhan drew the fletching back to her cheek, the arrow's steel point in line with Roshad's eye. "No tricks." But the arrow bobbed a gesture for him to continue.

Bors reached down and drew the dagger. In one smooth move, he slit his palm, then held it out to Ulzhan.

Roshad gaped. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Bors held the dagger out to Ulzhan, hilt-first. "I'm marrying her."

Ulzhan stared at him, and then a smile spread across her face. Roshad wouldn't have said it transformed her features, but as with Bors, a face that rarely smiled was all the brighter when it did. She lowered the bow. "I see."

"I don't!" Roshad moved between them. "After all this, you're going to marry her now, an hour before the damned wedding?"

"She's right, Roshad. Only the hakan's blood can challenge him for the throne. But as soon as I marry Ulzhan, my blood becomes hers. She can challenge him. And from what I've heard, she'd lead the tribe better than I would."

"A wise assessment, my prince." Ulzhan let the bowstring go slack, and with a final mistrustful glance at Roshad set it down against the wall. She took the proffered dagger and slit her own palm, then reached forward to clasp Bors's hand.

"Gods," Roshad whispered. "I can't believe you're marrying her."

"What's a marriage, Rabbit?" Bors squeezed Ulzhan's hand, then pulled it back and showed Roshad the wound in his palm. "In the lands beyond the sea, this is just another scar."

"The lands beyond the sea..." Roshad grinned. "I guess you're right."

Bors reached up and tugged loose the yellow armband, then carefully wiped both his blood and Ulzhan's on it. She let him tie it around her wrist, the embroidered horse showing through the orange-red stain.

"It's done, then." Roshad said.

"Not quite." Bors reached down and drew the wooden sword from his sash. He held it out on flat palms, offering it to Ulzhan. "The Succession Sword. Lead the tribe well for me, Ulzhan."

Ulzhan stared unbelieving at the sword, then slowly took it, holding it upright before her face. "No," she said. "Not for you. The Horse Throne won't survive an absentee hakan. Once I challenge your father, I'll rule in my own name."

"Of course." Bors smiled. "You're the son he always wanted. Once he gets over the shock, I hope he sees the gift I've given him. And the tribe."

Ulzhan's eyes gleamed. She lowered the sword. "You're a strange man, Bors Kaskyrbai. But you would have made a fine husband." Swiftly, she stepped forward and kissed him on the lips, then pulled back a few inches to meet his gaze. "Don't come back."

Bors laughed. "Don't worry."

And then Ulzhan was through the door and gone.

Bors turned to Roshad. "Shall we?"

A laugh exploded from Roshad. "I can't believe you're married!"

"I believe I already was." Bors stooped and picked up the chain, then held it out to Roshad. "Are we leaving or not?"

"Oh, we're leaving all right." Roshad shoved the chain into his satchel, then turned around and braced his hands on his legs. "Your steed, my prince."

"Not prince." Bors secured his helm and sword and settled his bulk piggyback on Roshad. "Not anymore."

Then they were out the window, moving quickly down the stone wall. At the ground, they broke apart and moved swiftly over to the curtain wall, keeping the palace between them and the wedding pavilion. Figuring the time for subterfuge was past, Roshad grabbed the top and levered himself up and over, Bors just behind him.

"My horse is hidden on the south side of the camp," he said.

"And are you sentimentally attached to her?" Bors asked.

"What? No, why—"

But Bors was already whistling. In response, a herd of a dozen horses appeared from behind a screen of tents, the stallion at its head leading them right up to Bors. He scratched the beast's nose.

"That's amazing," Roshad said.

"What did you think it meant to be a horse prince?" Bors pulled himself up onto the stallion's back. He held out a hand for Roshad, and the sorcerer let himself be pulled up, seating himself in front. Bors dug in his heels, and they began to ride quickly through the tents. In moments, they were through the last of them and out onto the open steppe. Behind them, the sun rose above the hills in earnest, casting their shadow long in front of them.

"We'll never outrun them riding double," Roshad noted.

"We won't have to," Bors said. "I don't think they'll be coming after us again."

"You think your father will allow it?"

Bors laughed. "Honestly, it's a better arrangement than he could have hoped. But even he can't step away from a challenge. Ulzhan has the Succession Sword, and by the time he realizes I'm gone, she'll have issued the challenge. If she's half as good as everyone says, she'll take him apart. By the time he can see straight again, she'll be firmly on the Horse Throne, and we'll be over the horizon."

Roshad leaned back against Bors's chest. "And then?"

Bors wrapped one armored arm around him, holding him close.

"And then we'll see what there is to see."

Want more Bors and Roshad?

Read the first three chapters of "Boar and Rabbit" here, here, and here, or check out their further adventures in the new novel The Redemption Engine!

Coming Next Week: The return of Darvin and Fife in Lucien Soulban's "The Tide of Blood"!

James L. Sutter is the Managing Editor for Paizo Publishing and a co-creator of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. He is the author of the Pathfinder Tales novels Death's Heretic and The Redemption Engine, the former of which was #3 on Barnes & Noble's list of the Best Fantasy Releases of 2011 and a finalist for the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. He's written short stories for such publications as Escape Pod, Apex Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death. His anthology Before They Were Giants pairs the first published short stories of science fiction luminaries with new interviews and writing advice from the authors themselves. In addition, he's published a wealth of gaming material for both Dungeons & Dragons and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, including such fan-favorite Pathfinder Campaign Setting books as Distant Worlds and City of Strangers. For more information, check out jameslsutter.com or follow him on Twitter at @jameslsutter.

Illustration by Eric Belisle

More Sanctioned Adventures

Monday, May 19, 2014

Convention deadlines love to monopolize my time, but I can't ignore some of the other great adventures published over the past several months. It's high time we sanction another Pathfinder Adventure Path and Pathfinder Module!

Mummy's Mask opens with "The Half-Dead City," in which the heroes explore numerous abandoned sites in a sealed Osirian necropolis. It's a classic task for Pathfinders, and as a result, I made sure to sanction this as a Tier 1–2 adventure that players can enjoy again and again. Of course, one cannot expect the disturbed dead to remain quiet, and they strike back in "Empty Graves," sanctioned for levels 4–6.

Illustration by Francesco Graziani

Of course, Osirion doesn't have a monopoly on intrigue and adventure. "Tears at Bitter Manor" begins in Cassomir on Taldor's coast and travels deep into the countryside. You may find some similarities to "The Dragon's Demand" in how it is sanctioned, such as the multiple Chronicle sheets that each grant 3 XP and 4 Prestige Points; however, this time the entire module is sanctioned for play—not just a large part of it. “Campaign mode" is still an option, of course, and there's a little something extra for players who are willing to go the extra mile when they play through the whole adventure. You may find the module's campaign cards particularly useful in that regard.

What? No, don't peek! Go play it! You can find the Chronicle sheets on the Additional Resources page or on the respective product pages.

