As we continue to expand Pathfinder Society to areas where players are looking for organization, it is important to me to find the right people to serve as ambassadors of the game, to present a positive light for new players, and try to bring veteran players who have left back into the fold. Ten more Venture-Captains have been chosen to fill those roles.
Illustration by Dmitry Prosvirnin
First, I want to thank JP Chapleau for his tremendous efforts in building the Denver area Pathfinder Society. Not only was he the caretaker of Denver, but he oversaw Pathfinder Society in all of Colorado and expanded into parts of New Mexico and Idaho. He has taken a position as Creative Director for Neo Exodus and will be building the organized play program for that game. I wish him the best and look forward to watching the growth of Neo Exodus organized play. Taking over in Colorado is Venture-Captain Jacque Woods. She comes into the position extremely motivated to continue the awesome job that JP did where he left off. She mentioned she was looking to centralize all Pathfinder Society activity into a website to help foster a greater sense of community and I look forward to seeing it blossom. She also mentioned to me she is willing to travel to help support Pathfinder Society in and around the region, including southern Wyoming and northern New Mexico, east into Kansas and west into Utah.
I also want to thank Doug Daulton for all he did for Pathfinder Society in Las Vegas. I met Doug at Neon Con last year and he ran a good watch. Due to his hectic and very busy work schedule, he has taken a step back. One of Doug's Venture-Lieutenants, Chris Clay, has stepped up and taken on the mantle of Venture-Captain. He mentioned several challenges and goals for the next 6 to 12 months and I look forward to seeing how Las Vegas reignites its interest in Pathfinder Society under Chris's watch.
In July, I had the pleasure to meet Diego Winterborg when I traveled to PaizoCon UK and Viking Lodge Summer Games. Diego was one of the 13 original Venture-Captains chosen on October 4, 2010 and I had the honor of working side-by-side with him for a year as a fellow Venture-Captain, and the last 8 months as Campaign Coordinator. Diego did a fantastic job introducing Denmark to Pathfinder Society and growing it. Unfortunately, he had to step aside as Venture-Captain at the beginning of August due to hectic a life schedule and he will be sorely missed. Stepping up to fill his shoes is Erik Ingersen. He will center his initial activities out of Ringsted, while he works with current Venture-Lieutenant Jacob Trier in Jutland to start growing Pathfinder Society again. He mentioned he would also be looking for Venture-Lieutenants in Copenhagen, Holbaek, and Roskilde. If you have an interest in helping grow Pathfinder Society in Denmark, please send Erik an email. I'm sure he would greatly appreciate it.
Eddy and Stephanie Roberts started Pathfinder Society coordination in Salt Lake City, Utah, but have since had to step down for a hectic work and life schedule. Taking over the reins for Pathfinder Society coordination and growth is Phillip Willis. He had some very exciting and interesting ideas to restart Pathfinder Society in Utah and I look forward to watching as Pathfinder Society grows by leaps and bounds. He advised me he considers his region the entire state of Utah and possibly northeastern Nevada, so if you live in those regions, make sure to reach out to Phillip with any questions, advice, or help you can offer.
My first week on the job last year, Doug Miles informed me he was having to step down due to a new family and hectic work schedule. Not only was Doug one of the original 13 Venture-Captains selected, but he was Pathfinder Society's first five-star GM. When he stepped down, it was a huge blow to the Detroit area. Daniel Luckett and Eric Clingenpeel have done their best to help fill the void while I have searched for someone to step into Doug's shows. After almost a year without a Venture-Captain, Detroit is finally getting their second one! Mason Whitlark is excited to fuel the fire once again in Detroit and hopes to expand his area from Fenton to Ann Arbor, and down to Toledo, Ohio. With Mason in place, joined by Daniel and Eric, the entirety of Michigan should pretty much be covered.
Chris Jarvis did a phenomenal job in Seattle over the course of 9 months. He took over the Seattle Venture-Captain position the same week I started at Paizo. Under his watch, a website was created to bring the community together. Multiple weekly game days were established in more than eight cities across Washington. And he coordinated and oversaw the smooth operation of Pathfinder Society at more than seven local conventions. He also went above and beyond his duties and was a tremendous aid to me with the coordination of PaizoCon in July. His shoes will be tough ones to fill. His Venture-Lieutenant, Kyle Elliott, has stepped up to the challenge and has hit the ground running, coordinating Pathfinder games and demos at Pax Prime. The Washington Pathfinder Society player base is in very good hands with Kyle at the helm.
I am also excited to add four new areas to our Venture-Captain regions. The first is Memphis, Tennessee. Phillip Goettsch already has some plans on how to kick-start coordinated Pathfinder Society play in the western Tennessee region. He also advised during his interview process that not only was he going to facilitate the establishment of coordinated Pathfinder Society play in the greater Memphis area, but he was going to try to reach as far north as Dyersburg, TN, northern areas of Mississippi, and eastern Arkansas to include Little Rock, until a Venture-Captain or Venture-Lieutenants could be found to coordinate Pathfinder Society in those regions. Please contact him if you are able to assist him in western Tennessee.
The second new region is Jacksonville, Florida. James Apostolou comes highly recommended by several local Venture-Captains and Lieutenants, as well as local players and GMs. Jacksonville is an area ripe for tremendous growth, and with the fairly recent addition of the Pathfinder Society of Florida website and the three current forums for Jacksonville game locations alone, it looks like James has plenty to work with to grow and expand Pathfinder Society in northeast Florida.
I met Matt Clay at Gen Con, as he was one of my GMs. He did an outstanding job at Gen Con as a Tier 1 GM and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Western PA has just been waiting for someone to step up and take charge and Matt is the man for the job. Not only will Matt oversee Pathfinder Society in the Pittsburgh area, but if there is interest he will also cover Washington, PA; Wheeling, WV; and possibly Somerset, PA. I am very interested to see the growth of Pathfinder Society play and look forward to working with Matt again.
Finally, Michael Seales will be taken over all of Alabama, operating out of Birmingham. He is currently coordinating and organizing Pathfinder Society on Wednesday and Friday nights at three different Birmingham stores and looks to expand further. He is also planning to attend and coordinate Pathfinder Society for Birmingham Game Days in March, Alabama Phoenix Festival II in May, and Play On Con VI in July of 2013. Additionally, he is looking at the possibility of attending Kami-Con, MOBICON, and Con*stellation as well. It looks like Alabama could be the next hotbed of activity for Pathfinder Society growth.
We are still in need of additional Venture-Captains in some regions and you can find the list here and the first phase of the application process here.
If interested in applying, please contact me after reviewing the application process in the previous link.
Welcome aboard to all my new captains!
Mike Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator
