Is This Pathfinder Society Legal?

Monday, January 31, 2011

Every time a new book comes out in any of our product lines, Pathfinder Society players and GMs fill the messageboards with questions about the legality of including new rules elements in their PFS games. The list of available resources has, until recently, been updated in the ever-growing Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play in Chapter 13. Last week, with the release of the Ultimate Combat Playtest PDF, we moved the contents of Chapter 13 to a special page on paizo.com at http://paizo.com/pathfinderSociety/resources. In the near future, we will be laying out the contents of that page as a simple, easy-to-print PDF which will also be kept up to date. We will notify all Pathfinder Society members and customers who have downloaded the Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play whenever new content is added to this document, just as we have done with new updates to Chapter 13.

This is the first in several steps we are making to put the most commonly referenced material in as easily updatable and available a spot as possible. Stop by the Pathfinder Society messageboards and leave your feedback on how we can better get changing information into your hands!

P.S. Hyrum also wants me to tell everyone that he will be announcing two new Venture-Captains in the coming week, so stay tuned!

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustrations by Kerem Beyit. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

Snakes, I Hate Snakes!

Friday, January 28, 2011

I've been in the gaming industry for a decade now and I still get a smile on my face when new product arrives from the printer and I get to thumb through it for the first time. This week was a banner week as I got preview copies of Flip-Mat Village Square, the new Pathfinder Tales novel Plague of Shadows from sword and sorcery master Howard Andrew Jones, and the theme for this week's wallpaper: "Sanctum of the Serpent God," part 6 of the Serpent Skull Adventure Path. This awesome piece showcases

Spoiler:

Vyr-Azul, the High Priest of Ydersius, the insidious villain of Serpent Skull who plans to restore his god and usher in a new Age of Serpents. You'll finally meet him at the heart of the serpent-god's sanctum, and the fate of Golarion hangs in the balance!

Hyrum.
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustration by Alex Aparin

Golarion Day — SPOILER: There Are Vampires in Ustalav

Thursday, January 27, 2010

So, we're back in busy mode this week, which means that I don't have a big pile of words to share with you today. But part of what made this week busy was shipping the upcoming Rule of Fear off to the printer. Which has a cover. And the art on that cover is pretty cool, wouldn't you say?

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Half-Orcs and Sneak Previews!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Illustration by Darren Bader

With the release date of Plague of Shadows, the new Pathfinder Tales novel, coming up fast, I thought it might be a good time to start stirring the pot with a little sneak preview in the form of a sample chapter as this week's installment of the weekly web fiction.

I really can't overstate how excited I am for this book to come out. Not only does it have what may be my favorite cover yet for the line, but it's also an old-school adventure in a way that Pathfinder Tales hasn't really seen so far. In Plague of Shadows, a team of adventurers featuring a Forlorn elf ranger, a civilized half-orc guard captain, an untested young noble, a retired bard, and a country bumpkin of a wizard must set off on a quest to retrieve an artifact in time to save their friend/father/liege lord who's been cursed. Sound familiar? It should—it's a classic quest setup that any gamer should recognize, and over the course of their adventure the party will be forced to deal with the chaos of revolutionary Galt, standoffish Kyonin elves, and the mysterious Vale of Shadows deep in the Five Kings Mountains. And yet while it's a time-honored trope with a generous helping of sword-and-sorcery flair (hardly surprising, given author Howard Andrew Jones's status as one of the foremost living editors and scholars of pulp fantasy), there's also plenty here that's new, and enough twists and turns to satisfy those readers with more complex tastes.

	Illustration by Eric Belisle

In addition, I'm also pleased to show off this brand-new illustration of one of the novel's main characters: Captain Drelm, a half-orc raised from his base roots by the glory of Abadar and determined to prove himself as a man of honor. I think you'll agree that artist Eric Belisle (the same man responsible for our excellent Radovan and Jeggare illustrations) has done a beautiful job capturing both aspects of Drelm's character. As we continue to introduce more novels in the Pathfinder Tales line, we're looking forward to ordering brand-new illustrations like this to go along with our sample chapters, giving you one more reason to check on the web fiction each Wednesday.

So get to it, already! Click here to read the new sample chapter of Howard Andrew Jones's Plague of Shadows, then scroll down to the comments section and let us know what you think!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Round 2: Vote for your favorite Archetypes!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Our Top 32 contestants have submitted their Round 2 alternate class concepts for use with Paizo's Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and judges Ryan Dancey, Sean K Reynolds, Mark Moreland and Neil Spicer have commented on each contestant's submission. Now you can read and critique the top 32, and then vote for your favorites! The 16 designers garnering the most votes will continue on to Round 3 and the ultimate winner will earn a paid commission to write one of Paizo's upcoming Pathfinder Modules!

Artus Nemati — Charlatan (Rogue)     Mirrored Lantern of the Pious Seeker Charles Dunwoody — Filthy Beard Brawler (Monk)     Iron Bands of the Blue Dragon Cody Coffelt — Hound Master (Cavalier)     Flask of Five Fifths Danny Lundy — Con Artist (Bard)     Meditation Beads of the Flaming Fist David Vigil — First World Druid (Druid)     Candle of Viscous Ephemera Eric Hindley — Knife Fighter (Fighter)     Shadow Falconer's Glove Erik Freund — Moon Shaman (Druid)     Corsage of the Captured Voice Ethan Day-Jones — Exalted Armsman (Cleric)     Eye of the Void Isaac Duplechain — Frenzied Protector (Barbarian)     Alchemist's Viper James Martin — Crooked Man (Bard)     Poisoner's Retort James Olchak — Ripper (Rogue)     Erinyes Braid Jerall Toi — Tengu Blademaster (Fighter)     Phlebotomist's Gloves Jerry Keyes — Chronologist (Oracle)     Martyr's Tear Joel Flank — Hedge Wizard (Wizard)     Plentiful Pouch John Spalding — Juju Snatcher (Witch)     Illusionist's Veil John Bennett — Saboteur (Ranger)     Cocoon Cloak

Joseph LaMothe — Treasure Seeker (Rogue)     Ampoule of False Blood Joshua Stevens — Wandslinger (Wizard)     Imp's Wishbone K. Patrick Barley — Denouncer (Inquisitor)     Seeds of the Spirit Totem Levi Miles — Ivory Guardian (Paladin)     Amulet of the Rakshasa Marie Small — Tactician (Fighter)     Verdant Vine Nick Bolhuis — Champion of Philosophy (Cavalier)     Assassin's Rose Ryan Marsh — Goldfever Alchemist (Alchemist)     Grim Howler Sam Zeitlin — Still-Water Meditant (Monk)     Book of Night Without Moon Scott Fernandez — Grave Robber (Rogue)     Nightmare Boots Sean Huguenard — Dreamer (Summoner)     The Smuggler's Collapsible Robe Sean McGowan — Evangelist (Bard)     Singing Bowl of Redoubled Clarity Sue Flaherty — Death Warden (Paladin)     Pharasma's Death Sacrament Tom Phillips — Varisian Carver (Fighter)     Iron Collar of the Unbound Coven Trevor Watson — Viper Monk (Monk)     Talisman of Synchronicity Trevor Merback — Impaler (Fighter)     Bag of Holes Victor Miller — Gladiator (Fighter)     Silver Skein

Vote now!

Ultimate Combat Playtest Away!

Monday, January 24, 2011

Surprise! It's playtest time again.

Today we are unleashing the playtest for Ultimate Combat, a new sourcebook for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, due to be released later this year.

In this playtest you'll get a first shot at playing the gunslinger, ninja, and samurai alternative classes.

Each alternative class gives you 20 full levels of blazing barrels, silent death, or relentless resolve, depending on the class. You can find these classes as a free PDF. Once you have downloaded the classes and used them in your game, wander over to the messageboards, where you'll find places to discuss the classes and post your playtest results. We look forward to hearing what you have to say about these three new classes.

This playtest lasts three weeks, until Monday February 14th.

Tune in next week for Part 3 of the Intelligent Magic Item design blog. We figured you wouldn't mind the delay if you got three new classes to chew on.

Stephen Radney-MacFarland
Pathfinder RPG Designer

New Year's Resolution: Recycle Less!

Monday, January 24, 2011

With the advent of a new calendar year, we here on the Pathfinder Society Organized Play creative team have, like so many others during this season, made a New Year's resolution. No, it's not that we'll eat less junk food, nor is it that we'll exercise more (we are gamers, after all). It's actually something I expect some readers may be upset to hear: we're making an effort to recycle less.

Use recycled art, I mean.

Beginning with January's scenarios, each new Pathfinder Society scenario will contain at least one new piece of art, generally a depiction of a prominent monster, NPC, or ally. We still may use existing art when we can, but this is one of the first steps in expanding the scope of Pathfinder Society scenarios into new areas. As the program continues to grow, so do our art budgets.

Here are two new pieces by Joe Wilson: a rime-bound hag from The Chasm of Screams and a sniveling stowaway on a shady smuggling vessel from Murder on the Throaty Mermaid, both available soon!

Illustrations by Joe Wilson

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustrations by Carolina Eade and Mike Sass. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.

Ebon Destroyers!

Friday, January 21, 2010

As I was contemplating which wall paper to put up on the blog this week, Warehouse Will made it super easy since he came by to drop off advance preview copies of our upcoming products. The Inner Sea Poster Map Folio (3-1/2' × 5' of map goodness) and Condition Cards are awesome, but what really got me excited were my copies of Cult of the Ebon Destoyers. Written by RPG Superstar 2010 winner Matt Goodall, the module pits 8th-level PCs against a murder-cult of terror set against the backdrop of Jalmeray and its capital city of Niswan. Can the PCs wipe out the Ebon Destroyers before the beloved ruler of Jalmeray is beheaded? You'll be able to find out in a few weeks! Until then, enjoy this fabulous wallpaper depicting one of the many members of this evil cult of Vudrani assassins.

Hyrum.
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Report from Kintargo

Thursday, January 20, 2010

It's as I thought. When Abrogail's devil-bound lackeys seized the empire, they did not destroy all of the old documents and maps from pre-Thrune Cheliax as they claim. Many of these relics and artifacts, including countless rare maps and manuscripts stolen from the Pathfinder Society and the Aspis Consortium, now lie in deep and well-guarded vaults below Egorian's city streets. But not so well guarded that I wasn't able to slip in there a few days ago, unnoticed and unopposed!

There's a lot of stuff in those vaults I hope to someday liberate, but it was the enormous tapestry-map of the world that caught my eye on this first trip. Alas... that larger map was too huge for me to smuggle out. I did the next-best thing though, and snatched a smaller (although not as accurate) copy of the map. This one—though the oceans are way too small and I'm not sure Sarusan's in the right place and Casmaron might be a bit larger—should be a fine start toward expanding the lore of our world beyond what we think of as the Inner Sea region.

Anyway, I'm off for a rest back in Kintargo. I'll see if I can't sneak out some more secret stuff that Thrune doesn't want you to see soon enough—if you have any specific requests for things that Queen Abrogail suppressed, send me a request via the usual methods. And if you get caught by the Church of Asmodeus sending the request, I don't know you!

Shensen
Old Cheliax Shall Rise Again!

Have the Intern Do It

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Greetings! If you are reading this then by the grace of Cayden Cailean my message has slipped past the wards. [Ha! You only think they have….] I have been interning with Paizo since late October of 2010, so my deepest apologies for the belated introduction. They keep me really, really busy here [Oh yes we do! Get back to work!] I am a Philosophy major with a Law Degree who has (probably due to a geas) decided to make a move and break into the gaming industry. Now you may be thinking, “Lawyer? Asmodeus? Chelish evil empire?” but you have it all wrong. [No, I think we have you pegged just about right…] As a youth I sharpened my teeth on 2nd Edition, and then continued on to 3rd Edition and 3.5. I was introduced to Pathfinder last year and rejoiced that the classic feel of the game was being kept alive. Since starting here my eyes have been opened to many things (some of which I can not speak of) [You better not! You'll miss out on Lilith Ninja Cookies if you do get too chatty.] that I had taken for granted for so long. The biggest thing being the amount of work that goes into every single thing that ends up on a game store shelf. Uh oh, I can hear them coming, drums in the deep; it is time to feed the kobolds. I will endeavor to send more messages when I can, but until that time, may your tankard always be full!

Michael Kenway
Editorial Intern Extraordinaire

The Top 32

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The 2011 RPG Superstar contest drew in hundreds of entries from around the world in a contest to crown the ultimate new roleplaying game design talent. The judges spent the better part of six weeks whittling down the entries to a top 32 finalists and 4 alternates. With their hard work done, the onus now rests on the public to crown the next RPG Superstar!

Artus Nemati — Mirrored Lantern of the Pious Seeker Charles Dunwoody — Iron Bands of the Blue Dragon Cody Coffelt — Flask of Five Fifths Danny Lundy — Meditation Beads of the Flaming Fist David Vigil — Candle of Viscous Ephemera Eric Hindley — Shadow Falconer's Glove Erik Freund — Corsage of the Captured Voice Ethan Day-Jones — Eye of the Void Isaac Duplechain — Alchemist's Viper James Martin — Poisoner's Retort James Olchak — Erinyes Braid Jerall Toi — Phlebotomist's Gloves Jerry Keyes — Martyr's Tear Joel Flank — Plentiful Pouch John Spalding — Illusionist's Veil John Bennett — Cocoon Cloak

Joseph LaMothe — Ampoule of False Blood Joshua Stevens — Imp's Wishbone K. Patrick Barley — Seeds of the Spirit Totem Levi Miles — Amulet of the Rakshasa Marie Small — Verdant Vine Nick Bolhuis — Assassin's Rose Ryan Marsh — Grim Howler Sam Zeitlin — Book of Night Without Moon Scott Fernandez — Nightmare Boots Sean Huguenard — The Smuggler's Collapsible Robe Sean McGowan — Singing Bowl of Redoubled Clarity Sue Flaherty — Pharasma's Death Sacrament Tom Phillips — Iron Collar of the Unbound Coven Trevor Watson — Talisman of Synchronicity Trevor Merback — Bag of Holes Victor Miller — Silver Skein

Eric Reed, Kevin Wixson, Mike Kimmel, and Mikko Kallio were selected as alternates. (Names are listed in alphabetical order.)

In Soviet Pathfinder, Ring Wears You!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Welcome to the second installment of a three-part series of Design Tuesday blogs exploring Intelligent Magic Items. Part 1 of this series can be found here.

Intelligent Magic Items: Part 2

Last week, we examined the basics of adding an intelligent magic item to your campaign. This week, we are investigating the process of determining the powers and abilities of intelligent magic items. While this process is not too complicated, what powers are given to an item greatly influence how it interacts with the game.

The process used in building intelligent magic items is relatively straightforward, moving from one step to the next, but there are a number of particular tips that are worth noting.

Cost: The price for an intelligent magic item can go up very quickly. As a result, intelligent magic items tend to be out of the reach of most low-level characters. This is one area, however, where the GM can relax the usual wealth guidelines a bit if it serves the story. In addition, the item might not have access to or choose to use certain abilities until its possessor is suitably experienced, meaning that the item's approximate value might increase over time, making it more affordable at lower levels. This can even extend to the powers granted by the base item on which the intelligent item is built. For example, an intelligent ring of protection might start out granting a +1 deflection bonus and be perfectly suitable for a low-level hero, but as time goes on, this bonus might increase and other abilities might reveal themselves as the ring learns to trust its possessor.

Ego: Most of the time, an intelligent magic item is more than willing to work with its possessor, but those with a high ego often try to control the relationship. When building an item, you should decide how its personality affects its ego score. While not all items act in this way, the following general guidelines should help you determine the item's personality. Items with an ego less than 10 are generally passive, willing to work with their possessors almost unquestioningly. Items with egos between 11 and 19 are confident and sometimes quarrel with their possessors if it is something they are passionate about. Items with egos between 20 and 30 are arrogant and believe they know what is best almost all the time. They are difficult to control. An item with an ego greater than 30 almost always tries to dominate the situation, seeing its possessor as a vessel for its supreme will, a tool to be used to achieve its ends.

Base Item: The base item can tell you a lot about the item and its story. As a general rule, items with interesting mechanics make for better base items. A cloak of arachnida is a lot more evocative than a cloak of resistance +2, but it is not always a bad thing to have a less interesting item as basis of an intelligent item. The cloak of resistance is more of a blank slate, allowing you to associate nearly any personality with the item, whereas the cloak of arachnida only makes sense with backgrounds and personalities of a specific flavor.

Keeping these in mind, along with the item's background and story, deciding on most of its powers and abilities is an easy process. The most interesting part is deciding on its powers and special purpose (if it has one). While Table 15–24 gives a good starting point for powers, it is not particularly evocative, primarily because the powers on this list are made to be used with any magic item in the game. You should feel free to use these as a guideline to design specific powers that better fit the item's theme, type, and backstory. To assist you in this process, here is a list of new powers designed for specific item types or story ideas, including their costs and ego modifiers.

Hiding: The item can make itself invisible as per the spell once per day. Although it cannot be actively used while hidden in this way, any constant powers or bonuses it grants or possesses remain active. Item Type: Any. Price Modifier: 1,200 gp. Ego Modifier: +1.

Leaping: The item can leap to its possessor's hand or become instantly equipped. As long as the possessor has the item on his person, as a free action he can call out to the item, causing it to jump into his hand (if that is how it is wielded) or equip itself in the appropriate slot (if it takes up a slot). Items that are not wielded or do not take up a slot cannot have this power. The possessor must have a free hand or the appropriate slot free for this ability to function. Item Type: Special. Price Modifier: 2,000 gp. Ego Modifier: +1.

Maneuvering: Whenever this weapon is used to perform one specific type of combat maneuver, usually disarm or sunder, the possessor receives a +2 bonus on the check and does not provoke attacks of opportunity when attempting the combat maneuver. This does not stack with the bonus gained from the feat that grants the same bonus, such as Improved Disarm. Item Type: Weapon. Price Modifier: 8,000 gp. Ego Modifier: +1.

Proficiency: The possessor is automatically considered proficient in the weapon's use. This power does not grant the possessor the ability to use other weapons of the same type or to use this magically granted proficiency to meet prerequisites. Item Type: Weapon. Price Modifier: 2,000 gp. Ego Modifier: +1.

Recharging: The item regains one charge each day that it does not use a power that consumes a charge. If the item is a wand, it is not destroyed when it is reduced to 0 charges. The item cannot have more charges than its maximum (50 for a wand, 10 for a staff). Item Type: Staff, Wand, or other charged item. Price Modifier: 18,000 gp. Ego Modifier: +2.

In addition to powers, you might want to consider giving the item a drawback or two, to fit with its flavor. These drawbacks reduce the ego of the item, but do not otherwise affect its cost. An item should not have more than one drawback. A caster that crafts an intelligent item cannot build it with a drawback. These develop naturally over time or as the result of a botched creation attempt.

Forgetful: The item does not remember its possessor. Each morning it treats its possessor as if it does not know him. As a result, he must constantly earn its trust. Ego Modifier: –1.

Secretive: The item's special powers are not discernable by detect magic or identify. The special powers can be identified with analyze dweomer. The powers and the abilities of the base item can be learned normally. Ego Modifier: –1.

Singing: The item sings or talks at inappropriate times, giving its possessor a –4 penalty on Stealth skill checks. The item must possess the ability to speak to have this drawback. Ego Modifier: –1.

Split: The item has two alignments, and each day the GM determines which one of the alignments manifests. These alignments are always opposite one another. Ego Modifier: –2.

Uncaring: The item does not care about its possessor's safety or goals, and will gladly put him in harm's way if it gets the item closer to its purpose. As a result, the possessor must make a Will save against the item's Ego each day. If the save fails, the item does not function that day, unless events or the actions of the possessor bring it closer to its purpose. Ego Modifier: –3.

Unreliable: The item is very old and has forgotten how to reliably use its abilities. Whenever a possessor attempts to use its powers, there is a 25% chance that the power does not work. Ego Modifier: –2.

That about wraps up our look at creating intelligent magic items. Next week we'll conclude this series by giving you a number of sample intelligent magic items.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Things Are Afoot in Redmond! (Pt. 2)

Monday, January 17, 2011

The new year continues to move on and tomorrow we'll be announcing who the Top 32 winners of RPG Superstar 2011 are. Keep an eye on the blog because at 2 p.m. PST we'll have the complete list of winners.

Hyrum.
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Things Are Afoot in Redmond!

Friday, January 14, 2011

Start planning your trip! We've finalized the dates and location for PaizoCon 2011: We'll be returning to the Coast Bellevue hotel here in Washington, from Friday, June 10 through Sunday, June 12, so save the date! We'll have more information on the festivities in the coming weeks. Tickets go on sale on Friday, January 21!

Hyrum.
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Illustrations by Mauricio Herrera and Peter Lazarski. Widescreen version here.

Long Live The Gorilla King!

Friday, January 14, 2010

It's no secret that I love gorillas, apes, and monkeys. My avatar here at Paizo is a monkey, my personal Facebook icon for a long time was a Bili Ape, and I'm always calling my kids little monkeys. (They are the Savage Horde, after all.) When I asked the art department to create a series of wallpapers, you can only imagine my delight when Crystal showed me the wallpaper below. It's about as perfect a wallpaper as I could ask for: the Gorilla King, swarms of monkeys in the background, and all of the Pathfinder hardback covers. It's been on my computer since Crystal finished it a week ago, and now it can be on yours.

Hyrum.
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Chopper's Revenge!

Thursday, January 13, 2010

Last week, with the first installment of Golarion Day, I put out a call for everyone to start sending in ideas for future blog posts. Those requests are pouring in, but it's gonna take a few weeks for us to sort through them and match requests to the right content and all that. But keep the suggestions coming!

This week, though, I thought I'd show off a bit of my office Sandpoint campaign. This game's one of the largest I've ever run—the initial goal was to have it be a game that the entire editorial pit could take part in as a team-building exercise. But as we've hired more folks, and as friends of current players have joined, the size of the group has exploded into an intimidating group of nine players. The campaign itself is called The Shadow Under Sandpoint. You can check out the campaign journal over on our boards—it's generally only a few game sessions behind where we're at.

Illustration by John Gravato

One of the tricky things about such a large group, of course, is designing encounters that challenge the group. You can't just boost the CR of the bad guys and make them individually tougher, because that'll only mean that the bad guy will have a much better chance to kill a few PCs before he's defeated—you don't want to kill PCs in every fight, since that's a downward spiral. Instead, I've found that having one particularly tough boss monster surrounded by lots of less powerful minions works really well—gives everyone in the party someone to face off against, but also lets me have big key encounters with major bad guys.

Such was the case several months ago, when I knew the PCs were going up against the ghost of an infamous local murderer named Jervis Stoot. Old Stoot (known as Chopper back during the height of his murdering days) is part of Sandpoint's history, and those who've played in "Rise of the Runelords" have probably heard his name. He was never a villain in that Adventure Path, though, so that made him a perfect source for a logical foe for the PCs to face in this campaign.

So when I designed Stoot, I made him a ghost that would provide a challenge to the party (they were all about 4th or 5th level at the time), but who also had some built-in options to call upon allies. Giving him a new ghost ability that allows him to summon birds and command avians made sense (he was a Pazuzu cultist back in the day, after all!). The fight ended up playing out over two sessions—one atop the old light while Stoot had possessed the town sheriff, and then a second after they defeated the possessed sheriff and chased the ghost back to his island den to finish him off. In both cases, I threw in some bird swarms to help amp up the terror and mayhem, resulting in what normally would have been a CR 8 encounter, but when you have nine players, that's what you gotta do!

(And don't tell my players, but they've not seen the last of old Stoot's ghost yet! That's why I'm not listing the way in which you can permanently put Stoot to rest, after all...)

In any event, if any of you are playing a game set in Sandpoint, or if you're looking for a cool, flavorful ghost to use, I thought for today that I'd throw Stoot's stat block in for folks to check out. You'll note I did something a little weird with this ghost—he should normally only have two special ghost abilities, but I gave him three—corrupting touch, avian mastery, and malevolence. In order to balance things, I also gave him an additional weakness and nerfed his malevolence ability. In other words, feel free when you're making villains up for your home game to fiddle with the rules!

JERVAS STOOT CR 6
XP 2,400
Male human ghost rogue 5
CE Medium undead (incorporeal)
Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13

DEFENSE
AC 19, touch 19, flat-footed 15 (+5 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 61 (5d8+35)
Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +2
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, evasion, incorporeal, rejuvenation, trapfinding, trap sense +1; Immune undead traits
Weakness avians

OFFENSE
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
Melee corrupting touch +6 (6d6; Fort. DC 17 half)
Special Attacks avian mastery, malevolence 1/day (DC 17), sneak attack +3d6

STATISTICS
Str —, Dex 16, Con —, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 20
Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 16
Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Toughness
Skills Bluff +11, Climb +8, Craft (woodcarving) +9, Craft (metalworking) +9, Escape Artist +11, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +6, Perception +13, Sense Motive +9, Stealth +15
Languages Common, Thassilonian
SQ fast stealth, surprise attack

SPECIAL ABILITIES
Avian Mastery (Su) Stoot can command and influence all normal birds as if via dominate animal at will. He can control any number of birds within a 60-foot radius in this manner. Once per day, he may cast summon swarm as a spell-like ability to summon a swarm of crows (treat as a bat swarm sans the wounding ability).
Weakness to Avians (Ex) Damage inflicted on Stoot from any avian's natural attacks is resolved as if he did not possess the incorporeal defensive ability. This includes creatures that have assumed the form of an avian.

James Jacobs
Creative Director

DISCLAIMER: I know how much fun some folks have checking our work on stat blocks, but since I'm more or less copy/pasting these stats directly from my campaign notes without going back to give them the same level of checking I'd give something going into print... there might be an error in there somewhere! (This is also an excuse for me to see how harrowing it is to format a stat block for a blog post... wish me luck!)

RPG Superstar™ 2011 Round 2 Rules

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

We aren't quite ready to announce the Top 32 contestants for RPG Superstar 2011 just yet. The judges are still working furiously to select the best wondrous items from the record-breaking number submitted.

However, we are ready to reveal the Round 2 Rules and FAQ to give everyone who submitted an item a head start on their new archetype. This year, we're revealing the rules for each round a bit earlier to give our contestants a little more time to work on their submissions.

Don't forget to check back on the 18th, when we reveal the Top 32 contestants and their wondrous items.

Hyrum.
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Pathfinder to get the new Smart Sword

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Welcome to the first Design Tuesday blog, a series of blogs that explore the rules of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Over the next few weeks, we're going to be exploring intelligent magic items and how to use them in your game.

Intelligent Magic Items: Part 1

Adding magic items to your game is already a time-consuming process. As a GM, you must evaluate the party's needs, look at their wealth levels, and assign appropriate and fun items to the hoards they might discover. Adding an intelligent magic item to the mix is often seen as one step too many, combining the treasure distribution rules with many of the aspects of NPC creation. There are, however, a number of reasons to put an intelligent magic item into your game, making them more than worth the extra effort.

Intelligent magic items are a useful way for the GM to directly participate in the narrative of the campaign whenever it's convenient. The magic item is always with the group, but unlike an ordinary NPC, no one expects an intelligent magic item to participate in every conversation or combat. An actual NPC that fades in and out of the scene can be jarring to some and, when forgotten, can lead to awkward situations where the only solution is to revise history. An intelligent magic item, however, can easily speak up when it has something vital to add, and can just as easily be silent without breaking any sense of verisimilitude. Intelligent items are a perfect means for adding twists and turns to an adventure, while allowing the PCs to feel like they are in control.

Before adding an intelligent magic item into your game, you should first design an adventure or plotline around the object. To get the most out of an intelligent item, it should be featured heavily in at least one adventure or arc in the campaign. This makes the item special and lets it stand out. Giving the item this much spotlight will also greatly help develop its personality and background. This adventure does not have to take place the moment the item is acquired, but it should be known during the process of creating the item, as it will drive many of your design decisions. Treat the item like an NPC. It has motivations and some sort of goal or desire. At the very least, it has a history to draw upon. Here are a few example adventure seeds that involve some sort of intelligent item:

The magic item was once the property of a renowned adventurer who died in a deadly dungeon. The item remembers much of the layout of that dungeon and might be able to aid its new owner in navigating the deathtrap.

The magic item was used to store the soul of a powerful spellcaster who desperately wants to be restored to life. The item knows the one way that this can be accomplished—by taking the item to a unique mountaintop shrine.

The item was once the property of an angelic being, but fell into the hands of an evil creature that never knew its true power. Now recovered, the item wishes to complete the quest of its slain master. Unknown to the item, its original master still lives and is seeking the item.

These are just some of the possible stories that involve an intelligent item. Once you've got the background and goal of the magic item worked out, it's time to design the item and introduce it to the group. We'll cover some design tips and tricks in part 2 of this series, so for now, let's look at how to introduce the item to the group. There are many ways that an intelligent item might find its way into the hands of a PC, the simplest being inclusion in a treasure hoard or as part of a villain's gear. There are also less conventional means that you might want to consider:

The item belongs to a merchant who is tired of its constant bickering and talking and is desperate to be rid of the item. He practically gives it away to the first PC who seems remotely interested in it.

The item's previous owner thought it was haunted and threw it away—down a well, into a fireplace, etc. The PCs stumble upon it and save it from destruction or neglect.

The PCs encounter the item's current owner, who the item finds totally unsuitable to its purpose. In an obvious battle of wills, the item forces its current owner to hand the item over to the most suitable PC.

Once the PCs have the item, it's time for it to introduce itself. This should not happen right away. Intelligent items have a tendency to make themselves known only once their owner has proven to be worthwhile (or so terribly unsuitable to the item that it cannot stand the misuse any longer). This should be a memorable encounter, where the item suddenly speaks out or uses an ability unknown to its new owner. After the first encounter, the PCs will undoubtedly have a lot of questions for the item. Make sure to be careful with what the PCs know at first. The item cannot usually leave if its owner decides to mistreat it, and as a result, most intelligent magic items guard their secrets carefully and only reveal all to an owner that they trust implicitly. Remember the item's true goals or purpose throughout this process. While the PCs should not learn this right away, they might get a clue from these first conversations.

From this point onward, the item can act as an occasional source of information, throwing out bits and pieces of knowledge as needed by the GM, so long as they can be made to fit in the object's story. The item can be used as a foil for a PC who thinks too much of himself, or to bolster a lowly character's confidence. An intelligent magic item is a valuable tool, one that every GM should consider adding to the campaign.

That's all for this week. Next week we'll look at the mechanics behind designing an intelligent magic item, and even give you some new rules to work with.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Remodeling the Blakros Museum

Monday, January 10, 2011

Last month saw the release of the third Pathfinder Society Scenario set in the fan-favorite Absalom location of the Blakros Museum. All three scenarios in the unofficial series remain among the most popular scenarios to date, and even two and a half years later, Nicolas Logue's Mists of Mwangi is not only highly reviewed, but a bestseller in the line, and one of the most frequently reported scenarios of all time. Though the structure of Pathfinder Society Organized Play has seen several changes since the start of Season 0, including the adoption of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Mists has proven itself a perennial classic.

Thus, it was the first scenario that popped to mind when we began the task of converting Season 0 scenarios from 3.5 rules to the Pathfinder RPG. I'm proud to announce that the conversion process is complete, and we've updated the layout to match current standards. Starting later today, anyone who has previously purchased the 3.5 version of the scenario will also have access to the updated version, and both will be available for future download for new purchasers. The chronicle sheet has been removed from the 3.5 PDF, and the only legal version for sanctioned play from now on is its replacement.

We have several other conversions in the production pipeline we hope to squeeze in among all the new books we're working on, and will release them for public consumption as soon as possible. Don't forget to stop by the Pathfinder Society messageboards and let us know what you think of the conversion, and which other scenarios you'd like to have updated in the near future.

Mark Moreland
Developer

Illustrations by Vincent Dutrait and Kieran Yanner. Widescreen version here.

You Tried to Kill Him, Now Try to Save Him!

Friday, January 7, 2010

A few years ago we released a little family board game of murder in the dark. Kill Doctor Lucky had you racing to see who can kill Doctor Lucky while nobody was looking. It was a great product and has provided hours of fun. A few weeks ago we released the sequel, Save Doctor Lucky. This time you're on a titanic cruise ship sailing across the Atlantic with one very lucky old man and an errant iceberg that's just hit the ship. Doctor Lucky is a charismatic and well-respected philanthropist with a heart of gold. Of course, you secretly hate the old bastard, and you're probably going to try to kill him someday. But killing him aboard a sinking ship would be pointless. So you've decided to save his life instead, and do it while someone else is looking. That way, even if you go down with the ship, you'll at least go down in history. And now you can include this lovely wallpaper on your computer as you float to the bottom of the sea.

Hyrum
Marketing and Organized Play Manager

Golarion Day: Return of the Sable Company

Thursday, January 6, 2010

Howdy, everyone! So, hot on the heels of the announcement of "Design Tuesdays," I'm here to unveil the first installment of "Golarion Day!" Every Thursday, we'll try to do a post that expands the world of Golarion in some small way. Sometimes, this might be a tiny new rules element. Other times, it might be a bit of lore. It could be a brief look into an upcoming product or an interview with someone who's worked on the world of Golarion. Or, as in today's case, it could be a quick update of older rules to the current Pathfinder RPG system. Let me know what you think, and if you have any special requests for future Golarion Days, let me know that as well!

So, back in the day in the Guide to Korvosa, we told you about a group of rangers called the Sable Company. Exported from my homebrew game (where they were known as Skyriders), these highly trained city guards patrol the skies above Korvosa on hippogriffs that they've bonded with. In Guide to Korvosa, we handled this bit of fun flavor by simply introducing a new feat: "Sable Company Marine," which let rangers select hippogriffs as an animal companion. And for a few years, all was well and good.

Then we went and did something unthinkable. We changed games. And in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, we didn't even bother to keep the poor hippogriff around. The griffin was there, sure, but no sign of his less cultured kin.

I'll be honest. I was a bit surprised to see the hippogriff become the most-missed monster from the Bestiary. I would have assumed something bigger and badder, like missing titans or nightwalkers or inevitables would get folks riled up, but I was wrong. So when it came time to do Bestiary 2, it was obvious what monsters we needed to include—chief among them was the hippogriff.

But the job still wasn't finished, because we'd also changed the way rangers get animal companions, and we'd even changed the way animal companions work.

So, until we actually get around to revisiting Korvosa's Sable Company in print (which, I bet, we'll do some day in the future), check out the following rules for allowing rangers to gain hippogriffs as animal companions. Note that we've changed the way you gain a hippogriff from a mere feat to a ranger archetype—this is because hippogriffs are pretty powerful creatures as far as animal companions go, and not all rangers have the right stuff to serve in the Sable Company. It requires the sacrifice of some traditional ranger training in order to master a bond with a hippogriff, in addition to being a member of the Sable Company itself. It's up to your GM whether the Sable Company is hiring. (Basically, you need your GM's permission to select this archetype, and your GM may require your character to perform certain duties as befits your responsibilities in the Sable Company.) In fact, if your GM's cool with it, you can adjust the adjustments and flavor of the archetype so that other classes can get access to hippogriffs as riding companions—you can even use these rules as a sort of template to open up "animal companions" for similarly powered magical beasts. Because who wouldn't want to play a halfling ankheg rider?

Anyway, here you go: Pathfinder-compatible updates for the Sable Company of Korvosa!

Ranger Archetype: Sable Company Marine

Illustration by Florian Stitz

You graduated from the elite hippogriff-riding school of the Endrin Military Academy. Not only can you ride a hippogriff with great skill, you have also formed a close bond with a particular mount. A Sable Company Marine has the following class features:

Hippogriff Companion: You can gain a hippogriff as a companion. This ability works identically to hunter's bond when used to gain an animal companion, but can only be used to gain a hippogriff (see below for rules for hippogriff companions). You gain a +2 bonus on Ride checks made when riding your hippogriff companion, and whenever you are within 20 feet of your hippogriff, it gains a +2 morale bonus on all saving throws made against fear effects. This ability replaces favored terrain and hunter's bond.

Hippogriff Companions

Starting Statistics: Size Large; Speed 40 ft., fly 50 ft. (average); AC +2 natural armor; Attack bite 1d6; Ability Scores Str 15, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 2, Wis 12, Cha 9; Special Qualities darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent.

4th-Level Advancement: Speed fly 100 ft. (average); Attack bite 1d6, 2 claws 1d4; Ability Scores Dex +2, Con +2.

James Jacobs
Creative Director

But Wait... There's More!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

	Illustration by Colby Stevenson

If you've been following the free weekly web fiction, then you've probably already noticed that today brings you the fourth installment of Ed Greenwood's "Guns of Alkenstar," a mystery set deep in the steaming, clanging depths of Alkenstar's legendary Gunworks. The fourth installment—but not the final one.

That's right—while web fiction stories are normally broken into no more than four parts, in this case we couldn't help ourselves. In addition to being written by master world-builder and storyteller Ed Greenwood (who you may remember as the creator of the Forgotten Realms), this story was just too big an adventure for its original run of four weeks. Rather than cut it down, we thought it best to relax our guidelines and give it room to breathe, using the extra space to continue its cascade of corruption and gun smoke in a so-far-relatively-unexplored nation.

"Guns of Alkenstar" will continue for two more episodes, reaching its conclusion two weeks from now. And lest you think that we can't possibly keep up the barrage of awesome, it's my pleasure to officially announce that this story will be followed by a sneak preview of Plague of Shadows and a new four-part story by no less than Monte Cook, one of the other masters of modern gaming. (What can I say? We aim to please.)

So check out the latest episode of Ed's Alkenstar odyssey, and as always, hit us up on the comments thread and let us know what you think!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor

Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Design Tuesdays

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

2011 is here at last, and with the start of the new year, we've got a new program that we are happy to unveil. Every Tuesday, you are going to see a blog from one of the members of the design team (that being Sean K Reynolds, Stephen Radney MacFarland, or myself), looking into the mechanics of the game and giving you tips, tricks, and tools to make your game run smoothly and easily.

I am hoping to use these blogs to present new and interesting rules and ideas to use at the game table, perhaps even a few serials, where we explore a concept or idea more deeply. For example, we might run a series of blogs that explore intelligent magic items and how they can be used in your game, giving you a host of samples, and presenting a few new abilities. Or, we might spend a few weeks looking at the rules for afflictions, and adding a couple of new curses, diseases, and poisons to use in your game. Now, I have a list of ideas for what we might use to fill up this space, but here at the outset, I thought it might be useful to ask you, the reader, what you want to see appear in this space. I'll leave the campaign-specific material and preview for the other days of the week—this space will be used exclusively to look at the rules of the game.

I want to hear what you want to see. Check out this thread on our messageboards and add your thoughts to the growing discussion. See you next week.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Room For Improvement

Monday, January 3, 2011

It's a brand new year, and if there's anything the turning of a year is good for—other than spending New Year's Eve partying while dressed like post-apocalyptic air pirates and biosculpted mutants, like Editor Judy and I did—it's taking stock of how far we've come, and how we might do better.

While there's always plenty of room for personal improvement (and no, Wes, I don't need any suggestions on that front), here I'm really thinking about Pathfinder Tales. In the last year—heck, in the last six months—we've come a long way, from just a dream of publishing Pathfinder-related novels to having two excellent books on the shelves, a third off at the printer, and a thriving line of free, serialized short stories and novellas available on the website every week. Not too shabby!

Yet we want more. Not just to publish more novels—because we will—or to find and woo more excellent authors to join our camp—because we are—but to assure both that the books continue to get better, and that they manage to make it into people's hands.

Which is where we turn to you. If you're reading this blog, odds are good that you're one of the hardcore Paizonians, the folks who post on the messageboards, play the games, and read the books. And we want to know what you think. Therefore, if you have a free minute—maybe the kids are down for a nap, or your boss just left for lunch—please post in the comments thread and answer a few Pathfinder Tales questions for us:

1) Is there anything you'd like to see more of or less of from the novels or web fiction?

2) What do you think would help new readers unfamiliar with Pathfinder pick up the novels if they ran across them randomly in a bookstore?

3) Which cover art do you like the best? Why?

4) Are there any fantasy-related book blogs or online communities that you think might enjoy Pathfinder Tales, if only we were to advertise/send review copies/etc?

5) Any other ideas for how we can get more books into readers' hands?

Thanks, and we look forward to hearing what you think!

James Sutter
Fiction Editor