Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Preview #3

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is set to release on August 13th, 2009, and in anticipation, we are releasing a preview of the game each week until the game hits store shelves. This week, we are taking a look at Seoni, the iconic sorcerer.

Seoni
Female human sorcerer 10
Init +2; Senses Perception +11
Defense
AC 23, touch 15, flat-footed 20; (+4 armor, +2 deflection, +2 Dex, +1 dodge, +4 shield)
hp 57 (10d6+20)
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +12
DR 10/adamantine
Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee staff of fire +4 (1d6–1)
Ranged ray +7 (by spell)
Special Attacks metamagic adept (2/day)
Spells Known (CL 10th)
5th (4/day)—cone of cold (DC 22)
4th (6/day, 5 remaining)—dimension door, ice storm, stoneskin, wall of fire
3rd (7/day)—dispel magic, fly, haste, lightning bolt (DC 20)
2nd (7/day, 6 remaining)—invisibility, mirror image, resist energy, scorching ray, web (DC 17)
1st (8/day, 7 remaining)—burning hands (DC 18), enlarge person, identify, mage armor, magic missile, shield
0 (at will)—acid splash, arcane mark, daze (DC 15), detect magic, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, ray of frost, read magic
Statistics Str 8, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 20
Base Atk +5; CMB +4; CMD 19
Feats Alertness (from familiar), Dodge, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Greater Spell Focus (evocation), Quicken Spell, Spell Focus (evocation), Spell Penetration, Still Spell
Skills Bluff +14, Climb +2, Fly +11 (+16 using fly), Knowledge (local) +9, Perception +11, Spellcraft +9
Languages Common
SQ arcane bloodline, arcane bond (familiar, lizard), bloodline arcana (+1 DC to metamagic spells)
Combat Gear lesser metamagic rod of empower, potion of cure serious wounds (2), scroll of greater dispel magic, scroll of wall of force; Other Gear cloak of resistance +2, headband of mental prowess +2 (Wis and Cha), ring of feather falling, ring of protection +2, slippers of spider climbing, staff of fire

Starting off, Seoni has a few precast spells, whose effects are already calculated in as part of her stat block, including an extended shield, mage armor, and stoneskin. She could increase these protections with haste, mirror image, and resist energy if given a few rounds to prepare.

As a sorcerer, Seoni can choose from one of ten different bloodlines. We chose the arcane bloodline, which is the default bloodline for existing 3.5 sorcerers as it is the only bloodline that grants a familiar. All bloodlines grant a number of bonuses as the sorcerer gains levels, such as additional spells known (Seoni receives identify at 3rd level, invisibility at 5th level, dispel magic at 7th level, and dimension door at 9th level), a bonus class skill (Seoni receives a free Knowledge skill of her choice), and a number of special bloodline powers (which we will talk about in a bit). New to the final version of the game is bloodline arcana. Each bloodline now grants a special bonus to a specific group of spells. In Seoni's case, any time she casts a metamagic version of a spell that increases the level by at least 1, the DC of that spell increases by +1 (total, not per level increased). This means that if Seoni casts a still lightning bolt the DC to halve the damage is increased to 21. Other bloodlines grant similar abilities. For example, the destined bloodline grants the sorcerer a luck bonus on saving throws for 1 round whenever she casts a spell with a range of personal.

In addition to the arcane bond ability (which allows Seoni to have a familiar), the arcane bloodline grants two additional abilities. The first is metamagic adept, which allows her to cast metamagic spells without increasing their casting time. At her current level, she can use this ability twice per day. It should be noted that quicken spell has been changed to allow sorcerers to use it without increasing the casting time, meaning that Seoni can save her metamagic adept ability for extended and still spells. The second ability is new arcana, which grants Seoni an additional spell known (she chose stoneskin).

If we were to continue to advance Seoni, she would receive a school power at 15th level, which would grant her a +2 bonus to the DC of all spells from one school of magic. At 20th level, she would undergo an arcane apotheosis, which would allow her to cast any metamagic spell without increasing the casting time and allow her to burn spell slots to power magic items that expend charges.

Moving on, we get to Seoni's spell list. There have been a few changes to some of these spells, mostly to make them simpler to use, but in some cases to increase their power a bit. Ice storm, for example, deals the same amount of damage, but now also includes an effect that makes the area difficult terrain and imposes a penalty on Perception checks.

Of all the spells in the game, none has the power to bring things screeching to a halt faster than dispel magic. Not only did this spell take a while to adjudicate, it also forced the target to recalculate a host of statistics if the spell was particularly successful. Now dispel magic requires only a single caster check, and the result is applied to all the spells active on the target. It dispels the spell with the highest caster level that it can affect. While this reduces its power a bit (although it no longer has the +10 limit to the check), it makes the spell a whole lot easier to use. Greater dispel magic still allows you to strip off multiple spells, but it too only requires a single check. It dispels one spell per four caster levels, taking out the spells with the highest caster level that it can effect. I should note that you can still use either one of these spells to target a specific spell to end that effect, allowing you to try and knock out the enemy's fly or stoneskin when it really counts.

Mirror image has also received a bit of a facelift, making it simpler to use. Take a look.

Mirror Image
School illusion (figment); Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range personal
Target you
Duration 1 min./level

This spell creates a number of illusory doubles of you that inhabit your square. These doubles make it difficult for enemies to precisely locate and attack you.

When mirror image is cast, 1d4 images plus one image per three caster levels (maximum eight images total) are created. These images remain in your space and move with you, mimicking your movements, sounds, and actions exactly. Whenever you are attacked or are the target of a spell that requires an attack roll, there is a possibility that the attack targets one of your images instead. If the attack is a hit, roll randomly to see whether the selected target is real or a figment. If it is a figment, the figment is destroyed. If the attack misses by 5 or less, one of your figments is destroyed by the near miss. Area spells affect you normally and do not destroy any of your figments. Spells and effects that do not require an attack roll affect you normally and do not destroy any of your figments. Spells that require a touch attack are harmlessly discharged if used to destroy a figment.

An attacker must be able to see the figments to be fooled. If you are invisible or the attacker is blind, the spell has no effect (although the normal miss chances still apply).

I also want to take a moment to talk about Seoni's staff of fire. Like the previous rules for staves, Seoni can cast all the spells in the staff using her caster level (10th) instead of the staff's, which is only 8th. She can also use her Charisma modifier and feat bonuses when calculating the save DCs. Staves in the new rules contain a total of 10 charges, but they can be recharged. Once per day, Seoni can expend a 4th level spell slot (the highest level spell contained in the staff of fire) to add 1 charge to the staff. Most of the staves have been rebuilt to work within these new rules.

That is about all for this week. Next week Harsk comes stomping on to the stage as we take a look at the iconic ranger. I hear he has favored terrain (the internet), so we better watch out!

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Ask a Pro: Question One

Friday, May 22, 2009

After I started my internship at Paizo, one of the things I found really intriguing was seeing how the pros did things—little things, really, like how they pronounce tarrasque, for example. Then it occurred to me that most people who roleplay often never experience anything outside of their own group of players, so I figured maybe some of you might be as interested as I am in knowing how the pros GM, so I whipped up some questions for the folks here at Paizo.

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

Lisa Stevens: I just do it in front of everybody. I trust my players, they're all pros. But sometimes I might do it just to see how someone will react or to see how someone might attempt to convey the same message to the rest of the group. It becomes really interesting when two players' characters are a bit antagonistic with each other; it's fun if one player makes the roll, but the other doesn't. I like to give that player the info just to see if he'll share the info, and if he doesn't, how the other player might react.

F. Wesley Schneider: Depends on the situation. If it's something more epic, I've found that it is much more exciting and suspenseful when a player reveals the information than the Game Master.

James Jacobs: I just say it in front of everyone.

Erik Mona: That really depends on the dramatic tension. If it isn't very important, or it will just slow the game down, then no. But if a player has a different agenda than the rest of the group, then certainly.

Jason Bulmahn: Depends. If it's a situation where the results aren't immediately obvious I might, but if it's a situation where a monster is about to jump out and attack and everyone will know in just a few seconds anyway, then I just say it.

Sean K Reynolds: Tell everyone and trust people not to metagame.

Joshua J. Frost: I just say it in front of everybody.

James Sutter: In front of everybody; I trust my players and depend on player honesty.

Chris Self: Everyone. I trust my players to keep player knowledge and character knowledge separate. Besides, with things like Perception checks, everyone will know it within moments anyway.

This first question is something I've often wondered how other groups handled. For me, I've often just said, "All right, you two see...," but after a while, I started to think, "Man... this is almost a waste of time having them roll at all, since at least one person always succeeds! It's good to know I'm not the only one who plays this way.

Hank Woon
Editorial Intern

Snagged from the Vault: Grand Sultan of the Efreet

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Behold! A portrait of the Grand Sultan of the Efreet, faithfully rendered by Ben Wooten. Look for the grand sultan within the pages of "The City of Brass" in Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #23: The Impossible Eye.

Vadid and Nahk
Preview Purloiners

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Preview #2

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook is set to release on August 13th, 2009, and in anticipation, we are releasing a preview of the game each week until the game hits store shelves. This week, we are taking a look at Valeros, the iconic fighter.

Valeros
Male human fighter 14
NG Medium humanoid
Init +5; Senses Perception +13
DEFENSE
AC 28, touch 17, flat-footed 23; (+10 armor, +2 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 shield)
hp 137 (14d10+56)
Fort +12, Ref +9, Will +3 (+7 against fear)
Resist fire 10
OFFENSE
Spd 30 ft.
Melee +3 keen longsword +23/+18/+13 (1d8+13/17–20), +2 frost shortsword +20/+15/+10 (1d6+7 plus 1d6 cold/19–20)
Ranged +1 flaming composite shortbow +20/+15/+10 (1d6+4 plus 1d6 fire/x3)
STATISTICS
Str 16, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 8, Cha 10
Base Atk +14; CMB +17; CMD 34
Feats Combat Expertise, Double Slice, Greater Two-Weapon Fighting, Greater Weapon Focus (longsword), Greater Weapon Specialization (longsword), Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Vital Strike, Power Attack, Toughness, Two-Weapon Defense, Two-Weapon Fighting, Two-Weapon Rend, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (longsword, shortsword), Weapon Specialization (longsword)
Skills Climb +20, Intimidate +17, Perception +13, Ride +22, Swim +20
Languages Common, Halfling
SQ armor training +3, bravery +4, weapon training (heavy blades +3, light blades +2, close +1)
Combat Gear necklace of fireballs (type V), potion of cure serious wounds (3), potion of fly, potion of heroism, rod of flame extinguishing; Other Gear bag of holding (type II), +4 fire resistant light fortification breastplate, +1 flaming composite shortbow (+3 Str), +2 frost short sword, belt of physical perfection +2, boots of levitation, +3 keen longsword, periapt of wound closure, ring of protection +2, ring of the ram

First off, the new Valeros is designed to dish out the hurt, but his AC is a bit low for a character of his level. He can fix this in combat by using Combat Expertise, which at his level gives him a +4 dodge bonus to his AC (which also adds to his Combat Maneuver Defense, but more on that later) but taking a –4 penalty on attack rolls for 1 round. He can also used Power Attack to add +8 damage on attacks made with his longsword and +4 damage on attacks made with his shortsword by taking an additional –4 penalty on attack rolls. He would probably not want to use both at the same time, but he can mix it up as dictated by the situation. If he manages to hit one target with both his longsword and shortsword in the same round, he deals an additional 1d10+4 points of damage thanks to Two-Weapon Rend.

All of this assumes that Valeros begins his turn adjacent to an enemy. If not, he can charge up and make a single attack with his longsword using both Power Attack and Improved Vital Strike. This devastating attack is made at a +23 bonus and it deals 3d8+21. Note that Valeros can move 30 feet during this charge, despite wearing a breastplate. This is due to his armor training, which allows him to move at full speed while wearing such armor.

You might notice a new statistic in Valeros' stat block. CMD, which stands for Combat Maneuver Defense. This statistic is the DC for anyone else to perform a combat maneuver, such as bull rush, disarm, or grapple, against Valeros. This statistic is derived from his CMB +10 plus a number of other modifiers (Dexterity and deflection bonuses in this case). Note that Valeros adds his weapon training bonuses to his CMD whenever anyone tries to disarm or sunder weapons from those groups (he also adds these bonuses to combat maneuver checks made using weapons from those groups).

Lastly, Valeros has some fun magic items at his disposal. You can never go wrong with a necklace of fireballs (type V), especially when you are wearing fire resistant armor. The periapt of wound closure protects him from bleed damage, which is a bit more common with some of the new higher-level feats (Bleeding Critical comes to mind). Lastly, the ring of the ram is a great toy for a fighter like Valeros to control the battlefield a bit. Using just 1 charge allows him to make a bull rush combat maneuver at a +17 bonus, which should be enough to push smaller monsters around.

That's about all for this week. There are a few other tidbits hidden in the stat block for the math savvy, but I will leave those for the messageboards to puzzle out. Next week, in part 3 of our 14-week preview, we're going to take a close look at Seoni, the iconic sorcerer. And by close, I mean very close, close enough to examine her blood.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

The Fabled Appendix – James L. Sutter (Part 2)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Here follows Part 2 of my interview with Editor James L. Sutter, in which he discusses his influences for Golarion's solar system, monster ecologies, and the island nation of Hermea.

James: For Golarion's solar system, I wanted to include elements of real science, because there are so many phenomena in different scientific fields, such as astronomy, that are already so bizarre as to seem magical. Erik and his love of the pulps made it a given that we'd include classic versions of the Red and Green Planets as homages to sword & planet fantasy, but for the rest of the solar system I was given more or less free reign to introduce more science fiction elements. My goal was to create a wide enough variety of worlds that you could have wildly differing SF-feeling settings without ever leaving Golarion's system. Some of them were inspired primarily by setting concepts (Liches in space suits? Try Eox. Lovecraft-esque planet of mystery? Aucturn, baby!), but others came straight out of Astronomy 101—what kind of society would evolve on a planet that's tidally locked (meaning one side always faces the sun), or one that's tidally heated? What about a planet with an eccentric orbit—could an ecology or society grow up around seasons that last not months, but years? For me, the conditions that create a crazy setting are often as interesting as the setting itself.

Similarly, when writing monster ecologies, I like to figure out how a monster could have evolved into its ecological niche in a realistic fashion. The explanation that "this monster was created by a wizard's experiment gone wrong" is fine for classics like the bulette, but it's been done way too often. When writing the entries for lizardfolk in Classic Monsters Revisited and the rust monster in Dungeon Denizens Revisited, for instance, I tried to make their ecologies as plausible as possible. There are good reasons why rust monsters don't actually exist, of course, and I'm not averse to a little magic here and there, but it's easy to let magic be a crutch if you're not careful. (I should also stress that I'm not a scientist, by any means—I just know a lot of them, and enjoy listening to them explain how my proposed ecologies butcher biological and physical laws.)

Another big influence for me is the concept of moral ambiguity—to me, the best villains are always the ones who passionately believe they're doing the right thing. The island nation of Hermea, for instance, was born out of my desire to see how a fantasy society would tackle the dicey question of eugenics. One of my roommates is a geneticist, and eugenics is a real topic of concern for him. It seems like every week or so we end up in complicated debates and thought experiments with friends about the morality and wisdom of actively seeking to "improve" humanity through science. It's an extremely touchy subject, because the word "eugenics" reminds a lot of people of the atrocities of the Holocaust, in which the concept was thinly draped over hatred and genocide. Yet at its base definition, eugenics is happening every day in commonplace medical practices like amniocentesis. So where are the lines drawn?

The question of whether or not eugenics can be used for the greater good became the core concept behind Hermea, and led to some heated inter-office debates and jokes (at some point in the campaign setting outline, someone penciled it in as "Codename: Dragon Hitler"). But in the end, the idea saw light: in Hermea, a nominally good gold dragon, in all of its wisdom, is trying to guide humanity to perfection by selectively breeding the best and brightest volunteers for their desirable traits. Whether or not this goes against his alignment is up to each individual GM to decide. Personally, I believe that eugenics happens every day, as we continue to wipe out diseases and detect genetic disorders early on. Evolution and natural selection didn't stop with the rise of civilization; the only difference is that we're now beginning to put ourselves in the driver's seat. It's an exciting time to be a human.

All in all, my inspiration comes from a little bit of fantasy, a lot of science fiction, and a lot of hard science.

Thanks for reading, Paizonians! Stay tuned for more of Paizo's Appendix N in the near future!

David Eitelbach
Editorial Intern

The Fabled Appendix – James L. Sutter (Part 1)

Monday, May 18, 2009

Paizo's Appendix N returns! Now that the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook is out the door, things at the Paizo office have become just a little bit less hectic. Seizing the lull in the workload, Editor James L. Sutter generously took the time Friday morning to speak with me about his most important sources of inspiration. Just as James Jacobs's love of horror in literature and film differed greatly from Erik Mona's unquenchable thirst for pulp novels, Mr. Sutter's influences are unique within the office. Read on to find out the fantasy authors that most influenced James's game design, and learn why he enjoys mixing the peanut butter of science fiction with the chocolate of fantasy.

David: As the creator of Kaer-Maga, the notorious den of thieves, and the person most responsible for envisioning Golarion's solar system, it is clear that your influences are pretty diverse. What are your biggest sources of inspiration when creating the world of Pathfinder?

James: As far as fantasy authors go, I'd have to say that my biggest influences are China Miéville, Joel Rosenberg, and Richard Knaak. I really enjoyed Miéville's vision of a fantasy world—it's not steampunk, but more like industrial revolution fantasy. I was particularly inspired by Perdido Street Station, and how he seamlessly blended a mishmash of cultures and created a believable and vibrant city. In fact, New Crobuzon served as the primary influence for Kaer-Maga, the city I created for the module Seven Swords of Sin; it's a city of outcasts that have come together, a place where a lot of different cultures all intermingle but still manage to work.

Among other books, Joel Rosenberg wrote the "Guardians of the Flame" series, in which the main characters are literally pulled into the game world of the RPG they're playing. Those books were my first introduction to the concept of roleplaying, and as a result the world created by Rosenberg is pretty much the archetypal setting I envision for fantasy roleplaying games. Richard Knaak's "Dragonrealms" series was also very inspirational for me early on, as The Crystal Dragon was the first adult fantasy I picked up (mainly because it had a shiny holographic dragon on the cover).

More than fantasy, though, I'm primarily influenced by science and science fiction—possibly more so than anyone else at the Paizo. I think I've learned more about world building from Dan Simmons than any other author. I especially like blending magic and science, the line where one transitions into the other. When we were first creating Pathfinder, James Jacobs handed me a mostly blank outline for Varisia and told me to run with it. At first I included a lot more science fiction elements; Crystilian was originally the magical equivalent of a particle accelerator, Spindlehorn an ancient space elevator used by long-lost astronauts, and Mundatei was basically a forest of Tesla coils. We ended up working together to change most of that, which was of course the right decision, but some science fiction elements were still retained—Ember Lake, for instance, essentially functions as the place in Varisia where UFO sightings occur, with its phosphorescent, underwater bugs that form strange patterns which can only be seen from the sky.

This concludes Part 1 or my interview with James Sutter about the sources of inspiration he would include in Paizo's own Appendix N. Stay tuned for Part 2, where he discusses how hard science and science fiction continue to influence his fantasy game design, and explains how the nation code-named "Dragon Hitler" would eventually become the island of Hermea.

David Eitelbach
Editorial Intern

Summer Conventions

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Howdy folks!

Paizo is involved with or aware of a number of conventions this summer that will be running Pathfinder Society events or supporting the Pathfinder RPG in some way. Below is a collection of information and links for all of these shows. If you happen to be in the area, look them up and find some Pathfinder-related fun to help get you through the summer months!

Concept	Winona, MN	May 15–17, 2009
MisCon	Missoula, MT	May 22–25, 2009
A-Kon	Dallas, TX	May 29-31, 2009
Milwaukee Summer Revel	Milwaukee, WI	June 12–14, 2009
PAIZOCON 2009	Bellevue, WA	June 13–15, 2009
(A few tickets are still available! Events are going live soon! Additional special guests were recently added!)
Origins Game Fair	Columbus, OH	June 24–28, 2009
(GM volunteers for Pathfinder Society are still needed!)
ConFlict VII	La Crosse, WI	July 17–19, 2009
Open Gaming Con	Nashua, NH	July 24–26, 2009
SpoCon	Spokane, WA	July 31–Aug 1, 2009
GENCON	Indianapolis, IN	Aug 13–16, 2009
(GM volunteers are still needed! Event sign-ups are live until June 27th!)

Have a great summer!

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Preview #1

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Just under two weeks ago, we shipped the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook to the printer. Over the next 14 weeks, we will be giving you an inside look at the final game, looking at each class in turn and exploring other elements of the game.

But first, we are taking a look at the Table of Contents for the Core Rulebook. As you can see, the book comes in at a mighty 576 pages. It includes a 56-page classes chapter (which now contains all the of the rules for arcane schools, bloodlines, and domains), a 150-page spells chapter, and a 98-page magic items chapter (which also includes all of the rules for intelligent items, cursed items, artifacts, and magic item creation). We slotted the prestige class chapter in right after spells, making roughly the first 400 pages filled with player-focused rules and material. Rounding out the end of the book is a super-handy 4-page index which includes just about every reference we could think up.

But that is not all. This week, we are also showing off a spread from the races chapter. The entire interior of the book has been giving a fantastic treatment by Sarah Robinson, the project’s lead art director and graphic designer. We felt it was important for this book to get the races looking just right, so we ordered brand new art for each of the core races.

On the opposite page, we get a good look at the dwarf, one of my favorite races. Aside from some new flavor text that describes dwarven traits, there have been only a few changes to the dwarf from the Beta Playtest version of the game. Most of these were made to clean up the race and bring it inline with the new rules. That said, there is one significant thing that has changed. I’ll let you figure out which element that is.

That’s all for this week. In week 2 of our 14-week preview, we’re going to take a look at Valeros, the iconic fighter. Writing up his stat block is quite a feat!

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Snagged from the Vault: Sepid Div

Friday, May 8, 2009

As my foolhardy companion and I limp away from our latest excursion into the vault, we leave for you as a weekend preview the sepid div, a terrifying entry in the Bestiary of the upcoming Pathfinder Adventure Path #23: The Impossible Eye, as depicted here by Jason Engle.

Four curling horns sprout from is giant's head and an inhuman tongue flickers among sharply filed teeth. Covered with pale, pockmarked and spiky flesh, this monstrous warrior stands fully twice the height of an average human and assumes a confident stance as it effortlessly hefts a sword large enough to cleft a horse in twain.

Vadid and Nahk
Preview Purloiners

Paizo's Gen Con 2009 Events Schedule

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Good morning!

In celebration of the launch of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook at Gen Con 2009, Paizo is offering a large assortment of events for players young and old, veterans and noobies, casual and grognard alike. In addition to an assortment of seminars, Paizo's premier organized play system, Pathfinder Society, will have four scenarios for 1st-level characters (with 2 additional scenarios for higher-level experienced players) available for play throughout the show from 8 A.M. on Thursday through 5 P.M. on Sunday. Slots start at 8 A.M., 1 P.M., and 6 P.M. and run for four hours. Look for such titles as The Decline of Glory, Tide of Morning, The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats, The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker, Sniper in the Deep, and Drow of the Darklands Pyramid to further explore the Pathfinder RPG rules and the Pathfinder Society Organized Play experience. On Friday and Saturday night, Paizo will also offer an interactive event for all levels of Pathfinder Society entitled Betrayal in Absalom that turns Indianapolis into an interactive City at the Center of the World for players to run an RP and combat-laden scavenger hunt. Prizes will be awarded to the winning teams each night. Lastly, every day of the show during dealer hall hours, Paizo Publishing will run a delve at their booth that's designed to be a meat grinder event that quickly shows off the PRPG rules set as well as handing out prizes to those lucky enough to survive. For those of you who just want to play and aren't interested in the Pathfinder Society, there will be pre-generated characters available for every slot of Pathfinder Society events with the exception of the interactive—the interactives both require you to have a character for Pathfinder Society ready to go.

For those of you signed up for Gen Con and ready to go, a summary of events is listed below including links to each event's sign-up page. You must be logged in to the Gen Con website for the links to work. We've also included a running total (frequently updated in this thread) of how many tickets remain for each event and slot. Online ticket sales for Gen Con 2009 end on June 27, 2009. So don't delay in reserving your spot for one or more of Paizo's Gen Con events!

Here are the events:

SEM0904095 PFS: PRPG Conversion & Creation Q&A 8/13/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $0 Tickets Remaining: 160 RPG0904098 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/13/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 63 RPG0904122 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/13/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 32 RPG0904136 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/13/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT SEM0904079 Writing for Paizo 8/13/09 5:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 34 RPG0904101 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 44 RPG0904110 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 10 RPG0904131 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 24 RPG0904149 #23 Tide of Morning 8/13/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904102 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 31 RPG0904111 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 55 RPG0904124 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904137 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/14/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 1 RPG0904103 #29 The Devil We Know Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/14/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 52

RPG0904112 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/14/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 47 RPG0904132 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/14/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904154 #23 Tide of Morning 8/14/2009 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT SEM0904081 Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Path Q&A 8/14/09 5:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 78 RPG0904104 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/14/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 59 RPG0904113 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/14/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 44 RPG0904178 Betrayal in Absalom: A Pathfinder Society Event (Version 1) 8/14/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $8.00 Tickets Remaining: SOLD OUT RPG0904105 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 60 RPG0904114 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 61 RPG0904125 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 9 RPG0904138 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/15/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 9 RPG0904106 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 31 RPG0904115 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 62 RPG0904133 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 1

RPG0904173 #23 Tide of Morning 8/15/09 1:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 11 SEM0904080 Thrilling Adventures on Other Worlds: Paizo's Planet Stories Line 8/15/09 3:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 49 SEM0904087 Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Q&A 8/15/09 05:00:00 P.M. Cost: $0.00 Tickets Remaining: 151 RPG0904107 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/15/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 71 RPG0904116 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/15/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 35 RPG0904179 Betrayal in Absalom: A Pathfinder Society Event (Version 2) 8/15/09 6:00 P.M. Cost: $8.00 Tickets Remaining: 15 RPG0904108 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 54 RPG0904117 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 67 RPG0904129 #31 Sniper in the Deep 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 18 RPG0904140 #24 The Decline of Glory 8/16/09 8:00 A.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 18 RPG0904109 #29 The Devil We Know, Part 1: Shipyard Rats 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 66 RPG0904119 #30 The Devil We Know, Part 2: Cassomir's Locker 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 37 PG0904134 #32 Drow of the Darklands Pyramid 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 16 RPG0904174 #23 Tide of Morning 8/16/09 12:00 P.M. Cost: $6.00 Tickets Remaining: 11

We also still need volunteers for Gen Con! Please read this thread for details. Thanks!

Joshua J. Frost
Events Manager

Snagged from the Vault: Beyond the Vault of Souls

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Greetings, dear readers—as the Golem busies itself crafting the deadly artifact known only as the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary , the Preview Purloiners have struck once again deep into its fathomless Vault. Today we bring you Ralph Horsley's cover to Pathfinder Module J5: Beyond the Vault of Souls. The foolish minions of the Golem won't even known it's missing! But what is that pounding on the door...?

Vadid and Nahk
Preview Purloiners

A wizard is capturing souls and binding them to magical gems to keep the spirits of the dead from departing to their just rewards, and the church of Pharasma, goddess of death, has had enough of his meddling with the afterlife. When a magical security feature in the wizard's tower sends the gems spinning off to several different planes, the church calls on the PCs to track them down. From the vault of the gods in the planar nexus of Axis, to the fields of Elysium where righteous heroes battle endlessly even in death, and on past the gates of Hell itself, the PCs must race through portal after portal to recover the lost souls before sinister outsiders can beat them to the prize.

It's Still Done!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Om nom nom!

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

It Is Done!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Note that Paizo does not encourage drinking unless you are an adult game designer who just sent a 576-page core rulebook to the printer.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer