Qadira, Gateway to the East

Monday, July 27, 2009

Qadira, Gateway to the East is a bit unique. It got delayed by the Paizo "snowpocalypse" of 2008, and its revised release date placed it much closer to the release date of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Rather than publishing a regional sourcebook and follow it a month later with the new rules, we secretly replaced its regular coffee with... I mean, secretly updated all the rules content to the Pathfinder RPG. So, technically, Qadira is a preview of Pathfinder that's available right now... we just kept it a secret.

Qadira is a cool book, especially if you like adventures in the style of Aladdin, Ali Baba, and Sinbad. The book gives the history of Qadira, its political climate (internal and external), a geographical overview, an in-character Qadiran perspective on the races and character archetypes of Golarion, the city of Katheer, Qadiran magical studies, feats, the daivrat prestige class (why force genies to do your bidding when they'll do it willingly for you?), and—of course—new traits! It's also the only Pathfinder Companion with monsters instead of a regular Persona column—but given the unique role of genies in Qadira, these "monsters" may actually be relatives of Qadiran PCs, whether a half-janni or the suli-jann. And every daivrat needs a little zhyen genie buddy! Just treat them nicely or they may turn into a cruel prankster called a jocta...

Art by Concept Art House

Sean K Reynolds
Developer, Pathfinder Companion

Artist: Concept Art House

Snagged from the Vault: Pathfinder #21—The Jackal's Price

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Once again, the foolhardy Purloiners have braved the depths of the Vault of the Golem to bring you, our faithful readers, a glimpse of the future. Featured here today is the cover of Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #21—The Jackal's Price. Enjoy it, dear readers, before the Golem returns to claim his prize...

Vadid and Nahk
Preview Purloiners

A strange artifact discovered in the belly of an ancient ruin has all of Katapesh intrigued. Yet none can decipher the strange markings, nor confirm much about the scroll's purpose beyond the fact that the magic it contains is powerful indeed. In order to learn more, a trip to the sprawling market city of Katapesh itself must be mounted. Yet others want the map for themselves—scheming merchants eager to make their fortunes with its sale, enraged gnolls eager to reclaim what they feel rightfully belongs to them, and even a sinister hidden society willing to murder to claim the treasure as its own. What could be hidden within that could drive so many to such desperate acts of violence and mayhem? Is this artifact truly the one and only Scroll of Kakishon, and does the one who controls it control an entire world?

Meet The Artists: Concept Art House

Monday, May 19, 2008

So, it struck me that we haven't spent much time on this blog talking about art. We've shown off plenty of it, but remember, it all has to come from somewhere! Sometimes we go to specific artists to get illustrations for Pathfinder products, but we also work with several studios of artists as well. One of our favorites to work with is Concept Art House.

Concept Art House is an international art studio/outsourcing company whose clients include the film industry, video games, print media, and entertainment related intellectual properties—like Pathfinder. The core founders have over 20 years of industry experience, and while they're headquartered in San Francisco, California, they also have a full production studio in Shanghai, China. You'll be seeing plenty of their work in the pages of Pathfinder products (such as the two illustrations featured with this post), but if you'd like to see more, head on over to their art galleries at www.conceptarthouse.com. Trust me, it's worth the visit!

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief