Official Call for Gen Con 2011 Volunteers!

Friday, April 29, 2011

For Gen Con 2011, I need a minimum of 75 volunteer GMs and I'll keep taking volunteer GMs until the slots are filled! I also need 2 Volunteer Assistants for the show—these folks will not GM, but will instead help Liz Courts run Pathfinder Society HQ and will be our go-to guys and gals for all things Pathfinder Society. Below you will find the reward structure for volunteering at Gen Con 2011. Keep in mind that you're volunteering for a slot, not a specific event. I'll assign people to events inside the slot they've volunteered for and I won't take requests.

Volunteer Tiers and Rewards

Volunteer Assistant: 2 needed, treated as a Tier 1 GM

Tier 1 GM Volunteers Tier 1 GM volunteers are my workhorses, everyday GMs. They are invaluable to making the show a success! Tier 1 GMs must select and volunteer for a MINIMUM of 8 slots. Tier 1 GMs may feel free to volunteer for more than 8 slots if they so desire. I only have room for 32 Tier 1 GM volunteers so don't delay in volunteering for this tier. Volunteers will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis, though I reserve the right to select volunteers who have previously worked for Paizo over new volunteers. Please do not volunteer for Tier 1 if you have any doubts that you'll be able to attend the show. Tier 1 GMs receive:

• A FREE 4-day Gen Con 2011 badge
• A FREE 1/4 of a hotel room in a Downtown Indianapolis hotel
• A $10-per-slot voucher for Paizo.com credit, useable at the show or anytime after, including with your subscriptions.
• A FREE autographed copy of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Ultimate Combat hardcover at Gen Con
• A FREE limited edition Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2011 T-Shirt

Tier 2 GM Volunteers: While the rewards for volunteering for this tier are smaller, the majority of my volunteers will come from Tier 2. Tier 2 GMs must volunteer for a MINIMUM of 4 slots. Tier 2 GMs receive:

• A FREE 4-day Gen Con 2011 badge
• A $10-per-slot voucher for Paizo.com credit, useable at the show or anytime after, including with your subscriptions.
• A FREE limited edition Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2011 T-Shirt

Tier 3 GM Volunteers: This is the minimum volunteer level. Tier 3 GMs must volunteer for a MINIMUM of 2 slots. Tier 3 GMs receive:

• A $10-per-slot voucher for Paizo.com credit, useable at the show or anytime after, including subscriptions.
• A FREE limited edition Paizo Publishing Gen Con 2011 T-Shirt

Volunteering for One Slot
While we will gladly accept anyone who wants to run just one slot during the show, there are no rewards for doing so other than our thanks.

When Volunteering...
Please be specific about what slot you are volunteering for. I will assign folks to scenarios on an as-needed basis, so you really only need to tell me the slot(s) you're volunteering for (since I won't take requests). I will update the needs in the thread below as I receive volunteers, so you may look there to remain up to date on where we still need help. Lastly, you must have a gencon.com account and you must include your gencon.com account # in your email or I won't be able to get you a badge (obviously this is only for volunteers who are volunteering for 4 or more slots).

Slot 1: Thursday 8 A.M. to 1 P.M.

Slot 2: Thursday 1 P.M. to 6 P.M.

Slot 3: Thursday 7 P.M. to Midnight

Slot 4: Friday 8 A.M. to 1 P.M.

Slot 5: Friday 1 P.M. to 6 P.M.

Slot 6: Friday 7 P.M. to Midnight (PFS Special: Blood Under Absalom)

Slot 7: Saturday 8 A.M. to 1 P.M.

Slot 8: Saturday 1 P.M. to 6 P.M.

Slot 9: Saturday 7 P.M. to Midnight

Slot 10: Sunday 8 A.M. to 1 P.M.

All Gen Con 2010 volunteers please email me at hyrum.savage@paizo.com with the subject line Gen Con Volunteer.

Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell everyone in your game group! We need volunteers!

Thanks in advance for volunteering, good luck, and have a great summer convention season!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Prepare to Get Harrowed!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

So, we just shipped The Harrowing off to the printer. An adventure where you get sucked into a magical deck of harrow cards and end up interacting with some of the strangest characters we've published yet! Check 'em out! (Those of you who are familiar with the Harrow Deck will probably recognize these three folks...)

Illustrations by Dmitry Burmak

Also, you can tell when I forget to write a blog post until we get to a point where I have only 20 minutes to do a blog before heading into a supersized meeting that'll take up the rest of the day, can't you? Cause there's not many words? Guess I should put up a third picture from The Harrowing to further distract you from the lack of words... hope it works!

Illustrations by Dmitry Burmak

James Jacobs
Creative Director

The Nex Step

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Way back in the editorial of Dragon #353, in March, 2007, I gave the first hint about a major gaming project I'd already been working on for months. While recounting a fun convention appearance at North Carolina's Mid-Atlantic Convention Expo (M.A.C.E.) I mentioned that I ran two marathon sessions of my Age of Worms kick-off adventure, "The Whispering Cairn," as well as another super-secret event, "The Refuge of Nex," which I called "a cunning dungeon you might be seeing more of soon."

Although the public did not yet know about the end of the print version of the magazine, I had received the terminal diagnosis months earlier. While my hectic days at that time were focused on giving the magazines the best possible send-offs I could, my nights were filled with scheming about what Paizo would do next. We'd already launched the GameMastery Modules, but that line was still in its infancy in 2007. Most of the plans for it were scribbled in my notebooks, and had not yet been published.

You may recall that the early GameMastery adventures featured an alphanumeric code to hearken back to the classics of the 80s and to help us keep track of which adventures focused on which topics. The "U" series, for example, featured urban adventures, while modules that started with a "J" usually involved a journey to some exotic locale. It's one of those ideas that work better in theory than in practice, which is why we eventually abandoned it, but in 2007 we were all still pretty excited bout it.

I was most excited about a specific alpha-numeric designation found in the planning pages of my notebook: The "M" series.

In a fit of hubris only a publisher could love, I decided that the "M" series stood for "Mona," and that it would provide an outlet for my personal adventure designs. "The Refuge of Nex," which I playtested at M.A.C.E., was to be the first installment in the "M" series, the beginning of a multi-adventure exploration of an extraplanar dungeon composed of several "stacked" demiplanes created by a long-missing archmage. It would be a huge multi-year, multi-product mega-dungeon in the tradition of Greyhawk or Undermountain, with plenty of intrigue and weird-world exploration mixed in with killer traps and insidious combats.

It was also WAY too much work for a publisher. Back then, I had enough capacity to balance editor-in-chief duties along with those of the publisher, but once the Pathfinder Adventure Path (and later the RPG) started rolling, all dreams that I would have the free time to polish off even "The Refuge of Nex" evaporated, to say nothing of my unrealistic hope of helming an entire ongoing module series while managing the most important business transition the company has ever endured. To make matters even more complicated, it was at about this time that I took on the challenge of weaving material from myself, James Jacobs, Jason Bulmahn, and other members of the Paizo staff into the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer, the first real look at the wider world of Golarion.

"The Refuge of Nex," at this point, entered a long period of stillbirth from which it has not yet emerged. But I never forgot about it. Indeed, in the time between M.A.C.E. and the Gazetteer, I'd built up a whole story around the elusive archmage Nex, giving him his own nation to rule on the southern continent of the Inner Sea region and tying his background into other exotic places such as Jalmeray and Absalom.

At this point I decided that Nex had been among the would-be tyrants who tried unsuccessfully to conquer Absalom, leaving behind an infamous Siege Castle known as the Spire of Nex. The Spire of Nex was, essentially, the old Refuge idea transplanted to a more robust location closer to the City at the Center of the World. I still wanted to keep the old Refuge under the palace in Nex's capital city, though, so I decided that both the Spire and the Refuge were different entrances to the same otherworldly place. The fact that I had Nex himself withdraw there after a treacherous attack from his archenemy, Geb, made the whole thing even more interesting to me.

So I started work on the Spire of Nex, writing about 10 hours of adventure material to use at my various convention appearances. That version of the dungeon has appeared at PaizoCon (twice), Neoncon in Las Vegas, Dragonmeet, and probably a few others I'm forgetting. Dozens of players have ventured into the Spire, and given that it's more difficult to get out than it is to get in (just ask Nex himself), most of them are still marooned there.

	Illustration by John Stanko

Players really seemed to enjoy the opening levels of the Spire of Nex, and I quite enjoyed thinking about the place and detailing its many marvels. Over time I'd written so much material about it that I began to imagine my own adventures in the place. I realized I'd created a great setting for original fiction.

Fiction writing and editing defined my college experience, but since joining the workforce I'd hardly had time to write a poem, let alone a genuine piece of narrative fiction. I'd written dozens of game books, adventures, and editorials, of course, but I knew my fiction talents had atrophied, and the Spire of Nex seemed like a fun way to get back into it. Eventually, I hoped Paizo might even publish a line of novels to go with the increasingly popular Pathfinder gaming products, so I thought there might be a chance that, one day, I could even get it published—if I could convince the editor it was any good, of course.

So I wrote a 20,000-word outline for my Spire of Nex novel, and even wrote the first few chapters in draft form. Sure, I didn't really have the third act figured out, and once the heroes got into the weird worlds within the Spire the story sort of ballooned out of control, but that was ok, because I was having fun.

Then we launched our Pathfinder Tales novel line, and I read finished manuscripts from professional authors like Dave Gross and Elaine Cunningham. And I realized that my Spire of Nex outline was way too complex. Like, stupidly complex. I came to appreciate that I'd spent all my time working on a story that might work as the end of a much longer saga, but that all of the characters in the story had earlier stories that were much more accessible, and much less burdened by being tied down to a bunch of background I'd created for RPG sessions.

Fiction and RPGs are different things, of course, and I needed to write a story that worked on its own without all of the complicated background I'd invented to challenge my players. So I set the Spire of Nex aside and began working on that simpler story, which I called "Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver." The story introduces my old Spire of Nex protagonists, the cunning swordsman Korm Calladan and his cyclops companion, Aebos. It also ties in other bits of continuity minutia I slipped into my Pathfinder work as early as Pathfinder Adventure Path #1. And, of course, Nex himself is also involved, just to bring everything full circle.

This week, we're posting the second of five chapters of "Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver," and the first to involve hints of the grand Nex plan I hope to explore through future Pathfinder fiction and gaming writing.

Eventually, I hope that grand plan will involve a full novel called The Spire of Nex and perhaps even that original "Refuge of Nex" adventure I created way back in 2007.

I hope you enjoy reading the exploits of Korm and Aebos as much as I've enjoyed writing them.

For there are many more to come!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Magus Preview

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Every Tuesday until the book's release, we are going to be digging into some of the new rules and options you will find in Ultimate Magic. After a bit of a mix up last week, this week we are going to take a look at the new base class, the magus, and the archetypes slated to appear in this book.

From its first appearance as part of the playtest of this book, the magus has gone through a number of iterations. The second playtest version of the class is, in fact, quite a bit similar to the final version of the class, with a number of clarifications made to make things work a bit more smoothly. Take a look at the revised spell strike ability, for example.

Spellstrike (Su): At 2nd level, whenever a magus casts a spell with a range of "touch" from the magus spell list, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack. Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell. If successful, this melee attack deals its normal damage as well as the effects of the spell. If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks. This attack uses the weapon's critical range (20, 19–20, or 18–20 and modified by the keen weapon property or similar effects), but the spell effect only deals x2 damage on a successful critical hit, while the weapon damage uses its own critical modifier.

As you can see, we clarified how the attack worked, and how critical hits were handled when using this ability. In addition, we replaced the pool spell abilities with ones that are a bit more in line with the flavor of the class. Take a look at these.

Spell Recall (Su): At 4th level, the magus learns to use his arcane pool to recall spells he has already cast. With a swift action he can recall any single magus spell that he has already prepared and cast that day by expending a number of points from his arcane pool equal to the spell's level (minimum 1). The spell is prepared again, just as if it had not been cast.
Improved Spell Recall (Su): At 11th level, the magus's ability to recall spells using his arcane pool becomes more efficient. Whenever he recalls a spell with spell recall, he expends a number of points from his arcane pool equal to 1/2 the spell's level (minimum 1). Furthermore, instead of recalling a used spell, as a swift action the magus can prepare a spell of the same level that he has in his spellbook. He does so by expending a number of points from his arcane pool equal to the spell's level (minimum 1). The magus cannot apply metamagic feats to a spell prepared in this way. The magus does not need to reference his spellbook to prepare a spell in this way.

So, that is a taste of the sorts of changes you can expect to see with the base class itself, but how about those archetypes? Here is a list of all the magus archetypes in the book, with a short description of each.

Magus Archetypes
Bladebound: A magus with this archtype is bound to a special sword, called a black blade, that gains powers, and over time, sentience.
Hexcrafter: Using the powers of a witch, this magus can use hexes and can curse his enemies.
Spellblade: Capable of creating a light blade of pure force, the spellblade can wield two weapons and still cast his spells.
Staff Magus: Skilled at using the quarterstaff, these powerful magi can eventually treat any magic staff as a deadly weapon.

That wraps up our preview for this week. Come back next week when we will examine some of the ways this book will help you master magic.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

The Future of Pathfinder Society Organized Play, Part VI: Establish Order, No Matter the Costs

Monday, April 25, 2011

The proud empire of Cheliax once spread across two continents, but fell to diabolical rule after 30 years of civil war following Aroden's death. Chelaxians believe their nation superior to the others in the Inner Sea region, and won't let something as simple as the death of their patron god prevent them from attaining their prophesied age of glory. The ruling House Thrune and its allies rose to power amid chaos, and established order with the help of the armies of Hell; they maintain control decades later with the same regimented organization of their infernal minions. Though Cheliax already controls the Arch of Aroden, and thus the western entrance to the Inner Sea, Queen Abrogail II's strategists know that control of Absalom is vital if Cheliax hopes to establish order throughout the region. They believe that victory is well within their grasp, and that it will come on the backs of the weak.

We led off the parade of factions two weeks ago with a look at Andoran, which is far and away the most popular faction. Though Andoran's neighbor geographically (and alphabetically in the list of ten factions), Cheliax couldn't be more different than its freedom-fighting rivals. Not only are the lawful-evil tendencies of the organization at direct odds with the chaotic good spirit of liberty, but the faction has also been the least popular in terms of active members in all three seasons of Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out why, though. These are the "bad guys" of the Pathfinder Society campaign. They're the ones who send players on missions to spread the influence of Hell and the Infernal armies of the House of Thrune. If there's one thing we can learn from the trend in membership between the Andoran and Cheliax factions, it's that players want to be heroes!

So what happens to Cheliax going forward? So far, nothing, though faction leader Paracountess Zarta Dralneen's flagging leadership has certainly caught the eye of her superiors. It'd really be a shame for her to be punished personally for the fact that she represents the "bad guy faction." I know I'd personally hate to see her replaced, since I love reading her innuendo-drenched faction missives. I just hope Queen Abrogail and her lackeys are as amused by her suggestive tone and rampant hedonism as most Cheliax faction players are.

Luckily, we won't be gauging a faction's success on its membership numbers next season, but rather the rate at which active members succeed at faction missions. And while there are many disparaging things the champions of good can say about Cheliax, that they aren't dedicated isn't one of them. Then again, we've already said there will be another "good guy" faction next year. What would happen to Cheliax's resolve if we were to add another "bad guy" to keep things even? Will newly added prestige awards allowing Cheliax faction PCs of all classes to advance in the ranks of the Hellknights be enough to keep the already low number of faithful from jumping ship? Only time (and maybe some prayers to Asmodeus) will tell.

Check back next Monday for a look at the new scenarios and special events we'll be offering at Gen Con to celebrate the launch of Season 3!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Realms of Adventure: An Interview with Ed Greenwood

Friday, April 22, 2011

As we get closer to PaizoCon we'll be showcasing some interviews with the various guests we'll have at the show. We kick off this series with an interview with Ed Greenwood, one of the most influential people in the RPG industry.

We're incredibly honored to have Ed as our Guest of Honor at PaizoCon 2011. I've been reading Ed's work since I was in Jr. High and reading about, and playing in, the Realms since the grey box debuted in 1987 for 1st Edition. I can't wait to hang out with Ed at PaizoCon this year and a lucky few PaizoCon guests will get the chance to play in a game run by the "Sage of Shadowdale" himself, so keep an eye out for the PaizoCon lottery coming soon.

And without further ado, here's the interview with Ed!

1. Could you tell us a little about yourself and how you started in the industry?

I'm Canadian, was born and raised in what is now Toronto. I have a degree in journalism but have always worked in public libraries, from age 14 onwards (still working in a public library, and I'm 51 now). I have always written fantasy, sf, and other fiction, and started creating the Realms when I was 6 years old (8 years before D&D was created, and 9 years before the wider world saw it). I started reading The Dragon (as it was then called) around issue #8, started writing for it in 1979 (an article on the Divine Right game was my first submission, but wasn't published until issue #34, after two of my D&D monster creations had seen print: the Curst in #30, and the Crawling Claw in #32). I happily buried the editors under submission after submission, and as a result they soon named me a Contributing Editor; some years later, when TSR was looking for a new campaign "world" for the game, they contacted me and purchased the Realms. I have never been on staff at any game company, but have written literally hundreds of novels and short stories, adventures, articles, sourcebooks, and other game products over the years, for all sorts of game systems. I still love creating stuff, and try to do something every day.

2. When did you discover your creative talents?

I've written poetry and lyrics for as long as I can remember (making up new words to songs I heard sung around me when I was a toddler, apparently). As a kid of 3 years old and for the next 6 years—apparently I was one of those "child prodigies"—I apparently often pestered my father by excitedly bringing him various books I'd read in his den and demanding to know "what happened next." He often gravely told me that the author was long dead, and if I wanted sequels I'd have to write them myself.

So I did. They were mostly dreadful, but I kept at it, and have written or co-written around 140 books, thus far. I'm not sure how talented I am, but I am persistent.

3. What inspires you?

Everything. Everything at all. "Life" would be the flippant answer. Pretty sunsets and animals, flirtatious repartee, real-life pratfalls and moments of cleverness, improbable coincidences, rumors, smiles from strangers... you name it.

4. How would you describe your style?

Chameleon 101. Though I like humor and have a weakness for smart-mouthed first person narrators, I try to tailor my style to the project at hand. I've written torrid romances and instruction manuals, pastiches of many different writers, and adopted all sorts of styles. In my game writing, I do try to build nuance, color, and "tone" into my writing that constantly hints at things I don't have sufficient word count to come right out and say. (Which no doubt drives some editors nuts.) So I don't have a distinctive style (though I do have a fairly consistent "voice" for most of my Realms fiction; contrast it with my "Guns of Alkenstar" Pathfinder Tales story).

5. Do you have a favorite story or character?

No. I have literally dozens of favorite stories and characters, which I'm afraid means I don't have lone, specific "favorites" of either. Really.

6. Who are your favorite writers and influences?

Hooboy! Here we go, knowing I'll inevitably miss some...

Living: Guy Gavriel Kay, Terry Pratchett, Spider Robinson, Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley, Jack Vance, Julian May, Ursula LeGuin, Dana Stabenow, J. V. Jones

Dead: Lord Dunsany, Rudyard Kipling, P. G. Wodehouse, Roger Zelazny, Fritz Leiber, Leslie Charteris, E. E. "Doc" Smith, John Dickson Carr, Ellis Peters, Clark Ashton Smith, J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft

7. How do you juggle freelance work and life?

They're two separate things?

Seriously, writing/designing is my life. It's why I breathe. I value friendship and camaraderie, books, and creating (both alone and with friends). I live to do these things and enjoy these things, and share them with those I love. (Which is, I suppose, a grand way of saying I dream and make up lies for a living.)

8. Describe yourself in 5 words.

Whimsical, jovial, kind, widely-interested.

9. What's the best thing to happen to you recently?

I've been able to help (in small ways) launch or better the careers of some friends who are going to be great writers. We'll all get to read the results, in years to come. No, I'm not going to name names. My reward will be the reading, the hugs, and laughter together.

10. Any advice for aspiring writers?

Nothing strikingly original.

These, above all: Read, read, read (widely, not just in your chosen field) and write, write, write (you can and will improve your craft, the more you keep at it).

Take all writing advice with a grain of salt, because everyone's slightly different, and what worked for me or for Stephen King might not work for you. However, pay attention to editors and guidelines and formats and the nitty-gritty of daily work, because those who don't are often not heard from again.

And keep at it. Most "overnight successes" have been years in the making. Don't tell me or anyone about the book you're going to write—instead, save your time and breath and sit down and write it. I'm a greedy reader; I want the fruits of your labors, not the signal of your intent to one day undertake them.

Oh, and one more thing: Don't tell me you don't have time to write your great novel or design your new game. I have been writing professionally for 45 years (yes, I got paid for some of the stuff I did when I was six), and during that time went through school and university, held down a full-time job for more than twenty years (including a dozen years of commuting 120 miles to work and 120 miles home, six days a week), have worked part time for more than a decade when I wasn't full time... and "on the side" have managed to write or co-write (and co-writing takes longer) about 140 books (not to mention contributing to dozens more, and turning out hundreds of articles and columns and newspaper stories, poems and a play and script or three). So the "I don't have time" argument cuts little ice with me. I don't expect you to produce 140 books—just impress me with one. To begin with. ;}

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Psychopomps

Thursday, April 21, 2011

In Bestiary 2 we introduced a new race of neutral outsiders, the aeons. But we weren't satisfied with only one race of neutral outsiders—especially since aeons don't fit perfectly into the Boneyard, Golarion's true neutral Outer Plane. With the article on Pharasma in the second volume of Carrion Crown, we revealed a second race of neutral outsiders—ones that specifically serve Pharasma and dwell in the Boneyard itself. The psychopomps.

In Pathfinder Adventure Path #47, we'll present full stat blocks for two psychopomps—both of which are illustrated here in this blog post: the fearsome skeletal vanth and the cute little four-winged nosoi. We'll be presenting more of these creatures in the future, but I'm already quite pleased with how they're turning out. To the extent that I wouldn't mind having a nosoi pet. Those guys are so cute!

Illustration by Kieran Yanner	Illustration by Lake Hurwitz

Anyway, while I'm not quite ready to reveal any full stat blocks yet for psychopomps, I can do the next best thing—here are the rules for psychopomp traits!

Psychopomp Traits

The gears of the multiverse turn through the constant motion of mortal souls. Although Pharasma is the ultimate judge over the dead, a grand bureaucracy serves her and overflows with able record-keepers, prosecutors, investigators, and guardians. They are psychopomps, the right hand of death. Psychopomps, also known as reapers in some circles, are neutral outsiders who serve death and ensure the steady flow of souls into the cosmic cycle. Few care for the concept of balance so much as for duty and the rightful progression of life to death and beyond by any and all means necessary. As enforcers of mortality and the cosmic cycle, psychopomps universally loathe undead. Although they vary widely in appearance, all psychopomps bear an elaborate funerary mask as a mark of their place in the cycle of life and death.

Psychopomp Traits: A psychopomp possesses the following traits.

Darkvision 60 feet and low-light vision.

Immunity to death effects, disease, and poison.

Resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10

Except where otherwise noted, psychopomps speak Abyssal, Celestial, and Infernal.

A psychopomp's natural weapons, as well as any weapon it wields, are treated as though they had the ghost touch weapon special ability.

Spiritsense (Su) A psychopomp notices, locates, and can distinguish between living and undead creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability.

James Jacobs
Creative Director

You Asked For It!

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

One of the questions I get asked most often about Pathfinder Tales is: "When are we going to see some fiction from the Paizo staffers?" While there can be no question that our other Pathfinder Tales authors have done a bang-up job so far, many folks are eager to see stories that come directly from the source, the products of the same vibrant (and sometimes twisted) imaginations that gave the campaign setting life in the first place.

It's a curiosity we understand quite well—after all, we published four of Gary Gygax's novels for the exact same reason. Yet the sad truth about working at a game company is that you don't have nearly as much time to write as some of the freelancers you hire. The job is already more than a normal nine-to-five, and even those few hours you scrape out to write aren't always yours to write what you please. Maybe a freelancer crashes and burns, and suddenly you need to come up with half a book. Maybe there's a product on the schedule that only you can write, because only you know the subject matter in enough detail (a frequent occurrence, when your world is as new as ours). There are a million reasons why a staff member might not have the capacity to write fiction.

	Illustration by John Stanko

Erik Mona knows this better than anyone. Since we launched Pathfinder Tales, Erik has had a couple of characters knocking around in his head, begging to become the heroes of a short story. Yet no matter how often he described them to me, or how much loving detail he put into his outline, it seemed that something always came up to keep him from writing the story. Maybe there was even a touch of stage fright there, too—despite having written or worked on enough game books to build a fort in his office, he hadn't written fiction in a decade. As the editor of the line, I was confident he could turn over something great, but it seemed that one emergency after another kept delaying his story. So after about a year of waiting, I did the only thing I could.

I made an emergency.

True to form, when Erik heard that there was a hole in my web fiction schedule that no one else could possibly fill in time, he stepped right up and wrote that story he'd been thinking about for so long. The result is "Two Pieces of Tarnished Silver," a new five-part story that begins this week, and I couldn't be happier. It's got sword fights. It's got cannibalism. It's got a cyclops. It's got a wisecracking swordsman with a Lemmy-style trucker mustache.

Most importantly, it's got Golarion, in a way only Erik could write. There are dealings with Nex—a nation Erik invented. There's information regarding Durvin Gest—from the only person who knows his secret history. There's—well, I don't want to spoil any more. But this is a Pathfinder story from start to finish, and we're proud to have it.

Of course, Erik doesn't have time to read this blog post, as he's been locked in his usual slew of meetings all day, and probably will be until late into the night. But I'm sure that, through the conference room door, he can sense our approval.

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Illustration by Kieran Yanner

Ultimate Magic: Witches and Wizards

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

This week's theme is witches and wizards: two new familiars, two new patron themes, and two arcane discoveries.

New Familiars

The following are two of the many new familiars presented in Ultimate Magic.

Fox    CR 1/4
XP 100
N Tiny animal
Init +2; Senses low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
Defense
AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
hp 5 (1d8+1)
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +1
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee bite +1 (1d3-1)
Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Statistics
Str 9, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 9 (13 vs. trip)
Feats Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Acrobatics +2 (+10 jumping), Perception +8, Stealth +10, Survival +1 (+5 scent tracking); Racial Modifiers +4 Acrobatics when jumping, +4 Survival when tracking by scent
Ecology
Environment any
Organization solitary, pair, or skulk (3–12)
Treasure none
Foxes are small, doglike carnivores with narrow snouts and bushy tails. A fox's master gains a +2 bonus on Reflex saves.

Hedgehog    CR 1/8
XP 50
N Diminutive animal
Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +1
Defense
AC 18, touch 17, flat-footed 15 (+3 Dex, +1 natural, +4 size)
hp 2 (1d8–2)
Fort +0, Ref +5, Will +1
Offense
Speed 20 ft.
Space 1 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
Statistics
Str 1, Dex 16, Con 6, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 7
Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 4 (8 vs. trip)
Feats Athletic
Skills Climb +5, Stealth +19, Swim +5
Ecology
Environment tropical or temperate forests
Organization solitary or pair
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Spiny Defense (Ex) As a move action, a hedgehog can roll itself up into a spiny ball. While rolled up, it gains a +1 enhancement bonus to its existing natural armor, and any creature attempting to grapple the hedgehog takes 1d3 damage on making a grapple check. While rolled up, a hedgehog cannot take any action other than leaving this state. The hedgehog can leave this state as a move action.

Hedgehogs are spiny, insectivorous mammals. When threatened, a hedgehog rolls up into a spiny ball as a defense mechanism. A hedgehog's master gains a +2 bonus on Will saves

Witch Patron Themes

The following are some of the alternative witch patron themes presented in Ultimate Magic.

Healing: 2nd—remove fear, 4th—lesser restoration, 6th—remove disease, 8th—restoration, 10th—cleanse**, 12th—pillar of life**, 14th—greater restoration, 16th—mass cure critical wounds, 18th—true resurrection.
Winter: 2nd—unshakable chill*, 4th—resist energy (cold only), 6th—ice storm, 8th—wall of ice, 10th—cone of cold, 12th—freezing sphere, 14th—control weather, 16th—polar ray, 18th—polar midnight*.

Arcane Discoveries

Arcane discoveries are a new option presented in Ultimate Magic. A wizard can learn an arcane discovery in place of a regular feat or wizard bonus feat.

Fast Study: Normally, a wizard spends 1 hour preparing all of his spells for the day, or proportionately less if he only prepares some spells, with a minimum of 15 minutes of preparation. Thanks to mental discipline and clever mnemonics, you can prepare all of your spells in only 15 minutes, and your minimum preparation time is only 1 minute. You must be at least a 5th-level wizard to select this discovery.
Multimorph (Su): Your studies in transmogrification have increased your control over shapechanging spells. When you cast a spell of the polymorph subschool on yourself, you may expend 1 minute of the spell's duration as a standard action to assume another form allowed by the spell. You can do this as often as you like, subject to the duration of the spell. You must be at least a 5th-level wizard to select this discovery.

Sean K Reynolds
Developer

The Future of Pathfinder Society Organized Play, Part V: The Quest

Monday, April 18, 2011

The hardest part of organizing and running Pathfinder Society events is selecting what adventures to offer on a given day. A coordinator needs to have an idea of how many players will show up, how many GMs will volunteer, what level range all participants will want and be able to play in, and most importantly, what people have and haven't played before. The sanctioning of Pathfinder Modules for Society credit was the first step in adding to coordinators' arsenals of available adventures, and last week we unveiled yet another set of material for Pathfinder Society play: Pathfinder Society Quests.

Pathfinder Society Quests are two- to three-encounter mini-adventures covering two subtiers designed to be run in under two hours. Whether you need to run them when a party moves like a greased snake through a Teflon pipe through an adventure and has a few hours to kill before the end of their scheduled slot, after poor dice rolls result in a TPK in the first half of an adventure, or as a short demo or delve event at a game store or convention, Pathfinder Society Quests scratch many itches. These short missions don't include faction missions, and provide no XP or gold, but they do come with unique item access or specialized boons. And as if that weren't enough, they can be replayed as often as you want, even with the same character.

The first Quest in the line is the Tier 1–5 adventure "Ambush in Absalom," by yours truly, which can be found in the spring issue of Kobold Quarterly (available in print or PDF here). The adventure's Chronicle can be found on the KQ #17 product page or at the bottom of the Pathfinder Society Additional Resources page. Over time, we'll release more Quests, both in other venues and on paizo.com. Eventually, Pathfinder Society Quests released elsewhere will make their way to paizo.com for all members to access. Stay tuned for more information about how you can submit your own Pathfinder Quests for inclusion in this exciting new program!

Next Monday we'll continue examining the existing five factions and what changes might be in store for them next season with a look at Cheliax, whose members are very vocal, but aren't so great at recruiting others to their cause.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustration by Dave Rapoza. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

Invasion of the Body Stitchers!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Burghers of Paizo, rejoice! The Beast of Lepidstadt has been captured! Next week we'll begin shipping the second installment of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, and the Trial of the Beast will begin. The Punishing Man rises in the square outside the courthouse! The logs have been stacked against his flanks and the oil has seeped into his veins. The Punishing Man waits to take his passenger to the depths of Hell! And soon, he shall have his feast. Until then though, enjoy this wallpaper!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager/Town Crier

What happens in the Academae...

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

	Illustration by J. P. Targete

What's this? Another new story already in the free Pathfinder Tales web fiction? As we discussed in the blog last week, this month brings us two short pieces from Pathfinder Tales superstars Elaine Cunningham and Dave Gross, both of which were recently previewed in Wayfinder #4. This week is "The Illusionist," a totally self-contained one-shot story from Elaine featuring a young Mwangi wizard from the Magaambya who travels to the Acadamae in Korvosa on a sort of study-abroad program, only to discover that the northerners are far less cultured than they pretend...

If you've read Winter Witch, you may notice a few familiar faces in this story. One of the main comments I've heard regarding the novel is that people are really curious about Declan's brother Asmonde, and the backstory with him and the Acadamae—I know I found Declan's relationship with his not-quite-sister-in-law and tiefling niece one of the more compelling aspects of his character. Thus it should come as no surprise that when Elaine contacted me about writing more about that bit of history, I jumped at the chance. And of course, seeing our old friend Jamang in his natural habitat lends that much more life and breadth to the underhanded world of Korvosa.

Click here to read Elaine's new story, and don't forget to come back next week for a rollicking new yarn by Paizo publisher Erik Mona himself!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Volunteer or Run an Event at PaizoCon 2011!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Are you attending PaizoCon 2011? (If not, tickets are still available!) If yes, have you thought about volunteering to run an event at the show? What makes PaizoCon so great isn't just the interaction with the Paizo staff or the ability to play in a staff-run game, it's also the ability to sit and game with your fellow Paizo community members as well as run a game for those community members! We're not beholden to a single system at PaizoCon. Want to run a Pathfinder RPG one-off? Great! How about a board game slot where you teach some folks your favorite board game ever? Also great! How about you playtest an upcoming scene in your home campaign with a willing audience? Perfect! There's no end to the ideas you could develop and run at PaizoCon 2011.

We're only taking event submissions until April 27, 2011 (2 weeks from today). So post below in the following format:

Title:
System:
Short Description:
Number of Players (Min/Max):
Character Level:
Pregens Provided (yes/no):
Maturity Rating (Everyone (6+)/Teen (13+)/Mature (18+)):

This is the also the official call for Pathfinder Society volunteers for PAIZOCON 2011! Volunteers will receive $10 in Paizo.com store credit useable whenever they want to use it, for each slot they volunteer for, plus an awesome volunteer package of product in addition to the attendee bag o' goodies. (And I mean AWESOME! As in, we only had to drive it 3 miles from our warehouse AWESOME. Like, we're really close to the show so we can bring really cool stuff AWESOME!)

Look through the list below and email me the games/slots you can volunteer for!

Here's where we need help:

Friday 9:00 A.M. to 12:00 P.M.
Need: 16

Friday 12:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Need: 16

Friday 6:00 P.M. to 11:00 P.M. (Grand Melee)
Need: 16

Saturday 8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Need: 16

Saturday 1:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Need: 16

Sunday 8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M.
Need: 16

There are 6 slots in which we need volunteer assistance. In order to get the goody bag mentioned above, you need to volunteer for a minimum of 2. The more volunteers I get for these events, the more events we can run. So please take some time to run one or two events and help Paizo and the Pathfinder Society make this the best PaizoCon possible!

We hope to have the event schedule live for sign-ups very soon. Details forthcoming.

At this time we're only seeking volunteers from those who have purchased a badge and plan to attend the show.

All volunteers can email me: hyrum.savage@paizo.com with the subject line PAIZOCON 2011 Volunteer.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Magic Archetypes

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

For the next month or so, every Tuesday we are going to be digging into some of the new rules and options you will find in Ultimate Magic, which is due to release in May. This week, we'll take a look at some of the new archetypes that take up a full 32 pages of this 256 page tome.

One of the first things you will notice about this book is that the new classes from the Advanced Player's Guide receive archetypes in this book (except the cavalier, who does not use magic). Here is an example of a new alchemist archetype, the vivisectionist.

Vivisectionist (Archetype)
A vivisectionist studies bodies to better understand their function. Unlike a chirurgeon, a vivisectionist's goals are not related to healing, but rather to experimentation and knowledge that most people would consider evil. A vivisectionist has the following class features.
Sneak Attack: At 1st level, a vivisectionist gains the sneak attack ability as a rogue of the same level. If a character already has sneak attack from another class, the levels from the classes that grant sneak attack stack to determine the effective rogue level for the sneak attack's extra damage dice (so an alchemist 1/rogue 1 has a +1d6 sneak attack like a 2nd-level rogue, an alchemist 2/rogue 1 has a +2d6 sneak attack like a 3rd-level rogue, and so on). This ability replaces bomb.
Torturer's Eye: At 2nd level, a vivisectionist adds deathwatch to his formula book as a 1st-level extract.
Cruel Anatomist: At 3rd level, a vivisectionist may use his Knowledge (nature) skill bonus in place of his Heal skill bonus.
Torturous Transformation: At 7th level, a vivisectionist adds anthropomorphic animal to his formula book as a 2nd-level extract. When he uses this extract, he injects it into an animal as part of a 2-hour surgical procedure. By using multiple doses of this extract as part of the surgery, he multiplies the duration by the number of extracts used.
At 9th level, a vivisectionist adds awaken and baleful polymorph to his formula book as 3rd-level extracts. When he uses the awaken and baleful polymorph extract, he injects it into the target (not a plant) as part of a 24-hour surgical procedure. He can make anthropomorphic animal permanent on a creature by spending 7,500 gp.
At 15th level, a vivisectionist adds regenerate to his formula book as a 5th-level extract.
Bleeding Attack: A vivisectionist may select the bleeding attack rogue talent in place of a discovery.
Crippling Strike: At 10th level or later, a vivisectionist may select the crippling strike rogue talent in place of a discovery.
Discoveries: The following discoveries complement the vivisectionist archetype: alchemical simulacrum*, concentrate poison, doppelganger simulacrum*, feral mutagen, parasitic twin*, plague bomb*, poison bomb, preserve organs*, sticky bomb, tentacle*, tumor familiar*, vestigial arm*, and wings*.

Of course, the classes from the Core Rulebook receive a number of new archetypes as well. Take a look at the Undead Lord archetype for the cleric.

	Illustration by Eric Belisle

Undead Lord (Archetype)
An undead lord is a cleric focused on using necromancy to control undead. Her flock is the walking dead and her choir the keening spirits of the damned. This unliving congregation is the manifestation of her unceasing love affair with death.
A cleric cannot take the undead lord archetype unless her deity's portfolio includes the Death domain or a similar domain that promotes undeath. An undead lord has the following class features.
Death Magic: An undead lord must select the Death domain (and the Undead subdomain from the Advanced Player's Guide, if available in the campaign). She does not gain a second domain. In all other respects, this works like and replaces the standard cleric's domain ability.
Corpse Companion (Su): With a ritual requiring 8 hours, an undead lord can animate a single skeleton or zombie whose Hit Dice do not exceed her cleric level. This corpse companion automatically follows her commands and does not need to be controlled by her. She cannot have more than one corpse companion at a time. It does not count against the number of Hit Dice of undead controlled by other methods. She can use this ability to create a variant skeleton such as a bloody or burning skeleton, but its Hit Dice cannot exceed half her cleric level. She can dismiss her companion as a standard action, which destroys it.
Bonus Feats: All undead lords gain Command Undead as a bonus feat. In addition, at 10th level, she may select one of the following as a bonus feat: Channel Smite, Extra Channel, Improved Channel, Quick Channel, Skeleton Summoner*, Undead Master*.
Unlife Healer (Su): At 8th level, the undead lord's spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities used to heal undead heal an extra 50% damage. At 16th level, these effects automatically heal the maximum possible damage for the effect + the extra 50%. This does not stack with abilities or feats such as Empower Spell or Maximize Spell.

Well, that about wraps up this week. Next week, we will take a look at the magus. Before I go, here is one last bit to get you excited for this book. A complete list of all the archtypes found in Ultimate Magic (except for those sneaky magus archetypes, I'll save those for next week). Each one of these classes has other rules bits associated with them as well, but we will talk about those in a future blog. Enjoy.

Class Archetypes
Alchemist: The chirurgeon, clone master, internal alchemist, mindchemist, preservationist, psychonaut, reanimator, and vivisectionist archetypes.
Bard: The animal speaker, celebrity, demagogue, dirge bard, geisha, songhealer, and sound striker archetypes.
Cleric: The cloistered cleric, separatist, theologian, and undead lord cleric archetypes.
Druid: The dragon shaman, menhir savant, mooncaller, pack lord, reincarnated druid, saurian shaman, shark shaman, and storm druid archetypes.
Inquisitor: The exorcist, heretic, infiltrator, preacher, and sin eater archetypes.
Monk: The high-fantasy qinggong monk archetype.
Oracle: The dual-cursed oracle, enlightened philosopher, planar oracle, possessed oracle, seer, and stargazer archetypes.
Paladin: This section presents the oathbound paladin archetype.
Ranger: The magic trap using trapper archetype.
Sorcerer: The crossblooded and wildblooded archetypes.
Summoner: The broodmaster, evolutionist, master summoner, and synthesist archetypes.
Witch: The beast-bonded, gravewalker, hedge witch, and sea witch archetypes.
Wizard: The metal elementalist and wood elementalist wizard schools and the scrollmaster wizard archetype.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

The Future of Pathfinder Society Organized Play, Part IV: Freedom and Democracy For All!

Monday, April 11, 2011

The young nation of Andoran threw off the shackles of aristocracy when its liege nation Cheliax adopted an official policy of diabolism after Aroden's death, and has since established itself as the Inner Sea's largest democracy. Though free from the tyrannical rule of Taldor and Cheliax, Andoran hopes to see tyranny in all its forms wiped from the Inner Sea, and its allies strive ever to increase their own presence in Absalom, which they see as the key to ending slavery and oppression's hold on the weak and poor of Avistan and Garund. Through the efforts of the Steel Falcon branch of Andoran's elite military Eagle Knights—especially the work of the naval Gray Corsairs—the nation aspires to advance its ideals abroad through diplomacy and battle.

Congratulations, Andoren Pathfinders! Since the very beginning of Pathfinder Society Organized Play at Gen Con 2008, your faction has been the clear frontrunner in terms of popularity, and with a huge army come huge successes. Though the faction war isn't a zero-sum game, we're happy to call Andoran the clear victor in the first three seasons of Pathfinder Society play.

But, you're probably asking, if Andoran's victory didn't bring about the collapse of Cheliax nor the abolition of slavery throughout the Inner Sea, what was the point? As the first step in making character choices matter and faction prestige count, we'll be introducing several changes to the faction from an in-world perspective to reflect its increasing influence in Absalom.

First, we've given the faction a new symbol, displayed for the first time in this very blog post. While the symbol is changing, shirts with the old faction will still earn players a free reroll per session. This symbol will replace the clip-arty falcon currently displayed on the paizo.com messageboards and Pathfinder Society membership cards.

Additionally, Captain Colson Maldris, the highest-ranking Eagle Knight in Absalom and leader of the faction, will be receiving a promotion for the successful forwarding of his organization's goals—a promotion that should open up additional doors for him among Absalom's complex upper classes and increase his chances of further cementing Andoran's influence in the Inner Sea, that is, as long as his agents in the Pathfinder Society continue to perform with such diligence and aplomb.

We'll also be shifting the faction's alignment from neutral good to chaotic good, to emphasize the less lawful tactics of sabotage, subterfuge, and incitement to revolt the Eagle Knights often employ to see tyrannies topple and democracy thrive. For those Andoren paladins out there, don't fear. With the advent of five new factions next season, Andoran won't be the only obviously good-aligned faction. But if you don't want to change factions and have been doing okay with most past missions, you won't see a huge shift from the Andoren status quo when the faction's alignment officially changes.

Tune in next Monday for a look at the newest addition to the arsenals of both GMs and event coordinators, and a change to our open call submission process to increase authors' chances of being published in official Pathfinder Society sanctioned adventures.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

Ultimate Power!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Itty bitty living space? Nah, not with Ultimate Magic in your bag! This 256-page tome is the latest hardcover release for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and will be shipping to distributors in just a few weeks. Until you can hold the book in your hands, let this great wallpaper of the iconic magus Seltyiel by the always amazing Wayne Reynolds adorn your desktop.

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Special Charity Event Ends Today!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

I'd like to take a moment to remind folks about the Japan Quake and Tsunami Relief Auction we started last week. For those of you that don't remember, last Thursday we announced that Paizo would be auctioning off the Wayne Reynolds original painting of Nakayama Hayato, the iconic samurai found in Ultimate Combat, our 256-page hardcover release for Gen Con 2011 and three copies each of a special edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. There are only a few hours left in these auctions so please visit the Paizo eBay storefront before 10 a.m. PDT to take part in this special charity event!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Jeggare in the Jungle

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

With all the excitement of last week's Meet the Iconics post for Hayato, our new iconic samurai—who we unveiled ahead of schedule as part of our auction to help tsunami relief efforts—we unfortunately didn't have a chance to talk about the new web fiction story that started that Wednesday. Which is really too bad, because the new story is awesome on several fronts!

	Illustration by J. P. Targete

In "A Lesson in Taxonomy," Dave Gross brings us a glimpse of Pathfinder Varian Jeggare, the longstanding co-hero of Pathfinder Tales novels, journals, and webfiction stories, as he was in his early days as a Pathfinder, well before he became a venture-captain or met up with his bodyguard Radovan. Just two episodes long, this story takes us through historical Sargava and into the heart of the Mwangi Expanse, where Dave sheds some light on the not-always-amicable practices of competing Pathfinders.

If you're a fan of Wayfinder—and how can you not love free, high-quality, fan-created Pathfinder material?—then this story might look a little familiar. When the Wayfinder folks originally told us that both Dave Gross and Elaine Cunningham had agreed to write new short stories for the zine's Mwangi-themed issue, we were all excited, yet the deal raised some sticky issues regarding continuity and the community use agreement. The solution? We bought Dave and Elaine's stories and let them run first in Wayfinder as a preview before bringing them here to the website for the world to see, thereby making them official Pathfinder Tales content. Everybody wins!

This week represents the final chapter in Dave's safari adventure, and next week we'll have Elaine's fabulous one-shot story "The Illusionist." And after that, we'll be starting a story by one of our very own Paizo staffers. Who could it be, you ask? For the answer, stay tuned...

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Ultimate Magic Previews Start Next Week!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

The newest hardcover for the Pathfinder RPG, Ultimate Magic, is scheduled to ship mid-May, so for the next six weeks we're previewing material from the book. Get ready for:

• New options and archetypes for every base spellcasting class
• More information on the magus class and Words of Power system
• New familiars
• New magical feats
• New spell descriptors and new spells
• Guidelines for designing new spells

Stay tuned!

Sean K Reynolds
Developer

The Future of Pathfinder Society Organized Play Part III: The Rules that Govern the World

Monday, April 4, 2011

Continuing our series of Monday blogs on the future of the Pathfinder Society, today let's talk about the campaign documents that outline the rules of the campaign.

The Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play has seen several incarnations since the campaign began in summer 2008. Currently in version 3.0.2, it has grown to a dense, 38-page PDF including the basics for players, GMs, and coordinators, as well as many explanations and clarifications of rare corner cases. While most of these rules are staying the same, the nature of any campaign is that it evolves. And the current document is simply too unwieldy for us to continually update, re-layout, and re-edit (not to mention print, for all of you following along at home). Today, we'll be updating the document to version 3.0.3 with a few revisions noted below; this will be the last revision to this document until we release version 4.0 in July.

A few months ago we moved the list of Additional Resources to their own page on the website where we can more easily update them without needing to redo the entire guide every month. This has worked out really well for us, and we plan to keep updating it here. This table of information has been removed from v3.0.3, replaced with instructions to find this information on paizo.com instead.

Additionally, we replaced the old replay rules section on page 18 with the new rule implemented on the messageboards in October outlining the 1:1 player/GM credit rule. We've clarified the Play! Play! Play! rule on page 17 to try to eliminate the misconception that the rule should negate every other rule in the book, while maintaining its intent of encouraging people to find creative solutions in order not to have to turn people away. Finally, we clarified a rule that was incorrectly interpreted in past versions of the guide regarding animal companions with Intelligence scores of 3 or higher (page 20).

So what's in store for campaign documentation in the future? Great things!

In July, we'll release not one but three new campaign documents, each with a different target audience. The first will be a 4-page introduction to the campaign with only the basic overview of the campaign and how someone can get started right away. This will be aimed at people new to the campaign who wander up at a game store or convention and just need the bare minimum to get started right then and there. We'll also have a longer, more detailed version of the player's campaign guide with extended information on additional options and explanations of factions, traits, day jobs, spending Prestige, and so on. The third book will be a GM- and coordinator-oriented information about creating sessions, reporting, and other organizational elements of the campaign.

Many of the specific corner cases and campaign specific rules that don't really belong in something everyone's expected to download and print before participating in the campaign will be moved to an online FAQ instead. This will allow us to more quickly address rules clarifications in a single, easy-to-find location instead of continually bloating the PDF campaign documents. We will have the FAQ up and full of information by the time Season 3 kicks off, and maybe even sooner if the deadline gods smile upon us.

Check back here next Monday for a glimpse at the first of next season's 10 factions—the freedom-loving nation of Andoran—and see what changes they've brought about in the last three years of dominating Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustrations by Andrew Hou, Michael Saas, and Florian Stitz. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

Goblins for All!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Because you asked for it, the following changes are coming to Pathfinder:

1. Introducing the next in our popular Players Companion line of products: Goblins of Purity!

   Goblins are popular. But they're not popular enough! With "Goblins of Purity," we're giving you what you've been asking for—the chance to fully embrace all of the madness and mayhem that is being a goblin—but in a way that allows you to still be a hero. This book is jam-packed with all manner of fun and exciting options for goblins dedicated to fighting against the rise of evil (as most often personified by greedy adventurers, slavering dogs, and those hateful horses with their sharp, sharp hooves and soulless eyes), all while maintaining the rip-roaring fun that being an arsonist or a baby-eater brings.

   Goblins of Purity includes:

   • Two dozen goblin archetypes, including the Dog Hunter ranger, the Friendly Picklechucker rogue, and the Peaceful Beachcomber paladin

   • An extensive discussion of brand-new goblin versions of your favorite deities

   • An exciting reworking of the alignment system that allows you to play arsonists and baby-eaters while still being good-aligned

   • A brand-new 20-level base class built especially for would-be goblin heroes—the Goblin Babysitter, a class that gets extensive use out of this book's new "innocent accident charts"

2. We're not there yet, but when we send the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook back for another reprint, we'll be adding goblins to the list of core player races. Now everyone can be a goblin!

3. Starting today, goblins are now mandatory for play in the Pathfinder Society. Every group must have at least one goblin in the party. I expect some awesome stories from your games this weekend!

4. Later this year, we'll release the Goblinomicon, a 64-page book that outlines the foes goblins confront in daily life—including true and accurate stat blocks for dogs and horses!

5. Spoiler:

   And... if you haven't figured out already, Happy April Fools Day!

Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager