Pathfinder RPG Open Call for Pathfinder Society Organized Play

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Hello and welcome to the first installment of the Pathfinder Society scenario open call using the new Pathfinder RPG rules! Most months we'll open one of our Pathfinder Society scenarios to you, the general public, to search for new authors and new ideas for use in Paizo's worldwide organized play campaign. We're looking for authors who have a clear and concise writing style, who have solid and creative ideas for adventures, and who are capable in every way of following instructions and meeting deadlines. And while we're seeking new authors through this process, we certainly encourage previously published authors to participate as well.

As always, keep the following guidelines in mind when submitting:

1. Don't break our world. If you submit something that breaks part of our world, it'll be auto-rejected. The scenarios are 4-hour adventures—epic story arcs, world-shattering events, wars, mass famine, etc. don't have a place in them.

2. Understand Pathfinder Society Organized Play before you submit. Specifically, understand that the Pathfinder Society is an organization of vagabond scholars, thrill-seeking treasure hunters, and extreme explorers. They are not necessarily the "good guys," they don't get "hired" for their adventures, and they're not generally looking to make the world a better place. Submitting generic 3.5 "save the day" adventure ideas will decrease your chances of getting to write one. There are plenty of resources out there to give you a feel for the Society: the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play, Pathfinder #1, and the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting all have information on the Pathfinder Society.

3. Read one or two scenarios before submitting (particularly 29 through 32).

4. Pathfinder Society Scenarios must be no more offensive than PG-13. Scenarios are played in public at public settings and children will be playing them. Submissions that include violence toward children will be auto-rejected.

5. This is not a contest. This is more like an interview for a job—you're showing me your best idea and I'm deciding if the combination of your idea and writing skill equals you being selected as our next scenario author. We need authors—not winners. And I really want to stress the author part of that. Only send me your best work that is reflective of your writing style. I can teach someone the rules system—I can't teach someone to write.

6. I don't have time to return every submission with feedback. Feel free to post your rejected proposals to the Pathfinder Society messageboards for peer review. For those of you not submitting, please give feedback to those who do and are rejected.

7. Lastly, I posted some general feedback on recent submissions here. Please read that thread before submitting.

Rules for submitting Pathfinder Society scenario outlines are as follows:

1. Based on the guidelines for the current round, write a 750-word outline that includes the following:

a. A title (if necessary, some times they are already titled)
b. A brief introduction that acts as a prologue for the scenario
c. A brief summary of how the PCs proceed through each encounter
d. A brief summary of each encounter—minimum six encounters with one encounter detailed as optional
e. A brief conclusion—what happens if the PCs fail or succeed

2. By the due date, email your outline to josh@paizo.com with the subject line SCENARIO NAME_SCENARIO#_ YOURLASTNAME. Your summary must be in a MS Word document, or a Plain Text or Rich Text Format file—these are files ending in .doc, .txt, or .rtf. Your file must be titled SCENARIO NAME_SCENARIO#_LAST NAME, i.e., PerilsofthePiratePact_17_Dayon.

3. Include your full legal name, email address, physical mailing address, and a contact phone number at the top of your submission—this text does not count toward your word count.

4. Please allow 72 hours for a response before resending your submission.

The current open call is for Pathfinder Society scenario 43—one of the February 2010 releases. The full schedule for this submission period is as follows:

  • 9/17/09—Open call begins
  • 10/2/09—Submissions due by 11:59 P.M. Pacific Time
  • 10/12/09 through 10/16/09—Submissions review completed—selections and rejections notified

Guidelines

**SPOILER ALERT: Do not read the guidelines below if you wish to avoid spoilers for upcoming scenarios.**

Pathfinder Society Scenario 43
Title: none; up to the author
Setting: Falcon's Hollow, Andoran
Level Range: Tier 1–7; Tiers 1–2, 3–4, and 6–7

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

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Tags: Open Call Pathfinder Society
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