While we're on the topic of sanctioning adventures, let me give you an update on other projects. "Wardens of the Reborn Forge" has gone through several revisions and is almost done, and we'll add that to the Additional Resources page soon. More of Mummy's Mask will also be appearing between now and Gen Con. When these update, we'll post an update on the Additional Resources Updates thread. Also, we wouldn't forget about "Risen from the Sands," which is this year's Free RPG Day module set to debut on June 21, 2014.

What about that Emerald Spire Superdungeon? Yep, the plan is to sanction it, though I'm still in the earlier stages of that process. There's too much dungeon delve goodness for us not to share this with the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign.

Finally, I'd like to thank Nathan King for his hard work behind the scenes to help me sanction these and other adventures. Nathan's been a volunteer author of numerous boons dating back to Gen Con 2013, and he's also contributed to numerous other sanctioning projects. Much appreciated, Nathan!

Happy gaming!

John Compton
Developer

The Gauntlet Will Be Ours!

Friday, May 16, 2014

This Sunday, four members of the Paizo staff will do glorious battle with teams from other game companies for the right to claim The Gauntlet! Over the past week, we've been collecting donations to help our team improve its chances. These donations go directly to Child's Play, a charity that helps sick kids in hospitals around the world by supplying them with toys and games! So far we've raised over $3,000 for the Paizo team, which has earned us 8 "Power Ups" to use during the event. Reaching these goals has also unlocked some rewards for you!

As part of this event, we promised to release a primitive human race for use in your Pathfinder game if we reached $3,000. This is in honor of Ugg-tect, one of the games we will be playing on Sunday during the tournament in which the players take on the role of a caveman building primitive structures.

Download the Primitive Human PDF!

Of course, there are still plenty of other goals we can reach before the event begins on Sunday, including the following:

• $3,500—Spoiler Reward: Spoilers about the upcoming Advanced Class Guide.
• $4,000—Card Reward: We will release a PDF featuring the Gauntlet team members as new Ally cards compatible with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.
• $4,500—Spoiler Reward: Even more spoilers about the upcoming Advanced Class Guide.
• $5,000—Audio Reward: We will put together a "dramatic reading" of a chapter from one of our Pathfinder Tales novels, featuring members of the Paizo staff as the characters.

Remember, every dollar donated goes to support Child's Play. If you want to help our team, go to this link, enter your donation and make sure to put "For Paizo" in the comment box so that your donation goes to help our team.

Finally, you will be able to watch the event this Sunday, starting at 3pm (PST). It is being broadcast on twitch.tv through the NPCcast. During the event, we will also be auctioning off a number of Paizo prize packs live during the event. Check out the great products we are putting up for auction!

1. A Core Rulebook signed by the Paizo staff

2. The Ultimate Wrath of the Righteous game pack including

• Pathfinder RPG: Mythic Adventures
• Pathfinder Adventure Path, Volumes 73-78
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Worldwound
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Demons Revisited
• Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Wrath of the Righteous Poster Map Folio
• Pathfinder Cards: Wrath of the Righteous Face Cards
• Pathfinder Cards: Wrath of the Righteous Item Cards
• Pathfinder Pawn: Wrath of the Righteous Pawn Collection (which is not even out yet!)

3. Pathfinder Battles Ultimate Dragon Pack including

• Pathfinder Battles: White Dragon Evolution 3-pack
• Pathfinder Battles: Red Dragon Evolution 3-pack
• Pathfinder Battles: Gargantuan Green Dragon Limited Edition Figure
• Pathfinder Battles: Gargantuan Blue Dragon Limited Edition Figure
• Pathfinder Battles: Gargantuan Skeletal Dragon Limited Edition Figure

All proceeds from the auction will go to Child's Play, so make sure to tune in and bid for these great prizes! Thanks again from the team for helping us in the event. We hope to do you proud and bring home The Gauntlet!

Pathfinder Battles Preview: Rounding Out the Elements

Friday, May 16, 2014

We're only a couple of weeks from the release of the Reign of Winter set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted fantasy miniatures! In recent months I've previewed all 45 figures in that set, and I'm hoping you're looking forward to it with eager anticipation. I know I can't wait to add the set to my personal collection.

But these days I'm spending all of my minis time focused on the next set, The Lost Coast, which is currently scheduled for a November release. Unlike the previous few sets, The Lost Coast does not take its inspiration from a specific Pathfinder Adventure Path. Instead, the general theme for The Lost Coast is the Lost Coast of Varisia, a monster-filled region that's been the setting of several of our Adventure Paths, including previous Pathfinder Battles sets Rise of the Runelords and The Shattered Star.

This approach has given me the opportunity to fill a few gaps from those previous sets. One of my favorites, and certainly among the figures sure to get the most table use in the entire set, are the Small elementals presented below.

Here we have an excellent wisp of a mini-tornado just waiting to blow away your player characters (or, since these creatures are frequently summoned by PCs, your other monsters). We'll do a little more work matching the final colors to the air elementals in The Shattered Star—clear plastic figures always require a bit more tinkering at the factory stage—but this sculpt perfectly captures the Tyler Walpole original, which first appeared in the Pathfinder Pawns Bestiary Box. It's a bit difficult to see in the photo, but in hand this figure has incredible dimensionality. He is, naturally, smaller than the other air elementals we've done, but this guy holds his own in the cool department. The Small Air Elemental is a Small, common figure.

This guy is a Small, awesome version of the earth elementals in The Shattered Star. Like those figures, he comes complete with shiny green crystals emerging from his back. As a whole, he appears to be burrowing up from underground, a common feature of his larger brethren. As with the other elementals in today's preview, there's a bit more work to be done to get the color match perfect, but I think we're pretty close. The Small Earth Elemental is a Small, common figure.

Another figure sure to get a lot of use, the Small Fire Elemental is absolutely magnificent, managing to be thin, Small, and imposing all at the same time. The sculpt has an enormous amount of flame texture detail that's really brought out by drybrushing, making this a fantastic addition to your fire elemental horde! The Small Fire Elemental is a Small, common figure.

Last up this week is the Small Water Elemental, perhaps my favorite of the quartet. There's just so much fluid motion to this figure that I'm amazed it's so small. It probably has the best use of clear plastic of the bunch. The Small Water Elemental is a Small, common figure.

And that's it for this week. There are a ton more awesome figures to come in the next several weeks. Come back next Friday to see what we preview next!

In the meantime, please consider setting up an ongoing Pathfinder Battles Case Subscription to Pathfinder Battles to make sure you don't miss a single figure!

Erik Mona
Publisher

What's In the Box?!

Thursday, May 15 2014

Illustration by Milivoj Ceran

When we decided to make this month's Pathfinder Campaign Setting volume, Occult Mysteries, the development team had perhaps the most fun I can remember in almost 4 years at Paizo coming up with the different setting-specific mysteries we wanted to explore in the book.

One of the largest challenges was determining what, in a world where magic, gods, divination, and the afterlife were demonstrably real, constituted the "occult." In our world, research into demons and devils is certainly occult, but is it in a world where one of the most powerful nations in the Inner Sea is openly and proudly in cahoots with the legions of Hell?

In the end, we decided that "occult" in Golarion meant anything that wasn't known to the general population. So while your average commoner pig farmer doesn't know how to cast a spell, he's aware that magic exists. He's not, however, likely to know that some magicians can augment their spellcasting by quickly analyzing the mathematical constants that bind reality together, or that if the stars are in the right alignment certain types of magic are more potent than normal.

As much as we wanted to reveal a lot of the hidden truths behind some of Golarion's longest standing mysteries (Why did the gnomes leave the First World? Who created the multiverse? What's the deal with the Aucturn Enigma countdown clocks in Osirion?) we also wanted to maintain the mystery that has inspired players, GMs, and ourselves and our writers to use these mysteries as jumping-off points in their own adventures. Thus, we made sure that every answer we provided left another (sometimes several) in its place.

Subscribers have already started getting their copies of Occult Mysteries, and the discussions about what reveals they're most excited about and what questions these revelations have raised are exactly what we'd hoped for. Make sure you pick up a copy of Occult Mysteries and see what lies hidden just below the surface of the Pathfinder campaign setting.

Illustrations by Helge C. Balzer and Dmitry Burmak

Mark Moreland
Developer

Boar and Rabbit

by James L. Sutter

Chapter Three: The Freedom of the Dead

A contingent of horse warriors escorted Roshad back to the city, following at a respectful distance but doing nothing to disguise their presence. At the Gate of Winds, they finally closed and encircled him, not moving until he dismounted and handed back the reins of the horse he'd stolen in his flight. Then they turned and rode back north without saying a word.

Which was just fine with Roshad. He had the feeling that if they'd said anything, he would have burned them all where they sat, and promises to Bors be damned.

But then, did a promise to Bors mean anything anymore? It certainly didn't seem that the horse prince had much regard for the words they'd whispered in beds and barrooms, on rooftops under the moon.

And should I be surprised? After all, who was Roshad to lay claim to the heir to the Horse Throne?

Roshad passed through the city gates without incident, though without Bors at his side the gray wrappings and loose chain around his waist drew stares. After a moment he removed the chain from his collar and coiled it over his shoulder.

Before him, Ular Kel, greatest city of Karazh, rolled out its majesty. The slope from north to south lent him a god's-eye view of the sea of rooftops. From here, he could see the grand crossroads that gave the Caravan City its life, each of the four great gates birthing roads that would take him places he knew only from stories: Avistan. Garund. The great Castrovin Sea. All his life, he had longed to set foot on those roads, to follow them to the mysteries at their ends. Yet the knowledge of what he was—a citified street-rat with an inconveniently sharp tongue and only half a knack for magic—had always kept him here.

Until Bors. Bors, who hadn't laughed at his dreams but shared them. Who had followed him into his filthy haunts and hidey-holes, stolen with him, learned the language of the streets. And who had told him all about life on the steppe, the sunsets over fields of grass stretching on without end, where a man could ride for days and never see another soul. Bors, who had dreamed them a life beyond Ular Kel.

And now he was gone.

Bors isn't one to mince words.

Roshad screamed, startling a procession of shaven-headed priests. He ignored them and sprinted flat-out at a cart filled with dawn melons. One foot caught the wheel, the other the cart's side, and then he was airborne and pulling himself up onto a stone-carver's awning. He made a short jump to a window, startling the woman cooking flatbread inside, then swung up onto the roof.

He ran, not caring where he went, just needing to move. He hurtled over gaps that would normally have given him pause, sometimes dropping half a story to lower roofs, tucking into a roll to distribute the impact. He didn't bother with magic, free climbing up the mud-brick walls with only his hands and feet.

He was nearing the center of the city, the grand market where the caravan routes met. Above him rose the city's great landmarks, guiding him in. There were the Water Houses, the fortress-cisterns of the Water Lords who owned the city, their life-giving aqueducts stretching out like spiderwebs. And there was the Spire of Azi, a thin needle of gold stabbing into the sky, where mystics blinded themselves staring at the sun in an effort to understand Sarenrae's divine will.

And then he saw where his path had led him. Roshad didn't fight it, just let the momentum carry him across the ledge and down through the window.

Into stillness. Silence. Sunbeams caught motes of dust, yet nothing else moved in the little apartment.

Apartment, hell—it was nothing but a squat, and Roshad knew he shouldn't kid himself. A pallet on the floor. A lantern. A few buckets and a screen for privacy. Most importantly, a door that had been boarded up by its landlord after the Ghost Plague and never unsealed.

And just like that, the frantic energy left him. Roshad ripped the veil from his face—what was the point, now?—and collapsed onto the pallet. He pulled the ragged blanket into a puddle and buried his face in it, shutting out the light.

No relief there. The cloth was heady with the smell of Bors, the sweet stink of man and horse. It invaded Roshad's silence, until finally he cast it away and rolled onto his back, staring at the cracked ceiling.

Why? How, after all this time—after so many stolen afternoons, the constant game of excuses and evasions—how could Bors look at him and say it was over?

Roshad understood, of course. It was to protect Roshad. Bors wasn't one for idle threats, and Roshad doubted very much that the hakan of the horse tribes was any better. No, Bors knew that if he didn't accede to his father's demands, the hakan would simply have Roshad killed.

If that was it, they could have worked with that—played along until the hakan let his guard down, then made one last escape. But that wasn't what Roshad had seen in Bors's eyes. In that canvas-topped throne room, Bors had understood that they had never really fooled his father, and that any attempt at subterfuge would just result in Roshad's death. If he wanted to save Roshad's life, he had to say goodbye.

And he had to mean it.

Roshad reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes, and the coiled chain dug painfully into his shoulder. He pulled it off and let it run through his fingers, clicking off links like prayer beads.

Tomorrow at dawn, Bors would be married. Roshad could close his eyes and picture it: The open tent, the slit palms mingling blood. The tying of the cloth. And as soon as it was done, Bors's father would push him into the challenge, making him draw the wooden Succession Sword and fight for leadership of the tribe. The older man was eager to pass his burden and secure the tribe's future, and that meant Bors.

The future. Did Roshad even have a future, without Bors? He could ride out with the next caravan, but what was the point? In his heart, he'd still be here. Chain links bit into his palm as his fists clenched.

Be the chain. That's what they'd sworn, watching the Iridian Fold men in the darkness. To be one mind, one spirit. Without Bors, Roshad might as well be dead.

Slowly, damp cheeks twisted into a smile.

If he was already dead, then what did he have to lose?

∗ ∗ ∗

The sun was still below the horizon, but already the grasses of the steppe were lightening, waving in the breeze. Ahead, the nomad camp was just beginning to stir, the silence of sleep broken by the snort of horses, the flap of canvas, and the small sounds of cookfires being kindled.

There was little cover out here, save for the long grass. Roshad crouched low and moved as quickly as he could. Once in the shadows of the first few tents, he straightened and began walking normally. A half-repaired saddle sitting unattended near one of the tents caught his eye, and he hoisted it onto his shoulder. Better and better.

He felt naked, walking with his face exposed like this, but the veil and grays would have been an instant giveaway. Instead, he wore one of the long caftans the nomads called deels, a patchy fur jacket, and a small satchel—all dull, threadbare, and purchased for three times their value from an ex-nomad back in the city. Roshad's blue eyes might still give him away if anyone looked closely—such things were rare among the horse tribes—but he hoped the predawn shadows would hide them for now.

Long before Roshad had begun to discover sorcery, life on the streets had taught him an even more fundamental magic trick: walk with purpose—preferably with a uniform or artisan's tools—and you can go anywhere. A tradesman at work is invisible, beneath the notice of all but children.

So he walked, carrying his broken saddle, past old women boiling water and the tent-muffled sounds of waking. In moments, he was standing before the curtain wall ringing the Trade Palace.

Here the easy part ended. At the break in the wall stood an armed guard. Beyond him, the grounds were busier than the rest of the camp, with workers passing to and fro. On the right side of the palace, Roshad could see people constructing a large tent over a raised platform and altar.

The wedding pavilion. Roshad ground his teeth, but there was no time to think about that now. He could haul himself up and over the wall in an eyeblink—no doubt the horse tribes considered any wall tall enough to stop cavalry sufficient defense—but that would attract too much attention. Instead, he approached the guard. "You! Can you return this saddle for me?"

The guard eyed him suspiciously. "What?"

"This saddle." Roshad tossed the thing on the ground at the man's feet. As the guard's gaze followed it, Roshad quickly twisted his hand into the correct gesture and coughed to cover the final words of the incantation.

The man's face changed. Suspicion drained away like water, replaced by a round-cheeked smile. "I know you, don't I?"

Roshad smiled back. "Of course you do. We rode down those horse thieves two years back." He took in the bags under the man's eyes, the flushed skin. "Don't tell me you drank so much at the celebration that you forgot me?"

"Me? Drink too much? You sound like my wife!" The man laughed, then looked down at the saddle. His smile turned to a look of genuine apology. "I'm sorry, though—I can't leave my post."

"Still as lazy as ever, I see. Fair enough—just let me past, then, hey?"

The guard looked uncertain. "I don't know if—"

"Damn it, man!" Roshad jabbed a finger at the saddle. "If I don't return this to the prince before the wedding, who knows when he'll find time to pay me? I'll be eating grass with the horses."

"Well..."

"Besides, we're all going to be in here once the sun rises anyway. The only difference is that other people will have had time to dress properly, while I'll look like a half-plucked chicken."

The guard made up his mind. "Fine, but be quick about it. And you owe me a drink."

"Done." Roshad picked up the saddle and slapped the man on the back. "Where are the prince's quarters?"

The guard pointed to the side of the palace opposite the wedding construction. "Around the back there. Second story, I think."

Roshad grunted appreciatively and took up the saddle again, then walked quickly through the bustle.

No point trying for the main doors—inside the fortress there'd be too many people for a simple charm spell to be effective, and the servants in charge of the wedding preparations would be too likely to know who was supposed to be where. That left the direct approach.

Roshad reached the indicated spot. Here on the western side of the palace, the shadows were still long.

Perfect. Roshad dropped the saddle, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then cast the spell. There was no outward effect, but as he touched the stone he felt the effortless security of his hold. Reaching up, he began to climb.

This part of the palace was fully stone, with no canvas anywhere. At the first set of windows, arched and glassless, Roshad paused and peeked through, moving his head slowly so as not to attract attention. Below him, men and women bustled about kneading dough and using paddles to move pastries in and out of a great stone oven. Roshad's spirits rose—royal quarters would of course be near the kitchen chimneys for easy heating on cold nights.

He kept climbing. The second set of windows was almost at the top of the wall. Once more, he peeked through.

Bors stood in an opulent bedchamber, its stone hung with tapestries depicting herds of horses and branching royal lineages. He was dressed in his usual armor, but it had been polished to a mirror shine and augmented with a bright red sash. A brilliant yellow armband embroidered with a horse sigil wrapped around his right bicep, and his huge two-handed sword stood scabbarded against the wall, a smaller but intricately carved wooden practice sword thrust through his sash instead. His helmet was off, and he was leaning on a table with both hands, staring into a large oval mirror.

Roshad slipped silently through the window, then stopped, uncertain. Up until this moment, he'd been filled with purpose, but now, seeing Bors...

Bors turned slowly, casually, and gave Roshad a sad smile.

"What took you so long?"

Want more Bors and Roshad?

Read the first two chapters of "Boar and Rabbit" here and here, or check out their further adventures in the new novel The Redemption Engine!

Coming Next Week: A wedding in blood in Chapter Four of James L. Sutter's "Boar and Rabbit"!

James L. Sutter is the Managing Editor for Paizo Publishing and a co-creator of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. He is the author of the Pathfinder Tales novels Death's Heretic and The Redemption Engine, the former of which was #3 on Barnes & Noble's list of the Best Fantasy Releases of 2011 and a finalist for the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. He's written short stories for such publications as Escape Pod, Apex Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death. His anthology Before They Were Giants pairs the first published short stories of science fiction luminaries with new interviews and writing advice from the authors themselves. In addition, he's published a wealth of gaming material for both Dungeons & Dragons and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, including such fan-favorite Pathfinder Campaign Setting books as Distant Worlds and City of Strangers. For more information, check out jameslsutter.com or follow him on Twitter at @jameslsutter.

Illustration by Eric Belisle

The Fight for the Gauntlet Rages On!

Monday, May 12, 2014

I can truly say that the team was astounded when you helped us raise over $2000 in a single day for The Gauntlet charity tournament event coming up on May 18th. With that, we have earned a number of "power ups" that are going to help us in the tournament to claim The Gauntlet. Alas, the fight is not over yet!

In the past few days, we've seen our competition enter the fray, getting a mountain of donations. One in particular, has surged past us! While we commend them for helping to raise money for Child's Play, we still want to beat them and show that Paizo fans are some of the most awesome and charitable fans in the world!

To that end, we've decided to announce some special goals, to help raise some more money for this event! If we raise the following totals, we will unlock the goals and give everyone some awesome rewards! Check out these exciting funding goals!

• $3,000—Caveman Reward: In honor of Ugg-tect, one of the games we will be playing in which the participants are caveman architects, we will put together a free PDF of a "caveman" humanoid race for use in your Pathfinder games.
• $4,000—Card Game Reward: We will release a PDF featuring the Gauntlet team members as new Ally cards compatible with the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.
• $5,000—Audio Reward: We will put together a "dramatic reading" of a chapter from one of our Pathfinder Tales novels, featuring members of the Paizo staff as the characters.

In addition to these great rewards, at $2,500, $3,500 and every $1,000 dollars thereafter I will post up some tantalizing spoilers from the upcoming Advanced Class Guide right here in the thread associated with this blog post! Expect to see those shortly after we reach each goal. The bigger rewards will take a little bit of time for us to put together (especially the Audio Reward), but you should expect them in the coming weeks.

The Gauntlet event is this Sunday, May 18th, starting at around 3pm PST. We've learned you will be able to watch the event live on Twitch.tv and take part in some truly awesome auctions during the event. We hope that you tune in and cheer us on through the chat and social media. Thanks again for donating and proving that Paizo has some of the best fans in the world!

Click here to donate and make sure to put "For Paizo" in the comment line so that your donation goes to our team!

Pathfinder Battles Preview: Lost & Found

Friday, May 9, 2014

With the Reign of Winter set scheduled for release next month and the last three figures from that set being previewed last Friday, it's time for a very special event here on the Friday preview blog—it's time to reveal the next set!

I'm very pleased to announce that the next set of Pathfinder Battles prepainted plastic gaming figures will be The Lost Coast! The Lost Coast of Varisia stretches from the city of Magnimar to the mighty Fogscar Mountains. It's a wild and desolate country full of lingering fogs, small woodlands and crashing waves. It's also a land of cultists and bandits and monsters of all description. Many an adventuring party has travelled to the Lost Coast seeking fame and riches, never to be heard from again...

The Lost Coast set contains 45 figures, and is scheduled for a November 2014 release. The set is not based on a specific Pathfinder Adventure Path, like Reign of Winter or Wrath of the Righteous. Rather, the creatures in this set take their inspiration from the wealth of Pathfinder products released to date, with a special focus on creatures native to Varisia, home of several of our Adventure Paths and some of our most popular releases across all our product lines.

Expect to see a wide variety of monsters, heroes, and humanoids culled from these sources. We'll fill in some gaps for encounters based on existing Pathfinder Battles figures, and flesh out some entirely new monster types we have not yet produced in the line.

I'm very excited by this set. For the first time in a long time, we were able to build an entire set around simply which creatures and images would look coolest, and which would be useful to the largest number of players. Adventure Path-themed sets are great and lead to some really unique figures that we otherwise would probably not do, but with sets like The Lost Coast, it all comes down to table use and illustration quality, period.

Oh, and the Gargantuan case incentive, the mighty Shemhazian Demon, is face-meltingly awesome. I don't want to spoil things by bragging about it before we show the image (which isn't quite ready yet), but you guys are going to freak out when you see this hideous creature. It's the biggest—and heaviest—Pathfinder Battles figure produced to date. Given that people have been asking for this creature since our second set, Rise of the Runelords, I am happy to finally provide it.

But, as I am wont to do, I'm getting ahead of myself. The Shemhazian will get his place in the spotlight in due time. In the meantime, let's take a look at three of the set's "troop builder" units—the Cult of Lamashtu.

Here we have a Lamashtu Cultist, inspired by the art from the first 12 issues of Dynamite Entertainment's Pathfinder Comics. The cultist is depicted holding a bubbling cup of magical liquid—the mystical waters of Lamashtu so pivotal to that series and to events in the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path. This figure in particular is drawn from art by original Pathfinder comics illustrator Andrew Huerta, so the face in particular is a little more expressive than in several of our other figures. I love it. This guy is definitely unhinged. The Lamashtu Cultist is a Medium, common figure.

A cultist ain't nothing without some muscle to back him up. This set contains two examples of the sort of armed scum that make a cult work. Lamashtu Thug 1 is good for up-close work with a couple of nasty daggers and a domino mask, just as we saw in Pathfinder Comics #7–8. As a Medium common, you can combine this figure with the other minis in today's preview to build a really sweet battle against agents of the cult of Lamashtu. For that matter, this guy easily doubles as a bandit, highwayman, or even a masked player character.

Lamashtu Thug 2, here, is ready to back up his team with his trusty crossbow. His colors match the robes of his companions. There's a bit of wash-out on the photos here that makes the robes look a little less detailed than they do in hand. When all three of these guys stand together they look really imposing and awesome. The Lamashtu Thug 2 is a Medium, common figure.

And that's not all. The set also includes a few other figures that work in concert with the Lamashtu cultists, including leaders and monsters—but we'll get to them in future weeks, as their paint masters have not yet been completed.

As I mentioned, these figures take their inspiration from Dynamite's Pathfinder Comics. We're about to start up a new Pathfinder comic series, Pathfinder: City of Secrets, which brings the iconic characters to the city of Magnimar (on the Lost Coast, naturally). All issues of the new series contain detachable poster maps, and the first one comes out in just a week and a half, on Wednesday May 21st. You can set up an ongoing subscription to the comic to make sure you don't miss a single issue. With a hot new artist, poster maps and Pathfinder RPG encounters in each issue, and a fun urban storyline, I expect the new series to sell well and rapidly. Make sure you don't miss out!

That's it for this week. We'll have much, much more to say on this set and many more figures to preview in the weeks to come!

We'll see you on the Lost Coast!

Erik Mona
Publisher

In Seattle? Come to The Redemption Engine Signing!

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Illustration by Craig J Spearing

Will you be in Seattle on Friday, May 9th? If so, come by the University of Washington Bookstore and help us celebrate the release of The Redemption Engine, the new Pathfinder Tales novel by Paizo Managing Editor James L. Sutter! Things will start at 7:00pm sharp with a short reading, followed by a question and answer session and the signing of books (or whatever else you want to put in front of Sutter—he'd probably sign your burrito if you asked him to).

There's no cover charge or need to buy a book, so stop by and say hello, or stay for the whole thing!

• Where: The University of Washington Bookstore (4326 University Way, Seattle)
• When: 7:00pm on Friday, May 9th
• Why: Because we'd love to see you there!

Boar and Rabbit

by James L. Sutter

Chapter Two: Child of the Horse King

Bors stepped between Roshad and the warriors. "This man is no thief, Erzhan. I go with him of my own free will."

The captain—Erzhan, presumably—chuckled without humor. "This sorcerer has cast a spell on you, my prince. Your father warned us of as much."

Bors glared. "Do I look enchanted to you?"

"Running off with some street thief? Abandoning your tribe?" Erzhan snorted. Roshad got the feeling the man did that a lot. "But it doesn't matter what I think. Your father tasked us with bringing you back, and that's what we're doing."

"Not while I live!" Roshad stepped out from behind Bors's armored bulk.

Erzhan shrugged. "That was always an option." He turned to his archers.

Metal sang as Bors's sword flew free from its sheath. In three steps he was across the intervening distance, the long, straight blade hovering still and horizontal an inch from Erzhan's throat. The captain blanched.

Bors's voice was the rumble of a distant storm. "You overreach yourself, Captain." He lifted his gaze to the other warriors. "If any of you touch this man behind me, you die. Either here, by my blade, or dragged by your heels across the stones of the steppes until your own mothers won't recognize you. I will not repeat myself."

There was a tense pause, and then bows lowered and hands moved from hilts. Heads bowed.

"Good." Bors looked down at the captain. "And you, Erzhan?"

Erzhan was sweating from more than just heat now, but he managed to keep his voice from cracking. "All respect, my prince, but you're not hakan yet. Your father still holds the Horse Throne. And it's from his lips that this order came. We must bring you back or die in the attempt."

"I know which option I prefer," Roshad suggested.

Bors didn't answer, just stared expressionlessly down at the soldier. At last he stepped back and sheathed his sword.

"Then you'll bring us back," he said. "Both of us."

∗ ∗ ∗

They rode north from the Gate of Winds, the red sandstone walls of Karazh's capital shrinking rapidly behind them. Ahead, the steppe rolled off into eternity, the bunching hills like waves, giving the Grass Sea its name. It was still early summer, and everywhere was a carpet of green.

They road in silence, Bors and Roshad riding double on a mare commandeered from one of the warriors. Beneath his veils, Roshad did his best to match Bors's calm, to give nothing away to their captors, but inside his emotions roiled. All he'd ever wanted was to ride away from the city with Bors's arms locked tight around him, but not like this. Never like this.

The road curved around a low hill, and the camp came into view. Hundreds of tents and round-walled gers spread back through the shallow valley, their white felt walls gleaming. Long streams of colorful pennants flapped from every roof's apex like helmet plumes.

Between them moved horses—whole herds of them, of every color and description. Many were in use by the tribespeople, being groomed or trained or used to haul goods, but still more wandered seemingly unattended. Several came to investigate the new arrivals, and Roshad watched in fascination as the soldiers nodded to the animals as if they were sentries.

No one dismounted as they rode through the settlement. Several curious onlookers—humans, this time—stopped what they were doing to watch the procession, and Roshad felt their eyes on him. Bors's armor was similar enough to the soldiers' that he likely wouldn't have attracted attention even if these hadn't been his people, but Roshad's face-veil and wrappings were unmistakable. Even backwater nomads knew about the Iridian Fold. He searched the watching eyes for judgment, but found only that expressionless regard that so infuriated him on Bors.

In the center of the encampment, a small stone curtain wall six feet high marked the edge of the smaller tents and the beginning of a large ring of open space, bare save for the ubiquitous wandering horses. In its center stood a structure that Roshad couldn't properly call a tent, or even a pavilion. Walls of stone twenty feet high were capped by conical felt roofs, and smaller fabric outbuildings clustered around its sides in an amorphous explosion of canvas.

Erzhan must have caught his widened eyes, because he snickered. "Like that, city man? A gift from your Water Lords, who know how to pay proper respect to the horse tribes." He dismounted.

Bors and Roshad followed suit. Several of the soldiers looked like they might take hold of the prisoners, but Bors's glare drove them back, and they settled for spreading out ahead of and behind them. Erzhan took the lead, speaking to the two guards at the front door, who saluted with fists to chests and stood aside.

Inside, Roshad couldn't help but rubberneck. The hall they walked through might have been in any conventional castle or fortress, yet while some arches led off to similar corridors, others led into canvas tent-rooms, or simply out onto open grass, without so much as an awning.

"The Trade Palace is shared by all the horse tribes," Bors murmured. "The stone foundation came from the city, but your lords knew better than to presume what the tribes desire, or to build to any single han's specifications—even my father's. Whichever tribe resides here completes it as it sees fit, then breaks it down when they move on."

Roshad only nodded.

The corridor ended in a set of bronze doors, each embossed with a rearing stallion. Two more guards stood at attention there, but before Erzhan could speak, they caught sight of Bors and swung the doors wide.

Roshad expected a great hall, tall and dourly majestic, or perhaps a cushioned seraglio. Instead, he found himself in a tent—a stone-floored one, to be sure, but still little more than a larger version of the gers they'd passed on the way in. One wall was open, its canvas drawn back like curtains to reveal the sunlit grass of a parade ground where several people were at work training horses.

A wooden throne stood on a raised platform against the far wall, its arms and back carved into the shapes of horses. A man sat on that chair, facing out at the training yard. As the warriors entered, he turned.

Roshad froze, and might have taken a step back if not for Bors's hand on his arm.

The man on the chair was tall, his armor like Bors's but richer, the lacquered scales a deep burgundy. Stylized horseheads adorned the steel bracers on his forearms and the clasp that held the long fur mantle over his shoulders. Twin axes lay crossed in his lap, yet none of these were what took Roshad aback.

The face he turned to them was steel, molded into the long moustaches and beard of a patriarch. It extended from his conical helm down to his chin, where it met the chain coif around his neck. It was polished mirror-bright, turning the holes for his eyes into darkened pits.

A litchina. Gods above. Bors had shown Roshad his own war mask once, the smooth lines modeled on his own expressionless face. He carried it everywhere, but Roshad had never seen him wear it, as a Horse King wearing his litchina meant one thing, and one thing only.

He was ready to kill.

Hakan Temir Kaskyrbai stood, taking an axe in each hand. The steel-encased head nodded minutely, and the soldiers who had surrounded Bors and Roshad stepped back.

The hakan knows the price of the throne.

"So," the hakan said. "This is the man who would steal my kingdom."

Roshad groped frantically for a response, but Bors squeezed his arm warningly and spoke instead. "He steals nothing, Father."

"Doesn't he?" One axe rose to point at them. "I see a thief who would break my line, who would see the greatest of the tribes fall to internal bickering, and let some lesser han take the Horse Throne. And you, my only son," the axe head drew a line between them, "you chain yourself to him like a dog on a leash."

"Watch your words." Bors's tone was suddenly as hard as the hakan's, his face a mask of its own. "You are my lord and father, and I honor you with every breath, but you will not insult me again, nor the man that I've chosen."

A laugh, ringing behind steel. "Or what? You'll draw your sword and strike me down, here in the heart of the Trade Palace?" The hakan laughed again, but this time it sounded to Roshad like the mockery was turned inward. "Split hooves, boy, isn't that all I've ever asked?"

The hakan seated himself once more on the wooden throne. He waved one of the axes dismissively. "Leave us. And send in Ulzhan." Roshad started to turn, and the axe shot forward. "Not you."

A moment later, the three of them were alone, save for the trainers continuing unperturbed on the far grass. The metal face regarded Bors and Roshad silently for a long moment, and Roshad suddenly understood at a visceral level why the Horse Kings wore the litchinas. That blank, expressionless stare was more terrifying than any grimace or battle cry.

"The Iridian Fold," the hakan said at last.

"It's a noble calling," Bors said. "You've said so yourself, when Koshkin left to join them."

The hakan nodded. "So it is. And you think that matters?"

The question caught Bors short. "But—"

"How many great tribes are there, Bors?"

"Thirteen."

"And which is the greatest?"

"Kaskyrbai. The wolves of the steppe."

The hakan nodded. "You've known that all your life, haven't you?"

"Of course."

"And that's the problem." The hakan took both axes and set them down on the arm of the throne. "You're young, Bors. You've been raised as heir to the greatest of the tribes, but you didn't watch what your grandfather—my father—had to do to take the Horse Throne. I grew up in the middle of it, the blood and shit that coated the steppes. The hans of the other great tribe are as proud as us, boy. They cede us respect because they have to. Because I've kept us strong. But if we show any weakness, they'll slaughter us. And then they'll slaughter each other, until the last one to fall from his saddle and land on this wooden chair can call himself hakan."

Someone pounded once on the bronze doors, and the hakan looked up. "Enter."

The doors opened, and a woman stepped through. She was big—only a few inches shorter than Bors himself—and wore armor of brown and gray, topped by a fur-lined helm. A huge sheath on her back held a recurve bow, and a longsword swung at her waist. She spared Bors and Roshad only the briefest of glances as she stalked past and knelt at the foot of the platform. "Hakan."

"Rise, Ulzhan." The hakan gestured for her to ascend and take up a position next to the throne, and now Roshad felt the frank appraisal in her gaze. He was momentarily glad for his veil—he could never have matched the expressionlessness of these damned nomads.

The hakan spoke. "What's your name, city-man?"

"Roshad, lord."

"Roshad what?"

"Just Roshad."

The steel face bobbed agreeably.

"And are you perhaps the son of a Water Lord, Roshad? Or maybe a prince of the East with a thousand camels in your caravan? No, wait—you're the sixth reincarnation of Sogys Taramai, here to lead us all off the steppe and into the Land of No Winters."

Roshad felt his face burn, and only Bors's grip on his arm and the knowledge of a thousand horse warriors in the surrounding camp kept him from spreading his fingers and letting the fire flow, torching the old man with the metal face and the stupid, flammable throne.

Bors's voice was quiet. "I love him, Father. And he loves me."

"And I love you, boy." The hakan shook his head. "Which is why I'm giving you the chance to save his life."

"What?" Roshad and Bors spoke in unison. Even as the shock coursed through him, some small part of Roshad smiled to see how quickly he and his szerik were growing together.

The hakan waved at the warrior next to him. "You've known Ulzhan since you were a child, Bors. Her father was the greatest captain I ever had, and already she's nearly matched him—with the horses, with the bow, and as a combat leader."

The woman inclined her head slightly at the praise.

No wonder she's good with horses, Roshad thought, she's got the face of one. But of course that was just his anger speaking. In truth, the woman was unremarkable, save for her size and the way she stood like a crouching lion, ready to pounce.

"Tomorrow at dawn, you will slit palms and marry Ulzhan, binding your blood with hers. Then you'll take up the Succession Sword and strike me down. Together, with me to advise you, you and she will lead our tribe to greatness."

"And if I refuse?"

The hakan picked up one of his axes and pounded twice on the platform with its haft. Suddenly the doors were open, and the room was full of dark-eyed steppe warriors.

"Then your city-man dies, and you marry her anyway."

"Bors!" Roshad grabbed tight to the man's arm, but his szerik paid him no attention. The bigger man's gaze was fixed on the hakan.

"I was born to be hakan," Bors said. "And you would make me a slave."

"All kings are slaves." The hakan sighed, then reached up and pulled off his litchina. The man beneath it was surprisingly young—no more than twenty years older than Bors, with plenty of black still in his long mustaches. He had the face of a hard man, yet the gaze that met Bors's was strangely soft.

"We both knew this was coming, Bors. I'm glad you found love, and I let you play as long as I could. But it's time to grow up."

Bors said nothing. The silence carried.

Roshad ran frantically through escape scenarios. Fire, that was good—fire scared people, called out to the animal instincts in them. He'd flame the old bastard—or better yet, the tent canopy above them, set the whole palace on fire. While the soldiers scrambled to put it out, he and Bors would race out the open side-wall, leap onto the horses that were being trained, then gallop through the camp and back to the city before anyone could stop them. Once there, they could hole up until a suitably large caravan was leaving the city, then—

Bors reached up to his chest and disconnected the chain, handing the end back to Roshad.

Roshad did his best not to grin beneath his veil. He and Bors only removed their chain when they were about to pull a particularly tricky stunt. He readied the spell.

"It's over, Roshad."

Roshad looked up at Bors. The man wasn't reaching for his sword. He wasn't tensing to move. Just looking down at him, mouth drawn tight. "What?"

"He's right. This time that we've had... I would have loved to be your szerik. But I have to do this."

"Right. Of course." Roshad searched Bors's face, looking for something—anything. This had to be a diversion, to catch the soldiers off guard. Later, Bors would kiss his brow and apologize for having said such a thing, even as a front.

But Bors was shaking his head. "No tricks, Roshad. Not this time. The city is your world, and I love you for showing it to me. But this is mine."

Gods, could he actually mean it? Roshad's stomach lurched. "I won't leave you." Smoke began to rise from his clenched fists. "I'm not scared of them."

"This isn't about fear." Bors's face was the same mask as the others, but now his eyes, always so full of emotion and expression for Roshad, held something indecipherable. "If you ever loved me, you won't make anyone hurt you." He took Roshad's head in his hands, and leaned down, pulling their foreheads together.

"Go now, Rabbit. Please. For me."

Then he let go and stepped backward, becoming one with the mass of soldiers. A sea of blank faces stared back at Roshad.

"If he's still here in three breaths," the hakan said to his soldiers, "shoot him."

Then tears blurred the scene, and Roshad turned and fled.

Coming Next Week: Desperate measures in Chapter Three of James L. Sutter's "Boar and Rabbit"!

James L. Sutter is the Managing Editor for Paizo Publishing and a co-creator of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. He is the author of the Pathfinder Tales novels Death's Heretic and The Redemption Engine, the former of which was #3 on Barnes & Noble's list of the Best Fantasy Releases of 2011 and a finalist for the Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. He's written short stories for such publications as Escape Pod, Apex Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and the #1 Amazon best-seller Machine of Death. His anthology Before They Were Giants pairs the first published short stories of science fiction luminaries with new interviews and writing advice from the authors themselves. In addition, he's published a wealth of gaming material for both Dungeons & Dragons and the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, including such fan-favorite Pathfinder Campaign Setting books as Distant Worlds and City of Strangers. For more information, check out jameslsutter.com or follow him on Twitter at @jameslsutter.

Illustration by Eric Belisle

Help Paizo Take the Gauntlet

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

We here at Paizo take gaming seriously, and when we heard about an opportunity to play games for charity, we just could not resist. On May 18th, a four-member team of elite goblin commandos will descend upon Card Kingdom in Seattle to do battle with other teams for the right to claim The Gauntlet, a truly epic trophy made from an actual gauntlet. With foes like Bungie, GeekGirlCon, the Lady Planeswalkers, Wizards of the Coast, and Penny Arcade, we are going to be facing off against some serious opponents. That is where you come in. You can help us achieve victory for the goblin horde!

From now until May 18th, you can donate to the Child's Play charity, a great organization that donates toys and games to children in hospitals all around the world. Money that you donate can help the Paizo team earn "Power Ups" during the tournament, giving us the edge we need to win! Make sure to put "Donated to the Paizo team" in the comment box so it is applied to our team.

Ready to Donate? Follow this link!

We've got an exciting team of goblins ready to do battle in this event. We've been hunting horses and burning down villages for weeks in anticipation of this tournament (that will be an event right?). Here's a look at the Paizo team!

	Jason Bulmahn "The Giant" Lead Designer of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and overall troublemaker, Jason Bulmahn has been with Paizo since the days of Dragon and Dungeon magazines. Renowned among all the tribes, this massive goblin made a name for himself by devouring anybody who beat him at a game. He is also the only goblin with reach, which is pretty handy.
	Erik Mona "The Suit" Erik Mona is the Publisher at Paizo, a former editor of Dragon, Dungeon, and Polyhedron magazines, and a co-creator of the Pathfinder world. These days he spends more time on business than on games, but like any corporate mastermind, he can stab you in the back at a moment's notice, gaining the upper hand in any challenge. With a coat, vest, and tie, Mona swears to put his evil powers to good use in the vicious scrum for the Gauntlet. For charity. But most importantly, for the children.
	Jessica Price "The Whip" Jessica Price is the Project Manager at Paizo, where she keeps the wheels of progress turning. In former lives, she was a games writer at Microsoft Studios, an editor, an animated series showrunner, an alternate reality game designer, and other things that she may or may not admit to if you bribe her with chocolate. She plans to triumph in the Gauntlet—for the children, of course—through logic, skill, planning, and occasional devious manipulation, which should make it just like her day job.
	Stephen Radney-MacFarland "The Antipaladin" Stephen Radney-MacFarland is a designer at Paizo, where he regularly inserts more evil into everything he touches. When reached for comment, he just began to chant the following: "Burn 'em! Bite 'em! Cut ‘em to tiny bits! Long ago, someone told this goblin games were fun for everyone. That someone gone now. Games only fun for the one left standing!"

Thank you for donating to this great cause. For more information on The Gauntlet, go to their webpage at thegauntlet.me. We will be updating our progress through this blog and on facebook as we get closer to the event, but we need your help now to secure an edge! Donate Today!

Changing Seasons

Monday, May5, 2014

This time of year is always special. Just take a look outside. For those in the northern hemisphere—well, I can at least speak for the Seattle area—flowers are blooming, the sun is out (mostly), and the afternoons have been delightfully warm. Yes, it's clear that the seasons are changing. Spring? Summer? No, I'm referring to Pathfinder Society Organized Play!

The Year of the Demon is on the home stretch, and there are another six scenarios in the works to conclude the Pathfinder Society's expedition into the Worldwound to explore the dwarven Sky Citadel Jormurdun. The path to the dwarven ruins is fraught with danger, though, starting when misfortune strikes the Society's basecamp. With the PCs' help, I'm sure the Society will be able to embark with their motley crew of allies accumulated over the past year. That small army is going to come in handy in Pathfinder Society Scenario #5–24: Assault on the Wound, especially when the Pathfinders come face-to-face with a pair of villains who have long vexed the organization during Scenario #5–25: Vengeance at Sundered Crag.

All of that effort will pay off at Gen Con 2014 with the debut of Pathfinder Society Special: Legacy of the Stonelords, an exciting delve into Jormurdun with some delightful twists written by Mike Shel.

Elsewhere in the world, Aaqir al'Hakam has returned home to mourn the death of his mentor, but darker plots are afoot in Qadira. Meanwhile, agents in Mendev must save their fellows from the fires of misguided inquisition in Scenario #5–22: Scars of the Third Crusade, and back in Absalom, the Blakros family approaches the Society with word of a powerful artifact sought after by their mutual enemy. The problem is that the artifact is secreted away in shadowy Nidal, which the PCs visit in Scenario #5–23: Cairn of Shadows.

Finally, as an added bonus, we're including an extra Pathfinder Society Special this year: The Paths We Choose. Written by Tim Hitchcock, a veteran author of Gen Con Specials, The Paths We Choose explores each faction's choices over the previous season including ways in which the faction's goals, means, and motives are evolving based on player choices.

Expect product pages of these and the first three scenarios of Season 6 soon.

Happy gaming

John Compton
Developer

Pathfinder Battles Preview: The End of Winter

Friday, May 2, 2014

I don't know what the weather's like where you live, but I'm looking out my office window at a gorgeous, sunny 71-degree day that feels a lot like summer. The forecast calls for rain this weekend, but after two beautiful Spring weeks on vacation in France and the sun beating down on me for five days in a row here in Seattle (!), I'm ready to declare the end of the winter season for real!

That's convenient, because today also marks the final preview blog for Pathfinder Battles: Reign of Winter, the newest set of prepainted fantasy miniatures from Paizo and WizKids! The set supports our popular Reign of Winter Adventure Path, which puts the player characters in Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut as they venture across the worlds. That's given us the opportunity to include more weird monsters than in any previous set. And we have three left to reveal today!

Before we do so, however, I should deliver the news that the official release date for the Reign of Winter set has shifted back a bit due to international shipping from the factory. WizKids now has the set slated at a June 4 release. I do not expect that date to change again.

And now, on to the last three miniatures!

First up this week is the Centaur Scout, a great “troop builder” type of figure that works perfectly for a rank-and-file centaur. He comes from Pathfinder Adventure Path: Maiden, Mother, Crone, and works great in encounters with the set's other centaur, the Centaur Archer. The Centaur Scout is a Large, uncommon figure.

Brandon Hodge's adventure Rasputin Must Die! is the gift that keeps on giving as far as this set is concerned. Not only did it include a madcap concept that's come to define the world-hopping weirdness of entire Adventure Path, but it also included a ton of really great character and monster images that just begged to be turned into miniatures. This guy—a Russian vampire priest, basically—is one of my absolute favorites. WizKids did a great job on the figure's sunken eyes, which really jump out from what's otherwise a pretty simply painted figure. In the adventure, the Nosferatu Brother is one of three, which in part justifies his uncommon rarity. The Nosferatu Brother is a Medium figure.

Last up this week (and for the entire set!) is Zorka, a strange fey creature known as a kikimora. Kikimoras are house spirits, and this particular one inhabits Baba Yaga's Dancing Hut, where she serves as housekeeper. The look of this figure was simply too insane not to include, especially since folks have been asking for more fey. Definitely one of the weirdest monsters we've published, let alone made a miniature of, Zorka is a Medium, rare figure.

And that's it for the Reign of Winter set! Tune in next week for the big reveal of the next set, as well as a look at some of its coolest miniatures.

Please consider setting up an ongoing Pathfinder Battles Case Subscription to make sure that you don't miss a single figure. We've recently revised the discounts and benefits offered to subscribers, so I'm certain you'll find it worthwhile to see if it makes sense for you and your collection.

See you next week!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Goblins Ahoy!

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Obviously we're not the only ones with pirate goblins on the brain! While we've been putting the final touches on Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Skull & Shackles, Pathfinder reader Jason A. Legg put together this awesome papercraft diorama. Check out the amazing detail on the little kobolds defenders, the goblin invaders, the bamboo field, and the shaman's fearsome dragon magic!

Thanks a ton Jason! The whole raiding party has found a proud home in Boss Lady Lisa's office.

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief